Meet DUO Brewing of Puyallup

To add to my never ending interview segments of local (and national) craft brewers both big and small, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Dan and Heather O’ Leary of DUO Brewing in Puyallup, WA (where I currently live) to talk about their recent breakthrough into the craft beer scene in Washington. Little did I know the long history of their dream that got them where they are today.

Their Twin Ports Coffee Porter has become one of my favorite local beers, and among my top porters I have ever had.  Roasted malts, medium bodied with hints of cocoa and perfect blend of coffee from Puyallup’s own Martin Henry Coffee. Pours a deep brown with a dirty white capped head and perfect carbonation. I wish I had one as I write this. My mouth is watering.

Anyway, on to the interview.

How did you get into brewing?

My wife and I discovered craft beer when we lived in the Portland, OR area about 9 years ago. We moved from Portland to Minnesota to be closer to family approximately 6 years ago. Upon arriving in Minnesota, we quickly discovered there were hardly any craft breweries in the state at all. Having seen the craft beer industry of the Pacific Northwest, I knew there was great potential for a brewery in Minnesota. At the time all that was really happening in Minnesota for craft beer was from Summit brewing, which while tasty wasn’t really doing anything interesting. Fitger’s Brewpub in Duluth was making outstanding beers, but being a brewpub in Minnesota they were not allowed to distribute. The venerable Surly Brewing had not quite opened yet, but we knew they were coming.

Having never brewed a batch of beer in my life I began talking to people about opening a brewery. I read everything I could get my hands on, went through the BJCP and became a Recognized Beer Judge. With near weekly brewing over the course of the next couple years, I managed to put a number of home brewing medals under my belt, all the while working on the business plan for DUO Brewing. For a production brewery with a 10 Barrel system we estimated we would need around $350,000. After talking to five banks and 15 investors, we managed to raise zero dollars toward our goal. It was difficult, but after nearly three years working toward the brewery in Minnesota we had to admit defeat. We shut down the idea for a brewery and moved to the Seattle area because of my job.

Why the name “DUO” brewing?

A lot of ideas for names were thrown around, but the simplicity of DUO Brewing seemed to stick. We chose it for the simple fact that it was the two of us that started the brewery. And no matter how far the brewery ever goes, nothing will change that. The logo was designed by a close friend and graphic designer. I am completely biased, but I think it’s one of the best logo’s out there. You see a lot of circular or oval logos with the standard barley and hops. I wanted to stay away from that. The DUO logo is clean, simple, and you can see it from 20 feet away on a tap handle. In text we write it in all caps because it follows the design of the logo.

You are Puyallup’s first nanobrewery, do you have plans on expansion? 

Absolutely! How or when we’ll accomplish that is another question.

The idea for a brewery was put to bed for not quite a year after moving to Puyallup. But it wasn’t something we were ready to let go of, and we had learned so much from our mistakes in Minnesota. The biggest mistake was trying to start too big with too little money. That is what led us to opening a nano brewery in our detached garage. It was something we could afford (sort of) and would give us a chance to learn the business at a size we can manage, with hopefully slow but steady growth. The soft goal is to grow the brewery beyond the walls of our small detached garage within two years. We have some room for growth within the space we have now, but stepping up into a 7 or 10 barrel system with the associated space is definitely something we do not have the money for. We’re still proving ourselves, and finding financing is hopefully something that will come with time.

What is your favorite beer you have ever made? 

Do I really have to list only one? The reason we rolled out with the Porter and Wheat is because those are two of my favorites. In 2010 I took 2nd in the National Homebrew Competition with that little American Wheat beer. The Coffee Porter has been a favorite of Heather’s over the years. She would typically claim the entire keg whenever I brewed it.

The Milk Stout has always been popular, and was actually modeled after Widmer Brother’s “Snow Plow," which sadly they no longer brew. I credit Snow Plow as being my gateway beer into the craft beer world and was one of the first styles I went after when I began brewing.

I brewed a sour ale last year with brettanomyces and aged on concord grapes. After the Brett started to shine through that beer was outstanding! As time passed an off character developed from the concord grapes and unfortunately the beer became mottled, and then just plain bad. I ended up dumping about half the batch, but I learned from the process and will do it again. Though not with concord grapes…

Two years ago I brewed a 9 percent Scotch Ale with peated malt. It was a delicious sipper, I’ll be doing that again.

What is your favorite non-DUO beer? Brewery?

Do I really have to list only one?

Topping the list would have to be Deschutes The Abyss and Russian River Consecration.

Favorite WA Breweries would be Boundary Bay, Elysian, Fish Brewing, and Hale’s Ales.

Favorite OR Breweries would be Deschutes, Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB).

Going back to Minnesota, Surly and Fitger’s Brewhouse both release excellent beers. Anything from Founders Brewing in Michigan is outstanding.

Your Twin Ports Porter is starting to have quite the local following – what other beers are you working on rolling out?

The Porter has certainly become the flagship, due in large part because of the season. That one will be a year-round brew, but watch for its popularity to drop slightly in the summer and be replaced with the Wheat. At least that’s what we are expecting. The Coffee Porter is actually very quaffable in the summer, so we’ll continue to release that and continue to use Puyallup’s own Martin Henry coffee.

The upcoming Milk Stout (to be served at Hops and Props, then offered on tap) will be a seasonal winter brew.

Our Belgian Golden Ale, of which only two kegs were brewed, received a positive response so we’d like to release more of that. It’s brewed with 3 pounds of blackberry honey from local the local Heavenly Honey in Puyallup, as well as Nutmeg and Clove.

What other new beers should we look out for from DUO Brewing in 2012?

Pale Ale – Summer release.
Scotch Ale
We’re planning a Sour Ale for our Anniversary beer. This will be bottles only because of the use of Brett and possibly Lactobacillus.

We are working on a Gluten Free beer because there is a huge market out there for it, and the current offerings are dismal. Gluten Free beers are governed by the FDA not the Federal TTB. Thus far we’ve found navigating the bureaucracy of the FDA to be…challenging. Our working recipe is close, but not quite what we want to release yet. We’re convinced these beers can be delicious if you shift your thinking to working with gluten free ingredients, of which plenty of options are available.

What you will not see from DUO Brewing is an IPA. Calm down, catch your breath, that is correct. You won’t see an IPA from DUO Brewing in the foreseeable future. While Heather and I both love this style, and the Pacific Northwest is of course known for IPA’s, it does not interest me to brew one. Breweries can fight and fret over getting the hops they need to brew these prolific beers, but we’re going to stay out of it.

I am inspired by brewing beers that focus on the malts and yeast. And as one local brewer told me, “brewing an IPA is like bringing sand to the beach”. I’m sure there will be plenty of people that will scoff at our apparent lack of an IPA, which we can accept. There are likely three other’s currently on tap to choose from…

Can we find you at any local craft beer festivals in 2012?

We will be at Hops and Props at the Boeing Museum of Flight on February 25th. We are also coordinating to serve at Blues and Brews in Des Moines in late August.

Do you have a taproom available for the public to come try your beers?

Yes and no. Given that the brewery is in our neighborhood and garage, neither of which are fancy, we are quite limited by the city as to the amount of traffic we’re allowed. Simply as a gesture to our neighbors we want to keep the traffic low. As a microbrewery we are licensed to do direct sales of growlers and kegs, but we’re basically doing those “by appointment only." Our primary business is tap sales.

If someone would like to visit the brewery they are welcome to call and we can set up a time. The phone number on our website is the cell phone of Dan O’Leary, leave message if I don’t answer.

Where can we find you on tap?

www.duobrewing.com maintains an up to date list of our locations. We’re also on Facebook and @duobrewing on Twitter.

1If you could have one beer, and only one beer, what would it be?

Only one beer for the rest of my life? Our own Earth & Wind American Wheat. Crisp, bready, spicy, delicious.

Only one beer and then I die? Russian River Consecration. It awakens all the senses.

Anything else you would like to mention?

Yes. DUO Brewing is Dan and Heather O’Leary. While I am the brewer, and often it is my face and voice (Dan) representing the brewery, I assure you that Heather is the backbone. Her company direction, decisions on what beers get brewed and when, as well as financial oversight are the reasons that DUO Brewing exists and will continue to exist. Heather was not as involved with the brewery in Minnesota, and I am convinced that is a great reason why the brewery failed there before it even started. The name is simple and somewhat strange to many, but it has meaning.

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I’d like to thank Dan for taking the time out of his schedule to meet with me and discuss DUO Brewing and its future. I am excited to try the new and exciting beers from DUO Brewing, local to right here in my backyard! Cheers to you! If you are in the Seattle area, make sure you find your way down south to try one of their beers – you WON’T be disappointed!

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