The Magnolia brewery Urban Family Brewing Co. just announced their plans to move back across the Ship Canal to join the Ballard brewery district.*
Urban Family Brewing Co. originally started as a taproom on Ballard Ave in 2014, but has been operating at 4441 26th Ave W since 2016*. They’ve now outgrown their building in Magnolia, hence the move.
“The team at Urban Family is grateful to the Magnolia community for their support, and will miss being in the neighborhood,” owner Andy Gundel said in a press release posted on the Washington Beer Blog. “But the new facility provides unparalleled opportunities.” He says the move was inevitable in order to expand their barrel program and offer a larger taproom.
The new space (address yet to be announced) has 23-foot ceilings, “and the ability to spread out to neighboring spaces,” meaning they’ll be able to grow at their own pace, owner, Gundel said. The new location will allow for a 20-barrel brewhouse, a large walk-in space, an expanded taproom and a larger outdoor area.
The brewery plans to continue to focus primarily on fruited sours and IPAs, but they’ll be able to explore new flavors with a “focus on making more complex, wood-aged beer,” Gundel said.
“We want to bring something special into the Ballard area. We know we’re not the first game in town, by any means, but we hope that we are viewed as a positive addition.”
They plan to move their production to their new location this summer, and the tasting room will relocate at the end of the year.
*Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Urban Family started in Magnolia, not Ballard.
Photo from Urban Family’s Facebook page