An event at Latona Pub on March 24th honors and remembers Brouwer’s Cafe, Seattle’s legendary, much-missed beer institution
The closing of Brouwer’s Cafe in June 2024 left a hole in the heart of Seattle’s beer scene. There was nothing else quite like it: a Belgian-inspired, beer-focused restaurant and bar the likes of which you rarely find on this side of the Atlantic. It respected beer and elevated the drinking experience. Brouwer’s Cafe was elegant and casual at the same time. Fancy, in a beer sort of way. For nearly 20 years, Brouwer’s was fiercely, selflessly, sometimes foolishly, dedicated to serving great beer alongside its always-delicious menu of continental cuisine.
And then there were the events. Legendary stuff like the annual Hard Liver barleywine festival and the annual Big Wood barrel-aged beer festival. For me at least, the zenith was about a decade ago when Brouwer’s Cafe hosted the annual Washington Hop Mob kickoff party, tapping 50 triple IPAs at once. Fifty. Triple. IPAs. That is madness! Who does that? Brouwer’s, that’s who! Fierce, selfless, and sometimes a bit foolish in the best possible way. (Heavy sigh.)
The Event at Latona Pub
Enough reminiscing. Another Seattle beer institution, Latona Pub, misses Brouwer’s Cafe as much as I do. Matt Carter, owner/manager at Latona Pub, along with Nat Pellman, the longtime manager and beer impresario at Brouwer’s Cafe, have put together a one-day homage and invite Seattle beer lovers to relive the past, even if only for a day: Tuesday, March 24th. The date marks what would have been Brouwer’s 21st anniversary. Sweet sadness.
“We’ll have lamb burgers, mussels, steak frites, and stoofvlees for one day only alongside some epic releases from Floodland Brewing and North Fork Brewery starting at 2 pm and running through the night,” said the Latona Pub’s announcement. “If you didn’t get the chance to go, this will be a taste of the magic they brought to the Seattle scene, literally, because they gave us the original recipes. We’re always honored to celebrate the Seattle beer community and hope to see you there! “
Nat said, “Do you miss Brouwer’s like I still do? The beer, the food, and above all else, the community? So many one-of-a-kind experiences, so many beer firsts, and so many people coming together to imbibe and celebrate.”
“What will the Latona Pub’s tribute night look like?” said Nat. “Latona’s Matt Carter and I have been scheming, and decided to bring back some Brouwer’s hits, for both the menu, draft list and cocktails. Does Stoofvlees, the Lamb Burger, Steak Frites, and Mussels sound good? We’ll be cooking these favorites straight from the Brouwer’s original recipe book (thanks Chef Bob and Vern).”
Here’s the taplist for the event at Latona Pub:
- Veltins Pilsener
- Fort George Beta 3-way IPA
- Structures Fuzz IPA
- St. Bernardus Abt 12 Belgian Quad
- Floodlands 2023 Incantation
- pFriem Spontanee Lambic
- Russian River Pliny the Elder
- Hair of the Dog 2014 Adam from the Wood
- Samuel Smith Chocolate Stout
- Holy Mountain White Lodge Wit
- North Fork #13 Baby Sour (Brouwers 13th Anniversary Beer)
- Machinehouse Cambridge Bitter Cask
Glass pours:
- Westmalle Tripel
- Orval
- De Garre Tripel
Visit our events page and calendar to learn about all sorts of other upcoming beer events. To submit an event for inclusion on our events calendar, use our event submission form. Got more details to share, reach out to us.
