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A concise brewery bio
The Kickstarter campaign for Three Weavers ends on April 6th. And as you can see from the image above, they are over halfway but could use a push
Now if you are the type that has to “try before you buy” then head to Tony’s Darts Away on either the last day of March or the first day of April and you will catch a Three Weaver beer in tap.
Then you will certainly donate.
Our last stop in Las Vegas is BIG. Big Dog’s Brewing.
What started with one Draft House has become a multi-location enterprise from Rancho Road to Sahara and this is what I would choose for my initial sampler tray…..
38 Special – A blend of our Gold Medal winning brews… Holy Cow! Original Pale Ale and Red Hydrant Ale.
El Perro Diablo – A Belgian Strong Golden Ale with Raspberries
Rebel Ryesin – A Rye Ale clocking in at 5.5% ABV
Lake Mead Monster Double Red – which is coming soon
Tenaya Creek Brewery has gone in a different direction than others in the industry. They started as a brewery and restaurant but once they grew they jettisoned the restaurant half to focus on beer and when you see the lovely brewhouse on their website you can see why.
Now on to what I would put in my taster tray if I found myself bellied up to the bar….
God of Thunder Baltic Porter
“The God of Thunder requires but one sacrifice before granting access to its dark and malty depths. All thou needs to do is sacrifice one bottle cap into the rubbish bin. As the lager pours, clouds of darkness fold into the glass void, awakening a light-body and crisp finish. Thank you for your sacrifice.”
Gold Medal Pilsner
“Tenaya Creek Pilsner (draft only) year round. Golden lager, perfectly balanced malt and hop characteristics. Won the Gold Medal at the 2002 Great American Beer Festival for “European-Style Pilsner””
and the cheekily named
Haulin Oats Oatmeal Stout
“Hauling oats is hard work.
Donkeys are motivated by carrots. Here at Tenaya Creek we are motivated by beer. Especially when it has the subtle aroma of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.
It is easy to forget about the long journey ahead when a dark ale with a golden tan head is in hand. So drop the reins, pry open the lid and enjoy the rounded, smooth pull. Take a breath and savor the notes of semi-sweet chocolate and hearty oats.”
(You can find some Tenaya Creek beers in LA if you look so try them out.)
With a name like Verboten Brewing you would expect either:
A) Forbidden beers
B) German beers
And this Loveland, Colorado boutique brewery falls firmly into Camp Anti-Reinheitsgebot
Just check out these three beers that would be first in my taster tray…
Killer Boots – Caramel Porter
6.0 % ABV
5.8 % ABV
6.2 % ABV
Slowly but surely, I have been visiting the new breweries of SoCal. And now it is Absolution Brewing in the spotlight.
As per craft usual the brewery sits in a big warehous-y space. Nice wooden bar with a dark wood on top and the base made out of barrel staves. Big chalkboard cpvered walkin with large wooden tap handles but only four of the beers on tap when I visited. Lots of kegs sit in a row like soliders. Since their soft opening in the first weekend of March they have had big crowds which makes the pew sitting seem like a bad choice. It forces you to stand at the bar with your taster tray. And that is what I ordered….
Sinner Stout – Which is light with a good roast taste. Their porter has more ABV to it. Could use a little more backbone.
Possessed porter – a little on the root beer-ish tip to me. Too light to me. They use it as a base for other experiments but still needs more oomph.
Fallen Angel – This was a citrusy soapy creamsicle of a beer. Not much hop bite to it. More XPA than IPA to my palate
Cardinal Sin – Another so so offering. Not much to it. Not bad. But nothing jumps out at me.
I will have to visit when more of the line are unveiled to see if the others are better representations of the brewer and also to see how they grow. They are currently behind the other Torrance breweries and I would suggest them before Absolution. (for now)
I don’t know what a Neonopolis is but I am pretty sure that is involves bright lights and slot machines. But now it also has craft beer courtesy of Banger Brewery.
A gang of 5 who worked at the Bellagio in food and beverage have teamed up to create this brewery that calls Fremont Street in Las Vegas home. With that background in a glitzy world of food behind them, they should have a leg up in running a brewery.
That said, there line-up seemed pretty safe. But hopefully they can straddle the tourist world of Las Vegas as well as creating a home for beer geeks like us.
Here is what I would first put in my taster tray…
SESSION (Blonde)– ABV 4.9%
Our most approachable ale. Base malt with a touch of crystal 10 and low IBUs makes this beer as approachable as they come. It’s a great intro into craft beer with a clean crisp finish.
Our brown ale is a malty beer complimented with crystal 120 and a touch of chocolate malt and black patent to give it a toasted aroma with a crisp clean finish and subtle sweetness.
SOMA is our final stop in San Francisco as we learn about the beers of Cellarmaker Brewing Co. which was established just last year.
They have decided to focus on three types of beers to brew since they prefer to keep to small batches. They do the hoppy, the funky saison and the imperial stouts. And these are some of the beers that I would put in my taster tray…..
Saison Francisco – a Brett Saison
Questionable Origins # 2 – a Nelson Sauvin strong pale ale
Daphne – a Hoppy Blonde Ale
Unfortunately, you have to go to San Francisco to get their beers but after reading about the three breweries featured this month the motivation to go should be very high.
A stalwart of the beer scene in San Francisco is Magnolia. I have had the pleasure of eating and drinking there. I ordered jerky there. What gastropub serves that? Now they have branced out into brewing! And they are in what appears to be the new hip place to be (that I had never heard of before) Dogpatch.
You can check out their current tap list with the handy tapCam. Which looks like this…
You could make a day of it with any of the three columns but I would start with the cask one.
Since it is the month that SF Beer Week falls into, I like to showcase some new spots in the City by the Bay. And the first stop is Fort Point. Not the greatest name (though I do prefer Beer Co. to Brewing).
Founded by brothers Tyler and Justin Catalana this year! Fort Point is in the Presidio which is a great place to walk and see the city. They have an eclectic set of initial beers. Which is saying something in this ever crowded craft market.
Here is what I would put in my taster tray:
Westfalia – A German Rotbier
Collaboration with Freigeist- A Charred Manzanita beer
Tosca – a beer brewed to pair with food at the Tosca restaurant.
For Christmas, I received gift codes to the Let’s Pour craft beer website so that I could buy to my hearts content or the max amount that I was given (whichever came first) and one of the breweries that I purchased a beer from is Intuition Ale Works from Jacksonville, Florida.
As you can see from the photo, they can their regular line-up of beers. If I had seen the pale and coastal ale, I probably would have gotten those too to get the full flavor of this brewery helmed by brewer Ben Davis.
And if I was standing at the menu board in the taproom, I would pick the following two beers (and also get a beer popsicle, that they serve):
“A creamy and sweet milk stout brewed with English pale malt, flaked and roasted barley and English Crystal Malts. Bittered with Nugget hops, smoothed with 5% lactose. This beer is served with a Nitro tap and is non-vegan.”
“Pre-prohibition style Pilsner. Light and refreshing with a hint of crisp spice.”
“A Kentucky Common cold fermented with a slight sourness.”