Dave Pendleton’s serves as the head brewer at Dick’s Brewing Company in Centralia. His wife, Julie, is the owner.
Dick’s Brewing Company opens its tasting room every Friday.
Christine Chamberlain has worked as a part-time bartender at Dick’s Brewing Company for the last six years.
For many, an event like the 10th Annual Washington Beer Open House was the reason they walked through the doors of Dick’s Brewing Company’s tasting room in Centralia on Saturday.
If they end up coming back, the brewery’s atmosphere likely had something to do with it.
Christine Chamberlain worked the bar during Saturday’s event — it was just another day at the office for the part-time bartender of six years. She’s one of four full-time teachers that help out in the tasting room on the weekends.
While the rules for the upcoming co-ed corn hole tournament were being announced and some event goers looked to replenish their drinks, Chamberlain praised the community-like feel of Dick’s.
“The regulars that come in every Friday, you know them by heart,” Chamberlain said. “You know what they want to drink every time and they know that if they want a different beer, they better say something right when they walk in the door, because it’s already poured.”
Dick’s opens its tasting room once weekly on Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and for special events. According to Chamberlain, kids aren’t allowed to attend the events.
She added that events, like the Washington Beer Open House, usually produce the new faces.
“Saturdays are the out-of-towners, Friday nights, the only people are getting off work and they want to come here with no kids,” Chamberlain said. “I think we’re the only Brewery in the state of Washington that has no kids. That’s why people like it, because they come, it’s relaxing, there’s no crying babies.”
One of those regulars is Jim Butler, whom Head Brewer David Pendleton was able to pick out of a crowd when asked about the faces he’s seen the most.
Butler’s been to the Washington Beer Open House at Dick’s for each of the last three years, but he says he comes back on Fridays and attends many of the other events hosted by the brewery.
It’s the feeling of familiarity that keeps him coming back.
“It’s pretty low-key,” Butler said. “It’s not the typical tavern scene, you know, people just come down, have a couple of beers, socialize and then go home. There’s never any drama or problems. It’s a good place to come hang out.”
The Washington Beer Open House is a state-wide spotlight on local breweries, that, fittingly, takes place on Craft Beer Day in Washington. Dick’s Brewing Company is one of two breweries in Lewis County that participates in the event, and one in south Thurston County.
Pendleton says the modest amount of other options in the area does help drive traffic to the others participating.
“For us, we’ve been here for so long, the other places are a little newer, but I think it helps when you get multiple,” Pendleton said. “Like, let’s say you’re (from) out of town, ‘Hey, let’s go down to Lewis County,’ instead of just going to Dick’s, you can now make a day of it. I see that a lot in the Olympia to Tumwater area too.”
Additionally, Dick’s focuses on helping the community in any way they can. Pendleton says that he and his wife, Julie, who owns Dick’s Brewing Company, seek out ways to give back on a weekly basis. Usually, it’s donating to “different fundraisers.”
Saturday’s cause was a Queen of Hearts drawing to benefit the Centralia Athletics and Activities Facilities Foundation, as well as the Centralia Community Foundation.
“Every week, I feel, we’re trying to do something, trying to help out somewhere,” Pendleton said.
For him, his favorite part of hosting events like the Washington Beer Open House is allowing people to see the brewery who have never seen it before.
It’s one of the many ways those at Dick’s create an environment where everyone is welcome.
“One of our top priorities is to definitely open our doors, let people come hang out,” Pendleton said. “Obviously, it’s a business, so we’re here to sell beer, but at the same time, it’s almost just as important to give people a place to kind of get together, have a good time and for me, at least, that’s my feeling.”
