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.