Preservation

First there was Commonwealth by Ninkasi that helped out the city that they call home and now Marin Brewing is helping out the parks which have really been taking a budgetary beating from the state of California.

“Marin Brewing Company announces the release and limited distribution of Preservation Ale, a session beer created specifically for the 40th Anniversary of Marin County Parks.

Preservation Ale is mellow; an easy drinking beer, not too hoppy, not too crazy. Marin Brewing Company owner Brendan Moylan has always been a huge supporter of Marin’s local parks and preserves. “The outdoor scene in Marin makes the county the great place it is. Marin County Parks are our backyard and it’s important to give our support to those who work to protect our beautiful community! During these tough economic times, Marin County Parks needs our support more than ever.”

So it was only natural for the brewery to lend a hand, (and a limited-edition beer) in order to properly celebrate the 40th Anniversary and raise awareness of our open spaces and local preserves in the county. The official release date and kickoff party for a “Summer of Celebration” commemorating 40 Years of Marin County Parks is on Thursday, April 19th at 5pm, at Marin Brewing Company, 1809 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur, CA. All proceeds from the sale of shirts will be donated directly to Marin County Parks. “It’s wonderful have a Marin institution support our ongoing efforts to provide low and no-cost outdoor opportunities to Marin residents and visitors,” says Linda Dahl, Director and General Manager of Marin County Parks, “we appreciate the support of Marin Brewing Company during these tough economic times.”

Marin County Parks is dedicated to educating, inspiring and engaging the people of Marin in the shared commitment of preserving, protecting, and enriching the natural beauty of Marin’s parks and open spaces. Local visionaries in the 1960s and 70s started a heroic movement to preserve critical natural lands and family farms in Marin. Their efforts resulted in creation of two National Park Service units, the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, and voter approval of the Marin County Regional Park District (now Marin County Parks). In the past four decades, Marin County Parks has acquired hundreds of undeveloped parcels from willing sellers, totaling more than 20,000 acres. Much of this acreage became open space preserves—now 34 in total. The preserves are complemented by four regional parks with a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities- from boat access to ball fields and a swimming pool.”

Drinking with My Mom


In this “every once in awhile” series, I either send a bottle to my mom and get her review or she sends me a bottle and we both review it. That way, she gets some L.A. beers and I get my Portland beer fix.

This time around, I sent her cans. 16oz Golden Road cans of their Point the Way IPA and Hefeweizen. And to add another twist, she grabbed some friends to get their reviews. Mom was partial to the IPA. Though she thought it was more a pale. Name aside, she liked it.

The Hefe got good marks. “nice light summer beer” and “very mellow” The citrus did not come through but the cloudy banana that are hallmarks of the style certainly did.

The IPA impressed at first but the vibrancy and flavors faded as it warmed. But the balance was done well.

As a bonus, the Ninkasi / 21st Amendment collaboration was also sampled. The dates didn’t shine through, in fact a creme brulee taste was noted as well as barley wine notes to it. Certainly an interesting addition to a tasting.

Now I have to decide what next to send to my Mom.

Cismontane is Two!


L.A. recently celebrated 2 years of Eagle Rock Brewery and now the two year mark for Rancho Santa Margarita’s Cismontane Brewing. And here is all the information that you need to know about next week’s celebrations…

2ND ANNIVERSARY – April 27th – 29th

Thank you to everyone that has supported us over the last 2 years. It has been a crazy awesome ride! Come and celebrate with us over 3 days of beer drinking and events. You will also get an opportunity to tour the addition to our facility and vote on our next beer to be brewed!

Friday April 27th, 2012 – 2 pm to 8 pm:

· Cask of dry hopped Citizen

· French Oak Barrel Cask of Coulter IPA

Saturday April 28th, 2012 – 12 pm to 8 pm (Barrel Aged Night):

· Dos Chinos Food Truck from 4pm-8pm

· Tap List

o 1st Anniversary Black Lager

o 2nd Anniversary Belgian IPA

o Fresh Hopped Double Rainbow

o Dead Santa

o Classified Dopplesticke

o Smokin’ Santiago Scotch

o Brut Du Sauvin

o Coulter IPA

o The Citizen

o Black’s Dawn

o Barrel Aged Beers

§ Oaked Dos Cone Es (French Oak Barrel Aged)

§ Chardonnay Barrel Aged CismonTaps

§ Chardonnay Barrel Aged Brut Du Sauvin

§ Bourbon Barrel Aged Black’s Dawn

Sunday April 29th, 2012 – 12 pm to… whenever (Bike Ride and refreshing beers day)

· Mountain Bike Ride! Leaves at 11:00 so be there by 10:30. We will be doing a loop from the brewery with a few options so all level riders can come and have a great time.

· Rancho a Go-Go Food Truck from 12pm – …. whenever

· Raffle Day: A 1$ beer and raffle ticket for everyone that comes on the ride! Additional raffle tickets with every pint at regular price! Tee-shirts, pint glasses, hats, growlers…

· Massive Tap List Additions

o Southern Hemi Cyclone Yasi

o Pandion Pale II

o Shralp Session Saison

o Brut Du Sauvin

Tour our expanded facility

Hang with your beer friends and family

Enjoy beers, tasty eats, and good times!

Photos to follow after the event!

A Beer Belly full of Bootlegger’s


Beer Belly hosts a One Night Stand with Bootlegger’s Brewery.
“For those of you who haven’t heard about our One Night Stands…

This year the Beer Belly family is going straight to the brewer and bringing back the stories and beers of local brewers to share with you and the Beer Belly community.

What this means for you:
-Throughout the month stay tuned-in to our Facebook and Twitter for news, stories, and specials…starting with this video from our visit to Bootleggers Brewery.
-Mark your calendars (see below) and join us for our One Night Stand community nights where we’ll feature a variety of beer styles from the featured brewery
-Meet and greet fellow craft beer lovers, brewers, and more

On Tap for the Evening: BOLDED beers are my suggestions to try
Galaxian Barley Wine, Mountain Meadow, Mint Chocolate Porter, Doggery Brown Ale, Golden Chaos Golden Ale, Old World Hefeweizen, Black Phoenix, Rustic Rye IPA, Palomino Pale Ale and Knuckle Sandwich.

Baltimore Brew

One of my stops in life was a stint in Baltimore. And one that I look back on with fondness though I probably didn’t appreciate it enough at the time. Now Baltimore is getting back into the craft brewery game after an absence of a long time.
Baltimore to get its first new brewery in over 30 years

Peabody Heights Brewery might be open as early as May, but breweries always tend to open a little later than scheduled. And, Union Craft Brewing has plans to open in that time window too. Oriole town will be doubly served.

Check out this Baltimore Sun article for more information on the Charm City beer boom.

Tip of the Design hat…

It is one thing to design a cool label. But to use three different elements to tie one entire bottle together is a great design and one that get me to look at it on a crowded shelf. The individual beer labels have bold colors that play well against the orange logo and then the protective seal makes the whole shebang look classy and the addition of the risque names really ties it all together.

Kudos to Sound Brewery (where I snagged this photo from) for a great bottle look.

Cucumber Saison


I have heard of cucumber soda (too scared to try it) but up until I saw this Cigar City label, I did not know of anyone else popping a cuke into a beer. I am sure it will give more ammunition to the grouches who say that craft beer has jumped the shark but the correct fruit or vegetable matched with an appropriate style can work wonders and accentuate the positives of each ingredient.

Case in point, The Bruery’s Sour in the Rye with kumquats. Everything melded perfectly. And maybe the cucumber will too.