USA, WA: Beach Cat Brewing to open its second location in Bellingham this year

For five years, Beach Cat Brewing has made their mark in the Whatcom County beer community with their taproom and brewery on the water in Birch Bay, MyBellinghamNow.com reported on May 1.

As the brewery looks to expand, Beach Cat will be opening its second location on the Bellingham waterfront in 2025.

According to owners Jake Gobeille and Darin Hamm, the indoor-outdoor layout will allow customers to enjoy their locally brewed beer with a unique view of Bellingham Bay.

“Outdoor seating is a must here, as the whole outdoor patio is [permitted] for seating too,” Gobeille said. “We’ll do picnic tables like we did in Birch Bay since Darin has the recipe for building those tables.”

Hamm explained that one of the main reasons Beach Cat was looking to expand was the demand for more beer to be brewed. Since starting in 2020, the brewery has operated out of their Birch Bay location which only produces around seven kegs of beer per brew. In the new brewing space, Beach Cat will be able to turn out around 30 kegs of beer per brew.

But as the brewery grew in popularity over the past five years, their customer base has also grown accustomed to the other beverages that Beach Cat creates. From their “White Paw Hard Seltzer” to their new non-alcoholic “La Claw Hop Water,” Gobeille mentioned that he has realized the importance of having more than just beer in the taproom.

“The thing about craft beer that we’ve both noticed is the only value that you really have is the variety that you offer,” Gobeille said. “Not everybody comes in and wants a beer. They want cider, they want seltzer, they want wine, they want non-alcoholic. They want options that are available to them because that adds to the taproom experience.”

This new location will have 16 taps to choose from, with a bar made of reclaimed wood that Gobeille is particularly proud of.

“We were able to get all this wood from Stanwood; it was a live music stage in Marysville that was decommissioned,” Gobeille said. “Reclaimed wood kind of matches with our theme up in Birch Bay. But it’s also just kind of a nice homage to, you know, the first project as a whole, as we did everything as cheap as possible.”

For now, Beach Cat does not have an exact opening date to announce. With plenty of work to be done, the Beach Cat crew is continuing to get the space ready to welcome the Bellingham beer community to its newest taproom.

Gobeille showed gratitude towards the Beach Cat team, his friends and family who have helped him and Hamm able to make Beach Cat Brewing possible.

“Without them, we would have never been able to grow this brand and our community,” Gobeille said.

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