USA, WA: Longmire Springs Brewery receives great response since opening in Packwood

One of Lewis County’s newest businesses is already drawing beer lovers to Packwood, The Chronicle reported on September 6.

Founded by husband and wife Peter Charbonnier and Amy Besunder, Longmire Springs Brewery opened in June.

Charbonnier said the business has received a “great” response since it opened.

“We’re getting a lot of support from the local community,” he said.

The brewery has four signature beers: a West Coast IPA, pale ale, pilsner and a hazy IPA, and a rotating selection that includes their blueberry wheat.

“We try to work with local farms and local producers,” Charbonnier said.

Longmire Springs operates a 15-barrel brewing system, which equals about 500 gallons of beer. The beer is not yet available in local restaurants, but Charbonnier said that could be part of future expansion plans.

The pair previously founded and operated Populuxe Brewing in Ballard in 2012. In 2018, Populuxe was named the Small Brewery of the Year at the 2018 Washington Beer Awards.

Charbonnier said love for the industry dates back to a home brewing club in Seattle in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Part-time residents of the area, Charbonnier and Besunder said they’ve long planned to move to Packwood full time. After making the move during the pandemic, they developed Longmire over several years.

“I think we’re well established for longevity in the building that we’re in,” Besunder said.

The brewery doesn’t have a kitchen but frequently brings food trucks and vendors on site. Besunder said using local vendors helps build a connection between the brewery and the community, which is important to the business's culture.

While this is Charbonnier and Besunder’s second brewery, the pair said there’s a key difference: the water.

“We are using the most fabulous water in Packwood,” Besunder said.

Charbonnier said the water from the brewery comes from a municipal well that, unlike the water in Seattle, doesn’t seasonably change, which makes it “a lot easier to have a more consistent product.”

He described the water as “soft” and said the filtration process through bedrock helps reduce the amount of calcium and other minerals in the source.

“I really think it helps contribute to the product,” he said.

Longmire Springs is open Thursday and Friday from 4 to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. As summer shifts to fall, Charbonnier said the brewery will transition from serving visitors to a more local audience. Charbonnier said the group received a strong turnout for Labor Day and the Packwood Flea Market.

“We’ve had a really good experience,” he said.

Longmire Springs Brewery is at 112 Norman Way, Packwood.

11 September, 2023