Plenty of breweries say they want to help strengthen their communities, but few can show as much expertise, commitment, and follow-through in that area as Métier Brewing. Everything from where the beer is sold to who creates the artwork to the choice of general contractors reflects the brewery’s mission: “Brew damn good beer and build stronger community to inspire bigger dreams for all.”
Before opening Métier in 2018, cofounder and CEO Rodney Hines had a career in nonprofit organizing, community development, and corporate citizenship. Critically, he also had a homebrewing interest going back to his college years. Years later, when his cycling trainer at Métier Racing and Coffee, Todd Herriott, mentioned a brewery for sale a half-hour’s drive from Seattle in Woodinville, Washington, Hines saw an opportunity. During a semester spent in London during college, he’d experienced how beer could power more than just relaxation.
“It’s fascinating to see how art, conversation, and dialogue happen in a pub,” Hines says. “I go back to the civil rights movement, and how those conversations sparked and were maintained in churches and basements and kitchens, and I think about the relationships between space, connection, dialogue, and action.”