Author: Chris

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Our Little Tribute to Michael Jackson

We wanted to to take part in today’s Michael Jackson Toast but unfortunately, no pub on the Monterey Peninsula (or in the immediate area for that matter ) was participating. We would have had to drive 2 hours to the Bay Area to participate. So we decided to toast Michael Jackson in our own way.

So what do you do to pay tribute to the man who was the “Beer Hunter”? After our normal Sunday hike, we decided a mini beer tour of our local area to check up on the scene was a fitting way to pay tribute to the man who created beer travel. Plus, we had a toast at our house at 6pm PST…

As for the local beer scene, there is not much to report now because we are using the findings for another little project we are working on.

I will say that we finished up at Ol’ Factory Cafe which is becoming more and more our hangout of choice. If you haven’t checked it out, please do and you will understand why the OFC is where most of our beer dollars are going these days.

Today was also Porter’s 11th birthday. We had missed the last couple because of either travel or Cal football games. So, we decided to try to make #11 for Porter a little special by buying ourselves rice krispie treats. Porter enjoyed blowing out the candles. We enjoyed the rice krispie treats.

→Oktoberfest at Ol’ Factory Cafe is set for October 27th from noon to 6pm. More details on there website. See you there!

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Finally Some Rest for the Weary

After having been on the go nonstop since we hopped on a plane for Germany on May 30th, the next couple of months look to be a time for rest for us… which is probably a good thing.

Besides our treks up to Berkeley for football games and a short visit to Sacramento to visit a friend and hang out with Rick from Pacific Brew News, we don’t have any “trips” planned until we head back to Europe in December.

The highlight of the Fall might be our beer travel talk before the local rotary club on October 18th. The topic will be Okoberfest.

Speaking of Oktoberfest… we were hoping to be in Munich this year but we will be heading up to Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz mountains on October 20th for the Oktoberfest celebration at the Tyrolean Inn. If you have never been, it is a lot of fun.

Our European trip is still in the formulation stages but it looks like Dublin, London, Germany and maybe Switzerland. The Christmas season in Europe is always a blast plus we are looking to film Dublin and London episodes of beergeekTV. On top of that, there is the Pogues show in Dublin and hopefully we can see another one of our favorite bands Neck.

→For all you hopheads out there… Tom’s of Maine deodorants now have hops. According to their website, “The antimicrobial action of hops inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria while reducing the possibility of skin irritation.”

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Colorado Wrapup

We are recovering just fine from our trip to Colorado though Merideth is still disappointed that she didn’t reach 350 breweries.

We had a nice day at the game though Cal could have played better. The Colorado St. fans were very nice and we enjoyed talking with a number of them. We were amazed at the variations of washers (a drinking game) that we saw.

Tailgating, which we do not do at Berkeley, was great. In the few days prior to the game, we had accumulated about a case of various Colorado beer (on top of beer we are bringing back for the tasting) and had a nice party with our friends before and after the game.

Tailgating at Hughes Stadium was not without regulations… after having pleasant conversation with about 20 different police officers, the 21st informed us that you had to have wrist bands to be able to drink alcohol. Merideth got a wristband while I remained a rebel. The 30th police officer asked not where my wristband was; rather he wanted to let me know that glass was not allowed but he was just warning me for next time. Apparently there was some sort of riot before or after a CU game where bottles were thrown.

If glass was not allowed, why were the Colorado St. fans drinking crappy beer instead of cans of Oskar Blues?

My final thoughts on the trip… This was the first time in Colorado where we moved beyond Denver/Boulder and we were very impressed. Not only did we drink great beer, but the staff we met were very friendly, helpful and a joy to talk to. Plus, there was a real sense that the breweries were an integral part of their communities. We can’t wait to go back to Colorado to explore more of the beer scene beyond Denver.

Here are the eight breweries we visited:
Estes Park Brewery – Estes Park, CO
Pump House – Longmont, CO
Oskar Blues – Lyons, CO
C.B. & Potts/Big Horn – Fort Collins, CO
CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing – Fort Collins, CO
New Belgium – Fort Collins, CO
Odell Brewing Co. – Fort Collins, CO
Fort Collins Brewery – Fort Collins, CO

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#350!!!

So, we made it to Fort Collins this morning… and the day ended with me reaching #350.

We started out at New Belgium at 10:45 am (45 minutes behind schedule!) and I have to say the chipper employees were a shock to the system. It kind of reminded me of my elementary school in Northern VA (Laurel Ridge in Fairfax) in the late ’70s… “happiness is spoken here”… Besides their regular lineup, we had the opportunity to taste “Lips of Faith”, a small batch brew. The version we tried, “Eric’s Ale” was a sour peach beer (I think). New Belgium makes a great product but it just isn’t my cup of beer. So we quickly moved on…

The nice thing about Fort Collins is that there are two other breweries well worth visiting within a few minutes of New Belgium.

Our second stop was Odells. Much more my cup of beer plus you could donate your tasting fee to charity. We had an enjoyable time talking to the staff while tasting their beer. I would recommend the 5 Barrel Pale Ale or the IPA.

After Odells, we hit Fort Collins Brewery just up the road. They had a rauchbier, while very tasty, was too much ham and not enough bacon (For more information on rauchbier, watch our Bamberg episode). They were also nice and let us try beers normally reserved for their beer club members. The highlight of Fort Collins Brewery, besides the good brews, was Merideth’s “Elaine Benes dance” which was caught on videotape and will be an integral part of the Beyond Denver episode.

After a short break, next came Big Horn Brewery… and despite my natural aversion to chains, I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of the beers that we tried. Depth and character are not something you normally associate with the chain breweries… it is just too bad that the good beer has to come with the rest of the package.

Finally… #350… we met our friends Andy and Monica and their kids at Coopersmith in Old Town Fort Collins. What a pleasant evening sitting outside… I could have done without the chili beer but their Pale Ale and IPA on cask were excellent. A very worthy #350.

In the end, I have to commend the staff of the 5 breweries we visited today. They were all really helpful and friendly which is something that is not always true… unfortunately.

The big disappointment of the day was that Merideth finished with only 349 breweries. I offered to do the Budweiser tour with her but she said that she heard that they had a brewery in St. Louis and she would wait to tour that one.

 

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The Beer World Mourns…

Wow… the beer world just lost its guiding light… Michael Jackson died yesterday at the age of 65.

Michael Jackson’s accomplishments, besides being the greatest beer writer ever, included re-introducing the world to little know beer styles, most notably the “strange” and diverse brews that came from Belgium. His passion and knowledge was an inspiration to many of us.

I remember as a teenager being captivated by his “Beer Hunter” series on PBS. I think that is where my love of beer, travel and the travel TV show genre began.

Later, as we started traveling, Michael Jackson’s books, especially his “Pocket Guide to Beer” became a primary source for planning our trips. His insights were invaluable to making our travels a beer filled journey.

One of my beer dreams was to meet Michael Jackson… maybe if there is an afterlife, I will meet him at some awesome pub in the sky.

Read the Associated Press Story