Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 7, July 2003

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Hale's Ales:

Brewing up fun, tradition, and quality

By JAMES BUSH

It took four tries, but Mike Hale's brewery is just the way he likes it.

"This is [our] fourth brewery each one better than the last," the Hale's Ales Ltd. founder says of his Leary Way pub and brewery. "It's a real pleasure to work at. You almost have to pinch yourself sometimes."

It's been 20 years since Hale took the plunge into business and began a one-man brewing operation in Colville, Wash. (exactly 20 years his first product was out in time for the Fourth of July). His English-style ales can be found in bars and taverns throughout the Puget Sound area and his English-style pub on Leary Way Northwest is a thriving Fremont/Ballard neighborhood hangout.

Hale gives no indication he's looking to expand his operation (the brewery produces about 10,000 barrels annually; a beer keg equals half a barrel). He gives no indication he's looking to partner with a major brewer and take over the country. He does, however, give every indication that he's living the lifemaking great beer and having a great time at it.

A California native, Hale loved the woods and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a forestry degree. "Then, I discovered the job of the forester is to cut the woods down," he says. His abiding interest in the outdoors led to a career in the nursery business and a relocation to the Pacific Northwest.

When his first Colville brewery became successful, Hale noticed that a lot of his sales came from the Seattle area. So, in 1987, he packed up and moved to Kirkland in a building next to the Kirkland Roaster & Ale House. His Eastern Washington operation was moved to a former schoolhouse in Spokane (later closed when he consolidated his brewing business here).

But, most of all, Hale wanted to create his own pub, based on the English pubs he loved to visit. Hale's made the move across Lake Washington to the former warehouse on Leary Way in late 1995. The pub opened that December.

He designed his pub with a saloon bar side (quieter, with carpeting, booths, and a few easy chairs) and a public bar side (hardwood floors, high ceilings, and family tables). Since there was always a ladies room waiting line at most pubs, he installed five stalls in his. The food is kept simple: burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, and salads.

The precise brewer gets a kick out of the unpredictability of the restaurant business. "You'll have a killer Tuesday night, but don't known why and you weren't prepped and staffed for it," he relates. "The next Tuesday, you are prepped and staffed for it and nobody shows up."

Starting with his original brew, Hale's Pale Ale, Hale has added a Special Bitter, the Celebration Porter, Amber Ale, Moss Bay Extra, and Dublin Style Stout. Not to mention his seasonal brews and his new best-seller, Hale's Cream Ale. "It's like a blonde Guiness," he says of the latter brew, which is dispensed with nitrogen gas, giving it a creamy head that lasts the entire glass.

Hale says that tourists from around the world travel to the Pacific Northwest to enjoy the fine ales brewed in this region. ""When you can get fresh beer from a local brewery, it's like getting fresh bread from a local bakery, as compared with getting Wonder bread down at the supermarket," he says.

The English-style brewery's trademark is an English double-decker bus, a symbol which connotes tradition, quality, and fun, says Hale. "That's what we're bringing to the table."

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Hale's Ales Pub, 4301 Leary Way NW, 782-0737. Hours 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (midnight on weekends).