Hi-Fi Brewing, Redmond WA

Well, they make it easy to check out when I visit Black Raven if they ever open. Their calendar is completely empty of entries for the year. Wanted to see something like Grand Opening? Always liked Harmon. Snagging their head brewer makes them worth checking out in my opinion.

 

Haven't set a concrete date for opening yet but they're getting closer...working out some kinks in the system and finishing up the taproom, hopefully brewing within the month :]

 

As of yesterday, this place is open now.

 

As usual, Kendall has a report: http://www.washingtonbeerblog.com/hifi-brewing-opens-today-redmond/

 

I finally checked this place out yesterday. Just getting off the ground, they have more tap handles than beer but what they have is very solid.
Their lineup is not going to blow you away but that's not their intent.
The beers I had were well crafted, smooth, very enjoyable.
The one downside is since the place is new, there's an odor from the new furniture, paint, whatever that can be a little unsettling if you're sensitive to such things.
Worth checking out in my opinion.

 

Would be nice if more places in the Seattle area did have the intent to "blow you away." It's great to have a lot of places doing well crafted and enjoyable beers, but higher ambitions would be nice. Who does have that intent? Black Raven. Reuben's seems intent on doing better than well-crafted basics and introducing more ambitious fare, somewhat similar to Fremont (in that their foundation is well-done but broadly appealing beers).

 

You make very good points. My consumption knows no geographic boundaries and I forget that Washington brewers largely don't push the envelope as you eloquently point out.
So, bottom line: Hi-Fi "just another" well crafted Washington brewery?
As for Fremont, they do a good job of representing the State with B-Bomb and a barleywine or two lately.

 

Give them time, gents. Time will tell. They are new and need to get their legs under them.

 

Definitely. And I understand, or assume I understand since I have no insider knowledge of how the industry really works, that it makes a lot of business sense to have a foundation like Interurban and Universale before stretching to something more ambitious, time consuming, and costly to produce like B-Bomb or Old Bridge Rider. I haven't been around long enough to know if that aspiration was apparent from the start. Not to devolve into Washington bashing / Oregon lauding, but I'm sure the broader Seattle area could support more breweries doing work along the lines of Upright / Block 15 / Breakside / De Garde / etc. I'd love to put my dollars behind someone that came in saying "I'm going to try something out there ... it won't always work, but it'll be a fun ride." Then again, with Portland being 3 hours away, it's not like I have too much to complain about. ;-)

 

This is much easier to say when someone else's mortgage payment/business loan is on the line.

Look, I also have precious little understanding of how the brewing industry really works. But it stands to reason that, without ready access to vast amounts of up-front capital, most breweries need to build up a steady, reliable revenue stream and work out the inevitable kinks of starting a new business before they can get audacious and venture into "blowing you away" territory. I love B-Bomb as much as anyone—in fact, I had one last night—but I don't drink it every day and I doubt Fremont could have started out with a beer like that; at least not if they wanted to stay in business long-term.

It's simple economics. Most average beer drinkers buy a lot more IPAs and pale ales than sours, imperial stouts, and barrel-aged beer. Most average beer drinkers aren't looking to be blown away; they're looking for "well crafted, smooth, very enjoyable" beer. And there really isn't anything wrong with that.

Like Texwild says, give them time. The place still has new furniture/paint smell, for Christ's sake.

 

I apologize if it seemed I was criticizing Hi-Fi or being unrealistic in my expectations; I only meant to make some casual observations. No criticism of Hi-Fi was intended. Not every business can / should have the same business model; not every creator will / should aspire to the same type of creation. If Hi-Fi wants to make well-crafted, pleasant beers (note: I haven't been yet, so this is all theoretical) - then more power to them. I'm not upset that they don't want to be Crooked Stave or Hill Farmstead ... or even Block 15 or Upright.

But I think you're making the economics too simple. I'll take De Garde as an example - about which I know a little (very little probably) through the posts on these forums and from personal exposure. Seems they're bootstrapping the business with relatively little capital. So even with one counter example we can see that there's a spectrum of different business models available and you can match them up to your ambitions in various successful and unsuccessful combinations. Meaning if you really want to make a challenging, niche product and that's what motivates you ... you'll probably need to seek a business model and long term plan different from someone that wants to brew appealing standard styles and / or open a brewpub. The economics seems sufficiently "non-simple" to allow for ambitious upstarts.

Just to be perfectly clear, this doesn't mean I think that everyone should brew pine needle lambics or age their scotch ales in chateau mouton rothschild barrels. But it does mean I scratch my head a bit and wonder why there aren't more people that want to. I also scratch my head and wonder how successful businesses can be without more apparent differentiation (again, I haven't been to Hi-Fi so maybe they're way more differentiated than I'm giving them credit for based on the reactions in this thread). I give Machine House a nod as a recent opening that without trying to do wild stuff still came out of the chute with a strong personality.

Having said all this, now I have to visit or I'm just an opinionated loud-mouth. After I visit, I'll be an opinionated loud-mouth with data to back me up!

 

No, I understood from your previous post that you were basically acknowledging there may be some limitations to what a new brewery can aspire to do or be that you're not aware of. No apology needed.

And you're right, there's no "one size fits all" model that's going to work for everyone. Something I like about the brewery scene is how diverse it is in approaches and models. Everyone seems to manage to do their own thing, at least to a degree that's realistic given all the obvious constraints. I'd like to see more breweries do more adventurous beers too, but I don't blame them for not sticking their necks out too far.

Bottom line for me? I've always had profound respect for anyone who starts their own business, who takes a big risk and a leap of faith like that. It takes a ton of courage and confidence, plus a lot of money and a dash of good luck. Business by its nature seems to be bold in vision but conservative in practice. For all any of us know, a dozen potential Washington breweries like the ones you describe tried to get off the ground and failed. You usually don't hear much about businesses that, for whatever reason, never made it.

 

Epic is doing this down in SoDo and getting shit on for the most part.

 

I think their Orchard is pretty awesome and I've said so.

 

I really like their Party Time series and I buy lots of the sours, but I see people hate on Cody regularly.

 

Many fine comments and I think you all understand the basics of running a business/brewing experimental beers...Because Beer Matters. However, to Draheims point, in order to make beer, one must sell beer. And that is not all...what about the working conditions of those who make/sell their beer? Fremont offers 100% cost free health care, including vision and life insurance and dental (for $12/month). We are setting up profit sharing and hope to include all families in our health plan...and pay the top salaries for all employees that we can afford. Its a fun place to work that hopes to reward those who bring us the Beer...Because People Matter.

Life is balance. Great people = great beer. Long term thinking.

I understand the passion involved in making beer. I live it. I also live the passion of creating a place where people are justly rewarded for their effort. Sometimes, that means not making the recipe I have waiting (and waiting...and waiting) in my mind...until the right time. Balance.

I'm not making swipes at any brewery making beer that may not sell a ton (we do it all the time) but just attempting to interject another layer.

The conversation...sometimes it's not ALL about us beer geeks...sometimes, we have to broaden our view to include other perspectives beyond the Nerd Beer and brew beer for The People...Because Beer Matters.

 

I hope Cody continues. His "Party Time" isn't too bad for a Berliner Weisse, and Solar Trans Amplifier is pretty refreshing. He just started some batches of Pumpkin Pie Gose, which I'm excited to try.

Speaking of sours (kind of), Justice Brewing fixed their Berliner Weiss, of which the second batch had been recalled in mid-winter, but not before bottles had hit the shelves (hence, some deservedly abysmal reviews). Too bad those got out, as I had had the first batch months before and thought it was solid. I tried the third batch last month and thought it was great, especially when considering that the only other year-round bottled option we have for this style is Fritz Briem 1809, which is a little pricey. (Summer sees Festina Peche and Hottenroth, but still ... )

Anyhow, I hope to try Hi-Fi soon as it's nearby, and it sounds like they're off to a solid start.