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Entering Birdsview Brewery...

By Tara Nelson

Bill Voight finally realized what he wanted to do when he grew up.
After Voight and his wife Kris tried to make a go at snail raising, mushroom farming and windsock making, Voight decided to open Birdsview Brewery just west of Concrete on State Route 20 last July, turning a two-year-long hobby and a life-long love of beer into a business.

“We’ve never been afraid to take a chance or take a risk,” Voight said. “In fact, some people have asked us why we would want to start a brewery since we didn’t know much about beer but then what do I know about anything until I try it.”

Voight, who on a typical day can be seen wearing rubber boots, jeans, T-shirt and reading spectacles, also owned and operated JFK Upholstery for nearly 20 years in Birdsview. Voight said he always wanted to make beer, but never got around to doing it.

“And when I finally told my wife I was going to do it, she said, ‘Why? Don’t you drink enough already?’” he said.

Commuters on State Route 20 may remember the business’s reader board that was used to promote such obscure holidays as “Bald is Beautiful Day” or “Pirate Day” that Kris found on the internet.
“She got on some crazy web site, and found out what each day of the year is,” he said. “The first time she put it up, I was afraid someone would shoot it down, but it became quite a hit, actually. So I was surprised.”

It was 2003 when Voight started out making beer in his upholstery shop for his friends and family. Pool tables and a fridge with three taps were added, quickly turning his shop into a popular hangout for friends and locals. Three years later, and after dozens of requests for special orders, Voight decided to make a business out of his hobby.
“Everybody kept coming out and asking if they could buy it so after about a year of making beer, we thought maybe this could work,” he said. “We never intended this to happen, it just sort of evolved into a business. What can I say? It’s just a hobby that’s gone out of control.”

The timing was perfect, as two of the designers he worked for closed their shop and another retired. By that point, he had already started building the 1,000-square foot yurt-style cedar building that would be the brewery’s dining area.

And while Voight was pondering on the equipment for his 400-square foot hexagon brewery room, a friend was on a hike over the Cascade pass into Stehekin. When he reached his destination, he took the ferry to Chelan to get a cold beer.

“The cab driver took him to Deep Water Brewing and, through talking with the bartender, he found out that was the last night they were going to be serving beer and they were closing down and selling the equipment,” he said.

Later that week, Voight and his brother used rented trucks to haul several open top dish-bottom fermenters that Voight now calls “old school.”

“They work good and that’s all that matters, because it’s all about the beer,” he said. “This is how they first started making beer.”

Voight said his most popular beer is the “Scraps” beer, the success of which was partly by accident using left over grains from some recipes he had tested.

“I just figured I didn’t want to waste them so I crushed them up and made a batch of beer, hence the name scraps,” he said.

Their “Itsda” porter is much lighter and uses less chocolate malt than most porters on the market. And the Pail Ale (yup, that’s the spelling) is dramatically less-bitter than the standard brew. Voight will tell you this is because none of his beers are to style, except for maybe the port and the pilsner, he said.

Voight said he will also be working on a ginger ale, a cream soda and a stout beer soon.

And they have recently started supplying beer to Cajun Bar and Grill in Concrete and the Porter House pub in Mount Vernon and Voight said they plan to host live music on weekends.

But many locals here still want to know about that sign.

Unfortunately, it was torn down to make way for the construction of the new brewery, but Voight said he has plans to replace it.

“Eventually we’ll put up a new one,” he said. “One side will say entering Birdsview, the other will say exiting Birdsview.”

Birdsview Brewery is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Saturday and from noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday. They are located at 38302 State Route 20 just past milepost 81 and can be reached by calling 360/826-3406. Their web site is www.birdsviewbrewingco.com.