Heathen Brewing Feral Public House expanding with outdoor patio

There’s no rest for the wicked.

Heathen Brewing recently broke ground on yet another new project. The brewery will turn a parking lot next to its Feral Public House, 1109 Washington St., into a 200-seat patio.

Besides the patio, of which 90 seats will be covered, Heathen will bring in a bicycle rack and bicycle repair center with the help of the local biking advocacy organization Bike Clark County.

“We just thought it would be a cool thing to incorporate,” Keno Leighty of Heathen said. “You can bike down here, we’ll have a space for you.”

It is the latest move for Heathen Brewing and founder Sunny Parsons. Parsons, co-owner of Cascade Flooring America, founded the brewery in 2012 in a converted barn near his home.

Feral Public House, a 2,000-square-foot restaurant, opened three years later. Then, in October, Heathen acquired a 20-acre vineyard in Brush Prairie. It opened in April.

The brewery is no lightweight, according to Leighty. Heathen brews 2,000 barrels annually, he said, and 28 out of the 37 beers on tap at Feral Public House are made in-house.

Leighty said some of Feral Public House’s regulars are worried about the loss of the parking lot, but he contends that it was mostly used by neighboring businesses instead of pub customers.

“I think people in general flip out any time there’s change,” he said.

Events and parties will underpin the outdoor patio’s business. The patio will have 1,400 square feet of covered real estate with moveable tables that Leighty said makes it adaptable for private get-togethers.

It’s shaping up to be a good time of year to be thirsty. Like Heathen, fellow brewers Loowit Brewing Company announced last week that it would renovate its tasting room into a full-fledged restaurant.