Biography

Established: 2011, closed in May 2019

Owner: Eric Akeson

Brewers: Eric Akeson and Nat Woodsmith

Location: Eric Akeson’s garage in Puyallup

Specialty: Eric Akeson lives and breathes saisons, but loves a good hop-forward, clean Northwest IPA, as well as seasonals

Status:
Puyallup River Brewing officially closed in May 2019 after eight years of moonlit brew days and backyard batches. The taproom—once the soul of South Hill and a brief downtown Alehouse experiment—shuttered first in 2015, followed by the final tanks in 2019. While the beers still flicker in fridge legends and Untappd check‑ins, the brewery no longer operates, leaving behind a vintage glow of Citra, saison funk, and customer tags on dusty glass.

Legacy Brief:
Eric Akeson—a video game legend inducted into the hall of fame in 2010—turned his homebrew hobby into a legit business in 2011, scaling from garage to a modest 7-barrel system and eventually a mini-production setup. His ambitions led to Small Brewery of the Year in 2015, and medals for Pineapple Paradise, Mud Mountain Milk Stout, and Paradise Blonde Saison

A downtown Alehouse opened in 2013 and closed two months after the award season. Eric scaled back to focus solely on brewing until 2019. His beers now live in infamy and in some dusty fridges, but not on tap.

Five Notable Beers (still haunted, still loved):

• Electron IPA – Named for the glacier‑carved mudflows that feed the Puyallup. Bright, earthy, slightly nerdy.

• Mud Mountain Milk Stout – Creamy, roasty, iced‑bean smooth, and medal‑winning contender.

• Lahar Imperial IPA – A hop explosion with volcanic ambition.

• We Are the Champions IPA – Brewed to honor the Seahawks’ 2014 Super Bowl triumph and pure fan devotion.

• Pineapple Paradise Cream Ale – Tropical, mellow, and bold enough to snag a Washington Beer Award gold in 2015.

Awards (craft career in medals):
🏅 Small Brewery of the Year — 2015 Washington Beer Awards
🏅 Gold, Pineapple Paradise; Silver, Mud Mountain Milk Stout; Silver, Paradise Blonde Saison — 2015 WBA
🏅 2014 Washington Beer Awards: Silver for Cream Ale, Barrel-Aged Porter; Bronze for Black Pumpkin Saison

Fun Facts (the kind of trivia you can’t unsee):
🎮 Eric was inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame in 2010—yes, he coded high scores and high-ABV EEGs.
🏈 “We Are the Champions IPA” celebrated the Seahawks’ 2014 Super Bowl win.
🏡 Brewing began in Eric’s backyard in South Hill. After closing the downtown alehouse in 2015, he returned to strictly production brewing at home on his modest system—no taproom, just tanks and late nights.