If you love your coffee, beer and all things brewed, you will love Seattle! There is a different coffee shop and/or brewery on almost every corner, and I’m not just talking Dunkin and Starbucks. I guess in a city that is either dark and/or rainy most of the year, you need something to warm you up, give you some energy, and lift your spirits. What better way than Seattle coffee and beer?

Caffe Vita

Per recommendation from our host, we went to Caffe Vita to get some beans. When we arrived, the girl working was very friendly, was able to guide us in the right direction of what to purchase, and ground up the beans for us. We decided on the Caffe Luna blend, which even though was a darker roast, was very smooth. This location was Greenwood and 74^th, but it looks as though there are several locations where you can find Seattle coffee and beer!

Herkimer Coffee

Right next door to Caffe Vita, there was a place called Herkimer Coffee, which I had to go to just because of the name. (All my former cheerleading friends will get the photo below!) We were persuaded to get their drip-blend coffee, which turned out to be delicious as well. Right in the same area they also have an ice cream/brewery (ugh SIGN ME UP!), a few restaurants, a flower shop and more! Seattle coffee AND beer all within a few steps! This is also just scratching the surface of the coffee scene in Seattle because there is SO much!

The Starbucks Reserve and Roastary is a definite must see, even though we only walked through. Here they only sell the Reserved, specialty blends, and you can watch the beans being roasted, and then sucked up when ready to be packaged. Very cool!

So many Seattle Breweries!

When we got to our Airbnb, we were looking through all the tourist brochures, and found the one on the breweries. Holy moly!! There are SO many breweries JUST in Seattle! Never mind the 300+ in the State of Washington! We learned that most of the hops come from the Yakima Valley in WA, which makes a lot of sense! While we were in Seattle for 2 weeks, we visited Flying Bike, Elysian, Freemont, Reuben’s, Lucky Envelope, Peddler, Stoup and Four Generals.

Chuck’s Hop Shop

Our Airbnb with Cody was in the Greenwood neighborhood which is close to many things. From our place, we could walk to Chuck’s Hop Shop, an awesome place that has about 50 beers and ciders on tap, and hundreds of other bottles and cans for sale. Each day they would have a new food truck out front, which came in handy!

Flying Bike Cooperative Brewing

From our place, we could also walk to Greenwood Street where there are several bars, restaurants, and breweries. Flying Bike Cooperative Brewing was within walking distance from our place, and our host’s favorite spot. This place is much different than other breweries, because it is a co-op, member based brewery. We went in shortly after they opened on a Thursday and I enjoyed a flight to sample most of the beers. The girl working was Jenna, and she was so nice chatting with us about our travels. I hope she ends up reading this someday and sees the shout out! Hey Jenna! J I really liked their Scotch Ale, which was a member created beer, and it was 8.5%, didn’t taste like it, but sure felt like it!

Elysian

Elysian was merely a stop after a day of exploring, and the location we went to was a restaurant too, with a full bar. We really liked the Avatar IPA (even I liked it!) and the Joyeux Hiver, which were both unlike anything we have ever had. The IPA was almost sweet, and the other was filled with spices that reminded me of Christmas. I could have warmed it up and had it by a fire!

Reubens

Reubens was also recommended by our host, located in Ballard. We went here before going to Golden Garden Park for sunset. I got a hefeweizen, which must have been a limited seasonal, because I cannot find the name! Tiago got a super citrusy, almost orange juice like New England style IPA called Crush Series. It was a dry, sunny day, so many people were outside on the patio getting some vitamin D before the sun set!

Enjoy some grub at Paseo

Surprise surprise, on one morning, we wake up at 5:30am, start working at 6, only for Tiago to say, “Wait, I think I have the day off!” So we got ready and went to Paseo, a cheap eats location on  and beer Freemont, which was a Caribbean sandwich shop. This was a great stop before enjoying some Seattle coffee! Don’t expect to go here and just get takeout to have in your car. It was quite the messy but a juicy delicious experience. Paseo was a really small storefront with maybe enough room for 10 people to sit and eat, but on a dry day, they have outdoor seating too. I enjoyed the famous Caribbean Roast sandwich which was half eaten with a fork because everything kept falling out! I loved the spicy taste with a sweetness from what tasted like pineapple. After Paseo, we wanted to go to the zoo, but since it was pouring out, we opted for a brewery crawl instead.

Freemont Brewing

Freemont Brewing was our first stop, where I got the Pink Boots Ale, which was ok and Tiago got his typical IPA. The “Seattle Freeze” was evident here, or at least with the guy who took our order. I went up to the counter, politely ordered our beers, and his stone cold face said “ok, $10.” Well then! You have a nice day sir!

Ballard Breweries

Next, we headed up to Ballard, and went to Stoup Brewing, which is a nice, small brewery, with really fun and friendly people working there. One girl appeared to be new, but was very helpful in us making our choices. We both really liked the “Hoppy Farmhouse” beer the most!

From Stoup, we started walking to Peddler, but saw a sign for “Beer this way” and stumbled into Lucky Envelope Brewing where we shared a flight of all their beers. We really like sharing flights, so we can get a taste of all, or some of the beers a place has to offer without getting too hammered! They had a great variety, including a guest cider, which we both enjoyed.

Our last stop was Peddler Brewing, which was a bike themed brewery, where we split another flight, but since it was our last stop, I really don’t remember the beers I liked, but I’m sure they were great!  Ha! However, looking at the list below jogged my memory a bit, and I remember really liking the wildflower honey wit!

Four Generals Brewing

On another day, after our hike at Rattlesnake Ledge, we stopped at Four Generals Brewing in Renton. They had a small store front, but we were able to sit right at the bar and the girl talked us through how their flights worked. I really liked their cider that had a ginger flavor to it which was spicy but refreshing, especially after a long hike! My guess is this was a seasonal cider.

Fado for St Paddy’s

We happened to be in Seattle for Saint Patrick’s Day, and were looking for something fun to do. What better than an Irish pub?! We had suggestions from 3 people to go to Fado  on 1^st Ave, downtown. This was the day we learned to navigate the bus system! $2.50 for rides all day, and there was a stop right outside our apartment that took us close to the bar in about 40 minutes. We knew there would be a cover charge, as this is common on parade day in New Haven as well. No problem. The problem was, however, that we paid $10…TEN DOLLARS per beer, and we kept getting the wrong order because the band was so loud (great band…just loud) that the poor bartender couldn’t hear us. We did order their giant pretzel with dipping sauces, which we thoroughly enjoyed! We walked out of there with a $134 tab. Insanity. Miraculously we found the right bus to take us close-ish to home…too bad it was raining and we were soaked by the time we got home haha! Needless to say, we were really missing our friends back home this St Patrick’s Day.

So I stand my ground. I fully understand why it is so easy to find Seattle coffee and beer! In a cool, damp city, you need to stay warm, energized and drink away your seasonal affective disorder! With the great selections that Seattle has, and of course some heavy supplementation of vitamin D, anyone will be A-OK!!

 

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