The Seattle Space Needle is turning 50 this year and to celebrate, the Space Needle as well as the Sky City Restaurant conducted a competition among local breweries to determine who would be the commemorative beer for the historic occasion.  In the end, Pike Brewing was named as the winner.

The competition was held on January 31st of this year and a total of over 100 local beer enthusiasts, experts, media personalities, and celebrities turned out to try out beers from 10 local breweries.  Among those in the competition were Diamond Knot, Anacortes, Scuttlebutt, Elysian, Fish, and Hales.

Each brewery submitted a special brew to be called the “Official Space Needle 50th Anniversary beer” and those beers were judged based on overall impression, appearance, aroma, innovation, and unexpected flavors.

Over a period of two hours, judges sampled brews from each competitor with several dishes from Sky City Restaurant and then counted the judge’s ballots.  When a winner was selected, Pike Brewing Company was selected for Pike’s Space Needle Golden Anniversary IPA.

Charles Finkel, President of Pike, stated that, “Like the Space Needle, we are an iconic family-owned local company. We brewed this ale to feature local ingredients including 5 different varieties of Washington State Yakima Valley Hops for a unique golden India Pale Ale that goes well with Sky Cities’ local, sustainable menu. It is a beautiful GOLDEN color with an assertive hop character, and floral notes.”

Pike brewery is headquartered in Seattle, WA and has had a long history of successful brews.  Pike has the honor of being the first American craft breweries to offer customers an IPA.  The company was founded in 1989 by Charles and Rose Ann Finkel and since then various beers have won awards throughout the United States and around the world.  Their Pike IPA has been featured in the British book “300 Beers to Try Before You Die” and is a favorite of beer lovers worldwide.