Biography

Established: 2014

Owner: Casey Sobol

Brewers: Head brewer Tim Miller

Location: 8343 Hogum Bay Lane NE, Lacey WA 98516

Status:
Still standing proud in Lacey, WA, Top Rung Brewing Co. continues to pour bold, approachable beer with a firehouse soul. Co-founder Casey Sobol, a veteran firefighter, remains at the helm, even as former partner and head brewer Jason Stoltz hung up his mash paddle and left the brewery during the COVID years. The hose was smoothly handed to new brewing talent—most recently Tim Miller, who now steers the brewing operations with careful precision and hop-fueled curiosity. The mission remains: craft beer brewed with honor, heart, and the occasional malt-fueled mayday.

Specialty:
Top Rung was founded by firefighters, and that ethic still bleeds through the beer: clean, well-balanced, and quietly heroic. Whether it’s a crispy lager or a smoldering stout, there’s a sense of purpose in every pour. Plus, the open brew floor means you can literally watch your pint being born, all under the watchful gaze of firehouse ladders hanging like trophies above the taps.

Five Notable Beers (fit for duty):

• Lacey Lager – Light, clean, noble hopped. The kind of beer that gets a fist bump from off-duty firefighters.

• Three-Sixty Red – A malty amber workhorse with subtle caramel and a callback to a firefighter’s full sweep.

• My Dog Scout Stout – Award-winning, chocolatey, and brewed in honor of a very good dog. Gold, WA Beer Awards 2015.

• Prying Irons IPA – When it’s on tap, it slaps. Grapefruit, pine, rescue-ready bitterness.

• Pyrolysis Imperial Stout – Big, bold, with smoky undertones. Like drinking a campfire that gives good hugs.

Recent Updates & Accolades:

• Jason Stoltz, co-founder and brewer, exited the brewery during the pandemic.

• My Dog Scout Stout still reigns as the gold-winning legend from the 2015 Washington Beer Awards.

Fun Facts & Firehouse Lore:
🚒 The original Top Rung ladders from the firehouse still hang above the taps like altars to service and foam.
🏆 Casey and Jason won the 2012 Beer for a Cure contest at Dick’s Brewing, which sparked the whole venture.
📦 Top Rung operates a 10-barrel brewhouse, with a growing barrel-aging program and occasional randall-infused Thursday madness.
🌯 Food trucks stop by Thursday–Saturday, but you can bring your own grub seven days a week.
💦 Every Thursday: one Top Rung beer runs through a Randall filled with hops, fruit, or whatever the brewers are obsessing over that week.