California Beerzine

A Beery Saturday at the Real Ale Festival

The alarm clock went off way too early for a Saturday morning. Saturday morning? Isn’t it not supposed to do that on the weekend?

As much as I usually savor Saturday morning snoozing, I flipped the switch off and jumped out of bed, alert and excited for the day ahead of me. This was no ordinary Saturday.

The girl and I hopped in the car and drove to Culver City. We were meeting up with about 35 other craft beer fanatics at the Culver City Homebrew Supply Shop, home to the (in?)famous Pacific Gravity homebrew club. A chartered bus was waiting to take us down to Carlsbad, where the 11th Annual Pizza Port Real Ale Festival was set to commence.

This being my first road trip with PG, I wasn’t savvy to proper bus protocol. Is it poor form to drink beers when you’re on the way to a beer fest? I didn’t want to pull some huge rookie move and blow my taste buds before we even got through the gates.

When we hit the 405, a bottle of Reissdorf Kölsch was cracked, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. To draw an analogy to my 2nd favorite Microsoft Windows card game, Hearts had been broken. Coolers opened up and backpacks were unzipped, as bombers and 750s were uncapped and uncorked, and passed around the bus.

And this wasn’t just regular stuff from the store. People had brought their delicious homebrews, their recent trades from the East Coast, new releases that are hard to find, and their special reserves that have been squirreled away in closets for years. Highlights included an Affligem Noel from 2004, Avery 15, Penn Brewer’s Reserve St. Nikolaus Bock Bier, and Pizza Port Moon Lit Sessions Lager, which is made from the second runnings of the mash from Lost Abbey Serpent’s Stout.

It’s strange to have that delicious stouty taste in your lager, but overall, it’s very drinkable. Kind of a Serpent’s Stout Lite (I hope Tomme doesn’t read this, I doubt he’d want the word “Lite” in the same sentence with any of his beers).

The bus finally exited the freeway and we made our way down Carlsbad Village Drive. The event had just started, and there was a 20 minute line that extended down the street, way past the alley. Soon enough, though, we were in the gates, we grabbed our commemorative pint glasses and taster tickets, and we were off.

The lineup was stunning.

Continued on page 2

Pliny the Elder Now in Bottles

Big news in the California beer world this week; Russian River is now bottling their Blind Pig IPA, as well as the cult-status Pliny the Elder. Jay Brooks of Brookston Beer Bulletin was on hand to help out at the brewery, where he got to snap a few pictures and take some video of this historic event.

For his full recap, check out: Pliny the Pint Bottle

Hot Knives Taste Signature Ale

Signature Ale is a 2007 collaboration between Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey/Pizza Port fame, and Dirk Naudts of De Proef Brouwerij.

This limited edition brew was on shelves at the end of last summer, and disappeared pretty quickly. In fact, due to overwhelming success, the powers that be decided to brew it again this year.

Find it out on the shelves now, wherever fine beer is sold.

For more videos and other beery goodness, visit the Hot Knives blog.

Are You a Beervangelist?

We all have them: craft beer-averse friends and family members. Sure, you could just leave them alone and let them live their lives this way. But then, really, wouldn’t you be letting them down? Converting non-beer drinkers can be a long and painful experience, but don’t you owe it to your parents, significant other, siblings, neighbors, high school buddies, dog walker, dry cleaner, butcher, baker, and/or candlestick maker to show them the light?

Of course you do. And since I’m sure your motives would be entirely selfless – your companion’s beverage enjoyment being your first and only concern – the benefits that accrue are just the icing on the cake. With each conversion, the results are immediate and gratifying: one more buddy to hit the festival circuit with, one more friend who’ll split a 750mL with you, one more cousin who will never make you swill Bud Light at his BBQ again.

So what’s a gal who’s into lukewarm cask beer to do about companions who feel entirely lukewarm about beer?

Converting them over to the dark side (and the amber side, the golden side, and all the other beer shade sides in between) is easier than you might think. It may take time, but with patience and a good attitude, there are few craft beer neophytes who can’t be won over. Here are a few tips for successful beervangelism:

Tip #1: Choose your targets wisely. Start with those friends and family who are interested in your hobby. Anyone who has expressed admiration for your label collection or your ability to name the seven Trappist breweries is fair game here.

Gourmet-types (those with a special appreciation of wine, chocolate, Carolina-style ribs, or what have you) are also great targets. They are generally deathly afraid of being labeled ‘unadventurous’ and their feelings of guilt and inadequacy over their craft beer ignorance leaves them ripe for conversion.

Leave your Mormon, Muslim, and otherwise religiously abstinent friends alone. Not only should you respect their fidelity to their beliefs, they make very reliable designated drivers.

Save the macro-brew fanatics for last. Matthew McConaughey’s brother is the poster-boy for this camp (he named his kid Miller Lyte for goodness sake!). They’re best won over via a war of attrition. Once you’ve converted all their friends and family, such that they’re faced with a choice between social isolation, perpetual BYOB, or giving your favorite brews a try, they’ll almost certainly cave. Read more »

Blessed Are The Beer Dorks

I know of what I speak, because I too am a dork. If it’s not totally obvious that this obsessive/compulsive, try-every-rare-beer, online trading, pub seeking, beer blog-reading, lace-on-the-glass-loving behavior is about as dorkified as it gets, then it’s time to hit the therapist’s couch and truly learn to know thyself. I say this with the utmost in respect for you, and for myself.

Drinking microbrewed craft beer is a pastime shared by many around the land and indeed the globe; the increasing number of converts to our cause is heartening and cockle-warming. Astride the craft beer revolution, it must be said, are the fanatics. This new breed of high-end beer devotee is every bit as concerned with his naval-gazing pastime of choice as is the coin collector, the stamp collector and the antique accumulator.

In this beer-obsessed world, I’m often reminded of the fanaticism that I myself used to engage in when I was an ardent record collector. I used to spend hours poring over trade lists and looking in classified ads for folks who might be selling records that I’d either never heard (and only heard about) or had heard but couldn’t get. I’d go on road trips to find obscure records that I needed. The “thrill of the score” was palpable. I’d be thumbing through the racks and all of a sudden happen upon some LP or 7″ single that I needed (or had on “my list” starting to sound familiar, beer drinkers?), and the euphoric feeling was similar to that felt across the US today when a bottle of Bell’s Hopslam or Russian River Supplication arrives at the mailstops of beer dorks nationwide.

In fact, the regionalism of craft beer production is among its most appealing features for the beer dork. If everyone could walk to Safeway or the Piggly Wiggly and pick up a bottle of Lost Abbey Serpent’s Stout, then, hey, where’s the fun in that? This is my beer, damn it! Want to trade for it? I’ve found that the sense of loss felt by beer dorks when a favorite craft brewer succeeds in gaining wide distribution is akin to the feelings many of my record collector pals felt when one of our micro-scene bands broke out of their neighborhood and began to be played and bought on a nationwide level. It actually kinda hurts on the inside, even though it shouldn’t.

Let’s give the fanatic his due, though. It is he (and even sometimes she) that is helping bring incredible beers into the restaurants of America. It is he who has glorified the ultra-hopped India Pale Ale, and helped prod brewers nationwide to new tongue-scorching heights. It is he who has helped move craft beer acceptance into the near-mainstream, just as the punk rocker propelled his hallowed bands out of the local, scene-based ghetto and into mass acceptance.

It just may be that Moylan’s Hopsickle or Southern Tier’s Heavy Weizen is poised for a worldwide breakthrough on par with Nirvana in 1992. As always, the beer dorks will have been there first. Just ask them, for they will make sure that you know.

Russian Beer In Northern California?

Of all the great breweries in California, Russian River stands out for making some of the most coveted beers on the market. Any beer geek worth his salt has made the pilgrimage to Santa Rosa, pre-ordered their special releases online, or orchestrated a trade to get their hands on this precious commodity. But for the uninitiated, who are slowly learning all the great beers California has to offer, here is a primer on one of California’s best breweries.

Russian River Brewing Company

If you’re an avid craft beer fan like I am, chances are, you are very familiar with the name Russian River. They produce some of the most sought after beers in the country. 

Most craft breweries are lucky to have one beer that causes fanatics to stand in lines for hours, pay over a dollar per ounce, or seek friends across country that will ship them beer.  Russian River makes more of these high demand beers than you can count on both hands.

Without getting too complicated, Russian River has made their name in two areas: IPAs and Wild Ales.  Their four IPAs are some of the best, if not the best, known to man.  Russian River IPA, Blind Pig IPA, Pliny the Elder Double IPA and Pliny the Younger Triple IPA satisfy every hop lover’s dream; getting smacked upside the head with huge doses of hops.

Their Wild Ales are made with special yeasts and bacterias, giving these beers a signature tart or sour quality.  The more well known of this bunch are Temptation, a Blonde Ale aged in used chardonnay barrels, and Supplication, a Brown Ale aged with sour cherries in used pinot noir barrels.

In addition to their IPAs and Wild Ales, they also brew several types of Belgian Ales, American Pale Ales, Stouts, English Pale Ales, Czech Pilsners and more.  Right now, their Belgian Pale Ale, Damnation, is their only beer that can be found pretty regularly at the better beer stores across the state.  But thanks to a recent expansion, they just began regular bottling of Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder, which will be available throughout California for the first time in 500mL bottles.

If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, or happen to be near Santa Rosa (about an hour north of the Bay area), a stop at the Russian River Brewpub is a must.  And if you aren’t yet a fan of IPAs or Wild Ales, there is plenty on tap that will satisfy: a Blonde Ale, a well balanced Pale, a spicy Belgian-style wheat beer, or a nice roasty, chocolaty Stout.  Those are just a few of the possibilities, if you need a suggestion, don’t be afraid to ask the bartender.

Prices are at the brewpub are very reasonable. For beer of this quality, at $3-4 per pint, this might be one of the best deals in California. If you make it to happy hour (which lasts all day on Sunday) you can get a beer for under $3!  The food isn’t to be forgotten either, and you’ll more than likely need some.  The bulk of the menu is pizza and pizza-derived dishes, very tasty, and perfect for soaking up all that delicious beer in your belly.

Russian River is located at 725 4th Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Their website can be found at http://russianriverbrewing.com/

Steve Altimari of Valley Brewing Introduces Two Special Releases

Thanks to Joe and Jasmine from Beer at Joe’s for their excellent coverage of Beerapalooza ‘08!

Beer Cannon Montage

It just goes to show, there are tons of cool things you can do with Milwaukee’s Best Light besides drink it.

Mammoth IPA 395

After a full day on the slopes, there are few things more rewarding than cracking open a bomber of Mammoth Brewing’s 395 Double IPA. This is a big, hoppy IPA brewed with sage and juniper. If the alchemists at Mammoth Brewing were trying to create a beer whose flavor personified the Eastern Sierras, 395 IPA is a resounding success.

As you raise the glass to your lips, the fresh, floral aromas meander up like an old 2-man ski lift going to the far side of the mountain. Luckily, with a hop profile like this, you’re in no rush to bomb down the slope and squeeze in as many runs as possible. No, you’re going to want to take your time with this one.

This beer is to be sipped and enjoyed, and like any good ski trip, it’s best when shared with friends. Get greedy and drink too much of it, you’ll swerve into the trees. When you wake up, you’ll find yourself in a basket behind a snowmobile, head throbbing with a mouth full of pine needles. We’ve all been there before, folks, and it’s a great way to ruin a beer forever (the same reason I have sworn off Old Viscosity).

Best to keep this a nice leisurely slalom through fresh powder. You won’t inflict yourself with any debilitating injuries, and you’ll stay appreciative and longing for next season.

Yes, that was a snowboarding analogy in the middle of July. What, you never heard of Christmas in July?

Alpine Ale