California – Page 6 – thebeergeek.com

May 21, 2011July 9, 2011

The Legend That is Boonville Beer Fest

In Northern California beer lore, one beer festival stands out amongst all others: the Boonville Beer Festival. The stories beer geeks brought back from Mendocino County were the stuff of legend. Great beer aside, it was the tales, especially of the campground parties, that piqued the interest of people who missed out. It took us fifteen years, but we finally made it to our first Boonville Beer Festival to experience the legend for ourselves.

Disclaimer: Merideth and I don’t camp. We spent Friday and Saturday night comfortably in a hotel room. Therefore, we didn’t get the full Boonville Beer Festival experience. And, we are OK with that.

The crowd lined up for the 15th Annual Boonville Beer Festival...

The threat of rain didn’t keep the crowds away. The scruffy looking bunch began lining up over an hour before the opening time of 1pm. After being ID’d and banded by one of the festival staff, Merideth and I joined the line a bit before noon. Being our first Boonville, we looked over fellow festival-goers to gauge what the our day could be like. They were a rough looking bunch. Friday night in the campgrounds must have been a good time.

Merideth's first beer at her first Boonville Beer Fest

At 12:45, the doors were opened and the eager crowd streamed into the Mendocino County Fairgrounds. Not knowing the layout of the festival, Merideth and I bee-lined for the first set of taps we could see, just off to the left. In this grouping amongst others, was the festival host, Anderson Valley Brewing, Triple Rock and Russian River Brewing who already had a lengthy line. Around the corner, I found Moonlight Brewing and Twist of Fate on cask was soon filling my tiny tasting glass. Merideth’s first beer was Mammoth Brewing Golden Trout Pilsner.

Conveniently located in the animal pens...

With our first beers in hand, it was time to explore the lay of the land. The festival was spread out over a large portion of the Fairgrounds. Breweries were grouped in the animal stalls that ringed a redwood grove. More were grouped on the opposite side in a giant field where the wrestling matches later occurred. The spread out nature of the festival was somewhat annoying when we were first trying to figure out where everyone was located. But later with the festival was in full swing, the roominess was a godsend. When one area became too congested, we just found another area that was less crowded.

One of the more popular festival brews...

Overall, the beer selection at Boonville would make many beer festivals jealous. The list included a Who’s Who of California breweries. And a few hearty brewers made the long trek down from Oregon and Washington, including one of our favorites, Double Mountain from Hood River. There was even a couple of breweries we never heard of.

Merideth enjoying a Moonlight Reality Czeck

We sampled a number of beers over the course of four hours. Some of the beers of Merideth and I thought were of note:

Ballast Point Sculpin
Cherry Voodoo Triple
Double Mountain Hop Lava & Vaporizer
Drake’s Denogginizer
Firestone Walker Double Jack
Moonlight Bombay by Boat, Twist of Fate (firkin) and Reality Czeck
Mad River Dry Hopped Amarillo (firkin)
Marin Brewing White Knuckle
Sierra Nevada Hips Helles
Triple Rock “The Judge”

We’ve been to drunk-fests before, but Boonville made these other festivals look like a little old lady tea party. And I don’t really mean that in a bad way. From the opening bell, people were eager to party and party hard. Despite this vibe, there was never a feeling that things were going to get out of control. I think large amounts of marijuana being smoked mellowed the crowd. Even the wrestling in the big field appeared to be good-natured hijinks between friends. When the taps were finally shut off, the large number of people snoozing on the ground was evidence of a great day.

Our beer of choice in the Brewers Campground

Despite not camping, we did get a taste of the campground experience after the festival. We wandered over to the Brewers Campground behind the Anderson Valley Brewery. For the next hour or so, we walked around that magical place where so many of the legendary Boonville stories are set. We popped in on our friends’ campsites, sharing stories and beers.

Merideth and I finally settled in the Marin Brewing’s campsite where a large number of people were gathered. The centerpiece of their area was a huge grill-mobile, an impressive piece of food cooking engineering. We enjoyed an Anderson Valley sunset chatting with friends, watching Whiffleball and eating amazing grilled lamb and chicken.

Groping our way back to our car in the dark with rain drops beginning to fall, Merideth and I talked about our fun-filled day. Our first Boonville Beer Fest was quite an eye-opening experience. We’ll probably be back and next time we may even camp. Many thanks to Sierra Nevada, Marin Brewing, and New Belgium for all their generous hospitality!

View all the images from Boonville Beer Festival

May 9, 2011

City Beer Store Celebrates Five Years

On a chilly and blustery Saturday afternoon in San Francisco, a few hundred beer geeks gathered at the BAMM.TV studios to celebrate the fifth anniversary of City Beer Store. Obligations at home necessitated a quick trip to the City but we couldn’t miss celebrating five years of this San Francisco beer institution.

Despite the less than stellar weather, the crowd mainly mingled outside in the large ‘courtyard’ where most of the beer was located. Joined by our friend Renee and one of her friends, Merideth and I did likewise, grabbing one of the few bistro tables still free. Looking around, every face seemed familiar. Then, we realized why. This was a gathering of the City Beer regulars, people we had seen over the years on one our of our frequent stops at 1168 Folsom. Because of the larger venue, they all were gathered in one place at one time.

For the occasion, special beers were served including five that were brewed just for the event. Probably the most anticipated beer was Midnight Sun Open Container, a Wild Ale that was put in the Alaskan wilderness to get that wild element. Luckily, no bears or moose found the open container. Expecting more musty and earthy wildness, I found the beer surprisingly subtle, light and refreshing.

The SF Brewers Guild produced “Agent Orange,” a 7.7% ABV Imperial IPA with orange peel. A nice brew, but I had some problem finding the orange notes. I think my tongue was still a bit puckered from the Open Container.

The third of the five anniversary beers that I tried was Cascade’s Figaro, a Sour Ale with Figs. Where Open Container was subtle, Figaro was brash and bold, full of sour goodness. Merideth described it best as “young and juicy.” Looking forward to purchasing some bottles when they are available in the future.

Other notable brews at the event were Triple Rock Hop Grenade, a sessionable IPA at 4.8% ABV, Marin Brewing Witty Monk, Lagunitas Waldo’s Special Imperial IPA, Russian River Erudition and 2008 “The Dissident” from Deschutes.

It was a short visit to the City for us. But well worth the effort to celebrate the achievement of two of our favorite people in the beer community. Cheers to Craig and Beth for five great years. Good luck with the expansion of not only the store but their family as well.

View all the images from the City Beer Party

April 8, 2011

North Bay Beer-cation

I have admit that I don’t get to Sonoma County nearly enough. Merideth regularly travels to the North Bay for work and I have accompanied her on a few occasions. But my house-husband duties usually keep me from spending more time in one of the the true gems of the US beer scene.

Another one of my moments of brilliant inspiration had the planning wheels in my head spinning. I would have Merideth drop me off in Santa Rosa and I would bike the 20 plus miles to Guerneville while she was working. When Merideth was finished, she would meet me there. Like all great plans, mine had one flaw — the weather. When the day of the trip finally arrived, biblical amounts of rain scuttled any idea of a bike ride. I spent the day hanging out at places such as the Santa Rosa library waiting for Merideth to finish work.

Merideth in front of Sonoma Springs Brewing Co.

Our first stop of the day was Sonoma Springs Brewing Co., located along the main drag in Sonoma. Being mid-day on a rainy Thursday in March, we were the only customers when we entered the quaint brewery and tasting room. Bellying up to the bar, we greeted the brewer/bartender/owner and his tiny assistant — his young son. A long day ahead, we ordered a taster set of beers to share.

The brews fell mostly into two categories: German-style beers and hopped up California ales. The two German-style Wheats, Divine Harvest Dunkelweiss and Mission Bell Sour Wheat, were both sour despite only one having ‘sour’ in its name. Merideth and I both found them very strange, though I found the Sour Wheat more acceptable. Maybe because it was appropriately named. I did like the New Bavaria Roggenbier.

On the other hand, the two California hop bombs Lil Chief Pale Ale and Noma Coma Double IPA were excellent. My favorite, Lil Chief, was redolent of running naked through a pine forest after a summer downpour. [Did I just plagiarize Chris Devlin?]

After finishing our taster set, we bade farewell to our hosts and headed north towards Guerneville. The drive down River Road was reminiscent of the Santa Cruz Mountains, except the hippies were much more menacing looking. The last time we were in Guerneville was in 1997 when we visited the original location of Russian River Brewing at Korbel. Thirteen years later, we ventured another mile down the road to visit our second new brewery of the day, Stumptown Brewery and Smokehouse.

The required photo from the Stumptown Brewery's deck overlooking the Russian River

On this dreary afternoon, we were two of maybe seven or eight customers. The large u-shaped bar wrapped from the inside to the outside which serviced Stumptown’s expansive deck overlooking the Russian River. Despite the weather, I forced Merideth to sit outside, even after she had already expressed her wish by sitting down at the inside bar. I had visions of playing Scrabble on the deck while watching trees flow down the rain-swollen Russian River. In my defense, at least it wasn’t raining.

Merideth much happier in front of a fire

Merideth ordered the Bushwacker Wheat, another oddly sour-ish Wheat beer. My choice, Blimey the Wanker, beside having a great name, was a much better choice. It was was more of an English style, nicely hopped but not an over-the-top enamel-eating brew. By the way, after a few sips of our beers, we moved inside.

Despite the miss on Merideth’s beer, we can’t wait to return in warmer weather to take advantage of Stumptown’s deck. I can see myself enjoying a few Blimey the Wankers out there on a sunny summer day. Plus, I still need to do the Santa Rosa to Guerneville bike ride.

Hop Kiln Winery, California Historical Landmark #893

We took Westside Rd., the scenic route between Guerneville and Healdsburg, to our next stop: Bear Republic Brewing. As we passed flooded vineyards and swollen creeks, we reveled in what we thought was a new back road adventure. Then we came upon Hop Kiln Winery, a stop we made on our first visit to Sonoma County in 1997. Obviously, we had taken the same road between Russian River and Bear Republic back then.

Built in 1905, the building is, according to its California landmark listing, the “most significant surviving example of a stone hop kiln in the North Coast region”. Inside, there are vintage photos and equipment from the era when hops were king. Hop Kiln Winery is a must stop for any beer geek touring the area.

A few minutes after leaving Hop Kiln, we were in downtown Healdsburg. Despite being one of my favorite breweries, Bear Republic was mainly a growler fill stop in our busy Thursday schedule. Arriving at happy hour, we finally encountered our first crowds of the day. Grabbing the only two seats at the bar, Merideth ordered a Peter Brown Tribute Ale, a Brown Ale while I performed much needed research.

With only one Bear Republic growler, I needed to choose wisely. My first beer and first choice for the growler was Hop Rod Rye, their amazing IPA brewed with 18% rye malt. At home, our Bear Republic beers tend to be a bit it dated. So, I was in heaven to be drinking fresh Bear Republic beer again. I was pretty satisfied with Hop rod Rye as my growler choice but did have a Racer 5 just to make sure.

Our final stop of the day was Russian River Brewing in downtown Santa Rosa. Riding over from our hotel in the taxi, I thought it was going to be a semi-quiet evening — a few beers, dinner and a game of scrabble. With the Craft Brewers Conference events happening 55 miles to the south, I assumed all the beer geeks were there.

Russian River Brewing packed on a Friday night

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Walking in the back door, we could see that the bar and dining areas were packed all the way to the front door on the opposite side of the building. Luckily, there was a high table by the back door free. Merideth staked that table out while I walked up front to try to satisfy our desire to be closer to the action. Seeing that the table where Merideth sat was the only one free, I returned to her and settled in.

Enjoying a Defenestration at Russian River Brewing

If there was maybe one mistake on the day, it was going to Russian River last. There were a number of new beers I wanted to try but was losing steam quickly. I passed on the three Pale Ales, Gaffers, Segal Select, and Happy Hops, though the last I would bring home in a growler. Moving over to the Belgian-style Ales, I chose the excellent Defenestration, a 7.25% ABV Hoppy Blond in the Houblon Chouffe mold. My second and last beer of the day was their Craft Brewers Conference Collaboration brew with Sierra Nevada, a Sour Brown. A bit on the lighter side, it was probably what I needed. A Pliny probably would have put me under the table.

It was Merideth’s evening. She got to drink her favorite Russian River beer, Damnation, their Belgian-style Strong Golden Ale. She ruled the Scrabble board, destroying me 335 to 265, but most important, she go to spend the afternoon and evening with her wonderful husband. If she had one disappointment, she felt that she should have scored 400 in Scrabble. Maybe next trip…

View all the images from our North Bay Beer-cation

March 23, 2011

Life is good at 600

Ever have one of those weeks? No, not one of THOSE weeks. I mean one where everything actually goes your way. It doesn’t happen often, but I recently had just such a week. And boy did it feel good.

To start, I finished my long awaited manuscript. That alone took a huge weight off my shoulders and it could have easily made my week all by itself, but there was more. A few days later Chris and I completed our 28-day beer hiatus. The day we went off the wagon I tweeted, “Life without beer is doable, but not nearly as fun” — a statement that underscores my appreciation for craft beer being in my life. With beer back on the menu, we could now celebrate my accomplishment properly. Plus, it did wonders for my adjustment to the long-forgotten state of mind called relaxation. Life saved the best for last, though, and I rounded out my week with a visit to my 600th brewery — Ale Industries.

Saturday we started our day early with a 2-hour drive north to Concord. The rain fell heavy at times, but nothing could dampen my spirit. I knew that soon I’d join Chris as a member of the ‘600 Club.’ After picking up our friend Renee at the Pleasant Hill BART station and watching Chris battle his iPhone for directions, we headed to Ale Industries.

Once we knew the way, Ale Industries was easy to find. Located in an industrial park area, the brewery is conveniently situated next to Beer Beer and More Beer, a homebrew supply shop.

When we arrived, our longtime friend Rowdy was ready and waiting to celebrate my latest beer milestone. We often credit Rowdy as being our Yoda. For nearly 20 years, he has nurtured our development as beer geeks and it meant a lot to have him there. At Ale Industries we enjoyed a taste of everything they had to offer — from the hoppy Uncle Jesse’s Pale to the sour Pêche. We even enjoyed a rare treat in a brew called The Beer of the Future. At 3%, this honest to God session beer was full of flavor.

The party carried over to Oakland where we enjoyed a few rounds with friends at Beer Revolution and a few more at The Trappist. The night ended with seeing Flogging Molly at the Fox Theater. Yep, life is good, but life with beer is better.

Special thanks to Morgan and Steve at Ale Industries and our friends Wendy, Ivan, Motor, Rowdy, and Renee for making it a great day!

Here are some pictures from the day

March 17, 2011November 1, 2011

Sierra Nevada Night at burger.

Merideth and I ended our 28-day beer hiatus Wednesday evening at a Sierra Nevada “Tap Takeover” event at burger. in Santa Cruz. A very large and cheerful crowd, including Spike from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, enjoyed probably the widest and best selection of Sierra Nevada brews on tap in Santa Cruz County history.

Fifteen Sierra Nevada brews were on tap, ranging from the standards like Pale Ale, Kellerweis and Stout to the special, such as three of the 30th Anniversary series, 2009 Bigfoot and Hoptimum. There were even a few unique brews: Empire Strikes Black Russian Imperial Stout, an early Beer Camp brew, 2×4, a blend of two Belgian-style ales and a Pro-Am Old Ale. All in all there was a pretty special selection of Sierra Nevada beers.

Going in, I knew my first beer after a 28 day hiatus was going to be my beloved Torpedo. Unfortunately, that one Torpedo made me pretty loopy. Not wanting to be under the table, I passed on the higher ABV special brews and moved on to a nice, mellow Kellerweis. Merideth, after beginning with a Kellerweis, tried the 2×4, a beer she much enjoyed.

Each of the Sierra Nevada beers had a food pairing. Having gotten through the beer hiatus by indulging my sweet tooth, the dessert items caught my eye. Bigfoot 2009 paired with a brownie topped with Stout whipped cream and the Empire Strikes Black accompanying a selection of chocolates.

It was a very mellow evening by our standards, but it was great getting out, being sociable and seeing friends. Congrats to Quinn from Sierra Nevada and burger. for putting on a fun event.

View all the pictures from our evening at burger.

Our California Common is being re-released

In other Sierra Nevada related news, we are so proud our Beer Camp brew was one of the four beers selected for Sierra Nevada’s upcoming “The Best of Beer Camp” mixed pack. We look forward to drinking our hopped-up California Common again. Look for “The Best of Beer Camp” 12-packs in mid-May.

If you missed our Beer Camp blog posts:
Our Kind of Camping
Brew Day at Beer Camp