Written by Jeff Barber
On Thursday, March 26th, WineStyles in Rocklin held their first beer tasting event. While attendance can be improved, it was well-received, good beers were poured, and it hopefully was the start of something new for the WineStyles monthly calendar.
Originally planned as a spring/summer beer event, the final lineup of beers was changed slightly based on distributor availability. A good variety of beers were still offered however.
The first beer we poured was Boulder Brewing Buffalo Gold. A lightly carbonated, easy drinking, golden ale, this was a good beer for those making the transition from macros to microbrews or maybe while mowing the lawn on a hot summer day.
Next up was the world-renowned Double Trouble Hefeweizen. Actually, this was my homebrewed hefeweizen, brewed in the German style with noticeable notes of clove and banana. As a home brewer, it was good to see people enjoying my beer.
Third was Sierra Nevada’s ESB. This was another solid entry from Sierra Nevada, meant to simulate the British extra special bitter style, it is brewed with both US and British hops and is unfiltered resulting in an enhanced aroma of malt and mouthfeel.
Next in line was Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale. This beer has always been a personal favorite and is brewed in the German Maibock style. Although an ale, instead of a lager, as true maibocks are, this beer has a prominent malty aroma and hearty flavor. A good mix of malt and hops with a slightly increased level of alcohol at 6.5% ABV.
Our fifth beer was our first entry from Mendocino Brewing, Red Tail Ale. This is an excellent example of an American amber. Full bodied with Cascade and Cluster hops, a slight citrus flavor is noticed. Personally, I prefer this amber over the more well-known, Fat Tire, as it has more flavor.
We then moved on to a unique version of an amber ale, Hazed and Infused by Boulder Brewing. This amber is both unfiltered and dry hopped. I really enjoyed this beer, especially the aroma, but heard some comments from some of the tasters that this beer was too bitter or hoppy. Hoppiness is an acquired taste.
Our next to last beer was Mirror Pond Pale Ale by Dechutes Brewing. One of the classic pale ales with lots of grapefruit and pine from the NW hops, this is a great beer for hop lovers. At 5% ABV, it’s also one that can be enjoyed almost as a session beer.
Our final beer was our only selection approaching a big beer. Eye of the Hawk from Mendocino Brewing is 8% ABV with a strong caramel malt flavor, a big mouthfeel, and enough hops to balance. It also is bottle conditioned resulting in natural carbonation and some richer flavors. This beer was the favorite of most of the people I asked.
This was a very enjoyable event that according to Francis, owner of Winestyles, will be repeated. It’s a good example of WineStyles efforts to expand their beer offerings. Their regular lineup is small but good with offerings such Sierra Nevada Celebration (almost gone), Bear Republic Racer 5, and Lost Coast Great White. When you get a chance, make sure and stop by and make sure you tell Francis you appreciate his efforts to make good beer available.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Airport Beer Guide
Although it is proving extremely difficult... I sorta promise I will attempt to refrain from making any poor taste stereotypical cracks about airline pilots despite the following information.
For people that spend anytime at all in airports or flying about the country there is now a guide to help you endure all those delayed flights and boorish tourists.
Cheapflights has created the free Airport Beer Guide to help you locate a decent brew in some of the larger U.S. airports. And of course new meaning to Twelve O'clock High.....oh damn.....sorry.
For people that spend anytime at all in airports or flying about the country there is now a guide to help you endure all those delayed flights and boorish tourists.
Cheapflights has created the free Airport Beer Guide to help you locate a decent brew in some of the larger U.S. airports. And of course new meaning to Twelve O'clock High.....oh damn.....sorry.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
"Big Beer Fest" at Beermann's in Roseville
Written by Jeff Barber
On Saturday, February 28, a truly outstanding beer event was put on by Beermann’s in Roseville. Years in the planning and now commemorating the exit of Beermann’s head brewer, Mike Sutherland, a lineup of aged barley wines and other big beers were put out for everyone’s enjoyment, some aged since 2002, and they were enjoyed by all. In some cases, previous brewers at Beermann’s who had moved on, came back to enjoy barley wines that were brewed before they left such as with Brian Ford, now with the Auburn Alehouse.
Beermann’s is a small brewery that opens on Thursday and Friday afternoons for informal happy hours. The atmosphere is casual and often feels like you’re enjoying beer over at someone’s house. Saturday was no exception.
Where to start? Where we started was with the 2002 barley wines made with fruit. The first was brewed with raspberries. What was most surprising about this beer was that after 7 years, the aroma still had a noticeable smell of the berries. There was also tartness still present in the flavor and I thought I picked up some sherry character as well. This was a great beer and started the adventure off right
Up second was what turned out to be my favorite of a bunch of truly great beers. The 2002 Bourbon Barrel barley wine was brewed with cherries. The fruit provided some sourness and dryness to the beer but the malt provided great balance. While the cherries and barrel aging provided a great flavor, the lack of sweetness was unique to this offering. I found later that I was comparing the other beers I tried to this as my gold medal.
Following the 2002, we moved to the 2003 Strong Blonde aged in oak. This beer was dominated by the oak aging in both aroma and flavor. It was thinner than most of the others with noticeable alcohol but I enjoyed the variety, and in fact liked this beer quite a lot.
In order to be able to remain standing at the end, I chose to skip their 1000th brew, a double IPA, and their 2004 triple IPA. According to others I talked to, the Triple was outstanding but the double was still young (brewed a couple of months ago).
We then moved on to the 2006 version of their Bourbon Barrel Barley wine. This beer had a noticeable sweetness to it with some notes of vanilla from the bourbon barrels and a possibility of hazelnuts. A very good version of their barley wine,
After the 2006 Bourbon Barrel, we had the 2005 version. Heavier, with more vanilla from the barrels than the 2006, I preferred this version. There was a slight citrus note as well. Not a beer to drink several of but an outstanding barley wine!
Next up was the 2004 barley wine, Mr. Big. The version was never put into wood barrels and as a result, didn’t have the vanilla notes and wasn’t as sweet as the other two. Roasted malt was more noticeable in this version as well. This was another great example, especially for those who favor un-oaked barley wines.
We soldiered on and moved to the 2002 Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine. This beer was proof that the right beer can be aged for multiple years. Right up there in enjoyment with cherry version, this beer was more subdued than the others but still complex, as a good barley wine should be. Still sweet but more caramel-like than vanilla, this beer was exceptional.
This was great event enjoyed by all and well worth the $30 entry. People truly enjoy a lot of small breweries around the states and events like this are why. Rumors have it that Beermann’s is being sold. Here’s hoping the new owners keep up the good work done by Mike and his staff.
Monday, February 9, 2009
9th Annual Bistro Double IPA Fest
By Mike Sober (AKA The HopHunter)
For the better part of the last decade The Bistro in Old Town Hayward California has been THE place for hop lovers to congregate on the first Saturday of every February. This years 9th Annual Double IPA Festival was the biggest and best ever and one can only imagine how next years version can hope to top it. But I'm getting ahead of myself......something very easy to do at an epic event of this scale.
The inaugural Double IPA fest in 2001 featured barely a dozen total entries and was held indoors in the Bistro's everyday bar area. This years extravaganza completely shut down the street South of the bar and included no less than 46 double IPA's.
As per tradition at this world class kickoff to San Francisco Beer Week all the beers are judged prior to the noon start and the winners announced half way through at 4:00pm or so.
When you sign up and pay for your taster glass and drink coupons you also get a double sided 8-1/2"x11" printout with every Brewery/Beer/Location/Brewer/ABV and IBU's listed in alphabetical order.
Every year I take notes, chart and evaluate all the beers I tried and in what order I drank them.....and every year I look back on it and marvel at how selective I had to be in my choices and how small a dent I put in the total.
This year I sampled 24 brews, a couple of them twice....which barely covers half of the field. These my friends are just some big ass beers.
I had my own favorites of course but ...... The official winners for 2009 were
GOLD - Pizza Port "Poormans IPA" - Carlsbad CA
SILVER - Triple Rock "IIMAXX Imperial IPA" - Berkeley CA
BRONZE - Bear Republic "Apex" - Healdsburg CA (A repeat medalist)
PEOPLES CHOICE - Russian River "Pliny the Younger" - Santa Rosa CA (For the second consecutive year)
My personal favorites included (in alphabetical order)
Auburn Ale House "Isotope PU240" - Auburn CA
Beach Chalet "The Baron" - San Francisco CA
Big Dogs "Hop Harvest Ale" - Las Vegas NV
Fifty/Fifty "Landslide" - Truckee, CA
Lagunitas "Hop Stoopid" - Petaluma CA
Pizza Port "Lou P Lin" - Solano Beach CA
Rogue "XSIPA" - Newport OR
Rubicon "REX IPA" - Sacramento CA
Seabright "Hopnoxious" - Santa Cruz CA
Sierra Nevada "Hop Secret 393" - Chico CA
Stone "Sublimely Self Righteous Ale" - Escondido CA
I suppose not mentioning Hopsickle, Hop 15, Torpedo,White Knuckle, Pliny the Elder,Double Daddy, Ruination, Double Trouble, Pure Hoppiness, Mach 10, 90 & 120 minute IPA, Denogginizer, Double Dog, Imperial IPA, Casey Jones Double, Quasar, Promised Land, Ale to the Chief,The Big DIPA, Steelhead Double, Moylander, Gordon, Hop Henge Experimental,Jersey Giant, Firkin Chico, and Bittersweet Lanny's RIPA would seem a bit of an oversight.....but nothing could be further from the truth........well maybe something could be further from the truth...like telling you I could drive home after all those beers. They tell me I had a good time and I know they're correct. I absolutely cannot wait for the first weekend of February in 2010.
Check out a few photos and judge for yourself......
For the better part of the last decade The Bistro in Old Town Hayward California has been THE place for hop lovers to congregate on the first Saturday of every February. This years 9th Annual Double IPA Festival was the biggest and best ever and one can only imagine how next years version can hope to top it. But I'm getting ahead of myself......something very easy to do at an epic event of this scale.
The inaugural Double IPA fest in 2001 featured barely a dozen total entries and was held indoors in the Bistro's everyday bar area. This years extravaganza completely shut down the street South of the bar and included no less than 46 double IPA's.
As per tradition at this world class kickoff to San Francisco Beer Week all the beers are judged prior to the noon start and the winners announced half way through at 4:00pm or so.
When you sign up and pay for your taster glass and drink coupons you also get a double sided 8-1/2"x11" printout with every Brewery/Beer/Location/Brewer/ABV and IBU's listed in alphabetical order.
Every year I take notes, chart and evaluate all the beers I tried and in what order I drank them.....and every year I look back on it and marvel at how selective I had to be in my choices and how small a dent I put in the total.
This year I sampled 24 brews, a couple of them twice....which barely covers half of the field. These my friends are just some big ass beers.
I had my own favorites of course but ...... The official winners for 2009 were
GOLD - Pizza Port "Poormans IPA" - Carlsbad CA
SILVER - Triple Rock "IIMAXX Imperial IPA" - Berkeley CA
BRONZE - Bear Republic "Apex" - Healdsburg CA (A repeat medalist)
PEOPLES CHOICE - Russian River "Pliny the Younger" - Santa Rosa CA (For the second consecutive year)
My personal favorites included (in alphabetical order)
Auburn Ale House "Isotope PU240" - Auburn CA
Beach Chalet "The Baron" - San Francisco CA
Big Dogs "Hop Harvest Ale" - Las Vegas NV
Fifty/Fifty "Landslide" - Truckee, CA
Lagunitas "Hop Stoopid" - Petaluma CA
Pizza Port "Lou P Lin" - Solano Beach CA
Rogue "XSIPA" - Newport OR
Rubicon "REX IPA" - Sacramento CA
Seabright "Hopnoxious" - Santa Cruz CA
Sierra Nevada "Hop Secret 393" - Chico CA
Stone "Sublimely Self Righteous Ale" - Escondido CA
I suppose not mentioning Hopsickle, Hop 15, Torpedo,White Knuckle, Pliny the Elder,Double Daddy, Ruination, Double Trouble, Pure Hoppiness, Mach 10, 90 & 120 minute IPA, Denogginizer, Double Dog, Imperial IPA, Casey Jones Double, Quasar, Promised Land, Ale to the Chief,The Big DIPA, Steelhead Double, Moylander, Gordon, Hop Henge Experimental,Jersey Giant, Firkin Chico, and Bittersweet Lanny's RIPA would seem a bit of an oversight.....but nothing could be further from the truth........well maybe something could be further from the truth...like telling you I could drive home after all those beers. They tell me I had a good time and I know they're correct. I absolutely cannot wait for the first weekend of February in 2010.
Check out a few photos and judge for yourself......
Friday, February 6, 2009
Beer at Wine Styles?
Written by Jeff Barber
Last night, my wife Becky and I visited one of her favorite places in Roseville, Wine Styles. Located out of the way, in back of the parking lot near Cabo’s on Lonetree Boulevard, wine is clearly their focus. They seem to do a great job with wine knowledge, variety, and price. This being a beer web site however, I’ll focus on their efforts with beer.
Although they still have room to grow and don’t have any draft beer, Francis at Wine Styles is clearly interested in expanding their bottled offerings. What was a pretty basic set of 5 offerings previously, now has evolved to Racer 5, Sierra Nevada Celebration, Lost Coast Great White and Downtown Brown, Smithwick’s, and Peroni’s, all at $4 each. I have had several conversations about beer with Francis and he is very interested in continuing to improve his offerings, with Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot possibly next. He also is planning on hosting his first beer tasting in March.
So if you are like me and have a wife who prefers wine and want to avail yourself of a place that has a very comfortable atmosphere, including and outside patio, a very nice wine selection, and the opportunity to enjoy a few very good beers, give Wine Styles a try. Let Francis know you’d like to see him continue to expand his beers.
Last night, my wife Becky and I visited one of her favorite places in Roseville, Wine Styles. Located out of the way, in back of the parking lot near Cabo’s on Lonetree Boulevard, wine is clearly their focus. They seem to do a great job with wine knowledge, variety, and price. This being a beer web site however, I’ll focus on their efforts with beer.
Although they still have room to grow and don’t have any draft beer, Francis at Wine Styles is clearly interested in expanding their bottled offerings. What was a pretty basic set of 5 offerings previously, now has evolved to Racer 5, Sierra Nevada Celebration, Lost Coast Great White and Downtown Brown, Smithwick’s, and Peroni’s, all at $4 each. I have had several conversations about beer with Francis and he is very interested in continuing to improve his offerings, with Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot possibly next. He also is planning on hosting his first beer tasting in March.
So if you are like me and have a wife who prefers wine and want to avail yourself of a place that has a very comfortable atmosphere, including and outside patio, a very nice wine selection, and the opportunity to enjoy a few very good beers, give Wine Styles a try. Let Francis know you’d like to see him continue to expand his beers.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The Greenhouse in Roseville
Written by Jeff Barber
Recently my wife, Becky, and I visited the Greenhouse in Roseville, a still relatively new organic restaurant and brewery. Since Rick’s post about the Greenhouse was soon after it opened almost a year ago, I thought an update was due. Becky and I are always on the lookout for places that have outside seating and we were frequent customers of the Greenhouse, two generations ago as the still missed River Rock.
I have to say I was very impressed. Scaled down from its previous high-end existence as the Town Lounge, it still is a very comfortable place with a lot of dark wood, and the fore-mentioned out door patio.
The day we were there, they had eight beers on tap, all made on premises by Kevin Pratt, Brewmaster. The most impressive was their Belgian Golden Ale, a very tart, complex 8% ABV ale. I love Belgian strong ales and this was an excellent example. The alcohol is well hidden as well. Becky likes only very mild beers and she loved the Kolsch. Although a little too mild for me, it was very true to style. I also tasted their English Pale Ale, Summer Wheat (more like Belgian Wit), Bock, and Irish Red. All the beers were quite good with the Irish Red being the other standout (lots of bready and caramel malts with some good finishing hop bitterness).
The food also was excellent. Becky had the calamari and I had the shrimp tacos. The calamari was huge (enough for 3-4 people to share), crisp and delicious. The tacos were just a little on the spicy side with some very meaty shrimp.
Service also was good so if anyone is looking for a place to sit outside and sip a beer, or have a meal, in the most of the time beautiful Roseville weather, give The Greenhouse a try!
Recently my wife, Becky, and I visited the Greenhouse in Roseville, a still relatively new organic restaurant and brewery. Since Rick’s post about the Greenhouse was soon after it opened almost a year ago, I thought an update was due. Becky and I are always on the lookout for places that have outside seating and we were frequent customers of the Greenhouse, two generations ago as the still missed River Rock.
I have to say I was very impressed. Scaled down from its previous high-end existence as the Town Lounge, it still is a very comfortable place with a lot of dark wood, and the fore-mentioned out door patio.
The day we were there, they had eight beers on tap, all made on premises by Kevin Pratt, Brewmaster. The most impressive was their Belgian Golden Ale, a very tart, complex 8% ABV ale. I love Belgian strong ales and this was an excellent example. The alcohol is well hidden as well. Becky likes only very mild beers and she loved the Kolsch. Although a little too mild for me, it was very true to style. I also tasted their English Pale Ale, Summer Wheat (more like Belgian Wit), Bock, and Irish Red. All the beers were quite good with the Irish Red being the other standout (lots of bready and caramel malts with some good finishing hop bitterness).
The food also was excellent. Becky had the calamari and I had the shrimp tacos. The calamari was huge (enough for 3-4 people to share), crisp and delicious. The tacos were just a little on the spicy side with some very meaty shrimp.
Service also was good so if anyone is looking for a place to sit outside and sip a beer, or have a meal, in the most of the time beautiful Roseville weather, give The Greenhouse a try!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
More Than Extreme Pizza
-written by Mike Sober (AKA The HopHunter)
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of sharing a pizza and a couple of beers with Extreme Pizza owner Fred Munday. As soon as I walked in the place I could immediately see the thing that makes his location (1140 Exposition Blvd in Sacramento) differ from other Extreme Pizza locations I've been to ...... namely the tap handles and 22oz bottles for take home.
There was eight taps in all with no AB, Miller or Coors products in sight. Fred and his wife Margot opened up the place in October of 2007 with the idea of serving top notch pizza along with fresh local craft brews.
The offerings, which Fred explained usually lasted about a week on average before they rotated out, were Rubicon Pilsner, Beermann's Oatmeal Stout, Sudwerks Marzen, Rubicon IPA, Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA, Maylan's Kiltlifter, Stone Arrogant Bastard and Fox Apple Cider.
According to Fred's beer rotation spreadsheet the next round of beers would include Lagunitas Pils, Sudwerks Hefeweisen, Rubicon Irish Red (a PBN favorite) and Lake Tahoe Brewing's Nut Brown.
Although the selection of beers is impressive and worth every effort one could make to visit the this particular Extreme Pizza site; it is Fred himself that impressed me the most about my visit. Born in England and brought up in the old family ways of life that revolved around the local neighborhood pub he possesses an appreciation and knowledge of beer that is most refreshing to behold.
He is meticulous about the beer line and pint glass cleanliness (no sanitizer or soap residue) and the constant rotation of fresh brews with an eye towards setting his customers up with just the right beer for them.
As I sipped on my Big Daddy IPA and enjoyed a slice of the excellent "Kickin Chicken" pizza Fred excused himself and attended to two lady's that had tentatively approached the ordering counter. They inquired about a pitcher of Marzen but seemed unsure if it was the same beer they had enjoyed a few days prior. After asking them about their usual beer preference he offered them several samples including the Marzen, the Rubicon Pilsner and IPA to help insure that they invested in exactly the pitcher of beer that they came in for. It was indeed the Marzen.
I kinda cheated and looked ahead on the beer rotation sheet and found a number of gems that I plan to be back for ... including Stone Smoked Porter, Eel River Triple Exultrations and Anchor Porter. I also see Rubicon's ever popular Monkey Knife Fight, Beermann's Rip Roaring Red and Weed Brewings Lemurian Lager listing in the coming months.
So ya, if you are in Sacramento hungry for a great pizza (they make their own fresh dough and toppings daily) and a fresh local craft brew to go with it I recommend checking out whatever Fred has on that week.
It really does my heart good to see people breaking away from the old tired and stale approach to commerce and truly invest themselves with passion into providing excellent local products at reasonable prices.
Extreme Pizza
1140 Exposition Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95815
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of sharing a pizza and a couple of beers with Extreme Pizza owner Fred Munday. As soon as I walked in the place I could immediately see the thing that makes his location (1140 Exposition Blvd in Sacramento) differ from other Extreme Pizza locations I've been to ...... namely the tap handles and 22oz bottles for take home.
There was eight taps in all with no AB, Miller or Coors products in sight. Fred and his wife Margot opened up the place in October of 2007 with the idea of serving top notch pizza along with fresh local craft brews.
The offerings, which Fred explained usually lasted about a week on average before they rotated out, were Rubicon Pilsner, Beermann's Oatmeal Stout, Sudwerks Marzen, Rubicon IPA, Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA, Maylan's Kiltlifter, Stone Arrogant Bastard and Fox Apple Cider.
According to Fred's beer rotation spreadsheet the next round of beers would include Lagunitas Pils, Sudwerks Hefeweisen, Rubicon Irish Red (a PBN favorite) and Lake Tahoe Brewing's Nut Brown.
Although the selection of beers is impressive and worth every effort one could make to visit the this particular Extreme Pizza site; it is Fred himself that impressed me the most about my visit. Born in England and brought up in the old family ways of life that revolved around the local neighborhood pub he possesses an appreciation and knowledge of beer that is most refreshing to behold.
He is meticulous about the beer line and pint glass cleanliness (no sanitizer or soap residue) and the constant rotation of fresh brews with an eye towards setting his customers up with just the right beer for them.
As I sipped on my Big Daddy IPA and enjoyed a slice of the excellent "Kickin Chicken" pizza Fred excused himself and attended to two lady's that had tentatively approached the ordering counter. They inquired about a pitcher of Marzen but seemed unsure if it was the same beer they had enjoyed a few days prior. After asking them about their usual beer preference he offered them several samples including the Marzen, the Rubicon Pilsner and IPA to help insure that they invested in exactly the pitcher of beer that they came in for. It was indeed the Marzen.
I kinda cheated and looked ahead on the beer rotation sheet and found a number of gems that I plan to be back for ... including Stone Smoked Porter, Eel River Triple Exultrations and Anchor Porter. I also see Rubicon's ever popular Monkey Knife Fight, Beermann's Rip Roaring Red and Weed Brewings Lemurian Lager listing in the coming months.
So ya, if you are in Sacramento hungry for a great pizza (they make their own fresh dough and toppings daily) and a fresh local craft brew to go with it I recommend checking out whatever Fred has on that week.
It really does my heart good to see people breaking away from the old tired and stale approach to commerce and truly invest themselves with passion into providing excellent local products at reasonable prices.
Extreme Pizza
1140 Exposition Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95815
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