Seattle’s Best Breweries

For a true Seattle experience, visit these fine breweries and sample a beer (or two or three)

With dozens found throughout the city, Seattle boasts one of the U.S.’s largest concentrations of breweries.

So forget about the Space Needle – if you want to tour Emerald City as the locals do, stop by some of these world-class watering holes.

Whether you join an organized tour – like the one offered thrice daily by local operator Road Dogs – or choose to go rogue and create an experience all your own, Seattle’s dizzying array of options won’t disappoint even the most experienced connoisseur.

Georgetown Brewing

Take-home beer growlers are fast becoming a common sight in Vancouver from breweries like Parallel 49 Brewing and Steamworks, but our Cascadian sibling has been embracing the trend for years.

The best place to grab a half-gallon of draft-to-go is Georgetown Brewing Company. Producing only draft beer, the location has no pub attached, but offers five full-time brews for patrons to enjoy at home.

Best Brew: Lucille India Pale Ale. Packed full of floral and citrus flavours and made with Cascade hops, this is the perfect summer tipple for beer aficionados.

Hilliard’s Beer

Found in one of Seattle’s most exciting neighbourhoods, Ballard, the Hilliard’s Beer brewery is the city’s version of hipster nirvana. Located in a restored warehouse, the brewery includes a massive tasting room filled with a bar and pool table, and peppered with round tables in the form of four-foot tall empty, wooden cable spools.

Unlike most craft breweries, Hilliard’s focuses on canned beer, offering its four house-made choices in pint-sized tins.

Best brew: Pils. Brewed for an impressive 10 weeks, this Czech-style pilsner is crisp, light and very approachable.

Hale’s Ales

Another of Ballard’s gems, Hale’s Ales is one part Seattle brewery, one part English pub. Decorated with an antique phone booth, worn leather couches and UK-inspired posters, it’s hard not to feel at home while sipping its authentic English brew – Hale’s employs age-old English brewing techniques (including nitrogen infusion), which accounts for its beer’s incredibly thick, creamy head.

Best brew: Troll Porter. Perfect for sipping, this dark brown porter has hints of coffee and malty sweetness, and goes down far too easily.

The Pike Brewing Company

Five minutes east of Puget Sound, the Pike Brewing Company offers a quiet respite from the hubbub of the fish and flower-filled Pike Place Market. Found in the same building as the brewery and beer museum, the Pike’s kitschy bar has historical photos of Seattle and sports and beer paraphernalia plastered over its expansive wood-panelled walls, giving this downtown watering hole the feel of a true neighbourhood pub.

Best brew: Pike Pale Heirloom Amber Ale. The brewery’s signature amber ale is medium bodied and slightly fruity, with hops that don’t overpower.