Seattle Brewery Tour: Downtown

Downtown Seattle. It's a love hate relationship we have with you. On one hand you are the epicenter of our city. You house Pike Place Market, our favorite place in the city. On the other hand you also smell kinda bad and lack the fun atmosphere so many other neighborhoods have in Seattle.

Luckily, if you are in downtown and are overcome with the smell of urine or just need to get away from that man on the corner trying to convince you the end of times are indeed upon us there are a few breweries you can duck into for sanctuary. 

Photo from Pike Brewing Instagram

Pike Brewery Company

The big hitter downtown. The George Clooney of the downtown breweries. They have been around awhile and know what they are doing. They have it down, they rarely create something that isn't good (cough cough.. Batman...cough cough). They have a big location, good for groups, a large food menu, and offer brewery tours. 

Our Favorite: The Space Needle IPA, but if it goes off the menu the Scottish Kilt Lifter is a year-round goodie.

Old Stove Brewery Co.

Another brewery in Pike Place Market? What??!! Yep. It just opened this year and is set to expand into the new MarketFront building next year. They have communal tables in a true beer hall fashion, large windows that open to bring in fresh air and don't forget about the beer. It's pretty good too. We attended the Grand Opening and did a full write up here. 

Our Favorite: Galaxy Smash Pale Ale (you had us at citrus aromas).

Good color palette plus good beer equals happy bloggers.

Cloudburst Brewing

We saved the best for last, like the red skittle or the pink starburst. This brewery was born at a time of turmoil in Seattle, when Elysian sold out to The Man (aka InBev), and we were all crushed, but from the ashes rose something beautiful, from the ashes rose Cloudburst Brewing. There is not a bad beer on the menu. Everything is different in a delightful way. Exploring this menu is like exploring a beautiful utopia where you encounter something better at every turn. It's really that great, we are not hyperbole-ing here people. 

Our Favorite: It is so hard to pick one but if we MUST...Happy Little Clouds... or maybe the Clickbait IPA... but then there is the....crap. ok. stopping before this gets embarrassing

Need to find breweries in Ballard? Check out our first post in this series.

Seattle Brewery Tour: Ballard

The Emerald City is full of options for trying some of the best beer in America. Washington State has over 200 independent breweries and many choose Seattle as their home. Yakima Valley is one of the biggest producer of hops in the world and luckily it is in our backyard.

Neighbors, just like Seth Rogen and Zac Efron.

The craft brewery industry brought over $6 billion to Washington last year and continues to grow. If you live in Seattle, you've probably noticed. New breweries pop up on street corners as often as Belltown gets a new apartment building, but you won't see us complaining, we can drink beer allll day, every day (we don't because that isn't socially acceptable though unfortunately). But what we can do (all for the sake of research) is spend the next year traveling to every corner of the city to get you all the information you need to make informed decisions about our local beer.

Part one of the craft series is focusing on Ballard, which, in our opinion, holds some of the best beer in the city. Here are our four favorites.

Stoup Brewing

Stoup, named after a Scottish drinking vessel, is fairly new to the brewery scene, opening in 2013. We are a little biased about our love of their beer since 50% of the brain power behind this operation is female. Robyn Schumacher was Washington States first female Cicerone and she is killing it at Stoup. She and her partner built the brewery on their love of science and beer, and you can taste it.

Our favorite: Citra IPA.

Reuben's Brews

Reuben's entered the scene in 2012. Back then it was a lot smaller, with a metal bowl of pretzels and a short list of beers on the wall. Fast forward to today and they are one of the most popular craft breweries in the city. Getting a seat on the weekend in their expanded space is difficult, but the wait is worth it. Sitting in the sun with a Reuben's brew in your hand is a pretty good way to spend a Saturday afternoon...or Sunday...or Monday...or Tuesday... or

Our favorite: Gose Sour Ale

Peddler Brewing Company

Peddler Brewing has great beer, but they win their spot on this list because of their space. For Seattle, this place is yuuuggeee. They have taps in the front, along with seating, but don't stop here, head out back and take advantage of their many games and giant yard full of communal picnic tables. Bond over beers with strangers by playing a game of cornhole/bags/whatever you call it where you are from or giant Jenga under their string lights.

Our favorite: Earl Gray Blonde Kombucha Sour

Hale's Ales

Hale's is the wise old papa bear of breweries in Ballard, hell in Seattle. Mike Hale opened Hale's Ales in 1983, and they are still running as an independently owned shop. That makes them the longest running operation in the NW and for that, we show respect. Their place might not have a modern logo or creative tap handles, but they pour good beer and their brewers know their stuff. 

Our favorite: Supergoose IPA

There are a few other breweries in the neighborhood, but if we have to pick, these are the ones. Let us know your favorites in the comments. Cheers! 

All four breweries within walking distance. Sunday Funday? Challenge accepted.

Grand Opening: Old Stove Brewing Co.

This mural doubles as an "I-Spy". Try and find all 20 hidden items.

It's official, Pike Place Market has a second brewery in the house! Old Stove Brewing had a sneak peak opening last night and we were lucky enough to be invited to attend. 

The atmosphere is warm, as it should be with a name like Old Stove, and the tables are long and communal (Sarah, as the introvert of the group, would like to point out they also have smaller, more private tables in case sitting with strangers causes you anxiety). The beer is pulled out of taps made from antique stove handles and behind the bar is decorated with beer cans from the 30s and 40s. Our favorite part had to have been the old beer commercials playing on a screen in the corner. It reminds you of a simpler time, when the cure for a man having feelings was a 6-pack of Budweiser.

We liked the decor, but like it should be in any beer-drinking establishment, the people we met were the highlight of the evening. We had the pleasure of meeting the man who built the tables we gathered around and the realtor who worked so hard to get Pike Place a second brewery. We spoke to the brewers and the bartenders, and Kristina had a glass of stout poured down her shirt. Really it was everything a night of drinking should be! 

After doing ample research we decided the NW Wheat and the Pale Ale were our favorites. Go check it out for yourself and let us know which brews you think deserve recognition.  

They donated $2 from each beer to the Pike Place Market Foundation.

Communal tables are great for making new friends. 

Old style beer cans.

Their neon sign keeps with the Pike Place Market tradition.