Fish N Brew History

The Pacific Coast Salmon Coalition now hosts an annual “Fish N Brew” as a fundraising and community event. But the history of this event goes back nearly thirty years.

The first record of a Fish N Brew in the Forks Forum is from 1996. The event was organized by the Forks Hops Commission, hosted by Bill and Kitty Sperry at the Forks’ Huckleberry Lodge, and the competition was taken very seriously. In 1997 Jan Rand, the innkeeper at the lodge owned by the Sperrys, took second place to the Sperry’s special recipe. In 1998, the Forks Forum reported Rand’s determination to win:

“Over the course of the next year, Rand selected and froze the perfect King salmon from her husband’s Hoh River catches. She got some needle nose pliers to remove the bones. Then she marinated her winning fillet in a mix of apple juice, soy sauce, seasoning and water. Those preparations alone took more than 11 hours. And then came the important part — smoking the salmon.”

Rand attributed the previous year’s loss to “using a small metal smoker instead of an authentic smokehouse. This year, she bartered a bottle of wine for the use of a friend’s real smokehouse. ‘That made all the difference,’ she said.” After taking first place and beating her employer, Rand joked that she may have to find a new job!

Over the years, the Fish N Brew event also included the Quileute Tribal Drummers performing ceremonial drumming and dancing, Bill Schrader and his country band, and an old-time apple press where attendees could fill their own container to take home. Jack Datisman began a tradition of creating a beer label poster for the Fish N Brew, touting a fictional beer with quips such as “Civit Cat Beer, Always Aromatic, Never Skunky.”

After many years of being organized by the West End Business and Professional Association and also being held at the Roundhouse and RAC. Since 2024, PCSC has organized the Fish N Brew Event as a fundraiser.