What’s a frustrated homebrewer to do when he sees a lack of quality craft beer in his area?
If you’re Mike Ritzer, the answer is to found a craft brewery.
Ritzer opened Resonate Brewery and Pizzeria to the public Tuesday, Nov. 10, with a full lineup of craft beers and pizza.
KC Yenne, the brewery’s general manager, said the appeal was a simple one.
“It’s vibrant, with tons of energy,” he said. “We don’t want you to know why you came back. We don’t want you to point out that the pizza was good so you came back. We want everything to be good. A lot of places nail food, a lot of places nail beer and others nail service. We want to nail all three.”
The brewery is located at 5606 119th Avenue Southeast, in the Newport Hills neighborhood of Bellevue.
The name comes with some musical intonations, as was the intention.
“That comes from the music background that Mike has,” Yenne said. “He and some of our backers have that background and wanted the brewery to reflect that.”
Ritzer and Yenne wanted to focus on quality beers available on the west coast, including locals like Chuckanut Pilsner, but also beers from Oregon and California like Hop Valley’s Stepchild Red and Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA.
“There’s nothing up there I wouldn’t drink,” Ritzer said on opening night. “I want to bring beers that people will enjoy.”
Resonate Brewery currently brews its own beers at other local breweries such as Hi-Fi Brewing and Postdoc Brewing Company. It has a functioning brewery on site but hasn’t had a chance to produce its own beers.
Beers like the Gose-Head (pronounced goes-ahead), which is an example of the Gose semi-sour style of beer, are in the lineup for Resonate’s first offerings. Other beers include the WHIPA Wheat IPA and the Dobro Amber Ale.
Yenne said the beer selection was a carefully selected one.
“We may pay a little bit more to bring some of these kegs in, but we feel the quality is well worth it,” he said. “There is something for everybody here.”
Ritzer has been home brewing for 10 years and has won multiple awards for his beers. Tellingly, some of his recipes have been picked up by local craft breweries for larger production.
“We were using other facilities to produce beers,” Yenne said. “Essentially we just threw in our ingredients and were like go, go, go! But they are all our recipe and Mike’s hard work.”
Other, more family friendly, fare at the restaurant includes pizzas with dough which has been allowed to ferment for three days to allow the perfect amount of chewiness and crispiness when it is cooked.
Resonate sells “Roman-style” pizzas that are rustic, minimalist creations with light, flavorful crust.
Offerings range from the simple, margherita and pepperoni varieties to the Medusa, which is adorned with kalamata olives, feta, basil and peppers. Pizzas range from $11.50 to $16, while an option to build your own (with no more than four toppings recommended per pie) allows customization.
A host of appetizers and salads are available as well, ranging from $5 breadsticks to a $13 charcuterie plate.
The brewery and restaurant is open 3:30 to 11 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. It is closed Mondays.
Visit resonatebrewery.com for more information.
