Life is good at Big E Brewery. The word is out, the beer is flowing and the company continues to see its profits rise year after year.
Rick Ellersick was 28 years old when he started brewing beer from his garage. Now, 18 years later, the Bishop Blanchet High School graduate is a king among beer-lovers across Western Washington.
Tucked away in a secluded Lynnwood business park, Ellersick’s tiny but inviting Big E Brewery pub has had to fight off customers. It’s not uncommon to see a line of people waiting to enter the pub on a Wednesday or Friday night.
That’s what happens when you make the top 10 in KING-5 TV’s “Evening Magazine” Best of Western Washington’s breweries for the past three years.
“We were in the top three in 2008 and 2009, but I think once the bigger breweries heard about us they started stepping it up,” said Ellersick, 46. “We dropped a little this year. But we’re up against much larger breweries. The important thing is that our name is out there and customers are lining up to get in the door and that is great, especially since we are a company in the middle of nowhere.”
Some may point to Ellersick’s 12-hour-a-day commitment to his business as a secret to success. But it just may be that the beer man himself is a math and science wizard.
“It’s all about science and math,” he said. “It is unbelievable that brewing comes down to an algebra equation and chemistry. I hated those subjects in school, and I never thought I’d be using them in my career. It’s also about timing and finding the perfect temperature.”
Ellersick brews a 30-barrel batch each day; it’s a process that takes nearly 15 hours. But it’s not a one-person operation. The family-oriented brew master relies heavily on his four sons, Tony, Brian, Steve and Casey.
“It was hard when they were younger and not around,” he said. “They make it much easier to run. … I have 11 employees and they all know what they are doing. We are more than a company, we’re a family.”
Big E puts out 20 kinds of beer, 11 of which are on tap at its Lynnwood location. Its top five beers can be found in several local pubs and restaurants.
But those frosty suds are just teasers. Ellersick’s strategy is simple: give them a taste and they will come. The company sells 85 percent of its beer at the pub.
“Our goal is to get people in the pub; we make much more money selling beer here,” said Ellersick, who grew up in Shoreline. “We have a lot of to-go sales. People come in and purchase growlers (half a gallon) and party pigs (2.25 gallons). Then they bring them back, so it’s a ‘green’ product. They turn them in and take a new one.”
Big E Brewery
5030 208th St. SW, Suite A, Lynnwood
Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday
425-672-7051
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