Thursday 6th of June 2013 10:04:46 PM

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Not much I can add to this one, but a score. Curmudgeon has some excellent history noted and is right on about the place being a disneyland of Seattle brew culture. The beer aren't worth the price tag, the televisions are too big, the service is pretty sloppy and/or rushed in general. and it's usually pretty busy. My recommendation, if you feel like you need to check it out, is hit it on a weekday lunch. The burgers and food are pretty heavy pub grub and usually tasty, that's if the get your order right. Great place to tell tourists to go, they can check out the Starbuck's corporate tower when they're done with their with their Apricot-lobster infused beer. Just kidding, they don't make a lobster beer...yet.

Thursday 12th of July 2012 04:16:44 PM

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This was the start of my Second day of NHC pre-conference brewery tours, the smaller brewpub cousin to Pyramid Brewery, makers of Pyramid Apricot Ale. That beer was the first beer I could tolerate the taste of, maintaining a special place in my heart, and prompting me choose this particular tour group. Pyramid has been absent from the Minnesota beer scene for the last 4 years or so.

The alehouse serves up most of the usual Pyramid beers but also brews their own seasonals, so this is worth a try. The food was pretty good too, and the ambiance was fantastic. I love the combination of gleaming copper, stainless steel and heavy dark wooden beams in this place. The brewer has recently stepped down from his position as head brewer of Redhook so he could get his hands dirty with actual brewing again, and his excitement shows in his new beers. He gave a great tour and answered a lot of questions for us homebrewers. The barleywine was to die for! He also served up an interesting Scottish ale made with a hint of cherrywood smoked malt...not authentic,but pretty tasty.

Saturday 31st of March 2012 01:28:27 PM

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Pyramid Alehouse is in a warehouse district, across the street from Safeco Field. In front is a parking lot and an elevated patio packed with tall tables and aluminum mesh chairs as well as several market umbrellas. More parking is available in back.

It's quite a large space inside. It looks like it's restored from an original warehouse. The ceiling is double height in the middle and there are mezzanines both in the front and the back. The black ceiling has exposed wooden rafters and huge wooden support beams, held up by similar support posts. The floors are concrete.

The bar area is in the middle. The bar itself is a semi-circular curved copper-topped bar with tall chairs. More tall copper-topped tables are distributed around this space, and there are also several TVs, all tuned to sports but with the sound off. One one side is an open kitchen and on the other are full windows looking into the brewery, where you can see the copper mash-tun and brew kettle.

Light wooden tables and reddish wood chairs as well as a number of booths fill the rest of the seating areas (both on the ground floor and the mezzanines.

The brewery just started brewing again at this location (within the last year) after many years of brewing exclusively in Portland, OR (and many years brewing in Kalama, WA). On our last visit, there were twelve taps: 5 limited release and 3 regular beers brewed here as well as 4 year-round “corporate” beers. Crispin cider and Thomas Kemper root beer is also available. The quality of all the beers is quite good but the limited release beers we tried were special (i.e., beyond middle of the road flavors).

The food menu is standard pub fare but more extensive than usual (e.g., salmon, chicken, rib entrees beyond pizza, burgers, sandwiches, salads, and appetizers). They also sell beer to go in growlers (and growler fills are $5 on Mondays).

Wednesday 24th of September 2008 07:25:35 PM

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Went to Pyramid right after a Mariners game, right across the street from Safeco. Beers were as expected as I have had a number of them in bottle, nothing extraordinary or new on the menu. The Apricot Ale was as usual the best selection.

Did not try the food. Place gets pretty crowded after a game, but overall the service was pretty good considering the location and how crowded it was. Bar is very large and can accomodate quiet a few people.

Tuesday 16th of September 2008 04:36:12 PM

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I’m lucky in that I get to Seattle a lot for work. It is a great beer and food city!! Unfortunately, this is not the best representative of what Seattle has to offer.

The place is nice sized with a couple of upstairs rooms, a large bar area, a private party room, and a deck. On game days, they also use part of their parking lot as an overflow beer garden.

They usually have approximately 8 beers on tap. The selection includes one nitrogen offering (the DPA). The beers were fine, nothing outstanding, but nothing horrible either. Pretty middle of the road selections.

I’ve had decent service from the waiters and bar staff. Where they fall down is the hostess and front door staff. They have had more than a bit of attitude. Granted, I have been there on game days, but there is no real reason to be rude.

The food was standard pub grub, nothing bad, but nothing that that would make you say I have got to return.

In spite of the attitude and middle of the road beer and food, I still enjoy my visits. The atmosphere is always pumped-up because of the games and I think the Pyramid should embrace the fun instead of seeming to fight it.

Tuesday 16th of September 2008 04:16:08 PM

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A huge brew pub this was a great time. I was with the folks and my family. We ate drank and really enjoyed ourselves. I can’t imagine how busy this gets during game times I bet the service is super slow then. The beer was good the food excellent we really enjoyed ourselves. I wish they had better and more selections to choose from like some special beers one only can get at the brewery.

Tuesday 15th of April 2008 07:01:34 PM

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This Brewery was pretty good. They have quite a selection of beers and a little menu on the table that kind of helps you figure out what there is to drink and what fits your mood. I love the Apricot Ale and I tried their Crystal. My buddy had the Imperial Hef which was also pretty tasty. Prices are alright, better on happy hours that exist on non-game days. The food is tasty and works with the beer pretty good. Going back to the Apricot Ale, drinking it from a bottle like I normally have to doesn't even compare to how good it comes out of the tap.

Tuesday 4th of December 2007 02:42:37 PM

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In 1984, at the very beginning of the craft brewing juggernaut, Hart Brewing Company produced Pyramid Pale Ale in the little logging town of Kalama, Washington.
In 1993, they produce their first Hefeweizen and things start to happen.
Next year, 1994 - Hart is the 4th largest brewing company in America.
The following year, 1995, Hart is bought by investors, who move the brewery out of Kalama and into the "big city" of Seattle quickly changes the company name and just as quickly, opens up another brewery-pub in Berkeley...and Pyramid Brewing still running a good race.
For all its corporate size (and we all know what suffers first with growth that fast!) Pyramid still produces quality beers. Not the best, mind you - but good.
Those "weizen" beers now include Amber, Crystal and Apricot along with the Hefe and none had much taste for me although wife Persimmon liked the Amber. I liked the MacTarnahan's (Pyramid-brewed label) Black Watch Cream Porter & Nitro Stout - both full-bodied, roasty beers with multi-levels of coffee, caramel & chocolate flavors.
The brewpub sits across the street from Safeco Field so on Mariners game day, it is a madhouse full of rejoicing fans...and once the game is over, the place still fills up with "just wait 'til tomorrow" drinkers. No chance for any conversation here, unless it's about baseball. On those days when the season is done...it's just too big and cavernous although our bartender did try to discuss the effects of running a marathon & his infatuation with one of the waittresses.
Menu is extensive with many different items as well as the typical pub fare...but again, not much taste anywhere.
There are better brewpubs and beer in and around Seattle but, for a beer lover, Pyramid is like Disneyland. If you've never been, then by all means, go...but there's really no reason to go back. Nothing has changed.