Tag: brewery tour

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Brewery Tour of Livermore, CA – Brotherhood Brewing

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Our second stop in Livermore, California is at the Veteran Owned, Brotherhood Brewing.  This is a group of veteran marines who have moved into the brewing arena.  And I personally think it is beyond cool that are armed forces even realize, as they put it that, “American zymurgy has consisted of lifeless, thin, unimpressive beer.”

Oh and that they “aim to change that!”

According to a semi-recent Facebook post, they are in the talking with the city phase that also involves finding just the right landlord and location.  Then soon we can all taste their Steele Curtain IPA and Loblolly Porter.

I will update their status when I learn something new.

 

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Brewery Tour of Livermore, CA – Working Man Brewing

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There has been a burst of brewing energy in Livermore, California which is located on the eastern edge of California’s San Francisco Bay Area. So this month, we highlight three breweries that are both open and soo to open and we start at Working Man Brewing.  And let’s jump directly to the beers with the first two being tapping into the brewery’s theme.

Whistleblower Wit

5.2% ABV 28 IBU’s Belgian style beer with wheat, barley and oats for a smooth malt character. Additions of elderflower, coriander and orange peel give this traditional wheat beer a spicy character.

Wage Slave Pale Ale

5.5% ABV 30 IBU’s A medium golden ale. Well-balanced with a mild maltiness and an overall smooth hop finish.

Tourada Pale Lager

5.5% ABV 30 IBU’s California Common or “Steam” beer, laagered and aged three times as long as our regular beers for supreme smoothness.

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Iowa Brewery # 3 – Exile Brewing Company

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Our last stop in Iowa is Exile Brewing and if you are in the mood for German style beers for a hot night, then this is the place to be. You can get one of the following names to quench your craft thirst. They are aiming for “European Style, American Craftsmanship”

Ruthie

Munich Gold Lager

Gigi

Munich Dunkel Lager
And what better place to enjoy your lager? “An American Beer Hall housed between the brew house and fermentation room.  With clear views of the brewing process, the Beer Hall is a perfect spot to sample our beers and grab a quick lunch during the day, or to indulge a tankard and cocktail in the evening.  The historic, industrial hall greets our beer garden through a roll-up door that transforms the entire area into a patio.  The Beer Hall is great for a casual beer, private get-togethers, and spontaneous parties alike.”
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Iowa Brewery # 2 – Okoboji Brewing Company

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The second stop in Iowa is Okoboji Brewing Company. And these are the beers that caught my eye from their brewhouse in Spirit Lake off of Highway 71.

Boji Beach Golden Rye Ale

“Light golden in color, crisp, smooth and dry with slight bitterness to balance the sweetness of the malt. This beer will be well received by American Lager fans even as an ale. The rye adds a bit of spicyness and some bakery qualities which enhance the complexity of this beer.”

Midwest Charm Farmhouse Ale, with Ginger

“Traditionally brewed seasonally in the barn and other farmhouse buildings, thus the name. This style almost died out due to the perception of being a “regular person’s beer” but was revived by craft and home brewers with the love of its diversified flavors. Cloudy amber color with some spicyness and earthy flavors from the yeast. This semi-dry, medium bitterness beer has been revitalized because of “regular people” loving great beer.”
 

They also have an adjacent homebrew shop so that Iowa home brewers have a spot to find their ingredients and equipment!

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Heartland Brewery # 3 -Indiana City Brewing Company

Yes, I know my definition of heartland is strange but I could not think of a better term to cover these three breweries.  That being said, here is our last stop….

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Indiana City is the uber literal term for Indianapolis.  Which is much better than living in a town which literally means Valley Valley, like I do. Enough word play though.  What beers does this place have?

Here are my picks:

SHADOW BOXER oatmeal stout
“This is a black, full-bodied ale with mild roasted grain aroma, coffee flavor and moderate spicy hop bitterness. A diverse combination of flavors all below a creamy brown head.”

YACHT ROCK wheat ale
This Belgian style wheat ale is a light-bodied, crisp, slightly tart and lightly hopped golden beer with a fine-bubbled bright white head.

plus the HOOVILLAIN kolsch style ale

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Arizona Beer – Fate Brewing

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Our first brewery stop in Arizona is Fate Brewing whose “beer philosophy is to make a little bit of great beer, a lot. With a small-batch, 7 bbl system we’re afforded the opportunity to brew often and consistently rotate what’s on tap.”

They  have traditional and modern favorites (hefeweizen and pale ale), seasonal, experimental and cask conditioned ales (Black IPA and a root beer too).

And coming soon are an Imperial IPA, American Brown Ale, Irish Red and an Imperial Irish Red

Plus, I love their tagline, you will be “pleasantly surprised by what Fate has in store.​”

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DC Brewery # 3 – Port City

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Our final District of Columbia stop is at Port City which is based in nearby Alexandria, Virginia but was voted best local brewery by the City Paper of DC.

They also reached the 2nd year milestone earlier this month and these are the beers that I would like to put into my ‘fridge and then into a pint glass….

First would be the Tartan Scottish Ale
“Our Tartan Ale is crafted by Head Brewer Jonathan Reeves. It has a deep, copper-color and is produced in the 80-shilling style. It offers a slightly fruity flavor that complements the luscious malty roast caramel flavor and faint hop aroma.”

Followed by…
“Tidings Ale is a strong Belgian style blond ale is brewed with local Maryland wildflower honey and Virginia wheat. These special ingredients store away the flavor and essence of summer, and later warm us during the cold winter months. It is gently spiced with coriander, cardamom, fresh ginger and grains of paradise.”

and then I would finish with their flagship
“Essential Pale Ale is a deep golden color with hop aroma reminiscent of fresh fruit. The pleasing bitter taste from American hops is balanced with English and German malts, and offers a complex full flavored character that is smooth and refreshing.”

Or maybe I would go the other way around.

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Beer Search Party at GABF – Part 2


Started the day on a bus filled with New Belgium beer headed towards Fort Collins. BrewDad Mike secured us passes for a brewery visit and this is a tour like no other.

New Belgium is a huge campus. Really huge. Pipes everywhere. All labeled and all monitored by a computer straight out of Minority Report. And the place goes on and on. Our tour took us past three bars! And so much equipment. To wrap the kegs in plastic for shipping they used a big piece of metal that quickly encircled kegs in layers of plastic. There were labs and two story fermenters and foeders everywhere you looked.


And the lunch was awesome. Great classy food with no pretension. Grilled cheese wedges with tomato soup. Peruvian chicken wings and other little nibbles like Belgian waffles to go with the beer. I went back for seconds and thirds.

We headed home after another beer and on to Freshcraft a new (to me) gastropub on Blake street for the Taplister relaunch. Great beer and a contingent of Portland folk (bloggers and beermongers) plus Joe from Ratebeer. As we were departing, Jeremy and Ting from Eagle Rock strolled in. That is one of the great things about Denver during the fest. Everywhere you stop, there is usually someone you know.

After Freshcraft were stops at Falling Rock (short due to it being it’s usual packed to the rafters self), Breckenridge (for food and a place to rest weary legs) and to cap the night a taxi ride out to Prost Brewing to try their German styled beer. The Pils being my favorite of the taster tray.

The beers are starting to blur together but onward I march to Saturday.

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FoodGPS Teaser – Ladyface Brewery Tour

Tomorrow over on FoodGPS, I will talk about one of my favorite Los Angeles area breweries, Ladyface in Agoura Hills.

One of the great things that they do (other than having a great cask offering) is that the first Monday of every month they do a brewery tour. I will tell more tomorrow but here are some photos to whet your taste…


The brewmaster talking about the Ladyface way of brewing


One of the newer beers being aged in Makers Mark barrels


The finished product.