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After many months of planning, two major Washington booze brands are finally getting together at one location. Yonder Cider and Bale Breaking Brewing Co plan to open their collaborative taproom in Ballard September 4 at 826 NW 49th Street, with 32 taps, 6,200 feet of outdoor space, rotating food trucks, and a mural from local artist Jennifer Ament.
“This taproom has been in the works for nearly a year and we are so excited to finally share what we’ve created with everyone,” Yonder Cider founder Caitlin Braam said in a statement. “Beyond great beverages, we believe we’ve created a space that is interactive, exciting and the perfect place to experience what Eastern Washington has to offer.”
Due to the quirky Washington alcohol laws, cideries and breweries usually can’t share a tasting room together, but flexibility with distilleries is now allowed, thanks to a bill passed in June 2020. As such, Bale Breaker and Yonder will launch Wise Fool Spirits at the same Ballard location, acting as a research and development site for harder alcohol that aligns best with their products (think whiskey and apple brandy).
This should also help boost business for both labels in general. Bale Breaker has its headquarters in Yakima, but the brewery’s Topcutter IPA and other beers have expanded to a wider retail presence across the Puget Sound region since the brewery opened in 2013. The taproom will be the first time the family-owned operation has set down roots in Seattle with a fixed location.
Yonder also got its start in central Washington, harvesting apples in Wenatchee for its variety of dry and semi-sweet ciders. But, in the summer of 2020, it landed a small garage-based retail space in the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood neighborhood, which proved popular. The business then unexpectedly found itself in the middle of a political battle, when it was forced to shut down in early 2021 because of technical violations around Seattle’s home-based business laws. Those issues, in part, prompted the Seattle city council to enact legislation in March that loosened the rules, and Yonder was soon back in business.
When the Baler Breaker and Yonder Taproom debuts, there will be a couple of offerings between the two operations, including East Out West, a raspberry pink grapefruit kettle sour blended with Porter’s Perfection apples, and a hopped version of Yonder’s blackberry cider, Palisades. Hours will be Tuesday through Thursday from 3-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 12-10 p.m., and Sunday from 12-9 p.m., and the taproom bills itself as dog- and kid-friendly. The official Instagram accounts @yondercider and @balebreaker should have some sneak previews of the space in the coming days.
