Stix Pizza & Brewing Co. Loosens Its Tie and Spiffs Up Its Beer

Paul Allen may be building himself a neighborhood, but it's the individual business owners who will give South Lake Union its identity. With thousands of condos going up in an area barely a quarter-mile square, restaurants and bars are sure to sprout. However, joints like Stix Pizza & Brewing Co. are already in place, enduring the lean months until their customers move in.

Before streetcar rail construction rendered the road in front of this year-old brewery and pool hall often treacherous, Stix was gunning for the BluWater Bistro set. The inconsistency in business made owner Jay Farias realize that his concept needed retooling. Stix was a little highbrow, trying too hard to be something it wasn't. Too many restaurants fail because an owner has an unattainable business model or is stuck tilting at windmills. So earlier this month Farias, who used to own the Nickerson Street Saloon, took a brave step and scaled back to what makes him happy, lowering pool prices ($8 an hour as opposed to the midteens) and simplifying the food menu.

The new menu offers less food, but more of the stuff you crave while drinking beer: simple pizzas devoid of fashionably outrageous prices, salads, and sandwiches such as a pulled-pork sandwich worthy of a trolley ride, its sauce made with smoky Pool Shark Porter.

Farias had already improved the beers by hiring an industry veteran about whom people will rave. Brewer Tom Munoz, formerly of Redmond's defunct Far West Brewing, joined Stix in March. All the beers now bear his stamp. Farias says, "He's always pulling the coolest stuff out of nowhere." I located my notes on the 6th Anniversary Ale that Munoz made for Bottleworks a few years ago, a rich abbey-style ale for which he won one of his many medals. I had drawn hearts around it.

Under Munoz, Stix's beers have impact without sacrificing balance. The Cutthroat IPA isn't dry-hopped, so it's not dominated by hops; instead, Munoz adds a little rye, which gives the beer more depth and a distinctive, rustic quality. His Bodacious Blonde has the telltale smell of a light, sweet Belgian ale with a yeasty note that reminds me of warm shortcake. On one of my visits to Stix, Munoz brought me out a taste of the IPA he was keeping in oak barrels that once held chardonnay; the wood mellowed the edges and brought out greater complexity in this blondie. The Pool Shark Porter uses smoked malt, giving the beer the taste and aromas of an intense dark chocolate, but Munoz manages to keep the porter on the right side of huge. "I'm interested in more than just the big styles of beer," he says. "I need to keep myself interested, and not every beer needs to knock you out."

Munoz is an affable guy, and you might find him helping out at the bar and welcoming customers, as he was on one of my visits. Every South Lake Union condo should come stocked with an empty growler jug to bring to him for filling. Like borrowing a cup of sugar. Only better.

mdutton@seattleweekly.com