Grains of Wrath Celebrates First Anniversary with Triple IPA

Camas, WA — It’s hard to believe, but Grains of Wrath turns one this week, and they’re celebrating Saturday with a new release of a Triple IPA called “Spoils of War.” The celebration lasts from 3-10 pm on Saturday with some fun event food, and the launch of their new Mug Club.

“We’re also releasing our first wild beer, which is a sour beer, using a wild yeast,” said co-owner Mike Hunsaker. It’s a barrel-aged Belgian style quad, aged in a Pinot Noir barrel with Cape Blanco cranberries. We also have an Imperial Stout aged in rum barrels, and we’re releasing a new shirt.”

In the 12 months since their launch, Grains has released 50 beers, won some distinguished awards, and is increasing their own brand distribution.

Greenen said IPA’s are most popular, and laugers are making a big comeback.

“Like any small business, it can be tough,” said co-owner Brendan Greenen. “Our crew has learned a lot about our customers, and we’ve learned how to react faster to change. I’d say our biggest surprise has been figuring out to increase exposure and traffic on weekdays, but we’re still new and Camas is still learning about us.”

They take pride in their brewpub, and the product made right in Mill Town.

“Our greatest successes are the quality of the beer, winning several awards,” said Hunsaker. “The very first beer in the system took a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival — out of four entries we won a medal, and we were super proud about that.”

Customers also rave about the food, especially the GOW burger, which is house-ground with brisket in a half-pound patty. It’s popular along with the Fried Chicken sandwich.

“It’s been great,” said Greenen. “We’ve been proud of the offerings and the service. There are always missteps with food or service issues, but they’ve been pretty minimal. We have a good team with 32 people right now, and it grows in the summer. Erin LeDoux and Joel Schmidt are the chefs.”

“Looking ahead — I think our goal for year two is to continue to grow our regular customer base and market Grains of Wrath to be a gathering place. We’re also increasing our distribution spread by self-distributing to other bars and pubs. It’s mostly about increasing the exposure. It’s about controlling the amount of beer so that we don’t lose control of the quality. Don’t want to lose sight of what we’re here for.”

They’ll also be encouraging more events, for example, 100 Women Who Care Clark County holds their quarterly meeting, and they hosted the Small Business Revolution reception in January.

“Camas has been really good to us,” said Hunsaker. “We’re consistent. This downtown is such a wonderful downtown. Keep people here. Keep coming.”

To learn more, visit gowbeer.com