Friday 17th of September 2010 05:11:07 PM

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Last spring I had a free day so I ventured out to see 7 Seas Brewing in Gig Harbor, WA. When I arrived there was this huge Hops aroma as they were brewing an IPA so the whole place was filled with hops aroma. I met Mike and he set me up the samples on tap so I could decide which pint I wanted. 4 sampler glasses came my way with a peanut snack mix which turned out to be awesome my traveling partner loved that the most. As for me I was there for the beer. The 4 pours I had where fantastic and the show stopper was the Port Royal Export Stout served with a small snickers bar which made it even better. The tap room can fit about 20 people and from first hand knowledge the parking lot can hold even more. From the tap room you over look the entire brewing works so when they are busy it is fun to watch them run around. I am going to say it now 7 Seas is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future they have some of the best tasting IPA and Stout I have had in along time. I look forward to each time I go back and see what they have new. They are very active with lots of tasting parties and they even bring in bands. Join them on Facebook to know all they are doing.

Tuesday 12th of January 2010 12:58:46 PM

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Stopped at 7 Seas Brewing after riding dirtbikes in Tahuya. They have a small taproom that overlooks the actual brewery. Mike was attending the bar and immediately greeted us as we came in. I enjoyed Mike’s enthusiasm for their beer and care in serving.

They had 4 beers on tap: Cutt’s Ale, (an amber), British Pale Ale, Port Royal Export Stout, and Ballz Deep Double IPA. Sara and I shared a 50z sampler of each. I love pale ales and although theirs was not as striking as others I’ve had, I found it really easy to drink and would make a great session beer. Their stout was excellent as well as the double IPA, we decided on a growler of the stout in the end to take home.

n addition to selling growlers filled to go, they have some great merchandise available. We opted to buy 2 of their “can shaped” glasses which are very unique and also a nice hoody sweatshirt for sara.

Great little place and we will back again after our next belfair ride.

Thursday 10th of September 2009 12:48:44 PM

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The 7 Seas.

Throughout history, the term has generally meant to sail all over the world. The Romans used it to describe the important river networks of the time - Medieval Europeans considered them to be the seas just of their world - after the discovery of America, the term described the largest bodies of water known - during the Colonial area, it was those bodies of water in and around the Dutch West Indies used in the trade route and sailors of the day meant they had sailed to the other side of the world.

For me, it means just one thing; water, necessary to brew beer, the staff of life.

The folks at the 7 Seas Brewery are doing a good job in that regard.

Travis Guterson and Mike Runion met while working at Silver City Brewery in Silverdale. Like so many in the beer business, Travis started home brewing when he was 15 after discovering an old home-brew kit of his father's tucked away, gathering dust in the garage.
He gave away bottles of his brew, "a craft" he called it, "artistic, cultural and historical" and knew almost immediately that that was what he wanted to do in life. "I'm lucky," he says "because my job chose me."

After the two met, they opened their first brewery in a strip mall in little Gig Harbor but it wasn't meant to be; the place burned to the ground (along with a few other businesses) after someone forgot to unplug a space heater.

But for every door that closes, a window opens and now 7 Seas has got themselves a nice little corner of their own in a converted auto garage snuggled behind a motel off the highway...and it's here the magic takes place.

Using equipment bought from the now-defunct Stix Brewery in Seattle, the guys are putting out 3 beers after only 2 months and they are quite delicious; a British-style Pale Ale that comes complete with hearty flavors, multiple levels to satisfy almost any palate and no bottom-puckering bitterness to disguise it all; an Amber that again, offers a complete surprise of citrus with hints of orange and lemon, tart and tangy without the ouch; and a Ballz Deep Double IPA that tastes just like it sounds, plenty of hoppy goodness for those who want it but not so overwhelming that you walk away needing a cup of cream to off-set the grapefruit and un-pucker your lips.

Travis & Mike are working hard to get their tasting room open by the end of this month (September 2009) and although small, it hovers above the brewery floor offering a glimpse of what goes on "behind the curtain." Be sure to check out the sign behind the bar. It was done by a friend of theirs and if you think you're seeing double, you're right. The sign up front is actually reproduced underneath, carved into the wood painstakingly with a magnifying glass over 2 days. Remember those hot summers when, bored out of your mind, you turned a magnifying glass on the ants? It is a beautiful piece of art and represents the other aspect of the this business: both guys are committed to high quality marketing as well as their beer. It's working. Many local taverns in Gig Harbor and Tacoma carry their brews and the reactions have all been positive.

It never ceases to amaze me how lucky I am to live in a state where so many different beers are brewed and available and I don't have to sail the 7 Seas to find 'em.

They're just down the road.