Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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Sacramento Area Brewery Tour # 1 – Alaro Brewing

Our first e-taster tray in Sacramento is from Alaro Brewing. Where you can be lord of the castle in the former Rubicon Brewing location and get some tapas with your beer.

For Goons & Glory Golden Ale – “Bready, biscuity malt profile – balanced hop – black currant spice – mild tropical fruit flavor.”

Bennett Sacramento Pale Ale – “This 5X Medal Winning American Style Pale Ale defined as a “Sacramento Pale Ale” is made in the heart of Sacramento using a Sacramento Valley grown, sustainable heritage barley from Admiral Maltings and Azacca & Simcoe hops. This perfect ale boasts a clean & crisp malt bill and tropical fruit notes of mango, papaya & citrus.”

Partner in Crime India Cream Ale – “This India Cream ale is made to be lower abv than a traditional IPA but more hop-forward than a Cream Ale. The use of a “juicy” yeast strain (WLP067), Hallertau Blanc and L’Orien hops mean this beer is big on the juicy fruit but easy on the senses.”

Armada British Brown Ale – “Ahh, the British Brown Ale is without question our favorite cold-weather beer. With its lightly roasted and caramelized malt profile perfectly balanced with noble hop characters, moderate alcohol content and a dry finish, it’s hard to not have another!  A style that was originally designed to serve the masses and it still serves that purpose today.”

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Hop Culture Best New Brewery of 2022 # 3 – Fox Tale Fermentation

Our final stop for January is in San Jose, California at Fox Tale Fermentation. And boy do they have some fun ingredients in their beers.

Time to pick some projects for the taster tray…

Plant Cultura – Oaxacan Green Corn Lager

Magic Monday – Farmhouse Ale with fresh pressed Asian Pear Juice.

Fung Shui – Farmhouse Ale with Candy Cap Mushrooms

Legend of Pandan – Tiki Inspired Golden Ale with Macadamia, Coconut and Pandan.

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Coming to PDX in 2023

In a patented Beer Search Party move, read THIS about 2023 Oregon and SW Washington breweries about to open first, then you can see below my picks and if you agree with my choices as the most interesting newbies.

Oak Union – hey, hey might be landing in my hometown of Milwaukie

Breakside – big plans for three locations including Astoria

Upright – adding a second location in a former corner gas station

Little Hop Brewing – a brewery and a mobile Tiny Hop House truck

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Hop Culture Best New Brewery of 2022 # 2 – Bizarre Brewing

Next up from my reading of Hop Culture’s Best of 2022 list is Bizarre Brewing in Seattle, Washington. Such an interesting line-up of beers with spelt and oats everywhere.

The Sun Myth Unfiltered Czech-Style Pilsner – “The Sun Myth is our little Czech-style pilsner. Mashed with pilsner and chit malt, The Sun Myth was then hopped in the kettle with a blend of Saaz and Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops. This little nod to Winter was then fermented cold and allowed to naturally carbonate itself. Once carbonated, The Sun Myth went through a long cold lagering phase making it extra crisp.”

Dinkel Hell Bavarian-Style Spelt Ale – “Dinkel Hell is our spin on the weisse hell biers of Bavaria. Our take started with pale pilsner malt and a large portion of flaked wheat. We then added a generous amount of spelt malt. Hopped lightly with German Saphir, this pale spelt ale was then fermented very cold with our favorite hefeweizen yeast strain for a nice long maturation.”

Teenage Jesus Oat Bitter – “Teenage Jesus is our riff on an English ordinary bitter. Mashed with a base of pale English malt, flaked barley, caramunich and a portion of caramelized oat malt, we then hop this little bitter with East Kent Goldings, Challenger and Comet hops. Once Teenage Jesus has cooled down we pitch our favorite English ale strain and allow it to ferment before spunding to naturally carbonate.”

Steam Noir Dark Lager – “Steam Noir is our riff on a traditional steam beer. We took the same steam concept of fermenting a lager at warmer temperatures and applied it to a dark lager. This version was brewed with pilsner, Maris Otter, chocolate, caramel and spelt malts. It was then hopped with Styrian Gold, Cascade and Tettnanger. Steam Noir was put into a blend of port and red wine barrels cold, then allowed to naturally warm until it was finished fermenting. Once finished, Steam Noir was lagered in barrels cold for an additional four weeks.”

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Hop Culture Best New Brewery of 2022 # 1 – Mahalo Aleworks

Hop Culture did a round-up of best breweries in 2022 and it was a wide ranging list. This month, I will highlight three with the first being Mahalo Aleworks. This Maui brewery has a super cool train station style arrivals graphic for their beers, so let’s take a peek…

You can start with a traditional English Brown Ale or a Vienna Lagale. If you are in the mood for Belgian, they have a dry hop Saison or the more traditional Farmhouse Saison. Sours are their as well, Mango and Tropical last time I checked. Then to finish you can head for their Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.

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Snowy Western NY Brewery # 3 – Britesmith Brewing

We end our month in New York State in the hamlet of Williamsville at Britesmith Brewing.

Creekside Cream Ale – “Clean light bodied with a dry finish, brewed with centennial and mandrina hops.”

Briter Daze Pale Ale – “Moderate bitterness, hints of floral, citrus, and pine from Centennial, Columbus, and Cascade hops.”

Blind Squirrel Brown Ale – “Hazelnut, cascara cherry, & coffee.”

Iron Horse Irish Red Ale – “Ale brewed for the season bringing out biscuity malt flavors with a dry finish.”

Watching Waterfalls Hazy IPA – “Smooth, citrus, unfiltered New England IPA.”

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1st Visit – Native Son DTLA

I made a pre-Christmas trip Downtown to see what was up with the beers and the former Dankness Dojo now Native Son.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the former Modern Times Dankness Dojo hasn’t been really changed / updated all that much. So it was weird to walk in and have it be not a new vibe.

That said, here for the beer and on that front all seems good to start. There were multiple collaboration beers on tap with the L.A. likes of Mumford, Three Weavers, Common Space and even a Pizza Port DIPA collaboration.

I sampled two straight up Native Son beers and was more taken with the the cleverly named Sta-Pils. It had quite a punchy herbal flavor to it. Could have been a touch crisper but thatvis a minor quibble. The Circle Boy IPA was fine. Typical early days of a brewery type. Hoppy but not bright enough for me.

The bartender was very helpful and attentive without being up in your grill and he seemed to be at the ready to explain the Native Son beers and to help you find the right beer for you.

Good to have brewing back in the space and I hope the brewing keeps growing.

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Snowy Western NY Brewery # 2 – New York Beer Project

Next stop is Lockport and the New York Beer Project which has two New York locations and one in Orlando, Florida too, for when you need to escape the snow.

Let’s check out some beers…

Victor Lager – “A true classic beer for the light lager lover, this beer style is what German Immigrants introduced to the first Beer Halls in 19th century NYC. Years later, let’s raise a glass to tradition with this authentic, delicious, and timeless Lager.”

Buckleberry Wheat – “we had a great time finding that PERFECT blend of three delicious berries to create our unique Buckleberry Wheat. We’ve combined Blueberries and Boysenberries, and then added exotic wild huckleberries (which are pretty impossible to get…but we think the people that drink our beer only deserve the best!)”

Red Hop Monster – “This Red IPA is a beautiful blend of the American IPA and Amber Ale. This beer is all about balance: caramelized sugar and dark fruit malt sweetness up front, balanced out by a hoppy bitterness and strong resiny and piney hop flavors.”

Hibeernation – “Brewed with Cassia Cinnamon Powder, Fresh Ginger, Sweet Orange Peel and Cinnamon Sticks, this Winter Warmer will remind you of freshly baked gingerbread cookies. This is the perfect beer to warm you up on a cold winter’s night!”

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Ring it Up

If Ventura isn’t one of the leading California beer cities, well I don’t know what to say, Topa Topa / MadeWest / Ventura Brewing Co. / Bright Spark / Fluid State. And coming….

…follow on the ‘Gram to see their progress.

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Snowy Western NY Brewery # 1 – Pressure Drop Brewing

Our first stop is Allentown, aka Buffalo. Home of the Bills and QB1 Josh Allen. Pressure Drop Brewing is the place.

Here is what I would put into a snowy taster tray….

Not a Football Beer – “An ultra-crushable beer that’s great for not tailgating, not gathering with friends to watch the game at home, and not sitting in your favorite barstool to root for your team.”

Sticky Trees West Coast IPA – “Sticky Trees offers craft beer drinkers a well-balanced IPA with a moderate ABV and low IBU. We brew this IPA with Mosaic hops and malts typical of an IPA. The flavor is inspired by the variety of flavors a brewer can extract from Mosaic hops.”

Mochi House Hazy IPA – “Our first collab with Brazen Brewing!!! All the beautiful tropical notes of a New England IPA with a super soft feel to it, and the tiniest hint of bitter on the finish.”

Greetings from the North Pole – “This insanely delicious Milk Stout is brewed with a TON of chocolate roasted malts
and lactose for rich flavor and a sweet, creamy mouthfeel.”