USA, WA: Bremerton’s LoveCraft Brewing changes owners

LoveCraft Brewing in Bremerton has new owners, the Kitsap Sun reported on August 25.

The popular downtown brewery, which opened in 2015 across from the Norm Dicks Government Center on Fifth Street, has been sold to an investment group that includes Kitsap native Ed Fassio.

Former owners Tasha and Jesse Wilson explored selling the brewery about a year ago, during the final year of their lease. They were hoping to find someone who would continue and expand the LoveCraft brand, Tasha Wilson said.

"I think we got sort of the ideal outcome out of it, which is cool," Wilson said.

Fassio, who grew up in Kitsap and graduated from Olympic High School, is returning to the peninsula after working in Seattle for several years. After spending a lot of time "drinking a lot of beer in taprooms in Seattle," Fassio said he and his investment partners began looking to buy a brewery.

"I happened to say, I'd love to own one in Kitsap if I could find it," Fassio said.

LoveCraft opened in 2015 after the Wilsons raised $30,000 on Kickstarter to open a brewery with beers and imagery inspired by the works of horror author H.P. Lovecraft. During the last four years, the brewery has become a popular destination for bar trivia and pinball during the week.

Fassio said he plans to keep the LoveCraft name, location and its flagship beers intact. The hope is to expand the brewery both internally — by increasing deck seating and potentially adding a second-floor mezzanine — and externally, with increased distribution throughout Kitsap.

"Our production schedule will stay on task for now, we're not going to be putting out thousands of barrels," Fassio said. "We will grow to demand."

The new owners also want to expand the brewery's roster of events and programming to include live music and open mic nights, Fassio said.

The Wilsons will stay on for a few months to help with the transition.

"It's just going to be exciting to see how it grows," Wilson said.

26 August, 2019