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Outlander Brewery: a ‘Victorian-Style Pub’ Coming to North 36th Street

The nanobrewery and drinking spot aims to open in June.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on May 22, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Outlander Brewery and Pub: coming soon to 225 North 36th Street in Fremont.

Dragan Radulovic and Nigel Lassiter, the guys Seattle Beer News reported on last month, have secured a location for their new brewpub. Outlander Brewery will open at 225 North 36th Street in Fremont, ideally in time for the neighborhood’s fabled Solstice Parade.

At first glance the address seems an unlikely locale for a watering hole, let alone a beer making operation. The navy blue house (yes, house) dates from the early 1900s; previously it was a soup-and-sandwich spot. But Radulovic and Lassiter have a clear vision and are embracing the atmosphere.

They’ve populated two sitting rooms with various salvaged chairs and tables that, like the interior, conjure images of decades past. A phonograph from the 1940s resides in one corner—people will be able to bring in records and play what they want, says Radulovic. The goal, he added, is to create a “Victorian-style pub.” They use words like “mellow” and “chill” to describe the vibe they’re going for, a purposeful contrast to some of the rowdier drinking establishments nearby.

In the basement brewmaster Lassiter will prep 30 gallon batches of “unusual beers.” A homebrewer for five years, Lassiter talks of ingredients like chilies, strawberries, and mangos, and varieties like peanut butter stout, baltic porters, and saisons. The upstairs bar (what is now the kitchen) will offer five rotating taps, three of them Outlander, plus 15-20 bottles, mostly imports. A few stools will line the counter, which is getting built this weekend.

Radulovic, a longtime restaurant industry vet, will helm a full food menu (smart idea) infused with brews: stout cheese pate, salads with sudsy dressing, beer sausages he’ll grill on the patio, which will seat another 20 people and play host to various events. Also expect beer and food pairings. “We’re trying to be somewhat sophisticated,” grins Lassiter.

The duo is planning a happy hour, and will serve both lunch and dinner (but, says Radulovic, no fried food). Check out the Outlander website for updates.

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Tags: Coming Soon, Nanobreweries, Outlander Brewery, Dragan Radulovic, Nigel Lassiter

Schooner Exact Plans a Brewpub

“Beer czar” Warren Peterson will captain a menu of sandwiches and meat and cheese plates.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on May 15, 2012 at 09:20AM 0 Comments

Schooner Exact’s comfortable taproom will expand into a brewpub later this year. Photo via Facebook.

Schooner Exact’s tasting room in SoDo has a comfortable seating area, an outdoor patio, plenty of parking, and taps dispensing IPAs, pale ale, porters and some barrel-aged rarities. It’s the sort of place where you could pull up a chair and stay a while—if only you had something to eat.

“If you want people to stick around, you need food,” says Matt McClung, who founded the brewery with his wife Heather in 2007. Hence Schooner’s plan to add a small brewpub onto its existing taproom space. Heading up the kitchen will be Warren Peterson, best known as the beer czar of Tom Douglas Restaurants, who recently left his post in the Brave Horse Tavern kitchen for a short stint at Elliott Bay Brewing’s new Lake City pub.

However don’t go expecting gastropub food here, says McClung. The kitchen will be a simple affair—no fryer, no grill, no hood—and he wants the food to be reasonably healthy, at least in the beer-adjacent sense of the word. The menu will largely consist of sandwiches and platters, made with high-quality meats and cheeses. With several great bakeries within a one-mile radius, McClung says quality bread is a safe bet as well.

This winter, the brewery took over a neighboring space in its industrial park digs; construction should start by the end of June, so expect Schooner’s brewpub to arrive later this year. McClung says the finished space will look out onto stacks of barrels, inside which beers will be aging away for future enjoyment. If you absolutely can’t wait to pair Schooner’s King Street brown, Gateway golden, or Seamstresses Union raspberry wheat with food, the brewery is headed to Serious Pie’s original location May 22 for the restaurant’s first-ever beer dinner.

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Tags: Beer, Coming Soon, Schooner Exact, Matt McClung, Heather McClung, Warren Peterson

Total Wine and More Headed to Bellevue

The wine (and spirits) superstore makes its 1183-inspired appearance in late June.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on May 02, 2012 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

Bellevue, many, many aisles of wine, beer, and hard alcohol are in your future. Photo via Total Wine and More.

We are four weeks away from June 1, that nebulously ominous or exciting date when liquor sales as we know them undergo an overnight transformation. The state Liquor Control Board has been flooded with applications from Targets, QFCs, and Safeways, and (obviously) Costco. Big booze box BevMo! recently announced it will open stores in Tacoma and Silverdale.

Now Bellevue is getting a liquor superstore of its own. Delaware-based chain Total Wine and More has announced plans to open in the former Larry’s Market location at 699 120th Ave. The 30,000-square-foot space will start plying Eastsiders with the drink in late June.

As the name suggests, Total Wine and More isn’t just a place to pick up handles of Smirnoff. The company bills itself as the nation’s largest independent retailer of fine wines, with a selection of more than 8,000 (along with 3,000 types of spirits and 2,500 beers). The Bellevue store, the company’s 81st location, will have a walk-in humidor, climate-controlled storage for rarer bottles, and a space for tastings.

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Tags: Coming Soon, Liquor Privatization, Post-1183, Liquor Stores

Who’s Behind the Bar at Vessel?

A better question: Who isn’t behind the bar at Vessel?

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Apr 13, 2012 at 07:30AM 0 Comments

Vessel is back (well, as of next month) with one innovative new bar program.

Nearly a year and a half after lease issues shuttered the original on Fifth Ave, Vessel is getting ready to reopen in its new Olive Way location in mid-May. And last night owner Jim Romdall shared an awfully intriguing glimpse into his plans for the bar program.

When Vessel 2.0 opens next month, it will definitely have some regular faces behind the bar. But Romdall plans to switch things up each night, employing a broad cast of rotating bartenders. Expect to see visiting talent alongside well-regarded local drink makers who might show up at Vessel, say, once a month. And obviously when Romdall’s ready to name names, we will too.

For Romdall, this ambitious plan means more logistics to deal with. For imbibers, it means Vessel will be a different bar every single night. The original space was a noted training ground for some of the city’s most impressive tenders of the bar, and between Romdall’s connections and Vessel’s reputation, it’s a safe bet that someone absurdly talented will be making drinks each and every night. This setup probably wouldn’t work for, say, bank tellers or programmers, but it’s an endearing expression of the tight-knit nature of Seattle’s bartending community.

The new Vessel will also have a much-expanded food program, serving lunch and dinner to hungry Nordstrom-ites and other downtown walkabouts. In summary: mid-May. Lots and lots of bartenders. Good food. Many exultant drinkers.

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Tags: Vessel, Coming Soon, Jim Romdall

Coa Is Coming to Maple Leaf

Tequila bars abound in this town, here comes one more.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 14, 2011 at 12:18PM 6 Comments

Buenos dias, Coa.

Photo: puertovallartavideo.com

When it opens in mid-May, Coa, a Mexican restaurant and tequileria in the Maple Leaf neighborhood, will be the latest in a string of local establishments specializing in agave spirits.

According to the bar’s website (and also Wikipedia), the word coa means hoe—it refers specifically to a hoe used to harvest agave. Yup, you heard me. The bar’s name means hoe. And I have a feeling some of its clientele might find that fact hilarious. They might even call it Hoe Bar, if they’re really immature. Hoe Bar Coa will house over 50 types of tequila plus straightforward Mexican food (tacos, mole, carne asada).

Other somewhat recently opened tequila spots: Poquitos on Capitol Hill, Milagro Cantina in Kirkland, and Bandolero in Greenlake. Bandolero has a tequila club you can join—the idea is to eventually drink 60 shots of tequila. The bar keeps a punch card on hand to track your progress, and every tenth shot only costs you a penny. A less precarious proposal: signing up for one of the tequila classes held intermittently at Barrio Bellevue.

Happy hour is a hallmark of local tequila joints like Cactus, Matador, the Saint, Bandolero, Milagro…I could go on. Coa will join this illustrious crew; press materials promise an “extended happy hour.”

I foresee more $5 margaritas in your future, Seattle.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Tequila, Bar Openings, Coming Soon