12-05-2025
Raising a glass
May 12—MOSES LAKE — Moore Brewing Company hit a big milestone this week.
The brewery and pub opened last May in the building formerly known as Broadway Bar & Grill, the Mighty Quinn, Barney Google's or the Southshore Restaurant, depending on how far back you remember. Its first birthday celebrations included live music, a ribbon-cutting, crafts and a birthday party for co-owner Chris Moore, wrapping up with two comedy shows by Tanyalee Davis.
It's been an educational year, said Lorie Moore, Chris' wife and co-owner of the brewery.
"Somebody asked us just the other day, 'Going into this, did you know that this was going to be all-life-consuming?' Lorie said. "And the answer was 'yes,' but deep down, the reality was 'yes, but no.'"
The Moores came over from the west side in 2022 to visit friends, liked what they saw and stayed. They had dreamed of creating a small brewery ever since Chris and their son Zach Moore took up home brewing, and when they discovered the building about to be renovated, it was a perfect fit.
Moore Brewing can turn out batches of 124 gallons of beer at a time, and a new batch takes about a week to create. As a result the list of beers on tap is continually changing. At the ribbon-cutting Wednesday, the list of beers included IPAs, blonde ales, a red ale, a coffee porter and a peach ale, among many others.
The Moores have worked at integrating themselves and their business into the community. From the start they were active in the Downtown Moses Lake Association, which brings together the businesses in the downtown core.
"I started volunteering with the DMLA," Lorie said. "They were always looking for volunteers for events. We participated right away at Brews & Tunes. The more I learned about them and the unique events to draw people into the downtown market, it just seems like a very logical partnership."
Wednesday's event signified Moore Brewing's new membership in the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce as well. The Chamber was a factor in Moore Brewing taking off as quickly as it did, Lorie said.
"Right out of the gate, the Chamber scheduled a young professionals networking meeting, and that was absolutely fabulous," she said. "They had more attendees than they had the couple (of meetings) they had previously. What was really special for us is, even though we're a microbrewery, we do have a lot of other options than beer. Most of them had never been in before, and so they really experienced our food and that we had wine and ciders, but we also have a very broad variety of non-alcoholic beverages."
One of Moore Brewing's best assets is the building's deck, which overlooks Moses Lake under a big shade tree. That means the owners have a strong interest in the condition of the lake water, which led them to collaborate with Ty Swartout on his Carp Classic, which is this Saturday. That's a bowfishing tournament that decreases the prevalence of blue-green algae in the lake by decreasing the carp population. Moore Brewing created a special beer in honor of the tournament, and donated $1.25 from each beer to the Carp Classic. That beer proved to be the most popular one they've produced, they said.
"I'm not sure if it's because it was a fundraiser ... that moved the beer so fast, or if it was just a killer beer," Lorie said.
"It's a light American lager, kind of like a Coors Banquet or something like that," Chris said. "But it has its own flavor to it."
The beer raised $1,000 for the tournament, which the Moores presented to Swartout Wednesday.
The brewpub has created a positive impression not just in Moses Lake but to travelers coming through, Lorie said.
"Fifty percent of our clientele that we had last summer were passing by on I-90 and they googled Brewery and they found us," she said. "So it's a first impression that many people have of our great town."
