Heavenly Brewing at Elysian

By: Wes Simons | April 18 2010
Posted in Seattle - Find It - Seattle

It’s a chilly winter afternoon in Seattle and what could be better than walking into your favorite spot on Capitol Hill and grabbing a nice frothy…beer. Okay, so maybe a beer isn’t the first thing you think of when the weather outside is nippy, but that doesn’t mean you should bypass Elysian Brewery, a local Seattle brewery that’s been giving drinkers something epic since 1996.

Photo: Wes Simons

Sitting down at any of Elysian’s three locations doesn’t feel much different than walking into any pub restaurant, but once you open the menu, everything changes. While the beer and drinks menu was promptly placed before me, I had to ask for the food menu, which just goes to show that Elysian is proud of their beer. There are a number of regular selections, as well as a long list of seasonal and local selections that you won’t find in stores.

Greg, one of Elysian’s employees, told me that they try to use as much local food as possible, although it can be tough to maintain consistency without the help of food distributors. While their food may not be entirely local, their beer is about as close as you can get without growing and brewing it yourself. Most of the hops, except for a few specialty imports, are grown in Washington, and the malt used in the beer comes from Vancouver, WA.

While enjoying one of Elysian’s beers it’s hard not to drift off into the fields that give the brewery its name. Elysian’s beer is patterned after the mythos of the Romans, and their flavor is similarly larger than life. All of Elysian’s beers are strong, with most weighing in around 6% or 7% alcohol, but it can be a challenge to have just one or two. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, drink!

What’s your favorite local brewery? Do you know a spot that serves the best beer in town...no matter where you live?