Seattle makes a lot of great craft beer. Local brewers are constantly tapping their creative juices to drum up crafty collaborations, standout recipes, and fun names for their frothy masterpieces.
We’re raising a glass to five Seattle-centric brews with names that draw inspiration from our city’s history, communities, and culture.
Space Needle West Coast IPA, Pike Brewing
Nice and direct, this brew name-drops one of our city’s most iconic landmarks.
Style + flavor: This 7.2% ABV beer features flavors of grapefruit and pine, plus Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, and Columbus hops and balancing malt body. It has a smooth, bitter finish.
Seattle Sunshine Hazy Pale Ale, Hellbent Brewing Company
Sunshine may be fickle in Seattle, but Sounders FC fandom isn’t. This is the brewery’s newest Emerald City Supporters beer, and it’s all about the hops.
Style + flavor: This 5.7% ABV New England-style pale ale is light in color and malty with soft, bready notes. The variety of hops in this one gives it citrusy, tropical, and stone fruit flavors.
Interurban, Fremont Brewing Co.
This IPA is named after Fremont’s outdoor sculpture, “Waiting for the Interurban.” The piece — created in 1979 by artist Richard Beyer and located east of the northern end of Fremont Bridge — depicts six people and a dog, paying tribute to the light rail Interurban line that connected downtown Seattle with other neighborhoods.
Style + flavor: This deep gold-colored 6.2% ABV brew boasts aromas of pine, grapefruit, orange, honey, and a hint of spice with a balanced, moderately sweet + bitter flavor profile.
City Fruit Cider, Seattle Cider Co.
Okay, so this isn’t a craft beer — but the local pride is bursting here, so we say it counts. This cider is made in partnership with its namesake, City Fruit, a nonprofit dedicated to harvesting + distributing urban fruit to 30+ Seattle community partners to support equitable access to healthy foods.
Style + flavor: This 6.7% ABV cider features 40+ apple varietals harvested by City Fruit from local residents’ homes with registered fruit trees or within Seattle’s urban canopy. Depending on the types of apples, each annual batch tastes a little different.
Storm Surge Hazy IPA, Red Hook
This beer’s name calls out the coastal weather pattern that can lead to rough seas.
Style + flavor: This 6.8% ABV brew features fruit-forward Galaxy and Mosaic hops, Lemondrop and Cascade hops for a “West Coast IPA bite,” a light malt body, and crisp finish.
Cheers to you, Emerald City.
