Elysian Brewing, a grandfather of the Seattle brewery scene, is beginning the celebration of the 25th anniversary of its Capitol Hill birth with a pack of beer including some of its signature creations over the last quarter century.
“Elysian was built from a love of subversive music, artistic rebellion, and great beer,” Elysian’s co-founder Joe Bisacca said. “By staying true to our DNA, being unafraid to experiment, and keeping consumers at the forefront of everything we do, we’ve been able to stand the test of time and deliver the beers our fans want for 25 remarkable years.”
Bisacca, along with David Buhler, and Dick Cantwell started Elysian in May, 1996 where its E Pike brewery and brewpub still make their home in the overhauled 1919-era Packard storage building.
A 2019 overhaul helped open up the E Pike brewpub space to more fully show off the working brewery in the heart of Capitol Hill
After Elysian was purchased in 2015 by Anheuser-Busch InBev to strengthen the beer giant’s “craft” wing, Cantwell left the company.
The Anheuser-Busch’s Brewers Collective, meanwhile, also owns another major part of the Capitol Hill brewery scene. The Redhook Brewlab debuted on Capitol Hill in the summer of 2017 and became Redhook’s sole Seattle brewing operation. UPDATE: We have updated the description of the AB InBev ownership. Anheuser-Busch’s Brewers Collective now owns both Elysian and Redhook.
In addition to the E Pike location, Elysian continues to operate its Georgetown taproom while its stadium district Elysian Fields has been shuttered temporarily during the pandemic.
In 2019, Elysian worked with Mallet Design Build to give its original E Pike home an upgrade including vintage design elements and bleacher stadium seats, mid-century lamps from the Czech Republic, plus doors and large beams from the former brew space in a redesign that also removed walls separating the brewery area from the rest of the pub to better show off the brewing process.
Elysian’s Capitol Hill brewing was also overhauled with the 20-barrel brewery setup which had been there since 1996 was sold off to Urban Family Brewing Co. in Magnolia and replaced by a new 15-barrel installation. The new system was designed for smaller batches, more styles, and allows brewers more options to experiment.
Over its 25 years, Elysian has been slowly joined by more craft beer creators on the Hill. On 12th Ave, Outer Planet qualifies for “nano-brewery” status with its microbrewery and pub making beer on the ground floor of a microhousing development. Meanwhile, Optimism Brewing has grown into a center of its neighborhood on the backside of Pike/Pine with a brewery and taproom space that has transformed an auto-row era showroom into one of the nicest places to hang out and enjoy a Capitol Hill-crafted beer in the city.
(Image: Elysian Brewing)
To mark that quarter century and celebrate some of its most popular creations, Elysian has created a special 25-pack including a mix of “throwback recipes” and a taste of the modern favorites it has grown to include in its offerings.
The pack, Elysian says, also showcases some of its favorite label designs over the years and is a way “to bring the 25th anniversary celebration into the homes of the people who have made Elysian what it is today” even while the transition from COVID-19 restrictions continues and capacities at bars and restaurants in Seattle remain limited. Washington residents can order the special packs starting Thursday while Elysian fans outside the state can’t buy the beer but can shop the special “25th anniversary merch collection.” Learn more at elysianbrewing.com or visit 1221 E Pike.
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