No-Li Brewhouse is a brewery and restaurant in Spokane, Washington, United States, co-founded by brewmaster Mark Irvin and beer industry executive John Bryant, expanding on Irvin's Northern Lights Brewery. The brewery is known for its emphasis on local sourcing and local production; in 2013 it was designated a "Spokane Style Beer" producer. Formerly known as Northern Lights Brewing, the company markets such beers as Born & Raised IPA and Big Juicy IPA.
No-Li Brewhouse beverages are licensed for distribution in Washington and Idaho. The brewery has won various international awards for its beers.
No-Li Brewhouse is the oldest active brewery in Spokane. It is also Spokane's largest brewpub, located at the edge of the Spokane River near Gonzaga University.[1] The company logo celebrates the Skyride over Spokane Falls.
Inside the No-Li Brewhouse in Spokane, Washington.
The brewery was founded in 1993 as Northern Lights Brewery, first focusing on delivering kegs to restaurants. Brewmaster Mark Irvin started the brewery in Airway Heights, Washington, after working at Coeur d'Alene Brewing in Idaho and Hale's Ales in Seattle, Washington.[2] In June 2002, Irvin moved Northern Lights from Airway to Spokane, its current location, to open as a brewpub.[3] Beer industry executive John Bryant tasted Irvin's brews from time to time and in November 2011 offered a partnership. Bryant was a craft beer industry veteran, formerly associated with several beer brands, notably as vice president of sales and marketing of Deschutes Brewery, and chief operating officer of Odell Brewing Company.[4][5]
Bryant worked to give the company an exclusive brand. The name "Northern Lights" was dropped in early 2012 after another American brewer, Starr Hill Brewery, did not respond to any of Bryant's requests to negotiate licensing for the brand which it was using for an IPA product.[6][7] Bryant consulted with Greg Owsley, formerly chief of branding at New Belgium Brewing, and they worked with graphic artist Riley Cran in early 2012 to create a new logo and a series of new labels. Under Irvin and Bryant, Northern Lights officially rebranded as No-Li Brewhouse in April 2012. The logo shows three gondolas which represent the Skyride over Spokane Falls, a recreational aerial lift installed for Expo '74 and operated by Spokane ever since.[8] (The brewhouse displays an original gondola from the ride.[9]) No-Li soon entered several international beer competitions in North America, Japan and Europe, winning Gold, Silver and bronze medals.
The brewery produced 2,400 barrels of beer in 2012, 5,500 barrels in 2013, and was expected to produce about 8,000 in 2014.[10]
In September 2014, country music singer Blake Shelton stopped by No-Li Brewhouse during a tour which included Spokane, and he liked the beverages enough to direct his road manager to buy hundreds of dollars of beer to take with him.[11]
No-Li Brewhouse places high importance on the ingredients of its brews being locally sourced, with local labor used to produce the beverages. The company began offering in September 2013 what it called "Fresh Sheet Kegs" to customers in Seattle and Portland.[12]
In April 2013, No-Li Brewhouse received the newly approved federal designation of Spokane Style Beer, to differentiate beers made by Spokane area residents, with ingredients drawn from a 300-mile (480km) radius.[13]
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