Seattle Brewery Tours

The Best Brews in the Puget Sound Cooler

In Seattle, there are two things you can always count on: 

1.) It probably will rain today 

                     and 

2.) A brewery is waiting for you just around the corner. 

Lucky for you Beer Me Bro’ did some homework and found the Top 3 best brewery tours in Seattle.

Locations

Downtown Seattle is home to a handful of breweries, such as the Pike Brewery in Pike Place Market, but most breweries need more space than downtown venues can provide. Just north of downtown are the Elysian Brewery in Capitol Hill and the Fremont Brewery in Fremont, both of which are easily accessible from downtown by bus. If you're staying on the east side or taking a peek at the Microsoft campus, you can stop by Mac & Jack's Brewery in Redmond or the Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville. South Seattle is home to Big Al's Brewery, which has a dog-friendly beer garden in the summertime and the Elliott Bay Brewery in Burien.

Road Dogs Brewery Tours

This tour group offers a tour of three Seattle breweries in three hours. With over 150 breweries in the Evergreen state, 80 of which are classified as microbrews. Road Dog brewery tours has the heart of downtown Seattle covered. When you tour with this group, you will experience craft beers rain or shine. A Road Dog brewery tour is committed to ensuring you get to drink delectable micro beers. So make your reservation and hop on board!

 There are two brewery tours offered: Join-In Brewery Tours and Private Brewery Tours.  Each Road Dog's Seattle Brewery Tour includes transportation to and from each brewery, 3 samples at each brewery, a custom Road Dog's Seattle Brewery Tour t-shirt and souvenir pint glass, a behind the scenes guided tour of the fabulous beer creating process, and more!

Road Dog Brewery Tours:

Join-In Tours start at $79 per person. 

Our Private Tours start at $150 per hour. 

Tours begin at: 10:30am, 2:30pm & 6:00pm

Microbrewery Tour Package

Nobody knows the craft beer landscape better than the locals! This $105 half-day tour with a local guide includes transportation and pick-up or drop-off at local hotels, snacks, sights of historic Seattle landmarks and all tastings are included.

Between breweries, your guide will take you past several scenic viewpoints throughout the city to see the mountains, lakes, cityscape and vibrant neighborhoods that make Seattle so beautiful. Bring your camera for historic pictures of Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, the Space Needle and the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Breweries you may visit on this tour:

• Maritime Pacific Brewing Company


• Hale’s Ales

• Fremont Brewing Company


• Georgetown Brewing Company


• Schooner Exact Brewing Company


• Elliot Bay Brewpub


• Pike Brewing Company


• Elysian Brewing Company


• Capitol Hill or Full Throttle Beer

By the end of this tour, you may be drinking by the barrel, but you will be a beer buff of the Seattle brewery scene!

Proud to be from Bend

Bend, Oregon... a beautiful town set within the Cascade Mountains and the Deschutes River flowing through the center. I am extremely happy to say I am from such a fantastic place with Mt. Bachelor and the river so close by; one other piece that could not be overlooked, even if you tried, are the amazing breweries scattered throughout town. 

With one of the highest breweries per capita around, Bend is home to some of the best micro brews from places like Goodlife Brewing Co., Brew Werks Brewing, Bend Brewing Co., Silver Moon Brewery, Cascade Lakes Brewing Co.,  10 Barrel Brewing Co., Boneyard Beer, Three Creeks Brewing, and more! 

The Brewery that really put Bend on the map, that most beer lovers probably know of already is Deschutes Brewery. This brewery pumps out around 225,000 barrels of beer every year! And they are only getting bigger. Fun fact: a barrel is two kegs which is 31 gallons of beer! That is a lot of deliciousness being sent all over the US. 

I was fortunate enough to take a tour of the Brewery with some friend last time I was home and they have an impressive operation going on. The tour starts out with 4 samples of their beers on tap (always a good way to start a tour) and then you are lead through the brewery, getting to see where they brew, how they brew, how they taste test the beer (which ends up being 20 samples before lunch if you have that job), and you get to see  and hear about the history of the Brewery. 

Year Round Brews: Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Inversion IPA, Green Lakes Organic Ale, Obsidian Stout, Cascade Ale, & Chainbreaker White IPA. 

Seasonal Brews: Red Chair NWPA, Twilight Summer Ale, & Jubelale.

Bond Street Series: Hop Henge, Hop in the Dark, Hop Trip, & Fresh Hop Mirror Pond. 

Reserve Series: The Abyss, Jubel 2010, Black Butte XX/XXI, The Dissident, Mirror Mirror, Black Butte XXIII, & The Stoic. 

My favorites so far are the Chainbreaker White IPA and Red Chair; then again I do enjoy the Inversion and Black Butte Porter... and all of the other ones. You can read up on all of them by clicking the names and figure out which ones you want to try! 

I highly suggest the next time you want to enjoy a great micro brew, pick up a Deschutes Brewery Beer and you won't be disappointed. 

-Mike 

The Liquor ‘Lympics

The summer games may be in London, but the Liquor 'Lympics 2012 are in your backyard. Everyone who has pulled one of knows that some form of athletic skill and balance are required to accomplish a keg stand solo. However, did you now that there a people out there who have dedicated Beer Olympics? Well, Beer Me Bro’ has a list of potential games that anyone who calls themselves an athlete should try to conquer. Watch this motivational video to learn how to train like a champ!

Here is a list of Liquor 'Lympics events that you consider:

Case Race: relay race in which you and your partner or team race from one point to another while carrying a case of beer and drinking on beer during your turn.

Which one will lead you to the gold? 

Beer Pong: a classic of the ages, half-full cups of beer are set up like bowling pins. Throw or bounce a ping pong ball into any cup, and your opponent must drink its contents
order your beer pong table here

Shotgun Beers: this event is comparable to the 100 meter dash, you may be the next Usian Bolt of beer

 Survivor Flip Cup: pound the beer, then hit it from the bottom causing the cup to flip and land upside down on the table

Beer Can Toss: similar to the NBA 3-point contest, but the Olympian drains a beer and then shoots the can into a hoop or basket while shooting from an arc.

Drunk  Dodge ball:  mix Gatorade and Vadka to generate “Vaderade”, then everyone plays dodge ball and if your body is hit or you spill your beer, you are out my friend

Battleshots: “the college version of Battleship”, Boom! You sunk my battleshot! Sound effects are not included…

Push it to the Limit: push-up then drink, repeat until exhausted

To enter an epic site with rules and beer games, click here. I want you to visualize yourself on the podium, holding a 40 proudly above your head. Yes, you are the champion.

Join the Beer Me Bro’ FB page  and begin training for the summer games.

Go for the gold, because anything less would be shorting yourself, champ.
-Brandon

Death by Iron Horse

Cold Beer in Windy City

What would a college town in Eastern Washington be without a great local brewery? Fortunately enough for Ellensburg that is a question beer lovers will never have to answer. Ellensburg is home to Central Washington University where the wind speeds are faster than the speed limits and the police force accounts for a quarter of the population. Luckily enough the bars are in walking distance and we have .08 on our side.

The Iron Horse Brewery is located in the heart of Ellensburg just a few minutes from campus. The brewery has been made famous by their ever-popular Quilters Irish Death accompanied by a healthy tap of nine other delicious refreshments. Jim Quilter a former assistant brewmaster at the Sierra Nevada brewery was the genius in charge of creating this masterpiece. When asked to describe this tasty beer myself and the brewery both are at a loss for words attempting to use adjectives such as a dark, smooth ale. However, drinkers will also notice an almost sweet candy like taste, truly putting the Irish Death in a league of its own and on the shopping list. Let us not forget that the Death gets its name from its hefty 7.8% ABV ensuring an instant return on investment for the night.

Beers on Tap:

·      Double Rainbow

·      Light Rail Ale

·      Mocha Death

·      Cozy Sweater

·      Black IPA

·      Iron Horse IPA

·      509 Style

·      Malt Bomb

·      High Five Hefe

Keggerrr !!!

Size	Gallons	Est. # of Beer	Price	Price/Beer
1/6 bbl	5.16	55 (12 oz pours)	$69.00**	$1.25/glass
1/2 bbl	15.5	165 (12 oz pours)	$149.00**	$.90/glass

Justin Whitman 

http://www.ironhorsebrewery.com/brews/

Growling for a Growler

Over Spring break, my friend Max and I ventured into the Georgetown area of Seattle. We found a diamond of hops in a rough area. I encourage you to check Georgetown Brewery out and sample five craft beers for free. However, don’t plan on eating food there because GT Brewery only sells beer by volume. GT Brewery has a premium selection of beers to include: Manny’s Pale Ale, Roger’s Pilsner, Chopper’s Red Ale, Georgetown Porter, Lucille Indiana Pale Ale, Lisa’s Chocolate Stout. To read the full descriptions of each beer, check out GT Brewery’s site.

History of the Brewery

Georgetown Brewery started blending wheat and barley in their new space in the fall of 2008 and the new tasting room opened in June of 2010. Founders Roger Bialous and Manny Chao are "a couple of beer loving local boys who brewed up a pretty darn tasty beer in the garage (actually it was the back deck, but garage sounds better)." Inspired by their beer, both quit their jobs and started GT Brewery. The current capacity allows GT to brew up to 35,000 barrels per year!

Ideal situation for GT Brewery: pints, growlers & kegs for pre-game, business parties, weddings and special events

Beer Available In Kegs •    Manny's Pale Ale •    Roger's Pilsner •    Chopper's Red •    Georgetown Porter •    Lucille IPA  Keg Sizes and Pricing Because some of the GT beers cost more to make, there are two prices. The good news is, most of their beer is the lower price (Manny's, Roger's, Chopper's, and Porter). Only Lucille and the specialty beers have a preminum cost. Price 16oz 12oz Case Eq. 15.5 gal keg "1/2 barrel" $155 / $165 124 165 6.9 cs 7.75 gal keg "1/4 barrel" $88 / $94 62 83 3.45 cs 5.16 gal keg "1/6 barrel" $64 / $68 41 55 2.3 cs 2.61 gal keg "mini" $34 / $37 21 28 1.1 cs 0.5 gal "growler" $7 / $8 4 5 0.22 cs Non-Georgetown Growlers will cost $9 / $10 to fill. All prices include sales tax. Our Philosophy Good Beer = Happiness. Bad Beer = Go Back and Work For The Man. Brandon

Keys To Success

A common misconception about drinking beer is that you should only do it on Friday and Saturday nights. However, after being in college for four years I can attest that some of my best nights out were in fact mid week! Just because you have an 8am class or work at 6 doesn't mean you have to forfeit a good time until the weekend my friends. There are a few helpful hints into getting out of bed and ready to start your day off right. My first piece of advice, start early, start often. Don't wait until 10pm to start your drinking! Science proves that alcohol will still be in your system in the morning if you begin your night a little too late. Next, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I can't over emphasize the importance of starting your night out well hydrated. This alone can make or break your morning. The famous saying rings true, you have to rehydrate, before you can dehydrate. If your really on a bender, make sure to drink a Gatorade before bed and try to mix in a few glasses of water throughout the night. Drinking a sports drink before drinking beer can also prove to combat hangovers. On a side note, try to give yourself a solid 6-8 hours to sleep off the booze and you'll be ready to hit it hard in the morning. A few common strategies in the morning I have learned is to make sure the night before that you set out everything you need in the morning. Set the coffee maker so that you'll be able to wake up to a nice hot brew. Make sure that in the morning you take a shower and alternate from hot to cold water and back. This should help wake you up and get you ready to go. Finally, avoid sugary drinks. They may be fun, cute, tasty, and also the prime cause of massive hang overs. Follow these steps and your mornings will be a breeze! Drink more beer, reduce hangovers, and get more done the next day! 

-Justin Whitman 

Ninkasi, Rogue, & Falling Sky; The Triple Threat

Last weekend I decided to make my way down to Oregon to visit some friends at U of O and OSU... It was a very eventful weekend to say the least. This trip presented a great opportunity to try some of the delicious Oregon micro brews in the name of research for this blog of course. I figured my first experience would come once I got to Eugene, but I was informed by the friend I was staying with that if I did not stop at a Rogue Brewery (http://www.rogue.com/) in Portland and pick up their newest concoction then I would not be welcome (this was in a mostly joking manner... I think).

To avoid any risk of sleeping outside I figured the best course of action was to pick up Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale. Just like breakfast, this beer is good at any time of day; with the smell of maple and a hint of bacon when you take a sip, it is absolutely a one of a kind treat.

The first Eugene brewery we ventured to was Falling Sky Brewing (http://fallingskybrewing.com/) for dinner. They had just finished their first batch of beer and of course we needed to give all of them a try. We decided on a flight so we could sample all of the beers with our meals. The brews we had were: a Bare Hands Bitter, Persuasion, First Flight IPA, Pouring Porter, Irish Red, and a Blonde. My personal favorites were the Porter, which had full flavor, but wasn't too heavy and the IPA with a great hoppy taste with not too much bitterness and a hint of grapefruit.

The next day I had to check out Ninkasi Brewing Company (http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/). They are one of my favorite breweries, and fun fact, Ninkasi is the ancient Sumarian matron goddess of the intoxicating beverage, beer... who wouldn't want to drink with her?!

So my friends, Pierce and Megan and myself decided to walk since it was finally sunny and warm outside. We walk through the gates into a small, but very welcoming entrance to order our beer of choice. I decided on the

Tricerahops Double IPA which has double of everything from a regular IPA; it had fantastic full hoppy flavor that was still not overpowering. Not to mention it is about 8% so one pint was good for me in the middle of the day.


I would highly recommend going to all three of these breweries whenever possible or picking up their beers in the store if you are looking for something awesome to drink.

In the words of a very interesting man, "Stay thirsty my friends."

-Michael Warsaw