Recluse Brew Works Makes Space (and Beer) for All -📍 Washougal, WA [Resharing]

Tucked away in an industrial corner of Washougal that's bordered by a wildlife refuge, Recluse Brew Works has quietly become a cornerstone of Clark County's thriving craft beer scene. Founded by brewer Gus Everson and managed by Richard La Rue, Recluse embodies the collaborative and community-centered spirit that makes the Pacific Northwest's beer culture so distinctive.

🎉 Pictures, links, and more

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👀 This episode also celebrates:
- Help Support the Washougal Community Library
- Artisans Guild of Camas 

🎧 Other episodes you might like:
- Pour Choices Pub: a Creative Haven on Main Street
- Pomeroy Cellars Cultivates Heritage and Community

Transcript

Adriana: 0:49

How do you like your beer? I mean, besides cold, that is. Do you like it close to nature? Maybe there's a beach nearby, or maybe you like it in kind of an industrial setting where you can sit by yourself in a corner with a good book or around a table with some friends. Maybe there's some food trucks outside. Maybe there's some activities like petting an alpaca or checking out a mobile library. Maybe you're thinking, "Cool, cool, but what if I want all of those things?" Well, let me tell you, I've got the place for you: Recluse Brew Works in Washougal. Now, when I was trying to find Recluse Brew Works in Washougal, I kept saying to myself, "This can't be right. Where am I going?" I kept turning east, and then south, and then east, and then south again, and then east again, and then south again, and I thought, "I'm about to drive into the river here, guys," and suddenly, ah, like a beacon in the sun, Recluse Brew Works appeared. It's one of Clark County's most community-oriented spaces for brewing. It was founded by Gus Everson, and the general manager's name is Richard LaRue. Now, while Gus was making beer while we were talking, Richard sat down with me to tell me all about what beer culture is like in Clark County, how we have the absolute best climate for growing hops and making beer right here in the Pacific Northwest, and he told me what they're specifically trying to grow at Recluse. Richard shared with me what's at the core of Recluse and his and Gus's work.

It's the question: 2:28

Would you rather be making the most money, or would you rather be the happiest? They chose happiest, and we're so glad they did. Now, you'll want to stay tuned to the end of this episode to find out how you might be able to get some free Recluse beer. But in the meantime, even if you're not a beer drinker, there's something for you at Recluse Brew Works. This is a family-friendly place. You can bring your kids. You can bring your dogs. You can bring your friends who don't drink. If you're gluten-free, they have ciders. So this is a place that is really focused on community-building, no matter who you are. If you're an introvert and you just wanna sit in the corner, well, Recluse was named specifically for you. So I hope you enjoy my conversation with Richard, and I hope you'll take a moment to visit Recluse Brew Works anytime you're anywhere near Washougal. Enjoy. Welcome to I'm Into This Place, your deep dive into the local arts, culture, and heritage of Clark County. From fabulous new restaurants to quirky art installations to the historical sites you never even knew to look for, we're inviting you along. Whether you're a Clark County connoisseur or just starting to get to know her, get ready to fall head over heels for this place we call home. I'm your host, Adriana Baer, and I'm into this place. Let's go! I am here with Richard LaRue of Recluse Brew Works in Washougal, and I am so excited to be here. You can actually hear the brewing happening as we speak. So Richard, thank you so much for having me.

Richard: 4:18

Thanks for being here. This is fun.

Adriana: 4:19

Yeah. I'm super excited to talk to you about beer culture. So this is a big part of Clark County culture. So tell me about the brewing culture here. What does it feel like?

Richard: 4:34

It's great in this area. I've lived in, um, several different communities with beer from Seattle to Denver, Portland, and then Clark County where we're at now. This area particularly feels like one of the more tight-knit areas a lot of times, just a lot of collaboration, people just being genuinely nice. Uh, and then everybody coming out really is very supportive out here. We're not close by to anything, so the fact that anybody comes out to our tap room at all is amazing, and they come out every single week, every single weekend. So it's pretty nice.

Adriana: 5:08

So there's a community between the brewers themselves- Yes and then there's also the community that you're building here in the tap room-

Richard: 5:17

Yes… Adriana: for patrons. Yeah, and I think it's connected because people know what's going on behind the scenes a lot of the times. Like, there's so much information out there. Um, there's no secrets. So if people are just rude to each other, I think it would, you know, taint the business and, and eventually you find out that kind of stuff and then you don't wanna support them, which is good. You should spend your money where you want it to go, you know? So I think they're connected.

Adriana: 5:43

Yeah. So from a kind of m- maker standpoint, tell us about the process of making craft beer here in your tap room. How are you working with ingredients and products and the skill and the craftsmanship of brewing your own beer?

Richard: 6:03

Yeah. On a local level, the Pacific Northwest is known as one of the best areas for just all of the ingredients that you put into beer. We have really nice water out in this area. Not everyone can say that, so we don't really have to filter a lot of stuff. Hops are grown out here. Malt is grown in this area. So it's all in this area. Mm-hmm. You don't have to ship it in from afar. Sometimes you do because you want a certain hop or a certain malt or something, but everything's out here, and it's fresh.

Adriana: 6:33

That's really cool.

Richard: 6:33

And it's a, because it's a part of the culture, the farmers are nearby and everything else, I think that kinda helps everyone know that, like, this is where beer comes from. When you buy beer, you know exactly who you're supporting sometimes.

Adriana: 6:45

Yes. You know,

Richard: 6:46

like, you can go visit hop fields. That's pretty cool. You can't always do that in other areas.

Adriana: 6:50

Yeah, and there are so many small craft brewing organizations and companies here.

Richard: 6:57

Yeah.

Adriana: 6:57

I was talking to a friend the other day who's a, just a beer fan, she doesn't work in the industry, and I told her I was gonna come hang out with you, and she was like, "Oh, I know them." And then she proceeded to list, just off the top of her head, seven different small breweries- I love that … in the Vancouver area.

Richard: 7:13

Yes.

Adriana: 7:14

It's so cool- Yeah … that there's so many unique companies that are thriving.

Richard: 7:20

Yeah, true and there's always h- horror stories, right? You hear about people closing.

Adriana: 7:24

Yeah.

Richard: 7:24

But you also hear in the, you know, people opening a lot. Mm-hmm. So, um, yeah, there's, there's a give and take to that. But even in… I, I haven't fact checked this, but somebody told me where we're at in Washougal has the most breweries per capita in all of Washington.

Adriana: 7:37

Wow.

Richard: 7:38

Um, per capita of course. Right?'Cause it's a small area but I think there's five of us now. Yeah. Ourselves, Suogue, Trap Door, Grains of Wrath, 5440 and then Doomsday. So yeah, that's, that's pretty good for one little

Adriana: 7:54

area. That is great. Yeah. That's really cool. So tell me about you guys. What makes you you?

Richard: 8:01

Patience. A lot of people can say they're about quality, right? But it doesn't always come across. You have to have patience with your product. Like, there's nothing ever rushed here. If we want to release a beer and we have it on schedule and it's not ready, we're not gonna do that. Sometimes you have to set things back. It's not good for the bottom line, right? Mm-hmm. But it's the right call. So it's really just about that, making sure that every beer that we produce is quality. So far, I won't say which beer, there was only one that we released and we're like, "Yeah, I… It just didn't hit." Mm. Right? So we, we dumped it. Yeah. Mm. Uh, so far only one, so it's pretty good. Uh, we feel good about that. I don't know what else it is. I mean, we're, we're just true to ourselves and if people like that, that's, that's great. Yeah. People are attracted to it. Um-

Adriana: 8:46

Yeah… Richard: I think we try to- Make the face of the brewery for a lot of people, feels like a community space. I want people to feel welcome here. I don't want any off-putting energy here. So hopefully that helps. I think our branding is really on tight. So we're sitting here in your tap room-

Richard: 9:09

Yeah… Adriana: which is super Good.

Adriana: 9:13

One of the things I love about this space is it's really creative and artistic. Oh, nice. And I wanna talk about the design elements of what you do too,'cause I know that's your eye.

Richard: 9:22

Sure.

Adriana: 9:22

Um, you have a history as an art director, and you're really, really creative visually. So one of the things that I love about this space is that there's kind of something for everyone, even though it's a really small space. So there's tall tables, there's the bar, there are picnic tables, there are comfy chairs. There's really a lot of different types of physical ways you can engage with the space. And then you have- I love that … the outside too.

Richard: 9:47

Yeah.

Adriana: 9:47

And lots of different seating options outside. I was here with my family this past weekend, so we had generations. We had my daughter, who's eight, all the way up to my aunt and uncle who are in their late 60s and- Yeah … myself and my husband in between, and everybody found something to delight them.

Richard: 10:05

I love that.

Adriana: 10:05

Yeah.

Richard: 10:06

That's great. Um, well, you want people to be comfortable. I don't know why you go into some places, some tap rooms, and it's not comfortable to sit down. Right. And you look around, it's like, well, all the chairs are the same. Backs are important. Comfy chairs, 'cause I would like you to have more than one beer.

Adriana: 10:21

Yeah, of

Richard: 10:21

course. Um, so it works out in a, like, you know, for, in our favor, but also you want people to be comfortable. Um, so that was just, like, that was what we wanted. So we have a little bit of a mixture here. A lot of the creativity is just honestly just due to a low budget. We didn't have a big budget. Yeah. So we couldn't put a lot of money into things. So s- how do you hide these terrible walls, uh, on the cheap? Plywood.

Adriana: 10:43

We're literally sitting in a warehouse. Yeah. And you've managed to turn a corner of a warehouse into an inviting space that people wanna hang out in. That's quite a feat, actually. Thank you. And because what I can see over the top of, you know, your partition here- Yeah … are the large tanks that are making the beer this, this morning- Yeah … as we sit here.

Richard: 11:04

Yeah. We don't wanna hide that 'cause you are, every brewery you go into, you're walking into a factory to hang out and have a good time.

Adriana: 11:10

Yeah.

Richard: 11:11

It's kinda weird. Um, but we don't wanna hide that. That's why you're here, because we make beer here. However, we do hide it a little bit 'cause of privacy. So the, the fence there, um, looks amazing. I love our fence. It's very purposeful. We don't want people watching the, everyone back there. It's just like, you can hear it. Yeah. Sure, you know what's going on, but nobody wants to feel like they're in a fishbowl. Of course. So, yeah

Adriana: 11:35

And in terms of your background, so one of the things that was so interesting to me visually right away w- is your label and your branding. That's really clear. Your logo is so striking. The design elements that you've incorporated into kind of what the customer sees is, is really strong. So where did that come from?

Richard: 11:57

We hired a, an agency in Portland called Starkeep Studio. They did a, a amazing job on the logo and the, the cans and everything else, uh, to get everything rolling. It was very clear, right? It's distinct, very strong identity, and then we took it from there and just kept going.

Adriana: 12:14

And what is it that you are trying to communicate with your brand?

Richard: 12:18

Approachability and quality, I think, and also fun. We make lagers mostly, and a lot of people have an idea that lagers are boring. So you see that sometimes. People are like, "Oh, there's, like, too many lagers. I want some variety." Mm. Lager world is so vast. Yeah. Uh, we have a Czech dark lager. We have a Czech amber lager. We have a Czech pale lager. That's very fun, and we wanna kinda just kinda showcase that with the brand. Like, it's very inviting. Every single can is different. Mm-hmm. You know, there's different flavors in all of these lagers. Be adventurous. Try them all.

Adriana: 12:52

Yeah. What else in the business feels like a creative art project to you?

Richard: 12:58

You know the events that we have… You have to have events these days, so you need something to bring people out. We have our regulars that are always here, but then how do you get beyond that? In the event space, like, you have to be creative, and thankfully Gus is a great partner, so any weird idea I have is okay. I was like, "I wanna have alpacas, uh, and then we're gonna also have oysters that day and maybe, like, a, a library, like a, a, like a roaming bookstore." Doesn't necessarily make sense, but it worked Yeah … and it brought everybody out Yeah … and everybody had a great time. And all of those things are kind of in line. None of them are off from, you know, off brand. So yeah, it's, it's creative and, and chaotic sometimes.

Adriana: 13:41

Yeah. But I think what's cool about that is that you're really, just like you were saying about the lagers, that there's a whole spectrum.

Richard: 13:49

Yeah.

Adriana: 13:50

Right? And you want people to try all those different things. People are gonna be interested in different, uh, types of events, right? Yes. Some people are gonna be really excited about oysters or barbecue Yeah … or the library or the alpacas. And so you're really expanding how people are engaging with you by being really diverse, not only in what you're selling and making, but also in how you're bringing people in.

Richard: 14:14

I agree. Yeah, which I think is, is key. There's certain markets that get heavily targeted on already. We don't need to do that. The world is big, beer drinking, everybody drinks beer. So l- how do we go beyond, you know, those things that are already existing? Yeah. Uh, and when you do that, you don't turn anyone else away The people that are usually targeted, you know, they're still gonna come out, so it's fine. No one's gonna be like, "Oh, that's… I don't like alpaca-" I mean, some people might not like alpacas. Who

Adriana: 14:44

doesn't like alpacas? I

Richard: 14:45

haven't met them yet. Okay. But I'm sure- It's just not a thing … somebody's scared of alpacas.

Adriana: 14:49

The other thing about this space is you don't have any TVs in here.

Richard: 14:54

No.

Adriana: 14:55

It's not too loud, right? Thank you. It's like a very chill vibe, but it's also family and dog friendly, and that, I think, is really awesome because, um, a lot of people have kids and dogs-

Richard: 15:08

Yeah… Adriana: um, and want to be able Saturday afternoon, with my family. And so that seems like a, kind of a core value for you, to be inclusive of all types of folks, not just beer drinkers. 100%. Why should a child not be able to come into a brewery and see that it's not a, it's not a bar- Right … necessarily, right? We're not a dive bar. I love dive bars. That's a different kind of model. Maybe you don't bring kids to dive bars. But that's not us.

Adriana: 15:38

Right.

Richard: 15:38

Um, so you can have fun. You can still come out. Yeah.

Adriana: 15:42

So tell me a little bit about why you and Gus chose Washougal and this particular little pocket, 'cause we're in a pretty industrial area. You're not on the beaten path. You kind of have to know about you- Yeah … to find you. So what is it about this little town or this little pocket of the county that really got you excited?

Richard: 16:02

Yeah. Gus could tell the story better than I, but basically it boils down to he had a five-year plan on wanting to open up his own brewery, and in that five-year plan, he did have the idea that he wanted it to ideally be in a vicinity close to nature, a little removed from the city, and also an industrial park. That's a great area for breweries usually. So that's kinda hard to find. But then the port opened up a new building. Uh, we're the first tenants in it. So once that popped up, it kinda fast-tracked his plan. So that five-year plan became like,"Hey, let's do this now." And then when you come out here, um, it makes sense. Like, my first time visiting, I was a little uncertain Like, "Oh, this is gonna be hard to find." But then you walk out… Our backyard's a nature preserve.

Adriana: 16:51

Right.

Richard: 16:52

Right? Um, our front yard-ish, you know, like half a mile away, is a beach, right, and a park. You're on 14, which is the gateway to the Gorge. Um, so you can just keep on going down to, to Stevenson, et cetera. It's kind of perfect. It's not a heavily tr- foot-trafficked area. Mm-hmm. But that's also kind of intentional. The name is, is intentional as well.

Adriana: 17:15

Yeah, tell me about the name. Yeah.

Richard: 17:16

Um, there's a, a lot of introverted personalities here, I'll say. So everybody likes meeting with people. Obviously, we've built a community space. You're gonna talk to people, but doesn't mean it doesn't wear you out at the end of the day.

Adriana: 17:30

Uh-huh.

Richard: 17:30

Right? Um, so it's just, it's real. It's not, like, a random thing. Gus chose that name 'cause it's, it, yeah, it's purposeful for him.

Adriana: 17:38

Yeah. Why was the connection to nature important?

Richard: 17:41

Uh, just be- 'cause of who he is. Mm. Yeah. What he wants. You could think about, you know, what is gonna make you the most money, or what are you gonna be happiest doing? And I love coming to work here. I can go after work and walk out and do some bird watching, right? Yeah. It's kind of special.

Adriana: 18:00

I think what's really interesting about how you answered that question is that it just reinforces that when a creative person or when creative people pay attention to what calls them-

Richard: 18:16

Sure

Adriana: 18:16

and what moves them and motivates them, that infuses into the personality of the business, and sometimes I think people reject that. They're like, "Oh, I'm, I'm an introvert, but I wanna start a business, so I have to push against that somehow." But what you guys are doing here is you're really allowing the personality of the people who are creating this business to be an asset and to be the personality of the business itself.

Richard: 18:46

Yeah. That's great. I like, I like hearing that. And, you know, this also helps probably in part of making this a, a, a approachable, comfortable space for everybody 'cause I thi- I, we do have a lot of introverts that come in. Yeah. Like, you do see people sitting in those chairs by the window reading a book and having a beer, and that's great. We don't want the space too loud so they don't feel comfortable here. We don't want other things going on that necessarily might distract them, and there are busier times, obviously. Sure. And those aren't the best times for everyone to come out, but we don't always have TVs blaring and- Right… 'cause we don't have TVs, right? Right. So you can come in on a Wednesday night and sit down at the bar and read a book.

Adriana: 19:25

Right. I love that. I'm curious to ask you a bit more about the community that you're building here. So when we chatted before, you talked about the idea that you really want, as a business, to invest in- this community, and not just other businesses, but also freelancers and makers and that you're interested in creating a community hub.

Richard: 19:49

Yeah.

Adriana: 19:50

You also said something that I really love, which is that you feel like community and also, you know, creating beer that then people are drinking, that's an energetic exchange.

Richard: 20:01

Yeah.

Adriana: 20:01

Is there anything that you wanna share with me about what you're hoping to create here, what you're hoping to build as you continue to be established and grow in your business?

Richard: 20:12

That's a great question. I don't know that I have an answer. I just think that as a philosophy, like if you have, uh, an opportunity to help people, you should So we have opportunities here. We have space. Why not offer that space to people? Uh, it shouldn't be about making money off of them. It's just a mutually beneficial, you know, collaboration. I have a giant parking lot, which not many places do. Why not offer this parking lot to people? Makers need a place to go. Uh, when you come out here, there's not as many shops out here. There's not as many restaurants out here yet. It's growing, but with the population I think that it's not quite there yet. But there's a lot of people making amazing stuff, so just give them a space to do it, and it will work out in your benefit too, right? So that's really all it is, is just like, w- if we have the space and someone's interested in doing something there, why not allow that?

Adriana: 21:08

I love that. I love that. So what's your vision for Recluse?

Richard: 21:13

Honestly, just be a place that I wanna go to. That's really it. I want this to be a place that I wanna come to. I want my friends to come, I want my family members to come, and that's it. Yeah. So we just wanna make this a place for everybody, really. That would make me happy.

Adriana: 21:28

More of that intentional community building. I love it. So speaking of people being welcome here- Yeah … you are very kindly offering any of our listeners 10% off of their bill if they mention I'm Into This Place- Yeah … when they cash out. So all of you listening, make sure to come and mention the podcast, and come hang out here in this awesome, awesome space. Um, so in just a minute I'm going to ask Richard what place he's really into these days. But first, you can find pictures of everything we talked about today by visiting imintothisplace.com, or you can click the episode page link in the show notes. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter. That's where we share even more information about the amazing artists and organizations in our community, and we tell you about upcoming events. And if you like today's episode, please click that follow button on your podcast app and then text this episode to a friend. Following and sharing is the absolute best way you can help us make sure that everyone has access to the local arts, heritage, and culture that makes our community thrive. So who are you really into these days?

Richard: 22:35

There's the Artisan Guild of Camas, and I believe it goes into Washougal as well, and we've done some events with them. I wanna do work with them more,'cause I've learnt even more about the amazing s- artisan community here.

Adriana: 22:47

Absolutely.

Richard: 22:48

Uh, artists doing everything from just illustrators, pottery, uh, and more. So we're gonna do a lot more with them in the future. Uh, we're gonna have a big market here at some point. I'm excited about that, uh, and I'm excited about meeting more artists. And then also, uh, the Washougal Library. Literary advocacy is important, obviously. We have a small town. We have a small library. They wanna make it bigger. They wanna make it a community space, which we can support. I think they're having a, a little bit of a shortfall on their funding, um, but we're doing what we can to help them when we can. So, and just giving them support. So the, the library is super important.

Adriana: 23:25

Yes, it is. We need our libraries and we need our artists.

Richard: 23:29

Yeah. Right.

Adriana: 23:30

Well, this has been really fun. Yeah. I'm so glad that I know about you guys. I'm so glad that I now have a spot to come hang out- Yes … in the sunny, sunny days, uh, outside, and then on the rainy, rainy days inside.

Richard: 23:43

Yeah,

Adriana: 23:44

definitely. It's absolutely a super cool space, and I can't wait for more people to find out about it.

Richard: 23:50

I love it. Thank you.

Adriana: 23:50

Thank you so much for having me. Let's do something fun. How about a giveaway for some Recluse beer? If you're not already signed up for our newsletter, sign up today. It's the absolute best way to find out what's going on in our community in arts, culture, and heritage, to go deeper with our podcast guests, learn about giveaways, and so much more. Our newsletter is a short weekly email that's written by a human, not AI, and that human is me. Everyone who signs up by Monday, October 20th will get entered into a raffle for some Recluse beer, hand-delivered by yours truly. There's a link in the show notes to sign up, and you can also find a link to sign up for the newsletter in the menu on our website. I'm Into This Place is produced and hosted by me, Adriana Baer. Editing by Chris Martin Studios. This episode was recorded on site at Recluse Brew Works. Find out more about us and them at imintothisplace.com. See you out there