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.

New Bohemia Wurst + Bierhaus (Golden Valley, MN)

Without any planning of my own, I followed beery freinds to New Bohemia Wurst + Bierhaus in Golden Valley after the latest One Voice concert. Being a vegetarian, a bratwurst specialty pub hasn't inspired me to stop for a pint.  Serious mistake. Upon walking in, friends had already filled a long, sociable table and promptly asked me to try the pretzel with pepperjack cheese sauce: light, delicious and massive.

Overwhelmed by beer choices, it took time to pick a new beer to insure New Bohemia on my database. I settled on Lucid Duce, a more than satisfactory amber ale for the end of an evening. A well curated tap list, New Bohemia had a serious devotion to Minnesota with about half of the taps dedicated to local brews. The remainder had some very good national and regional brews.  I settled on New Belgium La Folie for a second draft.

A video DJ was playing tunes with a screen behind him to keep the party rolling, which inspired several singalongs by the choir. A lively and convivial place that still allows a conversation, I was pleasantly impress with New Bohemia.  A vegetarian option for a bratwurst in addition to frites and the above noted pretzel, there's plenty of bar food for every beer drinker.

The original location is in Minneapolis. More than acceptable options for food plus an concentration of several Minnesota brews for me to try is more than enough reason to push New Bohemia up on my drinking list.

Elevated Beer Wine & Spirits (Minneapolis, MN)

Out and about running errands and shopping on a Saturday, I took a little extra time to head up Hiawatha to give Elevated Beer Wine Spirits a try. I've been meaning to check it out for a while, but it's generally on the wrong side of the street when I drive by, usually when heading home from Town Hall or other pubs.

I will no longer make this mistake. Elevated's name is spot on—not just a fun pun because of the nearby grain elevators. The selection is spectacular.

Half of build your own six pack aisles

From this first stop, I noticed a particular emphasis on Minnesota craft beers, giving the local drinker a full selection. I went home with two Blacklist beers but had five from which to choose. Plus, there were full choices of many Minnesota brewers that I have difficulty finding without going to the brewery (Steel Toe, for example), Next, I put together two full six packs of new beers from the by-the-bottle aisles (notice plural on aisles). The price of craft beer has risen since the old days (a decade ago) and I am more reticent to just try a four or six pack and being stuck with a less than amazing beer for a week. And, I've been sampling beers seriously since about 2000, it's rare for a store to have enough new single bottles to build a six pack. The Ale Jail would be an exception, but, for me, it's a bit far away to visit consistently. In addition, the local choice didn't reduce the offerings of top national brands. Today I went home with personal favorite Stone Ruination plus a six pack of Anchor's seasonal Christmas Ale.

Overall, Elevated is an excellent stop that I intend to repeat. I no longer live is a beer wilderness with two local liquors stores having a more than adequate selection, but the range is limited by my outside the inner ring location. Elevated gives me a relatively close alternative to the sort of quality associated with Four Firkins, The Ale Jail or Blue Max Liquors without the long drive.

Third Street Brewhouse (Cold Spring, MN)

Entrance to Third Street Brewhouse

After several attempts during trips to St. Cloud, I finally found the time to visit the Third Street Brewhouse, even making the 1 pm tour.

Brewing since 1874, Cold Spring Brewing today contract brews a range of beverages. For a more detailed summary of Cold Spring, check this MinnPost article. Knowing their background, I was amused that only top notch craft brewers like Tallgrass and 21st Amendment were mentioned by the guide. I noticed a TCHO chocolate box on a shelf, which the guide said they were using it to test a new brew. Compared to other brewery tours, Cold Spring is very slick and industrial.  A very cool set up, I can see where they can produce a lot of beer very efficiently to specs.

Bitter Neighborhood

After the tour, we sat as a group at the large, wood communal tables. All are brewed cleanly and good beers.  The Hunny Do Wheat Beer was an interesting wheat beer made with honeydew melon, which was very apparent in the taste. Too thin for my taste but I can see why others might like it. The Jack'd Up Autumn Ale, not a pumpkin ale but a spiced fall ale according to the description was a more unique interpretation for a fall seasonal and one the proved popular at the bar the night before. I finished the visit with a draft of my favorite of the Third Street line up: Bitter Neighbor Black IPA. It's a full flavored India Pale Ale that is smooth and quaffable, a great introduction so someone new to the style yet complex info to interest a beer geek.

Part way through my pint, I noticed a fellow coach sitting at the bar, someone I've met but haven't gotten the opportunity to know well. As always, beer as a common denominator accelerates the process. While the tour of the brewery and the samples were more or less what I expected, a good bar and a good beer still ends with a pleasant surprise.

Drinking at the 2014 State Fair

S'mores Beer from Giggle's

At a my little sister's wedding reception, I joked with my cousin Randy that I would love to see Joan Jett in concert but few have ever agreed to go with me and been available. But, now, I had a partner in crime for the state fair closing night concert of Journey with Joan Jett opening. So, I was going to the fair.

Don't get me wrong. I think the Minnesota Get Together is a pretty amazing spectacle. I just don't need to go every (or even every other) year. But living in Minnesota, events, family or fate (aka my mouth) will conspire to get me the fair occasionally. I decided to try to make the fair into a beer festival.

Based on the Growler's state fair guide, I had names of beers and their locations on a pdf.  However, I didn't include the map in the article for how to get to the places and had to download the state fair food finder app to get around. In the meantime, I walked by and recognized Mancini's al Fresco from my list. I was pessimistic about the beer gelato made with Summit's Oatmeal Stout. It was ok and the beery flavor was definitely there but it had too much of a acrid finish for me. Happy to get to the bottom of it.

Beer gelato with Summit Oatmeal Stout

Next was a bag of Tom Thumb donuts (my heart's true love and desire) to change the flavor in my mouth.  By this time I'd found my bearing and headed to the Ballpark Cafe, which was out of the minidonut beer. I settled for a Red's Apple Ale—a mistake. Clean apple flavor but without the fresh punch of a good cider. On the slightly warmish last day of the fair, it was more than refreshing for walking around. Should have tried the Burning Brothers on tap instead, but the gluten free scared me away since I hadn't heard of the brewery before.

In the middle of machinery row is Giggle's Campfire Grill. With very long lines, I jumped in and figured I would decide on the way.  When I got there, the S'mores beer was the only option in the line I had chosen, so gave it a try. Surprisingly, marshmallows don't soak up beer at all. I found the crusty rim to not be very tasty but the overall effect was fine, especially the comments from fair goers as I walked back down the street (it's so dark, that's that S'mores beer, etc). It's the kind of fun one expects at the state fair. Sadly, I was unable to return for the Walley Mac n Cheese on the menu. Oh well.

By this time, my nephew Josh (who is going along to the concert as well) arrives and we chat and take in the fair. After a malt break in the dairy barn and seeing the finishing touches on the butter sculpture of Princiss Kay of the Milky Way, we headed to the MN Brewer's Guild exhibit "Land of 10,000 Craft Brews."  My nephew and I opted to share the Flight 3 Hoppier, which include sample of Surly Furious, 612 Rated R, Schell's Arminius and Fulton Lonely Blonde. The Arminius was the only new brew in the flight for me, but it was worth hunting down. While the exhibit isn't going to blow the minds of any beer geeks, it was extremely popular and there were a tremendous amount of chatter about beer by fair goers around me. Sadly, the exhibit was robbed of $10,000 in cash, the first such robbery in the history of the fair.




Overall, beer hunting at the fair wasn't terribly successful.  The main reason was the each of the beers listed at locations can run out (like the minidonut beer) or they aren't all on tap at the same time. Trying this on the last day of the fair also wasn't a great idea. As we settled into our seats at the concert, we each hand a Summit EPA in hand, for which I was perfectly happy sipping this iconic Minnesota beer while the stage speakers thumped through my chest. While I didn't find much new, it was fun. Plus, the fact that I walked by so many craft beer taps at the fair is a comfort all by itself—a day at the fair is no longer hot dry walk for craft beer drinkers.

To Style or Not to Style

Opening day at taproom
Bent Brewstillery

When I took the beer judge certification classes with the Minnesota Home Brewers, studying the BJCP style guidelines made it apparent that winning medals in home brew competitions is about hitting the bullseye. The style guidelines are the mark and winners hit the mark.

For example, one of my favorite beers anywhere is Masala Mama IPA at Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery. And, that's the straight pushed beer and doesn't consider Mango Mama or the cask version.  It's an amazing beer in any form and yet none of Town Hall's 14 medals at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is from Masala Mama. My interpretation (shared by a others) is that Masala Mama is a fine IPA that falls in between styles. As a result, this amazing beer won't get a medal even though it would be a top national IPA if it was ever allowed to be released outside of the state.

All of which is back drop for my same night visit of Bent Brewstillery and Sisyphus Brewing. As the beer boom grows, every brewery is fighting harder than ever to carve out a niche in the heart of MN beer drinkers. Both breweries are attempting to do that but in very different ways.

I miss so many openings that I couldn't resist the Facebook post by Bent Brewstillery to celebrate their reopening as the merged company (Joining forces with Pour Decisions). I opened big with a draft of Dark Fatha, listed as an American Emperial Stout (and yes my spelling is correct). The menu description calls this a hybrid beer style that combines the feel of a light ale and the robust dark flavors of a stout. I think that descriptions at Bent Brewstillery will likely be important. Reading the tap handle in line, I read Imperial Stout and ordered. Tasting at the table, it seemed like a thin for the style and that's how it registered for me. However, reading the intention of the brewer, it really is light and refreshing while still being a full flavored ale that's cleanly brewed and excellent. However, checking out the reviews on BA, there seems to be some similar confusion and low ratings as a result.

On the Bentbrewstillery webpage for the opening today, it states specifically that one of their goals is to rebel against styles. In theory, many of us applaud this approach (unless you truly love the BJCP guidelines, which some do). Anyone familiar with Minnesota homebrewing or reads the AHA results will know of head brewer Kris England. No one has the success Kris has in homebrew competitions with knowing how to hit the style mark. So, I'm extremely confidant that I am drinking exactly what Kris intended. While style guidelines can be seen as restricting creativity, they are also map to what you want to drink, especially for those that are new to craft beer. For an all dog like me, a little reading solves the problem to enjoying an opening of some pretty cool beers that hit a mark all their own.

Sisyphus Brewing

Next stop was Sisyphus Brewing, which is taking a different approach.  With only four taps, the names are simple and straight forward.  My Brett IPA and Double IPA were excellent, and very much what I expected from the names. Sipping on a pint while listening to the comedy show that's laying the groundwork for a future theater, I ponder my evening and wonder which approach to a brewery is best. Or, if comparing even makes sense. As a veteran geek, my beery knowledge is a comfort in new situations, something I worked hard to achieve from the early days when tap lists were bewildering.  Drinking a variation of a clear target is something I enjoy.

Yet, tonight, I'm drinking from a growler of Town Hall's Sunshower, a honey lager interpretation of the awesome Thunderstorm with lemongrass and a serious hop bite that I can't seem to get enough. Velvety smooth lager with a lemony nose that draws me in and a lingering acidic bite of lemon and hops.  Love it and totally not a style.

When this began this post, I thought I had an opinion. Turns out, I'm conflicted. I find styles reassuring and helpful, yet want to be challenged by master brewers to break the very rules I learned to embrace.

Drinking order philosophy: Go Big

Al and I going big at Great Taste.  

On the path of beer geekdom, most of us have read the same advice for tasting samples: drink light to dark. In theory, sampling light to dark will allow a drinker to not blow out the taste buds by starting with the double IPA. For years, I slavishly followed the advice.

I changed my drinking order philosophy after a short night at Spuyten Duyvil in Brooklyn. With a small but legendary draft list, there we're several that I wanted to try. We settled in and I ordered a Chelsea Blizzard IPA, which was disappointing, and then moved up to La Merle, a saison from North Coast. While a good visit, I had been eyeing a barleywine on the board (that I can't remember the name on now). If you haven't been to Spuytin Duyvil, it's a pretty sketchy walk through Brooklyn. And, in our search for an affordable hotel in New York, we tried a hotel in Jersey, which required a late night train transfer. The combination sent us packing to the subway before I got to the beer I was most interested in drinking.

Not a catastrophe, but enough disappointment to make me re-think my approach, especially on vacation. Now, I go big early and drink whatever looks best on the menu regardless of style or size. This approach will often get me a quizzical look from fellow drinkers when I order the 10% plus barlewine or triple IPA for the first draft. Working through a rack of samples, I will still follow the light to dark guideline (leaving samples that are unimpressive half full or more—another change). But, when ordering drafts, I go big early and drink the best I can find.

First draft and biggest on the menu that
day at Hammerheart Rune Stone Stout

I'm happy with my new philosophy over the last six years since Spuyten Duyvil and our recent trip to Lagunitas is a good example of the approach. Drinking for clear reasons, I started with their IPA because it was 57% of sales (info from the tour) and I couldn't remember it's taste. Then, we jumped right into a sample tray of all the special beers, including some big barrel aged offerings. As a result, we found the fantastic Rye Barrel Aged Gnarley Wine that we were delighted to drink it in spite of the 100 degree day.

This philosophy does have a downside. It will inevitably reduce the overall number of beers you can drink before heading home, whether driving or not. To drive home, a single beer before water and dinner might be required. At the most recent Great Taste, Al and I started with a 16% barleywine and a couple of bars later I ordered New Holland's Pilgrim's Dole wheat wine that comes in a 11%. Even taking a bus home, the big beers slow down the night pretty fast. While this approach takes some discipline and may not be for everyone, it's gotten me to better beers faster and improved my beer stops by simply stepping off the trodden path.

La Trappe (Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands)

La Trappe beer garden with brewery
in background

7/1/14 and 3/8/03 visits

A few weeks before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the price of airline tickets to Europe plummeted and we flew nonstop from MSP to Amsterdam for a long weekend because it was cheaper than any domestic vacation we tried to book. One of the best trips we've ever taken, a highlight was a train to Tilburg to taste La Trappe at Koningshoeven.

Returning this summer to the Netherlands with our niece for her college graduation trip, we took the opportunity to stop again for the tour. La Trappe was both familiar and changed at the same time.

First round of Wit and Quadruple

In 2003, we walked into the tasting room and the tour guide, Berrie Verhagen, asked if I was Cal on the first beer I ordered. I asked "How did you know?" We were the only Americans there. We toured the brewery with Berrie giving English translations of the previous Dutch explanations from each stop. Today's tour is very similar minus the walk through the bottling room. Also, at the end now, there's a video covering all things La Trappe while samples are poured. English speakers drank first, which was a nice bonus for coming so far.

Salad with fenugreek goat brie, apple, nuts
and apple-syrup dressing (minus bacon
to be vegetarian)

If my memory is correct, the present gift shop was the old tasting room.  Back then, cheese made with the quadruple and brewery bread, while great, was the best on the menu. For this trip, we showed up early enough for the 2 pm tour to have lunch first. My salad was pretty incredible, but my wife hit the jackpot by ordering the raisin-nut bread with Brabant blue goat cheese, pear compote, and nuts (grantinated in the oven). Not even sure what to call it, but the bite I was allowed to savor was spectacular. After the tour, I had Brabant strawberries with "hang-op," a uniquely Dutch topping according to the waitress. Even without the trappist ales, this is a place worth visiting just for the food. Magnificent. If you make the trip to Tilburg, please leave enough time to eat. And, of course, there was beer: before, during and after the tour.

My wife predictably started—and stayed—with the Quadruple. Easily distracted by something new, I got the once brewed 25th Anniversary Ale called Jubilaris and followed with Puur, La Trappe's organic pale ale.  Ended with a bottle of the Oak Aged Quadruple, batch 16. According to the waitress, each batch of the oak aged quad is tweaked a bit differently. In beer press, La Trappe sometimes doesn't get the respect of other trappist breweries, but I love their line up, especially the quad.

Tilburg is a bit off the beaten tourist path, but public transportation to Koningshoeven is easy. Bus 141 drops off right in front of the abbey and it's an easy walk to the tasting room. The bus runs hourly, so timing is important. To return, the bus pick up is across the road and down a little bit.  In 2003, I read the time wrong because we didn't realize that the return bus was on the other side of the road, which resulted in a us walking back to the train station in a light rain. Our first trip, we took an easy train ride to Tilburg from Amsterdam for the day and returned that night. This trip we had rented a car for a few days, so simply got a room at the Bastion Hotel (cheap, basic but perfectly adequate) because it's the closest one to the abbey. We just missed the bus from the hotel to the brewery, so we walked the 20 minutes rather than wait for the next bus. In the end, we've ridden the bus each direction—just a decade apart.

Two years ago, my wife and I visited Westvleteren in Belgium, which was also a great day, but much more difficult to get to with public transportation. While I've only been to two trappist breweries, La Trappe is an easy visit and well worth the effort, especially with the serious upgrades to the food and tour structure. I encourage you to settle in for an afternoon and leisurely enjoy the full range of La Trappe beers.

Growlers and Minnesota

Growler storage in my trunk

My first knowledge of recent changes in Minnesota beer laws was Harriet Brewing's policy for growler refills. Bring in your Harriet growlers before September 1st and get $5 back. Brought mine in today and filled up Fulton and Fitger's growlers with Harriet brew.

I decided to take advantage of Harriet's policy to make some room in my trunk. A couple years ago, I walked into the Container Store in Edina with a growler and proceeded to test it in each type of storage system. I finally found a archival box that fit 12 growlers perfectly. To date, I haven't had a growler break in the back. This was my solution to Minnesota's requirement to turn in an empty growler in exchange for a pre-filled one, and a lack of storage space in my house.

Now I'm torn. While it's nice to have three fewer growlers in my collection, I like the pre-filled growlers. They store exceptionally well in the beer fridge until opened and, in my opinion, have a significantly better carbonation retention than those filled from the tap. My problem is that I only like it in Minnesota.  When travelling, I, for obvious reasons, prefer to get beer in my own growlers.  I will rarely purchase a growler from out of state to bring home because of the waste.

My double standard extends to the present system.  I'm hoping that my favorite places like Town Hall Brewery continue to pre-fill growlers while others I visit less frequently can change with my blessing. It's just a bit more work to wash and sanitize before visiting a brewery. Less spontaneous but it'll work. Asking bartenders to not rinse the growler with water and pour on the foam will take more effort. Besides, I have my trunk system in place already—even the guys of the food truck tonight were impressed by my system. We'll see how long I will need it.

Day Block Brewing (Minneapolis, MN)

After a long winter, we took advantage of a sunny Saturday afternoon to go to Town Hall pint club for the first time in a while and then walked down the street to Day Block Brewing.

Day Block is next to Grumpy's Downtown on Washington.  So much beer side by side may look like a bad idea. However, Day Block is much more of an upscale, industrial chic compared to Grumpy's gritty character. My guess is that the clientele for the corner may not overlap much. Plus, with a brewpub and a beer bar, their offerings will likely compliment as much as they compete. Hopefully, the flow of traffic from the nearby apartments, Guthrie Theater, Open Book and the future Viking's stadium will provide more than enough customers for both bars.

Day Block back bar and brewhouse in background

We ordered a rack of all six samples. All of the beers were solid interpretations of the styles. Of the group, I order a draft of the Frank's Red Ale that had lots of body and a pleasant hop balance. Fruhlinhgsfest was my next favorite, in spite of it not being a favored style, followed closely by the Honey Amber IPA. The Spring Lager and Kolsch were both strong for their styles, just not styles I drink. Lot 56 was adequate but I had been expecting more from the description and Al's reviews of other hoppy Day Block beers.

Dinner was a cheese pizza, thin and slightly reminiscent of Pizza Paradiso in DC but didn't live up to that memory.  Thin crust, a bit greasy, full of cheesy goodness and a slight char on the crust, it was a good size for sharing.

I like Day Block. While not  in the same league as Town Hall (yet), it's likely a place we'll visit again.

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.

Pitchfork Brewing (Hudson, WI)

Intending to try a new brewpub last weekend, an invite by a good friend to drink at the very first Spring Festival at Pitchfork Brewing in Hudson was welcomed. I've heard rumblings from several beery friends that Pitchfork was worth the trip.

Ten dollars bought the glass, which is a pretty cheap festival ticket these days, and then five dollars a pint afterwards. Plus, drinking with a good beer friend means twice as much tasting.  I started with the Maple Maibock, a solid and drinkable but slightly out of style maibock, which is good for me. The cask of Jen's Cherry Pale Ale was fine for a round but lacked balance. Robin liked the Quite Right UK IPA, very much the English IPA that I didn't love. However, the cask of English Pale Ale w/ Kent Goldings drank like a trip to London, authentic, tasty and well served. 

Oatmeal Stout

My favorite was the growler of Oatmeal Stout that I saved for last. Billowing brown, fluffy head over an opaque black stout. Light roast and chocolate in the nose over sweetness, soft water and more than a hint of hoppy spice. Slightly acrid bite feels dry to balance the sweet, full bodied malt and the characteristic smoothness of oatmeal.

I remember seeing pics of the Pitchfork bar being built, and the loving craftsmanship is clearly evident in the bar. The servers are friendly and proudly serve their fare. Added to this is locals who are comfortable in their new space—felt a little like bar in my small Iowa hometown, except the beer was good.

My only disappointment was that I had missed lunch getting ready to go out and all of the food for the festival had meat in it. Pitchfork has a small menu of appetizers from Paddy Ryan Pub next door, so I headed there for something to eat. Two veggie options and but they were out of the brewpub pretzels, so lunch was Battered Cheese Nuggets; very good and it served reasonably well as a base for the beers. Leave your beer behind at Pitchfork and pay at the Paddy Ryan bar, and they will deliver the apps to you back at Pitchfork.

Overall, it was a great Saturday beer hunt and a relaxing chat with a friend. A strong beer list kept us going for several hours before we needed to leave, our bar stools filling quickly as the party started to roll. I went home with two growlers on the strength of the Pitchfork Pale Ale, the sampled West Wing Porter and the likelihood of a Sunday fill during speech season.

On drinking alone

Growing up on a farm in Iowa during the 70s and 80s, neighbors would help neighbors with large jobs like baling hay, a job I enjoyed. One nondescript summer in high school, we were helping Junior—my Uncle Gerrit— put up hay in his barn. I don't remember how the subject came up in, but Junior said that my dad "probably had two or three beers with dinner."  I responded that I had never seen my father drink in the house alone. An awkward pause later, we went back to work.

Don't misunderstand. My father was a good ol' boy who spent much of my childhood in a bar. In fact, I spent much of my childhood in a bar. We'd drive by Alley 7 to see who's truck was parked out back or I could be found doing my homework on the bar at the VFW after football practice. As of result of my father's fondness of beer (mostly Miller Light), and not being home except on Sunday and my mom's bowling night, my family and community thought he was an alcoholic. It didn't help that dad threw his empty 'one for the road' Miller Lite cans in the bed of his truck (in the days before open container laws) until I recycled them for extra cash. In the days before the ubiquity of soda, this beer was a thirst quencher to cut the field dust. My dad drank during the nadir of beer choice, so drinking alone could only be for one reason.  I understand and don't blame my uncle and others at all for their assumptions, my dad was not an alcoholic like his two brothers.

My father was the definitive social drinker. I would sit in a bar and watch him milk a beer or a Black Velvet and Coke at half or a third the pace of others. He never drank alone at home, but I can still hear his voice tell me to "Get  three beers, kid" when a pick up would pull up on our yard. My dad loved people and beer was the lubricant that brought them together.

Because of my family history, I didn't drink through high school or college, except for a few unfortunate episodes that seems to be mandatory in youth. In fact, beer as a hobby and blogging came from the strict rules I place on myself. When I started drinking beer on a regular basis a few years after graduating from Purdue, my reasoning was to have one good beer instead of three crap beers. I would pick up an over-sized bottle of Rolling Rock and a Tombstone pepperoni pizza on the way home from a speech tournament when I coached in Los Angeles. When younger, the demons of my family were so strong, I refused to keep any beer in the house except the one bottle I would pour that night.

Twenty years later is a different story. Today my demon is a hoppy burn. Or, whatever is new or unique. While the exquisite joy of drinking with friends—old and newly made— has provided many a high point, the solo pursuit of beer can be just as sweet. Intensified since I started blogging, I seem to relish drinking and writing alone in a brewpub, savoring the first samples and crafting my impressions. Along with a sublime solitary brew is blended the guilt and shame of drinking alone, an presumption born from the whispers that swirled around dad.

My attitude about drinking at home alone didn't change overnight. My first step to drinking alone was during a Sunday football games; I found that sipping on a barleywine through an entire Vikings game, pouring the remainder of a chilled bottle at half time allowed the glass to warm slowly, creating a rise and fall in the taste throughout an afternoon. Then, in my first visit to the Toronado in San Francisco in 2004, drinking the likes of Ommegang Three Philosophers, the epiphany washed over me that a good slice of pizza and great beer are sufficient.

And here is my confession: I like drinking alone.

I smile at the sight of a freshly poured rack of samples at a new brewpub, and then, without distraction, I sip each in solitude and write. I look forward to focusing on a special bottle by myself sans world to imbibe the artistic glory of hop and barley. While beer writers praise the inherent sociability of beer, I, in opposition to my father, drink the drink alone for the sake of the drink. With the creation of the craft beer world since my father's time, we need to bury the stereotype of drinking alone. Beer is good with or without friends, and drinking alone should not carry the stigma of old.

Indeed Brewing (Minneapolis, MN)

Brown Ale with my fantastic
Red Lentil Burger by Gastrotruck

After years of trying, I squeezed in a quick stop at Indeed Brewing before a One Voice concert nearby. The database says my first draft of Indeed was Midnight Ryder at Northbound Smokehouse almost two years ago. So, this post clearly won't be news for most of my beer geek friends.

Well worth the effort, Indeed is a pretty amazing taproom; the attention to detail is clear in every choice, right down to the picture perfect chalk draft board. Big tables are gather groups well but a little hard to find a place alone with Americans not use to sharing space.  I really appreciated the designated serving area for walking up to get a pint instead of having to reach over someone sitting at the bar. The $2 happy hour discount had the place full and the line was a bit slow each time, though it disappeared, of course, just have I got my last pint.

Cask of Haywire with
Mosaic hops added

Event the clearly designated food truck location closing off the patio points to the obviously well thought out plan. I personally love the food truck format for taprooms, and Gastrotruck was a hit for me. Especially for a vegan burger, it was one of the very best veggie burgers I've tasted. I wanted to go back for the nachos, but didn't have time but happily hope to run into Gastrotruck again.

Overall, this is an experience I would like to try again with a bit more time to savor. I can see why it's so popular and why the beer buzz has been good. The simply named Brown Ale was fantastic and one of the best of the style I've had in a very long time: beautiful chocolate brown color, full mouth feel and a robust flavor that is usually the hallmark of bigger beers. I want to seek out a growler of this beer, like maybe later today when I'm back in the area. In a long running argument with my friend Al, I'm not a fan of the Indeed name; however, when the beer is this good, the name will grow on me.

To Be Determined

Late in the summer, I read the Lifestyles Blogging Report by the folks that run the Beer Bloggers Conference (yes, it's a bona fide event). I participated in creating the data because I was interested in the results. These results were background to several recent life events that have created an upheaval in my priorities. Without commenting on the events, I realized the time I was devoting to this blog needed to be placed elsewhere, mostly, because I don't fit the definition of a serious beer blogger. As a result, I'm not producing the sort of work that I personally read. While I am confident that I could write to the level of those I respect, I really don't have the time or motivation. I don't think it's an accident that most of those I admire are or are working to become some version of a professional in the beer industry. And, I'm not willing to change to become serious and this means the direction of my blog will change.  

However, I have no idea what that path of Pint Sized Revelations will be. Previously, I was writing about nearly every place I stopped locally and on vacation, but that amount of writing is taxing and taking away from the simple pleasure of reading about and tasting beer. Note taking also changes the experience of a stop, especially on vacation. I have a few recent stops that I would really like to share, so some of last summer will make the front page of the blog yet.  Also, I've recently returned to homebrewing more seriously and plan to share the results of that as well. While the blog isn't dead and will have future posts, I've also renewed my subscription to All About Beer, organized a stack of neglected beer books, and plan to take far fewer notes while drinking. 

New Albion Ale Clone by Wood Shoe Brew House

New Albion bubbling on the left

On Basic Brewing Radio, Jack McAuliffe joined James, Steve and Andy to brew up a clone of the original New Albion Ale. It was very interesting to hear a first hand perspective from the originator of New Albion brewing, the first brewpub of the modern era that proved the possibility of craft beer.

One of my initial allures of homebrewing was the chance to brew historical recreations. To date, I've done one previously, a clone of the original 1983 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale recipe from Charlie Papazian's book Microbrewed Adventures. I don't have notes but remember the comparison of the old to the modern standard being enjoyable and enlightening. Following the recipe from Brew Your Own, I've taken on my second historical beer, in part because I didn't have enough sense to pick up a six pack of the Sam Adams version earlier this year.

New Albion Ale by Wooden Shoe Brew House: off white head lingers a bit with a light lace; color is brown to caramel with gold highlights; floral and citrus of the Cascade comes through very lightly over sweet caramel; body is light without being thin, letting the sweet and spice wash over the tongue.

My version of New Albion Ale

Vaguely reminiscent of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Summit EPA. Not as a direct comparison, but more in that New Albion Ale tastes old school: heavy sweet malt with a light, barely-there hop nose and tingle on the tongue. Similar to the above named pale ales that are a part of the origin story of craft beer, it actually felt like drinking a time warp; an American pale ale today generally won't be this malty with a singular in the hop note. Many BA reviews alluded to the ale tasting more like an English bitter than an APA, which makes sense based on the London Ale yeast used in the recipe and the history of Jack McAuliffe's European models that inspired the brewery.

I reviewed the Basic Brewing Video tasting notes that compared the same recipe I brewed to the Sam Adams version. Based on their description and color comparison, I feel pretty confident that my version is close to the intended brew. In spite of my enjoymetn, the overall rating on BA and Ratebeer are relatively low. However it seems to me that many of the beer geeks are disappointed by drinking with a poor paradigm.

Each site lists New Albion Ale as an American Pale Ale, which it rightly falls short of when contrasted with highly hopped APAs that approach or surpass bitterness levels of my first India Pale Ales a decade ago. Just like reading literature, the standards of the time period must be considered to full understand a work. While I was 11 when New Albion opened, I still remember the wasteland of my father's beer drinking world of the 1970s and early 80s. Drinking New Albion Ale with that frame of mind greatly enhances the experience and let's me see how this beer must have been a revelation to early beer geeks. With adjusted expectations, this beer is growing on me as I work my way through my bottles. For me, this has been a very worthy experiment to be able to taste a reincarnation of the birth of craft beer. I recommend brewing up a batch of history to anyone wanting this unique experience.

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.

Alchemy Cafe (Madison, WI)

Long day ends at Alchemy

8/10/13

Taking a mellow approach to this year's Great Taste, we road a free bus over to Alchemy for dinner. We tried drafts of Potosi for the first time, a tripel for G and a Belgian IPA for me. Both were solid and Potosi may be worth a trip some day to visit the museums on site: the National Brewery Museum and the Potosi Brewing Co Transportation Museum.  Having read about the National Brewery Museum over the years, I've wanted to visit. Now knowing that pretty good beer will be available afterwards, the trip moves up a notch on the travel list.   

Sweet potato chips with first draft

Back to the Alchemy Cafe, the sweet potato chips were pretty amazing,  mostly because the blueberry jalapeño sauce made the appetizer. For dinner we had the Roasted Vegetable Coconut Curry. In spite of not being a fan of coconut, it didn't matter for this dish, which was fresh and savory. Veggie and vegan options for those who care; my wife went vegan and I dipped into the yogurt for an extra layer of flavor. In short, the stop is worth the effort for the food or beer, whichever is most important.  


In 2008, I had a draft of Surly Darkness and Two Brother's Cane and Abel at Alchemy before Great Taste that year, though I only vaguely recognized the bar when we walked in. Tonight made a clearer impression and I intend/hope to return again some day.

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.