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A concise brewery bio
Barley Forge is now active in Orange County and now Downtown Santa Ana has their own spot for Good Beer. Now that name doesn’t ring for me but if indeed the beer is good, I will let that slide. I look forward to trying their Saison and Pale Wheat beers and their DTSA Citrus Zest IPA sounds like a winner as well.
You can read more about them in this article from Greg Nagel and Jessica McNew
In my weekly perusal of beer blogs far and wide, I ran across this pre-opening review of a brewery in Portland from the New School blog.
Now a new brewery in Portland would not normally warrant a post because of the frequency of openings for Rip City. But the route for this brewery came through Ohio. Fat Heads (with the weird cartoony logo that I am not fond of) is a fixture in the Midwest but a bit of an unknown to left coasters. But they have plunked down a brewery in Downtown Portland.
I will review it in a later post but this trend of opening new locales in far-flung places seems to be the new thing.
I have lived in Glendale for quite some time now. Going on 20 years if my math is correct. And in all that time, there has been a total of one brewery that attempted to make a go at brewing in the Jewel City. The long, long gone GlenCastle which became a Don Cuco’s Mexican restaurant for a short while and is now vacant. I don’t remember the beers being world class but the location and interior were nice and if the fallout of brewpubs hadn’t happened maybe it would still be here today.
You could argue that Golden Road or Eagle Rock, though technically both LA, are so close to Glendale that it makes the need for a brewery moot, it would be nice to have a coaster from a brewery that said “Brewed in Glendale”.
Come 2015, it might become a reality.
Though the irony is that though the proposed Brewyard Beer Co. would be located in Glendale, it is probably closer to a majority of Burbank residents than Glendale ones. Myself included. But for those thirsty souls who work at Disney and Dreamworks and ABC7, they will have beer close to hand.
For the time being, it is follow them on social media to gauge their progress. The duo behind the brewery Kirk Nishikawa and Sherwin Antonio have a home brewing background and hopefully the moxie to make Glendale home to a local beer again.
Our final destination in Denver is Our Mutual Friend. Not a person, no. But a Malt & Brew in the River North neighborhood.
And where did they get the name? Their website explains that “Part of what we love about beer is its power to bring people together…”
Now on to what I would have in my taster tray:
Our second stop in Denver, home of the Great American Beer Festival is TRVE Brewing Company. And pretty much everything you need to know is summed up with this snapshot from their stark, black website….
They also advise employees about Slayer tattoos. So there is that as well. And though that type of music is more for my brother-in-law, I would not be scared of walking in and ordering the following taster tray:
Hellion – American Table Beer
Scorn – Dry Hopped Pale Wheat Beer
Grey Watcher – Grisette
and I would love to try one of their Solera efforts, their Brett beeers or the Winter Zephyr, a sour black ale which sounds intriguing. I am sure I would walk away with a bottle cause those labels would be perfect for Halloween.
The wine country of Covina. Let’s just say that is not on the tips of peoples tongues but Rev Winery is making European inspired wines from Temecula grapes. And now they are branching into our favorite beverage, craft beer.
They have hired Erick (Better known as Riggs) Villar of Ohana Brewing to join Patrick Bustos and Adam Jaime to work a seven barrel brewhouse. This had flown by my beer radar to the point where there beers will be coming out fairly soon. No waiting for this permit or that review. They will be joining with Alosta Brewing to fill up the pint glasses of beer fans in the San Gabriel Valley.
More news to follow when I have had a chance to try their beers.
Our first stop for Denver is Former Future Brewing Company. Bronze Medal winner at GABF this year in the experimental category. They opened in February of this year with the purpose of “combining modern science and innovation with historic styles and traditions.” They only brew 120 gallons at a time so I would hazard a guess that the beer goes fast and changes frequently.
Here is what I would put on my first taster tray…..
Countinghouse – a pre-prohibition cream ale
Ryetly Oaked – a rye ESB fermented in red wine barrels
Golden Feather – a golden sour aged in sherry barrels
Salted Caramel Prim & Porter – a salted robust porter
Our final BC stop goes by the name of Deep Cove and not only do they brew beer but they also distill spirits as well. A dual threat or you could just combine the two into a craft beer cocktail. Using any of the beers that would be on my first taster tray, if I was visiting….(all are 5% and under)
Patersbier Belgian Enkel
“A Trappist style table beer designed to be flavourful and thirst quenching. The name literally translates as “Father’s Beer”- referring to it traditionally being brewed for the monks’ own consumption.”
“A pre-prohibition American style that utilizes ingredients and techniques used in the making of bourbon – corn, rye, and a sour mash.”
“Our Brewmaster has created a bright and crisp lager that displays hints of sweet malt and lemon. Adding a touch of local tradition, Trapper John’s was named for the longest running employee of Mt. Seymour- A man, they say, who’s skiing ability is legendary.”
“This playful beer will surprise you with its combination of fruity tones, peppery spice, and a refreshingly dry tartness. Made with apple, mango and papaya infused Rooibos tea, Sunkissed is the perfect summer sipper.”
The middle stop in British Columbia is in Victoria and Four Mile Brewery.
They brew on a Peter Austin system which according to their website “is a direct-fired, brick clad, copper whirlpool and hop percolator, and you cannot buy it at Costco when you get a Vitamix.”
They also enlisted Alan Pugsley to be the brewmaster. Pugsley has come in and brought his expertise to a few breweries, Shipyard being the most known, then he leaves the brewing to a resident brewer. In this case Doug White who has UC-Davis learning in his past.
Without further ado, here are the British style ales that I would have in my first taster tray…
Best British Beer
The 4 Mile crew call this their “Stiff Upper Sip.” A cask conditioned beer that they deem a true session beer. Comes in at a low 4.25% ABV.
Golden Ale
A golden blond Canadian style ale with a crisp dry clean finish. Plus, “Just a flash of sweet.” And another low ABV at 4.6%.
Brown Ale
5 malts including crystal, chocolate & roasted barley are used to bring out “notes of caramel, mocha and coffee and chocolate.” Comes in at 5.3% ABV.
English Strong Ale
A style that is overlooked as people go to barley wines but the ESA is a more subtle dance of malt and hops and despite the Strong in the title it still clocks in under 7% ABV.
One of the most hotly awaited brewery openings is coming so close….
Bagby Beer Company has a massive space in Oceanside that was once a car dealership. You can check out some great photos HERE from Jay Brooks. Keep following their Facebook page for details. This will be a popular place and not just because of the ocean.