Later, hops were added, originally as a preservative but retained for the characteristic bitter flavor we now associate with beer. Good beer is no accident.

Beer can be brewed in the home or by huge national breweries. In between are craft brewers, such as Georgetown. The concept of craft brewers began in England in the 1970s with a campaign for traditional ale. It has come to loosely describe small to medium-size brewing companies, generally regional in distribution, and dedicated to a founder’s original recipe, often without additives (called adjuncts). The old Bavarian law called Reinheitsgebot limited beer ingredients to barley, hops and water.

Georgetown’s founders are Manny Chao and Roger Bialous, both in their 30s. They were friends who enjoyed good beer, but were not enthusiastic about their jobs. Roger was in health care, Manny worked at a software company but had previous experience at the Mac & Jack Brewery. Starting a brewery was Roger’s idea.

The dot-com bust that marked the early years of this millennium was not an auspicious time to start a brewery, especially in the hard-hit Puget Sound area. Sales of craft brews were declining, restaurants were in trouble. There was one advantage, however: Used brewery equipment was cheap. So was a historic building in Seattle’s overlooked Georgetown neighborhood. There, hard by the BNSF railroad tracks and almost in the shadow of the freeway, was the old Seattle Brewing and Malting Co., the 1903 home of Rainier Beer. Chao and Bialous rented the old malt house and the Georgetown Brewery was in business.

They decided to start small, selling all their beer on tap and producing one beer a year. Their first release in 2003, and still their most popular brew, was Manny’s Pale Ale. Ales are brewed with top-fermenting yeast that can yield a slightly sweeter beverage with more fruity overtones than other brews, whose bottom fermenting yeast converts more of the sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide. By trial and error, Manny and Roger came up with a recipe that results in a dry, refreshing ale. The choice of yeast, hops, how long to malt the barley (which converts its starch to sugars), the water and adjuncts if any such as corn or rice, and flavorings such as fruit syrups, popular in Belgium, determine the taste of the brew. Many people also believe that the fresher the beer the better the flavor.

The spent grains become cattle feed, which is a form of recycling, and the hops used are all from the Northwest. Washington State grows 77 percent of the hops produced in the United States, and 40 percent of all the hops produced in the world, according to 2006 U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics.

A problem for any new product is getting it distributed. With a plethora of beers already out there, it took some convincing to get taverns to carry a new brew. Fortunately, Manny’s connections from his time at Mac & Jack’s, along with what he describes as “a lot of pestering,” convinced enough bars to get them started. Word of mouth has done the rest.

Since their first release they have added Roger’s Pilsner, Chopper’s Red Ale, Nine Pound Porter and Bob’s Beer, a brown ale. Bob’s is a once-a-year offering in honor of Charles “Bob” Hirsch. Bob was the nickname given him at the Vashon Island camp for children with cancer. Manny Chao was a counselor there in 1999. They kept in touch. For years, Bob did volunteer work at Children’s Hospital and in Juneau, his home. When he died, Georgetown took up a suggestion by Bob’s brother that they make a beer in Bob’s honor. The beer is released every year on Bob’s birthday, May 14, and all proceeds go to Ronald McDonald House.

The Nine Pound Porter, named after a neighborhood tavern, is Georgetown’s latest concoction. It is so chocolaty that Lisa Urich, retail manager, uses it to make chocolate ice cream. Originally available only at the Nine Pound Hammer Tavern and the brewery, it can now be enjoyed at many Seattle bars.

Georgetown’s brews are available throughout Washington, and in parts of Idaho. Business is so good they are planning to expand into another part of the old brewery, but for now they will continue to provide all their beer in kegs and on tap.

Georgetown Brewery, 5840 Airport Way, S., Unit 201, Seattle, WA 98108
Phone: 206.766.8055
georgetownbeer.com

Jerome Richard has written about beer, wine, food and travel for Wine Enthusiast, Northwest Palate, Wine Times, Robb Report, Northwest Prime Time and several newspapers. He took time out to write the novel The Kiss of the Prison Dancer, a finalist for the 2005 PEN/Hemingway Award.