Thanks to The Masonry on Facebook for the image.

I’ve been wanting to stop by The Masonry in Lower Queen Anne for quite a while now, especially after seeing that Eater National included it in their ranking of “The 24 Hottest Craft Beer Bars in America Right Now” just over a week ago. Lucky for me, my wonderful wife surprised me with a visit there yesterday evening after taking me to see The Hound of the Baskervilles at Seattle Repertory Theatre (which, was awesome…and over; you missed it).

The Masonry is located in a small storefront on Roy St between 1st Ave and Queen Anne Ave. It is a fairly cozy place, with one large communal table, a few four top tables along one wall, and 10 or so seats at the bar and a ledge along the window. It was perfect to sit at the bar for a leisurely Sunday evening visit, but I would imagine this place can get pretty packed during peak times.

According to Tan Vinh’s review in the Seattle Times, the team behind The Masonry actually came from Malt & Vine in Redmond; one of the best bottle shops in the area. So, to say these guys know their beer is probably an understatement, and it showed in their lineup of draught and bottled beers. They have about 20 taps total, with about half of those pouring beer and the other half pouring wine or cider on our visit. The lineup was nicely put together, including interesting offerings like Almanac Heirloom Pumpkin Barleywine, Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin and Snipes Mountain Jackal Sour Brown. They also have a sizable bottle list, and we quite enjoyed splitting a bottle of La Roja from Jolly Pumpkin in MI (thank you, Shelton Brothers).

We had dinner reservations elsewhere, so we’ll have to try out their pizza another time. But, we did have a snack consisting of a jar of pickled vegetables and some fresh focaccia, which were both nicely done. The pizzas coming out of the oven looked drool-worthy, though.

Actually, a perfect time to visit might be this evening when they host Fremont Brewing for a beer dinner at 7pm. I believe the plan is to feature 5 special dishes paired with 5 Fremont beers, including their stellar B-Bomb just released this month. The price is $60 and you need a reservation; give them a call if you are interested (they open at 11:30am).

The Masonry is surely worth a visit if in the area, whether for pizza or just to grab a few beers. Between The Masonry and Red Papaya (which I visited for the first time a month ago and loved), I obviously need to start spending more time in Lower Queen Anne.