Dru Bru: Cle Elum

Dru Bru at Snoqualmie Pass is a great beer stop for anyone hiking or snowshoeing near the pass. They’ve added a second location for the lucky folks in Cle Elum!

They offer house-made sodas for non-drinkers, a nice touch.

I usually use WABL’s brewery map for my post-hike beer stop planning, but it appears their map is out of date, as they’re missing this location completely! The bartender said they’ve been around since August, but the place looked pretty brand-new to me. While they have the same German-style ales and West Coast IPAs you love from Snoqualmie Pass, and the parking here is certainly larger than their pass location. I was happy to see they had a very large outdoor area (as I’m still sticking with outdoors only), and with sun shining, we got our drinks and took a seat on some logs around a barrel. Given the outdoor spaces, this place is super kid-friendly, and we saw many (unmasked) kids running around and moms relaxing.

Pizza & beer after hiking, name a more iconic duo.

I loved the mountain views around us, and there were firepits everywhere. The bartender had warned us the outdoor seating wasn’t as pleasant if it was windy (I believe she said “wind tunnel”), but it was calm when we were there, and even without the fire going I was enjoying basking in the sun. As I wasn’t driving, I decided to completely cancel out my hike and get a 25-oz mug. I did have my hiking buttpad for extra cushioning on the log, but it was a great way to get some extra seating in for small groups. For food, there was an awesome pizza food truck that’s regularly there, and the brewery also sells s’more kits for when the fires are going.

 

Loved their vast array of to-go options!

I will admit, the staff appeared COVID-safe, but the patrons were a different story. I know eastern Washington is a different place, but seeing unmasked people walk up to order food made me pretty uncomfortable for the staff of the food truck. This is not at all the fault of the brewery, and again the staff were all masked, but if you are at all concerned about safety, I’d maybe just hit their to-go cooler.

I love having another choice to get their beer on the way home, and they opened nice and early on a Friday (noon!), which worked perfect for us. The pizza, beer, and views were amazing.

In summary (to the best of my knowledge)…
  • Full kitchen: They had a delicious pizza food truck that was already up and running when we arrived not long after opening.
  • All-ages: Yes
  • Dog friendly: I’d guess dogs welcome outside
  • Merch: T-shirts, hats, stickers
  • Coasters: Not sure? Think with COVID a lot of places are going coaster-less.
  • Outdoor seating: Huge gravel area with picnic tables, log seats, patio furniture, and fires.
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