Crane’s Castle Brewing Co, LLC

Crane’s Castle Brewing Company began in the basement of our home in Spokane. We were recent veterans of the United States Air Force, new parents, and busy graduate students in engineering and physical therapy.  The years passed, the degrees completed, another kid made their way into the world — and Dan’s brewing rig became more elaborate. His engineering training allowed him to design a gravity-fed and temperature-controlled system. His love of cooking helped him develop a palate for consistency and quality.

 By 2010 Dan brewed like a semi-pro in our basement in Gig Harbor. We moved up to the Brownsville area in 2013 and our annual Oktoberfest party grew into a full-day fest as we added more incredible Kitsap friends. Soon, we were fielding “When are you guys going to start a brewery?” questions. In 2017 we finally answered: “Now.”

Turns out that Dan has some roots in brewing and bottling in the West. His great-grandfather, Johann Otto Lang, and his brothers emigrated from Germany in the 1880’s and were the owners of the one of the first bottling operations in San Francisco (check out their story here brewerygems.com/lang). When you visit our brewery, keep your eyes open for pictures of Otto, his brother, many friends — and some seriously awesome horse-drawn carriages full of beer.

Kranenburg, in English, means “The Crane’s Castle.” It’s also the name of a town in the Northern Rhine-Westfalia region of western Germany, a region with low elevation that’s prone to being pretty gray, drizzly and marshy. That’s something many of us living in Western Washington can understand.

So — whether you’re trying to find protection from the weather, forge new friendships, or foster old ones, we sincerely hope that our “Castle” is more than just a place to try a great craft brew. We want the Crane’s Castle Beer Hall to become a place of fellowship and refuge and connection for the Bremerton and greater Kitsap community — as they have been for us.