Day 1
After taking a one-hour puddle jumper flight from Bend to Seattle, my first stop in West Seattle (besides my sister-in-law’s apartment to drop off my stuff) was Elliott Bay Brewing Company. I vaguely remember visiting this brewery many moons ago when I still lived in Seattle so I decided it was time for another visit.
Elliott Bay Brewing Company’s original location (they now have four) is located in the heart of West Seattle on California Avenue. The atmosphere is old school British pub with lots of dark wood, a massive bar, and booths with high backs that make you feel like you’re in your own cozy beer drinking world.
Day 2
The next day took me to the two breweries located in Seattle’s iconic Pike Place market: Old Stove Brewing and Pike Brewing Company. Pike Brewing Company is a known quantity for me so we headed to Old Stove first.
Old Stove Brewing is the newer of the two breweries, opening in the famous farmers’ market in 2016. The space is clean and open with the namesake stove on the far side of the room. There is also a nice collection of old beer cans on the wall by the entrance that make for a good visual touch. The beer was quality and I sampled the Old Stove Epiphany Lager which was one of the better lagers I’ve had lately. Old Stove also serves food (light appetizers while they build out a full kitchen) but we did not sample any of it but the list consisted of general pub fare. I mostly came away from our brief visit wondering where this place will go next. With their location and a large percentage of customers who are tourists I could see the beer quality falling by the wayside but I hope that doesn’t end up being the case. I will definitely be curious to see how their tap list evolves over the next few years.
Our next stop was Pike Brewing Company, located in the depths of Pike Place Market and one of the OGs of the Seattle craft beer scene. Founded in 1989 the brewery is still producing interesting experimental beers as well as its collection of much-loved core brands, including Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale, one of my gateway craft beers and still one of my favorite Scotch ales. On this trip we visited the original Pike Place Pub but the brewery has also opened a second restaurant location on the upper level of the market called Tankard and Tun which focuses on farm to table and seafood offerings (have yet to try but I’ve only heard good things so its definitely on my list).
Beer-wise I sampled one of the offerings from their Third Story Series (beers that are brewed one time only in six fermentation tanks in Pike’s recently expanded brewery aka brewer play time) which in this instance was a dark lager, as well as one of their current seasonals, the Octopus Ink Black IPA (fun fact: a portion of the proceeds from every sale of this beer goes to the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance a nonprofit which works to protect the waters of Puget Sound). Food-wise I highly recommend their Pike Pretzel Platter and the Mussels or Clams platter (if you ask they’ll do half and half). They also have this amazing pretzel bread pudding thing for dessert which I cannot urge you order enough. So fucking good!
Side note: if anyone thinks I am unduly raving about Pike Brewing I will admit that I do have a bit of a backstory with their pub. You see, my husband and I had our wedding reception there back when we still lived in Seattle and it was awesome. Good food, good beer, and their event space is also their Microbrewery Museum which contains thousands of pieces of authentic beer memorabilia. Photographic evidence below. Also fun story, trying to navigate around a pub in a wedding dress is memorable to say the least. 😊
Now for something completely unbeer related: after dinner at Pike, my sister-in-law and I hurried through downtown Seattle to the Paramount Theater because we had tickets to Hamilton. I’m sure quite a few of you don’t give a shit about musical theater (no judgement here, okay maybe a little judgment) so I’ll just say this: Worth. Every. Penny.
Anyways, back to the beer. We closed out the night at the Elysian Bar (on 2nd Ave between Pike and Pine) because whenever I am in Seattle I seem to end up in one of Elysian’s pubs (see part 2 of this hop trip for further evidence). Also despite the AB buyout they still make some of my favorite beers and you can count on getting the good stuff when you’re in Seattle. That night I had one of their experimentals called Chill Bill, a table saison made with experimental hops from South Africa.
Day 3
Day Three of this hop trip included two key factors: beer bars and suggestions from other people (i.e. none of these places were chosen by me but it turns out a girl can rely on her beer-inclined buddies-thanks Adrian and Jeff!).
First stop was The Shambles in the northeastern section of Seattle between the Maple Leaf and Ravenna neighborhoods. The bar/restaurant/deli is named after a street in the medieval city of York, England (side note: York is amazing and a real live medieval city, so make time to visit if you’re ever in the UK) which was once lined completely with butcher shops. The restaurant is aptly named as their focus is on their charcuterie and it is delicious (let me put it this way, if you don’t order the charcuterie board and then see one as you leave you will be very disappointed with yourself). While The Shambles does have a full bar, their beer list is the focus. This is hardly surprising considering that co-owners Matthew Brady and Joel Klemenhagen both previously worked in the beer industry. The restaurant boasts thirty-two taps with beers from across the country and across the style spectrum. While I could have drunk everything on the beer list given enough time and liver capacity I widdled it down to three. First was Bale Breaker’s Topcutter IPA because Bale Breaker makes some damn fine IPAs and Pale Ales but sadly do not distribute to central Oregon. Next came Rebuen’s Brews Bits and Bobs IPA, another favorite brewery that I can’t always get at home and tend to binge on when in Seattle. Finally, I sampled the Surette Reserva Palisade Peach by Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, one of the best sours I’ve had in awhile and courtesy of a recommendation straight from owner Matthew Brady (a friend of the aforementioned Adrian who recommended this place to me in the first place).
Next stop was Chuck’s Hop Shop, a Seattle beer institution which I somehow never made it two despite living in that damn city for two years. Ah well, that oversight has now been rectified. I would also note that Chuck’s Hop Shop has two locations, one in the Greenwood neighborhood and one in Capitol Hill. I visited the Greenwood location. Now that that’s out of the way, if you’re even been to a beer bar and thought ‘this tap list isn’t nearly long enough’ you will not have that problem here. They have around fifty beers and ciders on tap as well as an entire store full of bottles if nothing on the tap list tickles your fancy. While it can be a bit of a hassle to navigate your way around the tables to actually see what is in the coolers, if you’re a beer nerd like me it is totally worth it.
I do have two words of warning for you if you decide to visit. One, if you go on a Friday night be prepared for the place to be filled with dogs and small children (turns out they also serve ice cream). Second, the bathroom situation leaves a lot to be desired, especially when its busy (two one-person restrooms all the way at the back of the building). Anyways, if you can handle these things you’re in for a treat of a tap list with a range of styles and origins. I went local and sampled the Boysensicle from Urban Family Brewing (yes, them again) which I believe would technically be considered a milkshake IPA, but tasted more like a smoothie IPA and not in a bad way. I also shouldn’t fail to mention that they have a rotating food truck out front, this evening it was Where Ya At Matt which specializes in Cajun food. They also serve hot beignets that go really well with beer. Just saying.
Alas friends, this is where this hop trip (mostly) ended as I flew back home the next afternoon. However, while it is completely un-beer related, I feel like I should mention where we had breakfast the next morning, as it was a serious hangover breakfast. Company Store, located in the White Center neighborhood, is primarily a cocktail bar but on the weekend they serve a killer brunch. Go for whatever the special is (or for the puffy tacos, a house specialty) and a bottomless mimosa which is served in a wine glass so large it looks like it belonged to Olivia Pope.
Join me next week for part two of this Seattle journey which took place less than a month after this one so I’m combining for one mega hop trip.
