Seattle Beer Week, the ever-growing celebration of an ever-growing industry, continues until May 17, with an impressive number of events taking place throughout the city every day. A few great-looking beer-and-food options planned for this week: seven courses paired with beers from Portland’s Hair of the Dog Brewing at the Burgundian in Tangletown on Wednesday, May 13; a five-course dinner at Brave Horse Tavern featuring Holy Mountain Beers on Thursday, May 14; and two canned craft beer and whole roasted pig events at Ballard’s Bitterroot BBQ, on Friday, May 15 and Sunday, May 17.
In other beer-related news, two breweries in Ballard have made some significant upgrades: Just in time for sunnier weather, Stoup Brewing has greatly expanded its outdoor area into a full beer garden with large picnic tables and bright Adirondack chairs.
Reuben’s Brews has moved a short two blocks into a much larger, 4,000-square-foot that includes a 15-barrel brewhouse and a taproom with 24 taps, plenty more seating, and an outside deck (there’s also a new 10-foot video screen for sporting events). The taproom is now open seven days a week, Monday through Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Thursday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.
With its significantly larger brewing set-up, Reuben’s will be increasing production volumes of its current beers and expanding distribution. It’ll be using its former space to grow its small-batch barrel and sour programs. Like other local breweries, Reuben’s will be experimenting with aging beers in bourbon, whiskey, tequila, sherry, and red wine barrels. In April, Reuben’s brought on Dean Mochizuki, head brewer at Seattle’s venerable Pike Brewing Company, to oversee the program. “We are excited to brew more styles, add to our line-up with sours and lagers, and expand our barrel-aging program,” says Reuben’s co-founder and head brewer Adam Robbings.
