21st Amendment (San Francisco, CA)

7/8/13

We took the opportunity to hit 21st Amendment for dinner before going to an amazingly long baseball game that went sixteen innings.  I made a brief stop at 21A years ago but wanted to check my memory since it was convenient with the game.  21A is lively brewpub with better than average line up of beer and good pub grub to go with it.  The spartan decor is causal and the crowd was lively.  The pub seems to benefit greatly by being near the stadium, so the beer is their standard line with a few additions rather than an adventuresome brewpub. 21A is a perfectly good stop that I would recommend to those going to a game, but I won't go out of my way to drink it again. I'll just buy six packs at home.

Drafts on site

Brew Free or Die: brash and hoppy IPA that's a bit better on tap than the cans I buy a my local store in Minnesota.

Big Cat Pale Ale: off white head over a marmalade colored ale; good nose with lots of citrus and fruit hops with heavy caramel; taste muddled but ok; disappointed in the taste compared to the promise of the nose.

Double dipped, beer batter, thick cut Onion Hoops

Love Boat: beautifully floral nose with the Mosaic hops; harsh singular hop bite on the tongue with the characteristic 21A caramel and malt base with a bit too much hops to balance; similar to Brew Free but a different hop blend.

Guest Drafts

Drake's Drakonic Stout: matches description well; strong liquorice and roast in the taste; alcohol and coffee lead in the nose; coffee more of a roast in the taste and a smooth, viscous taste with a dry bite to finish on top of the sweetness.

Half Moon Bay Brewing Co (Half Moon Bay, CA)

7/7/13

Half Moon Bay Brewing was a pub I've come across in my reading and it just happen to come at the end of our drive back from Monterey Bay to San Francisco. Great stop but not what I expected.

Beer was good.  The Mavericks Hefeweizen was to style and full of flavor. Next draft was Mavericks I and I Double IPA: cloudy orange ale with an off white head; strong hop nose with northwest citrus and caramel breadiness; sweet with a bite on the tongue.

Beer battered artichoke hearts for an appetizer. Very good and a fun to eat a local dish with all of artichoke fields coming up from Monterey Bay.  We then shared the garlic cheese bread with homemade marinara. I like our repeated encounters with garlic from Gilroy, which gave it an amazingly full flavor without it being overwhelming. I would eat a lot more garlic if it was like this.

Half Moon has more of an upscale restaurant feel rather than a brewpub. Sitting across the road from the beach, it has a relax vibe that's seems to be more about the food than the beer, but worth the stop.

Cannery Row Brewery (Monterey, CA)

7/5/13

After a full and fun day at Monterey Bay Aquarium, we needed a place for a pint and dinner.  I had researched Cannery Row Brewery, so knew that it wasn't a brewpub. In spite of a personal pet peeve of bars with brewery in the name that aren't an actual breweries, the 73 taps were enough to mollify me.

CRB does have "signature brews " that are contract beers to try to live up to the name.  I haven't found similar beers in the past bars to be worth the effort, so I couldn't bring myself to try them. So, I started with a draft of Cismontane Black Dawn, which was smooth and almost tasted barrel aged. While, it didn't warm up well, it was more than adequate.  The follow up pint was Ninkasi Tricera-Hops. In spite of its formidable name, the nose was very weak; the beer felt imbalanced and fuzzy tasting, similar to its appearance: mediocre and disappointing. I keep trying Ninkasi and am often disappointed.

For a more local review, check out Brew for Thought. I agree with the food review. The Tortilla Flats Quesadilla with grilled portobello, three cheeses and assorted fixings was excellent and enough for a meal. Even better was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet with ice cream on the side. Cookie warm and gooey and a bit underdone inside.  Perfect. 

CRB was busy on a Friday night and loud. We were happy that the band was only doing a sound check for a later gig, but it was comfortable enough on the edge of the bar with just canned music. Overall, the pub was better than going to a chain restaurant. Brew for Thought noted a lack of a big hoppy beer or more interesting sour or barrel aged beers; in spite of the large number of taps, it was surprisingly difficult to find a new draft for the visit.  CRB has a pretty standard list that was served well enough for in the heart of the tourist district of Monterey Bay.  

Highway 1 Brewing Co (Pescadero, CA)

7/7/13

After a weekend in Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Aquarium, we headed north back to The City via Highway 1 coast scenery. We were planning to stop at Pigeon Point Lighthouse when we noticed a brewery on this lone stretch of California coast.

Being early in the day, we were the only patrons in the pub and ordered a sample tray at the bar and chatted with the waitress.  The Knuckle Down Brown was thin for the style and my least favorite.  Of my favorites, Amberdextrous is an amber ale that's slightly light but very flavorful with a hop bite and a burnt wheat bread underneath; Anna the waitress helped with the brew. Also in the running for best beer was Trollup, a Belgian ale infused with strawberries. Overall, Trollup was a hazy yellow Belgian Ale with a solid yeast funk. The strawberry flavor was light but it's a tough fruit to get a bold taste.

French Mexican is a glistening yellow saison with a white head that's infused with jalepeno peppers. Sounds like an odd combo (and it is), but the yeasty spice mixes nicely with the pepper for a very aromatic nose. Best in the place.

I loved this stop because they really seemed to be working hard to craft a brewery out of the stark coast. Every brewery story I've read seemed to come alive in Highway 1 Brewing. It's the only brewery I've seen marked off by kegs to separate it from the bar—definitely a brewery that is digging deep to make it work. Most of the ales had a house taste from the yeast, but the attitude and heart was apparent in the unique and bold beers.  Even though every beer didn't work, I would love to return in a year or five to taste them when they completely get on their feet.

Seabright Brewery (Santa Cruz, CA)

7/4/13

With tickets for an evening fireworks cruise, we arrived early to the port of Santa Cruz to park and find our way to the boat. Reading online, we were warned of the severe traffic on the 4th of July. Once settled, we used our phones to find a place to eat before the cruise. Seabright popped up within a short walking distance and we happily tromped up steep set of stairs from the dock to the main road for 1/4 mile walk.

Bustling on the holiday, we luckily got a quick seat on the patio and ordered beers and ubiquitous central California garlic fries. Heavily laden, we indulged in the sweet, punget fries with thick Gilroy garlic and downed a few good beers.  The Blur, a Northwest IPA, was my favorite, though only moderately hoppy.  On a summer day, The Stinger was light, sweet and an easy drinking wheat beer.

Seabright is a more than decent brewpub with a bit of a chain feel; however, it was the right port for us.  While not nearly as radical as our evening boat ride through an ocean filled with thousands of dark winged sea birds and chasing illegal beach fireworks, Seabright is a very respectable stop that we enjoyed.

Cerveceria de MateVeza (San Francisco, CA)

7/13/13 visit

When our friends Danielle, Kelli and family met up with us in San Francisco, they took us for a drink at a local lesbian bar, reputedly (and amazingly) the only one left in San Francisco. Along the route from our Castro apartment, I spied Cerveceria de MateVeza and we decided to return on our last night in town.

The bartender Brendan was clearly used to answering questions while pouring these unique beers, so we took advantage and moved into a couple open seats at the very small bar to drink and chat. As of last summer, the 20 gallon brewery had been around almost a year and a half.  They have a couple flagship beers—Yerbe Mate IPA and Morpho Herbal Ale—that are brewed off site with drafts beers brewed on site (I think, or some similar combination). The only food is El Porteno empanadas, some vegetarian, which were excellent and made us wonder why this wasn't our late night stop every night. Oh well.

MateVeza is worth a visit because of the mind blowing freshness of their brewing ideas. Avoiding traditional beer ingredients, their beers are balanced with spices like the IPA replaces hops with Yerbe Mate. Very unusual and amazing flavors out of these beers, and I haven't felt so adventuresome in my drinking for a very long time. The names and ingredients are not a standard part of my world, so each beer was a leap of faith, an effort that were mostly rewarded.

Server Brendan w IPA (full) and Vintage Morpho.
Beer and empanadas board (right). Brewery
can be in the corner. 

Here's a few notes on what  we sampled:

Fernet and Coke: supposed to be a beery replicate of an Italian liquor called Fernet mixed with Coke. Very herbal and fun. Brewer/bartender said it was blended to reduce the first versions herbal character. Not being familiar with the drink, I can only suppose it's accuracy.

Prodigal Saison: spicy nose with a fruity center to a dry finish. Awesome white lace. We both liked this one a lot.

Yerba Mate IPA: rust orange beer with a white head that lingers a bit. Floral nose with a pretty spice fruitiness. Dry finish that follows a light but not thin bodied beer with a slight caramel in the center. Brewed at Mendocino.

Vintage Morpho: aged version of their regular herbal ale that was fun to drink. Brendan let us sample of sour mash version of Morpho with a change of herbs that was still fermenting but showed promise. The heart of the Morpho could be clearly tasted in the new version, but it was a clear and interesting departure.

As a veteran beer hunter, I can often guess a lot about what's in my glass from website construction, atmosphere and descriptions.  Unfortunately, drinking a new place can sometimes be less than surprising or inspirational.  MateVeza is a place to stop when in San Francisco simply because it's so far off the beer map that it will return a wizened old drinker to a time when every beer was an adventure.

Healthy Spirits (San Francisco, CA)

Last summer, we had the great pleasure of living for a week in the Castro while being tourists in San Francisco. Most of the brewpubs and bars we visited were closer to downtown and, locally, the bars nearest the house didn't offer a wide selection of drafts. However, Healthy Spirits was a very welcomed source of great beer that was a few blocks walk (or a short bus ride) up the hill.

I found it shortly after we arrived; unfortunately, it was after trying several other places. Minnesota friends happened to be in The City at the same time, and we had an impromptu barbecue at our apartment. The very friendly and knowledgeable help at Healthy Spirits allowed me to bring some very fine bottles to our group of beery friends. In short, it's the only beer store I've found that rivals, or surpasses, the Four Firkins. If spending any time in or near the Castro, this is the place to stock up.

Here's a sampling of the week:

Triple Voodoo Grand Cru. Healthy Spirits exclusive barrel aged version of the TV Grand Cru. Dave told me that he bottles from full barrels of bourbon to sell in the shop and then sends the barrels to local breweries. Honey, blue agave nectar, coriander and orange peel are added to this version. Burnished copper color with dark gold highlights and an off white head that falls quickly. Elegant nose with the above plus fig and some alcohol underneath. Smells a bit like a quad but lighter. Flavors meld well and flow over the tongue. Very good ale and a great first beer from this brewery.

Stone RuinTen.  Unable to find this at home before leaving, I was so happy to buy a couple. Just awesome.

Knee Deep Brewing Hoptologist DIPA. Brash and harsh bite on the tongue. Good if you like a sharp hop bite. Almost white head over a shining amber gold ale. Enormous citrus nose and a light biscuit base. Sweet on the tongue followed by strong hop bite that has a burn that feeds the beast. Fun hop forward brew that I would enjoy more when more hydrated. Almost sweet finish and a lingering hop.

Knee Deep Simtra. Marmalade ale with a white head. Clean, singular hop nose. Slightly oily taste and some hop bite but the sweetness and the bitterness don't meld completely. Not as good as the Boneyard we had at Toronado this afternoon. Hop lingers nicely on he tongue.

Pretty Things Ale Project Fluffy White Rabbits. These guys can be hit or miss,and this one is a miss for me. Muddled nose with some clear spice from hop and yeast, but the balance just doesn't make it. Side of the bottle says floral, and it is that. But this hazy orange beer with a white head has a lot of promise and is clearly well crafted, it falls short for me.

Triple Voodoo barrel aged Inception. Bottle 244 of 432 made for Healthy Spirits by aging in a barrel provided by HS. hazy gold ale with circling white film from a head that barely forms. Spice, yeast and light pepper nose that seems muted compared to the straight Inception but nice. Fruitiness on the tongue that finishes dry nice but unusually like the straight better. Straight version of TV Inception rated a bit higher for me, though I love that HS does it's own specialty aging.

Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse (Berkeley, CA)

7/4/13

In an earlier life, we lived and I coached speech and debate in LA. Each year I took my students to the Berkeley tournament in February. Gloria wanted to see the infamous Berkeley and I was reliving some old times. We enjoyed our walk around campus and replaced my Cal hat from the first tournament the Taft speechies attended. Sadly, some things are better left in the past—specifically, Fat Slice pizza didn't live up to my shades of memory.

In my previous (and only) personal trip to Berkeley, I met a friend at the Pyramid Alehouse, so I've been look forward to make up the missed opportunity to drink the Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse of Berkeley. On their website, Triple Rock places itself as the fifth brewpub ever in the US and the oldest one still owned by the originators. Walking in the door, the amount of cool breweriana is dizzying. According to Jesse, one of the TR staff members, it is all quite real and that the owner has enough to decorate the place several times over. It has the authentic feel of what TJ Friday's tries to accomplish. I found myself quite distracted the entire visit looking at historical brewery names I didn't know. With history literally in and on the walls, I was looking forward to adding Triple Rock to my database.

Quick table service on the 4th of July, so we ordered a draft of Lady Friend, a seasonal Belgian ale: pleasant yeasty spice and complex and delicate fruity taste. Very nice start. The very floral Big Juice pale ale was next in line for the best of the samples. The rest were all relatively good, but a bit thin for style shows up repeatedly in my notes.  IPAX IPA had a big, raw hop bite that more than soothed my hop monster after a few days in wine country.

One of our main reasons for trying Triple Rock on this trip was the vegan friendly menu.  Main course for us was the BBQ Seitan Sandwich, which was a bit messy but good; however, it didn't match up to the BBQ poor boy at our home Triple Rock Social Club.  The vegan chili (listed vegan but the waiter warned not vegan with cheese and sour cream that can be left off) was much better, as were the natural cut fries, tasting similar to In-n-Out fries we had been eating most of the week.

Overall, we very much enjoyed our stop. Solid beer drafts to wash down our choice from a range of veggie options, others of which I would like to try next time. With our one time stop, the darker or bigger beers seemed to be the best. Very near the university, Triple Rock seems to me to be a great training ground for young liberal minds to soak up some craft beer before heading off to change the world.

Stone Vertical Epic Tasting

VE 03.03.03

While the exact details of how and when I heard of the Stone Vertical Epic series is buried in the foggy past, I do remember being excited by the concept. Stone was impossible to get in Minnesota until recently, so I missed out on the 02. On a trip to California the next year, I found the .03 and was then on a quest to find the rest.

Unfortunately, drinking the range over the last couple of weeks, there's no holy grail. While a few were very good to drink yet, not one was better than the first go around. Based on the styles brewed, I suspected a problem all along.  The .02 was a witbier, destined to not aged well. The rest were Belgian ales of varying strengths. The .08, a Belgian IPA, held promise but four years of aging was too much as well.

More interesting than the tasting was remembering the travels necessary for the coast to coast effort to gather the collection. .03 and .04 from Irvine and Oakland, CA, respectively, and the .07 came from Exton, PA. Only three drafts of a VE ever: .07 and .08 at Brasserie V in Madison before Great Tastes and the .11 on site at the Stone World Bistro. Picked up the .05 in West Lafayette, IN during our annual trip to a Purdue football game. After two years of buying .08 and .09 online at Beer on the Wall,  I was able to buy the last years in Minnesota when Stone finally moved into the state.

I don't regret buying the series but definitely disappointed. Granted, my hopes were high in spite of the clear evidence. Still fun and educational, especially since I've learned a fair bit about how my own cellar ages beers over a longer time period. While the Vertical Epic series was a magnificent and inspiring idea, it simply did not deliver.

Here's the beer by beer notes for those interested:

VE 03.03.03: off white rocky head that falls slowly to a thin film over a copper colored Belgian ale with amber highlights along the edges; horse blanket, toffee, dark fruit, spice and cinnamon in the nose which is complex; semi-sweet on the tongue, low carbonation, over-ripe prune and a bitter finish; alcohol is strong and unbalanced. All of the recent BA reviews are all in the same vein—beer didn't live up to the ten years in the cellar.

VE 04.04.04: hard pour to build a barely-there white head over a dark straw gold ale; malt and yeasty spice in the nose plus a musty staleness; sweet maltiness floods the tongue plus a nice spice from hops and/or yeast; not bad but also past it's prime. Again, my original tasting was much more satisfying.

VE 05.05.05: high pour down the center to raise a light brown head over a dark maroon ale with ruby highlights; heavy malt and dark cherry with a light spice in the nose; fruitiness washes over the tongue with a lingering maltiness; sherry notes from a bit of oxidation but an improvement over the .03 and .04 but still downhill from the original tasting.

VE 06.06.06: one of my least favorites of the VE when fresh; hard pour down the center and the light brown head barely rises, alcohol wafts up at a distance; light malt and alcohol in the nose and little else; thin body with an acrid pinch on the tongue; dark fruit in the dry finish. My opinion has not changed about the 06; it's still the weakest, though it doesn't show the oxidation of the 03 or 04.

VE 07.07.07: only a thin white head over a marmalade colored ale; light spice, orange and sweet malt in nose; fruitiness, yeast spice and slight oxidation spreads over the tongue with a light acidic bite; good but it seems to have lost a step and some balance from my last tasting.

VE 08.08.08: stark white head lingers a while before falling to a film; amber ale with shimmering gold highlights is promising; hop has fallen out of this Belgian IPA from nose and taste; mostly funk left and little to balance; aged a year, I was much more impressed with a bottle of the 08 in spite of being less enamored with a draft.

VE 09.09.09: thick, creamy tan head that builds quickly and hangs on; dark cherry, chocolate, spice and a hint of oxidization that blends nicely for an intriguing nose; smooth and full bodied, it fills the mouth with chocolate and toffee tones, a slight burnt malt hidden underneath and maybe a hop presence trying to make itself known. The 2009 edition has held up well and the best so far.

VE 10.10.10: near white head dissipates immediately, leaving a orange and gold ale; pretty nose of spice, pepper, lemon, yeast and bready sweetness; sweet and spicy on the tongue, front to back; slight oxidation dulls it a bit but the overall impression is good.  It has held up for the three years but it can't go much longer.

VE 11.11.11: thick, tightly-bubbled off white head piles up over a copper ale, and the beauty ends there; nose is dank with dark chocolate and cherry underneath; taste is stale malt with some fruit underneath; so far, the recent beers have improved but the 11 is the exception of the steady improvement from .03 to .10.

VE 12.12.12: hard pour barely lifted the light brown head over a pitch black ale; complex herb and spice nose with dark fruit, fig and cherry; full body fills the mouth with herbs and spices flowing over the tongue; sweet to cloyingly off the back; very good but not the excellent I remember from my 12.12.12 birthday.

Downtown Joe's Brewery & Restaurant (Napa, CA)

7/3/13

Downtown Joe's in the heart of Napa

Planned in advance, we had dinner at Downtown Joe's in Napa after a day of sampling wines in the valley. While we enjoyed the drive and the sampling the valley's wine, especially the port offerings at Prager Winery and Port Works (the only wine we bought), finishing our day at brewpub in the iconic bastion of wine country was irresistible.

Since most of the wineries close early (by 4:30 pm or earlier), we made happy hour and got discounted appetizers for dinner. Garlic Beer Fries were very good and hit the spot, versions of which we've had through out the trip in northern California. The homemade guacamole was fine but below par for what I expected for being out west and the chips didn't support well enough.

Overdue Porter and Tantric IPA

Skipped getting samples and went right for the hops of the Tantric IPA: thin white head and a orange marmalade color like Masala Mama; strong grapefruit and apricot in the nose with a floral and spicy hoppiness; blended hop bite and a balanced sweetness; a very strong IPA hidden in the legendary land of vineyards. Gloria's Overdue Porter was solid for the style and warmed nicely as we ate.

On the recom of our solicitous bartender, I finished with the double IPA, Double Secret Probation: delicate stark white lacing over an amber ale with gold highlighted; clean singular hop nose with sweet breadiness and honey underneath; taste is sharp and chewy; slightly hot and a little out of balance. Bartender said the beer's name is an allusion to Animal House. Evidently the movie was filmed at the University of Oregon (Ducks), the alma mater of the actual Downtown Joe. The bartender preferred this over the Tantric because it had more punch (alcohol) but the bar actually sells more Tantric

Garlic Beer Fries

Another 100 plus degree July day in the inland, we survived only with cranking the air in the car between stops plus the industrial strength misting systems of Sterling Vineyards. As a result, we really appreciated the almost chilly AC in the pub in spite of it being in a historic building (100 year old Oberon building, a Napa landmark according to the sign). Settling into the comfortable restaurant for dinner with seemingly all locals, we enjoyed the food, beer and welcoming feel. Downtown Joe's is a great place to get a post-winery hop fix.

Brewery at Downtown Joe's

Ukiah Brewing (Ukiah, CA)

Ukiah Brewing

7/2/13

On the way to our night on the coast at Timber Cove Inn, we had limited time for a lunch stop in Ukiah. Beer travel is always about decisions. We almost drove out of the way to Lagunitas that we had done a few days earlier, but the 108 degree inland temperature dissuaded us of this option. In Ukiah, the choice is between Mendocino Brewing's Ale House and Ukiah Brewing. Medocino is more easily available, so we decided to hit the local-only beer stop that had the veggie friendly menu.

Walking in the steepled downtown building on the corner, we sat at a high top table just inside the door, relieved that the AC was working well. Garlic bites (versions of which, especially Gilroy garlic, we've been eating all week) and a full rack of all of the samples to start. Overall, the samples were fairly well brewed but only a few would inspire me to another pint. Easily the best beer of the stop was the Emancipator, a rich and flavorful doppelbock that's was a bit hot and lacks cohesion for the style; however, it was fun to drink. The most unique beer from this organic brewery was the Narrow Yarrow: yarrow flowers substituted for hops; some malt in the nose but no flowery support; floral note shows on the tongue with a sweetness; interesting but not excellent. The natural cut fries were satisfying but the tempeh burger read better on the menu than a reality, or it may have lacked in comparison to the amazing tempeh burger that we had at Stone World Bistro last year.

Garlic bites with fresh dill sauce

From the size of the speakers nearby, the place seems to be a nightly music venue, so maybe that is their role in the community. Taking a look at the About Us section of their website, UBC, as it's known locally, was the first certified organic brewery in the United States in 2000 (2nd organic restaurant). I was perfectly happy with the stop, having few delusions from reading the reviews. While not an amazing brewery that I will go out of my way for again, clearly UBC very much believes in its mission and works to fulfill it in this small California community.

The Local Beer Bar (Eureka, CA)

Cool and unique tap board

7/1/13

After Lost Coast Brewery, we walked over to The Local Beer Bar. Eureka rolls up the streets at 10 pm (confirmed by the bartender), so we moved quickly after dinner to have pint.

What a tap list. For me, this is the new model for a beer bar: a small, informed and well served list. We struggled to pick a beer, but three strikes (samples) are allowed before having to choose.

I started with Iron Fist's Nelson the Imp-Paler: pale ale with Nelson Saugvin hops; super clear lager yellow but not thin at all with a clean hop fruitiness; bites clean and the hops linger. The Mad River John Barleycorn was adequate but didn't live up to expectation but draft of Bacchus from Brouwerij von Honsebrouck renewed hope: nice sour but a bit thin and middle of the road to be impressive but very acceptable. I ended with 101 North's Herione IPA: sweet and malty IPA with a clean, brash hop charge. Good choice.

Our bartender, who I neglected to write down her name, was extremely patient and very knowledgeable. Point of fact, my bias, a level of service I didn't expect to find in Eureka. While each beer wasn't served in a brewery glass, they were served in a glass close to style. Small food offering, including veggie empanadas, but we were full from Lost Coast, so didn't check it out.

At the bar, we met two young men having a beer before heading to a local organic farm the next morning to work a two month stint for room, board and a bit of spending money. In chatting with one, he had done two years of college but it didn't fit.  He felt his family was disappointed with him compared to his educated and "successful" siblings. He could have been any one of my students, trying to find his way and needing support.  We told both of them we admired their quest and wished them luck.

Just a quite night with a jazzy background, a bartender and four people at a bar in Eureka, California, in the shadow of the redwoods. The rush of a successful beer quest plus pleasant conversion while bellied up to the bar made for a great stop. Hope more locals hit The Local Beer Bar because this it is a beauty.

Lost Coast Brewery (Eureka, CA)

Lost Coast Brewery

7/1/13

After driving through the Avenue of Giants and up to Redwood National Forest, we headed down to Eureka to spend the night. We stayed at the historic Eureka Inn, a disappointment except that it was an easy walk home from the downtown breweries.

First stop of the evening was for dinner at Lost Coast Brewery. Order of lemon pepper parmesan fries were very tasty to tide us while trying a sampler tray of brews. The fruit beers like Raspberry Brown and Tangerine Wheat were all adequate but not very inspiring. The standard line up of beers were a level better, especially the hoppy ales. 8 Ball Stout and AlleyCat Amber were a step up from the fruit ales, but better were the Lost Coast Pale Ale with a soft hop nose over a sweet caramel back bone and the Indica IPA with a bold hop bite and a grassy, dry finish.

Fish taco

Lost Coast Tacos for dinner. Mine had a crisp, crunchy battered outside with a delicate white fish inside surrounded with a flour tortilla, shredded cabbage, lime sour cream and fresh pico de gallo. Ordered a draft of Great White Beer with my taco: spice on the tongue is complex and stimulating to drink; secret blend of Humboldt County herbs, according to the menu; light and refreshing with a lot of flavor. One of only two LC beers I've had before, it's light and refreshing with a light of flavor. Understated spiciness of the beer blends well with the bready and slightly fishy tacos. Gloria had the tofu version of the taco and liked it as well. A nice range of veggie options on the menu for being so far north, and we appreciated the choice.

Lost Coast is a family friendly restaurant, even on a Saturday night visit. Feels like a bar in my small hometown in Iowa but with a lot better beer. The slightly slow but friendly service with quick, honest recommendations. The rustic atmosphere that was loud but still pleasant to talk in. Overall, it's a place in which the beer is about what I expected and has a warm, welcoming feel that many locals seem to call home.

North Coast Brewing Taproom (Fort Bragg, CA)

6/30/13

North Coast tap room and restaurant. 

"That's not a kitty!" Walking home from North Coast's tap house, we saw down the block something walking away from a trash can.  The B&B next door (that we didn't get a room for) had a house cat according to the website, so we made an assumption that the kitty was in the street being naughty. When "it" turned, the profile was clearly NOT a kitty, but we couldn't identify what it was in the dark. We now have a new experession for anything unexpected, "That's not a kitty."

For out stop in Fort Bragg, the saying is appropriate. While the beers of North Coast are famous, and worthy of it, the stop was very different than I imagined. At Anderson Valley, our new friends Dave and Meredith had shown up too early for the restaurant (opens at 4 pm), ending up at a nearby bar and chatted with a disgruntled local about the negative relationship the brewery has with the small seaside community.  We didn't sense any of that dynamic on our stop but the restaurant does feel out of place.

Drafts worth travelling to drink

To buy time to order some food, we jumped into drafts of Brother Thelonious and Old Rasputin, both excellent. No notes as we focused on ordering bruschetta with fresh basil and a quattro formaggio spent grain pizza. In spite of the very comfortable and welcomed 60 degree coastal temp compared to the inland heat, the restaurant was stuffy. A dark wood interior and black painted ceiling gives the place a somber feeling. Blended with 1950s muzak, I sense in the restaurant an attempt to be upscale in a small town like the steak house in my backwater hometown in Iowa.

Brother Thelonious and 25th Anniversary Barley Wine to end

Which might explain the high end beers brewed by North Coast. While a couple of beers like ACME and Scrimshaw are lighter, the rest are big beers in big bottles. Two and two adds up to four now, but I never really did the math before. North Coast are high end beers because they seem to see themselves as a high end location. 

Next was the mainstay of my cellar, Old Stock Ale. This draft of the 2013 edition is fresh and young: dark notes and oxidized sherry from bottle aging are missing; tall, fluffy white head falls to a thin film over a mahogany ale; slightly hot nose, hidden cherry and dark malt; a little thin and alcoholic on the tongue with more dark fruit and malt and a dry finish. Too cold when served but the beer opens nicely as it warms to hint at the aged version. A barleywine on a summer trip is always a treat, so ordering a 25th Anniversary Barley Wine on draft was a no-brainer: medium lace from a fluffy off white head; amber ale with shimmering gold in the light; aromatic and floral nose from a fairly intense hop with sweet malt and a hint of molasses; smooth and whiskey-like on the tongue and the hop lingers off the back. Pretty good beer but not an all-time barleywine for me.

Four cheese spent grain pizza

Overall, our walk on the beach at sunset to check out sea glass (recommended by our friendly hotel owner upon check in) and the downtown region was beautiful, as was the drive to Fort Bragg through the Jackson State Forest, forecasting our next day in redwoods. Pleasant stop with some excellent beers, but I didn't feel connected to the restaurant. Nothing wrong—just wasn't inspired by the disconnect between the rough and tumble seaside town and the attitude in the restaurant, especially when the food only partially delivered. Still, hard to go wrong drinking the drafts of North Coast across the street from the brewery and an easy (if somewhat surprising) walk home.

Anderson Valley Brewing (Boonville, CA)

AV Taproom

6/30/13

Gloria and I drove through Boonville twice on this trip, criss-crossing Mendocino county, including the Mountain View Road to the coast that was so small and winding that we stopped abruptly at one point thinking that we were driving on a bike path. Clearly remote and not hit by accident, Anderson Valley Brewing is very pretty drive with good beer at the end (or middle) of it.

With time before the tour, we headed to the bar to order a sampler tray, ingeniously individualized by checking choices on a provided sheet that our bartender delivered to our table nearby. At least we choose to sit at a table because the steel saddle bar stools looked uncomfortable for my "fuller" figure.

Order samples by ticking off choices

I started with standards I've had in Minnesota.  Hop Ottin' IPA is well brewed but average and the Brother David's Tripel is a more than solid brew, matching my expectations. Similar to Lagunitas, only the basics get out of the valley to Minnesota. Dipping into the barrel aged offerings, all were of a new level that I don't associate with AVBC   The best of the three was Gaitlan Damnosus, a sour bourbon barrel aged barleywine: dirty white head over a brown ale with copper highlights; light cherry, dark malt, raisin, fig, and dark cherry to build a Flemish sour brown nose; clean and bright for a sour while still being complex. Beautifully integrated barrel aged beer that warms exceedingly well when we ordered a draft after the tour.

Not wanting to push through our samples, the bartenders offered to keep our extras in the fridge until we returned. For me, the highlight of the tour was the beautiful view past the copper kettles towards the taproom. An unusual addition to the tour was seeing the beer catalog of samples brewed over the last thirty days in case of a quality control issue. Our tour guide was bubbly, informative and entertaining, though she didn't speak any Boontling (the local folk language native to the valley). My wife and I speculated that it might be a part of the tour, but our guide was new; however, she thought she might have to learn some for the future.

Based on tour information, we sampled a few more beers. First, I tried the Poleeko Pale Ale and Belk's ESB, each using the hopback. Both were very aromatic, as expected, but the pale ale seemed unbalanced while the ESB was exceptional for a style I don't admire. My wife tried the Fall Hornin' Pumpkin Ale, which she says is the best pumpkin beer to date; I disagreed but found it interesting in that it tastes like the fresh local pumpkins used rather than the all-spice route of most.

View of taproom from brewhouse.  

The most unusual beer was the El Steinbeer, a Mexican style dark lager with 20% blue corn. Similar to Negro Modelo, especially the nose, but the blue corn comes through lightly in the background to give it a very unique taste. In the right circumstance, I would happily drink this lager.

30 Day beer brewed catalog

While finishing our samples, we walked around looking for a suitable souvenir, preferably with the horned bear icon. We settled on a new glass that looks like a beer can with its top cut off, which fits nicely in my collection. As we were about to leave, Dave and Meredith that we met at Lagunitas walked in, so we sat to chat again. I took the opportunity to add one last draft of the Hwy 128 Session Pale Ale: dark amber ale with an off white head; floral nose with a dark, muted malt underneath; caramel and solid hop bite to compliment the nose. Very nice and a fun finish our day at AVBC with new friends.

It's a beautifully scenic and hilly drive from any direction to Boonville. We drove through without staying over night in both directions, but a a longer visit with stops at wineries can easily be added to this beer run. A remoteness that explains the formation of their own language in the Boonville area also informs the beer. While true of all breweries to a degree, Anderson Valley Brewing is truly born of the area and it continues to feed their creativity today.

Russian River Brewing (Santa Rosa, CA)

Russian River Brewing tucked away in a small mall. 

6/29/13

After spending a very hot afternoon at Lagunitas, we headed to the hotel to cool off.  As the heat lingered into a Saturday night, we drove to Russian River but couldn't find a spot to park in the busy downtown area, so back to the hotel for a cab. By the time we got to Russian River Brewing, it was busting at the seams and an hour wait. Luckily, a couple of seats opened at the bar just after we managed to buy our first beers from the end of the bar (on advice from Dave that we met at Lagunitas on how to negotiate the chaos).

So, the obvious to start—the beer is amazing. Because we took a cab, I bypassed the cool sampler tray for $15 for everything on tap and dove right in with a glass of Pliny the Elder and my wife did Consecration. On my pre-trip research, I found this great 12 minute documentary on Pliny beers, Younger and Elder, the engine of Russian River's success. No write up of these wonderful beers because we were hawking for a seat to avoid the one hour wait for a table. After unceremoniously pushing my way past a couple with my size to two open bar seats, we ordered some beer bites (pizza bread with mozzarella cheese and garlic), which came quickly.

Just before the appetizer arrived, we ordered Cheese Louise for dinner, a cheese pizza with mozzerella, parmesan, cheddar and marinara. We decided poorly because the Beer Bites were so large (and similar) that we took much of the pizza home. The food was fine but the meat market atmosphere made the stop uncomfortable. When one of us went to the bathroom, the youngsters immediately filled the space, clamoring for a beer. On my restroom trip to the back bar, there was at least one family and a few beer geek types, but they were overwhelmed by the young crowd.  Maybe just a Saturday night, but Dave and Meredith had said pretty much the same on their trip a night or two before.

Cheese Louise w/ Row 2 Hill 56 and Sanctification

Just prior to dinner, we had received our next excellent RR drafts. Mine was Row 2 Hill 56, a 100% Simcoe Pale Ale: stark white head over an amber ale with gold highlights; bright and clean Simcoe in the nose with light, fresh breadiness; tongue follows the nose exactly. Row 2, Hill 56 is a great pale ale in spite of being the weakest beer of the night. My wife ordered Santification, a 100% Brett fermented ale: yellow with hints of gold and a thin film from an off white head; delicate Brett and underlying bready malt; clean and rich sourness on tongue. Simply an amazing beer that was nearly matched by last beer of the night, Supplication, a brown sour barrel aged Pinot Noir barrel: little head and no lace; cloying amber to brown ale; sour and wine in nose; wine, thin malt, hint of dark fruit, slightly hot alcohol and bracingly sour on the tongue. Can't beat the beer here.

Like Lagunitas earlier in the day, I again found myself dislocated from my expectation. In short, the beer is not the brewery or brewpub. While the food was fine at Russian River, I wouldn't return there just for a meal. The beers are Russian River were everything I hoped and expected to find and we even left with bottles of Pliny the Elder, Sanctification and Damnation. The local heat wave strained our drinking resources and personal patience, which may have impacted our visit as well. However, I didn't leave thinking I'd love to live around the corner. If going back again, I would definitely make Russian River an afternoon or weekday trip to avoid the crowds so that I could quietly focus on the beer.

Lagunitas Brewing (Petaluma, CA)

Hop  Stupid and Gueze (foreground) before tour

6/29/13

On one of our early New York City trips, my wife and I were on the boat out to see the Statue of Liberty. Standing together at the very front of the boat, Gloria asked me what I thought of the statue. I paused before admitting—I thought it'd be bigger. My theory is that since the Statue of Liberty is often shot dramatically from a low angle, my expectations were too high.

Starting our beer and tree trip north of San Francisco at Lagunitas, my expectations were low but I was blown away by the attitude, history and size of the brewery: I thought it'd be smaller. While I like Lagunitas beers, my impression from their standard beers that make it to Minnesota would be comparable to more of a Summit, a safe regional brewery with solid regulars and a few edgy beers. On walking into the taproom and brewery, the large outdoor and clearly not air conditioned taproom on a 98 degree day did not bode well as a start. We hawked a table in the shade of the loud main bar and ordered a Hop Stoopid and Gueuze quickly since the tour was starting soon. A favorite of mine, the Hop Stoopid lived up to the billing and the Gueuze was more than acceptable as well. Having held off for lunch, we nibbled ferociously on the free bowl of munchies until we could have lunch after the tour.

Fermentor tanks--much bigger place than I imagined

There's no tour reservations, so we simply showed up a bit early for the 1 pm tour. Not hearing the "call" we were told would come, we took our beers to the front to join the tour as the top of the hour approached.  The initial intro to Lagunitas was in the shade of the brewery with Tim our humorous tour guide, storytelling to help us finish our beers (mandatory) before heading inside. Without retelling all of the stories, originator Tony Magee is a bit of a wild card. Starting as a homebrewer because he was unemployed in 1992, he turned "pro" within a year in spite of a yeasty blow up of a 1940s septic tank under his first brewery. Both Censored and Undercover Shutdown have stories to show how Lagunitas has run afoul of the authorities over the years, a bad boy image that I was unaware of.

New 250 barrel brewhouse

Keg filler in action

As told my Tim, this roguish behavior led to all beery magnificence around us, including the massive stand of fermenting tanks that caught my eye and surprise on the way in to the taproom. Also on the tour was the new 250 barrel brewhouse, up from the original 80 barrel system, plus descriptions of the new 300,000 sq foot Chicago based brewery that will be twice the size and will run 24/7 to cut costs on logistics while serving a thirsty Midwest. Between the origin mythology and clear growth of the brand, Lagunitas is a much different brewery than I had in my head from drinking them at a distance. Another thread in Tim's storytelling was the importance of relationships to Lagunitas, including employees, regulars and the community around the taproom. This included charity events with donated beer for good causes, most recently raising $20,000 for a local fisherman whose boat sank. I found myself fascinated with how far off my perceptions were and wondering why the Lagunitas story and image had never really reached me.   

Too far from another stop, we had to have lunch before leaving, so we headed back to fight for a seat at the bar to hide from the sweltering heat. While some at the bar were seemingly locals in the taproom, there were also a large number of sampler trays going out from the bar, so we were not the only tourists in the place. We staked out a spot at the corner of the bar, in part, with the help of Dave and Meredith from Salem, OR, our new beer friends by the end of the stop. They were at the end of their beer trip as we were on our first day in the same basic area, so they gave us advice, including how to get a beer at Russian River by standing at the end of the bar instead of behind the throngs. While we all chatted, Gloria and I had the roasted veggie avocado sandwich for lunch, which was fabulous; it good enough that we almost stopped again on the way south back to San Francisco.

Main bar from corner where we sat

I started with a draft of the IPA because Tim the tour guide said it was the engine of their expansion at 57% of production and I couldn't remember its taste: off white head over a mostly gold ale with amber highlights; floral nose with biscuit; good bite on the tongue with a very strong malt base. While refreshing in the heat and a more than adequate IPA, it's not a beer that will find a home in my beer fridge.

On to the specialty samples (we only had one set; pictured are Dave and Meredith's full sets of all beers). A range of beers, including Fusion 15 and Fusion 16 (never figured out what either was but 15 was better), an excellent Farmhouse ale and Lucky 13. Then came three barrel aged beers, all good, but the Rye Barrel Aged Gnarly Wine was spectacular, which significantly delayed our departure because of the need to have a draft: amber and brown with gold highlights; nose is full of hot alcohol and flowers with rye and dark cherry over a heavy malt; sweetness on the tongue, dark fruits galore that blends perfectly with a spiciness from rye or hop, not sure which.  Big wonderful beer that I would love to drink when it was 50 degrees cooler outside, but hard to complain when it's rare to find any barleywine on our summer travels.

Dave and Meredith's full set of regular and seasonal samplers

We had a fantastic stop at Lagunitas. Fun tour with a range of great beers and some new beer friends that made it feel like a local, all in spite of the inland heat wave. Travel expectations really can frame and alter expectations, and today, nlike the Statue of Liberty, it worked in my favor. Tony Magee was at the Four Firkins last week in Minnesota, however, sadly, I wasn't able to get to the event to add to this post. Nevertheless, this visit highlights why I enjoy visiting breweries: nothing like drinking the history and passion of beer on site to learn the full story.

Thirsty Bear Brewing (San Francisco, CA)

Snap peas, samples and Caesar salad

6/27/13

Nearly a decade ago, I stopped at the Thirsty Bear on a walking tour of pubs in San Francisco.  However, it was near the end of a long day and I doubted my conclusions. On our first night in The City before heading north for a tree and beer tour, we got in late but our hotel was so conveniently close to the Thirsty Bear that it was an obvious choice for an after flight dinner.

With the kitchen closing shortly after our arrival a bit before 10 pm and thanks to a fast bartender giving advice as we sat at the end of the bar, we ordered a sampler tray and food immediately to make sure we got both. The samples were improved since my last visit but in the general ballpark of my memory. Grizzly Bear Red Ale, Meyer ESB and Koslov Stout were my favorite of the standards taps. On cask was a stock ale dry hopped with fuggles that did not appeal to me at all.

Our favorite draft of the stop was the Charbay Stave, listed as a black ale. From the bartender, it's the Kozlov stout aged for a year in Charbay barrels of Charbay Distillery & Winery and mixed with stock ale to smooth. The draft has a clingy tan lace from a full head over a jet black ale. Strong dark malt, molasses, hot alcohol and chewy barrel is apparent in the nose, char on the tongue with strong whiskey that's sharp and fun. House special was to pair the beer with a snifter of Charbay whiskey: the beer nicely cut the raw taste of the whiskey and made a delightful comparison. Dark cherry comes out when the beer warms up, but the overall effect degrades.

Charbay Stave draft w Patatas Bravas

As a tapas bar, we shared two small plates to compliment my Caesar salad. Delightfully presented, the salad stacked high on a small plate. I tried but didn't enjoy the Organic Sugar Snap Peas as much as my wife, but the Patatas Bravas (fried kennebec potatoes, garlic, spicy brava sauce, and aioli) were spectacular. We quite enjoyed the food. mixing in the remaining samples and the Charbay Stave draft. To date, it's the best organic brewery that I've been to, though, overall, the samples fall a bit short of a standard brewery. But, the combination of food and atmosphere more than compliment the well brewed beer.

Our bartender was friendly and full of beery knowledge for San Francisco at the beginning of our trip; one recommendation we followed (avoided a brewery in fact), led to what I believe was a much better night at Cerveceria de MateVeza. The similarity of my conclusions for the two visits increases my confidence in drinking knowledge a decade ago; a nice test to validate my memory. While not a destination brewery, the Thirsty Bear is a solid pub that fits well in the SOMA (south of Market) neighborhood, and I would happily visit again if I found myself nearby.

Brouwerij West (San Jose, CA)

Blond

When stopping at a place like Binny's in Schaumburg, it's hard to choose sometimes. One wall of the warehouse is just for beer.  Delightfully confusing as to what to pick.

On my last visit from Chicago, the Brouwerij West labels caught my eye. I bought pretty bottles on the fly with no name recognition or research. Generally, quality and attitude match either.  I thought the focus on art would signal similarly high brewing standards: wrong.

Quad

Tasting at home, I started light and worked up. Surprised I bought a blond, I don't think I noticed the name because it was this label that first drew my attention. Shimmering gold ale with a slight haze from me overpouring the sediment that I didn't expect. Snow white head that lingers forever into a thick lace.  Sweet corn and light bread in the nose with a bit of spice. With corn and spice on the tongue, it's more like a high end macro than a Belgian blond, but cleanly brewed and perfectly fine.

Saison

Reading the website, the brewer has a particular attitude.  As a statement of philosophy, "We make beer in classic belgian style with mostly belgian ingredients. Our beer is dry and refreshing. We make no IPA and have no barrel aging or spices." The lowercase Belgian caught my eye, as well as the "no IPA". From my experience, Belgian brewers show little regard for rules or styles, so the attitude of no spices or barrel aging is odd.  
I hoped that moving on would bring some improvement.  To the Saison: extra hazy dark yellow with a white head; light pepper and spice in the nose per the style; taste is muddled and dull without much of the nose making it to the tongue. I poured it correctly but there's an odd yeasty twang that that lingers that I'm not thrilled to drink.

Tripel

Half way through my BW bottles and not impressed so far.  Perusing further into the website, the brewery, contrary to branding rules, changes the artwork for a beer over time, expanding the artists used on the labels. Again, I like the concept but only if the beer is as worthy as the concept. So far the beer is lacking compared to the high ideals, but there's two left to try.

The Tripel is a hazy orange to amber with an off white head.  Nose has a nice hoppy spice, pepper and  lemon, but the taste is again muddled and out of balance. Three is a trend and the brewery has what my wife calls 't IJ Syndrome. When we visited 't IJ (prounounced "et eye") in Amsterdam, my wife noted that all of the beers tasted the same (because of the house yeast).  BW also have a house taste, and not to its advantage like 't IJ, which continues with my final bottle, Mor Mor. A quadrupel, Mor Mor has an acidic cherry bite with some dark fruit underneath and a head that was rocky and irregular and went flat quickly with boozy nose. Inelegant and raw, I preferred the blond in spite of quad being a favored style.

I like the art of the Brouwerij West but not impressed by the beer at all.  No repeat customer here. When I put the brewery in my database, it appears just before Westvleteren.  While I get "Brewery West" for a California brewery, the coincidence seems a bit contrived. Regardless of intent, my overall impression is that the brewery needs to focus more on flavor and less on extraneous details. Unfortunately, my leap of faith wasn't rewarded this time and definitely not worth the couple of days of beer quota to drink them.

Beer friend Al was also on this Chicago trip and bought some of the same Brouwerij West beers.  Check out his more positive perspective.

Blue Palms Brewhouse (Hollywood, CA)

12/18/11

Not far from our hotel on this trip, the Blue Palms Brew House was at the top of our list to try.  Near Hollywood and Vine, down the street from Mann's Chinese Theater, it's easy to be a tourist and drink great beer.  Perfect.  We liked it so much that we returned a second time during a long weekend trip.  Hopefully, that's enough of a recommendation.

Lessons learned at Blue Palms:

First, I think the entire beer world should switch to web integrated, electronic beer boards.  Check out the picture below.  The beer board is synced to the website: always up to date, always accurate and full of beery knowledge.  Can't wait until my local pubs all do this.

Second, re-drinking a brewery can be necessary to be fair.  On a tasting trip led by my sister to the wineries of the Santa Ynez Valley, including a stop at the Los Olivos Cafe before it become famous in the movie Sideways, we made a stop at the newly opened Firestone brewery and had a very disappointing stop.  This was so early in my beer journey that the tasting isn't even on the database.  Since then, I've read of Firestone Walker's rise to beer glory but I resisted.  We tried FW's 14th Anniversary Ale at the Blue Palms and it was simply spectacular.

Finally, hoppy beer and spicy food is my new favorite combo.  Being Los Angeles, we stumbled upon vegetarian food everywhere we turned, including here.  We ordered three varieties of vegan sausages on sauerkraut and I happened to have a Russian River Blind Pig in front of me when they arrived.  The Mexican Chipotle sausage blended so amazingly well with the fruity bite of the Blind Pig that we were in hog heaven.  My wife, who isn't a hop head, liked the combination so much that I lost my beer to her.  I have been in pursuit of hot and hoppy ever since.