[archstanton]

Have a quick trip through Seattle in September and I would like to sample the finest IPA's the city has to offer. Any suggestions?

[udubdawg]

that's a pretty good question, and one I might have to research next month too.  Cider and lager can afford to step aside for one day to make room for IPA.   
Hopefully our Emerald City members will chime in for us as I very rarely visit home anymore.

What days are you going to be there and how far are you willing to travel?

[yso191]

Georgetown Brewing's Lucille.

There are two main brewery districts in Seattle: SoDo (South of Downtown) which is where you'll find Georgetown, and Ballard which is North of downtown.  Ballard has more breweries and in closer proximity to each other.

[archstanton]

that's a pretty good question, and one I might have to research next month too.  Cider and lager can afford to step aside for one day to make room for IPA.   
Hopefully our Emerald City members will chime in for us as I very rarely visit home anymore.

What days are you going to be there and how far are you willing to travel?

I fly in Wednesday the 17th and fly out Friday the 19th. I was hoping to rely on public transportation and walking.  It seems like a lot is accessible that way.

[galapagos jim]

If you're downtown, to get to Ballard by bus take the RapidRide D line or the 15. Get off just after the Ballard Bridge to explore the local breweries.

For IPA's, I recommend Reuben's Brews. Adam is always experimenting but has some solid regulars. I'm fond of Hale's Supergoose, but it's not the most outstanding IPA you'll run into. Populuxe is also does well with IPA, often has them on cask and/or dry hopped; I love their their CDA/BIPA so much I (unsuccessfully) tried to clone it, though some find it a bit on the roasty side.

Or, make it easy on yourself and head to Ballard Beer Company (which is a taphouse) or Chuck's Hop Shop.

In the nearby Fremont neighborhood, hit up Fremont Brewing. They have an excellent line-up, IPA and otherwise. Fremont and Reuben's are my favorite Seattle breweries. There are several bus lines that go through Fremont, get on board in Ballard or downtown.

When it comes to Seattle IPA otherwise, I think of Elysian, Schooner Exact, and Two Beers.

[garc_mall]

If you are in Downtown Seattle and looking for only (or mostly) IPA's, I would head to a beer bar. The best beer bar near downtown is the Pine Box in capitol hill, which usually has quite a few IPAs on tap. I have heard the Yard House near Westlake has a decent tap list, but cannot confirm. In Ballard, your best beer bars are Ballard Beer Company (Brand New) and The Dray. The Dray is a local hangout that is rarely packed and has excellent local beer.

My top list of local (Seattle & Surrounding) IPAs is as follows in a somewhat specific order:

1. Black Raven Trickster IPA (Redmond)
2. Schooner Exact 3-Grid IPA (SODO)
3. Twelve Bar Brews Wicked Riff IPA (Woodinville)
4. Reuben's Brews American IPA (Ballard)
5. Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA (Capitol Hill)

Also, as a word to the wise... If you aren't from the west coast, we make a very different style of IPA than further east. Very dry, lots of late hops, medium bitterness.

[archstanton]

Wow thanks for the great recommendations, I will have my hands full.  I am from the west coast, socal, so maybe I will still be disappointed ;-)  Looking forward to this trip.....

[jweiss206]

If you're still in town -

IPA Week Kicks Off Today at Tap House Grill :

Today (Thursday, August 14) marks the kickoff of the annual IPA week at both Tap House Grill locations. Each location will have at least 40 IPAs pouring. The lists are below. Likely, there have been, or will be, some additions. Consider the lists below to be partial.

Lots of local offerings here

SEATTLE

10 Barrel Apocalypse
21st Amendment Back in Black
7 Seas Rude Parrot
Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye
Beer Valley Leafer Madness
Black Diamond Mosaic
Boneyard RPM
Boundary Bay
Diamond Industrial
Elysian The Inmortal
Georgetown Lucille
Green Flash West Coast IPA
Lagunitas
Martime Imperial
Ninkasi Tricerahops
Pike
Snoqualmie Falls Wildcat
Sound Humulo Nimbus
Stone Ruination
10 Barrel  OG Wheat
21st Hop Crisis
Alaskan hopothermia
Avery Maharaja
Black Raven Beak Tweeker
Black Raven trickster
BrewDog Punk
Coronado Idiot
Double Mt Cluster F@#k
Firestone Walker Wookey
Fremont Interurban
Goodlife Decender
Green Flash White IPA
Hales Super Goose (Nitro)
Harmon One Hop Wonder
Harmon Rajah
Lazy Boy Tripel IPA
Silver City Whoop Pass
Speakeasy Double Daddy
Stone Ruinten

[jweiss206]

So what was your opinion on our local IPA's here?

[archstanton]

Okay, I made it in and out of town without much of a hitch. Really like the city, great public transportation.
I did not make it to any breweries but did hit a few bars. Pinebox, Yardhouse, and Taphouse, the selections at the latter two were extensive.  I sampled seventeen different ipas from Washington and Oregon on tap. Yardhouse had a nice pick your own six sampler, the others did not have samplers. Sadly they all poured "pints" in the shaker pint glasses.  My favorites were:
Fremont interurban ipa
Boneyard hop venom
Georgetown Lucille
Seapine ipa

I would happily pay for those again.  Thanks everyone for the suggestions, it really helped.

Edit to add Elysian space dust to the favorite list, I enjoyed it very much