Cheasanee Hetherington / cheasanee@thereflector.com
When Irani Casino and Resort’s new restaurant, Rock & Brews, opens next week, one of its menu items will come from Exit 16, an up-and-coming business in La Center.
The craft brewery’s citrus-flavored beer, Jackpot Juicy, will be available in kegs at the restaurant’s grand opening on April 23. Making its products available to casino visitors is an exciting business development for La Center Microbrewery, which opened in 2021.
Rock & Brews is a national chain brewpub with a concert stage and often serving local craft beer. This restaurant chain was founded in 2010 by Kiss musicians Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley and his business partners.
Exit16 has been working with Irani since 2021, and owners Sam and Trista Gluckler said they look forward to continuing their partnership with the casino and creating more gambling-inspired beers. Ta.
“Even before Irani, casinos and gambling were always part of La Center. We knew beers with names like [Jackpot Juicy] It will appeal to them,” Trista Gluckler said.
Brewed in La Center, Jackpot Juicy and Exit 16’s other craft beers are made with locally sourced ingredients. The brewery’s hops come from farmers in the Yakima Valley, and the grain comes from suppliers in Vancouver. Even Exit 16’s equipment is produced by manufacturers in Washington and Oregon, Sam Gluckler said.
The Glucklers started brewing as a hobby before becoming professional brewmasters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they purchased commercial brewing equipment and sold their first craft beer kegs in 2021.
“Some of our friends who had just come out of the pandemic were thinking of getting out of the business, and they asked me if I wanted to buy a brewery,” said Sam Gracker. Ta. “The idea was, ‘What should I do when I retire?'”
Shortly after becoming a licensed commercial brewery, Sam and Trista Gluckler joined the Northbank Brewers Alliance to learn more about the industry.
“When we started doing this as more than a hobby, we reached out and joined that group so we could learn from local breweries,” Trista Gluckler said. . “At the time, ilani’s Her Brewfest was a hot topic. They wanted Northbank to have more of a presence.”
At the beer fest that followed, Glacklers operated a booth. Sam Gluckler said the positive audience reception for their beer, as well as the fact that they were local and wanted to work with Irani, made the new Rock & Brews partnership possible. Told.
Jackpot Juicy is an Indian pale ale with fruity flavors of tangerine and grapefruit. The beer is brewed using a blend of Amarillo, Citra and Mosaic hops, which add an extra citrus aroma, according to Sam Glucker.
Glucker said he is pleased with the positive customer response to his craft beers and plans to continue innovating with new beers.
“I make beer that I like,” Sam Gluckler said. “I’ve been involved in the beer scene enough that I think I have a pretty good idea of what people like. It happens. [that] My flavor profile is for others to enjoy. ”
Rock & Brews opens at noon on Tuesday, April 23rd at the Irani Casino Resort, 1 Cowlitz Way in Ridgefield. Simmons from Kiss is also scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony. For more information, visit ilaniresort.com/poi/Dining/rock-and-brews.html.
For more information about Glacklers and Exit 16, visit exit 16brewing.com or email exit 16brewing@gmail.com.
