Ghostfish Celebrates 11 Years with SODO Steel IPA in SoDo

Ghostfish Brewing marked its 11th anniversary with a special release and a taproom celebration in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood. The brewery rolled out SODO Steel IPA as its anniversary beer, offering local drinkers a gluten-free American IPA described as fruit-forward and hop-driven.

Ghostfish has built a profile in gluten-free brewing using alternative grains such as buckwheat, millet and quinoa, and SODO Steel continues that thread while leaning into modern yeast techniques. The brewery labeled the beer on Untappd as "Our 11th Anniversary Beer." Untappd lists Sodo Steel as an American IPA with 6% ABV and 50 IBU, and tags it Gluten-Free. Early on-tap impressions emphasize bright fruit and floral hop notes unlocked by what the listing calls a thiolized yeast. Untappd explains that thiols are "an organic sulfur molecule found in many foods, and you guessed it, hops," and that enzymes from the special yeast can transform those molecules into flavors of passion fruit, grapefruit, and black currant.

Local and trade coverage framed the name SODO Steel as a tidy anniversary nod: steel is the traditional 11th-anniversary gift, and breweries are surrounded by stainless steel tanks and piping. One local write-up also highlighted that Ghostfish recently acquired a new-to-them, much larger production facility where most of its beer will be brewed going forward, noting succinctly: "More tanks, more pipes, more steel." That move points to capacity growth even as the taproom remains the place to sample limited pours.

Availability for SODO Steel appears to have begun at the taproom. An Untappd check-in from user J.P. Stewart on Feb 7 shows an early draft pour and the comment, "The hops are so sweet and floral. Awesome." The same Untappd snapshot shows a single check-in and rating in the listing included with the release. Trade listings described the beer as a limited 11th-anniversary release, but no production totals, packaging formats, or wide distribution details were provided in the available notices.

For gluten-free beer drinkers and hop lovers, SODO Steel is a useful demonstration of how alternative-grain brewing can meet contemporary IPA techniques, especially yeast-driven aroma extraction. For the SoDo community, Ghostfish's anniversary and its larger production site suggest more on-ramps for distribution and more beer to come. Check Ghostfish's taproom for the latest on pours and packaging if you want to try this anniversary IPA while supplies last.