November 6, 2009
So, any place where I see a hand-pull cask beer engine is immediately elevated to to a special place in my heart and worth a couple more points on the Selection scale. Redhook Forecaster’s pub is our local bar, so we’re a bit biased. You are in serious wine country (walking distance to roughly 15 tasting rooms with another 50 or so within the Woodinville city limits). Next door are two of the best restaurants in the NW (Herbfarm and Barfing Dog - Wally’s name for it), a five-star hotel, and the spectacular Burke Gilman bicycle trail. Sitting on the patio during the summer or watching some of the really good local bands on the weekend makes this a real treat. Doors tribute band American Night plays tomorrow night, and it’s like Jim Morrison has come back from the dead just to have a beer at Redhook. Couple weeks ago, they featured one of Hohner’s harmonica artists-in-residence for great jazz. Don’t know of too many destination beer pubs, but this one ain’t bad. No guest beers, but you get some stuff here that isn’t sold at retail. I like the Belgian triple a lot, along with the Winterhook, especially when it’s on cask. Double Black Stout is quite good, but I’m not much of a fan of the Porter (even on cask). But the real treats are the cask experiments that the brewmaster serves up to us locals. My favorite politically incorrect beer last summer was a blend of the Redhook Blonde Ale with Longhammer IPA. Nicely hopped up ale that sold out fast partly due to quality, but mostly, I suspect, due to its name -Hammered Blonde.

November 2, 2009
Face it, the beer is average with the limited edition beers being the highlight of their lineup. The Double Black Stout and the Tripel are heads and shoulders above anything in their standard lineup. With that being said, the ESB is a malty sweet flagship beer that is often served too cold even at the brewery. The brewery tour is actually quite fun and a bit longer and more informative than most with a staggeringly large amount of tastes for only a buck. At the restaurant live music nights and trivia nights are the best and most fun, even if you’re not participating. During the summertime they host movie nights on their huge lawn with a gargantuan blow-up movie screen, bbq, and beer served in plastic cups....they show second run movies, but it’s a lot of fun and relaxing on a warm summer’s evening. As stated in past reviews, the food is nothing to write home about, but they do produce a very serviceable cheeseburger, a surprisingly tasty meatball sandwich, and an overwhelming platter of nachos with real melted cheese; we order ours with both beef and chicken. Overall the forecaster’s pub is a comfortable place, with above average fare that is suitable for children and is especially nice during the summer.

August 26, 2009 [ Updated October 8, 2009 ]
There’s nothing terribly wrong with this place, but aside from the tour, nothing stood out as great to me. The food was good but not impressive. It did have good service and pleasant enough ambiance. Redhook’s beers are hit and miss for me, but they have some solid beers here. I really liked the coffee stout I had during my recent visit and I always enjoy their ESB.

The tour is inexpensive at only a dollar and really fun. They fill a very nice little taster glass five times, and you get to take it home with you. The talk is interesting and often funny. They inform you about Redhook’s history and their brewing, bottling, and distribution process. I was a little sad that it seemed like they were making some concessions to their larger distribution, such as replacing their blond with the lighter "Slim Chance," and the fact they’ll soon no longer regularly brew their porter due to dark beer not selling as well.

August 10, 2009
Finally was in the area to stop at Redhook. Was not what I expected it was huge and had a restaurant that was pack to the gills. We had a great lunch good pub food and we where stuffed. I got to take the tour and well I saw a huge production brewery reminded me of another huge production brew site. I was able to try some great beers at the end and once they saw I knew what I was talking about they gave me more attention. Then the good stuff was broke out. I got to try some experimental brews that have not even been named. Some where a Belgian triple mixed with a chocolate beer that was a tasty little treat. Had a blast on this stop and was sure glad I finally made it. I will be back that’s for sure and I hope to try some more great Redhook brews.

November 28, 2008
Interesting layout inside. High ceilings and robust wooden tasbles provide a homey feel but it also has an industrial corporate vibe. All Redhook standards are here. Decent prices and fresh brew, one can’t really complain too much. Fun and cheap brewery tour as well. Worth a visit.

September 26, 2008
beer tour 09/23/08 Portsmouth location. Stopped by just before 11:30 am on Tuesday, the 23rd. While it took a few minutes to get the attention of a waiter, after we succeeded things improved greatly. I ordered the beer sampler, my wife ordered Iced Tea and we both had clam chowder. chowdah was very good. Beers were well-made, with the longhammer IPA standing out. a very drinkable beer, not overly bitter, just well-balanced. The Octoberfest was also pretty good. We finished to early for the tour, but had another place to visit in the area, so we left with the intention fo coming back for the tour. On our return we were given tickets (well really stickers) for the tour and viewed the facility. The guide, who was also our waiter, was very well informed and articulate concerning the brewing process, styles and company history. After the tour we were taken to a separate tasting room and sampled some more of Redhooks ales. It was a well done tour, good food and beer and a pleasant host. I reccomend both the pub and the tour.

August 1, 2008
My wife and I went to the Redhook Brewery on St Patrick’s day 2006. We went for the brewery tour and we’re very impressed. We learned about the whole brewing process and got to sample all their beers and got to keep the sample glass. After the tour we decide to eat at the pub. The food was typical brew pub food and good. Since it was St Patrick’s day you could order two of their beers green and they were only $2. I ended up drinking 3 green IPA’s.

July 15, 2008
I got a small order of nachos with my beer - they were killer and the serving size was enormous. Maybe because I was working an event there, and they take care of their own? Idunno. I’ll have to try them again some time when I’m just another customer. The beer is good, but you won’t find one single stellar brew in the whole place.

April 7, 2008
It’s a pretty amazing setting, that’s for sure. You’re out in the valley they launch hot air balloons from not far away, and in the summer, you see them float overhead. It’s a craft beer success story in so many ways, and such a big one. And most of us feel pretty good about that, especially if we’re from here. But the bottom line is that the dining room isn’t much removed from Denny’s level, and the beer is around that level by craft beer standards. The tour is cool ’cause it’s such a big operation, so do that if you’re in the area checking out wineries. But your time is definitely better spent elsewhere, checking out the people who are still doing it all the way right, albeit on a smaller scale.

August 28, 2007
This place was nice - it was onsite of a beautiful brewhouse, surrounded by woods (and a handful of local wineries). The service was attentive and decent, the selection was okay, the food was pretty decent (better than I was expecting), and overall I was happy with this as a destination. Given how big Redhook has gotten since they were acquired by Anheuser-Busch I was afraid that this would not be all that great. But the place was nice, the beers were quite tasty, and the food was good, too. Overall, a very nice place for a light dinner and a beer.