August 18th is an Important Day in Seattle's Craft Beer History

Latona anniversary party with Georgetown Brewing.

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Latona Pub marks 37 years AND Manny’s Pale Ale turns 21. Join Georgetown Brewing at 4:00 on Sunday, August 18th at “the Latona” and pay your respects!

In the age of instant gratification and 12-minute news cycles, it’s hard to stay relevant for a year, much less 37 of them, but something is enchanting about Seattle’s Latona Pub and it endures. When it opened all those years ago, it was one of the precious few places in the city where you could get craft beer. Most of those places are long gone. Latona Pub remains.

These days Seattle is joyfully lousy with craft-focused bars, but Latona Pub is still one of the very best. For a new, hip brewery it is a point of pride to have publican Bob Brenlin acknowledge its existence. When Latona Pub taps a keg of your beer, your brewery has officially arrived.

It’s easy for a brewery to get lost in time, too; however, in the face of Instagramification, Untappd one-upmanship, and people’s increasing fascination with whatever is new, historical milestones persist. It was 21 years ago that Georgetown Brewing introduced Manny’s Pale Ale and turned the local beer scene upside down. I mean, literally upside down, which is how kegs of Manny’s were transported and stored. Manny’s changed the way bar owners, beer distributors, and the public thought about craft beer. It was no longer a fringe beverage. Manny’s was everywhere so craft beer was everywhere: restaurants, sports bars, dive bars, everywhere.

Other local breweries made great beer in 2003, but the way this one beer caught fire, largely because of Manny Chao’s hard work and reputation, was remarkable. At one point Manny’s Pale Ale was the most ubiquitous draft beer in King County. Not Bud Light or Coors Light, but Manny’s. Today, it is just one of several widely recognized Georgetown beers. Though some local beer lovers overlook it, a visit to Georgetown Brewing’s taproom is always an expedition into the realm of new, one-off, and experimental beers. Local beer lovers are lucky that our biggest brewery is fiercely dedicated to the craft of making great beer. We should never take that for granted.

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On Sunday, August 18th Latona Pub marks 37 trips around the sun. Manny’s Pale Ale shares the anniversary; it was 21 years ago that Latona Pub poured the very first pint of Manny’s. Latona turns 37 and Manny’s Pale Ale turns 21 at the same time!

One party to mark two of the most important events in Seattle craft beer history. Georgetown Brewing will be there and they’ll bring a bunch of beer with them. You should probably be there too. Maybe, probably, you’ll see some people with names you recognize. The event kicks off at 4:00. Come enjoy a darn tasty beer and pay your respects.

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