McMenamins - Elks Temple

epic newer spot in downtown tacoma, a beautifully reworked and revisioned old building, the first mcmenamins location i have been in, but certainly not my last. i thought this place insanely cool, and the beer solid, not sure why they dont get more love from the beer geeks, i feel like people have a somewhat critical view of them, maybe because its all got a big money feel and its a chain of sorts, but this place is wildly unique and very cool! its four or five floors, with the brewery all humble in the back corner on the bottom floor when you walk in, copper wrapped and old school looking. there is a little lobby type area thats serves as a little taproom space, then kind of a gift shop where all the beers are on tap, along with a bunch of trinkets for sale, nobody was around at all when we were in, except for a couple of staff. they were super warm to us, gave us a bunch of tasters, told the story of the place, and encouraged us to walk around anywhere we wanted with our beers, if a door was unlocked they said, check it out! way cool. on the ground floor there is a real funky eatery in the back all dim and sort of asian feeling, although the menu looked kind of japan meets hawaii, but we didnt eat. flowing water, lots of plants, esoteric decor everywhere, super hip, food looked dank too. its a hotel but there are little bars and restaurants one each floor, one a sort of game room and pool hall, one a concert venue, one more of a classic brewpub vibe, one a little more elegant like a banquet hall or something, crazy lamps and funky paintings and all kinds of stuff to look at everywhere, some cool views of the city in spots too, this would be a really fun place to stay next time! we had three beers, a solid stout and a couple of decent ipa types, nothing amazing, but its pretty good, and very cool its all brewed on site. they seem to have an awesome thing going, at least at this location, a little weird with how quiet it was for how big it is, but i guess thats the pandemic at work. really incredible space, cool folks, neat restaurants, definitely a place to spend more time. i was blown away by this place to be honest, the brewery is just one of many aspects of the experience, highly recommended!