Yes, we’ve arrived at yet another anniversary for our West Seattle location. Founded in 1997, our original location has made an annual ritual of inviting a Washington brewer to participate in conceiving of, formulating, and brewing a one-off recipe to help us celebrate the occasion.

This year we teamed up with long-time Seattle brewer and self-professed “ol’ timer” Kim Brusco from Pyramid Brewing. Kim, a card-carrying West Seattle-ite, currently keeps the taps flowing with house-brewed beers at the Pyramid brewery on Royal Brougham, across from Safeco Field. Most recently he was the Brewery Manager at Redhook in Woodinville and before that was at the helm of Pike Brewing and, for those who remember the olden days of Seattle breweries, headed up brewing operations at Pacific NW Brewing in Pioneer Square.

In the past Anniversary Ale styles have ranged from Pepper Saisons to Peated Ambers to Imperial IPAs. For #16, Kim and our own WS Brewer, Dan Ashley, cooked up a style they’re calling ‘Extra Bold Bitter’ (EBB…get it?). It pays homage to British-style ales with its reliance on the classic Maris Otter malt variety and East Kent Golding hops. But the boys decided to deviate slightly from a typical Bitter and hop this batch like an American IPA, adding an extra dose of dry hops in the aging tank following fermentation.

We’ll tap a special cask-conditioned keg of the Anniversary Ale #16 at 5:00 PM on Friday, July 12 to kick off the opening of our WS Summerfest Beer Garden. The rest of the batch will go on tap Monday, July 8 when we open our doors for lunch at 11:00 AM.

Swing by 4720 California Ave. SW to hoist a pint and help us celebrate another successful year of brewing (and collaborating) in West Seattle. Cheers!

Look for the Anniversary Ale on tap in both our Burien and Lake City pubs in the coming weeks.