Obec Brewing

Obec Brewing 10Sep2017

We were headed to Fred Meyer when I spotted a sign for a new brewery in the Ballard Brewery District. So I checked on line to learn that Obec Brewing is a new brewery that has been open for a couple of weeks. Another brewery within walking distance! So on Sunday I pulled on my shoes, put together my brewery visit kit, and walked down to check it out.

Obec is on NW 52^nd right next door to Stoup. 

Obec Brewing with the garage door to the left, entrance in the middle, and outdoor seating area to the right.

It is another brewery in a utilitarian warehouse type building. The neighborhood is mixed residential, retail, and light industrial, so the outdoor seating area stands out as much more attractive (along with Stoup) than the surrounding buildings. Today as I approached the building I noted that the garage door was open to the indoor seating area and the brew kit. I entered through the general entrance beside the garage door to get a feel for the year round entry. The narrow hall way opens to the brew kit in front of you with the bar to the right. 

Entering through the door gives you a view of the brew kit.

The bar and taps

The tap list is projected on a wall above the bar. 

The tap list.

The selection of house brewed beers is limited due to the newness of the place, but beers from neighboring breweries are available on guest taps. Cider and wine are also available as well as some cocktails. I asked for a flight of the home pride and settled in to taste.

Front l to r: Czech Pils, Pale Ale, and Porter. Rear: Red Rye IPA.

Tasting Notes:

Inaugural Czech Pils (4.8%, 35 IBU): Clear gold. Warm malt aroma. Balance of malt and bitterness up front followed by noble hop flavor then malt. Full body with a bitter finish. First class Czech Pils.

Inaugural Pale Ale (6.4%, 57 IBU): Clear red gold. Malt hop aroma – piney. Dry malt with full body and earthy hops. Lots of esters. Bitter finish.

Inaugural Porter (7.4%, 60 IBU): Cloudy dark brown, brown highlights. Roast malt aroma. Sweet burnt malt. Medium body leads to a bitter finish. No hop flavors aside from bitterness.

Inaugural Red Rye IPA (6.5%, 80 IBU): Cloudy red. Fruity aroma with some roast – esters and hops. Peppery malt and hops. Fruit esters. Phenols (pepper) lingering. Bitter sweet finish.

The brewer at Obec told me that the name translates to community, which indicates to me that Obec intends to be a neighborhood brewery. The Sunday I visited they had been open two weeks as of the previous Friday. Obec will focus on Czech beers, but the limited number of styles – pilsners and dark – means that they will be brewing many other styles. The pilsner was excellent and I am looking forward to trying the dark when released. Decent lagering requires time (at least six weeks), which means that production can be slow. I am glad that they are not rushing cold conditioned beers out of the fermenters. Ales are turned over faster, so the number and variety will fill in the gaps. The indoor seating is plentiful and the outdoor seating looks inviting in nice weather. After I finished my tasters I ordered a full pint of the Inaugural Czech Pils and had a nice conversation with the guy next to me at the bar.

An interesting exercise would be to sample the Czech Pils at Obec, then stagger over to Stoup to try the German Pils to compare. They are both excellent examples of the indicated styles.

After I finished my beer I staggered home to grill some salmon.

Counterbalance Brewing Company

Counterbalance Brewing Company 05Sep2017

The bus route to Counterbalance, located off Michigan St. near the 1^st Ave S bridge (not on Queen Anne hill), calls for a quick transfer from the D-Line to the 131 or 132 downtown. And the prompt arrival of the 131 allowed me to make the trip in the optimal 1 hour. I read a lot of my book and listened to many tunes.

Counterbalance is located in an area of light industrial, warehouses, and retail. It is in an improved warehouse, which is uninspiring on the outside but quite inviting once inside. 

Counterbalance Brewing with its outdoor seating area

A wheel chair friendly ramp leads you past the outdoor seating area into the updated taproom. 

The wheel chair friendly ramp leads you to the inviting interior

As you enter the seating area is in front of you, the bar is to the left and to the extreme left is the brew kit. 

Seating area to the right and bar with taps to the left

The beer list is chalked above the taps and includes ABV, IBU, and prices.

The tap list above the taps

 Flights of up to 8 tasters are available, which will cover a fair amount of the tap list territory. I ordered the 8 taster flight, which taxed my ability to taste and describe that beer.

Left side b to f: Counterbalance IPA, Bad Wolf Dark Ale, Kushetka Imperial Stout, and Pogo Duck IPA

Right side b to f: Tabletop Supernova Imperial IPA, Fhloston Paradise Sour, Bohemian Pilsner, and Passionfruit Hibiscus Ale

Tasting Notes:

Counterbalance IPA (6.1%, 72 IBU): Clear reddish gold. Caramel malt aroma, and fruity, citrus hop aromas. Bitter with malt body then dry bitterness. Bitter finish.

Bad Wolf Dark Ale (7.3%, 61 IBU): Clear red brown. Roast malt aroma. Malt body with fruity hop bitterness, and restrained coffee roast. Bitter finish.

Kushetka Imperial Stout (8.9%, 65 IBU): Opaque black with slight red highlights. Roast malt and sweet ester aromas. Firm malt body followed by firm bitterness drying to roast. Long bitter finish Very smooth.

Pogo Duck IPA (5.0%, 60 IBU): Clear gold. Citrus and sweaty hop aroma. Hop forward flavors of malt, peppery hops and bitterness. Bitter sweet finish.

Tabletop Supernova Imperial IPA (8.6%, 90 IBU): Clear red gold. Smells big – esters and alcohol and hops. Balanced attack – big malt, big hops, and fruity esters. Big beer. Dangerously drinkable and very smooth. Sweet finish.

Fhloston Paradise Sour (5.2%, 37 IBU): Pale gold clear. Sour lactic funk aroma. Dry malt, pleasant sourness. Dry light body. Sweet finish. Deceptively simple.

Bohemian Pilsner (5.2%, 37 IBU): Clear gold. Beery malt-hop aroma. Sweet malt with full body. Pleasing bitterness. Dry bitter finish. Resembles Rogers Pilsner (Georgetown) more than Crux Pilz.

Passionfruit Hibiscus Ale (5.4%, 11 IBU): Cloudy red-pink gold. Flowers and tropical fruit aromas. Sweet malt, tropical fruit with a hint of sourness perhaps from the wheat. Sweet finish but not cloying.

Counterbalance is not near any real residential areas, so very little walk-up business from neighbors. On a Tuesday afternoon a handful of regulars were sipping on their usual orders. I asked the barkeep about who patronizes this place and she said it was mostly people who work in the area and stop in after the workday. The greeting from behind the bar was friendly and both the regular bartender and the trainee were willing to converse.

The beers were all well made. Any presenting sweetness was due to residual malt dextrins, not sugars. The sweetness was not cloying in any of the beers. All of the beers were balanced as appropriate for the style and had an interesting level of bitterness. I particularly liked the Kushetka Imperial Stout and the Tabletop Supernova Imperial IPA. I liked the Stout in 2015 when I first visited and found it smooth and powerful then as now. The IPA was smooth and attacking in a balanced way sending malt and hops and esters all at once. I used the verb attack in my description purposely.

My reverse bus ride home involved the 131 and a surprise transfer to the 132 which became the 28X. It was very quiet and I got a bit of reading done due to the longer transit time at peak hour.