While the beer world was in Denver….

So the craft beer world was tilted towards Colorado, I didn’t sit on the couch grousing that I wasn’t there. Especially since my football team was winning (Go Linfield!)

I took to the road and visited 4 SoCal breweries. The first stop was Cismontane for the release of their Double Rainbow DIPA….

My driver and fellow craft beer fanatic Richard

We got to sample the “regular” version of Double Rainbow….
..and the cask version as well!

Cismontane even grows a few hops outside their pleasant little industrial park tasting room….
hops mark the entrance to Double Rainbow, Black's Dawn and Coulter

Next stop is the fairly new Anaheim Brewing. Another pretty interior in which to drink beer and aside from me in the foreground…
a nice patio to enjoy beer on a sunny SoCal day.

I will have to sample more to make a complete assessment of their creations…
maybe I will try out the regular stable of beers like the Hefe or Golden.

Richard and I sampled the Tavern Ale and the Oktoberfest both of which were underwhelming in comparison to Cismontane.
Third Stop was the Bruery...
and all of the choices on that board. The big winner was the Humulus Wet. Which in my opinion is the equal of Kern River’s Citra (which are both better than a certain PtY). Big citrus aroma. Light on the tongue. A hit of bitterness. Just delightful. The Berazzled was awfully good too. Almost a raspberry soda. Re-tried the Autumn Maple and still had a difficult time with it. To strong and medicinal to me.
I bought yet another bottle of batch 300 tripel too!

Our final stop was a quick jaunt to Eagle Rock Brewery to get a taster of Populist and to buy a small growler. Then home to sleep!

Surly Goat + Dogfish Head + The Bruery =

…the kick-off to the latest announced collaboration between Dogfish Head and The Bruery.

I started off my Surly Goat night with The Wanderer from The Bruery. This is another semi-rare Bruery offering. This one was brewed for the excellent City Beer Store of San Francisco (that if you haven’t visited, shame on you).

The Wanderer

It was tart but not puckery with great raspberry/cherry notes. I could see this paired with ice cream.

After a somewhat desultory tasting of Red & White. (just didn’t work for me), the night was concluded with 90 Minute put through a “randall” with Intelligentsia coffee. Wow! The aromatics were amazing. And it carried through into the flavor. Tasted like a coffee amber. Delicious.

Bruery + The Foundry =

If this does not perk up the inner Beer Geek then nothing will….

Lunch menu (food first / beer second)

Goat cheese and orange rillettes/flatbread/ herbed oil (Orchard White)
Endive salad/taleggio /Asian pear/hazelnut oil (Saison Rue)
Confit of rabbit/lemon/date/olive/harissa (Loakal Red)
Pecan coconut and cocoa tartlet/ bourbon ice cream/ corn flakes feuilletine (very rare dessert beer)

Dinner Menu (food first / beer second)

Charred mackerel/grapefruit juice/oil (Saison de Lente)
Crispy skin loup de mer/spicy lemongrass broth/sriracha kimchee mushroom ragout (Mischief)
Fried chicken oysters/cheddar cheese / biscuit bread pudding/collard greens/honey & black pepper gastrique (Premiere)
Mascarpone and black pepper gelato quenelle/strawberry gooseberry cranberry compote/balsamic reduction /tarragon (very rare & limited release beer)
Duck breast “reuben” / mustard / sauerkraut (Rugbrod)
Dark chocolate crepes / burnt orange marmalade / cinnamon and nutella ice cream (very rare dessert beer)

You + The Bruery =

a great homebrew contest!

Check out the full press release….
“In celebration of The Bruery’s continued growth, the incredible support from our fans across the country and our humble beginnings as homebrewers ourselves, we will be holding our third ever homebrew competition; this one set to determine our 300th batch.
The first place recipe of the competition will be brewed as our Batch No. 300 and the winner will have the opportunity to assist us in brewing the batch on our system if they so choose. The first, second and third place winners will also get various forms of swag.
Along with the chance to have one of your very own recipes brewed and distributed, you will also be helping us raise money for those in need, as the entire $10 entry fee will be donated to Lestonnac Free Clinic, devoted to providing free, comprehensive medical care to the poorest of the poor in Orange County, CA.
Please read the below rules carefully before submitting and good luck to all!
Cheers!
The Bruery

Entry information, terms and conditions
-Entries must be received at The Bruery by January 31st, 2011.
-Only the following BJCP categories will be accepted: 13F, 16, 17, 18, 22 & 23.
See http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/ for more information.
-This is an AHA/BJCP sanctioned event and all entrants must be AHA members (this way the resulting beer can be entered in the GABF Pro-Am competition!).
– This competition is only open to beers brewed by entrants at home, not at a commercial brewery or a Brew On Premise.
-Entries must be sent to 715 Dunn Way, Placentia, CA 92870, Attn: Batch 300
-Each entry has an “entry fee” of $10 (checks made out to “The Bruery”) – 100% to be donated to charity.
-Entrants can submit as many entries as they would like. Each submission must have it’s own recipe sheet and $10 entry fee.
-Each entry must consist of 3 bottles of 12oz or larger (but not bigger than 750ml).
-The downloadable form at www.thebruery.com/batch300 must be submitted along with your entry.
– In order for the winning batch to be brewed, we will require the winning brewer submit the recipe to us. The Bruery intends to produce this batch as a one-time offering, although we reserve the right to brew this recipe as a year-round or a seasonal offering without further compensation to the winning brewer. We will use our best efforts to brew this batch as similar to the winning beer as possible. However, there may be some variation due to the availability of ingredients and brewing system differences.
-The Bruery reserves the right to change the name of the beer.”

3 French (via Belgium) Hens

If you have any spare bottles of A Partridge in a Pear Tree or Two Turtle Doves, then you can have a nice Holiday ale tasting by getting the third in the series from the Bruery.

“The third verse of our ‘Twelve Beers of Christmas’ saga incorporates vinous and oaky notes into a bold and spicy dark ale. 10% ABV.” This years Holiday ale is 75% Belgian-style Dark Ale and 25% ale aged in French Oak barrels.

Just…

…”The brewers got a little extra creative for this month’s firkin, hope you all will get a chance to try it! Take unhopped Saison Rue wort, add wormwood, sage, rosemary, and yarrow and voila! Do It To It Gruit. Each of these unique ingredients was at one time thought to have its own use in traditional medicine to help one reach a higher plane. We don’t know if they were wrong or right, but it sure is fun to experiment!”

The mad scientists in Placentia seem to be going all out. Gruit is a great and seldom seen style (though us crazy Americans are re-claiming it). I have a German version as well as Upright Brewing’s take and both were delicious and refreshing. Who knows how the Bruery version will compare? They are in a place all of their own.