Tag: Paso Robles

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FWIBF18 – Recap


Now that a couple of days have passed since the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival, it is time to recap the weekend….

There were changes this year. First off there was a concert with a small selection of beers available (which included America’s Preference from our own Highland Park Brewery) the night before the fest . The pre-Fest Kleen Kanteen cup was matte black instead of silver. And at the main event, the foreign breweries were mingled with everyone else. No special section just for them.

But other than that dabbling about the edges, there is not much to truly say except for favorite beers. This festival is pretty drama free. Snafu’s apparently aren’t allowed in the Mid-State Fairground.

So what did I enjoy? In no particular order…

1. Firestone Walker’s Propagator Patrick Hayze v2 was quite good soft and fruity without losing hop bite.
2. Rare Barrel Raging Waters a touch Sour lovely watermelon note. Simple
3. Fonta Flora Urban Monk Carrot Cake So good. Like a spice cake dessert
4. Thornbridge Lukas Helles crisp clear and delicious
5. BarrelWorks Pixie Dusted don’t get tangerine at first but then it doesn’t leave
6. Rare Barrel Alchemy and Magic damn good. Cucumber centric
7. Monkish Space Cookie way weird. Good balance of hops and vanilla
8. Half Acre Pony Pilsner perfect for any festival
9. Firestone Walker Lager straight from the Lager logo emblazoned golf cart/fridge

I did notice that there were more breweries that were tapped out. The speed and number seems to increase so either these breweries need to bring more beer or back-ups need to be in place. Maybe wineries or cocktails can take over? Or perhaps a staggering of start times for those breweries known to be extra popular.

In the end, all to be said is that this is an impressive gathering of beer and if you get a chance, you should grab a ticket immediately.

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FWIBF18 – Day 2


Day two in Paso Robles and the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival is done.

Here are the initial thoughts swirling in my head…

The Rare Barrel is on a hot streak with me. I had two beers from their shaded booth and from watermelon to juniper they were awesome. They really got a strong and balanced taste from the melon especially.

Fonta Flora is another winner for me. One of the few big beers that I had was their Urban Monk – Carrot Cake. It was like a liquid cake. Just fantastic. Their House Lagah was strong too. I went back a third time and they had already tapped their peach and blackberry beers.

Speaking of tapped out, the “project” breweries were packed even during the VIP hour. Side Project and Garage Project really have devoted fans. So much so that places like Trillium and. Monkish weren’t really swamped throughout the day.

Kudos to Alvarado Street for their jet ski tap tower. A full jet ski with taps in the side.

That is the quick dispatch. More to come as I go over my notes including my favorite and a surprising least favorite.

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FW Invitational – 3 Weeks Out


For those heading to Paso Robles, one of the side benefits is the ability to visit breweries in the Central Coast area.

Start HERE at the Guild page to see the full list.

Here are my suggestions as to which taprooms to visit….
Casa Agria in Oxnard
Institution Ales in Camarillo
Topa Topa in Santa Barbara
Tent City in Atascadero
Silva Brewing in Paso Robles
Toro Creek in Paso Robles

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FW Invitational – One Month Out


One month until the beer world descends on the Central Coast. For those lucky enough to snare these elusive tickets, and if you haven’t perused the brewery list which you can see right HERE (in logo form), I suggest you start planning your stops along three lines.

New – Returning – Skip

What breweries fall into each will depend on what you have tasted before. Let me explain each of the three. New is obvious but I won’t be going to every newcomer, just the ones that I can’t get down in L.A. Returning are those that I had in years past and do not want to miss because (again) I don’t see them much in L.A. Lastly the skips fall into two camps. Last year Wicked Weed fell in due to their selling out. But the other are those with lines too long to justify standing with an empty snifter with so many great beers to be had.

Without further ado, here is my list:
NEW
Buxton, Jack’s Abby, Liefman’s, Oxbow and Thornbridge

RETURNING
Beavertown, Fonta Flora, Half Acre and Rare Barrel

SKIP
Melvin Brewing, Side Project, Trillium and Weldwerks

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#FWIBF18 – The Breweries

Firestone Walker chose April Fool’s Day to announce their brewery line-up for their 2018 Invitational Beer Fest and SURPRISE!, the list is great…

For those lucky enough to snare tickets to this sought after event, here are my recommendations of booths to visit….

Fonta Flora was my favorite last year and got a lot of positive press, so hit them up early. New this year are Jack’s Abby from the East Coast and there beers will be perfect for the summer sun of Paso Robles.

WeldWerks had a hella’ long line at the Beer Advocate fest so I would head to another newcomer, Oxbow instead.

The foreign tent has some big names. Thornbridge being the one that I would run to. (Oh how I love to watch the beer snobs run) Also hit Beavertown and Garage Project before their lines grow.

Lastly The Rare Barrel and Sante Adairius should be on your must visit list for at least one beer.

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Return to Re:Find


A few years back, as part of a trip to Paso Robles put on by Firestone Walker, I had a lovely evening eating food and having cocktails and even practicing creating my own blend of gin at the Re:Find distillery. (It was not good). I finally returned up the windy road and windier driveway to this time taste wine and spirits.

For the fantastic price of $15, a visitor gets four splashes of wine and then tastes of spirits in the room next door, right in front of the beautiful shiny still.

Of the four wines on the flight, my favorite was a Cuvee Blanc from 2016. Sharp and strong with great grape taste to this amateur wine drinker. But I was there to taste the gin and limoncello and decide which I wanted to bring back home with me.

The Vodka was clean and strong but surprisingly the barrel-aged Vodka [e] was even stronger and I noticeably was struck by it. The Limoncello is perfect as a base for cocktails. On it’s own, it was too sweet for me but that lemon taste was magnificent.

The Gin is made of a proprietary blend of botanicals including juniper berry, coriander, orris root, lemon & orange peel, grains of paradise, and lavender. And the aroma was heavenly. This is a gin that could be drunk straight and would reveal different nuances. In a cocktail it really adds a set of spice notes and alcohol heat that was amazing.

Re:Find is part of the distillery trail in Paso Robles but I could have sat on the hill and just drank G&Ts all day.

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1st Visit – Silva Brewing

Last year, Silva Brewing wasn’t quite ready when I was in Paso Robles but this year, they certainly were and I made a beeline there first.

The small rectangular location is either in the Pour House bar or attached, or off the alley. Either way it is easy to find and I quickly had a flight in front of me in nice metal taster trays from the requisite tattooed bartender.

The taproom had the remaining strong shell of brewed beer even at 3pm the day after. Sweet wort aroma filled the room as the floor was being hosed down.

My taster tray included the Suite B German amber which was quite bready. There was both a sweetness and lightness that I don’t normally associate with altbier. A bit cloying and some green/young notes plus a malt/water combo that seemed to pervade all of the beers.
Paso Pale grain forward. Light hop bitterness. Grapefruit.

Next was the 525 Pine which had same malt lightness to it and not the hops of Green Flash while the Hop Maniac is bigger when it boils down to IBU’s but that same house malt flavor was there though the bigger hop aroma covers it better.

Lastly, the Nut Farm Nitro had a really nice aroma. It utilizes walnuts which I can’t eat even in brownies and though it was a bit too sweet for me the slight nutty texture really worked well. The nitro accentuated the cream and sugar aspect so it Might be even better on regular draft.

For the sake of science, I also bought a crowler of the orange peel saison to see if that house note carries through across more than two styles.

Silva is certainly a change of pace and is bringing new beer to an area dominated by two heavy hitters.

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Report from #FWIBF17 – Part 2

Here is the first quick, still reeling from yesterday recap from the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival.

The weather was hot and humid but not the energy sapping heat that has been endured in the past. With the extra hour afforded by the media pass, I was able to try several firsts. Beers from Other Half, Arizona Wilderness and Trillium with only one being a hazy NE style IPA and it wasn’t the best or worst of that trio.

As usual for me, I go over the FWIBF app beers but then you see that Beachwood (and the Blendery) have more beers than advertised. Same for Bagby of Oceanside and Highland Park as well and the initial plan starts to fray.

I wanted to do more international beers but only ended up tasting two. I did attend both beer talks so that agenda held. I got my Portland fix from Gigantic and Ecliptic. But I missed on Half Acre and Side Project.

Speaking of which. People love the word “Project”. The biggest lines were at Garage and Side. Strong and consistent lines. And again, you could have slid to the next booth and gotten all the Surly Pentagram you wanted. This year, it seemed more booths kicked early. Other Half seemed to run dry instantly. Many booths were ghost towns by 4pm. I don’t know how that is monitored by Firestone Walker but it needs to be tightened up for next year.

As usual, the food was great. So many options. Each year, I tell myself to eat plenty and, each year, I eat more but could do a better job.

I will unveil my Fest Five in another post but spoilers, Fonta Flora Brewery is on the list.