Seattle is known for a lot of things, including coffee, the Space Needle, great wilderness and beautiful mountain views, and yes, rain. But it is also known for really good beer.
You could spend an entire visit to the Pacific Northwest just sampling the breweries around, no need to go anywhere else in Washington State. As a local, I have had ample opportunity to sample many of the beer that Seattle has to offer and these are my picks for Seattle’s best breweries.
Best Seattle breweries by neighborhood
Fremont neighborhood
Fremont Brewing
This large brewery is next to the canal and the Burke Gilman Trail making it a perfect stop during a walk or bike ride to visit the many unique things to do in Seattle. Fremont Brewing is a dog friendly brewery with lots of indoor and outdoor seating, with heaters overhead on their outdoor patio so you can enjoy it year round.
There are two bars and some sandwiches and other snacks for sale inside. You can also bring in your own food if you want. They have a lot of different styles of beer on offer with lots of IPAs, several dark beers, and some lighter lagers and ales.
Aslan Brewing
In the heart of Fremont is Aslan Brewing. They serve 100% organic certified beer. Their indoor seating is pretty big and one room is an eclectic mix of couches and comfy chairs. There isn’t really any outdoor seating at this one but they do allow dogs inside. You can also order food from the restaurant next door, Local Tide, which they have a partnership with and the food is amazing.
They have a variety of beers on tap, lots of IPAs and then a smattering of others.
Ballard neighborhood – The Ballard brewery district
The Ballard Brewery District is really a great spot to go to fully experience Seattle’s craft beer scene and has the best craft breweries in Seattle within a small area. Not to mention it also has several food truck options always available to choose from.
Obec
I wish more people visited Obec. They truly have great beer and it is mostly Czech style, and trust me (I married a Czech), the Czech’s know their beer. Not to mention the beer is good! I love their brown and amber ales and my husband loves their pilsner.
They have an outdoor covered patio and indoor seating where they can open a big garage style door during the warmer months to make the whole place have an indoor/outdoor feel. It’s practically next door to Stoup and Urban Family, which each have their own food truck schedule and is across the street from a pizzeria. So, drink the beer and bring in your own food. Oh, and your dog too, did I mention that most of the breweries in Seattle are extremely dog friendly and usually have lots of extra water bowls for them and a few even have treats.
Reuben’s brews
Across the street from Great Notion (see below, my favorite brewery) is Reuben’s Brews. More of a taproom style brewery, they have lots of different beer and cider on tap from a variety of different breweries. The atmosphere here is always hopping and the outdoor patio in the summer is always packed with people and dogs, it can be challenging to find a place to sit.
Bale Breaker and Yonder Cider
This one is one of our go-to spots. The beer and cider here is a bit cheaper than the other breweries but with the same quality. The original Bale Breaker is in Yakima Valley. There they also grow their own hops on site and is a great place to go visit on a road trip outside of Seattle (Yakima Valley also has some great wineries).
They also brew a very few select beers in house in their Ballard location. Because it’s like a two for one place you can try from a huge list of ciders and beer depending on your palate and what you enjoy. I always find myself drinking Yonder Cider while I am there and my husband loves their IPAs. You can find both Bale Breaker and Yonder Cider in most grocery stores as well.
Urban Family
Urban Family is definitely known for their sour beers. They have 5-6 different sours, along with a variety of IPAs and couple other styles. They have lots of indoor and outdoor seating and always a food truck outside. This brewery is for those that like their sours, well, sour. They have more pucker than say the sours you will get from Great Notion, which are more fruity and have a more balanced fruit to sour ratio in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I like the sours from Urban Family (and sours are my favorite beers in general) but they definitely have a higher pucker factor.
Urban Family is right across the road from Stoup Brewing and right in the heart of the brewery district.
Wheelie Pop Brewing
Just around the corner from, well, a lot of other breweries, like Urban Family, Obec, Stoup and Great Notion (I could go on), is Wheelie Pop. This small brewery is tucked away on it’s own on a side street in the Ballard brewery district. It does attract a crowd and though I don’t visit this one often it’s definitely worth checking out.
They have board games available and will sometimes have a hotdog cart outside. With a wide variety of beer styles there is something for everyone and their beers are brewed with mostly North American hops with a particular preference of course for Pacific Northwest hops and they pride themselves on trying to ensure they are brewing sustainably.
Cloudburst brewing
Cloudburst has two main locations, with one being in downtown Ballard. This one is not in the brewery district but next to Ballard Locks (a must see by the way). If you like hoppy IPAs, this brewery is for you. Located on a side street with it’s own live in food truck, this little brewery has more IPAs then most.
I am not an IPA drinker, but I have tried a couple of their lagers and really enjoyed them. I was a but unsure about Cloudburst at first because I am not into IPAs and wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about their lagers, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Their other location is located close to the Bell Harbor International Conference center in the main downtown area. If you head from Pike Place Market down to the pier level and head north you will find yourself at the conference center and the brewery is just a block or two in from there.
Great Notion
In my opinion Great Notion is the best brewery in Seattle (I even bought the sweatshirt). They have by far the best sour beers (try Luminous, Holiday Fruit Monster and Seedless when available) and hazy IPAs (try Ripe and Overripe when available) of anywhere with some of the most unique beers in the Seattle area.
You can sit inside or there is a small amount of outdoor seating. At Great Notion there is no outside food allowed, they have the Burbs located inside that offers hamburgers, fries and chicken nuggets. So, if your more into the food truck scene that goes hand-in-hand with the breweries, I would hit up a different brewery first and grab some food at the many food trucks before ending your beer adventure at Great Notion.
Kenmore
Stoup brewing
Located right in the heart of Kenmore is Stoup Brewing. This is, however, just one of their locations, with their main brewery in Ballard and a new taproom in Capitol Hill in one of the biggest and nicest spaces of any of the breweries. Stoup has great beer with a ton of options, it can be hard to pick.
The brewery in Kenmore has a full food menu as well and is kind of a hybrid brewery and restaurant, with dog-friendly outdoor seating. This location is the only one of the three with a full menu. The other two always have a food truck available outside and other nearby food options as well, so make sure to check them all out. The newest addition in Capitol Hill is next door to a bowling alley/pool hall, which is a lot of fun and is in the heart of Capitol Hill.
Cairn Brewing
With a more local feel, Cairn has a warm and inviting indoor space with lots of seating and a few overstuffed couches where you can watch the game. They offer a variety of beers and often have events going on at the brewery depending on the time of year. This one is right off the Burke Gilman Trail but still within the main Kenmore area.
The beer is also quite good. They have a mix of sours, IPAs, lagers and ales for everyone and sell things like homemade dog biscuits and a few other human snacks. They also have a food truck schedule available, with rotating trucks every day.
Capitol Hill
Outer Planet
I discovered this brewery purely by accident and what a happy accident it was! Practically next door to Morfire hotpot (which I highly recommend) is Outer Planet. Both are found on a kind of unassuming street next to the main park in Capitol Hill, a very short walk away from the main shops and restaurants.
Outer Planet is a small brewery that produces small-batch beers of all types with some of the most creative outer space names. Grab a flight and some board games and just chill in this locals brewery. My husband and I played a game of Cards against Humanity and I laughed so hard tears were pouring down my face, it made for a memorable night of good food and a great find in Outer Planet.
University District
Big Time Brewing
Big Time is one of the oldest breweries in the city and is a great spot to hang out and people watch in University District. They have a small outdoor patio where you can bring your dog as well as some indoor seating and their own full menu, so no outside food allowed.
What I love about Big Time Brewing is actually the people. Their staff are some of the nicest people I have met. Every time I have been there, they have gone above and beyond. Just as an example, the three of us (my husband, my dog, Zubie, and I) stopped there for a beverage or two and shortly after we arrived it began to rain, so we decided to just sit tight and wait it out before walking home. The bartender came out and recommended we move more towards the middle of the patio to avoid getting wet (we were the only ones there) and brought us blankets to keep us warm. Not to mention the bowl of water for Zubie.
The beer is good but maybe not the best beers in the city, but it has one of the best vibes and why I consider it one of the top breweries in Seattle.
Honorable mentions
Burke Gilman Brewing
I live really close to this one, so I have to include it. I also like it there. Just off the, you guessed it, Burke Gilman trail, is the Burke Gilman Brewery. Slightly outside of the University District, this small brewery has some really great beers, though their prices are a bit steeper than some of the other breweries. I am a huge fan of the hefeweizen.
They are extremely dog friendly and my dog loves their biscuits (and from what I have heard from others, he isn’t the only one). Next door you can grab food from the El Camion food truck and bring it in and the brewery also has a really nice outdoor patio with heaters.
Ravenna Brewing Company
Next to University District behind U Village is Ravenna Brewing Company. Another smaller brewery but with really great beer. They have a mix of indoor and outdoor seating and also an event space for bigger parties. They are dog friendly and also have a regular food truck schedule available.
They have a nice mix of beer styles on the menu with their rotating taps and you can usually find a selection of IPAs, lagers, and darker beers.
Lucky Envelope Brewing
Still within the Ballard Brewery district but slightly on the outskirts is Lucky Envelope Brewing, known for their culturally inspired beers based on their own travel experiences. With rotating taps (as with most of the breweries around here) you will get unique beers from sours to IPAs to stouts.
Fair Isle Brewing
Practically next door to Bale Breaker and Yonder Cider is Fair Isle Brewing. Known for their lagers and mixed-culture saisons, this small brewery has both indoor and outdoor seating, though the outdoor seating is rather small with just a few tables available. They have also recently opened a kitchen boasting things like fermented foods and dry aged meats.
Concluding Thoughts
Seattle definitely has a thriving craft beer scene with a huge number of breweries all over the city. It is the perfect place to visit in the United States for the adventurous beer lovers who love some delicious craft beer.
Many of these breweries can be accessed from the Burke Gilman trail, including the breweries in Kenmore, the Burke Gilman brewing company, University District, Fremont and Ballard. So, grab a bike and make a day of it and make sure to bring a bike bag for all those 4-packs your going to want to bring home with you!
