Two Towns and A Hill

(Seattle, WA)

I beer hike in and around Seattle just about every week, but I haven't posted any local routes lately. Sorry. (I also need to get busy updating some of my older posts -- a lot of places have opened, closed or moved.) I'm also trying something a little different with this post: outsourcing. It's better (and easier!) to leave the writing to the writers, so I'm going to defer to some other local bloggers and journalists for details on the places I visited. Let me know what you think.

To the beer hike! 

Last Saturday one of Seattle's newest breweries, Machine House, celebrated their grand opening. It was also a hell of a gorgeous day to walk around a part of town I get up to much. Chris, Link and I met at the party early and...  Well, you probably already know the rest: a few pints, a few laughs, a lot of walking, Link dropping a couple turds, etc. You know, the usual fun.

Here's the route, map, and some pictures:

Georgetown to Belltown, via Beacon Hill; about 7 mi.

Machine House / Tippe & Drague / Collins Pub / Bambino's Pizzeria

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1. Machine House Brewery (Georgetown)

As I mentioned, we began our day at their grand opening celebration. We arrived early and left just as the party was ramping up. There were dogs, kids, a band, Where Ya At, Matt, and plenty of beer geeks. My pal Eric did a write-up before it opened and froze his ass off. (The place has warmed up considerably since his visit.)

2. Tippe & Drague Alehouse (Beacon Hill)

Beacon Hill's craft beer options were pretty much non-existent until very recently. Along with The Oak and Bar del Corso, Tippe and Drague has made my old neighborhood well worth revisiting. This fine article has all the details, including a nod to the popcorn machine and the grandfather clock.

Link waiting patiently outside Tippe & Drague

3. Collins Pub (Pioneer Square)

Collins is my go-to place for good beer downtown. It's certainly not the only option, but it's my favorite. There's tons of info about her and her sister pubs in Lake City and Ravenna on the web. Find more info here if you want, but you should probably just skip the research and go if you haven't been there. Caution: Collins Pub is very close to the football and baseball stadiums (and future basketball/hockey arena, too, I hope), so it can get quite busy on a game day.

4. Bambino's Pizzeria (Belltown)

One word: Calorosa. I have come to crave this pie and cannot go more than a month or two without indulging. Fantastic beer and service, too.

Good stuff inside this box...

This was one of the more successful hikes that I've done in Seattle. There is a good amount of walking between pints and the climb from Georgetown to Beacon Hill will burn some calories off your fat ass. Coming down off Beacon Hill, into Pioneer Square, you'll pass through the heart of the International District (Chinatown), which is always interesting and has lots of good places to eat. From Collins Pub, you can hike any number of routes through Downtown Seattle to get to Belltown, but we chose to take the waterfront, which smells like the sea and always has plenty of good people-watching opportunites.

But don't take my word for it -- get off your duff and take a beer hike. And let me know how it goes.

Cheers!