Stay At Home Brewer

By Liv Stecker

Steve and Andrea Hedrick met in the Merchant Marine Academy in 1999. When they graduated, Steve went to sea and Andrea went inland to work in Montana. Oceans, continents and jobs didn’t keep them apart for long. While he was working at sea, Steve began to look for property to buy in the mountains, preferably in a state that wasn’t California, where they both felt that they had spent enough time. Using the dart-on-the-map approach once they isolated the few qualifying states, Steve came to visit a remote location near Ione, Washington in 2001. Timing his shore leave perfectly with a recent blizzard, the property that Steve was initially interested in was completely snowed in and unreachable, so instead, the realtor showed him a cabin nestled into a mountainside high above Northport. The two-mile hike in knee-deep snow to reach the place didn’t slow Steve down, and he snatched up the property near the Canadian border. A little more than a year later he and Andrea moved into the cabin and after his next tour at sea, Steve came home with another great idea: brewing beer.

It started as a batch of Scotch ale in the kitchen of the house up on the hill. Using a book that Steve ordered after weeks at sea listening to an oiler in the engine room wax philosophical about the virtues of home brewing, his first undertaking was a success. The beer was good, and what was then a hobby became the seed of an idea for a way that Steve could part ways with his ocean occupation once and for all.

Steve and Andrea got married in 2005, and it was time to quit the sea. Looking ahead to raising a family in the rural community didn’t fit well with Steve’s long-term absences. But making a sustainable living in Northport posed some difficulty. Hearkening to a sixth sense about the emerging micro-brew culture in the northwest, and not underestimating the taste for beer of their local audience, the idea of opening a brewery in the town of less than 300 people almost made sense. Hanging their hat on the tongue-in-cheek slogan “It’s Better Than the Water”, after international news reported on the dangerous levels of heavy metals dumped into the swirling Columbia River just upstream, the Hedricks launched Northern Ales in the shell of an old liquor and video store on Northport’s main drag in 2007. Originally a local sundries and organic food store in addition to the one barrel brewing system, it was only a matter of months before the sundries had to make way for 3 more fermenters and a lot of thirsty locals.

The early years in Northport involved a lot of blood, sweat and tears as Steve and Andrea, with the help of some of their family and friends, built a brewing system from the ground up using second hand dairy tanks, hand bottling production lines and a lot of product sampling. Trial and error and more than enough feedback helped the couple iron out the inconsistencies and perfect their recipes. Supporters traveled from every direction to belly up to the bar for each new beer release, dart tournament and pool night. Within three years, Steve and Andrea realized that they had outgrown the brewing setup, the building, and even the town. Without a commercial sewer system, Northport couldn’t support the expansion of the brewery, so the Hedricks started weighing their options.

In 2010, Northern Ales relocated to Kettle Falls, into a sprawling vacant warehouse that had once functioned as a beer distribution center. Once again the Hedricks threw their shoulder to the grindstone and refurbished the vast building into a split-level combination brewery and family friendly pub. Holding steady to their vision of a balance of family and work, they were insistent on an all ages atmosphere where they could bring their two sons, Del and Cooper, without the legal entanglements and rowdy challenges of a 21 and over bar. While beer is their mission and main attraction, creating a full menu of original recipes gave them the loophole they needed to maintain a family style restaurant with world class micro-brews. “We definitely cater to the whole family customer base, vs. the late night party customer base.” Steve says. While their high-octane micro-brews can sneak up on an unsuspecting sipper, in the 7+ years of operation they have had relatively few problems with rowdy crowds. “It doesn’t take them long to figure out that they don’t belong here!” he laughs.

The laid back, all-ages customer appeal includes a collection of arcade games and home-brewed root beer. The musical scene at Northern Ales offers the most variety you will find in the county. Open mic nights alternate with folksy singer/songwriters and local bands that play everything from classic rock to reggae and funk. Darts and pool are still mainstays in the pub, and the big screen TVs are often ignored in favor of the company of good friends and family. The pub has expanded to offer wine, guest brews and non-alcoholic beer in addition to a brand new menu of pizzas, calzones, salads, baked potatoes, chili and to-die-for bratwurst. With a little bit of liquid courage you can get it all combined on a Weeping Barrel pizza covered with brats and sauerkraut and chili – or a loaded baked potato with chili and a brat. All of the pizza crust, brat rolls and other breads are made-from-scratch in the pub. The chili is Andrea’s own recipe, along with homemade salad dressings and weekly specials that are always mouth watering and innovative.

As for the beer, Steve has developed recipes based on the popular brews that started in Northport. The stand out bestseller is the Okanogan Highlander, scotch ale similar to the one that started it all in 2002. Running a close second is the Flume Creek IPA. The two favorites share the board with standards that include the Grouch Lager and Honey Basil, a sweet braggot with 13% ABV, an imperial stout called Smelter’s Ash, and the Smoked NorthPorter. Northern Ales just released two new brews: Single Summit, a single hopped IPA with a smooth, crisp drinkability and not-too-bitter hoppiness at a whopping 7.5% ABV, and Copper Bock, a malty red-gold spring beer with 4.75% ABV.  Always coming back to the town and community that support them, Steve and Andrea have dreams of expanding even more. Currently two thirds of their beer sales happen at the brewpub. Tripp Distributing delivers Northern Ales beer to about 80% of restaurants and stores in Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille Counties. Steve says their focus is supplying dedicated locals with all the beer they can drink. “We would be tickled pink if we could sell 100% of what we can brew in the tri-county area.” So far, the 500-gallon brewing system is keeping up with demands, which increase in the summer time and keep Steve on his toes as the sole brewer on site at this time. In addition to quenching the perpetual thirst of the area, Northern Ales plays host to frequent fundraisers. From the Kettle Falls Food Bank, to the upcoming Crossroads Stage Benefit, and the Casey McKern Pay It Forward Foundation that is staging a benefit at the brewpub in April to benefit Tyler Sphuler, a young man who lost the use of his legs in a logging accident last year.

Northern Ales is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 10 PM, or occasionally later if the party dictates. In true rustic pub style, the floor is covered in peanut shells cast off from the grazing beer lovers (allergy alert!). The brewpub has become the eclectic gathering place of all generations and walks of life, where you will find the redneck and the hippy swapping stories over their shared love of a good local brew. The sprawling casual atmosphere makes Northern Ales an easy place to come as you are and stay for as long as you like. The roomy space is a great place to host birthday parties, anniversaries, graduations, wedding parties and pretty much any celebration you can imagine. Stop by and check it out, sample the brews and build your favorite pizza. The beer is good and the people are even better!

Check out northernales.com for more info, menu and current beer listings as well as a calendar of upcoming events and music.