Marysville’s Whitewall Brewing increases brewing capacity
Published 10:46 am Friday, September 25, 2015
It’s been quite a year for Sean Wallner and Aaron Wight, owners and co-head brewers at Whitewall Brewing.
They earned a second-place medal at the Washington Brewers Festival for their Sassy Lassie Irish Red and got plenty of kudos for their Truck Nuts Porter Randalled through coffee, cherries and chocolate at the Everett Craft Beer Fest.
Oh, and they overhauled their brewing system.
Having brewed on a 2-barrel system since opening in October 2013, Wallner and Wight decided to go all in this year, slowly upgrading their system to a 7-barrel capacity. They now have a 15-barrel mash tun, and a 7-barrel brite tank, brew kettle and two fermenters.
The new system allows Wallner and Wight more freedom. Wallner said once they got everything dialed in the new system takes them about half the time to brew than the old 2-barrel system.
Time isn’t the only factor. The new system also gives them much larger batches, which not only allows Whitewall to keep more beer in storage at the taproom but also gives them the ability to think about growth.
“I think it will give our beers more exposure,” Wallner said. “We’re hoping to expand distribution in Snohomish, Skagit and King counties.”
Wallner and Wight said they won’t be bottling anytime soon, but will continue to stick to their on-tap distribution model.
“There are so many places we’d love to get into: Brouwer’s, Beveridge Place, Pine Box,” Wight said. “This allows us to think about that.”
Also, Wallner and Wight, who both work full time at Boeing, said they’re kicking around the idea of bringing on a full-time brewer soon.
As for the old system, Wallner and Wight sold it to Frank Sandoval at SnoTown Brewery, which recently opened its new taproom in downtown Snohomish.
Aaron Swaney: 425-339-3430; aswaney@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @swaney_aaron79. Follow the Hops and Sips blog at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/hopsandsips.
