Populuxe Brewing

Populuxe Brewing  25Jun2017

On the hottest day of the year, so far, I decided to walk the 1.4 miles down to Populuxe Brewing. I went as early as I could (they open at 1 pm on Sunday) and stuck to the shade. I was still pretty sweaty when I got there, so the re-hydration and electrolyte replenishment were welcome.

Populuxe - just as blue as ever

Populuxe is located in the Ballard Brewery District (no, it’s not official) a neighborhood that can’t decide if it is industrial or residential. The brewery is in what looks to be a re-purposed house between a couple of warehouses. Populuxe is currently expanding into one of the adjacent warehouses with the construction currently in progress at the time of this writing. 

The front entrance pops you into the tiny tasting room 

The taproom viewed from just inside the front door

with the bar to the right of the door and the tap list chalked on the wall behind the bar. 

The tap list behind the bar

To the right as you walk past the bar is additional indoor seating and the large outdoor seating area, which is very pleasant on a dry day.

The outdoor seating area. To the left rear near the truck, port-a-potty and caution tape is the construction area

Tasters of four ounces are available with no limit as well as pints and growlers. I ordered 4 tasters and adjourned to an indoor table that was nonetheless well lit with sunshine. So intense was the light that in the space it took me to taste, take notes, and finish, the Citra Red became slightly light struck.

l to r Burke-Gilman Bitter, Beer Snob Brown, Saison, and Citra Red

Tasting Notes:

Beer Snob Brown (5.1%, 28IBU): Clear brown. Roast malt aroma. Dry and malty with a little residual sweetness and late bitterness. Full body. Bitter-sweet finish with roast.

Saison (7.0%): Hazy yellow gold. Citrus and phenolic aroma. Sweet malt and the flavors match the aromas. The citrus is a pleasant mild lemon and the beer is full bodied and dry. Very slight bitter finish.

Burke-Gilman Bitter (4.9%, 35 IBU): Hazy orange-gold. Esters and English hop aromas. Malt and bitterness are balanced and the hop flavor is characteristically English. Sweet malt and a slight fruitiness. Bitter finish. 

Citra Red (5.5%, 65 IBU): Clear dark red. Fruity hops and bready malt aromas mixed with a little onion. Bitter with full bodied malt presence. Bitter finish. The bitterness is not as intense as 65 IBU would indicate.

This place has been around long enough and had enough success that they can expand. I have always enjoyed the funky little tasting room and the out-of-the-way setting of the neighborhood. The outdoor seating is popular as well. The greeting when you come in is friendly and helpful with a handful of regulars often seated at the bar engaged in good beer related conversation. The beer here as in other small breweries in Seattle has been steadily improving, and I have long enjoyed the brewer’s English style beers. He often has a mild or a bitter on tap and they are usually top notch. Today I enjoyed the Beer Snob Brown and the Burke-Gilman Bitter the most.

As I commenced my walk home I noted that the temperature had started to climb. Feeling the need to keep rested and rehydrated, plus needing some stamps in my WABL passport, I planned some stops along the way. I stopped first at Stoup 

Stoup - not that crowded

to refresh my palate and my memory about the German Pils (5.1%, 40 IBU). 

German Pils - brilliantly clear

It’s a clear yellow gold with a combined noble hop, sulfury yeast, and bready malt aroma. The flavor is crisp malt with some residual sweetness and firm noble hop bitterness. The finish is sweet-bitter. Quite crushable on a hot day.

Refreshed, I sauntered on to Reuben’s 

Reuben's - also not that crowded

where the Altbier (5.1%, 36 IBU) looked attractive. 

Altbier - a pretty beer

The beer is a clear red brown with a roast malt aroma with a hint of sulfur. The initial flavor is noble hop bitterness with full bodied sweet roasted malt right behind. The hop flavor is slightly spicy and though I asked, I could not find out what hops were used.

Thoroughly rehydrated and rested I finished walking (with the mad dogs and Englishmen) to my home to hide from the heat.