Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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Rare Barrel


To work around the big, big start up costs in equipment and material, new breweries have turned to Kickstarter or they have had their beer brewed for them but this is the first time that I have seen a brewery just begin with barrel aging space. Barring Almanac Farmhouse ales (also of the northern part of California) that has a similar working style.

Here is what the press release says about The Rare Barrel, “Northern California is rich in brewing tradition and is home to some of the best breweries in the world. Hoping to add to this proud history, we are pleased to announce that we will be launching an all-sour, all-barrel aged “gypsy” brewery in the San Francisco Bay Area named The Rare Barrel.

What do we mean by “gypsy” brewery? We plan to partner with the great breweries of the Bay Area for our brewing needs, and we will be building our own barrel warehouse for fermentation, packaging and serving our beers to the public.

Our team is made up of people committed to producing the highest quality sour beer. Co-founders Jay Goodwin, former Brewer and Head of Barrel Aging at The Bruery in Orange County, Alex Wallash, homebrewer and Sales Representative in biotechnology, and Brad Goodwin, entrepreneur in the pharmaceutical industry, make up our crew of passionate craft beer lovers.

We hope to release more details of our plan over the next few months. We look forward to producing beer with experimental methods, a singular focus on quality sours, and a commitment to the craft beer community.”

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Eagle Bay Brewery

I talk of Eagle Rock Brewery here in Los Angeles but now I turn my attention many miles away to Eagle Bay Brewery in Australia.

I would really like to try some of the beers that are oftentimes shunned here in the U.S. like the kolsch, ESB and the English Mild. I think those would work in many a warm weather clime. The low ABVs would be perfect for the hot weather.

And not only do they do beer but they do wine and food as well and if the photos from their website are even close to accurate, this is one seriously beautiful place to sip a beer.

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Pfriem

My idea of heaven would be Hood River. Small town. Beautiful view of the Columbia river. Restaurants aplenty. Fruit orchards. Oh and breweries. Lots of breweries now and when Solera and Pfriem come online.

Pfriem Brewery will (legalities willing) be pouring by Memorial Day. Josh Pfriem (formerly of Chuckanut and Full Sail will be manning the kettles. Belgian-styles and Northwest-style hoppy beers will be the focus at the start. For More information read the interview over at the New School HERE.

And it is pronounced FREEM.

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2011 Brewery # 2 – Pacific Brewing Laboratory

We travel all the way back across the country for our second highlighted brewery of February to get to http://www.pacbrewlab.com/about/ in the Bay area.

And they have started with two unique beers. Squid Ink which is a black type IPA and a Hibiscus saison. And that second one sounds really good. I wish more people would use hibiscus in beers. It has such a distinctive and refreshing flavor.

And as many a brewery before it they started via the home brew route, “Pac Brew Lab started in a garage as a place for Patrick and Bryan to experiment with new beer flavors, styles, and brewing techniques. What started out as a place to share new creations with friends grew into a bi-monthly, totally free event with hundreds of our “new” friends and great local street food vendors.”

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2011 Brewery # 1 – Tequesta

For the month of February, I am highlighting breweries that opened in 2011. And our first stop is Florida and Tequesta Brewing Company.

And with beers like these Der Chancellor, Gnarly Barley, Terminally Ale, Julios Speltacular Weizen, Australian Amber, Vier Belgian Quad, Green Room’s Under Tow Barleywine, Green Room’s Head High IPA and Monk in the Trunks special release Belgian IPA, it looks like this new outfit is willing to take on many beer styles and many beer names as well.

Cheers to making Florida a better beer destination!

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North Carolina brewery # 3 – French Broad

Our last stop in North Carolina is French Broad Brewery in the east coast craft beer mecca of Asheville.

The first beer that caught my attention, partially due to the patriotic name, is 13 Rebels ESB — Named for the 13 colonies, our Extra Special Bitter features generous Goldings profile and a complex malt palate. I am predisposed to breweries that have ESBs, brown ales or milds on their regular menu and this would be the first one that I would go for. Then my hoppy extreme side would get a chance to order the IPA because who wouldn’t want to solve this conundrum “Here’s a really easy riddle: what has twelve hops additions and rules your face?”

French Broad has been around since 2001 filling taps and growlers with their offerings.

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MOA

No, it is not someone asking for “moa” beer please. It is a brewery from New Zealand. Blenheim to be exact.

MOA Beer recently held a tasting of 5 of their beers up in Oregon at the famous Belmont Station. And maybe some of their line will reach a little further south here to Los Angeles.

The ones that most interest me are:
Moa Five Hop Winter Ale shows the unique signatures of traditional North European bottle conditioning. Displaying a Nelson-dominant hoppy nose with a subtle oak character leaving extra smooth and creamy, honeyed characters on the palate. A well-balanced companion to eastern style spiced foods. Traditionally served just below room temperature.

Moa Methode is bottle fermented and conditioned to give a natural, more consistent carbonation and flavour. Due to the natural brewing process of Methode Moa, a light, beneficial sediment will remain. This sediment protects the beer from premature aging and leaves full, slightly spicy characters on the palate.

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I & I

I was reading about the new Little Bear bar on the interwebs (I forget where, apologies in advance) and I ran across this bit of news: “I & I Brewing, the newest in the thriving micro and small brewery business, has opened shop today in Chino. The menu currently features six offerings, including Honey Cream Ale, Peach Wheat Ale and a Belgian Cranberry Wheat. Their tasting room is open only on Fridays (4PM to 9PM) and Saturdays (1PM to 9PM)”

Aside from the fact that my last name starts with I, this is cool on another front. Every community should have their own brewery. And maybe one day I&I will make it to L.A. and be a player just like Hangar 24 from Redlands is today.

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North Carolina brewery # 2 – Pisgah Brewing

Our second stop in North Carolina is the hard to spell (for me) Pisgah. It is an organic brewery in Black Mountain (near the epicenter Asheville).

I found many beers that I would love to try but these two really stood out…..

Pisgah Pub Ale
“Brewed with local Haw Creek Wildflower honey, this blonde english style drought beer is pushed through a Nitro creamer fawcett creating the classic “whipped cream” foamy head and waterfall pour. A lighter 4% abv and lower carbonation produces the ultimate session beer. Treat yourself today! Draft only.”

Dancin’ Hobo
“The Hobo is a creation is now 23 month in the works. This beer was first brewed incorporating orange peel and thyme. Next, we added some charred oak and champagne yeast. And finally a healthy dose of raspberries. Much later, the Dancin’ Hobo was born. Hang on to your hat. If you don’t dance, you may after one of these. 13% ABV

Sorry folks, the Hobo has wandered off down the tracks. Will we ever see him again? Only the Hobo knows…”

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North Carolina brewery # 1 – Wedge Brewing

The first stop of the January e-tours of North Carolina is the beer bastion of Asheville and Wedge Brewing.

“The Wedge Brewing Co. is located in the lower level of the Wedge Studios situated in the River Arts District of Asheville, N.C. The building is a classic brick warehouse adjacent to the railroad tracks. The original use of the structure was probably as a food warehouse. The space the brewery is in at onetime stored slaughtered hogs.”

Here are a couple beers to think about ordering the next time you find yourself in North Carolina.

Community Porter – “English Style Robust Porter with a West Coast twist, Carob and Maple are added into the Kettle. Kent Golding Hops are added just to balance the Malt Sweetness. Organic Pale, Munich, Chocolate, and Caramel malts comprise the Grain Bill.”

Golem – “Belgian Strong Golden Ale. Wicked and Dangerously drinkable, this brew is made with Belgian pilsner malt, and small portions of wheat, oats, and corn, true Belgian candy sugar, and a variety of European Noble Hops including Saaz. No Fruit or Spices are used in this Brew! It’s all the Yeast’s Flavor Contributions.”