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.
