SNOHOMISH — The Dairyland days are no longer.
After slinging pints for six-plus years on a farm known as Dairyland, Haywire Brewing Company’s next chapter will be spent in the hustle and bustle of downtown Snohomish.
The brewery will host a grand re-opening celebration on Saturday at its new location at 738 Rainier St.
Haywire head brewer and owner Bryant Castle said the brewery had simply overgrown the space at Dairyland. They started looking for a new location in late 2022. By April of this year, they were gone.
“Unfortunately, our time at Dairyland had run its course,” Castle said. “We’re excited to see our regulars again and meet the new people who will come in now that we’re downtown. It’s definitely a different atmosphere than the old spot.”
This weekend’s party, featuring ax throwing and putt-putt golf among tons of other fun, will double as a celebration of the brewery’s seventh anniversary.
A selection of Haywire Brewing Company’s barrel aged winter releases on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Same brews, new tricks
Castle said the Haywire team looked for a new location for about six months before finding the new spot. The hope originally was to reopen their doors in late summer, but some permitting delays forced their closure to extend through the fall.
Located in an old lumberyard, the brewery’s new location nearly triples the square footage from its old home and more than doubles its capacity, now capable of cramming in nearly 230 imbibers in the 6,000-square foot space.
“We wanted to stay in Snohomish, so when we found this place it was an easy decision,” Castle said.
Along with the extra space, the new location had a couple of features the Haywire team was excited about: plenty of parking and an outdoor patio, both rarities downtown. The brewery will have more than 40 dedicated parking stalls, while the outdoor patio will allow nearly 100 customers to enjoy their pints out in the elements.
The extra space allowed Haywire to create an area of the otherwise kid-friendly brewery that’s strictly 21 and up, separated from the rest of the seating area by a speakeasy-style door.
“We’ve always been very kid-friendly, but with more space here at the new location we thought why not create an area just for adults,” Castle said. “It’s been a huge hit with our mug club members.”
Unlike at their former location, Haywire will not be brewing the majority of their beer on site. Instead, Castle will shuttle kegs to the new location from the brewhouse 10 miles away on Lowell-Larimer Road. There will be a small pilot brewing system at the main location downtown where Castle plans to brew one-off specialty beers.
Overall, Castle expects production, which was approximately 500 barrels in 2022, to increase over time as they better understand the new space and customer volume.
Now that they’re downtown, Haywire joins a vibrant downtown Snohomish brewing community. Just blocks away sit Spada Farmhouse Brewing and Three Bull Brewing, and Audacity Brewing and Sound2Summit Brewing are just up the road.
Castle said they have strong relationships with all their brewing neighbors through their annual Smash and Dash event, in which all five Snohomish breweries brew the same base beer and then each use a different hop for bittering.
“The goal is to have folks go to everyone’s breweries and that won’t change now that we’re downtown,” Castle said.
Inside the new location of Haywire Brewing Company on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Country roots
While looking for a new spot, Castle said he considered moving to a rural setting to keep the destination feel of the Dairyland location. But once they looked at a few options, they realized that the turnaround time to build out a location like that was going to take too long.
That doesn’t mean that a second location in a more remote setting has been ruled out.
“We really love the country vibe and we know our customers do too,” Castle said. “We’re hoping in the next couple of years we could find a place that would allow us to have the best of both worlds: a destination taproom and one downtown.”
And just like they did every December at Dairyland, Haywire’s new location will be selling Christmas trees this holiday season.
“We wanted to make sure our customers could come out, drink a beer and pick out a tree,” Castle said.
It may be a new location and new adventure for Castle and the Haywire family, but the goal remains the same.
“If our customers enjoy the atmosphere, the new location, the food trucks, that’s all just bonuses. The goal is to make good beer so they can enjoy it,” Castle said.
Christmas trees cover the tables of the outdoor area of Haywire Brewing Company on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Haywire Grand Reopening
The Snohomish brewery will host its grand reopening and seventh anniversary party from 1 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, at its new location at 738 Rainier St., Snohomish. There will be 22 beers on tap, including four barrel-aged stout varietals brewed exclusively for the event. There will also be ax throwing, putt-putt golf, photo ops with Frosty the Snowman, live music, an ugly sweater competition and prize giveaways. The event is free and family and dog-friendly.
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