Fremont vs. Black Raven

I certainly never feel like I'm allowed to park there.

 

When my wife and I bought our house back in 2007, we had to go over to Bellevue to sign the papers. I was still driving my old 1992 Ford Escort at the time and felt like I wasn't allowed to be there.

 

I thoroughly enjoy both breweries. Bbomb is hands down one of my favorite beers from anywhere. Grandfather Raven is also extremely good. They both have a solid regular lineup of beers readily available to me, but I have to give BR the edge just because I live within 15 minutes of the brewery!

 

Scratch that one off of the weaknesses for BR...I have somehow missed seeing pretzels...

 

I dig pretzels.

 

I have kids & live in Seattle, so one guess which one sees more visits & $ from me. Both are high quality, but another big selling point for Fremont is that they consistently produce high quality beers that I can get anywhere in town. BR has a bit more variety. Lucky to have them both in our backyard.

 

21+

 

When Boneyard starts canning.

 

Wait. You started this thread and you've never even been to BR?

 

Next time you're there just ask for them. I'm sure if you ask they'll hand them over.

 

In all srsnss, BR's taproom is pretty cool once you get inside, imho. They have this dual bar thing going and the place has all sorts of nooks and crannies to sit and relax in. There's a few cushy chairs if you're lucky.

Also, both times I've been there they've had 2-3 kinda one-off experimental type things on tap, like wine hybrids and weird types of barrel-aged beers, which I'm always game to try.

Fremont's taproom is downright spartan in comparison.

 

Kids are such a buzzkill. Mine are total squares.

 

You're a brave man if you eat those Fremont pretzels. Too many grubby hands in the bowl for me.

 

I love both Breweries. The funny thing is, even though it's more of a trek for me to get to Black Raven, my girlfriend and I still go there more often. Fremont is just too damned packed for us to find a seat and relax in many cases. I really don't enjoy standing shoulder to shoulder with people and having to shout to be heard while I try to enjoy my beer.

With that said, they both make fantastic beer and the service at both places is excellent. On a slow day with few customers I've been handed free samples of things at Fremont ... like cups full of strawberries that have been in the randall for a few hours or other interesting things like that.

At Black Raven a few of the bartenders recognize me and my girlfriend and are unfailingly nice to us. Our glasses barely have time to sit empty before we're being asked if we'd like another. They're also quick to chat about beer and give very detailed info on their own beers. So yes, both places employ great people.

My conclusion? We're lucky to have 1 brewery of this caliber in the area, let alone 2.

 

Similar to what others have mentioned previously, both breweries have a decent regular lineup as well as some top notch limited releases. Emphasis on distribution (Fremont) vs on-site consumption (Black Raven) is the biggest difference IMO, which somewhat explains why Black Raven has a nicer taproom.

Lower profit margin comes with retail bottle distribution, so I don't fault BR too much for focusing on local consumption and taproom bottle releases if it's taking up a good chunk of their capacity. This is especially true if I assume correctly that they are trying to expand organically - no outside investors. At some point acquiring more capacity requires more emphasis on distribution, and I am hoping that's where BR is headed. Without sacrificing quality, of course.

I should also point out that both breweries started up and have thrived during a severe economic downturn. I applaud them for growing within their means in a crowded market.

 

You're giving ideas to a man with a four-week old girl.

New pony?? SCRATCH.

Time in the taproom?? HAPPY BEERTHDAY, ELISE!!

(I'm sure my wife would approve - she's made it out to Black Raven more than I have, at least pre-pregnancy.)