NW Peaks Brewery

This was the new taproom and so far is a lot more space than the original brewery locale. Great to have the added space. Wide array of taps and other offerings. Simple food/snack menu but suffices for a place surrounded by options.

 

 

 

 

Ratings based on The Bergschund. Owned by NW Brewery as is their exclusive tap room.

It charmed me because it looked like a shack from the street and inside was like a basement, and they managed to cram most of the brewery in one half of the tiny building.

Low budg, 1 drinking table, about 10 bar stools, 1 high top, and a bench, sharing space with small tanks, and a small industrial sink. A few tables outside. I had a tasty mosiac hop beer on tap. I liked it so much I had bring my sister here a couple of nights later for her to see it.

The one guy working there both nights was friendly and played good music.

I stopped in at NW Peaks for the first time yesterday to sample some beers and check the place out. It's conveniently located just around the corner from Hilliard's brewery as well.

NW Peaks is a tiny brewery. The taproom is the brewing space and consists of one long table and a short bar; everything has to be moved on brewday. There is a seating space outside, though, so larger parties can be accommodated if the weather is nice. The experience is not unlike drinking in a buddy's garage, which is not without its charm.

The beer at NW Peaks is not spectacular. There were 7 beers on tap when I visited and I sampled all of them; some were quite decent and others were rather lacking, so you roll the dice when ordering.

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I revisited NW Peaks in December 2015 after they moved to their new location at the Bergschrund a block away from the old brewery. The new location is much more like a regular bar/taproom with plenty of space and friendly staff. The quality of the beer is much the same, but the environment is a lot nicer.

 

The best part about this place is that it is fairly quiet and doesn't get too crowded. The beers are ok, entirely too much cascade hops

 

 

A: My first visit here was in 2010 as they just became operational. I swung in for a growler to go because there was no tasting room. Fast forward two years or so and now NW Peaks has converted the little space into a makeshift taproom with beer to go but now you have a small bar to sit and bullshit as you drink. It is cramped, it is cold in the Winter. The vibe is rather bleh.

Q: Most beers I have had from NW Peaks are average. I have never had anything infected, undrinkable from them.

S: Nice enough I suppose. Rather quiet, withdrawn but helpful. No issues with the service.

S: 4 beers for tasting in house and a different set of beers for growlers only. I thought that was odd but whatever.

F: No food here

I hope NW Peaks does well in a beer saturated Ballard. They definitely need to up the game a bit because mediocre beer wont cut the mustard.