MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. — Brewing beer is as much tradition as it is science, especially in Washington state on Father's Day -- even if you're not a father.
"I don't have any kids. I was always there on Father's Day guilt free -- except for maybe not hanging out with my own dad," said Pat Ringe, head brewer at Diamond Knot Brewing in Mountlake Terrace.
The Washington Summer Brewers Festival ran every Father's Day weekend for more than 20 years in Redmond.
The festival brought in upwards of 20,000 beer lovers over the course of the three-day weekend and exposed people from across the country to Washington beer.
It was shuttered for two years during the pandemic.
The fest came back last summer to a lower attendance.
Organizers had burned through their reserves during the pandemic making this year's gathering unviable.
Diamond Knot sales manager Todd Owsley said it's the breweries, especially the newer, smaller ones, that will suffer the most, as they try to stand out in a state that now has about 450 brewhouses.
"Those opportunities where you can get in front of a lot of people at once and have them try your product, they certainly do help create long-term successes for those individual brands," he said.
Anacortes Brewing's Allen Rhoades is also president of the Washington Beer Commission -- which runs eight festivals across the state -- including the one on Father's Day.
He said some of those will likely be canceled, as well, as the brewing community tries to figure out how to move forward together.
"You know, I don't think Microsoft cares very much about what Dell is doing day to day, but we care about what all the breweries are doing in Washington. We're here to help each other out and the festival is a connection for that."
Rhoades believes the annual winter beer festival held at Seattle's Magnuson Park will likely be canceled this year, as well.
Others may follow.
While there will be no Father's Day beer festival for the first time in a quarter century, brewers are seeing the mug as half full.
"We have every intention of bringing it back in 2024," said Ringe. "It just wasn't in the cards this year, unfortunately."
If and when the summer festival does return, what it will look like and where it will be located are unclear.
"I'm confident it will happen," said Owsley. "We are resilient and we have a lot of good people who will find a way to make it happen. I don't know what that is, but we will make it happen."