Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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Women’s World Cup Brewery # 2 – Black Hops Brewery

Who wouldn’t like a brewery with a first beer of eggnog stout? The three mates who started Black Hops Brewing now have three locations in Burleigh Heads, Biggera Waters & East Brisbane.

Let’s head to my taster tray…

Code Red – “A 6.2% classic American Red Ale. Rich toffee malt body and minimal yeast character. Winner of the Champion IPA title at RQFW Awards 2019 & 2022.

Foreverland – “Big pithy grapefruit and citrus dominates the aroma and flavour with a smooth, soft hazy malt bill to balance it out. Perfect for these warmer days.”

Red Velvet – “This Dessert Porter brings to life the intricate flavours of a red velvet cake. Savour each sip, where the fusion of cake and beer creates an epic taste adventure worthy of celebration. Raise your glass to HQ’s 7th Birthday and toast to a truly unforgettable experience. “

Untamed – “Capturing the wild spirit of the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, this NZ IPA commands a lineup of 100% NZ hops. Expect gritty bitterness, juicy tropical fruit and citrus aromas with a subtle malt body. “

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Women’s World Cup Brewery Tour – # 1 – Boatrocker Brewers and Distillers

Our first stop in Australia this month is in Braeside and specifically Macbeth Street for Boatrocker Brewers and Distillers.

Founded in 2009 by Matt & Andrea Houghton after a time where their beers were brewed elsewhere, they now have their own space and a Gin School!

Here are some beers for the taster tray…

Alpha Queen Pale Ale – “The beer that started Boatrocker…  Loaded with aromatic female hop flowers, this queen is highly hopped, wonderfully bitter and undeniably delicious.  Long live the queen!”

Conehead West Coast IPA – “Conehead is our latest core range IPA… Loads of hops, used in DIP hopping plus dry hopping, this is a beer that doesn’t shy away from bitterness and that lovely, dank resinous hop aroma. It’s a West Coast IPA that you can easily enjoy a few of.”

Yes Chef California Common – “A deliciously chewy bready malt base complimented by North American hops.  Delicious on its own but best paired with …. some Deep End Pizza!”

Basil and Berries – “After developing complexity for 18+ months, our foeder aged wild ale has been generously blended with 250 grams per litre of fresh basil and mixed berries.  The result is a distinctive fresh and fruity reinvention of the classic lambic style.”

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Central Coast Brewery # 3 – Night Lizard Brewing

I am not fond of lizards at any time of day, but I am fond of breweries at any time so let’s head to Santa Barbara and Night Lizard Brewing and have a taster flight…

Bushmallow German Blonde – “A refreshing crisp ale. Munich Malt and Pure Idaho 2-row are featured in this ale. Growing in steep canyons of the channel islands, this endangered shrub has pink, lavender, or white flowers in spring.”

Gnatcatcher IPA – “A New England “Hazy” Indian Pale Ale. This fruity, juicy IPA is huge on Mosaic, Citra, and Idaho 7 flavors. Named after the endangered coastal Gnatcatcher, this species was heavily predated on by brown-headed cow birds.”

Yuzu Mijiu DWitt – “Yuzu and house made Mijiu blended into our double Belgian White Ale.”

Lupine Porter – “A traditional English porter with heavy caramel, toffee and toasted nut notes, with a slightly chocolatey sweet finish. This endangered flower is endemic to the dunes of San Luis Obispo. Only 700 plants remain!”

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Central Coast Brewery # 2 – Ojai Valley Brewery

Down at the south end of the long Central Coast is where we land next at Ojai Valley Brewery that takes advantage of its location for some of its beers ingredients.

Here is my taster tray…

Pixie – “White Wheat Ale with Pixie Tangerine Zest & Marmalade, Indian Coriander, and Chamomile, rolled oats, and raw white wheat. Bittering provided by Bravo Hops. Medium Light Body, Round Mouthfeel, Mild balanced bitterness that gives way to slight sweetness.”

Cali Bock – “Hop forward Hybrid Lager. Combination of California Common Lager and Helles Bock Lager. Clean medium bodied, with a higher alcohol content than most lagers.”

Chaparral – “Amber Ale ( close to ESB) brewed with wild foraged black sage, white sage, and purple sage. the sage flavor is subtle on purpose to make it highly drinkable without being overwhelming. The sage is mostly in the nose because of this, and provides a slightly sour herb base to the beer. All of the sage is foraged off the Etchart Ranch property where we have been seceding and cultivating it for years. We’ve also planted all of these sages in the front planter directly in front of the tap room between the street and fence. Bittered with Noble Hops.”

Bruja – “Belgian Imperial Barrel Aged Stout, brewed with Mexican Canella (cinnamon), raw cocoa, and Mexican Vanilla Bean. Aged 2 years in white Oak. Extremely Limited, and sells out quickly.”

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Central Coast Brewery # 1 – Antigua Brewing

We are staying in the Central Coast, even though L.A. Beer Week starts today, and our destination is San Luis Obispo and Antigua Brewing. There is also an Antigua Farms, and some of the beers use hops grown there, so really local.

Let’s dive right into the taster tray.

Celebration Spiced Red Ale – cinnamon and pink pepper spiced real ale.

Pandemic Porter – a blend of coffee, chocolate and hop notes

The Grand Hoppening – an English-styled IPA made with hops from the Antigua Farm

Harvest Morning Glory – and orange infused Belgian Wit with spice

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Firestone Walker Invitational Brewery # 3 – Private Press Brewing

We are mere days away from the 2023 edition of the Firestone Walker Invitational in beautiful Paso Robles and here is the third featured brewery that will be pouring at the fairgrounds, Private Press Brewing.

They are unique in that is a membership brewery that focuses on barrel-aged brewing focused and creating only Imperial Stouts and Barleywines. As with most membership breweries, the output is small and the wait list long and winding but the below beers give a taste of what they are up to, in case you run across them at a festival.

Limitations American Strong Ale – “Bourbon barrel aged munichwine ale brewed with honey.”

Ripple in Time Quadrupel – “Belgian-style Quadrupel aged in bourbon barrels.”

1966 Barleywine – “Blend of bourbon barrel-aged barleywine ales.”


Collaboration with Cellarmaker Brewing Company

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Firestone Walker Invitational Brewery # 2 – Northern Monk

Northern Monk comes to Paso Robles all the way from Leeds in England (where a few American footballers play).

Let’s pick a few beers that I hope to taste at the Invitational next month…

Faith Hazy Pale Ale – “A Hazy Pale Ale packed with soft fruit flavours.”

Don’t Mess with Yorkshire Pale Ale – “with rhubarb and custard”

Heathen NE IPA – “One for the late nights and Hazy mornings.”

Northern Star Porter – chocolate, caramel biscuit “Smooth, creamy and rich.”

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Washington State Brewery # 3 – El Sueñito Brewing

Our last stop in the Evergreen State is dreamy, El Sueñito Brewing in Bellingham.

Founded by Dennis Ramey and Osbaldo Frelard of Frelard Tamales in Seattle. The couple have visions of an inviting space for queer and BIPOC beer fans.

Here are some beers to taste from a recent tap list:

Alemania – “A Kolsch-style ale, this beer is based on the traditional beer style from Koln, Germany. While not *technically* called a Kolsch unless brewed in Koln, this beer sticks to the traditional style with additions of Vienna malt, giving light bready malt notes. German noble hop additions in the kettle and whirlpool give a balanced grassy/resinous aroma. Fermenting on the cool side with German ale yeast gives a unique ester profile that compliments the style.”

Cerveza Blanca – “Belgian style Witbier, brewed with lots of malted and unmalted white wheat. Unmalted wheat provides a higher protein content than malted wheat, which helps keep Cerveza Blanca nice and hazy as intended. Oats smooth out the mouthfeel, but this beer still finished fairly dry and crisp. Hopped with Pacific Jade, a New Zealand variety that gives notes of melon, lime, and orange. Whirlpool additions of ground coriander and dried orange peel play well with the hops to give a little extra boost of citrus notes. Best served with an orange slice!”

Güerita Blonde Ale – “This is a simple, no frills, crushable light beer. Biscuit and Toast notes from Vienna malt provide sweet, bready flavors that are balanced by light-handed additions of Chinook and Cascade hops, that provide some slight bitterness and notes of pine, grass, and grapefruit.”

New Friends Pale Ale – “Being a hoppy, American Pale Ale, Cascade hops couldn’t be left out of this brew! Complimented by Citra, Mosaic, and Idaho 7, this beer has lots of citrus and tropical fruit notes. It has a distinct and balanced hop aroma and flavor, but more subdued and less bitter than a typical IPA.”

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Washington State Brewery # 2 – Hildegard Ferments and Botanicals

Stop number two is at Hildegard Ferments and Botanicals. Co-owners Rosa Vissers and Howard Kuo have created half herbal remedy shop with a brewery that follows the seasons.

Here are some beer choices to consider…

Lux Table Bier – “A well hopped golden table bier fermented cold with a touch of dry hop that is endlessly drinkable and balanced with an unexpected depth. Lux exhibits a fine bitterness and lightly warmed ciabatta bread downwind from an herb garden.”

Tula Saison Batch # 2 – “With the cold snap we experienced back in November, our little brewery got cold. As all of our ferments slowed to a crawl, we had to get creative in order to brew a saison to our liking.”

Viriditas Jun Nettle – “Our newest recipe, this one is a keeper. Tastes like lemonade, sandalwood, a little earthy, some fresh pine. Picture yourself taking a stroll outside on one of the first sunny spring days…the sun kisses your face, the air smells amazing, the birds are singing, and you are feeling yourself. That’s how this Jun tastes. 

In addition to Stinging Nettle (ethically gathered by us), there’s Lavender and Geranium from our Hildegarden. Inspired by our recent trip to Baja California Sur, we also added Damiana, which is indigenous to BCS.”