Prior to our trip to Australia, Merideth and I made a run to the Bay Area to purchase beers to bring with us as gifts. As luck would have it, our beer errands turned into a celebration of East Bay beer.
Our day in the East Bay coincided with this year’s release of Drake’s Hopocalypse Double IPA. The release party at their San Leandro brewery was the first stop of the day.
Hopocalypse Day at Drake's Brewery
Arriving late morning, Drake’s Barrel House was already quite busy. Even the outside seating was full, despite a bit of chill in the air. Several long lines formed at the bar and business at the bottle sales table was brisk. The large and enthusiastic crowd affirmed my belief that Drake’s brews some of the best beer in the land.
Besides a regular draft version, Hopocalypse was also served from a cask stuffed full of Citra hops. As an added bonus, Drake’s debuted a Triple IPA version, Hopocalypse Black Label. Our chosen line moved fairly quickly and soon enough Merideth and I were proud owners of a glass of each special brew. (Merideth, being the rebel she is, also brought a Dunkel Wilson to the table.)
Hopocalypse Double IPA on cask
Expecting an explosion of hop flavors, the cask version was delightfully mellow for a brew at 9.3% ABV and 100+ IBUs. It was well-balanced with subtle, yet assertive hop notes on both the nose and taste.
Black Label Triple IPA, with an ABV bumped up to 12.5%, was similarly well-balanced. The hops were even more muted than it’s Double cousin with only a slight alcohol taste. Both beers were dangerously drinkable considering their respective alcohol contents.
As we were finishing our beers, we noticed that the crowd at Drake’s had thinned out considerably. Then we realized everyone had the same plan as ours.
The beer was flowing at Beer Revolution
All the people who beat us out of Drake’s were now at Beer Revolution to celebrate their second anniversary. Negotiating the crowd inside to get to the bar, I marveled that this was the most crowded I had ever seen Beer Revolution.
Worried that I only had one shot at getting beers, I ordered a smorgasbord of brews: Firehouse/Highwater collaboration St. Eve’s Belgesque Goldish Strong Revolutionary Ale, Almanac Winter Wit, Marin Saison de Revolution and Cantillion Kriek.
A bevy of celebratory beers...
We joined a large crowd on Beer Revolution’s outdoor deck, all enjoying the glorious February weather. Despite being at one of the best beers bars around, the day really wasn’t about the beer. Our afternoon was was spent chatting with good friends and celebrating Fraggle and Rebecca’s achievement. Congrats to them on another year of delivering fine beer to a thirsty community!
“New Year’s in Oregon” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.
With a German trip derailed by high airfares, we needed to come up with plan B. The quick and easy choice was the budding beer mecca of Bend, Oregon. Closing out 2011 in Central Oregon, we each visited our 666th brewery, enjoyed a rainy, then snowy Bend Urban Beer Hike and endured a seemingly fruitless quest for tater tots.
So enjoy our latest beer adventures in Oregon…
For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.
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…
With the scuttling of our New Year’s trip to Germany, Merideth and I searched for a new city to welcome in 2012. The key requirement for our new destination was lots of breweries we hadn’t visited. With almost a dozen years since our last visit, Bend, OR was a good choice. With its exploding beer scene, there were plenty of new breweries to add to The List.
Bend, OR
With most of these breweries centrally located, Bend was excellent for a walking beer tour. The forecast for rain and chilly temperatures didn’t deter Merideth and I setting out from our riverside hotel late morning on the eve of New Year’s Eve. The day’s Urban Beer Hike would be comprised of seven stops and follow a giant loop that ended downtown. As we passed through Bend’s downtown into the Old Town Historic District, we were pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the warm sun.
Boneyard Beer
Our first destination, Boneyard Beer, was located on the edge of the historic district. Boneyard was easy to pick out amongst the old bungalows, as it looked conspicuously like a former auto body shop. Arriving a few minutes shy of opening time, Merideth and I enjoyed a bit of sun therapy in the chilly air.
A unique beer tapping system
Walking into the tiny tasting room, the first thing we noticed was the unique beer dispensing system. The beer cooler, covered with beer stickers, was one of those chest-style freezers that opens from the top. Tap fittings protruded from the sides and restaurant bus trays served as drip pans.
The excellent beer selection at Boneyard
After the long drive from Eugene, beer was a very welcome sight. Their first offering was Femme Fatale, which had the apropos nickname of “the breakfast beer.” A wild ale with raspberries, Femme Fatale had a pleasant sourness. Next up was Backbone, a Chocolate Expresso Stout. Merideth likened it to iced coffee. After a Red Ale, we finished with the star for me and candidate for beer of the trip. Hop Venom Imperial IPA, 80 IBU, 10% ABV, was a hop monster.
Our growlerette of Femme Fatale
Though we would see more of them later in the day, new to us at Boneyard were “growlerettes,” 32 ounce bottles. Both Merideth and I felt we HAD to have one. I was transfixed because the half-sized growler was, in my mind, a great beer innovation. Merideth wanted one because she thought the Boneyard skull and crossbones logo made the bottle look like some old time cure-all medicine.
If Merideth had her choice, the growlerette would have been filled with the Chocolate Expresso Stout. My choice would have been Hop Venom. Showing what 22 years of marriage has taught us, we compromised and bought the Femme Fatale.
Lunch time at Brew Werks
In our short time at Boneyard, the sun had disappeared and black clouds menaced in the vicinity. Our next destination was in the Old Mill District, whose tell-tale three smokestacks we could see off in the distance. A few minutes into the mile-long leg, a cold rain began to fall, causing Merideth and I to quicken our pace.
Old Mill Brew Werks was located in a series of office buildings set off from the main shopping area of the Old Mill District. Arriving slightly damp, we were happy not only to get out of the rain but also to get some food, as we hadn’t really eaten yet that day.
Merideth enjoying a Brew Werks Paranoia Pale Ale
Old Mill Brew Werks had ten taps but only two dispensed house-brewed beer. Merideth ordered the Paranoia Pale Ale, while I, true to form, went with the Irreverence IPA. I pity the beer that followed Hop Venom and Brew Werks IPA was that beer. A nice IPA, but it paled in comparison to my early contender for beer of trip.
With some food and more beer in our bellies, we were ready to brave the elements again. Similar to our previous leg, we could see our third destination, the Deschutes production brewery across the Deschutes River. Donning our rain coats, hats and gloves, we set out again.
The Deschutes production brewery
When we traveled to Bend in 1999, Deschutes’ downtown brewpub was one of the two breweries we visited. For the Urban Beer Hike, I was somewhat ambivalent about visiting Deschutes again. I enjoy their beer but figured there wouldn’t be anything I couldn’t get at home. Then I remembered an important Urban Beer Hike rule: always build pee stops into the hike.
Enjoying a beer at the Deschutes tasting room
Deschutes’ location on the road to the ski slopes guaranteed a large crowd. And crowded it was. The somewhat large tasting room and gift shop was packed with vacationers, some tasting beer while others milled around waiting for a tour. Large groups would disappear into the back for the tour and instantly be replaced by an equal number or more. Merideth and I grabbed a tiny corner of the bar in the corner of the room to enjoy our taster set.
I was hoping for some special one-off brews, but as expected, it was the standard Deschutes lineup (which was not a bad thing). We drank brewery-fresh versions of old standbys such a Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Black Butte Porter. One of the treats of the stop was Red Chair IPA, a really nice IPA that we don’t often see in our neck of the woods. Plus, I got a glass of the much-sought-after The Abyss, probably my last taste of this year’s version.
The fish pointing the way to our next stop
Leaving Deschutes, the rain had slackened but we noticed that it had gotten markedly colder while we were inside. The walk to Good Life Brewing was one of the shorter segments of the day but halfway there, it began to snow. And I had my first panic attack of the Bend Urban Beer Hike.
The Good Life Christmas Tree
From the street, I couldn’t see anything that looked like a business in the industrial looking building. I really didn’t see any cars or people either. I began to curse my douchephone for leading us astray in the cold and rain. The main cause of my anxiety was that I was wearing shorts and didn’t want to get stranded out in the elements. Then I noticed an interior courtyard and Good Life was located on the backside of this, well hidden from the street.
The bar area only occupied a small portion of the large space that housed Good Life. A number of windowed garage-type doors gave the area a really open and airy feel despite the gray weather. Good Life must be a great place to hang out on a warm day when they have those doors open.
Merideth drinking the Good Life
Good Life was full of refugees from the slopes. We sat at the last two seats at the bar and ordered a taster flight of their four beers. For me, the best of the four was Descender IPA, maybe the best regular IPA of the trip.
10 Barrel Brewing
It was another short walk through a residential neighborhood to our fifth stop of the day, 10 Barrel Brewing. Unfortunately, this location was just a pub. Since no brewing was done on-site, we couldn’t count 10 Barrel on the brewery list.
The sampler at 10 Barrel Brewing
10 Barrel’s small restaurant and bar were both packed and we struggled to find space to put down our ten beer sample tray while we waited for a table. Precariously placing the tray on the top of a barrel, we tried to get through each beer without feeling too harried.
Apocalypse IPA
We met some Monterey area friends for dinner at 10 Barrel. And, as often is the case, we got very distracted by “friend time.” In short, my recommendation from 10 Barrel is Apocalypse IPA, a brew with nice citrus and pine flavors. Merideth’s favorite was, oddly, the India Session Ale, a light-bodied, hoppy brew.
It was dark when we left 10 Barrel and headed back across the Deschutes River. Our final two stops on the Urban Beer Hike were in downtown Bend, thus completing the loop that we began at 10:30am that morning.
The sample flight at Bend Brewing
First up was Bend Brewing, the other brewery we visited on our previous trip in 1999. Funny thing, when Merideth and I sat down at the bar, we kind of gave each other a perplexed look. Maybe it was the dark lighting, maybe it was all the beer we drank that day, but neither of us remembered the place. It’s on The List, though, so we must have been there.
At this point in our Urban Beer Hike, another ten beer sample tray was not necessarily a welcome sight. But that’s what we got. We each just should have ordered a pint at called it a night at Bend Brewing.
The final stop!
Our last stop, Silver Moon Brewing was a short walk up the street from Bend Brewing. Our previous four stops were all crazy busy so it was nice that Silver Moon was comparatively mellow.
Mercifully, there were only eight beers in the Silver Moon sample tray. The requisite IPA and Black IPA were nice but I’ll give a shout out to their Bridge Creek Pilsner as the perfect finishing beer for a Bend Urban Beer Hike.
The new fallen snow crinkled under our feet as we trudged back to our hotel. Despite the rain and snow, getting distracted and losing steam at the end, we covered a little over seven miles and visited seven beer stops. Our Urban Beer Hike was a great re-introduction to Bend.
Have you ever started a hobby that became a beastly obsession? Of course you have. You’re a beer geek. I’m not one to talk, though, because Chris and I certainly can’t deny that our brewery list has become anything less than an obsession of beastly proportion. We had no idea back in 1992 when we started visiting breweries that today we’d be boasting about having visited more than 670. And you don’t get to brewery #674 (#675 for Chris) without first reaching the devilish number of the beast: 666.
Well, let me tell you about how Chris and I each hit brewery #666 on the first day of last weekend’s trip to Portland.
As we are wont to do, we left on Thursday at an ungodly (or beastly, if you will) hour in order to take an early flight out of San Jose. After arriving in Portland, we drove 50 minutes south to Silverton, OR, where we hit Seven Brides, our first brewery of the trip.
Seven Brides in Silverton
Seven Brides is a large family-friendly establishment offering the usual range of beer styles. The name stems from the reason the brewery was started in the first place: 3 dads and 2 uncles needed a way to pay for the future weddings of their 7 daughters who currently range in age from 4-17 years old.
The taster set at Seven Brides
One of the fun things about the brewery is that each beer is named after one of the daughters in the family. After a taster set, Chris ordered the Lauren’s Pale Ale, a solid flavorful beer. Much to our delight, the pint was $1 off in honor of it being Lauren’s birthday week. Becky’s Black Cat Porter and Frankenlou’s IPA also went well with our lunch of carnitas quesadilla and chicken tacos. And no, Frankenlou is not the name of one of the daughters. It’s a combination of the girl’s nickname (Lou) and a desire to make a monstrous IPA.
Enjoyng a beer at Seven Brides
The hospitality at Seven Brides was everything you’d expect in a small rural brewery. One of the owners, Jeff DeSantis, stopped to chat with us at the bar. And in a very motherly way, our server expressed concern when we told her about our plan to drive over the mountains to Bend the next day. The forecast was for rain at lower elevations, so you know what that means higher up. She even went so far as to offer a less treacherous route than the one we planned. “You drive safely now,” she told us when we left.
Oakshire Brewing in Eugene
An hour and a half later, we arrived at our second stop: Oakshire Brewing in Eugene. It was Chris’s 666th brewery. Getting to Oakshire (pronounced oak-shyer, not oak-sure), feels a lot like getting lost, as it’s located in between a criss-crossing of railroad tracks on the outskirts of town. It’s a beautiful sight when you do finally arrive and does not disappoint.
Oakshire only has tasting hours on Saturdays from noon-4pm, but Monday through Friday 3-6pm, they’re open for “dock sales,” where you can taste a few samples before making your purchase. During our visit, most people made quick stops to fill up their growlers, pick up kegs and purchase bottles to go.
Oakshire, Chris' 666th brewery
Our hostess was friendly and knowledgeable and best of all, she didn’t even ask about the devil horns Chris sprouted while drinking the Watershed IPA, a crisp tasting brew with 75 IBUs. From their single batch beers, we liked The Nutcracker, a spiced imperial porter, as well as the year-round offering, Overcast Espresso Stout. Both were dangerous, however, as The Nutcracker was an easy drinking 8% and the stout provided the equivalent of one jolting espresso shot per pint. There was no resisting the beer altogether, though, and we bought a few bottles to bring home.
Chris’s horns quickly disappeared as we drove the short distance to Ninkasi Brewing and mysteriously grew out of my head as we arrived.
Ninkasi, my 666th brewery
Ninkasi was the perfect brewery to be my 666th. We walked through a very goth looking wrought iron gate into the courtyard and approached the building with bright green walls. The ambiance inside the decently-sized tasting room felt dark and slightly sinister. It was already full, but not over crowded, when we arrived around 4pm, so we set ourselves up in the corner with our taster set. I now donned the devilish horns, but no one even seemed to notice. I tried to act cool, like I didn’t notice them either. Eventually we were able to make our way up to the bar to continue drinking our sampler set.
The Sterling Pils was the star
Many of the beers were familiar to us–Total Domination IPA, Tricerahops Double IPA, Oatis Oatmeal Stout. But there were also a few we had never seen, which is yet another reason to visit breweries. They often have brews only available there. For me, the overwhelming standout was their brand new release, Sterling Pils, a snappy German-style pils. Who knew they even had one! They also had these tasty mixed nuts that we ate while finishing up our taster set.
And that was that. We’d each reached the number of the beast and had a devilishly good time doing it!
