Sound to Summit in Snohomish excels at bites and brews

The original craft brewery in Snohomish has a menu of small plates perfect for sharing with friends.

Sound to Summit Brewing’s elk burger is a juicy, hefty haul of gamey meat. (Miles McKee / For The Herald)

Sound to Summit Brewing’s elk burger is a juicy, hefty haul of gamey meat. (Miles McKee / For The Herald)

SNOHOMISH — Buffalo wings, an elk burger, Korean beef skewers and street tacos walk into a brewery.

It’s no joke at Sound to Summit Brewing, Snohomish’s pioneering craft beer maker. The kitchen boasts a solid menu of bites to pair with its stellar suds. The list of 11 appetizers is enough to feast on as shared plates.

During a recent lazy, hazy and hot Tuesday afternoon, my friends Miles and Rachel McKee brought their two young children along, 1 and 3. They have lived near the Pilchuck River in town for several years, but had yet to visit the popular brewery that was bought by Lost Canoe Brewing in 2018.

Our varied dining preferences were all satisfied, and the three adults each tried a bite of an initial four plates and later devoured an additional (and crucial) post-drinks order of nachos.

We were all big fans.

An order of wings at Sound to Summit Brewing come nets seven wings that come in a few flavors, including the classic buffalo. (Miles McKee / For the Herald)

An order of wings at Sound to Summit Brewing come nets seven wings that come in a few flavors, including the classic buffalo. (Miles McKee / For the Herald)

This has been the year of the wings for me, so I started with the seven beer-brined wings in Buffalo sauce ($13). They were classic in their taste and texture, but our table agreed they were otherwise unremarkable (as most wings ought to be).

Rachel picked the three street tacos ($9) with beer-braised pork on corn tortillas, with pickled red onion, cilantro, chipotle aioli and pico de gallo. Her recommendation is to pick another delicious option from the menu to get a full meal.

Miles was drawn to the pair of Korean beef skewers ($11), marinated bites atop a spicy Korean slaw, sriracha aioli, sesame seeds and slivered green onion. This proved to be the table’s favorite order of the night, even for the sometimes fussy-eater 3-year-old, who was happy to try a few bites of the wings and the Korean beef skewers slaw (which he really liked).

Korean beef skewers atop a spicy slaw were a delicious appetizer at Sound to Summit Brewing in Snohomish. (Miles McKee / For the Herald)

Korean beef skewers atop a spicy slaw were a delicious appetizer at Sound to Summit Brewing in Snohomish. (Miles McKee / For the Herald)

Sound to Summit’s elk burger caught my eye, and it was excellent. Cooked to a perfect medium-rare, the burger had a juicy meaty taste that was heightened by the caramelized onions, Swiss cheese and garlic aioli. It was a scene-stealer.

“I like that it was a different type of meat than a beef burger,” Rachel said. “More gourmet and decadent that an average pub burger.”

The taproom is exactly what you’d imagine it to be. It’s a tall, unassuming space with some high and low tables, a bar, fermentation tanks and plenty of kegs around. There’s also an outdoor patio area between the parking lot and the taproom.

Speaking of fans, the McKees’ son was enthralled with the oscillating towers that provided a relieving breeze in the cavernous garage space tucked behind a business strip off Bickford Avenue.

As soon as the McKees had joined me, crayons and a coloring page were brought out to occupy the kiddos’ minds.

“High ceilings, open space and big tables were all pluses,” Miles said.

Street tacos at Sound to Summit Brewing come with three in a choice of either chicken or pork. These pork tacos were juicy and delicious. (Miles McKee / For the Herald)

Street tacos at Sound to Summit Brewing come with three in a choice of either chicken or pork. These pork tacos were juicy and delicious. (Miles McKee / For the Herald)

After the nosh and two rounds of beers, we were still peckish. The S2S nachos ($10) with chicken (another $2.50) provided more than enough to see us through a third round.

Most of the food got an emphatic “would order again” stamp of approval from our table. I’ll leave the beer reviewing to the pro Aaron Swaney, who writes for The Daily Herald’s Hops & Sips page, but Rachel was on board with “literally all of the beer” we tried that night.

And that’s no joke.

If you go

Sound to Summit Brewing, with a taproom and pub fare (burgers, nachos, salads, sandwiches, wings), is at 1830 Bickford Ave., Suite 111, Snohomish, in the back of the building that fronts 19th Street. Call 360-294-8127 or go to www.sound2summit.com.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Happy hour food menu 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; beer happy hour 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, $1 off all pints.

No reservations. Children allowed.

Ben Watanabe: bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3037; Twitter @benwatanabe.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.