14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
SEASIDE
BREWING CO.
Seaside Brewing Co.
‘easy, familiar, fulfilling’
Rating:
851 Broadway St.
Seaside, Ore., 97138
503-717-5451
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon-
day–Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday
Price: $–$$: most dishes in
the low teens.
Service: Personable and
occasionally forgetful
Vegetarian/Vegan Options:
Hummus, salad, chips and
salsa
Drinks: Beer, wine, soda
Review and photos by
THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
FACEBOOK.COM/MOUTHOFTHECOLUMBIA
D
espite its digs in the sparse-
ly refurbished, heavy old
Seaside jailhouse, there’s a
lightness to Seaside Brewing Co.
It’s easy, familiar, fulfilling.
Sure, it’s the norm for North
Coast brewpubs: burgers, chow-
der, sandwiches, fish and chips.
But if, after a hike or a surf,
you find yourself in need of a
burger and a brew, Seaside Brew-
ing will more than suffice.
And they get extra credit, not
only for brewing their own beer,
but for punching up those familiar
dishes just enough.
Come to think of it, the Chipot-
le Jalapeño Cheeseburger ($14.50)
is one of the more satisfying burg-
ers I’ve had in Seaside lately.
I came in famished, and the 1/2
lb. patty and pillowy bun had me
trundling out. It was well seasoned
and cooked right with some pink
in the center. It wasn’t the beef
that sucked me in, but the swirling
chipotle mayo oozing out the sides,
the melted jack cheese and snappy
jalapeño peppers. The dressing is
what has me considering another.
The chipotle mayo was a
significant component of the Fish
Tacos de Dennis ($14.95) as well.
To be sure: You’re tasked with
assembling them yourself, which,
despite some astoundingly clue-
less Yelpers, is how the Western
world makes the best tacos.
I went hard on the vivid mango
salsa, which crackles with diced
jalapeños, the chipotle mayo and
shredded cabbage. While it was
over-breaded, I appreciated the
choice of rockfish, a local and
abundant catch (as opposed to,
say, cod that’s been frozen and
flown halfway around the world).
The Wild Salmon BLT Sand-
Wild Salmon BLT Sandwich
wich ($14.95) struck an endearing
partnership between fatty bacon
and a lean but hefty salmon steak,
to which the lemon-y aioli was
a no-brainer. (And hey, crummy
pubs: a fish sandwich without
breaded fish — what a concept!)
That’s about as wild and
creative as the food at Seaside
Brewing gets. Which is to say: not
much.
But what they lack in diversity
they mostly make up for in accou-
trements — the mango salsa, the
chipotle and lemon aiolis, decent
bread and so on.
Now, wait … I shouldn’t leave
out the BBQ, though it’s often
left out of plain sight. Over four
separate trips to Seaside Brewing
I was never, by server or signage,
notified of any specials. But,
occasionally, specials of the BBQ
variety do exist.
I know because, on one trip, I
saw a smoker out back with fresh
wood on top of it and asked my
server. The message had to ping
the kitchen before an answer re-
turned. Indeed, there was a special
on the day’s menu: a pulled pork
sandwich.
As I understand it, BBQ
specials at Seaside Brewing are
sporadic, found more regularly on
busy weekends but occasionally
on weekdays. Those specialties
are said to include brisket and
bratwurst as well, though I found
only the pulled pork.
And I mean I found only pulled
Chipotle Jalapeño Cheeseburger
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Poor
Below average
Worth returning
Very good
Excellent, best in region
Fish Tacos de Dennis
pork. On a bun. With a side of
smoky, tangy, nearly-serrated
BBQ sauce. I longed for some
slaw. Something. That extra
element to pull it all together that
items on the regular menu relish
in. Where the Chipotle Jalapeño
Burger and Fish Tacos were
gleefully, colorfully adorned, the
pulled pork was one-and-a-half-
notes. It was, however, a rare
pothole. Nothing else left me
stumbling.
Now … deep breath. Clear the
smoke from your taste buds. Let’s
talk about the beers. There are
loads of them.
Crisp kölsch, sneaky Belgian
Tripel, molasses-heavy Russian
stout, fruity Hefeweizen and,
of course, hoppy IPAs. Seaside
Brewing really runs the gamut.
On my visits there were around 14
house beers on tap.
The most memorable I tried
was, by far, the Shōga Ace Ginger
Blonde (“shōga” is Japanese for
ginger). Imagine a ginger beer
more beer than soda — less sweet
with still plenty of spicy ginger
bite. While perhaps less destined
for mass consumption than the
weaponized hops warheads of Or-
egon’s explosive IPA arsenal, the
Shōga is my recommendation for
beerheads in search of something
fresh and new.
Otherwise, though, fresh and
new isn’t exactly Seaside Brew-
ing’s thing. They’re not reinvent-
ing the wheel, but rather finding
incremental ways to make it roll
more smoothly. And in this case
I’m cool with it.
Like I said: easy, familiar, ful-
filling. Plus there’s a connection
to place, a pride in Seaside.
While hardly strict locavores,
Seaside Brewing reflects proudly
upon its home. Be it the historic
renovation, using rockfish, hosting
and supporting events or brewing
their own beer, Seaside Brewing
makes where you are tangibly
clear. Not all restaurants in the
area do this.
In so, Seaside Brewing succeeds
where a lot of their neighbors on
tourist-centric Broadway Street
struggle: giving us full-time resi-
dents a reason to return. CW