Tag: central coast

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Central Coast Stop # 3 – Re:Find Distillery

Even though I will not be in lovely Paso Robles this year for the Firestone Walker Invitational, it doesn’t mean that you (or I) should not hit up some California Central Coast breweries, or a distillery..

Here is my last pick of the month…Re:Find Distillery. It is not far from downtown Paso Robles or, for that matter from the many other distilleries that dot the area. You head up an minor incline and park at the homey little tasting room for both the distillery and the winery as well.

Normally I would skip quickly over the vodkas to the gin and the whiskeys and bourbons but there are some interesting twists such as cucumber vodka, barrel finished vodka, kumquat vodka. You can also find cocktail kits and mixers so, plan some time to visit.

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Central Coast Brewery # 2 -Oak and Otter Brewing Co.

Our next stop combines a tree and a lovable critter. Oak and Otter Brewing is in SLO. Let’s jump right into a possible taster tray…

Vitamin Sea Wit – “Belgian wit made with fresh orange zest, a great balance of fruit and yeasty characteristics.”

Islay Peak IPA – “The House Standard. West Coast IPA with a great balance of malt and hops.”

Midnight Mallory – “a classic black IPA that has a hop bite and roasty undertones from special roast, midnight wheat.”

Romauldo Red Ale – “A dark, rich Irish red ale with a unique malty taste and bursting with caramel notes.”

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8Zero5

Seeing as how a N/A Parabola would not be the best course of action, Firestone Walker has made the much more logical choice of creating a non-alcoholic version of 805, with the clever insertion of the word Zero for the number Zero.

Could be a popular beer this summer, up and down the Central Coast.

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Central Coast Brewery # 3 – Night Lizard Brewing

I am not fond of lizards at any time of day, but I am fond of breweries at any time so let’s head to Santa Barbara and Night Lizard Brewing and have a taster flight…

Bushmallow German Blonde – “A refreshing crisp ale. Munich Malt and Pure Idaho 2-row are featured in this ale. Growing in steep canyons of the channel islands, this endangered shrub has pink, lavender, or white flowers in spring.”

Gnatcatcher IPA – “A New England “Hazy” Indian Pale Ale. This fruity, juicy IPA is huge on Mosaic, Citra, and Idaho 7 flavors. Named after the endangered coastal Gnatcatcher, this species was heavily predated on by brown-headed cow birds.”

Yuzu Mijiu DWitt – “Yuzu and house made Mijiu blended into our double Belgian White Ale.”

Lupine Porter – “A traditional English porter with heavy caramel, toffee and toasted nut notes, with a slightly chocolatey sweet finish. This endangered flower is endemic to the dunes of San Luis Obispo. Only 700 plants remain!”

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Central Coast Brewery # 2 – Ojai Valley Brewery

Down at the south end of the long Central Coast is where we land next at Ojai Valley Brewery that takes advantage of its location for some of its beers ingredients.

Here is my taster tray…

Pixie – “White Wheat Ale with Pixie Tangerine Zest & Marmalade, Indian Coriander, and Chamomile, rolled oats, and raw white wheat. Bittering provided by Bravo Hops. Medium Light Body, Round Mouthfeel, Mild balanced bitterness that gives way to slight sweetness.”

Cali Bock – “Hop forward Hybrid Lager. Combination of California Common Lager and Helles Bock Lager. Clean medium bodied, with a higher alcohol content than most lagers.”

Chaparral – “Amber Ale ( close to ESB) brewed with wild foraged black sage, white sage, and purple sage. the sage flavor is subtle on purpose to make it highly drinkable without being overwhelming. The sage is mostly in the nose because of this, and provides a slightly sour herb base to the beer. All of the sage is foraged off the Etchart Ranch property where we have been seceding and cultivating it for years. We’ve also planted all of these sages in the front planter directly in front of the tap room between the street and fence. Bittered with Noble Hops.”

Bruja – “Belgian Imperial Barrel Aged Stout, brewed with Mexican Canella (cinnamon), raw cocoa, and Mexican Vanilla Bean. Aged 2 years in white Oak. Extremely Limited, and sells out quickly.”

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Central Coast Brewery # 1 – Antigua Brewing

We are staying in the Central Coast, even though L.A. Beer Week starts today, and our destination is San Luis Obispo and Antigua Brewing. There is also an Antigua Farms, and some of the beers use hops grown there, so really local.

Let’s dive right into the taster tray.

Celebration Spiced Red Ale – cinnamon and pink pepper spiced real ale.

Pandemic Porter – a blend of coffee, chocolate and hop notes

The Grand Hoppening – an English-styled IPA made with hops from the Antigua Farm

Harvest Morning Glory – and orange infused Belgian Wit with spice

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FWIBF 23 – The Day After

After a night spent with an unhappy tummy courtesy of the sour beers consumed on Saturday, I made a short hop from my bucolic Creekside Inn to the Booker Wines for the Wine Down brunch.

And it did not disappoint (except for one thing), the Booker compound is amazing. At the end of the road with multiple other wineries, the vineyards surrounding the hill.  The architecture was super fancy.  I can easily imagine an extra fancy wedding being held here.  All open air and great views. I hopped up when they said they were doing a cave tour but it was more a quiet walkthrough the cave which also had a special room with the limestone on one side. Food was great as usual but it was time to say goodbye, but not to Paso Robles just yet.

Then just down the road was Bethel Rd. Distillery. More on that in a distillery post in a day or two.

Next up was KiloKilo, where I eavesdropped on the owner expound on the beer industry and what makes a festival good. The Cold IPA was my choice, Frosty Little Nugget. It was what I needed before heading south.

I made two stops on the way home.  One to reacquaint myself with Figueroa Mountain in Buellton and two for a first visit of Bellringer Brew Co.

FigMtn has a lovely outdoor patio and the same weirdly situated indoor seating. A tiny little room with a cubby for taps overlooking the brew deck. Food pick-up in another room which is weird. Recommend the outdoor bar.

I drove further south to the somewhat new Bellringer Beer Co. I get worried when the brewing equipment is tucked tightly into a space as it is here. I had half pours of the Galaxy IPA and the Ringer Pilsner. The IPA tasted a little old, hop-wise. Murky in flavor but not in color. The Pilsner was better for sure so I hope the equipment is being dialed in.

I took a little walk around Ventura then has one last beer….

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FWIBF 2023 – The Day Before

When you go to the Firestone Walker Invitational, the day before can be a lot and if you sneak in a distillery visit, it becomes a day.

I drove up from June Gloom L.A. to bright and sunny Paso Robles and went to work with a stop at The Backyard for a beer (Wild Fields Cosmo Canyon Red) and a sandwich before heading to CalWise Spirits for a comprehensive tasting of their products, some of which were started at Firestone Walker. My favorite was the flagship gin with the orange liqueur second.

I moved north on Ramada Drive to pick up beers at the FW Emporium and then checked out the new barrel room and had some beers before taking a tour with scion Nick Firestone around some of the environmental initiatives at the brewery from solar panel fields to CO2 improvements,

From there, the Friday night water park dinner awaited where I nearly choked on some food before recovering to enjoy seeing luminaries like Bob from Highland Park and Henry from Monkish before crashing as I type this.

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Central Coast 2021 – Final Thoughts

Except for forgetting a four-pack of beer at the hotel upon checking out, this was a great trip. Thanks to the presence and personal preference of my Mom, more wine was had than on past trips which was fun because I got to play the newbie again and just enjoy each glass as opposed to analyzing each beer that comes my way.

Getting to sample a vertical flight of four Anniversary beers from Firestone Walker was great. 24 was my favorite so I will be wanting to revisit that one alongside 25 again.

Of the breweries tasted, Wild Fields was my number 1. My flight was solid up and down. There Does Not Exist was second if just talking about beer and style scope. Silva Brewing’s Rhinestone Red was great but there hours were limited so that made that the only beer.

Both California Coast and Hog Canyon need time to grow and I am excited to try the eponymously names Paso Robles brewing to arrive.

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Central Coast 2021 – Day 3

Three breweries. All first visits. All in one day on the Central Coast.

Starting in the middle in Atascadero with Wild Fields Brewing in a strip mall across from a movie theater. I like the post card flight info. Very cool. As you can see from the photo, I went across styles and all were solid and strong. I will look for more cans from them in LA.

Next is the amazing multi-layered California Coast Brewing in Paso Robles. A really cool reclaimed location. Great logo of a growling bear. The beer was at best, uneven. The best was a Belgian Strong ale.

Finally, down to SLO and There Does Not Exist. The beers were interesting with the Hazy DIPA being my favorite. The blended saison and farmhouse ale were a little strange and the signless space was a little cold.