Are brewpubs and tasting rooms the churches of the future?

They say you never forget your first. I still remember the time when I encountered that holy trinity of fly-fishing, cigars, and scotch in the ’90s. Lagavulin 16, to be precise.

Given my booze-infested family tree, I learned to be mindful of my alcohol consumption. But Lagavulin 16 taught me how to savor my liquor, not swig it as was the practice among most of my extended family members. With each sip, I prayed to the peat and found my true salvation in scotch.

At the time, I was a “professional Christian” writer who satirized those unbiblical bullies who chose profits over prophecy while also reporting on grassroots ventures that helped connect people in our shared humanity. When this exploration took me from the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest in 2014, I stopped marketing myself to the “Christian industrial complex.”

Instead, I began exploring the sacred sexuality and Celtic spirituality informed by the natural beauty of this region. In this quest, I embraced the local craft culture with a focus on beer, cannabis/CBD, cider, distilled spirits, and wine. During my reporting on the institutional church, critiques of its work were met with fervorous opposition, which I now see is common among spiritual narcissists.

Fortunately, I found a more welcoming spirit in brewpubs and tasting rooms. In particular, when I began sampling this region’s American single malt whiskeys, I found myself rekindling my love of Lagavulin, but with a Pacific Northwest twist. With each sip of these whiskeys (as well as other craft spirits), I can almost taste what the Celts call this “thin line” that separates our world from the next. You can truly drink in the spirit of this place.

I began to see an overlap between the communion and spiritual experience some people find in church and the human connection and psychological experience found in these craft pubs and tasting rooms. Could this kind of third place be part of the solution to the human side of the vanishing church?

With my book Distilled In Washington: A History, I've made the formal shift from covering the Holy Spirit to distilled spirits, a move that saved both my soul and my sanity. As I continue to explore this region’s craft culture, I keep meeting other like-minded spiritual seekers, who have found salvation in these spirited communities.

Following are a few select examples where I’ve observed brewpubs and tasting rooms assuming the communal role once held by the institutional church. Here people come together for friendship, sponsor local fundraisers, and engage in other grassroots-y community-building endeavors.

Copperworks Distilling Co. (Seattle and Kenmore, WA)

As I reported in Edible Seattle, Jason Parker, the first head brewer for Pike Brewing Company and co-founder of Copperworks Distilling Company, continues with Pike co-founder Charles Finkel’s storied history of supporting the Greater Seattle area.  When asked how their new tasting room in Kenmore, Washington helps form a community, Parker conveyed this anecdote in his Kentucky drawl: “On two occasions, we had people tell me that what’s different about this experience is that they can wander from table to table and talk to anyone in the room, as opposed to being a bunch of private individuals dining out at a restaurant. We’re giving the community a place to gather and strengthen their community bonds.”

The Kenmore tasting room’s expansive indoor and outdoor spaces can accommodate maker’s markets, music nights, and other community gatherings. Every Monday, the distillery donates its space to a local nonprofit, club, or community group to raise money and awareness about its mission. For every cocktail they sell, the local group will receive a dollar. Copperworks also encourages these groups to bring in speakers, stakeholder meetings, and festivals with the goal of becoming a central hub for both local producers and the greater Seattle community. 

Kristof Farms (Yamhill, OR)

The Kristofs view their farm, wines, and ciders as the springboard to a community and have designed opportunities to create connections. Their Cider & Conversation events are virtual sessions with the Kristof family where the community is encouraged to come with whatever questions they might have for Nick Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn, or other members of the family. People often hop on the calls and ask questions about wine/cider, what Nick is currently reporting on, and sometimes just general questions and discussion points about current events.

In addition, the KF Book Club was started out of their team's love for cider, wine, good books, and of course, community. Initially, this club met online but now meets monthly in-person at spaces that they love in and around Portland. Recently, they joined the  Carlton Winemaker’s Studio, a studio founded in 2002 that attracts local artisans and serves as a community hub. 

Maysara Winery & Momtazi Vineyard (McMinnville, OR)

Since leaving his homeland during the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and eventually landing in Oregon, Moe Momtazi continues to honor the ancient Persian concept of wine as a living spirit that springs from the marriage of the sun and the earth. As I reported in Paste Magazine, the Momtazi family carries the immigrant experience forward through their efforts to support Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW)’s Safe Route Program. Many of the immigrants in this area who are working at farms, restaurants, vineyards, and other local businesses rely on LCSNW to help them access much-needed resources in the Pacific Northwest. Among the Momtazi’s ventures to support LSCNW include producing 500 cases of wine they named “Immigrant,” with a third of the proceeds going to LSCNW and hosting meetings, immigration information sessions, donor happy hours, and cooking classes for LCSNW. Also, they sponsored FIESTA!, an annual fundraising dinner and auction held at their winery that raises awareness and support for LCSNW’s programming.

Northwest Community Ciders

In my reporting for Beverage Master, I noted how in the Pacific Northwest, some cideries take local apples and use them to create community cider-based ciders, with the profits often donated to a designated local charity. For example, Seattle Cider (Seattle, Washington) partners with City Fruit by using apples harvested within the urban canopy of Seattle that were not fit for donation to local food banks and couldn’t be used for City Fruit’s CSA program. To date, its largest remaining harvest was a little over nine tons of upcycled fruit in 2016. Since the start of the program, Seattle Cider has donated over $18,500 to City Fruit.

As I continue to connect with other like-minded spiritual souls, I continue to reflect on these varied experiences and expressions of “community. Together we raise our glasses and celebrate what we have in common in our shared humanity. Cheers!

Portions of this article are excerpted from my book Distilled in Washington: A History.