Planning a relaxing Saturday, a friend who wanted a copy of Teaching from the Tap suggested we meet up at the Bistro’s IPA Festival. Getting another copy of Merideth’s book out into the world and a hophead’s dream day sounded like a win-win situation to me. Relaxation could wait until Sunday.
Hoppy, hoppy beer…
This was our first IPA Festival. But having been to their Double IPA festival on several occasions, we already had our routine set. Preferring the early bird schedule, we arrived at opening time, joining a handful of people on the enclosed street-side pen that housed the gathering. Our plan was for a few hours of fun, leaving mid afternoon when the crowd swelled.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what a team player Merideth was. Not being a huge IPA fan, she volunteered to be the designated driver for the day allowing me to indulge in all the hoppy goodness. I will sure return the favor when we go to a festival that I don’t care for the style.
A lot of work to do…
All the familiar hops (and some unfamiliar) were represented in the over three score beers pouring. Amarillo, cascade, chinook, citra, columbus, nugget, simcoe, and warrior were a few of the hop varieties that made this a very popular day on the Bay Area beer calendar. Not expecting to try them all, if my check marks were accurate, I did manage to drink fully about a third, or 20 of hoppy elixirs.
Despite the beers being all IPAs, there was a wide variety of flavors represented, from floral to piney to citrus.
A very happy hophead…
According to my notes, where checkmarks became stars for brews I liked, my favorites were:
Drake’s Aroma Coma IPA
Fat Heads Head Hunter IPA
Russian River Hopfather IPA
Sante Adairius 831 IPA
Sierra Nevada Floral IPA
Triple Rock Greenhorn
I must really like the ‘C’ hops with Cascade, Citra, Centennial, and Columbus making numerous appearances in the brews listed.
In the official judging, Fat Heads Head Hunter IPA took home its second Bistro gold medal. Silver and bronze went to Ballast Point’s Sculpin followed by Triple Rock’s Greenhorn. The People’s Choice award went to the beer I voted for, Drake’s Aroma Coma.
Not even one speck of fog greeted Merideth and I as we arrived at the Monterey County Fairgrounds mid-Saturday morning. With only blue sky above us, it was going to be a glorious day for the 2012 Monterey Beer Festival.
All set up! Our booth with Peter B’s Brewpub
With Merideth’s book to sell, we weren’t at Monterey Beer Festival to make merry, rather to promote Teachings from the Tap. But that doesn’t mean Merideth and I were all business. Setting up next to our friends at Peter B’s Brewpub, we were guaranteed an afternoon of fun and good beer.
The festive crowd at Monterey Beer Festival
The VIP Session was mellow. We chatted with friends and a few book customers. Once that first hour was up, however, the floodgates opened and our relaxing afternoon was over. From our vantage point away from the main area, we could see a large mass of people busily getting into the business of drinking beer.
Keeping the beer flowing at the Peter B’s booth…
We were happy to see that Peter B’s was very, very, busy. With long lines continually in front of the booth, the wonderfully dry and tart Alvarado St. Raspberry Wheat quickly ran out. Our collaboration Bavarian-style Hefeweizen was also very popular, despite it not being served with the banana round with clove mohawk, a garnish I recently invented. Even with the warm weather, the bright and smooth Oatmeal Stout aged in Chardonnay barrels was also a hit. I focused my limited beer drinking on the delicious IPA, both keg and cask versions. Being big proponents of our local brewpub for the last 18 months, Merideth and I were so pleased to see their beers heartily consumed and enjoyed.
Kevin’s turn to be punched
A bit of levity during the busy day was provided by Kevin, brewer at Peter B’s and the ‘mature’ one of the group. He had this ‘punch’ sticker which he tried to stick on other people. In the end, Kevin unknowingly sported the sticker the longest, while Petra from Trailside Cafe gave the sticker an extended tour of the festival. Somehow, I was the only one who was actually punched, courtesy of the Celebrator’s Mr. Pitsker.
All and all a great day for us at Monterey Beer Festival. Thanks to Kevin, Carrie, Christian, Sonny, Renee and the Craft Beer Gnome for making it a fun day!
On Memorial Day weekend, Merideth and I took a break from our hectic book lives to celebrate the opening of a new local brewery, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola.
Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola, CA
Like it seems with most brewery openings these days, a myriad of delays pushed back a scheduled January opening to late spring. On a couple of occasions, their Facebook status announced an opening day only to be later cancelled. But the big day finally came Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
A festive occasion at Sante Adairius Rustic Ales
Despite the delay of maps on the douchephone sending us to a nearby mobile home park, we arrived at Sante Adairius’ industrial park location a few minutes early to find the soft opening already in full swing. We joined our Grillin & Chillin friends in the tiny tasting room.
My first Sante Adairius beer... 831 IPA
There were six beers to try on opening day and Merideth and I had four of them. I started with 831 IPA, a 7.2% ABV brew with really nice pine and citrus hop character. Merideth went with their Belgian-style Golden Ale, Golden Bell. We followed those up with Sara Loves Brett, a tart, pleasantly bretted brew with nice lemon notes. Merideth and I finished with Saison Bernice, a lightly bretted Farmhouse Ale that shined after it warmed up a bit.
Things are really looking up in our local beer scene. This event was the first of hopefully a string of brewery openings on the northern end of Monterey Bay. Congratulations to the folks at Sante Adairius! Not only did they survive starting a brewery but debuted with a excellent selection of beers.
View all the images from the Sante Adairius opening…
We couldn’t make this year’s SF Beer Week.
Thankfully, we had Renee Brincks on the scene.
Don Barkley of Napa Smith kicks off SF Beer Week
When San Francisco Beer Week debuted in 2009, I’d just moved to the city. The first event I attended that first year, along with Beer Geeks Chris and Merideth, was at City Beer Store. Following a Pliny the Younger tapping, we sampled New Albion Ale that Don Barkley had brewed according to its original recipe. The former New Albion employee and current Napa Smith brewer was one of the first people I spotted when I arrived at this year’s beer week opener. He also was one of many in attendance who expressed pride in how this annual festival has grown.
Ready for the opening pours
The opening celebration, one of more than 300 events on the 2012 SF Beer Week schedule, had an impressive beer menu and smart organization. In the Concourse Exhibition Center, the event felt less crowded than in past years – even with big attendance numbers. Plus, with breweries grouped by region, it was easy to find whatever one wanted.
Taste-testing Sierra Nevada's new canned beers
I especially enjoyed Drake’s Black Label Hopocalypse, Hops on Rye from Firehouse, Bear Republic’s Ryevalry and Moonlight’s Misspent Youth. I also sampled some Pliny the Younger (thankfully, I got in before that line snaked past the adjacent three tables), and I aced a Sierra Nevada blind tasting by correctly identifying bottled and canned versions of its pale ale.
Sunday, it was off to City Beer for back-to-back tastings by some out-of-town breweries that I always enjoy. Midnight Sun headlined the afternoon – the kölsch was a nice way to ease into things after lunch – and the Cascade taps turned on at 6 p.m. I was happy to see Figaro on the menu, and also tried the fruity Winter Gose. Even with City Beer’s expanded space, there was a solid crowd by early evening.
Drake's pairings at Mission Cheese
Because SF Beer Week includes so many free events, my budget and I avoided most ticketed happenings – except for one. Drake’s is one of my favorites around here, and I reserved a spot at their Monday night Mission Cheese pairing weeks in advance. The event sold out, not surprisingly, and a lively group packed the place soon after the doors opened. Five beers made the menu: Drake’s Amber, the 1500 pale ale, Hopocalypse, Moscow’s Burning Smoked Imperial Stout and this year’s Dire Straits Barleywine.
It’s tough to pick one pairing that I enjoyed the most, because each was terrific and totally different. But, two that really stood out were the 1500 paired with Pawlet, a washed-rind cow’s milk from Vermont, and Hopocalypse with an organic cow’s milk blend from Weirauch Creamery in nearby Petaluma. Cheers to the Drake’s team for being excellent hosts, as well. One brewery employee looked amused after an enthusiastic guest asked, “Can I visit your factory?” “Well, it’s called a brewery,” he told her. “You can visit our brewery…I think factories make toys or something.”
Tuesday was Valentine’s Day, which is a holiday I’ve never enjoyed. In fact, I told my sweetheart that I’d ditch him if he brought me flowers and candy. Happily, he took that to heart, and we headed to Public House for burgers, bitters and sours. Magnolia’s Billy Sunday Bitter, my go-to during Giants games, was on the list, as were the tart Cuvee de Bubba and a super sour Berliner Weisse from Bear Republic. After dinner, we hit up the Lagunitas night at McTeagues, where founder Tony Magee was on stage with his guitar.
On Wednesday night, it was back to City Beer for a Stillwater Artisanal Ales session. I first met brewer Brian Strumke at a local beer event a few years back, and it’s always fun to catch up. He had just returned from meeting with brewers in Europe, and he was preparing to celebrate his second anniversary in the business. Stillwater’s bourbon barrel-aged Folklore, which is flavorful without being too boozy, and its red wine barrel-aged counterpart topped my list of bests. That whole City Beer evening was a highlight for me, in fact, thanks to good beer and great friends at one of my favorite places in San Francisco. As a bonus, Nosh This was selling sweets in the back. Bacon salted caramels and beer for dinner? Yep.
Due to weekend plans, my beer week wrapped up on Friday with pre-happy hour pints at Toronado. Yes, I had another glass of Pliny the Younger – I’m pretty sure everyone in the bar that day had at least one, actually – and I followed that up with Russian River Temptation and a De La Seven from Upright. People were three-deep at the bar by the time the workday ended, and that’s when we took off.
All told, it was another great San Francisco Beer Week. The celebration gets better every year, partly because of all those creative events that breweries put together, and partly because of this region’s continued interest in craft brewing. At every event, I ran into friends I’ve made at other festivals and local beer bars – it’s an impressive community of engaged and enthusiastic individuals. Happily, SF Beer Week gives everyone a chance to step out from behind the brew kettle, bottling line, Twitter account and Untappd app to enjoy a pint together.
Thanks to the SF Beer Week organizers for
providing my media pass to the opening event.
When Los Angeles was a beer wasteland, our distaste for traveling there wasn’t really an issue. However, as the beer scene has grown over the past few years, I realized that Merideth and I needed get over this lack of enthusiasm for the SoCal megalopolis. A well-timed email from a new brewery in Agoura Hills inviting us to visit was just the kind of push we needed to help overcome our phobia. Agoura Hills isn’t quite LA, but baby steps…
We couldn’t drive all that distance without making a few other brewery visits. I planned two quick stops before our appointment at The LAB Brewing Co. A shade under five hours after leaving our house, we arrived at a business park just south of downtown Ventura.
The "Hang Ten" at Surf Brewery
Over the past few months, I heard plenty of positive buzz about Surf Brewery. Eager to try their beers, I hardly noticed their homebrew shop at the front as we bee-lined for the bar in the back of the building. Surf had multiple options for beer flights, 4, 6, 8, or 10. Of course, we went for the “Hang Ten” a full set of the Surf Brewery beers.
Enjoying a Oil Piers Porter at Surf Brewery
The ten brews ranged from a rarely seen Cream Ale and German-style Pilsner on the lighter end to a Porter and Black IPA on the dark side. Overall, it was an eclectic mix with two Rye beers and a Belgian-style Dubbel plus the requisite Double IPA.
So pretty...
My two preferences were from the lighter side of the spectrum. The imaginatively named “German Pilsner” was crisp and clean, a great beer for a warm Southern California day (which unfortunately it wasn’t). Lately, I have been drawn to light-bodied, low ABV, hoppy brews. Thus, the star for me was Shaka Extra Pale Ale, a fine example of what I hope to be a big trend in brewing. Merideth agreed with me on the Pilsner but also picked out Oil Piers Porter, which had nice roast and chocolate flavors, as another standout.
Enegren Brewing in Moorpark
It was a short drive inland to our second destination in Moorpark. Where the Southern California urban sprawl meets agricultural California, Moorpark seemed an odd place for a brewery. We found Enegren Brewing in a business park off the main drag through town.
Valkyrie California Altbier
Enegren had two beers, an Alt and an Imperial IPA, both with a twist. The Valkyrie California Altbier, at 6.2% ABV, I guess could be considered an “imperial” Alt. It had the nice caramel malt flavor but with a much heavier body than the German versions we have had. It wasn’t the session beer we drank endlessly in Düsseldorf, but it was delicious nonetheless.
At only 7.5% ABV, Protector Imperial IPA was on the lighter side of the typical Imperial/Double IPA. The citrus and pine hops were somewhat muted, the dominant feature being a really pleasant, fruity malt character. Surprised at first, Protector ended up really working for me. I enjoyed revisiting the beer a few days later at home thanks to the one liter growler I purchased.
Agoura Hills was another few miles down the road. This was our second visit to this city just inside the Los Angeles County line. We visited Agoura Hills first brewery, Ladyface Ale Companie, back in January 2010.
The beautiful glass mosiac behind the bar
The second brewery in Agoura Hills (and the reason we made the trip) is the newly opened LAB Brewing Co. “LAB” in the LAB Brewing Co. name stands for “Live Art of Brewing.” Like many of us in the beer community, the folks at LAB believe brewing beer is much more than science, it is an art form. Located just off Highway 101 in Agoura Hills, LAB Brewing Co was home to a few other forms of creativity, as well.
Housed in an former chain restaurant, LAB Brewing’s cookie cutter space was transformed into a unique setting by art done by locals. There were a number of murals adorning the walls. The most eye-catching piece was the glass mosaic behind the bar.
Meeting us at LAB were Alan and Roger, the head brewer. LAB has a very impressive guest tap selection but we were there to drink the house beers. Our flight had four of the five house brews, Bad Influence IPA, being the missing beer. New breweries often struggle with learning their kits, but not so at LAB Brewing, where even in its infancy the beers are well-crafted.
The flight at LAB Brewing Co
The Big Ass Red had a really forward hop character, something that makes this sometimes boring style interesting. Take Her Home, Roger’s Belgian-style Tripel, was scarily easy-drinking. My only disappointment was the LAB Wit. While having a pleasant, refreshing taste, it was a bit under-carbonated for my tastes.
The star for both of us in the group was Cold Fusion Java, a coffee Porter. Merideth likened it to iced coffee. Both of us welcomed the coffee addition to the wonderful roasty Porter as it already been a long day.
Bad Influence IPA
Cold Fusion Java was only overshadowed by Bad Influence IPA. Sensing my disappointment that it wasn’t on, Roger poured me a pint from the fermenter. Being dry-hopped with Amarillo at the time, the brew had a beautiful murkiness to it. At 90+ IBUs, there was a tongue-coating, resinous mouthfeel and huge citrus hop bite. Wow! Bad Influence IPA was easily the beer of the day.
Almost as important as beer...
Alan and Roger were equally proud of their food menu, especially the LAB Burger. In fact, the restaurant was running a promotion that week: try the burger and if it wasn’t one of the top 10 in LA, it was free.
Not being burger eaters, Merideth and I opted for the Meat and Cheese selection from the Charcuterie portion of menu. Meat and cheese are the two other important cogs in a beer geek’s diet.
A toast in the brewery
Our day was an eye-opening experience. With good beer and great hospitality, Merideth and I will definitely need to make more trips to the Southland. Even if we don’t make it to LA proper, we know there is good beer on its outskirts. Thanks to Alan and Roger for their wonderful hospitality.
View all the images from our day in the Southland…
