Big Block Brewing

I stopped in at Big Block Brewing a couple days ago to check it out. I’d been to their satellite taproom in Sammamish, but not the Redmond brewery itself.

On my visit, they had 15 beers on tap, plus a seltzer, roughly divided between “stock” beers and seasonal or one-off releases. Styles were mostly straightforward: a couple IPAs, Kölsch, English pale, milk stout, chocolate porter, a red, a brown, a blonde lager, and a couple fruit beers, among others. Nothing really revolutionary, but certainly a decent breadth of styles. They also have a fridge with four-packs and bottles ready to go. I had the English pale and the Kölsch, and both were decent enough.

The build-out is welcoming, if a little bit industrial, owing to the fact that the brewery itself is right there next to the taproom (I love being able to see the tanks). The service I had was super friendly and knowledgeable, and I could see myself coming back in the future.

2022-03-25
Went here on a Friday afternoon with a bunch of high school teachers. I've been here a couple times now. Based on conversation with the teachers, it's a 21+ establishment.

Engine / car / shop themed, which shouldn't be surprising based on the name. Space is pretty nice, I like the vibe, staff is maybe a little bit "bro-y" but not like obnoxiously so. Big outdoor space, much of it covered, some firepits. I think they often have games of some sort like cornhole out there.

Service is at the bar. Quality is pretty good -- not knock-your-socks off, not terrible. Most of what I've had there has been fine, but unimpressive. But, the Vienna Lager I had in this last visit was quite good.

They might have 20 total taps or so. Maybe 8 of them are "regular" beers. They were filling crowlers to go, and I'm pretty sure they fill growlers. They had a few 16x4 packs and 22oz bottles in the cooler for sale, too.