Seattle Official Visitors Guide 2008-2009 - (Page 94) DINING TAPPING INTO SEATTLE’S BREWING HERITAGE Above, from left: Redhook Ale Brewery offers tours; Seattle International Beer Fest. Credits: ©Anna Zoromski/Weaver, ©Seattle International Beer Fest T here are few things cozier to do in Seattle during a rainy day than hole up in a brewpub with some friends and enjoy some locally brewed beer. Many claim that Washington started the mircrobrew craze 20 years ago. In fact, it boasts one of the country’s largest concentrations of breweries, and with good reason. Three-fourths of the nation’s hops — one of beer’s major ingredients — are produced in the nearby Yakima Valley. The area’s pristine sources of mountain spring water and other fresh local ingredients make it an ideal brewing ground. There are plenty of ways for visitors to celebrate the area’s beery heritage. Many of the local brewers, including Redhook Ale Brewery and Pike Brewing Company, offer tours of their operations where you can see the suds go from grains to glass and enjoy a sampling of the brewery’s pride and joy. Be sure to check their websites for seasonal hours and special events. If you’d rather enjoy your ale with some good eats, both places offer full menus, as do the Pyramid Alehouse, Quinn’s “gastropub” and the Elysian Brewing Company’s three locations. Waiters can recommend the perfect beer to go with your order. Seattle also offers an extraordinary number of intimate pubs that have dozens of local beers on tap. The bartender is likely to have many theories on what makes Seattle beers the best, so be sure to ask what their favorites are. Stick to the tried-and-true lagers, ales, stouts and pilsners, or try something really different like marionberry wheat, pumpkin ale or chocolate porter. You might also choose your beer by its tap handle. It’s a virtual runway-show contest among brewers to come up with the most unique, eye-catching tap for their brew — everything from a spaceship to an oar to a lightening bolt can be found behind the bar. Further evidence of Seattleites’ love of a pint is the number of annual beer events, including The Washington Brewers festival in June, the Seattle International Beer Fest in July, the Winter Beer Festival in December, the Washington Cask Beer Festival in March and Hops & Props at the Museum of Flight in April. These beer extravaganzas feature entertainment, contests and keg tosses and, of course, enormous selections of craft beers from Seattle and beyond. 94 WWW.VISITSEATTLE.ORG http://WWW.VISITSEATTLE.ORG
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