Visiting Seattle (Winter 2018 Update)

Once again, thanks for doing this.

 

Great list as always. Too bad The Shambles didn't open in time, maybe it'll make the Spring list.

 

Does Cloudburst have its own thread? I just did a search and went through the first 7 pages before giving up.

Anyway, I'm a horrible planner when it comes to my business trips and beer. I like to book my trips to arrive Sunday night late/Monday morning and leave Wednesday evening after meetings. This allows me to then catch up on Thursday and Friday, which is good from a work perspective.

What it's bad for is beer. I seem to always be passing by Moonraker while it's closed, and likewise it's now been back to back trips that I've not been able to hit Cloudburst. I bring this up not because I think Cloudburst is a must hit every time - they're good, but I prefer Reubens as my go to brewery and then hitting up the awesome beer shops like Chuck's, Beer Junction, etc. I mean filling growlers and crowlers at a bar??? That's amazing to me, being from CA! Ok, I'm babbling.

Basically, the point is I have two empty Cloudburst growlers that I won't be able to exchange for the deposit. If anybody is interested in them, let me know. I'll probably try to hit up Reubens tomorrow afternoon around 3 and can bring them with me.

Cheers!

 

I've never heard of a WA brewery offering any sort of refund/return on unwanted growlers.

Oh for certain, I wasn't suggesting it make the list without being open for a while first. Just that they've been hit with so many delays with permitting.

 

To clarify, Cloudburst doesn't just give you cash back. They apply $5 towards your next fill. Or at least they have for me 3 or 4 times.

 

You should note that Georgetown does not serve taster flights or beer on premises but simply lets you taste beer and buy it to go either in a Growler or cans/bottles. Also Cloudburst does not offer tasters as of the last time i visited.

 

Making individual mentions of whether breweries offer flights or not seems a bit too in-depth.

*Holy Mountain doesn't do tasters or flights, either.

 

Well it is the exception not the rule. Holy Mountain does half pours at least even though they are priced high. Even just noting that Georgetown doesn't technically have a tasting room would be important. I assumed it was a standard tasting room until I finally visited.

 

If you're choosing where to visit based on whether they do tasters or not... I can't help you. I understand the temptation to try it all, but when I reflect back I find that the taster size really isn't enough to actually understand that beer (and I could often pass on at least half the flight). Anecdotally, the brweries in Seattle that don't serve tasters tend to be the 'best' breweries IMHO.

 

I like places that offer small pours, but that's to cut down on my alcohol intake. Commit to a beer or two, you'll feel better.

 

I like my Coors cold in a frosted glass.

 

Any idea when? I'll be up there the first full week in February.. The place sounds intriguing.

 

Should be any day now.

 

Well considering I only usually spend a couple of days in Seattle at any given time as I am based out of San Diego tasters are a big part of a visit if I want to visit more than 1 brewery in a day. I could easily spend all day at Holy Mountain but then I wouldn't get to try other spots. Same thing goes for any other area I visit. When you have 2 days to visit 6 breweries tasters are essential.

 

I just normally have one beer at each place, maybe two. Even when traveling. [shrug]

Also, I'll be taking over Visiting Seattle duties with the Spring update, so feel free to fling ideas my way.

 

100% agree about tasters. I'm in Seattle for work right now and generally when I come up here each month I will get some crowlers of beers I like, to bring home for friends. This was a really bad trip for local Seattle hops, which I think just had to do with it being winter and most breweries focusing elsewhere. I'm glad I didn't have to commit to full pours of anything I tried.

I went to Redhook with a co-worker. Got a flight of 6 beers and and two splashes and only one did I have more than a sip of. Was at Reubens yesterday, and while it's normally my fav in the area, of the 5 tasters I had I only enjoyed one there as well. Likewise I hit up both Chuck's locations and had 8 tasters between them with splashes of a couple others - I only liked one. I even took a leap of faith in 4 staff recommended cans...and drain poured 3 of them.

But the total cost out of pocket was only <$30 for the tasters and I got to try 19 local beers I'd never had before (not including the 4 splashes and cans of course).

 

Oof. Those aren’t the kind of percentages anyone likes to see. Have a hard time believing the season affected these breweries’ ability to put out good hoppy offerings, but I hope your next trip proves more successful.