Travel in North America – Page 13

August 26, 2011August 26, 2011

Walking Among Giants

It’s not everyday that I have a chance to tap into my inner-hippie/tree hugging self, but on the second full day of our trip, I had the perfect opportunity to do just that. Having made the bulk of our additions to “The List” on Friday, Saturday was about communing with the stunning and majestic nature of California’s North Coast.

We started our trek south by taking a drive on the Avenue of the Giants, a scenic 31-mile stretch of the old Highway 101 which runs through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park and parallels the modern-day highway. The winding road was shrouded in the shade of the Redwood forest, which reminded me a lot of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It wasn’t until we stopped at Founder’s Grove that I realized just how much bigger and taller these trees were in comparison.

Founder’s Grove is a half-mile guided loop that offers a quick and easy way to get a real sense of California’s famed Redwoods. It was there that we got our first up-close and personal look at these “giants,” including the still standing Founder’s Tree (which was the first of many trees to get a hug) and the fallen Dyerville Giant. Measuring 370 ft. after it fell in 1991, the Dyerville Giant’s fall registered as a small quake on the Richter Scale and reports stated that it sounded like a train wreck. Words can’t convey what it was like to stand next to it. This tree was amazingly huge! That was just the warm-up, though, and we soon got back in the car and headed for the Rockefeller Forest.

The giant redwood is sprouting giant redwoods

Off of the Rockefeller Loop, Chris and I started our hike on the Bull Creek Flats North trail where 3.7 miles later we crossed the river and returned via the Bull Creek Flats South trail. The adventure was more of a strenuous walk, but it was long and tiring nonetheless. Along the way we wandered through the largest remaining old growth Redwood forest in the world, alongside Bull Creek , and around the base of a hill. Simply amazing! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

View all the Avenue of the Giants images

Enjoying an evening at North Coast Brewing

Afterwards we drove an hour and a half to Fort Bragg on the coast. Our day’s adventure surely deserved a giant-sized reward and North Coast Brewing fit the bill perfectly. Our quaint motel was a short walk down Main Street from the brewery and its Taproom & Grill across the street.

The Taproom & Grill seemed to be Fort Bragg’s hot spot. We were lucky enough to get a small table in the bar, while the crowd continued to grow around the hostess station. We eventually moved up to the bar and the number of people waiting to be seated in the dining room remained steady throughout our whole visit.

Chris is really enjoying his cask Red Seal

Scrimshaw Pilsner is one of my favorite beers, but I opted to drink something different and instead chose Acme Pale Ale. Chris was excited to find Red Seal on cask and he showed little hesitation in ordering one. Both went well with our popcorn shrimp starter. Despite the busy dining room, the service in the bar was efficient and friendly, which meant Chris downed several pints before I had a chance to finish my first one. Luckily our motel was walking distance away.

Our first pint or two (or four in Chris’s case) took the edge off and our tired bodies started to relax. It was time for dinner. My Carolina pulled pork was full of tangy goodness and was accompanied by a yummy jalapeño-spiked corn cake. Chris thoroughly enjoyed his thin-sliced pork chop with mashed potatoes and vegetables. It was a good-sized portion but Chris still wished there was more of it.

Brother Thelonius ice cream with beer brittle

The crowning glory of our North Coast Brewing visit was dessert. It didn’t take me long to down my large bowl of Brother Thelonius ice cream with beer brittle and Chris had to act quick in order to get a taste of it. Rather than pair it with Brother Thelonius, however, I finished up my pint of Pale Ale before moving on to Le Merle, a tasty high alcohol saison. Chris went dark and ordered mud cake a la mode, which he appropriately paired with Old No. 38 Stout, an ingredient used in the cake. We were so absorbed in our respective desserts that we barely spoke until they were finished.

We concluded our night with a competitive game of Scrabble, which I lost. However, after a day of walking among giants and an evening at one of my favorite breweries, I’d say we were both winners.

View all the Fort Bragg images…

August 24, 2011August 24, 2011

Three Rivers, a Coast and a Curtain

Despite California’s North Coast being home to some of our state’s pioneering breweries, Merideth and I, in almost 20 years of beer travel, have never journeyed to that remote part of the Golden State. Over the years, several trips were planned and for various reasons, aborted. With 2011’s unofficial theme being “Trying New Things,” we figured it was high time to make the long trek north to Humboldt and Mendocino Counties.

We split the 7-hour drive in two, staying the night in Santa Rosa. A couple of hours into the second 3½-hour leg, I came up with a possible reason why we hadn’t made this trip before. It’s a long drive! It was with great relief that we finally pulled into Eureka, the main city in Humboldt County.

A gray, foggy pall hung over Eureka as we made our way to the historic downtown district and our first stop, Lost Coast Brewery. Thanks to our friend and Lost Coaster, Jack, we were treated to a short tour of the production brewery. After that we made our way to the pub for a beer. Opened in 1990, their pub and original brewery are housed in a historic 1892 building.

The pub was bustling with a lunchtime crowd and we grabbed the last two seats at the bar. Very familiar with the Lost Coast lineup, we passed on a taster set and ordered brews that aren’t usually available to us. Merideth ordered the Harvest Wheat while I went with Over the Top IPA, a pub exclusive. Despite it’s name, this 7% ABV IPA was quite balanced and made for a pleasant first beer of the day.

While we drank our beers, we gazed around the pub at the varied artwork. Those familiar with the Lost Coast labels would appreciate the creations, many done in papier-mâché, that adorned the walls and hung from the ceiling. With a busy day ahead, however, we couldn’t get too distracted. We finished our beers and pressed on.

A short drive north through the college town of Arcata, we arrived in McKinleyville, home of Six Rivers Brewery. The brewpub was just off the highway on the town’s main drag. I have to admit I was quite surprised by the building. Expecting old and rustic, Six Rivers was housed in a brightly-painted, modernist building.

Merideth and I planted ourselves at the bar and ordered a taster set and lunch. The brewery’s motto is “the Brew with a View,” so we admired the Pacific Ocean in the distance as we ran through the nine beer sampler.

Admittedly, alarms went off at first. Not only were there two garnishes in the nine beer sampler, but also a dreaded Chili beer. Not a fan, one whiff of the overwhelming aroma told us this beer was not for us (neither one of us dared taste it). We found the two fruit beers, a Raspberry Lambic-style and a Strawberry Wheat, to be a tad sweet. Otherwise, the beers were quite solid with the standout for me being Trula Pilsner, a delightful Saaz-hopped Bohemian-style Pilsner. Merideth’s highlights were the Bluff Creek Pale Ale and Moonstone Porter.

Taking a few minute journey inland from Six Rivers to the town of Blue Lake, we pulled into the parking lot at Mad River Brewing. Located in an industrial park, Mad River was somewhat difficult to find despite Blue Lake being a tiny town. We blame the directions provided by my douchephone which were quite convoluted. It didn’t help that every street in Blue Lake seemed to be called Chartin.

The reigning GABF “Small Brewing Company/Brewer of the Year” was my most anticipated stop of the day. At the Boonville Beer Festival, Mad River poured some excellent cask beer and I was hoping to get more of the same. Much to my disappointment, no cask beer was to be had on this day.

We ordered the taster tray and set up out in the beer garden as the sun finally made an appearance. Most of the beers were very familiar, being part of the regular lineup of brews readily available in our area. However, I have to say, having the brewery-fresh versions of these beers for the first time made me look at them in a new light. The hop aroma and flavor really popped on the two standouts, Jamaica Sunset IPA and Steelhead Double IPA. Of the Seasonal/Specialty/Pilot beers, the ESB stood out with it’s refreshing, sessionable quality.

It was also at Boonville Beer Festival that we first tried beer from Redwood Curtain Brewing. At that time, we were already discussing making the North Coast trip sometime during the summer. Learning there was new brewery in the area to visit reinforced our decision. Somehow, six breweries to add to The List sounded a lot better than five. Little did we know that Redwood Curtain would be a potential “Top 5” stop of 2011.

Located in an industrial park just off Highway 101 in Arcata, Redwood Curtain’s tasting room was from the minimalist school. Our favorite beer places these days seem to be the ones that are spartan on decor. Basically, the message being, it’s all about the beer. The seats at the small bar were filled with locals so Merideth and I grabbed the stools at one of the barrel tables by the brewing kit.

Merideth was already won over by the free gold fish snacks, but it was the beer that eventually stole the show. The seven brews were all well made. The beer that stood out for me was the IPA. At 6.4% ABV and 50 IBUs, it was one of the more well-balanced IPAs that I have had in recent memory. And the Columbus, Centennial and Amarillo hops gave it that punch that I love in the style. Merideth fell in love with the Belgian Pale Ale, so much so that she insisted she get a growler for home.

Our final stop of the day was Eel River Brewing in Fortuna, just south of Eureka. Its location two doors down from our hotel set up perfectly for an epic evening of dinner, beer drinking and Scrabble. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep, long drive, and busy day finally caught up to us. We managed a yummy dinner and a taster set before we had to call it a night.

We had finally done it! After 20 years of beer travel, we finally ticked off California’s North Coast. That wasn’t the end of the trip, though, and we still had one more glorious day ahead.

View all the images from our day…

August 5, 2011May 24, 2013

New beergeek.TV Episode – The Legendary Boonville Beer Fest

“The Legendary Boonville Beer Fest” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.

On an overcast day that threatened rain, we made the journey to the Anderson Valley for the 15th edition of the Boonville Beer Festival. Despite it’s fame, this was our first time attending this popular Northern California beer fiesta. Besides drinking great beer and seeing friends, we were at Boonville to see what put the “legendary” in the The Legendary Boonville Beer Festival.

So enjoy our first Boonville Beer Festival…

For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.

August 3, 2011

An Iowa Refresher

Our friend and Iowa native, Renee Brincks, reports on the beer scene in
America’s heartland. Renee can be found on the web at reneebrincks.com

I’ve lived in California for nine years, but every year I still spend a few months in the pretty corner of northeast Iowa where I grew up. My home base there is a farm outside of Decorah. Yes, there are corn fields, and there also are hiking and biking trails, canoe-friendly rivers, limestone bluffs, lush hills and trees that blaze gorgeous shades of orange and red in the fall. Seed Savers Exchange is based there, and remember that eagle cam that captivated people this spring? That’s in Decorah, too.

Recently, beer drinkers have been toasting start-up breweries and better distribution of popular brands, as well. Anchor Brewing pioneer Fritz Maytag is an Iowa boy, but until about ten years ago, his home state was lacking when it came to beer. Budweiser and Busch Light were the norm, and I know more than one person who considered Coors Light to be a “dark beer.”

Thankfully, things have changed.

When I arrived in Decorah this June, I was eager to visit Toppling Goliath. The brewery launched two years ago, and I’d already become of a fan of their Tsunami Pale. In a community where beer menus were limited for so long, introducing stouts and ambers and bitter brews isn’t necessarily easy – it takes a little coaxing to get customers to look past the Bud Light. These days, however, several local restaurants pour Dorothy’s New World Lager, the lightly-hopped Toppling Goliath flagship that’s an easy-drinking 5.5 percent.

I caught up with high school friends at the Toppling Goliath tap room, where we took advantage of the warm summer night by sitting outside. The outdoor patio there is perfect for happy hours and live music; the brewery also hosts home brew club meetings and airs all sorts of sporting events. I ordered a pint of Golden Nugget IPA. It earned an unofficial “best Iowa IPA” nod during a spring tasting at Short’s Burger and Shine in Iowa City, which dedicates its 10 taps to Iowa beers, and it will definitely be a go-to when I’m in town.

The other visit I’d planned for this trip was the Tap Room in the Hotel Winneshiek. My parents have fun stories of this place in the 1970s, and there was a lot of buzz about the bar’s June re-opening. A cozy redecorating job and an Iowa-focused beer menu made the Tap Room a nice place to kick back with Peace Tree’s Hop Wrangler. I sampled releases from Millstream and Toppling Goliath, too, a our table of friends shared the smoked trout dip and a bowl of truffle popcorn.

One afternoon, my parents and I took a day trip to two little towns along the Mississippi River, about 40 miles away. Our first stop was Stark’s Sport Shop in Prairie du Chien, Wisc. The store sells beer, spirits, wine and Wisconsin cheeses, along with outdoor gear, boat parts, fishing rods, lures, hunting supplies, guns…a whole wall of guns, in fact, hung right over rows of vodka and whiskey. The store’s signature t-shirt even says, “Mixing guns and liquor since Prohibition.”

I’m not from a family of hunters, but we’ve been coming to Stark’s since long before I was old enough to order my own beer. We sometimes swung through on Sunday drives when I was a kid and my parents were stocking up on bottles for backyard get-togethers. I asked to visit this time, because I knew that Stark’s sells New Glarus. There were several options on the mix-your-own-six-pack shelves, so I left with Spotted Cow, Moon Man, Two Women, Dancing Man Wheat, Totally Naked and Fat Squirrel. I also grabbed a few bottles of Bell’s Best Brown Ale, which I can’t get in San Francisco.

From there, we crossed back over the bridge into Iowa to grab lunch at Old Man River in McGregor. It’s another example of how far Iowa has come in terms of craft beer. Here, in a town of about 875 people, is an outfit turning out solid German-style brews. Owners recently announced plans to expand with a 25,000-barrel-per-year production facility near Iowa City.

My standard order at Old Man River is “The Iowa,” a steak burger topped with bacon and blue cheese. I washed it down with a taster set – samples of helles, hefeweizen, a German pale ale, a smoky Scottish lager and the brewery’s popular dunkel, plus a splash of root beer that worked well as dessert. With baseball on the bar’s flat screens and an art and food affair happening in the park across the street, it was a festive afternoon in McGregor.

My two-week Iowa adventure included a few other beer stops back in Decorah, starting with pints and pizza at McCaffrey’s Dolce Vita (this June, USA Today named their pizza the best in Iowa) and sandwiches at T-Bocks. Toppling Goliath, Schell’s and Leinenkugel are among a dozen brands on tap there, and the bar has a range of seasonals and specialty bottles. I also made a quick survey of the refrigerators at Oneota Co-op, which carries great local, organic food along with Stevens Point, Sierra Nevada, Big Sky and other labels that were unheard of in Iowa just a decade ago.

It was a refreshing trip, thanks to fun family time and great weather (San Francisco’s foggy summers just can’t compete with Iowa’s sunshine…). Good beer options give me even more to look forward to when it’s time for the next stay.

July 31, 2011August 9, 2011

Kitsap Peninsula Beer Tour

We had one more day in Seattle. It was obvious that we were beer touring but the question was where? Chris Devlin suggested we take the ferry over to the Kitsap Peninsula. With several new breweries to visit, that sounded like a good idea to us.

The day was the most glorious of our short trip. Arriving at the ferry terminal 45 minutes before our Bremerton-bound boat sailed, Merideth and I enjoyed a few minutes of downtime and soaked in the warm sun. Joining us on the ferry for the beer tour were Chris Devlin and Dave Doran; reuniting four sevenths of the previous day’s Urban Beer Hike. Once we reached Bremerton, the plan was to make the short drive to Silverdale for lunch at Silver City.

An overlooked component to successful beer touring is luck. And luck was on our side on Friday. Chris Devlin received a text from his friend Matt, a brewer for Silver City. Matt suggested we stop by Silver City’s production brewery in Bremerton on our way through town. Usually, deviations from a plan cause me quite a bit of consternation but for some reason I readily agreed. And Merideth concurred.

We found Silver City’s production brewery on the outskirts of Bremerton. After introductions, Matt showed us around the brewery. As Matt was talking, it became evident to Merideth and me that Silver City no longer brewed at the pub in Silverdale. At an appropriate break in tour, I clarified this with Matt. Yes, all beer production was now at this facility.

The most important part of a brewery visit

At this point, for Silver City to count on “The List,” we would need to try the beer. And for all of Matt’s hospitality, trying the beer wasn’t a given. We don’t expect everyone to know our “rules” and Matt probably just assumed we would try the beers at the pub during lunch.

Merideth and I explained our predicament and Matt disappeared back into the brewery. A few minutes later, he came back with a quarter pitcher of Baby Fat 60 Schilling Scottish-style Ale. At 2.99% ABV, Baby Fat was quite flavorful and a perfect start to the day. With Silver City officially added, we bought a few bottles for home and thanked Matt for saving the day.

A mall is the last place we expect a beer place. But Kitsap Mall boasts two with the Hales Alehouse joining Silver City in the expansive shopping center. Silver City was still doing a brisk lunch business mid-afternoon when we arrived.

As Merideth and I poured over the lunch menu, we counted our lucky stars for the text message Chris Devlin received. I am not sure we would have backtracked to Bremerton if we got to Silverdale and realized that Silver City no longer brewed there. I hate backtracking on beer tours!

Lunch felt much more relaxed with the mini disaster averted. Merideth had the Baked Crab Sandwich with their nice Bavarian-style Hefeweizen. It was middle-of-road on the banana-clove scale, a very pleasant lunchtime brew. I paired the Indianola IPA with Silver City’s Pulled Pork Sandwich. The IPA was nicely balanced with Cascade and Columbus hops. I was disappointed in the Porter BBQ sauce on the pulled pork. Looking forward to trying it, I think the issue was there wasn’t much of it on the sandwich. Dave, Mr. Sweet-Tooth, ordered a seemingly odd pairing of Panther Lake Porter with the Baked Crab Sandwich. But there was method to his madness, as he was setting himself up for the very yummy chocolate brownie desert which luckily came with four spoons.

It was a short drive from Silverdale to Poulsbo (pronounced POLES-bo). With a population of just under 9,000, the tiny town astride Hwy 3 boasts three breweries. We visited two of them.

The homebrew-like kit at Valhöll Brewing

First up was Valhöll Brewing. Located just off Hwy 3, Valhöll was somewhat hard to find. The brewery was located in the garage of a private home located behind a medical office building. Despite assurances from our navigator that we were in the correct place, it took some fumbling about before we finally found it’s location.

Not knowing anything about Poulsbo, I was somewhat surprised by the number of people hanging out in the converted garage enjoying an afternoon pint. The Begian Wit, at 4.8% ABV was a refreshing beer and clearly my favorite of the ones I sampled. The others I sampled were, for a lack of a better word, strange. This included Smoked Cherry Rye, a big brew at 8.4% ABV. The smoke was provided cherry wood-smoked malt and cherries were also added. I enjoy experimental beers but this experiment I think went somewhat awry.

For our Kitsap Peninsula Beer Tour, we saved the best for last. About a mile from Valhöll, Sound Brewery was the end business in an industrial park. They had the door up and the beer flowing on Friday afternoon with a similar sized crowd as our previous stop.

Chris Devlin was also friends with Sound’s brewer/owner, Brad. After quick introductions, I purchased a taster set and settled in for our last stop of the day’s tour.

The six beer sampler had some tasty, 8%-10% ABV Belgian-style beers including a Dubbel and Tripel. However, the stars were three of the lower alcohol brews. O’Regan’s Revenge, a 5.9% ABV Red Ale, was one of the best of the style I have ever tasted. Poundage Porter had a pleasant roasty/toasty flavor with a nice amount of hops. The third of this trio, and my favorite, was Koperen Ketel, an easy drinking Copper Ale.

Having a friend of the owner has it’s benefits, as Brad poured us samples from back in the brewery. Their Belgian-style IPA, Bevrijder, was excellent and the yet-to-be-released Double IPA was in the best beer of the trip category.

Evening view of the Kitsap Peninsula from the ferry

Time flew by on our beer tour. We were having a great time at Sound, but unfortunately, we had the ferry back to Seattle to catch. We finished our samples and bade farewell with thanks to both Brad and Matt who had popped into Sound after work at Silver City. It was a great end to the the trip–an afternoon with friends and adding three new breweries to “the List.”

And Dave, I’m sorry for passing that Dairy Queen. I really didn’t see it.

View all the pictures from the Kitsap Peninsula beer tour…

For more information on beer on the Kitsap Peninsula
go to visitkitsap.com