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Brewery Review: Obec Brewing

Ok language quiz time! What is the Czech word for community? It's Obec!  That alone should tell you all you need to know about this brewery.

Flagship: Czech Pils
Dogs: yes
Kids: no
Do they brew there: yes
Food: no
Has guest taps: yes
Events: yes
Wi-fi: yes
Outside seating: yes

Obec Brewing is one of the newest breweries in Seattle at the time of this review. New is good though. New means that when I visited I got to talk to the founder and head brewer.

Over the course of a few beers I hear from the founder about the breweries name and, surprisingly, about the welcome they received from the other breweries in the area.

I first noticed the Obec sandwich sign a block away in the median while driving through Ballard.  And just like those campaign signs that plagued any open bit of grass near a road until recently there was another brewery sign next to it. Competition as fierce as in city politics?  It seemed like it. Imagine my delight when I found out the opposite was true.  The head brewer explained to me that the brewery next door had been nothing but helpful and welcoming to them as they were setting up. It seems that even in a neighborhood  as stacked for breweries as Ballard, there's always room for one more.

Guest taps, collaborations, brewfests these are all great things that happen because of the cooperation between breweries. The standard could have been set for competition like in any other business, but in working together everyone from the brewers to the beer drinkers benefit.

The building has what is becoming the classic brewery style of dark walls, concrete, and glass. High ceilings add to that aesthetic and make the place feel even more open. I'm told that the like the name, they want to make this a community space. Dark furniture in the standard bar stools, tables, and booths are present and complement both the building and this idea well.  There's a glass wall through which I can see the large vats at work producing the beverage I'm enjoying.  Outside is a downright tasteful arrangement of tables where people are enjoying the last of the summer sun. The projected menu is also pretty cool.

I hit this brewery mid-day, on a Sunday, during a Hawks game and even so the place only got busier as I was there. Most of the people who arrived seemed to know both men behind the counter and each other.  Between getting to know both your patrons and fellow brewers to producing some great beer in a friendly space, Obec is everything that's great about brewing and brewery culture. In fact, they hit on maybe the most important part of that culture. Community.

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