Craft brewers seek converts

OLYMPIA – To guys like Dick Cantwell, spreading the gospel of good beer shouldn’t be much harder than sliding a glass of fresh, hop-laden India Pale Ale across the counter and letting the word spread with each satisfied gulp.

But rising from mom-and-pop to regional power is never that simple. So two decades after they helped launch the modern brewpub craze, Washington’s craft beer makers are trying to drive up the consumer appeal of their top-shelf products.

“The profile is pretty good. Nationally, certainly we’re one of the most prolific, at least in terms of the numbers of breweries we have,” said Cantwell, brewer and co-owner at Seattle’s Elysian Brewing Co.

“Still, even locally, there are some people who need to be converted to the cause.”

The crusade to establish Washington-made as a premium microbrew brand is in line for some help from the state Legislature, which appears willing to create a new industry promotional arm called the Washington Beer Commission.

If lawmakers give their blessing, the commission would be officially empowered to levy a modest tax on its producers, put on fund-raising festivals, and – perhaps most importantly – give away free beer.

“I drink milk, personally,” said state Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen, D-Eatonville, a sponsor of the Beer Commission bill and a dairy farmer. “But as long as they use Washington hops and Washington barley, I approve.”

The beer makers’ model is the Washington Wine Commission, seen as instrumental in promoting the state’s most well-known adult beverage during its rise to national prominence in the past 20 years.

And much of their effort starts at home.

The Pacific Northwest is among the country’s hottest regions for microbrewing – the late, great beer pioneer Bert Grant laid claim to the first American brewpub since Prohibition in the early 1980s, and the Yakima Valley is the nation’s leading producer of the piney, sharp-tasting hops that give many flavorful beers their kick.

There’s also a dependable customer base among Northwesterners, who tend to have the educated, epicurean bent toward rich, flavorful food and drink – think strong coffee, fresh seafood, hearty cheeses. And some think brewpubs have benefited from the meteorological influences that made coffeehouses and bookstores popular.

Says Cantwell: “The weather’s lousy here. It’s pleasant to sit inside and drink beer.”

But microbrewers across Washington are sick and tired, frankly, of seeing their fellow Evergreen Staters hoisting brews from interlopers in Montana, Oregon and California.

At present, virtually 99 percent of all beer consumed in Washington is brewed outside the state, said George Hancock, founder of Pyramid Breweries Inc. and president of the Brewers Guild.

“That’s the frustrating thing – we have world-class beers brewed in Washington and, really, no one’s telling the story. No one’s out there explaining … that this is the Bordeaux country for beer,” Hancock said.

As the effort spreads, commission supporters think they’ll also enhance the regional cachet of Washington-made beers – and maybe even make a dent in some farther-flung markets.

Breaking into the national beer business can be tough for a niche industry built on small, friends-and-family operations.

Even so, Washington beer producers appear to have picked a good time to begin pushing their products on a larger scale.

While the big names in brewing have seen declines in recent years, the market share for craft beers has been steadily expanding.

Last year, barrel sales of microbrews grew by 9 percent, marking the second straight year that craft beers have been the fastest-growing segment of the domestic alcoholic beverage industry, the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association said.

Initially, the greatest benefits from a new Beer Commission likely will flow to the smallest of the state’s 80 or so craft beer makers, who have small marketing budgets.