Dec 2002 update:
It's often interesting to go back and review things that you've written long ago. This document was written in 1996, and is hoplessly out of date. Sure, the geographical details are still the same, and the bad cliches are still applicable, but damn if many of the places that I mention here in this missive are now extinct. Pike Place Brewery? Gone. Pacific Northwest Brewing? Gone. Redhook? Gone, but relocated to the Eastside, no longer part of the Seattle Experience. Hell, even Rainer Brewing is gone, it's building now a coffee roasting factory. It's a good thing that I didn't mention Olympia Brewing in (where else?) Olympia, because it's now a Miller Brewing factory. The California and Alaska Brewing emporium is still there, but not under that name. Pyramid Brewing is still there, but the Kingdome is not, having been imploded years ago. It's pretty sad when you can't even count on the worlds largest free standing concrete roof still being around!
I guess the final word here is that the brewing establishment is an etherial thing, and like all of our days on Earth are numbered, and always counting down...
Once upon a time I responded to a query on the Homebrew Digest (R.I.P.) concerning somebody who wanted to know about things to see and places to go on their visit to Seattle, the Jet City, the Emerald City, publicly acknowledged Rain Capitol of the World. I'll repeat here what I wrote to that person...
OK, I know that it's a terrible cliche, but I guess if you're going to be visiting Seattle in the near future, you're going to have to be sleepless, because there is so much stuff to do! Just remember to pace yourself, and decide on your priorities while you're here...
Personally, I live in a town called Kent, formally called Titusville a hundred or so years ago. It's about 25 miles south of the Emerald City. But I'll try to help you out...
Seattle is a long, narrow city, running north and south. It's very soul is pre-determined from it's geography. The Puget sound on the west, and the long lake Washington to the east define the maritime character of the city. It's pioneers plummed the waters using a horseshoe on a rope line to find the best deep water port area for ships to dock at. The lowlands were marsh, and the downtown area was frequently flooded. A devistating fire in 1889 distroyed the downtown, and the debris was used to fill in the swamp. At the turn of the century, one of the taller, steeper hills was hosed down, and used to fill in more of the swampy downtown, and leveling the hill. Remember all of this stuff when you're here, and there will be a test...
There are several breweries and brewpubs, both large and small, to visit. Some require a drive, others are right downtown.
Pike Place Brewery is at 1432 Western, and is just west (and about 400 feet down vertically) from the Pike Place Market itself. Liberty Malt Supply (which has moved from Western Ave. up to 1st Ave between Pike and Pine) is a source of homebrew supplies that used to be associated with the brewery, but sadly, isn't much connected anymore. The brewery has since spawned it's own pub nearby, and I hope to get on down there and do some reasearch in the near future...
Also downtown is the Pacific Northwest Brewing Company at 322 Occidental Ave. South Located in the historic Pioneer Square district, it is both brewery and pub, with shiny copper kettles along the wall.
In Fremont, a neighborhood just north of downtown (and across the lake Union ship canal), you'll find the Redhook Ale Brewery, located at 3400 Phinney Ave. North. Sort of the mother of all micro-breweries in the northwest (at least of the successful ones anyway). It is the oldest and best established of the small timers. Take a tour and visit the Trolleyman pub connected to the brewery.
Also in Fremont, but a little west and more towards Ballard, is the Maritime Pacific Brewing Company. Not much to look at from the outside, and no pub at all. However, MPBC represents the next wave of micro-breweries. Lots of seasonal ales for sale.
In the University district, you can find Big Time Brewery & Alehouse, located at 4233 University Way NE. Bring in your own container, and get it filled up with the ales there. (The head brewer there is a member of the Brews Brothers, one of the clubs I belong to...)
If you're in the mood for Big Boring Lager Breweries, you can visit the Rainer Brewery at 3100 Airport Way South, just north east of the downtown airport (not Sea-Tac airport, but the Boeing company airport). Anheuser-Busch has a brewery, but it's out of town in Redmond, and too far to go for too bland a beer.
There is another brewery that's located in West Seattle (west? isn't that the ocean? well no, there is a pennensula which has a terriffic view of downtown across the 'bay'). It's called the California & Alaska St. Brewery, and as you might suspect, it is at the intersection of California & Alaska Streets, at 4700 California SW.
Then there's the downtown location of the Pyramid Alehouse and Thomas Kemper Brewery, located at 91 S. Royal Brougham, just south of the soon to be demolished Kingdome. Their original brewery is probably still open, but requires a ferry ride across Puget Sound (the boats weave in and around the many small islands in the sound and is quite a beautuful trip). Their Brewery and Beer Garden is located at 22381 Foss Rd NE just outside of the town of Poulsbo. If you're lucky, you can visity during their Oktoberfest. (I wish I knew when it was, then I could tell you, but as is to be expected, it's probably in October!)
That's the breweries that I can recommend. If you're around for the Second Saturday of the month, you can look up The Brews Brothers tm, a Seattle / Eastside brewers club. We meet at members houses each month, where we swap lies and drink homebrew. If you're around for the Third Thursday of the month and don't mind the drive to Kent, you can come to the Impaling Alers meeting at 7405 S 212 th st in Kent. Unless we're all in jail this month. But that's another story. This is also the address for Larry's Brewing supply, which has the best prices and a pretty good selection of brewing equipment and stuff.
As far as wineries, there is one on the eastside, north of the end of the lake. It's pretty nice. Called Chateau St. Michelle, it has the added benifit of being near the new Redhook Brewery, which is located at 14300 NE 145th Street in Woodinville
If you don't want to hear about the Zoo, or the U-district, or Broadway, or any of the non-beer things to do, then that about wraps up this list. I hope this helps!
And if you're worried about the rain, you can check out this Seattle weather information page put out by the Meterological Center at the University of Washington. While it is not true that it rains a lot (There are dozens of major cities in the United States that get more rain fall every year), it is true that it rains more frequently. That's why we have the reputation for having such gloomy weather...
This page is authored and maintained by Rich Webb.You can send E-mail to me by following this link to the contact page. And feel free to contact me if you have any comments, criticisms, or suggestions. I remain, however, perfectly capable of ignoring your useless opinion...
This document was placed here on Dec 13, 1996, and has been viewed countless times.