Bale Breaker Brewing and Yonder Cider set to open new Seattle taproom in September

Seattle beer and cider lovers will soon have a new, first-of-its-kind watering hole to visit together: the highly anticipated joint taproom between Yakima's Bale Breaker Brewing and the Emerald City's own Yonder Cider is finally taking shape with an official opening date.

Located in Ballard, the new taproom is set to open Sept. 4 and will feature a total of 32 taps of Washington-made beer and cider, rotating food trucks, outdoor fire pits and a retail space.

"Sharing this taproom between our two brands means we are able to showcase nearly the entire breadth of beverages made in Washington state," said Meghann Quinn, co-founder of Bale Breaker in a news release Tuesday. "From beer and cider to hard seltzer and eventually wine, craft beverage enthusiasts will be able to experience and explore it all in one space!"

Under current state law, cideries and breweries cannot share a single tasting room. To circumvent that, Bale Breaker and Yonder established a distillery together, called Wise Fool Spirits, and also plan to produce spirits like apple brandy and whiskey in the new space.

The pair will also be releasing two collaborations for the grand opening of the space: East Out West, a raspberry pink grapefruit kettle sour blended with Porter’s Perfection apples, and a hoppy version of Yonder's popular blackberry cider, Palisades.

The opening marks the first expansion of Bale Breaker west of the Cascades. The brewery is known for hoppy IPAs like the Topcutter due to their proximity to the hop harvest in Yakima. The new collaboration will be housed in the space formerly occupied by Populuxe Brewing, which permanently closed in December of 2020 due to the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yonder made headlines earlier this year when the city threatened to close down their walk-up retail window in Greenwood after a neighbor complained it was too close to a school and church. After public outcry, the city walked back on its decision and the city council later approved a bill that loosened restrictions on home-based microbusinesses in the city, allowing the "garage bar" to remain open.

Since the garage bar only sells growler fills and cans to be consumed offsite, the new brick-and-mortar outpost will give Yonder the space to finally serve up its own pours to thirsty customers. The new taproom will also be both dog- and kid-friendly.

"This taproom has been in the works for nearly a year and we are so excited to finally share what we’ve created with everyone," said Caitlin Braam, founder of Yonder Cider. "Beyond great beverages, we believe we’ve created a space that is interactive, exciting and the perfect place to experience what Eastern Washington has to offer."