According to my friend Callan, there are five things you need for a great Saturday in Seattle.
Good Food
New Breweries
New Beer
Exploring Ballard
Best Buds
Adam found this brewery crawl route through Ballard on Reddit a couple weekends ago. We opted for the Short Version, which included 7 breweries. The only brewery one the list we had been to was Lagunitas, so we were pretty excited to give the rest a try!
We thought it would be best to start with brunch. Having a greasy base layer in your belly is great starting point for a day that will inevitably be full of beer. In the spirit of the day, we chose a spot we had never been to in Ballard - Salmon Bay Café. It's such a cute place next to the marina. It definitely had diner-y vibes due to the décor, seating, and menu. Everything as reasonably priced and the portions were HUGE. I mean - just look at this omelet!
After catching up over brunch, we started the brewery crawl!
Lagunitas
Beer: Wet Hopped Fusion 2000
The Bergschrund/NW Peaks Brewery
Beer: Peakbagger 1217
Peddler
Beer: Tropic Thunder IPA
Reuben's
Beer: Crikey IPA || Also tasted the Raspberry Sour (it tasted like raspberry jam and it was everything)
Snack: Cheese Wizards
Stoup
Beer: Citra IPA
Lucky Envelope
Beer: Buddha's Hand Citron IPA || Also tasted their Raspberry Sour - it was really good too!
Populuxe
Beer: Technobabble IPA
Snack: Peasant Food Manifesto || Kimchi mac & cheese was bomb
My advice if you decide to try out this route yourself:
Don't get a full pour at each brewery
Do a taste test before ordering
Don't forget to drink water
Do get snacks along the way
Do share your beer with you friends - swap them if you like theirs better!
Don't get a late start
If you're looking for a fun way to spend a Saturday or have friends in town and want to show them a good time, I highly recommend this self-directed brewery crawl. It was such a blast, we're already talking about trying out the extended 10-brewery version in the summer!
Let me know if you've planned a similar day, you favorite local brewery, or the best beer you've had recently!