Burke-Gilman Brewing Company in Seattle was established in 2018 by friends Kenneth Tearse, Corey Ovendale, Ty Ovendale, and Eric Lundquist. Head brewer Phil Peschek joined up shortly after opening.
The group comes from various backgrounds: some in beer, some not. They’ve known each other for years, and all love craft beer. As laws changed in Washington state, the group decided to give their own brewery a shot.
After homebrewing for many years, they found IPA recipes that stuck with them and obviously with customers. Less than a year after they opened, Burke-Gilman took home several silver and bronze medals at the Washington Beer Association awards ceremony. It even won gold for a fresh hazy ale.
In 2020, the brewery entered the Alpha King Challenge, a highly prestigious beer competition in Washington — and won. The Fresh Hopotheosis beer was the lucky winner. Burke-Gilman carried those vibes into the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), winning gold for The Hopslainer batch.
Photo Courtesy Burke-Gilman Brewing Company
“For Burke-Gilman, it launched us firmly into the IPA scene in Seattle and bolstered demand from local bottle shops for our canned beers, …” Peschek told “Sip Magazine.” “It is an incredibly huge honor to bring a GABF gold and the Alpha King award back to Washington.”
Peschek specializes in various IPA brews but also has experience with European beer brewing. He explained to Sip that Burke-Gilman isn’t afraid to bring back out-of-style beers. Peschek said he was working a Czech dark lager, a Burton IPA, a whiskey barrel-aged ale, and a bourbon barrel-aged English barleywine.
Most of Burke-Gilman’s hops come from Washington state. Around 75% of the country’s supply comes from the Pacific Northwest. Being in Seattle, the brewery has a direct pipeline to thousands of hops, giving the beers a unique taste. It’s one reason the brews are well-rated on websites like Untapped.
Besides having award-winning beers, Burke Gilman’s claim to fame is charity work. The brewery is located across from Seattle Children’s Hospital.
“Not long after opening, we saw people coming in with “caregiver” nametags and realized that parents of children staying at the hospital were heading over for a break from the hospital,” the brewery explains on its website. “They’re going through an incredibly stressful time, sometimes they just need to go somewhere they can be normal for a bit, somewhere they can talk through hard decisions, somewhere to decompress with new friends they’ve made, who are going through the same thing.”
Photo Courtesy Burke-Gilman Brewing Company
Pints for Parents allows people at the brewery to buy beers for parents at the hospital. Customers pay for most of the beer, and the brewery picks up the rest of the tab. Those that purchase a pint get a heart magnet to place on a wall.
When the parents come in, they claim the heart for their free beer. You can also put money toward a beer online. Online donations also get hearts on the wall. It’s a great way to connect with the Seattle community.
Burke-Gilman sits on … well, the Burke-Gilman Trail. It’s a recreational path for cyclists, joggers, and walkers. Open from 4 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., the trail gives citizens plenty of time to burn some calories before grabbing an IPA as a reward for their hard work. If you ride in with your bike, you get a dollar off the first pint.
If you’re in the Seattle area, consider stopping by. You’d be helping yourself to a beer and supporting a parent who could use one.
