Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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Institution Ale Company

No this isn’t the continuation of the popular American Horror Story series, but Institution Ale Company is named after an institution (former state psychiatric ) near where the brewery stands.

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They are based in Camarillo and you will probably find them the easiest at Wades Wines in Agoura Hills, since the people behind it used to work there.

Here are some of the first beers rolling out:

Sedation – a Session Red Ale at 4.0% alc.
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Ratched Rye Porter
Restraint – a Brown Ale Aged on Hard Maple Wood
IPA – with no special moniker but clocking in at 7.5% abv
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Whole Food is Brewing W(T)F?

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According to the Mercury News, Whole Foods will not only make you a pizza and a sandwich and sell you a kombucha to go with it.  Now a new location slated to open in 2014 will also house a micro-brewery.

No word on if they have selected a brewer or a style of beers or if the beers will be available in bottles in store other than the San Jose area but it is an intriguing player to enter the brewing market.  How this affects what beer is being sold will be interesting to see.

 

 

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Brewery Tour of Livermore, CA – Eight Bridges Brewing

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So, no Livermore beers were seen at L.A. Beer Week.  To be expected, a couple are still fermenting.  But maybe in a few years time, we will see places like 8 Bridges Brewing down in L.A. for at least a tap take-over.

Because I would like to try out these two beers when they become available….

Bay Bridge Brown (BBB)

Our Brown Ale was designed to be better than Newcastle and from comments we’ve heard, we succeeded!!!  While drinking this beer you’ll notice its flavors tend towards raisin, molasses, nutty and caramel along with the typical English hop flavors.  This full bodied ale is malt forward with low hop aromas.

Ode to Groll Pilsner

Josef Groll, the “Father of Pils”, energized the beer world by making the first pilsner in 1842. Our intent in designing this Pilsner is to do the same by bringing more flavor like a good German Pilsner has but with a little bit of a California twist.  Our Pilsner has the typical Pilsner taste but has a stronger flavor which is achieved by using multiple malts and increasing the hop presence.  The aroma is Malt dominant but the addition of hops late in the process gives a broader hop flavor to the beer.  This Pilsner is a crowd favorite where ever we go!

For now, though you will just have to follow their progress on Facebook or Twitter.

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Brewery Tour of Livermore, CA – Brotherhood Brewing

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Our second stop in Livermore, California is at the Veteran Owned, Brotherhood Brewing.  This is a group of veteran marines who have moved into the brewing arena.  And I personally think it is beyond cool that are armed forces even realize, as they put it that, “American zymurgy has consisted of lifeless, thin, unimpressive beer.”

Oh and that they “aim to change that!”

According to a semi-recent Facebook post, they are in the talking with the city phase that also involves finding just the right landlord and location.  Then soon we can all taste their Steele Curtain IPA and Loblolly Porter.

I will update their status when I learn something new.

 

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The Brewing Lair

I read about this small brewing operation in Blairsden, California in the Celebrator magazine and it made me want to both delve a little deeper and to pass on the information to you all.

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If the gate is open we are open, come on up

Pretty easy instructions.  Of course there is a bit of a drive to get there, so to be safe, you may want to call ahead.

Because the following beers make me thirsty….

Solo Session Series – Single Hop series -featuring a different hop with each brew

“Simcoe Solo, was our first brew in the single hop session series, coming soon will be Columbus Solo followed by Citra Solo.”

After the Han Solo’s are tried, I would move onto the Bond-ian….

Odd Job Ale

“Our Fall/Winter session ale.  A hoppy brownish-amber ale featuring Zythos & Citra hops, great aroma and all around really tasty.”

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Food GPS Teaser – Pacific Plate

Tomorrow’s post over on Food GPS is cut right down the middle.  1/2 about the recently opened Pacific Plate Brewing and the second 1/2 about some of the events on tap for L.A. Beer Week.

This teaser does the same.

First up a review of the tap room at Pacific Plate.  As craft beer fans know, breweries tend to be tucked into industrial parks and other odd spots.  This locale is not different.  At the back of part of a bigger complex off of Myrtle in Monrovia, the space is fairly roomy for a start-up.  I have seen and been in smaller.  Nice amount of blue barrel tables to stand at and a couple of picnic benches as well.  The best seats are the ones at the cut out window that looks at the taps and gives a birds eye view of everyone that comes in. The big thing is that the people at the taps are very welcoming.  And the beer is good, but I leave that to tomorrow.

Second, here is an additional event to consider attending.  Then check my post tomorrow for others and decide which (or all) that you will not want to miss.

Beer vs Wine at at The Local Peasant

Monday September 23rd 2013 6:30 pm-10:00 pm

Purchase Tickets

5 course menu of our Chefs creation. Each contender ( One Beer Guru and One Wine Guru) are presented with the menu. Pairing begins and the challenge is to vote on which libation works best with each dish…Who will win… Beer or Wine?

 

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Brewery Tour of Livermore, CA – Working Man Brewing

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There has been a burst of brewing energy in Livermore, California which is located on the eastern edge of California’s San Francisco Bay Area. So this month, we highlight three breweries that are both open and soo to open and we start at Working Man Brewing.  And let’s jump directly to the beers with the first two being tapping into the brewery’s theme.

Whistleblower Wit

5.2% ABV 28 IBU’s Belgian style beer with wheat, barley and oats for a smooth malt character. Additions of elderflower, coriander and orange peel give this traditional wheat beer a spicy character.

Wage Slave Pale Ale

5.5% ABV 30 IBU’s A medium golden ale. Well-balanced with a mild maltiness and an overall smooth hop finish.

Tourada Pale Lager

5.5% ABV 30 IBU’s California Common or “Steam” beer, laagered and aged three times as long as our regular beers for supreme smoothness.

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Breakside (in my hometown!)

As promised / threatened, here are some photos and a little more description of the new facility for Breakside Brewing near where I grew up (lo those many years ago).

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I shared a taster tray with my brother-in-law which ran the gamut of beer styles.

Two of the favorites were the sour options, the Passion fruit sour and the Imperial Sour Apricot.  More fruit notes in the former and less apricot than expected in the latter.  But both (with varying sour levels) were quite nice.
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The Spruce wheat was the clear un-favorite. Way too much pine for me. Needed something else to balance it out. Maybe rye or a sturdier malt? The ESB was a little too light as well and the Session Brown was a beer in search of a style.
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The tasting room is dominated by a large wooden wall with taps tucked into the bottom. They have one food option and the warehouse area around them could use a food truck to help out because it is not inspiring food wise around them. A good amount of chairs at the bar and at tables. It is a big space so crowd noise is at a minimum.

My two favorites of the tray (and subsequent visits to the Amarillo Wheat and pilsner) were the Old Skool hop bomb which is a great concept to return to the base hops that have been a bit forgotten. The one that worked best though was the Aquavit Braggot. They used the spirit barrels that held this unique liquor. Which they made the wash for to begin with! It was spicy and light and just easy drinking and a different barrel aged experience.

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What Time is it?

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Timeless Pints fermented and opened before I even knew about it.  Which I consider a good thing.  It means the craft scene is growing and hard to control.

Started by  homebrewer Chris Sparacio in Lakewood, Timeless Pints now joins Beachwood BBQ and Brewing in the Long Beach area.

More specifically a Lakewood industrial park near the Long Beach Airport. And the names have been crafted like the beers “A Swarm and a Hatter” blonde , The Bear Reader oatmeal stout and the IPA with the moniker of The Expeditious Guest.

The brewery’s taproom is open Thursday through Sunday.  Check their website for more up to date times.

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Iowa Brewery # 3 – Exile Brewing Company

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Our last stop in Iowa is Exile Brewing and if you are in the mood for German style beers for a hot night, then this is the place to be. You can get one of the following names to quench your craft thirst. They are aiming for “European Style, American Craftsmanship”

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Munich Gold Lager

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Munich Dunkel Lager
And what better place to enjoy your lager? “An American Beer Hall housed between the brew house and fermentation room.  With clear views of the brewing process, the Beer Hall is a perfect spot to sample our beers and grab a quick lunch during the day, or to indulge a tankard and cocktail in the evening.  The historic, industrial hall greets our beer garden through a roll-up door that transforms the entire area into a patio.  The Beer Hall is great for a casual beer, private get-togethers, and spontaneous parties alike.”