Lowercase Brewing

Lowercase Brewing 01Nov2017

Lowercase once was in South Park along with Burdick Brewing and Tin Dog Brewing, but due to a ruling by the city they had to close their taproom. They found a space in Georgetown. So there I was riding the D-Line and the 124 to Georgetown to find Lowercase once again. They are in the same neighborhood as Machine House, Georgetown Brewing, and near to Two Beers and Counterbalance.

The front door is off a parking lot and a few feet from the street sidewalk. 

The entrance to Lowercase is easy to spot if you are southbound on Airport Way

As you enter the door the bar is on the right with the tap list behind. 

The view as you enter the front door.

The tap list. Year round beers on the left and seasonal beers on the left.

Beyond the bar are high tables and comfortable looking couches. The cement floors lack a certain warmth but the wood furniture and artwork on the wall help counteract that coolth. The greeting from behind the bar is friendly and informed and today the bartender offered many tastes (small sips) of various beers even after I had ordered my flight. Flights of 4 ounce tasters, pints and crowlers are offered but I failed to get the full line up of pour sizes. I was having a nice conversation with the barkeep, which gave my beers a chance to warm up a little, and then some more customers came in so I could get on with sipping and taking notes.

From l to r: sp, hi, w, e, i, b.

Tasting Notes:

sp (Strata Pale) (5.5%): Slightly hazy orange-gold. Fruity (pineapple?) hop aroma. Fruity (pineapple again) flavor, firm malt body, and late bitterness. Bitter-sweet finish. A collaboration with Laurelwood hopped with fresh Strata hops.

hi (hoppy, hazy IPA) (5.7%): Very cloudy reddish gold. Fruity and dank hop aroma. Minty, piney, and fruity hops up front, followed by bracing bitterness and sweet malt. Bitter finish. The recipe came from a homebrew competition held at the brewery and was the winner from among twelve contestants.

Witbier (4.9%): Slightly hazy pale yellow. Phenolic (mostly clove) aroma. Watery (coriander) spicy flavor. Sweet coriander finish. Thirst quenching.

Extra Special Bitter (5.2%): Dark hazy red with some brown. Malt and ester aroma. Bubblegum esters and sweet malt flavors chased by bitter hops. Dry, bitter finish.

India Pale Ale (6.4%): Clear copper red. Ester and piney hop aromas. Dry malt body, hop bitterness, piney hop flavor. Flavors attack almost simultaneously. Bitter finish. This is an old school IPA with a salute to the British.

Brown Ale (5.5%, 60 IBU): Clear brown. Coffee and burnt malt aromas. Coffee and sweet malt flavors with late bitterness. Bitter finish. Another coffee beer catches me unawares.

Lowercase attempts balanced malt-forward beers although the two IPAs I tasted might argue against that stated philosophy. More than a year ago I sampled Lowercase beers at their South Park location and found the beers to be not just malt forward but overly sweet. Since then they have decreased the sweetness of the beers while still keeping the pleasant maltiness. I also tried sips of the Mexican Lager, Squash Beer, and Pale Ale, which were all fine, well-brewed beers. I noted that the English style beers had an aroma profile, probably from the yeast, that was different from the yeast profiles of other ales I have tasted lately. I didn’t ask what strain they are using but I would guess it’s not one of the usual West Coast strains.

I asked about the clientele. I noted that South Park is a more residential neighborhood than Georgetown, so do they get locals at the new location? The bartender told me that they have become more of a destination taproom and so they get the after work crowd and the curious, who seek them out. I think they have increased their brewing capacity and so must be doing a bit of off-site sales, but since I don’t frequent a lot of taverns, I couldn’t say for sure. Business was picking up at 4:30 as I left to go catch a bus. On the way out I snagged a cork-stoppered, 750 ml bottle of barrel aged Squash Ale.

The reverse bus ride has become very familiar to me as has the slow, peak-hour traffic. The 124 showed up pretty quickly and the transfer to the D-Line was smooth (that is, I didn’t have to run), and I was home before 6.