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In early November last year, the nanobrewery NW Peaks announced it was acquiring the Hillman City brewery Spinnaker Bay. NW Peaks has now completed its takeover and rebranding of the former Spinnaker taproom, and is planning to reopen the venue on April 20.
The deal involved NW Peaks purchasing all of Spinnaker Bay’s assets, including its brewery and taproom. NW Peaks originally brewed its beer in Ballard, but the lease on its Base Camp taproom was discontinued in 2014, and owner Kevin Klein struggled to find a new production facility. NW Peaks kept its brand alive with its operation of the Bergschrund taproom in Ballard (4818 17th Ave NW), which Klein says will continue even after the brewing operations move to Hillman City.
Spinnaker Bay Brewing was launched in 2012 by Janet Spindler and Elissa Pryor. It was Washington State’s only brewery owned 100 percent by women. NW Peaks has a limited licensing deal with Spinnaker, and Klein says he has brewed one of Spinnaker’s beers that he’ll have offer as a guest draft for a short time. After that, though, the Spinnaker Bay brand will be retired.
We're significantly expanding the tap list in #Hillman City. We just installed this beauty, but still need to connect it to the kegs in the back room. ... every day closer to Apr 20th!!!
Posted by NW Peaks Brewery on Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Klein has made some aesthetic changes to the Hillman City space, including adding additional taps, bringing the total to 18. Klein will also offer a limited menu of pizzas, sandwiches, and snacks like chips and salsa and roasted nuts. There will also be wine and cider available.
“We're excited to open and be part of the South Seattle community, specifically the Hillman City community,” Klein says. “We operated DBA Spinnaker Bay Brewing for awhile so I got to talk to patrons and try to understand what worked and didn't work at the location. While it was apparent that changes were needed, we tried to focus on the major issues we heard about, which included becoming family friendly to be more inclusive and increasing the variety of styles available. We're looking forward to getting feedback and evolving to cater to the Hillman City neighborhood.”
NW Peaks is throwing a grand opening party on April 20 starting at 3 p.m., including the release of casked beers and the promise of more details to come on the Facebook event page.
5718 Rainier Avenue S, website. Open Monday to Thursday 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 3 p.m. to 12 a.m., Saturday 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
