Wheelie Pop Brewing to close Ballard taproom, keep Mill Creek location

Ballard beer fans have until Sunday, June 14, to get one last round at Wheelie Pop Brewing’s taproom in the Ballard Brewery District before the doors close for good at that location. The shutdown is limited to Seattle’s neighborhood outpost, and Wheelie Pop says the Mill Creek/North Bothell taproom will keep operating.

The brewery marked the end date with a direct farewell, saying, “Sunday, June 14th, will be the last day of operation for our Ballard Brewery and Taproom,” and urging customers to stop by while there is still time. Wheelie Pop also said a closing-party announcement would follow on social media, and that the final two beers poured at the site would be released the next day.

For Ballard, the loss goes beyond one retail room. The taproom at 1110 NW 50th St. opened in December 2021, after co-owners Jeremy Johnson and Mark Silverstein had been brewing together since 2017. Over the past 4.5 years, Wheelie Pop says it built more than a beer list there: it logged 12 beer awards, created more than 150 unique beers and never turned down a charitable donation request. In its goodbye note, the brewery thanked mug club members, regulars, local brewery collaborators, and nearby bars and restaurants for helping turn the space into a neighborhood hangout.

That community role mattered in Ballard because Wheelie Pop was not just another taproom on a busy strip. It drew Formula One fans, live-streaming concert crowds, and regulars who embraced the motorcycle-racing theme that helped define the brand. Wheelie Pop’s beer page also lists Namazu Rice Lager as a bronze medal winner in the 2023 and 2025 Washington Beer Awards, another marker of the brewery’s recent run in Washington beer.

The brewery’s other location is not affected. Wheelie Pop says its Mill Creek/North Bothell taproom, about 12 miles north of Seattle, remains open with outdoor seating, a game room, a small kitchenette, multiple TVs and non-alcoholic beverage options. The company has also said it will air all 24 rounds of the 2026 Formula One season commercial-free with sound on giant TVs at both locations. As Ballard counts down to June 14, Wheelie Pop’s exit underscores how quickly a neighborhood taproom can go from gathering place to last call, even when the brand itself keeps rolling elsewhere.