Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
I don’t generally plan too far out in the future. When I hear a movie or TV show will premiere in 2024, my first thought is tell me a couple months out.
But, I fully understand that mega planners operate differently from me, so here is your first California Craft Brewers Summit heads-up…..
The theme for this year’s Summit was “unsteady”. My flight from BUR to SMF didn’t even toss peanuts to us due to the bumps. With crazy bank shenanigans and big competition from Bourbon and RTD’s, it seemed that everyone was a bit on edge. The future just seems wobbly.
While on the floor I saw little activity around a lot of the equipment booths and others seemed a bit heavy on banking and finance institutions.
Their was also some placement stategery going on. In the past, regions of California would pour their beers from one spot and you would see the hop folks clustered and the equipment booths together. This time around there was no clustering at all. You could have a malt seller next to a sanitation booth and one or both may have poured beers. And there was no signs as to what was pouring. So, as an LA person, I could not easily scope out the beers of the Bay Area or San Diego.
My guess being that in an effort to get all attendees to all booths, they mixed it all up to draw people in to give booths more exposure and chances to interact with people. It seemed, to me, the changes were exhibitor impact based and away from ease for attendees. Because if you were in the market for fruit puree, you were gonna walk.
The festival also was the same length as I remember but Monday was a political day of action with a Welcome event so you didn’t really go to the Convention Center until Tuesday and Wednesday was a half-day. That gave the Summit both breathing room and condensed the activity.
The education was still top notch. Lots of great information to be had. The events were excellent outside of the Summit and, as usual, the ship was run well and on-time. Imagine trying to pour Pliny to a huge crowd. Hard to do.
So, what did I take from the event? Loads of info that I will read about, a small understanding of the breweries in Sacramento that I could visit and a feeling that though there may be turbulence ahead, there may also be smooth pockets of air as well.
First bit of business is last nights quick and rainy trip to Moksa Brewing in Rocklin.
The beer list was just a skosh unbalanced with one lager and about six IPA’s of various stripes and six stouts of various adjuncts. The Chai Times spiced Stout was excellent and beer buddy Rich had a very rich in chocolate stout that I thought was great. The lager, Da Bier was just the antidote after a day of drinking. Moksa also won the weirdest beer award with Freshie Freeze that was super citrusy but it also had a strange diesel note as well.
Back to Wednesday, the 1/2 day. After a visit to fuel up at the Pancake Circus we headed to a Sensory Session with Omega Yeast. This is where the thiol learning from the day before came in handy, I sampled a test brew and boy was it as advertised. Huge grapefruit and passion fruit, almost too much. Amazing to taste what genetics and Crispr can do.
I also sample the Sierra Nevada kombucha with pizza and had a beermosa with Smog City’s Mango Pango.
Today was the day to hear from Pink Boot’s members who talked about the many benefits of the organization which was a welcome upbeat talk before we got the final session where the Cilurzo’s (Natalie and Vinnie) flanked Ken Grossman to talk about what they did with their breweries in the pandemic times as well as what they have in store for the future. More lagers from Russian River and more alternative drinks from Sierra Nevada.
While they spoke, the audience was treated to two special beers. Special being a bit of an understatement. First up was a 2010 Bigfoot that we tasted alongside the newest version. Next was a little bit of newly bottled Pliny the Younger, this year with Nectaron hops in the mix. Not a bad way to call the Summit to a close.
Tuesday was the big day on the floor of the Sacramento Convention Center. The day started with a round-up and introduction of the board members and the double team of keynote with David Walker and “Vulcan” Bart Watson.
The overall gist of the talk was that there is probably tough sledding ahead as California is lagging behind national averages during this recovery phase from the pandemic. As draft sales are not catching up to the go-go times. A key fact brought up is that craft was just beginning to head downward BEFORE the pandemic.
According to Walker the best route through is to curate the beer experience and lean into our strengths instead of chasing the “baubles” of seltzer or RTD’s that he said could be made by Monsanto and no one would notice.
After that I learned about Thiols and how to unlock their tropical flavor bounty with new genetically modified yeast. I then learned about some Sacramento area barley malt tests that were done to see how can grow local malt. California could conceivably grow enough brewing malt for all California craft breweries.
Then it was onto the expo floor and the exhibitors from the expected hop growers and label makers to the less expected banking and information management systems. If you needed to talk canning, canning was there. Multiple hop booths dotted the floor as well interspersed with malts of all kinds and a plethora of fruit puree booths.
After a bit of snacking at one of the sparse pairing sessions, it was time to hit the night VIP session which started as rain was bucketing down outside. So many beers on offer but after a day filled with sampling and a trip to Moksa Brewing scheduled for the night, the food was calling more. More on that tomorrow.
Day 2 was a political action day at the California state capitol. I saw the brewing troupe troop over to iconic domed building to state the beer case to the state.
While they did the heavy lifting, I lifted beer glasses at two local Sacramento breweries that were on my to drink at list.
First was a trip to the Oak Park neighborhood and the eponymous brewery.
It is one of the black owned breweries in the country. They had a nice selection of styles including the People’s Lager, a recipe from the first black owned brewery in the U.S. I also had the Strata Dome Imperial IPA which at 7+% was a light double at best. Neither lit my world on fire.
Next stop was Alaro Brewing where I had more success in the taster tray.
I especially liked the Modern IPA, Avenida and the French Saison Rabbit Hole. The branding with the Spanish style tile look is excellent. So much so that I bought a bottle of the Castillo IPA back to the hotel.
The “official” welcome to the Summit was held in West Sacramento at The Barn, Drakes impressive wooden modern architecture barn right on the river. It has a large amount of outdoor seating and two bar area (one inside and one out).
We had a ticket for a Drakes beer and then two tables were set-up with an array of California beers including the Three Weavers CCBA beer, Meet Me in California. As well as Long Beach Beer Labs Dad Beer and South Lake Brewing’s Expedition Citra. I also splurged on a barrel-aged barleywine, Gold Label.
The early evening was bright and sunny. Pizza and charcuterie were brought out and the space filled with brewers and vendors and us media types.
Our final stop in the state capital of California is on 16th Street, the home of Pipeworks AND Touchstone Brewing Co.
Time to choose a taster flight…
Off Belay Low Alcohol Pale Ale – “We were asked about non-alcoholic beers, so we decided to give one a go! A little bit above the 0.5% ABV threshold, Off Belay is still very low in alcohol at under 1%. We dry hopped it with Citra to keep it fresh and a little bit hoppy.”
Arete Amber – “Arete is brewed in the style of a classic Northern German Altbier with all North American malts, the bulk of them grown right here in California. A delicate balance between malty and bitter, this beer is very approachable no matter your style.”
Deadpoint Black Pilsner – “Traditionally referred to as a black lager or schwarzbier, this clean & dry lager has notes of milk chocolate and dark roasted barley. So take a sip, relax, and reach for that distant hold.”
Mayor of Indian Rock Imperial Stout – “Known as the Mayor of Indian Rock for his knowledge of every element and willingness to share beta, we brewed a dedication beer for our friend, Dave Altman. Dave was a part of the Touchstone Climbing family for more than 2 decades. This Imperial Stout stands strong, with roasted notes of chocolate and coffee, finishing very smooth and silky.”
Oak Park Brewing, like me, enjoys an acronym or two but the most important one to remember is “ABCs, which stands for (A)rt, (B)eer, and (C)ommUnity.”
Below is my idea of a great taster tray from OPB…
We Are Sacramento Pilsner – “Amber Pilsner dedicated to the hard working, creative people of Sacramento.”
OPB IPA – “Pours golden yellow with bright white head. Nose is filled with tropical fruit and ripe papaya. Each sip begins with dank hoppiness and ends with notes of grapefruit peel lingering on the tongue. West Coast, clear and refreshing.”
Hazy Lush Sky – “The hazy counterpart of our Lush Tropical Sky IPA. Very dry and clean. The flavor nuances are light citrus, slight plum tartness, pineapple, and grapefruit pith. The nose has a tropical pineapple presence.”
Cherry Strong Ale – “Cherry Stong Ale with hints of Lemon.”
The California Craft Beer Summit will be back at full strength in Sacramento this March.
After temping in Long Beach for one year and then postponing for more, the Summit is back at the state capital.
And I will be too! You will be getting plenty coverage in March on this blog but you might consider joining us because there will probably be some special brewery events around town.
What to brew for the Golden State to help raise funds for the California Craft Brewers Association? Instead of one recipe for a whole state load of California brewers, those playing along will be “choosing their own beer style to brew.” How many beer styles do you think that might be?
Below is more information from the press release:
“Formed in 1989, the CCBA is the oldest state trade association representing craft breweries. CCBA has primarily funded its mission with funds derived from membership dues and large-scale industry and consumer events. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CCBA was forced to cancel numerous conferences and the annual CA Craft Beer Summit in both 2020 and 2021.”
“CCBA Brewers Collaboration fundraiser was made possible through the generous support of CCBA allied trade members including Crosby Hops, The County Malt Group Custom Label, and Vessel Packaging who donated ingredients and discounted services for the project.”
“CCBA Brewers Collaboration beer will be available in packaged beer at participating brewery locations throughout the state beginning in mid-July and throughout the summer and early fall. More information on the fundraiser, how to get involved, and participating brewery map visit are posted on their website.”
Here is your handy link spot to read what I covered in Brew & You in September….
September 5th – Project Barley, A Velvet Glow from Russian River + a state gathering at Long Beach Beer Lab.
September 19th – California Craft Beer Summit in Long Beach plus plenty of Oktoberfest fun.