Seattle’s Cloudburst Brewing invites you to join the celebration
This week, Seattle’s Cloudburst Brewing celebrates its 9th anniversary. Specifically, there is an event on Friday at the Western location (near Pike Place Market) and another on Saturday at the Shilshole (Ballard). You’ll find more details about those events below. On social media, the brewery says, “At both spots, we’ll have a couple of fancy beers on tap and a couple new 4 packs, one of which we never expected to make again… but January is sleepy for us and our industry, so why not spark a little extra joy, ya know? FOR THE LOVE OF ZEUS WE ALL NEED A LITTLE FUCKING JOY RIGHT NOW.”
The Events
Friday, January 10th at the location on Western Ave – “We’ll have @swinediningsea in the house slanging tasty bites and morsels from 3 – 8 while we pour some special beers in our crusty old building.”
Saturday, January 11th at the Shilshole location – “We’ve got a FREE concert from @smallpaulband and @fluungrocks, courtesy of @going_left_music sound wizardry and @thesunsettavern outdoor stage, which will start after 5ish. There will be a specials from @dumptruck.sea too!” Stay tuned to Cloudburst Brewing on Instagram for more details.
The anniversary offers an opportunity for me to share a story I wrote back when Cloudburst was born. This article originally appeared in a local print publication. Remember magazines? Remember those things you’d flip throat in the waiting room at the dentist office? Glossy pages, pretty pictures, lots of words. I miss magazines. So here’s the Cloudburst Brewing story I promised.
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A Market-Fresh Brewery Creating Happy Little Beers – Seattle’s Cloudburst Brewing
Originally published March 2016
When the story broke in January 2015 that the largest brewery in the world acquired one of Seattle’s oldest and best-loved craft breweries, it was like a death in the family, one that left beer lovers crying in their pints. The feeling was even more pronounced among Elysian Brewing’s employees, who were unaware that getting gobbled up by Anheuser-Busch, often viewed as the arch-enemy of small and independent breweries, was even a possibility.
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By the time the world learned of the acquisition, Steve Luke, then the brewer at Elysian Brewing Company’s Elysian Fields brewpub near Century Link Field, was far beyond daydreaming about quitting his job and opening his own brewery. Regardless of the timing, the decision to open Cloudburst Brewing in Seattle was not an act of rebellion against his new corporate overlords.
The New Kid in Town
Cloudburst Brewing opened in December, just one block north of the Pike Place Market on Western Avenue in the former home of Elliott Bay Bicycles. The 7,200 square-foot space is primarily dedicated to the brewery, but the small, beer-only, 21+ taproom instantly became a popular destination for neighborhood regulars and beer lovers from across the city.
Leading up to the opening, local beer fans were dizzy with anticipation, recognizing that Luke was the creative mastermind behind some of Elysian Brewing’s best-loved beers, like Space Dust IPA and Dayglow IPA, along with more-imaginative beers like Split Shot Espresso Stout and Punkacinno Coffee-Pumpkin Ale.
Hop lovers will rejoice in knowing that the beer lineup includes Happy Little Clouds, a super-hopped Pilsner that packs a bracing wallop of resinous, floral character. The name is an homage to the late, great Bob Ross, the memorable and beloved PBS art instructor known for painting happy little clouds and friendly little trees.
Not Repetitive Beers Repeating Themselves Again
According to Luke, whimsy and imagination are themes at Cloudburst Brewing. “As a brewer, I didn’t want to open a brewery just so I could make the same beer over and over again. There is always something to admire about consistency, it takes skill and attention to detail, but I also like to experiment, to be creative.”
After all, Steve Luke is the brewer who created Elysian Brewing’s Gourgia on My Mind, a one-of-a-kind pumpkin-peach ale that gained notoriety when Budweiser mockingly called it out, though not by name, in a television commercial using pumpkin-peach ale as an example of an overly fussy beer.
One of Cloudburst’s regular offerings is Market Fresh Saison, a beer with a dynamic recipe that takes advantage of the brewery’s location near the market. The first batch was flavored with fresh cranberries and sage because that’s what piqued Luke’s interest when he visited the market one day. For the second batch, he used grapefruit and rosemary. Who knows what’s next?
“It’s so cool being this close to Pike Place Market,” says Luke. “I’m excited to experiment with whatever I can find there—what’s just coming fresh, what’s about to go out of season, and everything else. Saison is a style of beer that lends itself particularly well to this kind of playfulness.”
For now, Cloudburst Brewing’s beers are only available on tap—no bottles or cans. Look for it at local bars that focus on good beer, like The Pine Box, Beveridge Place Pub, or Brouwer’s Café, but the best place to drink it or fill up a growler is at the brewery’s taproom.
Visit our Events page for information about other upcoming beer events.
