Special Brews

Everyone who works here is so friendly and attentive, my husband and I love this place! Excellent selection of beer on draft in addition to an impressive selection of wine, seltzers, and other beverages.

These guys have 100% hit their stride over the last decade. They started out as a clubhouse for the adventurous beer drinker, and quickly built a huge following of beer lovers. All kinds come in--people just learning about beer, people who drink only a style or two, people who've tried every style 5 times, and everyone in between. It was originally going to be a bottle shop, with occasional shoppers stopping for a pint. 8+ years later, it's a flourishing neighborhood watering hole, with big rushes at the ends of Boeing shifts and pretty much anybody else's workday. There's no happy hour to speak of, but the post-work crowds get this place jumping. They have 15 taps pouring a wide variety of beers all the time, plus a beer engine always pouring a cask ale (usually from Seattle's Machine House Brewing, one of the most underrated breweries in the western U.S.). They will happily fill a 32-oz crowler (a recyclable aluminum can) of most of the non-cask taps anytime. There are 1,000+ bottles and cans on the shelves and in the coolers, too. They get many of the hotly sought-after limited can releases, and there are always good 4-packs and 6-packs stacked up around the store, along with hundreds of bottles that range from basics to rarities. If you want to chill anything down to crack in-store, there's a whirlpool chiller near the door. They stock cider, mead, and wine as well. Sparkling wine, canned wine, some hard-to-get wine; they have a diverse selection for oenophiles too (though just a fraction of their beer offerings). They offer a bunch of different pub snacks--peanuts, starchy snacks, pepperoni, charcuterie plates, even hot dogs. They also welcome outside food and delivered food. You can expect a wide variety of events here--tap takeovers, special beer releases, competitions between breweries. They get packed for Hawks games and some other sporting events. They've been my local watering hole for years, starting with being the best beer shop in town when they opened. Now they're a bustling hangout that has a better beer selection than ever. I'm lucky to have these guys in my neighborhood.

Local, friendly, good variety, including non-alcoholic beverages in the refrigerated cases.

Great tap house & bottle shop in the north end! I've been several times, and realized I've never shared a review! Special Brews has 16 beers on tap. Today's tap list only had a few IPAs available. The rest were higher ABV beers, sours and dark beers. I had the only Hazy IPA on tap, which came from Skookum. Solid beer. There weren't a good variation of styles on tap, so I had to peruse the bottle selection. They have a great selection of beers in the cases. Many styles to choose from. I selected a few cans from Matchless, which were delicious. You can open the cans there, but I'm pretty sure they charge a fee to open them (which is typical for any bottle shop). It's nice to have the bottle option when they don't have anything on tap to appeal to your styles. I would've been done after one pint if they didn't have bottles!

I feel the owner has a special club of people he caters to. I have been drinking beer here since they opened but still feel like I'm treated like an outsider. It is odd, never been treated that way by a business I frequent that much.

Amazing is the only way to sum up this place. They have a ton of bottles a lot of which I haven't seen at other bottle shops. They also have a pretty big tap list with a huge variety. They have everything from local beers to unique Belgian beers and even had a rodenbach on tap, a rare find.I had a delicious fruit beer on nitro which I have never had before and I had a sour stout which was also very unique and delicious. If I lived closer I would definitely hang out here. If you're a beer connoisseur or just like unique beers this is definitely a stop for you!

So this store/pub sell you beer that you can't drink it in the establishment but they won't tell you this. We bought canned beer and walked straight from the cash register to the table. Wasn't told by anyone we couldn't drink the beer. Then after 10 minutes get approached from the guy that sold us the beer and watched us walk to the table that we're not allowed to open our own cans they have too. Literally scolding us like we knew better. They have no sign and do not notify after purchase. The beer also was horrible. Real racist vibes!! FIND ANY PLACE ELSE TO ENJOY YOUR BEVERAGE THIS PLACE IS TRASH.

Great, rotating, local beer selection- on tap and cans. National and international selections, too. Something for every palate. Staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and also love beer.

So walked in just today, first time ever in. Walked in with my husband and my adult son. Literally was never greeted or welcomed in. My husband spoke up and said "what's up" to the bartender. This guy just turned his head completely.. then my son was asked to move over while the same bartender went by him. He did say excuse me but we were so disappointed and unwelcomed. It felt totally uncomfortable. We are POC and never felt so out of place. Yes, it was 100% Caucasian inside but that's never bothered before because we've never been treated this way. It's very unfortunate. We were excited because it's just around the corner from our place. Oh well, their loss!! Not ours

I've been coming in here for several years now with my husband and plenty of friends. It's my favorite spot around here to hang out with our gang. They've always had a really nice staff with lots of helpful and fun bartenders who make everyone feel welcome. You can ask questions about anything in the shop and learn a lot about beer. I joined the Mug Club a few years ago and drank 99 different beers--some amazing, most good, some unappetizing (I didn't like the English styles). I got a cool mug I can use any time I come in, but I tend to try different things so often that I usually don't have the same glass in front of me for long. They always throw fun events here, and we always have a great time when we come in. I can't wait to see what the next few years are like at the shop.