Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
In addition to finally making it to the White Labs, me and beer buddy Richard also hit three other extremely, really close breweries near the Miramar area just north of San Diego proper.
And we still didn’t visit Alesmith or Ballast Point!
First stop was Hess (or Mike Hess) Brewing…..
Next stop was Rough Draft Brewing (some of their bottles are making their way to L.A.)
Last on the itinerary was Green Flash….
San Diego has (yet another) brewery to frequent! I know new San Diego breweries was my theme in January but I have a feeling that it could be my theme every month.
Here is their mission: “Saint Archer Brewing Company was founded on a unique strain of creative talent: World-class brewers. Artists and musicians. Surfers, skateboarders, and snowboarders…. All coming together with passion and commitment to express our collective true love — handcrafted beer. Saint Archer’s been a long time in the tank and we hope you taste our appreciation and gratitude in every sip.”
They have a starting line-up that includes a blonde a pale and the de rigeur IPA. You can probably now spend a full month drinking in San Diego and not get your hands onto every brewery’s beers. Amazing!
6 Hoppy Beers to be released throughout 2013. That is the trip or “Odyssey” for Green Flash and these beers are not just limited to San Diego! They will be on draft where you usually drink Green Flash.
Here is the info on the planned beers:
February – Black IPA:
“This American-style Black IPA is nearly jet black and perceived to have high hop bitterness, flavor and aroma with medium-high alcohol content, balanced with a medium body. The appearance may trick you into thinking you are about to enjoy a traditional stout beer when in fact your senses are about to be overwhelmed with our Black IPA. Juicy, fruity, floral, and pine from Pacific Northwest hops gives the beer a classic West Coast IPA hop character. The Black IPA is further characterized by a balanced and moderate degree of caramel malt and subdued dark roasted malt flavor and aroma.” 7.2% ABV, 85 IBU
Hops used: Warrior, Citra, Cascade
April – Imperial Red Rye IPA:
“Bigger, bolder, and hoppier is what you get in Green Flash’s Imperial Red Rye IPA…how unusual! This is quite possibly the most amount of flavor that can be packed into a glass of red ale. Columbus hops set the stage for the newly available Mosaic hops (released in 2013) to shine through the rich crystal malt base and a touch of rye malt adds a spicy dryness to accentuate the hop character further.” 8.5% ABV, 80 IBU
Hops used: Columbus and Mosaic
June – Citra Session IPA:
“When new and unique ingredients become available we often feel inspired to make a new brew highlighting that ingredient, here we are highlighting a newer hop variety called Citra. This pale gold Session IPA is brewed with high quality Maris Otter and Vienna Malt but the flavor is dominated by the Citra hop. 100% Citra hop is used to bitter and flavor the brew with additional Citra in the dry hop for aroma intensity. Citrus notes of lemon, orange and grapefruit are the main traits of the hop with light floral and lemon grass undertones. The abv at only 4.5% makes this hop laden brew an easily sessionable quaffer.” 4.5% ABV, 45 IBU
Hops used: Citra
THIS IS THE ONE THAT I BE WATCHING FOR (RIGHT AFTER THE CEDAR PALE)
August – Cedar Plank Pale Ale:
“This hoppy pale ale starts out as 30th Street Pale Ale and then undergoes Spanish cedar aging. Wood aging imparts an intense cedar aroma which dominates the dry hop. The flavor contributions from the Spanish cedar include peppercorn spiciness and a tannic dry mouth feel that makes the hop flavor and bitterness linger in the finish. The wood adds a fun and unique twist on a classic American Strong Pale Ale, “The wood is good!” “6.3 % ABV, 45 IBU
Hops used: Warrior, El Dorado, Cascade
October – Symposium IPA:
“We originally brewed this beer for the 2008 Craft Brewers Conference for the attendees that came from all around the world. The 2008 Symposium IPA was brewed a la San Diego Style with inputs from several brewers around town. This IPA is highly quaffable, pale copper in color, and lighter in body with a profound emphasis on hop extravagance as we added hops at every step throughout the brewing process. We all enjoyed the beer so much that we just had to bring it back for our 8th Anniversary in 2010. Now it’s being released as key brew for our 2013 Hop Odyssey”. 7% ABV, 75 IBU
Hops used: Simcoe, Tomahawk, Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial
December – Double Columbus IPA:
“Brewed with 100% Columbus hops this double IPA is an absolute Columbus hop bomb! Its resinous hop character comes through with huge grapefruit zest and pine notes throughout the brew. The big juicy, fruity, citrus hops add a resinous and almost sticky hop presence in the body making the medium body from crystal malts seem even richer and fuller. This is a hop head’s treat!” 8.8% ABV, 98 IBU
Hops used: Columbus
One of the hardest things to do in opening a brewery isn’t brewing the beer or designing the logo or hiring staff. Nope, one of the hardest things to do is find a suitable location. One that doesn’t require breaking through mile after mile of red tape and that can fit into your vision for now and the future.
And in California, what with prices still being higher than in other parts of the country that problem is exacerbated. Even for someone like Jeff Bagby who has Great American Beer Festival medals galore.
But now the good news. The Bagby Beer Company has taken that step and found a place to call home in Oceanside. They have taken over an old car dealership space. If all goes well, construction will begin in 2013 and maybe if the process goes according to plan beer will be made.
The San Diego scene shows no sign of flagging.
As much as I love writing about beer, it must be tough for the San Diego beer blogger to keep track and to keep up.
Here is another brewery that I have failed to mention in the years that I have been blogging, Rough Draft.
Their tasting room is open Wednesday through Sunday and they have a couple IPA’s that caught my fancy Eraser and Frontal Labottleme both clocking in around 7% abv.
Might be another to add to your San Diego brewery crawl. Which at this point is probably a week long affair.
To be blunt, I have had a few more misses than hits* from Green Flash Brewing but I do highly applaud there new charitable action like the…..
“Brewing It Forward initiative, a charitable program built to benefit grassroots humanitarian organizations. On June 26, Green Flash will hold a kick-off event for Brewing It Forward where the San Diego series beers will debut, and a portion of proceeds from sales of all three will be donated to local charities.”
You can read more HERE at the San Diego Reader.
* Linchpin White IPA with Founders was quite delicious
Hess Brewing is one of many San Diego breweries that I haven’t been able to taste yet. A road trip is long overdue for sure. And Maybe I can snag a bottle of their stout that has rye and three hop additions.
Wow. Karl Strauss has been around for 23 years. That is amazing. And breweries do well with anniversaries. A lot of great beers are made for the yearly celebration. Like this one….
“The 23rd Anniversary Old Ale was aged for 12 months in American oak barrels and is the first Karl Strauss barrel-aged beer to be offered unblended. It’s loaded with complex layers of toffee, molasses, dried figs, and toasted oak. A pronounced warming bourbon flavor contributes to the beer’s 12.2% alcohol content—making this strong ale an ideal after dinner sipper or accompaniment to desserts like bread pudding. The company only bottled 413 cases of this beer, encouraging fans to enjoy one now and lay another down several years. “This beer is only going to get better with age,” says brewer Segura. “As time passes, the bourbon character will mellow and more of the dried fruit and vanilla flavors will come out.”
The 23rd Anniversary Old Ale will be available on tap at all six Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurants and select beer bars across Southern California, beginning February 2, 2012
Tours of beers in L.A.? Who would have thunk that years ago? But now you can hop on a bus (after reserving and paying of course – gas ain’t free) and let LA Craft Beer Tours drive on.
They have three separate tours. The LA, the LA to Orange County and the LA to San Diego. Might be a good Christmas gift for the beer lover in your life.
This just flew into my beer radar. And I thought I would pass the pertinent info on about it. Has a good panel and you can’t beat San Diego for a beer location. Would be interested if anybody is planning on going and why?
“San Diego’s first craft beer conference that caters to industry players and fans alike will take place on August 27th 2011, promising exclusive access to the top names in the industry, and their expert presentations plus panel discussions on all things relevant to the American craft beer movement. Between informative discussions, giveaways, and an extensive beer garden officially dubbed “Tap Haven,” if you’re an aspiring craft beer guru, you won’t want to miss Beer-Con.
Beer-Con’s impressive line-up of participants includes industry pros like Anat Baron, Director of Beer Wars, Patrick Rue, Founder of The Bruery, Greg Koch, CEO and Co-Founder of Stone Brewing Co, and Bill Sysak, Beverage Supervisor at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, to name a few. Presentations are scheduled such as Beer Tasting 101 to Transitioning your Bar/Opening a Brewery, Beer and Social Media, and many more. Check out the official Beer-Con site for a full list of speakers and sponsors. Or visit Beer-Con.com.
Beer-Con is slated to sell out quickly, so be sure to reserve your space today! You can reach us by simply leaving a comment on the Beer-Con website. Beer-Con is a huge step in forwarding the craft beer movement, and we’re excited to meet you at the Handlery Hotel in San Diego on August 27th.”