Kirkland locals add a fresh taste

Kirkland will welcome a new brewery in the Totem Lake neighborhood with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday.

Maelstrom Brewery will open at 3 p.m. and the ceremony will start at 5:30 p.m.

Maelstrom features a 10-barrel brewhouse for production of ales and lagers to be sold onsite in the tasting room for carry out in growlers and in select bars and restaurants.

The tasting room features 18 taps for beer produced onsite, including a traditional hand pull for cask conditioned ale. Maelstrom will offer several year-round core beer styles, but will focus on multiple one-off and experimental ales.

The space offers indoor seating as well as a seasonal patio. Owners Katherine and Scott Vanerheide, parents of twin 9-year-old girls, are committed to providing a family friendly atmosphere and will offer select non-alcoholic beverages and packaged snacks. Outside food is welcome and food trucks are planned.

Maelstrom is the product of years of dreaming by the Vanerheides. Scott, the head brewer, started brewing two decades ago as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Washington. After a constantly expanding hobby outgrew the available space in his garage, he polished his brewing skills with a formal brewing education.

Katherine oversees financial and brewing operations, manages the tasting room, and finds time to put on her pink boots to brew a batch.

For more information go to www.maelstrombrewing.com.