SEATTLE — Redhook BrewLab, the Capitol Hill microbrewery tucked beneath the Pike Motorworks development on East Pike Street, is set to close after eight years in operation. The closure marks the end of an era for the last pub and brewery directly associated with the Redhook brand in Seattle.
The shutdown comes less than a year after Tilray Brands, a global cannabis and consumer packaged goods conglomerate, acquired the Redhook brand and its operations in an $85 million deal with Anheuser-Busch. While the company confirmed that the BrewLab location will cease operations, it stated that production of Redhook beer will continue uninterrupted.
“During this transition period, Redhook beer will continue to be brewed and available, ensuring that our loyal customers can still enjoy their favorite brews without interruption,” Tilray said in a statement.
Though fully operational as a brewing facility, the East Pike BrewLab was more of a testing ground than a production hub. Redhook’s core bottling and canning operations are based in Oregon, not Seattle. The Capitol Hill location opened in 2017 with an eight-barrel system, a scaled-down version of the originally planned ten-barrel brewery due to spatial constraints beneath the mixed-use residential complex.
The closure was first hinted at in a social media post by a former Redhook employee, who described the brewery as “one of Capitol Hill’s most gaudy monuments to corporate hubris” while also acknowledging the innovation and energy that went into the project.
The move is part of a broader reshuffling in the neighborhood’s brewing scene. In 2023, Redhook’s transition to Tilray was followed by another major change, with Stoup Brewing acquiring Optimism Brewing, originally founded on Broadway. Just blocks from the Redhook site, Elysian Brewing remains active under Anheuser-Busch, which recently increased its focus on the E Pike facility following the closure of Elysian’s Georgetown production site.
No official closure date has been announced for the BrewLab, and it remains unclear whether another brewery will take over the location. The broader block is already seeing turnover, with the recent closure of chef Shota Nakajima’s Taku and the planned opening of Gol Mok, a Korean market bar from the team behind Cheese Room and Meet BBQ. Meanwhile, a vacant Amazon Fresh grocery store continues to leave a noticeable gap in the area’s retail offerings.
As Redhook prepares its exit, another micro-scale brewery on Capitol Hill is also facing change. Outer Planet, a nanobrewery operating out of a microhousing development on 12th Avenue, recently marked its tenth anniversary while announcing it was seeking new ownership.
The future of Redhook’s physical presence in Seattle remains uncertain. Tilray has indicated it is searching for a new location but has not disclosed potential sites or a timeline.
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