Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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High Water Brewing

Thanks to the Beer Wench for alerting me to this bit of Northern Cali beer news…..

“After a short absence, brewmaster Steve Altimari and John Anthony burst back onto the craft brewing scene with the launch of a new brewery called High Water Brewing and the promise of some “seriously good beers.”

Award-winning brewmaster Steve Altimari has begun production on the flagship product for his new venture, an artisanal craft brewery, High Water Brewing.

The flagship brew – dubbed “Hop Riot IPA” and described as an “American IPA with a definitive ‘Left Coast’ attitude” – will be among the first offerings from High Water Brewing. It will be joined by “Retribution Imperial IPA” and “Old and In the Way Barley Wine”.

“Our goal is to pour High Water’s first beers, Hop Riot and Retribution, at the San Francisco Beer Week’s Gala opener on February 11,” said Altimari.

He promises the initial offerings “will be followed by other innovative and exciting brews.” Beer fans can expect that promise to be fulfilled because creatively brewed beers with playful flavor surprises are hallmarks of Altimari’s style.”

“Altimari will craft High Water beers at Drake’s Brewhouse in San Leandro, CA, and fermentation will occur in High Water tanks at the same location. High Water beers will be available in 5.0 and 15.5 gallon kegs and also bottled in 22 oz bombers.

Building on a relationship that Altimari and the Anthonys have developed over a number of years with that brewery, “Drakes seemed a natural fit for us because each of us has worked with them in one capacity or another, from distribution to collaborative brewing,” said John Anthony. “When Drakes owner John Martin agreed, we were ecstatic.”

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Let’s REALLY Tour – Strand Brewing

Foreword
Usually my tours are of the electronic variety, I wish I could tour breweries and write about them for a living but that is not the case (yet!). But today is different. An actual visit, with photographic proof.

I have met the fine people (Rich and Joel) behind the Strand Brewing enterprise at a few events over the last few months. And two days ago, I got to visit the brewery!

The iconic Strand logo on the door to the brewhouse
How about a hoppy IPA?
The beer bubbling away
Tap Handles that are made by the brewer!
A keg ready for the road

There is no one successful model in creating a brewery. But there is one constant. Caring about the quality of the beer first. Yes, the branding is important. Yes, the customers are important. And I learned a lot from talking to Rich about his views on those topics. But I could tell that the beer really comes first at Strand. They want a product that is up to their expectations and it is why Rich is especially proud of his re-order rate (100%).

I can assure you that Strand will be talked up even more this year as more people taste the Beach House, Atticus and 24 Street.

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Tudor Brewing

As I have mentioned before, and I will mention it in the future (that is a promise). We cocky Yanks need to remember that ours is not the only country in the world and that we are not the only craft beer pioneers. The revolution is in Italy, Australia and in England too.

Which brings us to the Tudor Brewery in Wales.

They have three beers named after the peaks that surround the area that the beer is brewed in. And it’s real ale. Not the watered down Stella’s you will see in some pubs.

Here is their description of themselves and the beers…

“Our 2 barrel micro brewery is sited at the Kings Arms Inn on Tudor Street, Abergavenny. The brewery can be viewed from within the Inn. The 6 barrel brewery is located close by on Merthyr Road, Abergavenny.”

Skirrid
A robust medium strength dark hoppy beer at 4.2% abv. Appeals to real ale buffs and lovers of strong beer flavours. Great with seafood and cheese.

SugarLoaf
An amber medium dry beer with sweet aroma at 4.2% abv. A well rounded full bodied caramelised beer using local ingredients. Suitable with rare charbroiled steak and fresh hamburger.

Blorenge
A light summer ale with fresh scents and a clear blonde appearance. A session beer at 3.8% abv Appeals to the lager drinker if chilled 2 degrees below normal cask temperature. Lads and Lasses love it. Wonderful with hot curries and spiced dishes

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Societe Brewing Company

It seems like every week a brewery is either opening in Portland or San Diego. Well, here is another one to watch for in the coming months; Societe Brewing.

Check out this piece by the esteemed Jay Brooks about this
new entrant into the SD beer community.

Then join their Facebook page to track the developments.

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Let’s Tour – Hollister Brewing

Goleta is just north of Santa Barbara and tucked into an unimposing mall is Hollister Brewing. Where you can see (and hopefully drink) some fine beers like this…

KRISTALWEISS – 5.4% ABVFiltered German wheat beer with oats and honey malt for a smooth mouthfeel.

Orange Blossom Special – 5.8% ABVA light and reafreshing golden ale brewed with 6 gallons of local orange blossom honey and the peels of 25 pounds of oranges.

beer with hops – 5.5% ABVGolden yellow pale ale brewed with a blend of Minnesota 2 row barley and English floor malts. This rendition of an old friend is exclusively hopped with the Amarillo hop varietal.

The Pope I.P.A. – 6.7% ABVFull bodied yet dry this West Coast style India Pale Ale is packed with flavors reminiscent of fresh fruit and pine forests.

sorachi san – 7.5% ABV
Belgian style ale brewed with 100% Sorachi Ace hops. Deep golden in color with a spicy and earthy hop bite that fades into flavors of citrus. Strong aroma of freshly peeled lemons and aromatic yeast.

abbey Dubbel – 6.8% ABVDeep, flavorful, Belgian ale brewed with 25 lbs. of raisin puree, 12 malts and a fruity yeast profile.

Five Foot Shadow – 10.8% ABVA nontraditional strong ale, this Imperial Oatmeal Porter is beguilingly drinkable due to large quantities of oats and chocolate malts. A subduded hop profile dominated by a rich malt body.

2:01 Imperial Red Ale – 9.7% ABVSupercharged red ale that balances a hop profile with a rich malt backbone.

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Maui Brewing photos

My beer partner in crime Richard went to Maui Brewing in 2010 and here are some photos for those (like me) who have yet to be to Hawai’i.

The tanks in the brewery
a mouth watering menu
a taster tray of Hawaii's best
this is how to pay for a pint!

all photos courtesy of Richard Rosen

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Beetje Brewing

The Portland brewery boom shows no sign of abating! Burnside Brewing just cracked open their doors and now another nano is moving forward with their brews!

“Beetje (\’bee-cha’\) is a Flemish word that roughly translates to “little”, or “little bit”. This brewery will live up to that notion for the foreseeable future.

Beetje will produce small batch beers using high quality ingredients. I intend to use organic 2-row and organic pilsner as my base malts. As much as possible I will use organic specialty malts, and hops. Sound familiar? Yeah, a lot of breweries do this, particularly in the Northwest. I like the approach, and intend to employ it. Quality inputs tend to have a positive impact on the beer”

And here are the beers you can try….
B-sideABV: 5.5% || IBU: 30

B-side is a light , crisp and refreshing farmhouse ale. Golden to light orange in color with a floral nose and a dry finish. B-side is brewed with three base malts: Organic Pilsner, Organic 2-row and Rye. Northwest grown Willamette, Golding and Hallertauer aroma hops offer a soft underlying bitterness to help bolster the refreshing nature of the beer. The key note speaker in this beer is the Farmhouse Ale yeast.

Traditionally farmhouse ales were brewed on farms in the French and Flemish regions of Belgium. These beers were born out of necessity as most water was not potable and the farmers needed a light, refreshing low alcohol beverage to offer the hardworking farmhands.

Little Brother
ABV: 8.5% || IBU: 20
Little Brother is in the vein of a Belgian dark strong ale. By Northwest standards an 8.5% beer may not be considered strong, but it is currently the biggest beer Beetje produces. It pours dark brown, with shades of ruby and a creamy tan head. The flavor is dominated by caramel, and candy and offers a smooth finish. Chocolate and coffee begin to emerge as the beer warms.
Flemish KissABV: 5.7% || IBU: 35-40

A clean Northwest pale ale with a subtle kiss of Flanders. Brewed predominantly with organic 2- row, the malt bill is rounded out with organic light munich, organic 60L crystal and caravienna. Northwest Golding and Hallertauer hops provide a pleasant hop character. Right out primary fermentation this beer is decidedly a Northwest pale ale, but as it enters secondary a bridge to Belgium is built with a dose of brettanomyces bruxellensis.

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Let’s Tour – Noble Ale Works

Orange County is a haven for great beer for us needy Angelenos and coming soon these beers from Noble Ale Works….

Pale Ale 5.6% ABV
Brewed with Amarillo hops giving it a crisp floral nose with smooth finish.

Alpha Red 7.2% ABV
This Imperial Red Ale beer is brewed with Magnum and Columbus hops then dry hopped with Simcoe and Columbus hops which gives it a nice citrus finish to the balanced malt characteristic.

IPA 7.0% ABV
Brewed in the west coast IPA style, this IPA is highly hopped with a full body. Essence of grapefruit with a floral/piney nose.

Dark Sybian IPA 6.5% ABV
Our version of Cascadian Dark Ale, brewed with the new and seasonal Midnight Wheat Malt from Briess Malting.
Hopped with Cascade, Centennial and Magnum hops.