Chainline Brewing opens for business this Saturday

This Saturday, April 25 at noon, Chainline Brewing opens its doors in Kirkland. The brewery and tasting room is located not far from downtown in the Houghton neighborhood along the Cross Kirkland Corridor Trail. In fact, there’s a lovely deck right along the trail.

I snuck in for a quick peek the other day and took some pictures. I also got to sample the brews. In other words, I was in the neighborhood, stopped by unannounced, and invited myself in. Thanks guys!

The Chainline Lineup

For opening day, they’ll pour a selection of four beers: a brown ale, an IPA, a session IPA, and a red ale. However, I should point out that these guys like to avoid using such predictable terms to describe beers that intentionally defy such easy categorization. They’ll also pull out a couple other things as the weekend unfolds.

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I tried all four. They’re all good. They’re all a bit different than you might expect. It’s not a typical red ale, it’s a particularly hoppy red ale, for example. These guys have been brewing for a couple of year to perfect recipes. They Sabco Brew Magic system is now used as the pilot system.

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Straight from the Czech Republic via Japan

Chainline is brewing on a Czech-style brewing system, which they imported from Japan. That is, it is a Czech system that previously lived in Japan, where they found it being used primarily as decoration. That’s really kind of sad, considering it is a beautiful system. Chainline rescued it from its ornamental lifestyle.

Yes, the brewhouse and the tanks are well-suited for making Pilsner, as you might expect, but they also work just fine for producing other kinds of beer. More observant beer geeks might have a few questions when they first gaze upon the brewhouse. For instance, how does it vent? Where does the steam go? It’s clever. If you tour the brewery, you’ll learn.

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A Taproom Down the Hall

The brewery and taproom is located just north of Google’s campus on 6th Street South in a strip of small industrial business, and next door to a suspiciously out-of-place ballet school. You won’t notice the taproom from the parking lot, though the brewhouse is clearly visible.

Head down the hall past the fermenters. The taproom is located in the back of the building. When you get there, you’ll see why. They officially open this Saturday, but will thereafter be open Friday through Sunday.

Chainline Brewing
503 6th St S
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 242-0923

Map

https://www.facebook.com/chainlinebrew

Friday: 4:00 – 10:00 (starting next week)
Saturday and Sunday: 12:00 – 10:00