Optimism Brewing

Optimism Brewing 04Oct2017

Optimism Brewing is on Capitol Hill at the corner of Broadway and East Union. A transfer downtown made the bus ride an hour long with the D-Line and the 2 involved. The 2 is an electric trolley.

Optimism Brewing is in a modestly decorated building on Broadway, but the bright yellow entrance door clearly marks the way in. 

The marking is not ostentatious but the entrance stands out.

The brewery has been there less than two years, but on my first visit in early 2016 I noted the beer was well made, so I had high hopes this visit. Plenty of glass makes the inside well-lit and gives an open feeling. As you enter you see immediately in front of you the bar to the left and the brew kit on your right. 

The view as you walk in the entrance. I didn't "look up" so I don't know what's there. Check it out and tell me.

As you pass through the narrow walls of the entrance you see a large seating area to your far right. 

Seating area that looks out on Broadway

Wood tables, wood floors, wood paneling, and wood supports give the expanse of open spaces a saving warmth. 

Big open space with lots of wood to modulate the light

A series of color pictures on back lit signs lists the beers. 

The beer list above the taps consists of pretty pictures

Tasters (4 ounce), half pints, pints, crowlers, and growlers are on offer. 

The beers all looked good and I made some hard choices to pick four beers. 

Back row l to r: Fresh Hop and Hello World! Front row l to r: One and Daredevil.

After I finished those I went back to the bar and ordered four others.

Back row l to r: Moxee and Heliotropic Front row l to r: Expecto Patronum and Vuja De. If you can't say the last two, you get cut off.

Tasting Notes:

Hello World (Bavarian Bright Lager) (4.8%): Clear gold. Bready pilsner malt and noble hop aroma. Sweet The malt (slightly sweet) and German hop aroma carries over into the flavor. Firm bitterness kicks in. Finishes dry and bitter.

One (London Standard Ale) (5.5%): Clear amber gold. English malt and hop aroma profile. Sweet malt and malt flavors up front, cookie malt but dry. Dry bitter finish. Lingering bitterness of complex English hops.

Daredevil (IPA) (5.2%): Clear ruby red. Slight roast malt and piney hop aromas. Dry full malt body and balanced bitterness. Piney hop flavor and lingering bitter finish. Hop aroma is low – more of a classic IPA.

Fresh Hop (5.1%): Clear amber gold. Fruity hop and bready malt aroma. Subtle bright hop flavor, low bitterness, nice malt backing. Brewery says the fresh hops are Simcoe. The Simcoe hop flavor is there but the presentation is not as heavy as usual for this hop.

Expecto Patronum (Hoppy Saison) (5.6%): Clear yellow. Sweet lactobacillus and underlying funk aromas. Cool dry malt, sour, phenols and funk with medium body. Slight bitterness. Bitter dry finish.

Vuja De (Funky Farmhouse Saison) (6.8%): Clear yellow gold. Sweet lactobacillus, esters, and phenol aromas. A complicated, full bodied beer. Sweet-sour up front. Middle combines lactic sour, phenols, hops, and malt body all at once. Bitter sweet finish.

Moxee (Pacific Northwest Hoppy Ale) (6.1%): Clear amber gold. Big piney hop aroma. Bitterness supported by malt. Earthy piney hops supported by malt. Bitter sweet finish.

Heliotropic (Tropical Hoppy Ale) (7.3%): Clear yellow gold. Fruity hop aroma. Sweet malt, full body, bitterness, fruity hops. Bitter finish.

The promise that I noted in my first visit last year has been filled this year. All of the beers I had were well brewed. The beers are not malt forward but malt figures prominently in the flavors. One day I’ll build up my liver and return to taste all of the beers on offer.

The greeting from behind the bar was polite and friendly. The seating areas were filling in nicely with people and the place was doing a good business for a Wednesday afternoon. I saw good mix of all ages including mothers with babes in arm. The atmosphere was friendly and peaceful with people conversing quietly or eating from the food truck. Maybe it gets louder with a bigger crowd later in the evening. On my first visit I felt the large seating areas were a little cold. On this visit I noted the wood tables and an addition of colorful chairs both of which warmed the place up. What really helped was a nice crowd of people to humanize the space. The space at Optimism is very inviting as is the beer. I don’t remember seeing any televisions on the walls, which is refreshing if my memory is correct. I won’t wait another two years to go back. After finishing my beers I used the unisex bathroom and headed out to catch the return bus.

I thought I had just made the 2 when the driver deflated my lucky feeling by telling me he was 12 minutes late. On an electric trolley line that’s bad because the buses can’t pass each other. But it was good for me since I didn’t have to wait for a bus and subsequently I caught the D-Line to Ballard pretty quickly, too.