Elliott Bay Brewery Lake City

Elliott Bay Brewery Lake City  15Feb2017

Looking across Lake City Way at Elliott Bay Brewery

On a day that otherwise contained a routine errand, Renee offered to drive me to Lake City (it’s on the way home) to stop at the Elliott Bay Brewery. We were able to snag a parking spot right in front of the joint – surprise! – maybe because a Wednesday after lunch time is a good time to hit Lake City. The establishment fronts right on the sidewalk and yet is clearly visible perhaps due to its decent size. Elliott Bay Brewery is locally owned and has three current locations. Besides Lake City it has locations in West Seattle and Burien. All locations have food.

As you enter the front doors you see the entrance to the downstairs event space in front of you and to the left is the host station. Beyond the stairs you see the bar with the beer list prominently chalked above the bar.

The chalked up beer list above the bar

 Restaurant seating is scattered around the room. We chose a window seat overlooking picturesque (well, maybe not so much) Lake City Way with its constant stream of traffic. We were presented with a comprehensive beer list and menus. 

The comprehensive beer list with plenty of information

I chose a flight of tasters and we ordered the pretzel plate. The pretzel was ginormous.

The flight with the helpful list: (l to r) Elliott Bay Pilsner, Lake City Way IPA, B-Town Brown, Chocolate Porter, and Fauntleroy Imperial Stout

Tasting Notes:

Elliott Bay Pilsner (5.0% 20 IBU): Clear gold. Hoppy malt aroma. Crisp dry malt with bitterness at the back of the tongue. Good hop flavor. Dry bitter finish. My perception of the bitterness level was greater than the IBU level would suggest.

B-Town Brown (5.2% 19 IBU): Clear reddish brown. Roast malt aroma. Dry roast malt flavor with late bitterness. Some fruit notes. Bitter dry finish.

Chocolate Porter (6.5% 33 IBU): Roast malt and chocolate aroma. Opaque brown with dark red highlights at the bottom of the glass. Very dry, roast malt, slight chocolate (suggested by the name?) late bitterness. Roasty, dry-bitter finish.

Lake City Way IPA (6.0% 75 IBU): Reddish gold with a slight haze. Fruity lemon hop aroma. Very dry hop assault tasting of citrus. Medium body and late sweetness. Bitter citrus finish.

Fauntleroy Imperial Stout (9.2% 44 IBU): Opaque black with a slight red hue at the bottom of the glass. Sweet fig and roast malt aroma. Medium dry, burnt malt, late bitterness. Bitter dry finish.

Elliott Bay has been brewing beer since 1997 and the insights learned in that time show in the beer. All of these beers were well made – very dry and flavorful. The lack of cloying sweetness means I could drink a lot of any of these beers before I noticed how plastered I had become. The food was good but no fine dining experience, which suits my taste. I am not sure that a convenient public transportation option exists to get me to Lake City from Ballard – east west trips are usually problematic. I guess I will find out when I visit Hellbent Brewing.