Elysian Brewing Company


The Elysian Brewing Company is an American brewery that operates three pubs in Seattle. On January 23, 2015, it was announced that Elysian would be sold to Anheuser-Busch. This deal means that Elysian Brewing Company will no longer meet the Brewers Association definition of a "craft brewery", since full ownership by Anheuser-Busch exceeds the definition's 25% maximum ownership by a non-craft brewery.

History

Elysian was founded in 1995 by Dave Buhler, Joe Bisacca, and Dick Cantwell. Cantwell had been a homebrewer who gained a reputation at the Duwamps Cafe, the Pike Place Brewery, and Big Time Brewing. Buhler is a former spirits wholesaler and Bisacca was a vice president at Seafirst Bank. The original location was opened in 1996 in the Capitol Hill neighborhood with a 20 barrel capacity.
The company operated a brewpub at the local GameWorks arcade between 1997 and 2002. In 2003, their pub and bistro, Tangletown, was opened near Green Lake. The company's largest location, Elysian Fields, was opened in 2006 near CenturyLink Field, which is often busy on game days.
In 2011, Elysian expanded its operations with a production-only facility in the Georgetown neighborhood.

Beers

Beer% ABVIBUDescription
Avatar Jasmine IPA6.345IPA
Dragonstooth Stout8.060Stout
Dayglow IPA7.465India Pale Ale
Loser Pale Ale7.057Pale ale
Men's Room Red5.633Amber ale
Perseus Porter5.447Porter
Space Dust8.273IPA
The Immortal IPA6.354IPA with new world hops
Vahalla Red IPA7.570
Wise ESB5.960Extra Special Bitter, Elysian's first brew
Zephyrus Pilsner7.580Pilsner-style lager

Seasonal

s include:
Beer% ABVIBUAvailabilityDescription
Split Shot6.028Spring
Bifrost Winter Ale8.358Winter
Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale6.020FallPumpkin beer
Dark O' The Moon7.520FallPumpkin beer
Great Pumpkin Ale8.120FallPumpkin beer
Night Owl Pumpkin Ale6.718FallPumpkin beer
Superfuzz Blood Orange6.445SummerAle brewed with blood orange

Pub specialties

Elysian Brewing Company brews many beers, which are only available at their brewpub and restaurant or are sometimes seasonally available on tap in some Seattle pubs. These include The Golden Boot, brewed in honor of Seattle soccer; Haleakala, named after Maui's easterly volcano; Hombre, a Mexican-style lager, brewed as a house beer for a local Mexican restaurant; and Xoxo, a nitrogen-infused, chocolate, chilli-spiced Irish-style stout often brewed around Valentine's Day.

Brews

The Wise ESB was the brewery's first beer. Elysian has won multiple awards for their beers. The Wise, Dragontooth stout, and Avatar Jasmine IPA have done well at the World Beer Cup. The brewery's beers earned it the Large Brewpub of the Year award at the Great American Beer Festival in 1999, 2003 and 2004.
Elysian had a collaborative partnership with the New Belgium Brewing Company of Ft. Collins, Colorado. The brewery also partnered with The Men's Room to produce a red ale.