Laughing Buddha Brewing thrives on Asian flavors

Unusual flavors are pushing sales for a new Seattle brewery while others struggle against heavy competition and the high price of hops, barley and other ingredients.

Laughing Buddha Brewing faces the same challenges, but its unique lineup appeals to restaurants and retailers swamped with pale ales, porters and stouts.

"They have an Asian-style lager, a pandan brown ale, and next they're adding a ginger pale ale and a mango weizen. We have no breweries that make those last three beers," said Rick Steckler, president and co-owner of Click Wholesale Distributing in Seattle.

A Click sales rep, Larry Rock, first tasted Laughing Buddha's beer this winter at Columbia City Ale House. He suggested Steckler visit the brewery, which is run by two guys at a warehouse in South Park.

Chris Castillo, 32, and Joe Valvo, 29, scraped together almost $100,000 last year to start the brewery. Some money came from family, and Castillo sold the condo where they were roommates. Now they live with Castillo's parents, but they could have their own digs soon if business keeps growing.

This month, Click began distributing Laughing Buddha beer to bars, restaurants and grocery stores in the Seattle area.

The brewery can barely keep up with demand. It made about 30 barrels a month beginning last November and expects to ship more than 150 barrels a month by this summer.

"We don't usually take on a brand this early in its existence," Steckler said. "As soon as their production level is up, we'll have it in most retail stores that have large beer sections."

For now, Laughing Buddha is sold at about 20 retailers — including All Things Wine in Renton, Central Market at Mill Creek and Pike Place Grocery & Deli — and fewer than a dozen restaurants and bars. It is on tap and in 22-ounce bottles that sell for about $4.

The fledgling brewery's success comes at the same time market pressures are hurting other breweries.

Pacific Rim Brewing in White Center went out of business recently, and the much larger Redhook Ale Brewery in Woodinville lost money in three of four quarters last year, partly because of competitive pressures and higher fuel, barley and hops prices.

Laughing Buddha saw hops go from about $5 a pound last fall to $50 in December, but it hung on and is now able to get some varieties for $20 a pound.

It tried to make a beer using ginger instead of hops to provide bitterness and preservative qualities, but the Tax and Trade Bureau requires a minimum amount of hops, Castillo said.

The brewery's unusual flavors come from Valvo's taste for Asian food.

When Castillo gave him a home-brewing kit a decade ago, he flavored his beer with ingredients in his kitchen, which tended to be Asian foods not typically found in beer.

Valvo continues to experiment, and the brewery gives samples on Fridays and Saturdays at a little tiki bar that Castillo's father built inside the warehouse. Recently, a lychee weizen was popular with people who dropped in.

Castillo, who handles marketing for the brewery, is so hopeful about Laughing Buddha's prospects that he gave notice this month at Microsoft, where he is a part-time application-development consultant.

Steckler admires their ambition. "They want to be in all 50 states someday," he said. "The cool thing is that they have high aspirations, but they have a long way to go."

— Melissa Allison

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Retail Report appears Fridays. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com.