Maritime Pacific Brewing Company was founded in February of 1990, when small breweries were just beginning to make their mark upon the Northwest. The idea of brewing beers here in the Northwest that were similar to those in Europe and the United Kingdom was nothing new, but the idea of brewing Northwest Style Beers was just beginning to stimulate the local imagination. Maritime's challenge was to produce beers that were based upon established styles but enhanced to satisfy the Northwest beer lover's diverse palate...beverages both pleasing and challenging at the same time. With help from friends and relatives, our dream became reality in September of 1990 and Maritime Pacific introduced its first beer, Flagship Red Ale. Over the years, Maritime has produced over 20 different beers, both Ales and Lagers.
With the success of our draught and bottled products came the need for a venue to better showcase what we do. Thus, in 1997 we opened the Jolly Roger Taproom right next to the brewery in Ballard. Named after our popular Christmas Ale, the Jolly Roger offers 13 beers on tap (the "lucky" number 13 representing our designation as the 13th beer manufacturer to be licensed in the State) and up to 3 Cask Conditioned Ales drawn on old English beer engines. From the fanciful pirate treasure map on the floor to the hand-painted replica pirate flags overhead, you are enveloped by and intriguing maritime atmosphere. The Jolly Roger Taproom has proven itself an imaginative and popular place in which to showcase our beers and to pair them with freshly prepared and distinctively flavorful foods.
Traditional beers are made up of the four primary ingredients: malted barley, hops, yeast, and water. The Maritime "Signature" is largely derived from our addition of malted wheat to most of our beers. Malted wheat adds body as well as complexity to the flavor of our beer, making it so much more than a Breakfast Drink!
"Bottoms Up, you Scurvy Dog!"
From the Crew of
Maritime Pacific Brewing Company
But that's not the end of the story...
In September of 2009, twelve years after pouring the first beer in the new Taproom, Maritime Pacific closed the doors of the Jolly Roger Taproom at the old location for the last time, in preparation for a move to a larger facility. In November of 2009, Maritime Pacific fired the kettles at it's new, larger production brewery a whopping three blocks from it's original location. Appropriately enough, the very first beer brewed was Jolly Roger Christmas Ale. That first batch of Jolly made it to store shelves about a week before Christmas that year. A little later than usual, but the label does say "Christmas Ale," so the deadline was met.
Getting the new Taproom open proved to be a little more challenging than getting that first batch of Jolly out. Finally, in February of 2010, almost five months to the day that the old Taproom closed, the new Jolly Roger Taproom opened to much fanfare.
