A cold pint, a body of water and a prayer for the sun to shine

written by Jackie Dodd

There is an elevated feeling to beer sipped near a body of water on a warm day, almost transcendent after months of dark lagers inside taprooms on rainy days. After half a year of soggy boots and vitamin D deficiencies, beer with salt air, boat traffic, gulls screaming overhead and the low hum of a marina somewhere nearby is akin to a religious experience. Or at least a touch of liquid therapy.

Washington might quietly be one of the best states in America for drinking beer by the water. Not because of million-dollar patios, or because someone installed string lights next to a decorative canoe, but because water means more than one thing in Washington. It’s beaches, it’s marinas, it’s lakes, it’s rivers—we have it all. The water is part of the identity of Washington, as well as the main ingredient in that beer you’re sipping. This list of breweries to seek out when you are in need of a waterfront pint isn’t comprehensive, but it is a great jumping-off point to begin exploration.

GASWORKS BREWING

At Gasworks Brewing, the water is almost the entire point. Sitting on Lake Union with a pint in hand feels like peak Seattle. Seaplanes skim the surface. Paddleboarders drift by pretending they aren’t freezing. Sailboats cut through the marina while tech workers attempt to “disconnect” by checking Slack outdoors instead of at their desks. It’s picnic tables and Adirondack chairs and thinking anyone who chooses to live elsewhere is crazy.

The brewery has already started collecting recognition, too. Their Super Bueno Mexican Lager was voted Best Mexican Lager in Washington in 2025, which honestly tracks because that beer was practically engineered for drinking on or near boats. It also pairs well with their world-class smashburger.

2441 N. NORTHLAKE WAY
SEATTLE
www.gasworksbrewing.com

OLD STOVE BREWING CO., PIKE PLACE

Old Stove Brewing Co. at Pike Place is a spot locals can take their visiting friends to that gives the good parts of locals-only, and also incredibly tourist. Elliott Bay stretches out behind the patio while ferries crawl across the water like moving apartment buildings. On a clear day, the Olympics rise in the distance reminding everyone they’re lucky to be in that spot, with that beer, and that view. You can sit with a crisp pilsner and watch Seattle perform itself in real time. Fishmongers yelling, street musicians covering Pearl Jam and someone getting talked out of visiting the gum wall.

Old Stove also quietly racks up serious awards while pretending to just be a scenic brewery for people eating pretzels by the market. In the last two years alone, the brewery has earned medals at the Washington Beer Awards, Sip Magazine’s Best of the Northwest, the U.S. Open Beer Championship and Best of Craft Beer Awards. Their Two-Pronged Crown IPA earned Double Gold at Sip’s 2025 Best of the Northwest Awards, while Quiet Eon 2023 picked up a Washington Beer Awards bronze medal. Beer worthy of the view that comes with it.

1901 WESTERN AVE.
SEATTLE
www.oldstove.com

NARROWS BREWING

Narrows Brewing might have one of the best brewery views in the state. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge looms overhead like industrial artwork while the water churns below. The patio feels like a place you can stay all day; it’s comfortable and spacious, and the atmosphere can’t be beat. It’s lowkey and charming in the way you want a port-dwelling beer location to be. Tacoma waterfront drinking has a little casual grit to it—you don’t come here for yacht culture. You come here because drinking a lager while staring dramatically at gray water feels emotionally correct.

Narrows has also picked up recent hardware, including Washington Beer Awards medals for Peachy Voyage and Good 2 Gose, plus Sip Magazine’s 2025 Double Gold for Octo IPA.

9007 S. 19TH ST.
TACOMA
www.narrowsbrewing.com

ICE HARBOR BREWERY

Ice Harbor Brewery proves waterfront beer culture is not just a western Washington thing. Sitting near the Columbia River marina feels completely different from Puget Sound drinking. Bigger skies. Warmer air. More sun than Seattle residents are emotionally prepared for. The river moves slower, wider, calmer. The whole experience feels less coastal and more expansive, like Eastern Washington decided beer deserved a view, too, and far more days worthy of patio drinking.

Ice Harbor’s Tangerine Hefeweizen also picked up Gold at the Washington Beer Awards in 2024, which feels like exactly the kind of beer you want near a marina in August.

350 CLOVER ISLAND DRIVE
KENNEWICK
www.iceharbor.com

RIVER MILE 38 BREWING CO.

River Mile 38 Brewing Company feels like the kind of place people desperately try to keep from becoming popular. Tucked along the Columbia in Cathlamet, it captures small-town river culture perfectly. This is not performative waterfront drinking or an influencer’s patio beer. No curated maritime aesthetic. Just real river-town energy, cold beer and the kind of quiet that makes you want to stay longer than you planned.

5 RIVER ST.
CATHLAMET
www.rivermile38.com

NO-LI BREWHOUSE

No-Li Brewhouse makes a strong case that waterfront beer in Washington is not just a Puget Sound thing. Set directly along the Spokane River, No-Li pairs riverfront drinking with one of the more award-heavy brewing programs in Eastern Washington. Over the years the brewery has picked up medals from the World Beer Awards, Brussels Beer Challenge, Sip Magazine’s Best of the Northwest Awards and even a silver medal at the World Beer Cup for Born & Raised IPA. The setting feels distinctly Spokane: sunny, fast-moving, a little rugged and deeply tied to the river running past the patio.

1003 E. TRENT AVE., #170
SPOKANE
www.nolibrewhouse.com

BEACH CAT BREWING

Beach Cat Brewing delivers a completely different kind of waterfront beer experience. This is not polished marina drinking or skyline-and-yacht energy. It’s beach-town Washington in the best possible way. The brewery sits just steps from Birch Bay, where people wander in sandy, sunburned and holding flip-flops they gave up on halfway through the day. On clear evenings, the bay lights up gold while families linger on the shoreline and someone inevitably tries to convince their friends the water is “actually not that cold.” Beach Cat has also quietly earned a growing stack of recognition, picking up multiple Washington Beer Awards medals in 2024 for beers like Raspberry Purrée and Christmas in July. But honestly, the real draw here is having that beer in that space: relaxed, salty, slightly sleepy and exactly the kind of place where one pint turns into staying until sunset.

7876 BIRCH BAY DRIVE, #101
BIRCH BAY
www.beachcatbrewing.com

7 SEAS BREWING

7 Seas Brewing captures the post-card version of Washington water-front drinking in the best possible way. Sitting directly on Gig Harbor’s shoreline, the brewery feels built for long afternoons that accidentally become evenings. Boats drift through the harbor, the deck fills with people pretending they only stopped in for one beer, and the whole place carries that polished-but-still-laid-back marina energy that Gig Harbor does so well. The waterfront taproom has earned recognition beyond the beer world, too, including a 2024 Hospitality Development of the Year award for its striking waterfront design. But honestly, the real achievement is creating a place where a cold lager and a harbor view feel like a complete personality for a few hours.

2905 HARBORVIEW DRIVE
GIG HARBOR
www.7seasbrewing.com

MAGNUSON CAFE & BREWERY

Magnuson Cafe & Brewery brings a different kind of waterfront energy than most Seattle breweries. Sitting directly on the shores of Lake Washington inside Magnuson Park, the brewery trades ferries and marina traffic for sailboats, cyclists and the kind of relaxed lakefront atmosphere that makes you forget you’re still in the city. The huge patio feels built for sunny afternoons that stretch longer than intended, especially when Mount Rainier decides to make an appearance in the distance. It’s less gritty maritime beer culture and more Pacific Northwest lake life at its absolute peak: dogs under picnic tables, cold lagers in hand and everyone collectively pretending the day will last forever.

7801 62ND AVE. NE
SEATTLE
www.magnusonbrewery.com

MCMENAMINS PUB AT KALAMA HARBOR LODGE

McMenamins Pub at Kalama Harbor Lodge is a hidden gem in waterfront beer stops in Washington. Sitting directly along the Columbia River in Kalama, the property feels somewhere between a Pacific Northwest fishing lodge and an old-school summer camp. Massive ships move quietly downriver while people drift between the waterfront patio and rooftop Cloud Bar carrying pints of Hammerhead Ale like they have nowhere important to be. Unlike some waterfront spots that feel designed primarily for Instagram, Kalama Harbor Lodge actually encourages lingering. Maybe it’s the marina, maybe it’s the river traffic, maybe it’s the fact that the Columbia somehow makes everyone feel temporarily retired. Either way, it works.

215 N. HENDRICKSON DRIVE
KALAMA
www.mcmenamins.com/kalama-harbor-lodge

The reason beer tastes better on the way may be the way it forces people to slow down long enough to notice things. The tide moving. Ferry horns in the distance. Wind off the marina. Condensation sliding down a pint glass while the sky turns that specific shade of Pacific Northwest blue-gray that somehow looks both depressing and beautiful at the same time.

Some places pair wine with fine dining. Washington pairs beer with waterfronts. Honestly, it may be the better tradition.