Lucky Envelope Brewing

Lucky Envelope Brewing  26Feb2017

Lucky Envelope is a medium walk from my little cottage in Ballard. To get there I walked past Stoup and Reuben’s (on the way home I stopped at Reuben’s to pick up a sixer of the latest incarnation of Crush) saluting smartly but continuing on. The weather was good for walking – cool and a few sprinkles.

Lucky Envelope is a couple of blocks from 14^th Avenue NW on NW 50^th Street. 

The sandwich board place precariously on the trolley tracks on 14th Ave NW. Oh wait, no more trolleys in Ballard

The building matches its light industrial setting in that it’s nondescript and utilitarian. 

A cool blue-gray building on a cool gray day has a warm, welcoming, neon OPEN sign

When you step inside the doors, you see the bar with the beer list clearly chalked above it. To the right of the bar you can see the brew kit and a hard right presents the seating area. 

The bar and the brew kit

The chalked-up beer list. Ales, lagers, a sour, and a guest cider. You are covered

In the summer patrons can sit out on the patio. Upon my entering I was greeted by Cat, who was behind the bar, and after settling in I ordered a flight of six tastes. I was in a lager frame of mind. 

Back row l to r Helles Lager (note clarity), Pilsner, and Black Lager; front row l to r Grapefruit ENIAC, Peanut Butter Porter, and Raspberry Sour

The picture of my flight is incomplete because I was distracted and forgot to snap a pic until half way through. Good thing my livelihood doesn’t depend on my beer hunting performance because my year-end review would be poor based on this performance.

Tasting Notes:

Helles Lager (5.0% 22 IBU): Mixed malt yeast, and hop aroma - beery. Very clear yellow gold color. Sweet malt that dries to a late bitterness with low noble hop flavor is well integrated. Restrained. Bitter finish. GABF bronze medal 2015.

Pilsner (5.3% 28 IBU): Sulfur aroma – probably from the yeast. Pale yellow with a slight haze. Bitter hop with restrained hop flavor. Some malt body but dry. Some sulfur. Hint of lemon. Bitter finish. I think this beer needs some fine tuning.

Black Lager (5.2% 28 IBU): Roast malt aroma. Clear black with red highlights. Roast malt, bitter, some late sweetness. Roasty bitter finish. My favorite of the group. It’s dry, bitter, and flavorful enough to drink a bunch.

Raspberry Sour (5.4% 7 IBU): Fruity raspberry aroma. Hazy red appearance. Sour raspberry, dry thin body. A little watery in the middle then a sweet berry finish.

Grapefruit ENIAC IPA (7.1% 68 IBU): Citrus hop aroma. Bitter citrus hop flavor, sweet malt. The grapefruit is not overwhelming; it just enhances the hops. Bitter sweet finish.

Peanut Butter Porter (8.3% 62 IBU): This beer sounded repulsive to me so I had to try it. Roast malt (almost coffee) aroma with a touch of peanut. Clear black with red highlights. Roast malt flavor, then peanuts. Bitter peanut finish. Not the beer for me.

The brewers at Lucky Envelope prefer malt forward beers but still brew a pretty decent hop-forward IPA. In the past I have found some of their lagers to be cloying. On the other hand that Black Lager (Schwarzbier) is an outstanding example of an American take on the style. The raspberry sour was worth another sip as well.

The walk back home was uphill, but I was well lubricated and my body didn’t squeak.