Here's a good resource to study:
http://www.brewingnews.com/webpdfs/NWBN/NWBN_Washington.pdf
Elysian and Red Hook are certainly Seattle staples, but IMO their beer is pretty mediocre. Seattle has quite a few small brewers that you can find on draft and/or bottles/cans but not a whole lot of brewpubs other than the well-established ones.
Good thing there are some great beer bars such as Brouwer's Cafe and Naked City Taphouse up in Greenwood-ish. Pine Box (great pizza), Hop vine, and Quinn's (awesome Belgian bottle list and usually a few great ones on tap too) are on Capitol Hill. Pike's brewpub is certainly worth a visit for the beer, but it's pretty touristy as far as food goes.
Breweries to look for include Georgetown (Manny's Pale is everywhere), Odin, Fremont, Schooner Exact, Snoqualamie (one of the best balanced IPAs IMO), Chuckanut, and of course the staples such as Mac & Jack's, Pike, etc.
Don't get me wrong, Seattle is no Portland in terms of beer, but it's no slouch either...