Stoup Brewing

Stoup Brewing  28Nov2016

I was scanning my brewery list to see who was open on a Monday and I was feeling lazy. I haven’t written about Stoup Brewing even though I have frequented it. I took a quick walk on a dry day in November, a rare occurrence. Stoup is in the Ballard brewery district in a mixed light industrial and residential neighborhood. They draw a lot of foot traffic.

 

The street view of the brewery

The day was partly cloudy and fine after all the rain we’ve had, so the front garage door was open. The temperature was in the 40s, which made the seating area a bit chilly. The greeting was Seattle cool, as well, polite but reserved.

The taproom can expand onto the front patio in warmer weather.

The taproom ambiance is industrial warehouse with the brew-house clearly visible from the inside sitting area. In warm weather the outdoor seating areas get a lot of use. As you enter the taproom the bar is clearly visible as is the expanding beer list. 

The information laden beer list with the brewery visible behind it

The top entries on the list are more regular brews while the lower entries are more limited beers. I ordered a taster of 5 four ounce samples of the beers from the bottom of the list.

Tasters l to r Hoppy Farmhouse, Dublin Down, Cashed Out Black IPA, Whisker Stout, and Russian Imperial Stout

Tasting Notes:

Hoppy Farmhouse (6.1%, 30 IBU): Pale gold with a slight haze. Hop aroma with a slight funk. Dry light body, bitterness with a slight sour tang. Some esters. A bit of pepper in the finish.

Dublin Down (10.0%, 48 IBU): An imperial red aged in Jameson barrels. Clear red with a slight haze. Whiskey and malt aroma. Sweet malt and bitter and barrel. Some vanilla from the oak and esters forming a pear flavor. No alcohol heat and no hop aroma. Sweet finish. Dangerously drinkable.

Cashed Out Black IPA (7.3%, 58 IBU): Black and opaque with reddish highlights. Hop aroma from unidentified hops. Very bitter, light body, roast in the finish. Bitter and roasted malt finish.

Whisker Stout (7.0%, 55 IBU): Opaque black with slight red highlights. Roast malt aroma with some alcohol in the nose. Thin body, bitter, and roast malt flavor. No hop aroma. Bitter roast malt finish.

Russian Imperial Stout (9.2%, 90 IBU): Absolutely black and opaque. Alcohol and sweet malt. Alcohol heat, bitter, full body, roast malt, and sweet. Bitter sweet finish. 

As the sun set on my brewery visit I snapped a picture of the residences across the street

As the weather temperatures were in the upper 40s and I was sitting in the open doorway, I am not sure my ales ever reached proper drinking temperature of around 55 °F. High gravity beers are usually much more flavorful as they warm up. I polished off my beers pretty quickly so I could warm up on the walk home. The beers were all well-made and interesting. Stoup is worth a visit.