Raising a glass
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 5 months AGO
Zach Moore, flanked from left by Chris Moore, Brooke Keith. Lorie Moore and Brad Moore, cuts the ribbon at Moore Brewing Company’s first birthday celebration.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Patrons enjoy the sunshine and a beverage on the deck of Moore Brewing Company Wednesday.
Chris Moore, left, presents Ty Swartout with a check for $1,000 for the Carp Classic bowfishing tournament, coming this Saturday.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | May 12, 2025 1:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — Moore Brewing Company hit a big milestone this week.
The brewery and pub opened last May in the building formerly known as Broadway Bar & Grill, the Mighty Quinn, Barney Google’s or the Southshore Restaurant, depending on how far back you remember. Its first birthday celebrations included live music, a ribbon-cutting, crafts and a birthday party for co-owner Chris Moore, wrapping up with two comedy shows by Tanyalee Davis.
It’s been an educational year, said Lorie Moore, Chris’ wife and co-owner of the brewery.
“Somebody asked us just the other day, ‘Going into this, did you know that this was going to be all-life-consuming?’ Lorie said. “And the answer was ‘yes,’ but deep down, the reality was ‘yes, but no.’”
The Moores came over from the west side in 2022 to visit friends, liked what they saw and stayed. They had dreamed of creating a small brewery ever since Chris and their son Zach Moore took up home brewing, and when they discovered the building about to be renovated, it was a perfect fit.
Moore Brewing can turn out batches of 124 gallons of beer at a time, and a new batch takes about a week to create. As a result the list of beers on tap is continually changing. At the ribbon-cutting Wednesday, the list of beers included IPAs, blonde ales, a red ale, a coffee porter and a peach ale, among many others.
The Moores have worked at integrating themselves and their business into the community. From the start they were active in the Downtown Moses Lake Association, which brings together the businesses in the downtown core.
“I started volunteering with the DMLA,” Lorie said. “They were always looking for volunteers for events. We participated right away at Brews & Tunes. The more I learned about them and the unique events to draw people into the downtown market, it just seems like a very logical partnership.”
Wednesday’s event signified Moore Brewing’s new membership in the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce as well. The Chamber was a factor in Moore Brewing taking off as quickly as it did, Lorie said.
“Right out of the gate, the Chamber scheduled a young professionals networking meeting, and that was absolutely fabulous,” she said. “They had more attendees than they had the couple (of meetings) they had previously. What was really special for us is, even though we’re a microbrewery, we do have a lot of other options than beer. Most of them had never been in before, and so they really experienced our food and that we had wine and ciders, but we also have a very broad variety of non-alcoholic beverages.”
One of Moore Brewing’s best assets is the building’s deck, which overlooks Moses Lake under a big shade tree. That means the owners have a strong interest in the condition of the lake water, which led them to collaborate with Ty Swartout on his Carp Classic, which is this Saturday. That’s a bowfishing tournament that decreases the prevalence of blue-green algae in the lake by decreasing the carp population. Moore Brewing created a special beer in honor of the tournament, and donated $1.25 from each beer to the Carp Classic. That beer proved to be the most popular one they’ve produced, they said.
“I’m not sure if it’s because it was a fundraiser … that moved the beer so fast, or if it was just a killer beer,” Lorie said.
“It’s a light American lager, kind of like a Coors Banquet or something like that,” Chris said. “But it has its own flavor to it.”
The beer raised $1,000 for the tournament, which the Moores presented to Swartout Wednesday.
The brewpub has created a positive impression not just in Moses Lake but to travelers coming through, Lorie said.
“Fifty percent of our clientele that we had last summer were passing by on I-90 and they googled Brewery and they found us,” she said. “So it’s a first impression that many people have of our great town.”
Patrons enjoy the sunshine and a beverage on the deck of Moore Brewing Company Wednesday.
Chris Moore, left, presents Ty Swartout with a check for $1,000 for the Carp Classic bowfishing tournament, coming this Saturday.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”