Meet BECU Business Member: Lumber House Brewing
Loggers. Brick makers. Miners. Farmers. And now, brewers.
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“Being lumberjacks, we like to live in the woods,” says Jacob and Melissa Earl, husband and wife and owners of Lumber House Brewery. The Earls are one of Hobart's best-kept secrets, nestled in the back roads of Western Washington farmland. Their young craft brewery is rooted in a love for the outdoors, self-reliant farmers plucking blackberries for a summer beer, clipping evergreen tips for winter ale, and even traveling to Yakima and harvesting their own hops.
It's this do-it-yourself spirit that began Lumber House Brewery more than a decade earlier: Jacob received a home-brew kit for Christmas. Soon, Jacob was brewing constantly, crafting beer from scratch and absolutely loving it. Jacob laughs about the learning process, explaining he “didn't have too many bottles that blew up.”
Jacob's drive for a consistent, great-tasting beer got others' attention – this was no longer just a hobby. Known for using local crops, Lumber House brews have a reputation for being clean, crisp and refreshing, without relying on, as Jacob says, “over-the-top, ‘crazy' flavors.” Friends and relatives encouraged the couple to brew full-time, and Melissa worked in tandem with Jacob, learning more about gardening, accounting, licensing and legalizing the business.
No strangers to hard work, balancing two full-time jobs and parenthood with the brewery business, the Earls use BECU to help manage the many ins and outs of business financing. Melissa noted it was nice that BECU is “excited for our business.” Creative, hard-working members pursuing their passion? What's not to like?!
Many years of research, education – much of it self-taught – and dreaming later, the pair's brewery is rapidly expanding, and, just as rapidly, gaining fans. Together, their brewery has grown to a full-blown tasting room, 12 beers on tap, growlers available for refill and even a Mug Club.
Want to raise a pint to fresh, locally brewed beer? Visit their countryside tasting room, or check out them out at local tasting festivals.