The 2010 California Brewery Tour Summary

We returned from our brewery tour over a month ago. We came to understand several things about breweries and beer on our trip. The experience, and much of what we learned, has stayed with us.

1. Hops are not everything-Going on a California beer tour means going on a West Coast beer tour. I've grown up surrounded by the West Coast craft beer movement and it is a hop driven movement. That being said, we came to appreciate early on our tour that malt forward beers are good. From our first stop at Eagle Rock Brewery we experienced great malty beer that was often more drinkable and in some ways enjoyable than the hoppy beers we have come to expect. Magnolia had some great malt-forward beers, as did Lagunitas (although they had their fair share of hoppy ones as well), Moonlight, and 21st Amendment. While this was by no means our first experience of malty beer, we came to appreciate the break from the one-and-done hop of many beers on the West Coast.

2. Brewing large scale is often a labor of love-For some reason I ended up asking a lot of business questions on this trip. When we had the chance to talk to brewers and owners I asked questions like: How many barrels per year do you produce? Are you profitable? Can you share your journey from homebrewing to now? What I learned was interesting. Several breweries do not make money. One had been around for five years and did not make money. The owner had to sell his house and his wife still worked to support the family. But they both supported the business because they loved it. It gave me a lot of admiration for these breweries. Beer for them is so much more than a drink. It is an art and they are willing to give a lot to make their art so others can enjoy it.

3. Seasonal beers say a lot about a brewery-Another unique aspect of our tour that highlighted the benefits of being up close with breweries was the chance to peek into the pantry, so to speak. It is difficult to get a sense of a brewery from a web-site or the limited selection you see on the shelf at any given store. When you visit breweries, however, you can take in the entire lineup of beers currently being made and oftentimes the many beers that are now part of their archive. This was no more obvious than at Lagunitas Brewing Company, where there's always a season for a new seasonal. We sampled a couple different seasonals and saw on their shelves many that have come and gone. This was contrasted by North Coast Brewing Company which does not make seasonals at all; they stick to their stock beers and don't venture out much. A brewery like Lagunitas, however, displays creativity and boldness, and while prolific, their quality does not suffer. It says a lot about a brewery and their brewmaster when they are able to consistently offer new and noteworthy creations, season after season.

We had many more beer related revelations on our trip; perhaps the other guys might wish to add to this list. Overall I felt that visiting breweries in person truly did heighten the enjoyment of the beer. Meeting the people, seeing the facilities, and connecting it all with the beer is an experience that reveals new aspects of something old and familiar. It is certainly something I recommend.

-jck

#11 Porter

A couple months ago we tried our hand at our first porter. We had already brewed a successful stout and felt it was time to brew heavy again. After our red ale follys prior to Christmas we made the decision to follow the recipe more closely this time around.

What we got was certainly drinkable, but some bottles still had the slight "off" taste we've been noticing, however I considered it successful enough to write about it. Another indication that it was ok rests in the empty cupboards where the porter once sat.

Like many porters, it was rich and creamy with possible coffee and definite chocolate notes. This particular bottle was had with a smoked andouille chicken sausage, an unlikely pairing that brought out the chocolate flavor. I felt some of the bottles were borderline over-carbonated but many were not. All in all, save the occasional funky off after-taste, it was a nice addition to our FBB line.

-jck

A Letter to Sam

Dear Sam,

World Pub was exactly as you described: a non-descript exterior, with nothing in the way of decor or vibe, serving quality beer on tap and by the bottle.

We debated a game of Candy Lane or darts, both readily available, but decided instead to enjoy our beers within sight of the flickering electronic fire near the black leather well-worn couches.

As you have yet to get over your Mad River kick (and since we never made it up to Blue Lake) your dad had a Steelhead in your honor. The rest of us ordered the IPA from Lost Coast, the Black Butte Porter from Dechutes, and the Lagunitas Folly Ale to complete out the round.

Unfortunately the owner wasn't working so we couldn't talk beer with him as you have described he is readily willing to do.

In the end we were sad we couldn't enjoy the experience with you, but believe there will be another opportunity someday. Hopefully the fire hasn't been turned off by then.

Jason, Nate, Greg, and Steve

14th Stop-Auburn Alehouse

Our trip to the Auburn Alehouse marked the second for Nate and I. Last May, along with Sam and a couple other friends, we sampled beer here in what was then their first year of brewing. They have continued to do well, making some very good beer.

With Sam's dad, Steve, taking the place of Sergio, we pulled up at the bar and ordered their brown ale, porter, and Irish red stout. We were most impressed with their brown ale and porter. With an ABV of 3.6%, the brown was a really tasty "session" beer. Indeed it was the only time on this trip I ordered the same beer twice in one sitting. The porter was stronger and had roasted barley tones.

The Aubun Ale house does not bottle their beer but offers growlers and taps a cask every Wednesday evening. The cask was empty by our visit Friday night.

A nice small brewery in a nice small town. Well worth the second visit.

Location:Auburn, California

13th Stop-Sudwerk Brewing Company

As we sat down in the very wood-paneled, soccer and college friendly restaurant of the Sudwerk Brewery we argued about why we were there. Was it because we had tried their beer in San Diego or was it just on a recommendation? Had we heard it was related to the now-famous and nearby UC Davis brewing school, or was it just a German lager-loving place?

As we tried to answer some of these questions we ordered a Pilsner, Marzen, and Helles Lager.

The Pilsner was straw colored with a scant floral aroma and was cleanly bitter, as good German pilsners are. As we drank we discussed how different beers, all brewed with hops as a main ingredient, can taste so different. The bitterness of a German Pilsner is vastly different from the bitterness of an IPA, owing to varying hop varieties, differing recipes and ratios, and a host of other factors.

The Marzen was a translucent copper brown and less bitter than the Pilsner, and inspired us to re-brew our FBB Marzen, the second ever beer we made. The lager was golden in color, very light and smooth. We also tried a seasonal, their Dunkelweis, a dark wheat beer. It had a banana nose and taste, with chocolate tones mixed in.

We never were able to learn much about their brewery or history, despite asking everyone we could find. We learned from their web-site that they began in 1989 and have only an ancillary connection to the brewery school at Davis. We don't know how many barrels they produce per year.

Generally speaking, we enjoyed their beer and liked their facility but were unimpressed with the experience. And their food was pretty bad, but this blog isn't about food.

Give their beers a shot, but don't worry about visiting Davis, CA to do so.

Location:Davis, California