Seattle’s Full Beer Festival Calendar, Month by Month

Seattle’s beer festival calendar has at least one major event running nearly every month of the year, from a January weird-beer weekend on the Olympic Peninsula to a scorched, several-hundred-pound pumpkin tapped for beer every October.

This rounds up the recurring, established festivals worth knowing about in and around Seattle — not one-off taproom anniversaries, but the annual events with a real track record. A quick note up front: dates, locations, and ticket prices shift year to year (a few of these have even changed venues entirely), so treat the info below as a planning starting point and confirm specifics on the event’s own site before buying tickets.

1. Strange Brewfest — Port Townsend, Late January

The wild card of the calendar. Dozens of Washington breweries show up with genuinely odd, purpose-built beers — flavors like chocolate, crab, taco chips, and miso have all made appearances — served alongside a full live music lineup at the American Legion Hall. It’s small enough that the whole town of Port Townsend books up around it, so lodging needs to be arranged well ahead.

American Legion Post, 209 Monroe St, Port Townsend, roughly 50 miles northwest of Seattle by road and ferry. Tickets around $30–$40, includes several tasting tokens.

2. Twin Pints: PNA Winter Beer Taste — Seattle, Winter

The Phinney Neighborhood Association’s annual winter beer taste pours microbrews and ciders from more than 30 Northwest breweries, including some made specifically for the event. It’s a smaller, neighborhood-scale alternative to the bigger summer festivals — a good pick if a massive crowd isn’t the goal.

Phinney Neighborhood Center, Seattle. Ticket pricing varies by year; check PNA’s event page.

3. Aloha Brewfest — Bothell, Late May

Held on the University of Washington-Bothell campus, this smaller festival features around 15-20 breweries brewing with an “aloha spirit” theme. It’s a lower-key entry point compared to the city’s bigger events, with a souvenir tasting glass and several tokens included in admission.

UW Bothell campus, roughly 17 miles northeast of Seattle. Around $40 in advance, $50 at the door.

4. Seattle Beer Week — Citywide, Mid-May

Not a single festival but a full 10-day citywide celebration — beer dinners, tastings, pub crawls, a five-brewery bike ride called Tour de Pints, and a cask-focused event called Cask-O-Rama, spread across dozens of participating bars and breweries. A different Seattle brewery makes the week’s official commemorative beer each year.

Bars and breweries citywide. Most individual events are free to attend; some ticketed dinners and crawls cost extra.

5. Washington Brewers Festival — Redmond, Mid-June

The state’s largest single-location beer festival, with past years featuring more than 100 Washington breweries pouring 300-plus different beers. It’s moved venues over the years — check the current year’s location before planning, since it’s landed at both Marymoor Park in Redmond and Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore in different years.

Typically Marymoor Park, Redmond, roughly 15 miles east of Seattle. Around $20–$25 per day, includes a souvenir glass and several tasting tokens.

6. Seattle International Beerfest — Seattle Center, Mid-July

A multi-day festival at Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion drawing breweries from well beyond the Pacific Northwest, alongside the usual food and live entertainment. Its downtown, Seattle Center location makes it one of the more accessible festivals on this list if you’re not driving.

Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center. Ticket pricing varies by year.

7. Bremerton Summer Brewfest — Bremerton, Late July

A Kitsap Peninsula event reachable from Seattle by ferry, which is arguably half the appeal — the ride over becomes part of the outing. The festival publishes its participating breweries and beer list ahead of time each year.

Downtown Bremerton, a roughly 60-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle. Ticket pricing varies by year.

8. Fremont Oktoberfest — Seattle, Mid-September

Seattle’s largest and longest-running beer festival, taking over the streets of Fremont for three days with 80-plus craft and traditional German beers, live entertainment, and games. It’s 21+ every day, though dogs are welcome on the final day. This is the one most people mean when they say “Oktoberfest” locally, and it’s worth noting it lands in September, not October, despite the name.

Streets of Fremont, entrance at 35th St and Phinney Ave N, Seattle. Tickets typically $20–$40+ depending on tier.

9. Kirkland Oktoberfest — Kirkland, Mid-to-Late September

A smaller, Eastside answer to Fremont’s festival, with the expected German-festival trimmings — a sausage queen parade, keg rolling, and beer competitions. It’s a lower-key, more family-adjacent alternative if Fremont’s crowds sound like too much.

Downtown Kirkland, roughly 11 miles east of Seattle. 21+ event; ticket pricing varies by year.

10. Great Pumpkin Beer Festival — Seattle, Early October

Elysian Brewing’s signature fall event, running more than 20 years, with 60-plus pumpkin and fall-harvest beers and the festival’s signature move: a several-hundred-pound pumpkin scorched, filled with beer, sealed, and tapped live on stage. It’s condensed to a single day in recent years rather than a full weekend, so check the current format before buying tickets.

Elysian Brewing, 1221 E Pike St, Seattle (Capitol Hill). 21+; tickets typically sell out, so buy ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of these is the biggest?
Fremont Oktoberfest bills itself as Seattle’s largest and longest-running beer festival, though the Washington Brewers Festival in Redmond features more individual breweries in a single location.

Is Fremont Oktoberfest actually in October?
No — it typically runs in mid-to-late September, which surprises a lot of first-time attendees expecting an October date to match the name.

Which festival is easiest to reach without a car?
Seattle International Beerfest, held at Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion, is the most transit-accessible, reachable via the Seattle Center Monorail or several downtown bus routes.

Are any of these free to attend?
Most individual Seattle Beer Week events are free, though certain ticketed dinners and crawls during the week cost extra. The single-venue festivals (Fremont Oktoberfest, Washington Brewers Festival, Great Pumpkin Beer Festival, etc.) generally require a paid ticket.

Do I need to book a hotel for Strange Brewfest?
If you’re not planning to drive back the same night, yes — Port Townsend is a small town, and lodging books up quickly around the festival weekend.

Fremont Oktoberfest and the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival are the two most useful to build a fall weekend around, since they land back to back roughly two to three weeks apart. For a lower-key alternative that doesn’t require a festival ticket at all, [INTERNAL LINK: 9 Coziest Date Ideas in Seattle This October] covers Conor Byrne’s no-cover live music as a beer-adjacent option any night of the week.

References

• “Weekend Weird Beer Back at Port Townsend’s Strange Brewfest,” Peninsula Daily News: https://peninsuladailynews.com/news/weekend-weird-beer-back-at-port-townsends-strange-brewfest-starting-today-2
• “Strange Brewfest – The Time is Now,” Washington Beer Blog: https://washingtonbeerblog.com/strange-brewfest-time-now/
• Beer tasting events roundup, Seattle Business Magazine: https://seattlebusinessmag.com/beer-tasting
• “Where to enjoy a drink this weekend and beyond,” Herald Net: https://www.heraldnet.com/?p=50310
• “Seattle Beer Week, the best of Washington,” Washington Beer Blog: https://washingtonbeerblog.com
• “Here Comes Seattle Beer Week 2016,” Seattle Met: https://www.seattlemet.com/eat-and-drink/2016/05/here-comes-another-seattle-beer-week-2016
• “Washington Breweries and Bars Celebrating Oktoberfest,” Washington Beer Blog: https://washingtonbeerblog.com/washington-breweries-and-bars-celebrating-oktoberfest-2025/
• “Seattle’s Largest Beer Fest Returns: Fremont Oktoberfest,” Washington Beer Blog: https://washingtonbeerblog.com/seattles-largest-beer-fest-returns-fremont-oktoberfest/
• “Seattle’s Great Pumpkin Beer Festival Returns for its 21st Year,” Sip Magazine: https://sipmagazine.com/seattles-great-pumpkin-beer-festival-returns-for-its-21st-year-oct-3-4
• “Seattle’s ‘Great Pumpkin Beer Festival’ tickets on sale this week,” FOX 13 Seattle: https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/great-pumpkin-beer-festival-tickets