Today while I was naughtily shopping for home goods I don’t actually need over at the Woodinville HomeGoods store, I happened to discover a new taproom – Hopheads! I was excited, because I know I really do owe my beer-loving boyfriend some brewery and taproom visits to make up for all the wine tasting adventures I drag him on for this blog.
I popped inside to see what was going on, and found a spacious, nicely decorated taproom that lets you bring in food from local restaurants (they suggest neighboring Chan’s Place, Tipsy Cow or Pasta Nova). You can eat your dinner while enjoying their high quality, carefully curated beer selection.
Jay, the owner, used to work for Stone Brewing, the California brewery. Bob and I have been to that San Diego area brewery many times and love eating dinner there!
Tonight is the grand opening celebration! Head on down if you’re in Woodinville this evening!
A couple of TVs hang on the wall above these larger tables. I appreciated that they weren’t blaring loudly and distractingly.
I love how much light comes in from the windows. However, we’ll most likely be here at night.
They’re open til 10pm on weeknights, midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and til 10pm on Sundays.
It will be nice to have somewhere else to go hang out after Chan’s closes their bar at 9:30! We’ve fallen into the habit of eating dinner in the bar at Chan’s on Friday nights, visiting with bartender Aaron and some of the regulars there. But Chan’s closes early and Bob’s always hoping for one more beer before we head home.
The taproom is really spacious, with lots of room for small groups. Bob and I probably wouldn’t take up a whole four-top just for the two of us though, we’d head over to the bar.
I almost forgot to mention – while the taproom is 21+ only, it’s dog friendly! Great news! We might just bring our friendly waggy retrievers in for a visit sometime.
You can buy a small selection of snacks here, including pumpkin seeds, beef jerky, chips and popcorn, plus pretzels and mustard.
I helped myself to a stool at the bar to check it out – yes, I can see myself spending time here with Bob in the near future!
I thought it would be nice to bring Bob home some of his favorite beer for later tonight – we might light a fire and watch a movie. I’ll likely be drinking wine, but it’s only fair for Bob to have his favorite beverage too. He normally drinks Mac and Jack’s Amber, but I thought he might enjoy trying the Resolution IPA that Hopheads currently has on tap.
Jay demonstrated the expensive canning machine – I didn’t ask how much and can only venture a guess it was a significant investment!
The beer can lid gets sealed on, not only protecting the beer but making it legal for me to drive home with the unopened can in the back seat of my car!
Here’s the finished can, full of Mac and Jack’s Resolution IPA, sealed and ready for me to take home to surprise Bob with.
I wasn’t able to get a photograph of the 24 tap menu for you (there were other customers in the store and I was trying not to be obnoxious or disruptive with my camera!) You’ll just have to come in and see for yourself. I was glad to see a couple of ciders on there, and they’ve kegged some Chardonnay from Damsel Cellars for people who just absolutely must have a glass of wine instead.
The Beer to Go area is SO convenient! For example, I’m often at this strip mall for other reasons (TJ Maxx and HomeGoods being two of them) and now I can drop in and quickly bring home a specialty or hard-to-find beer for my boyfriend. Off the top of my head, I don’t know where else I’d be able to get a six pack of Stone Delicious IPA (We drink it when on vacation in San Diego) other than here!
There’s a little gift shop area where you can purchase Hophead branded shirts, caps and growlers, too.
Stop by tonight for the Grand Opening, or check it out over the weekend. It’s great to have a new option for beer lovers here in Woodinville!
Hopheads is located at:
14141 Woodinville-Duvall Road, Woodinville Washington 98072
-Carrie
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