Bellingham home brewers hop to it, create unique venture for beer lovers | Arts & Culture

It's a thought that has undoubtedly crossed many a mind of beer connoisseurs everywhere: What if I owned a brewery?

It's a lofty goal--one that takes more than just desire and passion. Brewing is an expensive project, said long-time home brewer Jim Parker. So expensive, he said, that when he tried to open a brewery years ago, he lost a house due to the cost.

But what if it didn't have to be that way? What if owning your own brewery was as affordable as $150?

That's the idea behind the Bellingham Beer Lab, a cooperatively-owned brewing venture that's about to be tapped in Bellingham.

The whole operation, Parker said, has been based off two words: "What if?"

"What if we got two brewers together? What if we got three? What if we got five," Parker said to a crowd of beer lovers gathered for the Lab's initial venture. "Well, a lot of people would want to be involved. What if we let them?"

The result would be a member-owned operation, similar to the Food Co-op, where member-owners get the advantage of tasting the products of up to five local home brewers.

Only five percent of beer consumption in the U.S. is of craft beers, Parker said, and part of that is because of the cost. But a Co-op drastically reduces prices, and the more members who pitch in, the more is possible for the brewers.

"You don't have to be part of the one percent to be part of the five percent," Parker said. "The idea here is nobody gets rich. Nobody loses a house."

But what you do get is a lifetime membership to the organization, a vote in how the operation is managed, bragging rights to tell your friends you own a brewery, and of course--beer.

"Every day [could be] a beer fest," Parker said.

Parker said they are hoping to get at least 1,000 members, but could feasibly handle up to 2,000. The monies gained through the initial fees will go toward buying a tap room where all the brewers and the member owners could gather to enjoy the spoils of their investment.

The organization would be a non-profit, and once it's been established, the members would have the opportunity to give back to the community through charitable contributions.

It's an idea that is somewhat ahead of its time. There are only three similar cooperatively owned ventures in the U.S. Parker said, but none of them have the potential for longevity that Bellingham's has. The goal here, Parker said, is for each of the five home brewers to eventually move up in the brewing world, opening their own brand--and staying in Whatcom County.

"The whole idea is to make this a sustainable beer community," he said. "A lot of people want to be part of this business. The brewing industry is pretty much the coolest group of people to be around."

Once one brand becomes successful, they leave the co-op and make room for new brewers.

Brewer Josh Smith, who's brand will be called Atwood after his middle name, said the venture is also an experiment in building community. Before the "big boys" got into the industry, Parker said, brewing used to be a community endeavor.

Parker's own brand, Happy Valley Brewing, is in itself a throwback to the community. Parker said there used to be a brewery in the neighborhood, near 20th and Cowgill in 1920. He and his wife Beth aspire to open a brewpub right near there.   
 
"This is the embodiment of the idea of creating community through beer,"  Atwood said.

If you're interested in being a member-owner of the innovative Bellingham Beer Lab, e-mail them, or find them on Facebook.