Fair Isle Brewing

"Fair Isle makes this list a lot, and for good reason. The surrounding industrial buildings of the Ballard brewing district seem to vanish the moment you walk through the door of this otherworldly brewery. With its dark wood and exposed rafters that still somehow feel cozy, the taproom has the aura of a high-end wine-tasting venue. The array of naturally fermented Farmhouse Ales and balanced Saisons are impressive, propping up Fair Isle in an area packed with hop-forward breweries. And if you’re a collector, try taking home one of the cellared bottle selections for further aging to complex, tasty excellence." - Brianna Gunter

"Now that Beast & Cleaver’s offshoot 49th Street Beast sadly left this Ballard brewery, there’s a new culinary operation in its place. It doesn't have a special name—it’ll just be known henceforth as Fair Isle Brewing’s Restaurant. (Easy enough.) The idea behind the kitchen is that they’ll take the beer into consideration, whether that’s pumping sourdough pretzels with brewer’s yeast or coming up with dishes that pair with their farmhouse-style saisons." - kayla sager riley, aimee rizzo, gabe guarente

"Fair Isle in Ballard is about appreciating the nuances of beer as you would a glass of wine. They specialize in farmhouse-styles, made with native yeasts and refermented with fruits and vegetables like pluots, beets, and kiwi. There are oaked ones with infusions like sencha tea or blackberries and tarragon, as well as some winemaking techniques in play. " - aimee rizzo, gabe guarente

"Seattle’s burger scene suffered a blow last week, when Beast and Cleaver announced on Facebook that it was closing 49th Street Beast and Cleaver, the restaurant’s outpost inside Fair Isle Brewing. The last day of service will be July 28. 49th Street, which opened in September, didn’t really bill itself as a burger joint. It had a full menu of meat dishes, vegetable sides, and treats like spotted dick pudding (Beast and Cleaver co-owner Kevin Smith is British). But the burger was the thing that received by far the most hype. Before 49th Street’s opening, Beast and Cleaver’s dry-aged burgers were only available at infrequent pop-ups. The dry-aging process can last up to 130 days and the butcher shop–slash–restaurant didn’t have the space to store much ground beef for that long, the Seattle Times wrote. Moving into the kitchen at Fair Isle allowed the team to age and sell more burgers, but they were still only available in limited quantities and tended to sell out. The burgers, which come cooked medium-rare, are topped with only American cheese, ketchup, and beef garum; the star here is the beautiful beef and nothing is allowed to obscure its place in the spotlight. (Well, unless you add bacon.) In its Facebook post, Beast and Cleaver was vague about why the 49th Street Beast closed, saying only “some things just aren’t meant to be.” Co-owner Polly Yakovich didn’t provide any more details when reached by Eater Seattle, saying, “We are incredibly proud of the team we had at 49th Street Beast and we think that they are some of the best cooks in the city. They produced delicious food that we were proud of, and customers loved.” The team at 49th Street won’t be retained by Beast and Cleaver, the spokesperson said. The kitchen is run by Jaimon Westing, previously of the Willows Inn and No Anchor." - Harry Cheadle

"A Ballard brewery hop is never a bad idea when you want to tone down your birthday, but the usual sustenance of prepackaged bags of Tim's chips and cold food truck stuff can get disappointing fast. Head to 49th Street Beast (Beast & Cleaver's second outpost located inside Fair Isle Brewing) instead. Don’t let the relaxed atmosphere and barrel furniture here fool you—the food is totally special occasion-worthy, like decadent confit potatoes, pork rillette smeared on olive bread, or Beast & Cleaver’s famous 100-day-dry-aged burger with a heavy hand of ketchup and American cheese. Split fancy charcuterie with friends and hand out burger wedges like Costco sheet cake. " - aimee rizzo, kayla sager riley