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.