After decades of professional brewing and distilling, Copperworks co-founder and president Jason Parker now has the opportunity to bring his brewing story full circle, with Copperworks acquiring the Pike Brewing brewhouse on Post Alley.
“Copperworks had always aimed to establish our own brewing facility. However, the high costs of building a new brewery and the innovative contract partnerships we have in place with local breweries have continuously postponed this plan for the future,” says Parker. “When Pike Brewing relocated its production in October 2023, the opportunity arose for us to finally have our own brewing facility.”
The year was 1989. Seattle’s craft beer scene was really starting to boom, and Charles Finkel, founder of Pike Brewing, now a beloved Seattle icon, hired Parker to be its first brewer. Thirty-five years later, Parker is returning to the brewery that launched his career in Seattle’s craft beverage industry—but this time, he’s turning beer into Copperworks spirits: whiskey, gin, and vodka.
Copperworks takes a brewer’s approach to crafting its award-winning spirits. It begins by crafting a high-quality beer without hops from a base of locally grown malted barley. For the past ten years, this process has taken place at local breweries (including Pike Brewing and, more recently, Talking Cedar). Then, Copperworks distills the beer in custom-built copper stills at its waterfront distillery.
“We’ve always believed that from great brewing comes great spirits, so much so that we have that tag-line on the top of every bottle we produce.” says Parker. “It’s a ‘coming home’ story, and an incredible opportunity to work with the brewery I helped start so many years ago. We believe this turnkey 30-barrel brew house is ready to begin production immediately, meaning we don’t have to spend the time and money to build a production facility.”
The new location will also serve as a barrel storage warehouse in addition to the brewing center, said Parker.
“Our team is already trained and available to do the brewing without any additional hires necessary,” saus Copperworks Distilling Co. co-owner and vice president Jeff Kanof. “Increased production can allow us to make more product. We can make more vodka, more gin and put up more whiskey for aging. This can be an opportunity for us to immediately be a leader in the industry as an independent craft American Single Malt Whiskey producer.”
“We see this as a win-win situation,” adds Parker. It’s a win for Copperworks having our very own brewing facility steps away from our distillery, it’s a win for Pike being able to expand its production, and most importantly, it’s a win for the Seattle community, as we keep these two companies locally owned and operating well into the future.”
With Copperworks working to modify the space as soon as the ink dries on the lease, downtown Seattle will see one less vacant storefront and a lot less waste. Copperworks will be able to reuse almost all the brewing equipment Pike is leaving behind, greatly reducing the environmental footprint that would have been involved with scrapping the equipment or building a brand-new facility elsewhere.
“Pike has long been part of the fabric of Seattle’s community, and it was important to us that we leave this production space in the most sustainable way possible,” says Pike Brewing’s Finkel. “We’re excited to herald in this new era knowing that our original location will be in good hands.”
Copperworks will be leasing the brewing facility from Unico Properties, from whom the distillery is already leasing its waterfront distillery and tasting room.
Copperworks Cocktail Bar + Bottle Shop on Post Alley
Copperworks’ second anticipated project has always been to open an additional cocktail bar in downtown Seattle.
As part of the Pike Brewing space, Copperworks plans to open a cocktail bar with small bites and a direct-to-consumer bottle shop.
The new cocktail bar on Post Alley will be directly between the entrance to the Pike Brewing Company and what every tourist knows as the Gum Wall.
“Though we’re only three blocks away from the downtown Seattle distillery, we’re looking forward to serving a completely different demographic of tourists in this new cocktail bar location,” said Kanof.
Copperworks Kenmore Farm-to-Table Kitchen
In 2023, Copperworks Distilling Co. opened Copperworks Kenmore, a 5,000-square-foot space featuring a cocktail bar, tasting room, and outdoor seating.
Copperworks’ third anticipated project is a partnership with De La Soil a true farm-to-table kitchen. Owned and operated by Chefs Cody & Andrea Westerfield, De La Soil will be located inside Copperworks Kenmore.
Chef Cody Westerfield has served as chef at several renowned Seattle restaurants such as Lecosho, Serafina Osteria, Cicchetti, and Franks Oyster House, and he most recently helped launch Bakers and Bar Miriam.
Chef Andrea Westerfield has worked in a wide variety of kitchens for more than a decade. She has served as a pastry chef at several Seattle restaurants, including Lecosho and Serafina Osteria.
Located directly on the Burke Gilman bike trail, just one block north of Lake Washington, De La Soil at Copperworks Kenmore will pull 75% of its total produce needs from its restaurant farm, Tuk Muk Farm in Woodinville, WA, just a 20-minute bike ride down the trail. Both food and cocktails are ordered at the bar.
“Now that we have a chef and team in place, including a farmer right up the road to deliver farm-to-table food, we’d love to open as soon as possible so we can serve the Kenmore community drinks from Copperworks and food from De La Soil,” said Copperworks Distilling Co. Co-Owner and President Jason Parker.