(Image: Optimism Brewing)

(Image: Stoup Brewing)

Two Seattle breweries born just under 10 years ago are combining, bringing an end to Capitol Hill’s Optimism Brewing. But the woman-owned, scientifically-minded beer making will continue and the taps will still flow at Optimism’s auto row-era showroom transformed into a modern Capitol Hill beer hall.

Ballard-born Stoup Brewing and Optimism announced the planned acquisition and were busy telling employees and customers about the plans over the holiday weekend.

“We love that it is continuing. We built it as a place that we wanted to go to and it’s going to stay exactly as it is,” Optimism co-founder Troy Hakala said Monday. “And Capitol Hill is getting great Stoup beer.”

At Union and Broadway, new signs and a few changes will go up over the summer as the tap lines fill with Stoup’s creations and the production vats shift, but Stoup’s Lara Zahaba says the hope is for Optimism’s spirit to continue in the 16,000-square-foot brewery that has been lauded for its aesthetics and community-friendly design including spacious open seating and an impressively vast all-gender restroom.

“I hope the feelings will be very similar,” Zahaba said. “Really Stoup and Optimism have a lot in common. Locally owned, neighborhood breweries. Inclusive.”

“My hope is people will have that feeling of Optimism when drinking Stoup beers,” she said.

New beer, new signage, and a new color scheme are coming but the rest of the changes will be minimal — “We will Stoup-ify the space to a certain degree,” Zahaba quipped — for what has been a working recipe.

Craft beer looked very different, and had some misogynist and angry streaks when they started the brewery a decade ago, Optimism’s Gay Gilmore said.

“We tried to make it super approachable. I think a lot of craft is doing the same now. They figured it out.”

Gilmore says Stoup is part of that craft beer change. “Their values are just as inclusive as Optimism,” Gilmore said.

Under the planned deal, Stoup will take over the brewery and beer hall while Optimism founders Gilmore and Hakala will retain ownership of the 1920-era Maker Building they purchased after the Polyclinic shifted plans and put the property up for sale for expected redevelopment.

The Polyclinic acquired the former Complete Automotive showroom for $6.25 million in 2008 as a potential location to build an expanded facility in the area but those plans became a hedge as zoning changes at City Hall made development of large medical services facilities on First Hill even more rewarding. In 2012, the Polyclinic opened its 7th at Madison tower on First Hill. The same day the Seattle City Council approved the legislation opening First Hill to massive medical development projects, it also approved the base of the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay incentives that could have become part of the Complete Automotive building’s future.

But instead of mixed-use, the Capitol Hill couple built a one of a kind, full-powered beer brewery in the heart of the neighborhood designed by Olson Kundig Architects that combined Hakala’s longtime passion for home brewing beer, the couple’s penchant for analytical tinkering, and some hardcore entrepreneurial risk taking when it debuted in November 2015.

(Image: Optimism)

(Image: Optimism)

(Image: Optimism)

(Image: Optimism)

(Image: Optimism)

(Image: Optimism)

Gilmore during construction (Image: Optimism Brewing)

Inside, beer making takes center stage, surrounded by large seating areas, the tap bar, and a kids play area tucked into a corner, along with self-serve bussing stations. Most of the wood in the bar was reclaimed from the building itself and the owners were able to retain the classic single-pane windows by installing heated floors to meet energy efficiency regulations. Hakala created his own software to record beer quality, ingredients, pH levels, and which equipment was used in each batch. The brewery was also build with a blind taste testing area and a laboratory, used for growing yeast and testing beers.

Optimism’s all gender neutral bathrooms were another innovation. Gilmore said she was able to convince city inspectors to allow a setup that features one large room of single stalls, half with toilets and half with urinals. At the time, it was trailblazing and it remains a model for good inclusive design.

The company also forged new directions in beer making, trying to avoid leaning on conventions like labeling their beers an IPA or a lager and focusing on small-scale canning. That stubborn streak didn’t always pay off but the brand did establish that a lighter, less macho approach to beer was possible.

They also have sold a lot of beer. At the time of the deal, Optimism is the largest taproom in Washington when measured by square footage — and draft beer sales.

Zahaba and Stoup hope those sales numbers keep up. They also intend to fully utilize the additional brewing power. With 20-barrel capacity, adding the Optimism facility will enable Stoup to boost iits output while also having the option to take on slower brewing recipes and lagering.

As for the commute, getting from Ballard to Capitol Hill can be a drag but Zahaba said Stoup definitely knows its way around the city.

While Optimism built a cathedral to beer on Capitol Hill, Stoup’s NW 52nd St brewery is a grittier venue where the beeping of forklifts is part of the aesthetic along with a “Beeriodic Table” approach to its recipes that is part craft, part chemical engineering. Stoup invested hugely in getting its creations in cans and self-distributing. Today, it has a separate company dedicated to the distribution business that makes sure Stoup can be found around the region — and the city. That network should also help Stoup stay connected to its new Capitol Hill cousin.

A second Stoup location opened in 2021, the Kenmore taproom will also be part of the new family. While the Kenmore Stoup does its own food, Stoup Capitol Hill will remain a food truck-focused venue like the Ballard original.

(Image: Stoup Brewing)

(Image: Stoup Brewing)

The Beeriodic Table (Image: Stoup Brewing)

(Image: Stoup Brewing)

Stoup debuted in 2013 from the husband and wife team of Zahaba and Brad Benson who teamed with Robyn Schumacher, the first woman Cicerone beer expert in the state of Washington. It has grown into an award-winning beer maker named the state’s Large Brewery of the Year again in 2022. Zahaba points out that, in beer, “large” is relative — “The vast majority of beer makers are exceptionally small.”

When combined, Zahaba says the new Stoup will be around 80 employees across the three locations — a big change from a decade ago.

That change is part of the reason the planned deal was announced early. The two sides don’t expect to close the transaction until August when the paperwork with the state hopefully gets wrapped up.

“It is extremely important to Gay and Troy to take care of their team. We wholly support that,” Zahaba said. “The primary reason we’re announcing so early is to give time to make the decision for themselves.”

“I hope our employees would describe it as a positive place to work,” Zahaba said.

UPDATE: We asked Stoup for more details about compensation and benefits and were told  there will be “some changes.”

“They’re having meetings with Optimism team members next, and the long timeline is centered around taking care of the Optimism crew,” a spokesperson said. “Stoup’s similar strong employee retention rate is a good indicator that it takes care of its employees.”

Stoup will be joining a neighborhood where a brewery and spirits distilling never really took off as Capitol Hill’s remaining light industrial zoned spaces were mostly redeveloped and logistics for big trucks and deliveries remain a challenge in the densely populated area. On 12th Ave, Outer Planet qualifies for “nano-brewery” status with its microbrewery and pub making beer on the ground floor of a microhousing development.

The rest of 2023-era Capitol Hill beer making is big — if a bit cramped. Elysian Brewing, a grandfather of the Seattle brewery scene, marked its 25th anniversary here in 2021 but it is no indie. Elysian was purchased in 2015 by Anheuser-Busch InBev to strengthen the beer giant’s “craft” wing. The Anheuser-Busch’s Brewers Collective also owns the major part of the Capitol Hill brewery scene. The Redhook Brewlab debuted on Capitol Hill in the summer of 2017 and became Redhook’s sole Seattle brewing operation making for a peculiar 40th birthday party for the Ballard-born beer brand.

More independent beer can be found in the Central District. Métier, one of the only black-owned breweries in the nation under co-founder, CEO, and Central District resident Rodney Hines, opened its new taproom on E Cherry last summer. Meanwhile on S Jackson, more black-made beer has joined the mix with 23rd Ave Brewery. The neighborhood’s longest-running beer maker, Standard Brewing celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this year.

For Gilmore and Hakala, there are no regrets in their decision to build their lives around beer on Capitol Hill even if a brewery scene never developed. It was more important that they grew to serve the customers of their neighborhood.

“What you see is in successful breweries, they are not just making beer but they are making a specific brand and connecting to a customer. Making great beer is just the cost of entry now,” Gilmore said.

Hakala said that is maybe the biggest reason it made sense for Stoup to take over now. Two beer lovers had grown Optimism as much as they could — and as much as they wanted.  The couple also wanted to make sure any deal came with enough time for their employees, “to give them time to adjust and not feel like change is happening so quickly.”

For Stoup, the new deal also means connecting with Optimism’s fans and customers over its eight years of Capitol Hill beer and space making.

“We want Optimism’s customers to feel confident that they aren’t losing something that they love,” Zahaba said.

“We just want to build on what Gay and Troy created.”

If all goes well, Stoup Capitol Hill is planning a late August grand opening.

The new Stoup Capitol Hill will be located at 1158 Broadway. Learn more at stoupbrewing.com.

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