Tag: Bow & Arrow Brewing

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Putting on the Ritz (Carlton)

I got a taste of luxe life in San Juan Capistrano over Christmas at the Inn at the Mission and now not far away is another event that looks extravagant.  Below are the details.  I will pop back in with why the beer is special at the end…

“The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel’s first Culinary Cookout of 2023 is Brews & Bites – a beachside beer festival with an incredible and diverse lineup of brewers from across the nation and internationally on Sunday, February 19 from 1- 4 pm.

Set on the resort’s lush Dana Lawn that overlooks miles of the Pacific Ocean, attendees will enjoy an afternoon of unlimited beer tastings with a keepsake glass and access to global street food stations serving up wood fire Bavarian pretzels, Korean corn dogs, New Delhi fish and chips, and borracha tacos. Lawn games and entertainment complete the afternoon.”

Here is a link to buy tickets ($150 per person; kids under 9 are complimentary).

Brewery Headliners: 

This is not a hastily thrown together brewery list.  Bottle Logic and The Bruery may not have whales at their tables but even their most basic list of beers are great.  Many have not had a beer from Kimberly Rice and Sage and this is a great way to introduce yourself to their beers.  They do a lot of farm to table and grow hops via Sow A Heart Farms.  For me the headliner is Bow & Arrow from New Mexico.  Most of the press is about the owners, and rightfully so, but I have had a couple of their beers and they are great.  I say have the beers then read their story.

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HenHouse Talks the Future

And to get to the future, you have to talk about the past. And that past is fraught when you are a minority brewery in this country.

Which is why it was great to hear Shyla from Bow & Arrow and Teo from our SoCal Crowns & Hops talk about their respective journeys in a beer world that is quite white.

Here are some of the words of interest that struck me from the discussion…

  • Why do we assume that beer drinkers and brewery owners look a certain way?
  • access to capital is still a major hurdle
  • call out people, don’t let the haters use language without using language to change the narrative
  • No Jerks!
  • How do we frame gentrification when it is a minority business person in a minority neighborhood
  • We need to get to a time where the story is the beer and the beer only, and not who is behind it because telling the story of who you are, if that story always revolves around your skin tone is tiring
  • Don’t be an Ally in name only. Do sonething
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Bow & Arrow – First Taste

I ordered up some Albuquerque beer from Bow & Arrow Brewing Co. and it is time to weigh in on…

Buffalo Plaid Baltic Porter – pours a lovely dark color with some lovely foam. Roasty aroma off the bat. Warming with a bit of a peppery kick to it. Quite smooth overall.

Scenic West Hazy IPA – bright aroma when the can is opened. Has that fuzzy fruity smellI associate with the hazy style. Sharp and bubbly but also containing creaminess and lightness. Fruit punch and watermelon taste here in a lovely complicated IPA.

Paradox of Choice Hazy West Coast IPA – this has a distinctly catty aroma to it. The haze is less murky than Scenic West which does make sense if it is labeled as both Hazy AND West Coast. Another sharp one here, the bitterness really leans in.

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Brewjeria Native

I will be reviewing beers from Bow & Arrow, the first Native woman-owned and operated brewery in the US. But SoCal beer fans can head to Brewjeria for a recipe collaboration beer that was released on the 18th.

“Native Land is a West Coast IPA at 6.1% ABV adapted from the original Bow & Arrow recipe and will be available on tap and in four packs. Our version of this delicious brew recognizes the ancestral land of the Tongva People. We will be donating a portion of proceeds from sales to the California Tribal Fund of the First Nations Development Institute.”

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Native Land

Don’t know how I missed it but in addition to the Black is Beautiful and Brave Noise beers, there is also the Native Land project .  It too is a national collaboration.  The beers done for this project aims to acknowledge the contributions and history of Native American People in the United States. It is the brainchild of New Mexico brewery, Bow & Arrow who announced the project on Indigenous Peoples Day back in October.  “Each brewery who chooses to participate is asked to acknowledge whose ancestral land they are located on and recognize the tribe on the label, while committing to donate proceeds from the beer sales to Native organizations whose work focuses on ecological stewardship and strengthening Native communities.”

Bow and Arrow founders Shyla Sheppard who is part of the Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation, and her wife Missy Begay of the Navajo (Diné) Nation started the project and I hope like the others, the beers get people talking.

Below is the Ruse Brewing version…