Winterhop Brewfest is Saturday in downtown Ellensburg

ELLENSBURG -- Greg Parker spent countless hours perfecting beer recipes as a home brewer before he bought the Iron Horse Brewery from founder Jim Quilter in 2007.

He learned by trial and error, making small batches just for himself.

"I would use all these different malts to see what they were like," Parker says. "There was no concern for the outcome, so I tried them all out."

Now 31 years old and the owner of Iron Horse since July 2007, Parker has put that knowledge to work. Along with a keen eye for marketing gimmicks and a salesman's charm, his beer recipes have helped Iron Horse go from producing 350 barrels in 2006 to 2,700 barrels in 2009.

"With any luck, we will completely max out this facility before our lease is up; we've got about 21/2 years left," Parker says.

Those with tickets to Saturday's Winterhop Brewfest will get the chance to sample four of Iron Horse's beers, including its flagship, Quilter's Irish Death.

That particular beer, invented by Quilter when he opened Iron Horse at the end of 2004, accounts for more than half of Iron Horse's sales, Parker said. Iron Horse will also offer its IPA, High-Five Hefe and Cozy Sweater, the brewery's winter beer.

The festival, now in its sixth year, has developed a cult following, with ticket holders standing in line for hours just so they can be the first to sample the beers. The 1,500 tickets for this year's event are all spoken for, at $25 a pop.

"We sold out over a week ago," says Leslie Berry, the chamber's executive assistant and the festival's coordinator.

Having a local brewery like Iron Horse in the mix only makes the festival more appealing to beer lovers and gives organizers a place to turn for expertise, Berry says.

"Our very first year we did this, Jim Quilter was on our committee," she says, adding that this year's festival will be dedicated to Quilter, who died in 2009.

Organizers realized they were on to something years ago when the inaugural festival drew 800 people instead of the 300 they expected.

"It's just been amazing to see how it's grown," Berry says.

Of course, Iron Horse has grown right alongside the festival. Though the brewery operates out of a hole-in-the-wall space in an Ellensburg complex designed for start-ups, its product has increasingly found space on bar menus and store shelves throughout Washington.

Part of its popularity comes from the tasting-room-type bar Parker has added to the brewery. He's sponsored trivia nights there and hosted special events such as the monthly "Ales For Females" women-only night. Outside of the brewery, Iron Horse's rise has been driven by old-school salesmanship. Parker and his team pride themselves on getting Iron Horse on tap in local bars.

"We get paid to hang out in bars during the day," he says. "That's it -- hanging out, talking to people who make the decisions."

Part of Winterhop's appeal is that it spreads 22 breweries over 10 downtown locations rather than putting them all in a tent or in one room. Despite the cold, people are looking for something like that this time of year, Berry says.

"They're done with the holidays, and they've got cabin fever," she says. "They want to get out."

The downtown setup also means that even people who were unable to score tickets can still attend the event. They won't be able to taste the beers, but they can still hang out and listen to any of the eight musical acts playing the festival.

* Pat Muir can be reached at 509-577-7693 or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.