Visiting Seattle (Summer 2015 Update)

Are there any recommendations for places to stay? Either neighborhood based or specific hotels?

 

I'd be into places to stay, too.

Also - best eats (regardless of beer) and things to do while there.

 

airbnb.

Any further discussion of Seattle lodging prices will send you straight to Portland.

 

Portland lodging prices suck too. Airbnb.

 

This.

Thank goodness you guys are paying for my Seattle stay this summer.

 

Russian River does not distribute to Washington.

 

You guys are awesome for having these threads. I'll be on Bainbridge Island for most of 2 weeks between 7/15 and 7/29. The trip is pretty wide open and we'll probably take 4-5 days at the end to stay somewhere else. Possibly down to Astoria/PDX, but there's enough to do in Washington that it may make sense to just stay in the Seattle region. We have a couple very small kids, but while we're on the island, we have babysitters. We'll probably take some day trips into the city with/without the kids.

I'm sure I can just use this guide, but one specific question is about any special beers that may be released during that time. I see in another thread that Black Raven Splinters might be out around then, which sounds great. I'll be overwhelmed by all the stuff I can't get elsewhere anyway, but I do love big beers, so I'm interested in stuff like that if it works out.

Any recommendations on non-beer related stuff is appreciated, but this guide alone is pretty great to have and I'll look through some of the old threads. I plan on taking at least one day to myself for a long hike out in Olympic NP. I also figure it's probably good to stock up at a bottle shop on the first day before heading out to the island.

 

I'll let the Seattle guys handle most of what you're wondering about, but I would like to throw in my usual caveat. We've got a lot of breweries, both WA/OR based, and from neighboring states, that you've never heard of. Just walk into wherever looks interesting to you, and try what they've got. Plus, you'll find find good beer in places that may surprise you (for example, in my town you can get good beer in an outdoors store, a book store, a bike shop, and several hair cutting places. We've got some generous laws), keep an open mind. And, please post up a trip report when you get home, we like hearing what people think of their visits. Cheers, and enjoy your trip!

 

Bumping back to the front page.

 

At my NBS buddy @beertunes and other Seattle folks, I'm hoping for some fine-tuned advice from this thread. First off, I'm staying near the Washington State Convention Center and attending a conference there. I attend this conference (NCSL) every year around the country and my dad and I always take one afternoon and do a brewery/brewpub/beer bar crawl. My pops really loves the breweries most and prefers those, but I'm open for a combination (especially given the spread out nature of the breweries).

Just to give y'all a sense, last year we hit a Twins game, then hit Fulton, walked a bunched, crossed the mighty Mississipp and hit Dangerous Man, Indeed, Bauhaus, and 612 breweries. I don't recall exactly but may have been 4-5 miles of walking. Point is we don't mind walking.

I mention this because looking in the vicinity of the Conv. Center, it seems the "closest" breweries that I want to do are Holy Mountain, Reuben's and Fremont (the latter two I've always intended to visit, the former I chose thanks to this thread). It appears there's no way in hell I'm walking to all three so I'm hoping for some suggestions from all. Are there stops we can make in between and take two shorter taxi rides? Are there other breweries or brewpubs we should add in between these stops ---which assumes we'd likely start at Fremont and then head to Reuben's and then HM or vice versa--- or legit beer spots?

We'd likely do this on a Wednesday PM. I'm not sure of the public transpo situation in Seattle but we're not afraid of that and not opposed to taxis, but we do like the walking and seeing the city aspect as well.

For the TL, DR crowd, please recommend stuff a great crawl that would include Holy Mountain, Reuben's and Fremont (if that's reasonable, of course).

 

The only real deadzone if you start at Fremont and end at Holy Mountain is between Ballard where Reuben's is and Interbay where Holy Mountain is. If you start at Fremont you can then swing by Outlander, then hit Hale's (not a place I'm personally interested in but they are on the way, as is Bad Jimmy's), then cruise to the Reuben's. While you're in that area of Ballard there are a ridiculous amount of breweries also nearby ... Stoup, Lucky Envelope, Maritime, Peddler, Hilliard's, Northwest Peaks. You can hit any number of those then move on to Holy Mountain. I've heard good things about Lucky Envelope and personally have enjoyed Stoup too. If you want food Maritime's Jolly Roger Taproom has great pub food and almost always beer on cask.

Pretty sure you can grab a bus (can't remember which line runs down 15th but it should take you almost directly to Holy Mountain). This tool is useful for planning bus trips http://m.tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/

 

There's a bus, the #26 IIRC, that will drop you right near Fremont Brewery. Fremont is your starting point, enjoy a pint or two, but not too many. Walk around the neighborhood, visit the Troll and Lenin. Go to Brouwers cafe. Continue walking on either 34th, 35th, or the Burke-Gilman Trail. You'll come to Hales Brewery and Maritime Pacific Brewing (neither of which are big favorites here on BA, but I enjoy both well enough, especially Maritime), as well as any bars that look interesting to you.

36th turns into Leary Way, keep on going until you decide if you want to check out Bad Jimmys Brewing. If not, keep going until you get to 45th, take that into Ballard, where you will find a nice little pod of orcas. B-Pod, if you will. After swimming with those whales, you can either bus back downtown, or swing by Holy Mountain. You can probably guess my choice. I was just at HM the other day, but wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to where the hell we were. The Seattlites will tell you if it's walkable, or if you'll need a cab/bus. You can hit a bunch of breweries on this trek. I've done it a few times, minus the HM leg. Gives you a nice feel for those neighborhoods, and a chance to explore some of breweries that don't get as much attention.

The Fremont-Ballard leg is only 2-3 miles, and a quick look at Bing maps says 2.7 miles from Reubens to HM. Collect 'em all! How long you in town for?

 

Thanks Terry. I'll be there August 2-6 for anyone interested in grabbing a beer or interested in an IP trade.

 

I'll see how things work out and let ya know.

Looks like @TheBungyo and I posted almost the same stroll. Great minds think alike. Post a separate thread when you're ready to hit the town for some beers, maybe a few Seattle BAs could meet ya.

 

I'll be in town with friends for the M's/Jays series next weekend, and we're considering our post-game plans on Saturday afternoon. Initially we were primarily leaning towards Fremont/Brouwers/Bravehorse (we love Bravehorse, and it's generally back in the direction of our accomodations). But now I'm thinking we may want to consider Fremont and them Ballard area breweries. Any feedback on the two options? I've never been to any of the Ballard area breweries, and only tried beers from a select few of them.

 

At some point you should hit Collins Pub. It's a short walk up from the stadium. As long as you're in town for the whole series, might as well hit the Ballard-Fremont groupings too.

 

Collins is indeed on the pre-game menu!

 

Others have covered the Fremont/Reuben's/Holy Mountain question adequately. Since I work at the convention center (in the office tower) I just wanted to add 2 cents about that area. As far as beer, the immediate area is kind of a dead zone. Best bets are probably Pine Box, Tap House Grill, and Yard House (in that order). A little farther away, Brave Horse in South Lake Union and Pike Brewing at the market. This is not an endorsement, but there is also a Rock Bottom nearby. I'm probably missing a couple spots but I'm only in that area for work so don't spend a lot of time drinking beer there. There's a spring version of this thread where you can find lots more info and discussion, and a few strong opinions about Yard House in particular. Enjoy your visit!

 

I'll add that, as a tourist who visits Seattle 6-8 times a year, draheim has pretty much nailed all the downtown spots I frequent. The only one missing that immediately comes to mind is the aforementioned Collins Pub.