Red Hook Forecasters Public House

No Longer In Business

I think the new name (not new anymore) Forecasters Public House should be added to this page. Just sayin. I always enjoy my time here. Beautiful setting really. Huge campus, and lucky for me, I get to drive by it every morning for work at 8 in the morning, and the air is filled with that wonderful beer brewing smell. Life is good at that point of my day. A lot of beers to choose from as well as ciders and guest taps. A few bottles but I believe it’s just the gluten free options. Food is delicious every time. Mini shop on site for bottle sales, shirts and stuff. Has every feel of a huge ass brewerys pub. I might get bored here if I were to come in all the time, but for the occasional visit, I love this place. I personally recommend this as a stop if you are touring around the out of seattle area.

I am changing my review after last night. We had to wait 45 minutes to get in and then another 30 to get our food. I tried one of their supposed seasonals the cask conditioned Winterhook, and it was god awful. Tasted like watered down dish soap and that was right out of the tap at the freshest it could be. The place is full of yuppies and hipsters and the food is not that good. Prices on the other hand are way overpriced for basically either a burger or a sandwich. Needless to say I won’t be returning. Last time I swore that it was the last, but this year for some reason my eldest daughter wanted to go for her birthday. I think she remembered from times gone by. Once again it was 45 minutes to get in, and this time I even tried to make reservations. They don’t take them on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, even though there is no mention of this fact on their website. Another 30 minutes to get food, and then they screwed up the order. Waiter did not stop by to ask how we were doing, and didn’t offer to get refills on drinks. This is definitely the last time, now that everyone in my family has gone and seen the terrible service.

Redhook was my first brewery experience. Their tours are every week and only $1, whats more amazing to the tasting and shot glass that come with that dollar. I found this to be one of my favorite brewery tours/ experiences, they even seem to have good food too. Another brewery you cannot go wrong with.

We stopped in for dinner while on spring break. The location was great along with the building. The food was very good the beers were not to bad. They had a few thing on that was brewpub only.

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 - Belgian tripel, a great Eisbock, 841 local collaboration brew, Big Ballard IIPA. The cask experiments that the brewmaster serves up to us locals are real treats. 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.

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.

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 is pretty standard pub food. The service was good and it has a pleasant enough ambiance. Redhook’s beers are hit and miss for me, but there’s usually some solid choices available.

The tour is inexpensive at only a dollar and is a pretty good deal considering it lasts about an hour. You get a lot of information about Redhook’s history and their brewing, bottling, and distribution process, interspersed with five tasters worth of beer. It felt a little more like a lecture than a tour since you stay in a pretty small area, but it’s still quite enjoyable.

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.

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.