Copperworks Distillery assumes ownership of Pike Brewing Company's first brewery location, including equipment. Look for three future expansion projects to be developed in the coming years.
Press Release
After decades of professional brewing and distilling, Copperworks Co-Founder Jason Parker now has the opportunity to bring his brewing story full circle, with Copperworks acquiring the Pike Brewing brewhouse on Post Alley.
“Copperworks had always aimed to establish our own brewing facility. However, the high costs of building a new brewery and the innovative contract partnerships we have in place with local breweries have continuously postponed this plan for the future,” said Parker. “When Pike Brewing relocated its production in October 2023, the opportunity arose for us to finally have our own brewing facility.”
But why would a spirits distiller need to make beer in the first place?
Copperworks takes a brewer’s approach to crafting its award-winning spirits. It begins by crafting a high-quality beer without hops from a base of locally grown malted barley. For the past ten years, this process has taken place at local breweries (including Pike Brewing and, more recently, Talking Cedar). Then, Copperworks distills the beer in custom-built copper stills at its waterfront distillery.
“We’ve always believed that from great brewing comes great spirits, so much so that we have that tag-line on the top of every bottle we produce.” said Copperworks Distilling Co. Co-Owner and President Jason Parker. “It’s a ‘coming home’ story, and an incredible opportunity to work with the brewery I helped start so many years ago.”
“We believe this turnkey 30-barrel brew house is ready to begin production immediately, meaning we don't have to spend the time and money to build a production facility”, said Parker.
The new location will also serve as a barrel storage warehouse in addition to the brewing center, said Parker.
“Our team is already trained and available to do the brewing without any additional hires necessary,” said Copperworks Distilling Co. Co-Owner and Vice President Jeff Kanof. “Increased production can allow us to make more product. We can make more vodka, more gin and put up more whiskey for aging. This can be an opportunity for us to immediately be a leader in the industry as an independent craft American Single Malt Whiskey producer.”
“We see this as a win-win situation,” said Parker. It’s a win for Copperworks having our very own brewing facility steps away from our distillery, it’s a win for Pike being able to expand its production, and most importantly, it’s a win for the Seattle community, as we keep these two companies locally owned and operating well into the future.”
With Copperworks working to modify the space as soon as the ink dries on the lease, downtown Seattle will see one less vacant storefront and a lot less waste. Copperworks will be able to reuse almost all the brewing equipment Pike is leaving behind, greatly reducing the environmental footprint that would have been involved with scrapping the equipment or building a brand-new facility elsewhere.
“Pike has long been part of the fabric of Seattle’s community, and it was important to us that we leave this production space in the most sustainable way possible,” said Pike Brewing Founder Charles Finkel. “We’re excited to herald in this new era knowing that our original location will be in good hands.”
Copperworks will be leasing the brewing facility from Unico Properties, from whom the distillery is already leasing its waterfront distillery and tasting room.
Copperworks Cocktail Bar + Bottle Shop on Post Alley
Copperworks’ second anticipated project has always been to open an additional cocktail bar in downtown Seattle.
As part of the Pike Brewing space, Copperworks plans to open a cocktail bar with small bites and a direct-to-consumer bottle shop.
The new cocktail bar on Post Alley will be directly between the entrance to the Pike Brewing Company and what every tourist knows as the Gum Wall.
“Though we're only three blocks away from the downtown Seattle distillery, we're looking forward to serving a completely different demographic of tourists in this new cocktail bar location,” said Kanof.
Copperworks Kenmore Farm-to-Table Kitchen
In 2023, Copperworks Distilling Co. opened Copperworks Kenmore, a 5,000-square-foot space featuring a cocktail bar, tasting room, and outdoor seating.
Copperworks’ third anticipated project is a partnership with De La Soil a true farm-to-table kitchen. Owned and operated by Chefs Cody & Andrea Westerfield, De La Soil will be located inside Copperworks Kenmore.
Chef Cody Westerfield has served as chef at several renowned Seattle restaurants such as Lecosho, Serafina Osteria, Cicchetti, and Franks Oyster House, and he most recently helped launch Bakers and Bar Miriam.
Chef Andrea Westerfield has worked in a wide variety of kitchens for more than a decade. She has served as a pastry chef at several Seattle restaurants, including Lecosho and Serafina Osteria.
Located directly on the Burke Gilman bike trail, just one block north of Lake Washington, De La Soil at Copperworks Kenmore will pull 75% of its total produce needs from its restaurant farm, Tuk Muk Farm in Woodinville, WA, just a 20-minute bike ride down the trail. Both food and cocktails are ordered at the bar.
“Now that we have a chef and team in place, including a farmer right up the road to deliver farm-to-table food, we’d love to open as soon as possible so we can serve the Kenmore community drinks from Copperworks and food from De La Soil,” said Copperworks Distilling Co. Co-Owner and President Jason Parker.
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About Copperworks Distilling Company ~ 2018 Distillery of the Year
Opened in 2013, Copperworks Distilling Company is an award-winning craft distillery, tasting room and gift shop located in the high-traffic waterfront tourist district of downtown Seattle. The distillery produces small-batch American Single Malt Whiskey, a series of gins, and vodka, all from malted barley. Copperworks was founded by co-owners/distillers Jason Parker and Micah Nutt ~ both craft brewers with more than 30 years of experience in the alcohol industry. They built the distillery to answer the question: “How would spirits taste if they were distilled form superior craft beer (without the hops) instead of the typical methods of ingredients of conventional distilleries?” The answer led Copperworks to become a pioneer in producing American Single Malt Whiskey, a fast-growing spirits category with substantial national and international market interest. Copperworks’ spirits are distilled in traditional copper stills that were specifically created in Scotland for the distillery, and for the distillation of each individual spirit. Copperworks’ high-quality craft spirits have been recognized with multiple national and international awards and the company was named the 2018 Distillery of the Year by the American Distilling Institute. In addition, Copperworks’ whiskey and gin have won Double-Gold medals and scored 94 – 96 points in prestigious spirits competitions. Copperworks spirits are found on the shelves of bars, restaurants, and retail stores through Washington State. Copperworks also offers tastings, tours, and other events focused on enjoying and learning about fine distilled spirits, including its ‘hands-on’ single-malt whiskey blending workshop. Copperworks was voted Best Distillery in 2023 Best In The PNW contest presented by The Seattle Times. Where to Find Copperworks at Bars and Restaurants: https://copperworksdistilling.com/bar-and-restaurants. To learn more about Copperworks, please visit: https://copperworksdistilling.com
HOURS
Seattle Tasting Room & Distillery
Sunday – Monday | 12pm – 5pm
Tuesday – Thursday | 12pm – 6pm
Friday – Saturday | 12pm – 7pm
Kenmore Tasting Room & Cocktail Bar
Sunday – Wednesday | 2pm – 8pm
Thursday – Saturday | 2pm – 9pm
