The house looks like any other in the cul-de-sac neighborhood just north of Soper Hill Road in Marysville.
But open up the garage doors and the home of Jim Weisweaver and Karen Larsen looks quite different. Brew kettles, coolers and hops — lots of hops — inform visitors this isn’t the typical two-story house with a couple of sedans in the garage. This is a beer-making operation.
In late April, Weisweaver and Larsen opened At Large Brewing out of their home in south Marysville. It’s a nanobrewery in every sense of the word, with Weisweaver brewing batches of pale ales, stouts and more in the cozy two-car garage, Larsen balancing the books on a computer in their living room and visitors stopping by three nights a week to fill up their growlers.
Weisweaver said neighbors stop by all the time, expecting a bit more than just friendly conversation. One neighbor, Grayson Walker, recently stopped by to fill up a growler and remembered being curious when he saw all the equipment in the couple’s garage.
“I saw all the pots and big steam cloud coming out of his garage, so I was intrigued,” Walker said. “Once I tried the beers, I was hooked.”
Breweries opening in neighborhoods can get into quick trouble with those living around them. Skookum Brewery owners Ron Walcher and Jackie Jenkins had a number of issues with their neighbors after opening an operation in a rural setting outside of Arlington. Skookum eventually moved to an industrial park near the Arlington airport.
Weisweaver said he’s aware of the issues that neighbors might have and he’s been careful to limit the brewery’s hours while also making sure everybody in the neighborhood is aware there’s a brewery down the street.
“The neighbors have been great,” said Weisweaver, who added that they do want to eventually open a taproom and brewery in a different location in Marysville or Everett. “We don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. We ask our customers to be respectful of the neighbors. You know, don’t step on any flowers or back into someone’s yard. Everybody understands.”
Late-comers to the craft beer scene, Weisweaver and Larsen aren’t the typical microbrewery owners. Both were largely macro-beer consumers before being turned on to craft beer just five years ago by a friend, Mike Floyd. Weisweaver tried some of Floyd’s home brew and was astonished at the quality.
“Usually it’s like people ask you to try their home brew and you find the nearest flower pot to dump it into,” Weisweaver said, “but not Mike’s stuff. It was incredible.”
Floyd took Weisweaver under his wing and trained him to brew his own beer. Weisweaver and Larsen later joined Greater Everett Brewer’s League together and furthered their brewing education, learning from local brewers like Sno Town’s Frank Sandoval, In The Shadow’s Cole Rinehardt and Justice Brewing’s Nate McLaughlin.
“The biggest thing we learned from GEBL was about beers that we thought we didn’t like: lagers, stouts, Belgians,” said Larsen, who, along with Weisweaver, is headed to San Diego June 11 for the 37th annual National Homebrewers Conference. “We had no idea about sours”
Weisweaver writes all of his own recipes. He estimates he’s got around 30 recipes he’ll cycle through, trying to keep as many fresh and different beers on tap. At Large has six beers on tap at any given time. On a recent visit those include Bonnie (a session IPA) and Clyde (IPA), and Stakeout Stout, all in keeping with the At Large brand.
The genesis of the brewery was courtesy Larsen’s marketing class at Everett Community College. Taking classes to complete her business administration degree, Larsen needed a real-world example of a business for a project she was doing.
“So, we thought ‘Well, we might as well do it,’” Larsen said of starting a brewery.
They started the ball rolling in 2010 and finally got all federal, state and county approvals last month. The original name was going to be 4 Elements, but a brewery in Massachusetts already had the name Elements, so they decided to go with At Large Brewing to be safe from litigation.
Aaron Swaney: 425-339-3430; aswaney@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @swaney_aaron79. Follow the Hops and Sips blog at www.heraldnet.com/hopsandsips.
At Large Brewing
7809 29th PL NE, Marysville, 425-324-0039, www.atlargebrewing.com
Hours: 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday
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