Elysian Tangletown

Elysian Tangletown  21May2017

Such a beautiful day today after a really foggy morning run. My wife decided to join me at Elysian Tangletown for a little lunch. 

Streets come into the intersection every which way but the pub is unmistakable.

I am visiting as part of my quest to visit every brewery in Seattle. As I found out today Elysian is not currently brewing at Tangletown but intends to start in June. Jeff Allworth points out that 10 Barrel does not really exist; it’s just a line-item in AB InBevs’ budget. https://www.beervanablog.com/beervana/2017/5/2/10-barrels-tenth-anniversary-there-is-no-10-barrel Elysian is in the same boat. So this is an exercise in a silly self-imposed goal. I am not sure that Tangletown qualifies as a brewery or that it even exists. Were the food and beer just illusions? If so, they were strangely satisfying.

Elysian Tangletown sits at the intersection of 5 streets in the tangled up neighborhood of Tangletown. We usually find it by driving north on Meridian from 50^th Street. The orange building and the signage make the place stand out. In warm weather the garage doors open up and people can sit at a few outdoor tables. As you walk in the main entrance you can see the dining area in front of you 

The dining area as you enter with the kitchen to the back.

and the bar to the right. 

The bar with a fair amount of booze.

I am not sure that Tangletown puts up a formal beer list but a menu and beer list are set out at each table.

The beer list. If you enlarge it, it might just be readable.

I looked over the beer list after asking our server what beers were actually brewed on site. I ordered a flight of 5 four ounce tasters. I wound up with a lot of IPA.

The flight from l to r: Savant IPA, Cedrela Oderata IPA, Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale, Chroma-key Oak-Aged Imperial IPA, and Raconteur Dark Lager.

Tasting Notes:

Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale (6.4%): Cloudy orange. Citrus and piney hop aroma and fruit ester aroma Sweet orange juice and bitter hops with piney fruity hop flavor. Bitter finish.

Raconteur Dark Lager (4.8%): Clear dark red brown. Roast malt aroma with fruity esters (for a lager?). Sweet roast malt. Very low bitterness late. Sweet roast finish.

Savant IPA (6.3%, 66 IBU): Clear gold. Juicy Nelson Sauvin hop aroma. Bitter and sweet up front with characteristic Nelson Sauvin hop flavor. Bitter finish.

Cedrela Oderata IPA (6.8%): Cloudy red gold. Lumber yard aroma. Cedar, hops, and sweet malt flavor all at once. Like walking into a cedar closet. Bitterness seems restrained by the wood. Bitter woody finish.

Chroma-key Oak-Aged Imperial IPA (8.0): Clear brownish amber. Little aroma. Sweet and bitter with little hop flavor. Woody. Oak and Vanilla. Lingering bitter finish. This beer tastes just the way you would want a barrel aged IPA to taste.

Tangletown is an outpost of the mega-brewer that controls 30% of the world beer market and it is disguised as a friendly local neighborhood brewery. I would like to say that neighborhood people walk in to visit but most people approach from the sides as if they just parked in the neighborhood after having driven in. We breathed in the fresh air flowing through the open garage doors and bathed in the Sun – my wife read her book patiently while I tasted beer. We watched foot and car traffic, both ate salmon sandwiches, 

The hefty salmon sandwich with side salad.

and finished off lunch with some sorbet. The food was good and the beer was well made (except the lager), which is what you would expect from a giant brewing concern. 

Afterward we drove around Ballard looking at flowering trees so my gardener wife could identify those that I saw on my morning run. Then home.