The Washington Beer Blog would like to extend our congratulations to Schooner EXACT Brewing. The once-diminutive brewery is about to celebrate its 5th anniversary. A party to mark the occasion takes place tomorrow night (Friday, January 20, 7:00 p.m.) at the Beveridge Place Pub (blog sponsor). The official gift for any 5th anniversary is wood. For a brewery, the “wood anniversary” is appropriately marked with barrel-aged beers. And that is exactly what Schooner EXACT has in store for you. We provide details below.
From Humble Beginnings
More than five years ago my friend Erin told me that she knew someone opening a brewery in West Seattle. I quizzed her further and eventually discovered that the brewery would be located in an ActiveSpace studio on Harbor Avenue, near Alki Beach. Back then, it was hard to imagine such a thing.
Schooner EXACT started out brewing one keg at a time in a brewery the size of a very small garage. More like a large closet, actually. In January of 2007 the Beveridge Place Pub hosted the Schooner EXACT debut party. That was the first night that I, or pretty much anyone else, ever tasted Schooner EXACT beer. The place was packed beyond belief, the beer went quickly and the atmosphere was electric. It was an auspicious occasion.
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
Not long after that, West 5 Lounge in West Seattle dubbed Schooner Exact 3 Grid IPA it’s house IPA. West 5 was the first regular account for Schooner Exact. In those days it was all brewer Matt McClung could do to maintain that one account and occasionally get a keg out to someone else. By the way, 3 Grid IPA is still the house IPA at West 5.
The term had yet to be invented, but Schooner EXACT was a nano-brewery. Owners Matt and Heather McClung maintained their day jobs and operated the brewery part-time along with their friend Marcus Connery. They delivered beer out of the back of a Subaru.
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
sponsor
Today Schooner EXACT is one of Seattle’s rising stars. The SODO brewery is now anything but nano, having undergone several rounds of expansion. There is no longer anything small or part-time about Schooner EXACT.
Here is more information about the anniversary party, from Schooner Exact:
Schooner EXACT is celebrating its 5th anniversary this Friday January, 20th. We held our inauguration at the Beveridge Place Pub, so what better location to commemorate 5 crazy years; going from a little nanobrewery in West Seattle into a full-fledged microbrewery in SODO (with a short layover in South Park along the way). The gift for a 5th Anniversary is wood, so the brewers have come up with 6 wood-inspired beers and we’ll bring along some good ole’ favorites as well.
To warm everyone up, there will be a firkin of 3-Grid IPA, dry hopped with Cascades being tapped on Thursday the 19th.
Come brave the snow and celebrate with us. Thanks for supporting Washington beer and small business.
Heather McClung
Schooner EXACT Brewing Company
