Silver City Brewery and Restaurant’s last beer brewed in Silverdale will be Ridgetop Red.
After that, the March 11 batch, brewing operations for the Silverdale-based brewpub, famous for its suds and long waits, will move to a new, 8,700-square-foot brewery in West Bremerton.
Co-owner of Silver City Scott Houmes said the brewing operation inside the popular Silverdale restaurant simply grew too large for the space, leading to cramped conditions for brewers, servers and diners.
The new arrangement will mean more room at the restaurant, located at 2799 Northwest Myhre Road, across from Kitsap Mall.
“We have been walking over the restaurant staff,” he said of the space required for the brew operation. “We finally decided to take the leap and give everybody more room.”
Houmes said the ability to expand comes at an opportune time for the microbrewery.
“(Sending) the 22 ounce bottles and our drafts to restaurants, bars and taverns has been so successful we needed to expand our capacity,” he said, adding that the restaurant’s wholesale beer operation grew 250 percent, on top of 50 percent growth in barrels sold per year.
The move also comes on the heels of another brewpub’s arrival in Silverdale. Hale’s Ales, a Seattle-based brewer noted for English-style beer, is currently building a brewpub at the mall. Hale’s Ales is expected to open this summer.
Silver City’s tanks will join five new tanks the company has purchased to boost production in Bremerton.
The restaurant, which sometimes has more than an hour wait for seating, will be able to accommodate more customers once the existing equipment is moved out, Houmes said.
Construction is already underway at the old North Coast Electric building on Katy Penman Avenue off Auto Center Way. Houmes said he hopes to be brewing at the new location by mid-April.
The new site will have offices for sales and administration in addition to the warehouse and brewing areas. Also, Houmes said there are plans to have a tap room for visitors and clients.
“We want to have the opportunity for people to tour the brewery and pick up beer and sample products while they’re here,” he said. “We want to be able to enjoy a pint at the source.”
Houmes said the location, between the Hood Canal Bridge and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, allows for ideal distribution.
With the Bremerton site under construction, Houmes said he and his brother, co-owner Steve Houmes, have no plans to expand.
“Our existing plans are to take care of the Kitsap market. We still have a lot of opportunity to expand in that arena. What comes after that is yet to be determined.”
