Business brings personal touch to brewing

First microbrewery in town offers northwest flavors including spruce tips, cedar

Customers+enjoying+drinks+at+the+new+microbrewery%2C+Terrain+Brewery+on+Jan.+25+in+Pullman.

SERENA HOFDAHL

Customers enjoying drinks at the new microbrewery, Terrain Brewery on Jan. 25 in Pullman.

RACHEL KOCH, Evergreen reporter

If you’re looking for a new microbrewery to try, Terrain Brewery, which opened in December, serves craft beer and ciders made on-site to the community.

Co-owners Brett and Jenna Rode said the business was a long time coming.

“This has been a dream for a long time,” Jenna said. “About two and a half years ago, we decided it’s now or never.”

Brett and Jenna first developed an interest in brewing about 10 years ago, she said.

Brett started out by recreating the beers he would purchase from grocery stores in the Pullman area to save money, he said.

“I started to like my stuff better,” Brett said. “Everything at the store was kind of second best.”

Brett and Jenna chose to open Terrain Brewery soon after Sweet Mutiny moved and the space became available, Brett said.

“We always wanted to run our own business,” he said. “We really like this space.”

“We want to have beer for our gluten friends and ciders and seltzers for our non-gluten friends”

Jenna Rode

The beers produced at Terrain Brewery are made from natural ingredients inspired by the Pacific Northwest, Jenna said.

“We take different flavors from nature that people wouldn’t normally think of,” she said. “They really add an earthy flavor to it.”

Brett and Jenna choose their flavors based on how natural they are and how they represent the region, Jenna said.

Flavors found in their beer include spruce tips, cedar, lavender and sagebrush, she said.

The two use a modern brewing technique that allows them to brew on location and thus save space, Brett said.

“It’s more efficient,” he said. “If you go to other breweries, they need a ton of square footage to produce the same amount of beer that we’re producing.”

The system that Brett and Jenna use originated in Canada, Jenna said.

“We are the only microbrewery in the United States that I know of that uses this system,” she said.

The microbrewery also offers menu items for gluten intolerant individuals, such as gluten-free pretzel twists and the new pomegranate craft cider, which Brett and Jenna first released on Saturday, Jenna said.

“We want to have beer for our gluten friends and ciders and seltzers for our non-gluten friends,” she said.

Though Terrain Brewery does not serve food except for pretzels, either with gluten or without, customers are welcome to bring in food from one of the neighboring restaurants, Jenna said.

The microbrewery is also child and pet-friendly, she said.

“The Pullman community has been amazing,” she said. “They welcomed us with open arms and they’re just really excited to have a microbrewery.”

Terrain Brewery is open from 5-10 p.m. on Fridays, 12-10 p.m. on Saturdays and 12-8 p.m. on Sundays. It is located at 1195 SE Bishop Blvd.

Terrain Brewery’s full corporate name is Terrain Brewing Co.

Editor’s note: this story had been revised to correct a statement about how many microbreweries there are in Pullman.