2012 World Cup Award Winners of California

Every two years the best brewers are invited to come together and compete in the worlds most prestigious beer competition known as the World Beer Cup. With 54 countries entering almost a thousand more beers than 2010, this year's competition was bigger and badder than anything that we've seen before, and truly reflected the last two years' craft beer boom. Of the 95 categories judged, California won a medal in 43, and also won an overall award for champion brewery and brewmaster. Congratulations to our medalists, and here's to another two years of cranking out some of the worlds best beers.

California seriously cleaned up at the awards. The following are our champions:

Category 8: Coffee Beer, 56 Entries
Gold: Bacon and Eggs Breakfast Coffee Imperial Porter, Pizza Port Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA

Category 9: Specialty Beer, 38 Entries

Charlie Papazian

Gold: Hangar 24 Winter Warmer, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Redlands, CA
Bronze: Donner Party Porter, FiftyFifty Brewing Co., Truckee, CA

Category 10: Rye Beer, 29 Entries
Gold: Ruthless Rye IPA, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
Silver: 3 Flowers IPA, Marin Brewing Co., Larkspur, CA

Category 12: Session Beer, 33 Entries
Silver: Kellerweis, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA

Category 13: Other Strong Beer, 35 Entries
Gold: Star Brew, Marin Brewing Co., Larkspur, CA

Category 14: Experimental Beer, 42 Entries
Gold: Petit Obscura, Telegraph Brewing Co., Santa Barbara, CA
Bronze: Where There’s Smoke..., Manzanita Brewing Co., Santee, CA

Category 15: Indigenous Beer, 26 Entries
Gold: Got Beer, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery - Tacoma, Huntington Beach, CA
Silver: Hqt, 21st-Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA

Category 17: American-Belgo-Style Ale, 48 Entries
Bronze: Le Freak, Green Flash Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 18: American-Style Sour Ale, 14 Entries
Bronze: Supplication, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA

Category 23: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer, 42 Entries
Bronze: Melange #1, The Bruery, Anaheim, CA

Category 36: German-Style Märzen, 39 Entries
Silver: Rocktoberfest, Rock Bottom Long Beach, Long Beach, CA

Category 44: American-Style Premium Lager or Specialty Lager, 37 Entries
Silver: Evans Original, Cervecería Mexicana, Corona, CA

Category 45: American-Style Amber Lager, 40 Entries
Bronze: Cali Common, Lucky Hand Beer, Novato, CA

Category 47: Australasian-Style Pale Ale or International-Style Pale Ale, 22 Entries
Gold: 805 IPA, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA

Category 49: German-Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf-Style Altbier, 29 Entries
Bronze: Real McCoy Amber, Mammoth Brewing Co., Mammoth Lakes, CA

Category 50: German-Style Sour Ale, 11 Entries
Silver: Hottenroth Berliner Weisse, The Bruery, Anaheim, CA

Category 56: French- & Belgian-Style Saison, 44 Entries
Gold: Carnevale, The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA

Category 57: Belgian- and French-Style Ale, 22 Entries
Bronze: Gift of the Magi, The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA

Category 60: Belgian-Style Flanders Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ale, 16 Entries
Gold: Oude Tart, The Bruery, Anaheim, CA
Bronze: Oud Jeremiah, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery - Brea, Huntington Beach, CA

Category 61: Belgian-Style Dubbel, 39 Entries
Bronze: Ovila Dubbel, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA

Category 64: Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale, 41 Entries
Silver: Two Tortugas Belgian Quad, Karl Strauss Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 65: Other Belgian-Style Ale, 41 Entries
Bronze: Rhinoceros, Telegraph Brewing Co., Santa Barbara, CA

Category 67: Classic English-Style Pale Ale, 33 Entries
Gold: Annadel Pale Ale, Third Street Aleworks, Santa Rosa, CA

Category 72: English-Style Mild Ale, 27 Entries
Silver: Alyssa’s Attitude, Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Co., San Clemente, CA
Bronze: Nerf Herder, Pizza Port San Clemente, San Clemente, CA

Category 73: English-Style Brown Ale, 30 Entries
Gold: Longboard Brown Ale, Rock Bottom La Jolla, La Jolla, CA

Category 74: Brown Porter, 42 Entries
Gold: Double Nut Brown, Mammoth Brewing Co., Mammoth Lakes, CA
Bronze: Chocolate Porter, Bayhawk Ales, Irvine, CA

Category 75: Robust Porter, 68 Entries
Gold: Pier Rat Porter, Pizza Port San Clemente, San Clemente, CA

Category 76: Sweet Stout, 25 Entries
Bronze: Blackjack Stout, Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., Oroville, CA

Category 78: Scotch Ale, 51 Entries
Silver: Way Heavy, Pizza Port San Clemente, San Clemente, CA

Category 80: Old Ale or Strong Ale, 51 Entries
Silver: AleSmith Decadence 2010 Old Ale, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 81: Barley Wine-Style Ale, 62 Entries
Bronze: AleSmith Old Numbskull, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 82: Irish-Style Red Ale, 31 Entries
Gold: Red Trolley Ale, Karl Strauss Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 83: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout, 30 Entries
Gold: Blarney Sisters Dry Irish Stout, Third Street Aleworks, Santa Rosa, CA

Category 84: Foreign-Style Stout, 37 Entries
Gold: Starry Night Stout, Island Brewing Co., Carpinteria, CA
Bronze: Voo Doo, Left Coast Brewing Co., San Clemente, CA

Category 85: Golden or Blonde Ale, 46 Entries
Gold: Foam Top, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Long Beach, CA
Bronze: Steelhead Extra Pale, Mad River Brewing Co., Blue Lake, CA

Category 86: American-Style Pale Ale, 84 Entries
Gold: Pale 31, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Silver: Mission Street Pale, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA

Category 89: Imperial India Pale Ale, 93 Entries
Gold: Poor Man’s IPA, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Bronze: Palate Wrecker, Green Flash Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 90: American-Style Amber/Red Ale, 68 Entries
Bronze: Mavericks Amber Ale, Half Moon Bay Brewing Co., Princeton-by-the-Sea, CA

Category 91: Imperial Red Ale, 38 Entries
Silver: Bigfoot, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA

Category 92: American-Style Brown Ale, 47 Entries
Bronze: Great American Brown, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Category 93: American-Style Black Ale, 49 Entries
Gold: Black Racer, Bear Republic Brewing Co., Cloverdale, CA
Silver: Tarantulas 2.0, Pizza Port Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA

Category 94: American-Style Stout, 34 Entries
Bronze: Achievement Beyond Life’s Experiences American Stout Brit Antrim Benefit Beer, Pizza Port Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA

World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Brewmaster
  Mid-size Brewing Company
Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, CA
Matthew Brynildson

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A Bottle Shop in Mendocino?

Fondly called the “Meat Market” or “The Deli,” Mendocino Market has been an integral part of village life since 1998. Back in High School I was buying 50c pork buns and “The best sandwiches in town” on a regular basis, but now with a more refined pallet to bring I realize that they have far more to offer than just awesome sandwiches and Asian-style snacks. Mendocino Market not only has amazing daily specials in the gluten-free, vegan/vegetarian and organic department, but they are the first and only bottle shop in town to carry more than just the local favorites. From Firestone Walkers Parabola and Firestone's latest anniversary edition ale, to Deschutes: The Stoic, or collaborative efforts like “Life and Limb;” if you're looking for a big beer to cellar, (or just to celebrate with now), The Market just became the place to find whatever it is you fancy. If you are planning the great “California Brewery Roadtrip” and are going to NCBC as many of you (should) do, or even if you're a local and didn't notice the big refrigerators filled with organic sodas and craft beer, take an eye-opening moment to check out what's behind the glass next time you're waiting for your non-GMO, free-range turkey sammich with double bacon--you'll like what you find, trust me.

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Beerfest is almost here!

Beautiful Copper Vats!

I am so excited about this Saturday! My favorite beerfest in the whole wide world is being held in Boonville this weekend and I can hardly wait to see all my friends. Literally all of them, it's where old friends from my home town collide with my awesome beer industry friends and get together for a common cause- Great craft beer!!! Every year Anderson Valley Brewing Company (@avbc) hosts dozens of breweries to come out to our beautiful county and enjoy what many of us were so fortunate to have been brought up in, fantastic friends and a scenery most people only see in car commercials.

New touchscreen technology meets old

First 10 barrel system among giants

Today, I went to the brewery to celebrate my fathers birthday with an intense round of disc golf and beer. Founded in 1987 Anderson Valley Brewing Company was started in the cellar of their pub back when they served food. They started out with a little 10 barrel system that you can still find today in their fermentation hall along with their original “Coming Soon” sign posted on the outside. AVBC has stayed true to their small town roots (even though recently changing hands to new owner Trey White) and really is living up to the Mendocino County spirit. A significant amount of their power is produced through solar energy and they are expanding their personal hop crop of Cascades and Goldens to the front and back of the property. Boasting 38 acres I'm sure we'll see more peak-a-boo crops in the near future. Currently they produce 10 beers and produce a rotating “Bahl Hornin'” series that comes out only to their visitor center and some local restaurants every 4 months and have beers available in 6 different countries including Australia and China. While I was there I got to try their fantastic brandy barrel aged barleywine which brought up an important question, will we see more experimentation in barrel aged beers and sours?! Yes, we will! Rumor has it that today they brewed a Weiss that may or may not have something to do with the Chardonnay Barrels that I spied on my way out. Rumor also has it that this years Winter Solstice may or may not be spending some time being aged in bourbon barrels! I guess we'll have to see! I'm super excited and can't wait to see all the wonderful brewers, industry personnel and friends this Saturday. Cheers and have a Bahl Branchin' n Hornin'!!!

Things to come

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It's Festival Season Again!

Me and Stone's own Dr.Bill Sysak

Reggie ready to defend his Jackie O

Reggie and a couple of Stone's finest

It's that time of the year again! Time for sunshine and Bacchanalia- Festival Season. I opened this years season with a smash hit at Stone Brewing Co, in Escondido, CA. Oakquinox was a fantastic array of over a hundred beers that were aged in barrels. From the legendary Midnight Sun Barley Wine to the delightful Moylan's Kilt lifter with a sour twist of Apple Brandy Barrels, “Dr.Bill” Sysak, the beer pairing artist of Stone's World Bistro, served up a delightful afternoon full of beer and tasty snacks! My dear friend Reggie(@MrBikerBrew), of Cheers for Beers, was my accomplice in many of our delicious discoveries of the afternoon (and also a wonderfully talented photographer who's photos I have stolen outright). Some of our favorite beers included Jackie O's Orange Oak, North Coast Brewing Co Old Stock 2007 and more that you can read about on Reggie's reflection of the event! The next event I plan on attending at Stone will be their Sourfest on June 26^th and their 15^th Anniversary and Invitational Beerfest on August 20^th. Please visit their website for information on Master Pairings, Beer U, and many other reoccurring events. Stone events are unlike any other, with an intimate beer garden and friendly staff it's the perfect place to hold your next event or take your honey on a romantic date.

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Total Wine is Totally Beer-Central

If you haven't been there yet there's no better time than the present! It's all in the name Total Wine, a store meant to drive sales towards wine, which they have an abundant selection of.

Six-Pack holders make a tasting party a breeze!

However, something that you may not know is their gem of a craft beer selection hidden beneath the flurry of white shirts and yellow tags! It is hard to compete with Hi-Time Cellars in Costa Mesa and small beer shops however Total Wine comes dangerously close with their selection of both imported and domestic craft beers and as for other Big Box stores, they haven't a chance! They carry everything local from The Bruery to Bootleggers, and distant brews such as Baltika and Taj Mahal, which makes it great for doing style tastings and regional tastings as well. Have I mentioned the brilliance of their singles isle? They have a build your own six-pack option where you can make your own six-pack from the singles isle--combine that with the coupon and you have a great deal. Total Wine for such a large company truly tries to stay on top of trends so they have rarities like BrewDog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink The Bismark and they keep a generally healthy supply of Pliny the Elder and Sculpin. Be sure to ask if you can't find anything, they have a supply of vertical beers in the back which vary from store to store (the latest I've found was a '06 Double Bastard) as well as limited supply beers like The Dissident. Total Wine makes it super easy to put together a tasting party!!! I would advise caution however when purchasing the Total Wine specific Brewery Direct beers, many of their ratings are inconsistent and misleading especially when compared to truly highly rated beers. They have locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, and from Florida all the way up to New Jersey! If you want a very good picture of what is possible to obtain for beer in your area Total Wine is a really good place to start.

Check out their twitter @Total_Wine_Beer

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Old Stock Cellar Reserve 2009 from NCBC

The North Coast Brewing Company Old Stock Cellar Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged edition is a winner! It pours as a full-bodied tawny ale, with a lightly rocky, but more creamy of a tan head. Your initial notes are of cider, but not a spiced cider more of that ripe apple scent you get standing under an apple tree in late October. Your first sip engulfs your pallet in a warm toffee apple with very slight hints of the ale's fresh form (that Toffee/Vanilla/Coffee vibe) but this early in the aging process you can already see how the ale has matured. The toasty marshmallow has rounded off into the toffee and the initial booziness has turned into that of ripe harvest fruits. It ends with a pleasant if noticeable warmth reminiscent of a bourbon spiked coffee on a foggy Mendocino morning.

This is a masterpiece of brewing perfection. I have always been a huge fan of Old Stock Ale (personally having been collecting the regular releases of it since 2003). While it tastes beautiful right now I will suggest hanging on to it for another 5 years. I intend to hold on to mine 2 years till I open another one (perhaps with the 2011 special edition?) Open another again in 5 years and then 10. Patience is a virtue and definitely not for the weak so if you plan to age this baby remember out of sight, out of mind. This is a gem, an investment, a beer for when your children graduate.

This beer is truly the milk bath Cleopatra bathed in regularly- pure, decadent, luxury.

What would I pair this with? A cold winter evening with rain tapping on the roof and a good book (perhaps a cigar? but nothing too heavy). This is definitely a beer that can be considered a philosophy beer. Sit. Sip. Contemplate.

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An Afternoon of Fates Perfection: Tustin Brewing Co.

Living behind the Orange Curtain often makes it difficult for one to look past the peroxide and silicone, which is why it came to such a surprise to me that there is a brewery in Tustin, CA. At the 14th Annual Boonville Beerfest, situated by Pizza Port's booth, was a sign that read “Tustin”. I looked at the gentlemen running the booth, who happened to be the owner, and said something along the lines of "No way! Tustin?!" Yes, Tustin. So I decided to go seek them out, little did I know I was soon to be standing in the presence of a true artisan and the creator of the one of the most unique beers in the world.

Located in possibly the cutest shopping center I've laid my eyes on, full of towers and cute shops, lies one of Orange County's best kept secrets. You walk in and there is an eating area to your right and to your left is a very long bar facing all the brewing equipment where on any given day you will find Tustin's brewmaster, John Porter, working away at his craft. As usual my husband and I asked what was being brewed and the bar tender told us “6 beers” and brought out a 5 taster board with an extra taster on the side. Included in this taster were the following: Golden Spike Light Ale, Lemon Heights Hefeweizen, American Pale Ale(5.6%), Old Town IPA(6.4%) and Red Hill Red. The extra taster was their Thunder Horse Nitro Stout. I was definitely not prepared for the slow play they were throwing me and the sand bag that came following the taster.

I worked through the taster as planned, starting with the Golden Spike Light Ale. I thought it was like a hayride in August minus the hay fever. It was very wheaty, pleasantly so, with a quick finish.

Lemon Heights Hefe (served with a lemon) was next I didn't feel that this was their strongest beer tasted rather bitter and yeasty but after I squeezed some lemon into it the bitterness turned to a slight citrus rind flavor, again pleasant but not their best.

Third up was the American Pale Ale. It was light with a slight nutty flavor and the bitterness was fair definitely not as bitter as their Old Town IPA which was next in line, that had a burnt malt, crisp hops and I thought a bit of a java flavor to it but Glenn disagreed with me on that point. The thing that I thought most enjoyable about the Pale Ale and the IPA was how pure it tasted, I didn't feel the same way about the Hefe or the Light Ale.

I like the Red Hill Red, very malty brown and sugary, but it finished dry.

Then the Thunder Horse Nitro Stout I felt at this point was my favorite, it tasted like a smoky porter but much more fluid, it wasn't as thick as you would assume by looking at it.

You're probably leaning back in your chair and yawning right now at my review, wondering why I sped through those so quickly- well I'll tell you: Im far from done! I am definitely far too excited about what happened next to delay it any longer.

Glenn and I had our noses stuck in our iPhones typing furiously about the beers when the brewmaster walked by and said “Well aren't you guys the most antisocial couple at the bar! What did you think of the beer?” We discussed the 6 beers that we had tasted and apparently they had more that the bartender hadn't mentioned. So Mr. Porter handed us a couple splashes of the Happy Pillz and Jason Four-Oh and essentially told us to stick that in our pipe and smoke it- and we did.

Happy Pillz was such an awesome mix of Mexican Yeast, Czech Hops and Rice- I was blown away by this fun with a slightly sweet after taste Pils. It was pure early summer joy in a glass! I could see this going well with fish or shrimp (and it went quite nicely with the Tabbouleh that was on the side of my Sausage Sampler).

The Jason Four-Oh blew me right off my stool. Forty different kinds of malts!!!!! It smelled like scotch and tasted like love, pure—yet without any booziness. It had notes of Passion Fruit, Lychee nut and did I say love? Forty different kinds of malts, and no tipping out an ounce for your fallen homies required! I know, you must try it to believe me!!! At this point I hate to say it but I had completely forgotten about the original tasters. Why weren't these on the taster? I was very impressed with these last two highly creative beers.

Jotting down notes about these last two and enjoying them thoroughly, the brewmaster returned with what must have been a 2cc splash of this amber liquid in a shot glass and asked, “Tell me what you think of this?”

I closed my eyes and took the scent in, it smelled of warm honey dripping off the hot buttery comb, or a maple tree bleeding in the dusky sunshine of a primordial forest in June. I slowly took a sip, and I was transported to the top of Mount Olympus drinking ambrosia with the gods. It was akin to a liquid Belgian waffle! It was all the greatest things in the world—liquified in a glass! It was John Porter's personal project, a 3.5 year old Barleywine. Now as I mentioned in the Boonville post, I had heard about their Blizzard of Oz Barleywine, but had not tasted it, I just want you to know that this amber perfection I am raving about is not Blizzard of Oz. Apparently BoO was made by their previous brewmaster. My husband looked at me and said “I think almost every architect in the world has locked away somewhere in their bottom desk drawer plans to the tallest building in the world. It is their master piece. It is their secret desire. It is all their creativity and passion channeled into one vision and joyously unleashed from the restrictions of the mundane world.” That day we tasted a brewers' masterpiece. Mr. Porter then did me and my husband the unequivocal honor of pouring out a half pint of this near religious nectar. As I write this I hope and pray with everything I have that he is able to replicate this wonderful piece of art because there is not enough left to release publicly. I know, shoot me now for building it up and dropping that one on you faster than an Warner Brothers ACME Piano.

Tustin Brewery thus far is my favorite brewery in Orange County. I think they are very lucky to have such a talented and hard working brewer such as John Porter and I can't wait to see what kind of beers he will be creating this year. I truly hope that he will be able to replicate his Barleywine of ambrosial epicness, but until then every one needs to discover their Happy Pillz and Jason Four-Oh. Thank you for giving me a peek into your deepest barrel, and allowing me a sip of such other-worldly perfection!

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Every Week is Craft Beer Week At Stone

In my attempt to recover from the amount of wonderful craft brews I consumed in the last week, I have been taking it easy on the brew and working out a lot lately. Imagine my dismay when I learned it was American Craft Brew Week! I had to make a decision and quickly.  I was going to allow myself one brewery (other than my evening at BJ's (which to be honest I don't feel counts)). My current location made that decision fairly easy! I will admit I was strongly considering Lost Abby, which I regret to announce I have yet to visit, however, after my last visit to Stone Brewing Co., I am pleased to announce that Stone has never not surprises me and exceed my expectations.

The Stone Brewery pleases every sense upon arrival. You can smell the sweet malts that seem to instantly get your mouth watering before you even see the art form that is the brewery. With its award winning design entry into the stone brewery is like stepping into a post modern cave full of mystery and wonder. The beast himself lives in this seamless, awe-inspiring instalation!!! The gardens are full of croaking frogs and bubbling brooks and bowls filled with fire! I could talk for hours on how amazing (OMG you should see the bathrooms!) this place looks.  This is one instance where one might consider allowing oneself to judge something "by its cover" because the the exhilarating exterior is every bit equal to the task of housing the awesomeness contained within.

If you're there on a normal day they have tours of the brewery that you can take and on these tours you can answer questions for beer rewards. *evil giggle inserted here* However I was here on very important beer tasting business. I started out with a pour of their Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale (8.7%) and Glenn had their Oaked Arrogant Bastard (7.2%). Both of these I've had before but I can scarce tell you enough how much more amazing the beer (seems?) while you are physically at a brewery. The carbonation is perfect as is the temperature--and maybe it's just me but it just tastes different, and is in general full of win!

For their guest beers on draft they featured beers from AleSmith, Alpine, Ballast Point, BJ's (yeah they had the BJ's Grand Cru which is awesome...BJ's doesn't even carry it anymore!) Bootlegger, Coronado, Craftsman, Green Flash, Mother Earth, Port Brewing and The Bruery Brewing Companies. Of these we tasted Alpine Beer Company's Duet (7%), Green Flash Le Freak Belgian Style IPA (9%) and Port Brewing's Old Viscosity. I also tried Stone's IRS 2010 at a heavy hitting 10.8% and their 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale (8.5%). We ordered their Mac N' Beer Cheese, Mushroom Pillows and their Cheese Plate and the tasting began.

The Cheese plate was amazing and I am very sad that I didn't get the name of the cheeses featured because all the beers really played well off the flavors. Interestingly enough there was a small chunk of honey comb and something that I was totally surprised at: Ate-a Mexican jam of sorts made with guava! The first beer I tried was the Alpine Duet, I enjoyed the tones of crisp apple flavors on the pleasant hoppy canvas and paired it with a slice of apple and honey. The honey brought out sweeter tones in the beer and a slight waxiness that you taste on the back of your throat when you eat honey, but it was from the beer instead of the honey.

Green Flash Le Freak Belgian Style IPA was a surprise and a half. I had expected it to be bitter like a standard IPA, but I didn't find that. Instead, it was almost like a mead without the sticky sweetness or that waxy bitterness I was describing earlier when you eat honey. I paired this with a barley cracker and some honey comb and boy was it tasty!

The Stone Vertical Epic Ale was my delicious surprise of the evening. It's poured like black magic and  had a very molasses/chocolaty flavor. However when paired with the Ate (pronounced ah-teh) it brings out a soft chewy cherry flavor! Talk about a secret surprise! Ate is a sugar paste made of Guava also called Ate de Guayaba and you can buy it at almost any Mexican market. It is either sold as a block or in a roll. This flavor pairing honestly blew my mind and was my favorite beer and food pairing all evening. Talk about hitting home in a surprising way.

The Stone Imperial Russian Stout is a very classic flavored IRS, classic coffee with a slight acidic hue. I felt that this went best with the Gorgonzola (at least I think it was Gorgonzola I never actually found out what cheese they gave us.)

The Old Viscosity from Port Brewing Co was appropriately last on my mini flight of awesomeness and poured appropriately to it's name. It is a black oil of vanilla and burnt caramel, it went well with the mild Parmesan/Asiago cheese that was on our cheese plate. I think this would have also gone well with vanilla ice cream, honey, and mildly sweet desserts.

According to Stone's Menu it was "Lambic Sunday" where you get a discount off lambics and other sour beers. I have had and enjoyed many fruity lambics but never a "sour beer" so to speak so I did have to have one and I went with the Girardin Gueuze sour ale. This beer was like a lambic with no fruit and as weird as it sounds it was like a banana and a sour apple made a love child and it was beer. Even with no fruit it was easy to see why they had started adding fruit to this wonderfully crisp and sour beer. I finished off the left over apple on my plate with this beer. And even if sweet fruity or even sour flavors are not your thing, you should try this beer.This sour ale was quite the trip for my taste buds...

I really enjoy Stone's beer and their dedication to bringing you the best foods without compromise. While Stone may be one of the largest and definitely more popular microbreweries, their dedication to community is outstanding! They always  have other local craft brews on tap and support their community through other projects as well. Even though Craft Beer Week is gone for this year, you haven't' missed out- Every week is American Craft Beer Week at the Stone Brewery.

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BJ's Un-brewpub and A Heart Stopping Meal

Last night was one of those nights where I wasn't really hungry and I didn't feel like cooking, but I still wanted a little something before I went to bed. We pushed the trip to Escondido to today, since Glenn didn't get out of work till late last night. But I had myself all amped up for a beer and (insert tasty pairing here). I remember looking at the American Craft Beer Week(ACBW) website and saw that BJ's was doing something...after weighing the options we decided that since BJ's is less than a 3 minute drive from our house it wouldn't hurt.

BJ's was pretty packed at 10:30PM I had though people had something better to do on a Saturday night but I was mistaken. Trying to take advantage of the last two days of ACBW, I asked the bar tender if we could get one order of tonight's pairing... he had no clue what it was so with my trusty iPhone in hand I showed him the website-- it was the Chicken Fried Steak and their PM Porter. We also ordered a Nutty Brewnett. I don't know about you, but I honestly don't think chicken fried steak is very popular with California or Californian's in general. I had never had it and judging by the looks and comments when our food came out neither have many other people. If you can believe it, they take a very thin steak, batter it with a very crunchy chicken batter and yes... fry it! It is actually a true gastronomical nightmare. Looking at the plate of beige food in front of us my husband says "I can't put those two things inside me, you're going to have to help!" I took a bite of the steak/batter/oil crisp and it was very peppery and while not very tasty alone it actually went very well with the PM Porter. If I could have mixed and matched to accommodate the PM Porter, which is a nice beer on it's own, I would have had a pepper crusted burger from the Yard House with Gorgonzola. I think that would have been an amazing pairing, however I was at BJ's and not the Yard House. My Nutty Brewnet had a strange skunky taste in it but I think it was just the batch because I have enjoyed the nutty brewnet previously.

I am very disappointed that BJ's is tearing out just under a million dollars worth of brewing equipment from each of their restaurants. The big brewing vats that you see in the back? Just a facade now! I think it's an outrage! There used to be a time when you would walk in and enjoy the smell of pizza and malt, sadly that day is through due to the call for uniformity (I know, right? WHAT CALL?! Who's calling for it and what's their address?). Im sure some large brewer is making a buck off brewing a uniform batch to distribute to all the BJ's restaurants... but then it's not a brewpub anymore now is it? *sigh* I've seen enough people go there and order piss-beer though to see that actually brewing beer on location is not enough to grab anyone's attention. I would find it 100% impossible to walk into a restaurant and even with my favorite beer on the menu not ask what they were brewing in house...or "what do those shiny silos do?" I mean question things people... that that fizz you call beer-- Question that!

Enough on ranting. I do like most of the food at BJ's I especially like their Great White Pizza, and their most popular beer is their Jeremiah Red, which is a damn good red! I'm sad to see that their Grand Cru is discontinued, happily I noted people order it in the past so I continue to ask for it.. maybe they'll get the picture? Oh well, not all is lost I suppose or maybe it is and I just don't see it... Chicken Fried Steak is indeed not for everyone (and the fat kid in me really wanted to dunk the giant steaks into a tub of Ranch Dressing O_o which would have been very bad), their PM Porter is a light smokey porter with a tasty nutty bite, I do recommend you try it with lots of pepper (I also recommend you go to the Yard House and try their Pepper Crust Burger!!! Nom nom nom...). Anyways, tonight is something to look forward to: ACBW at The Stone Brewing Co.! Tell me what you think of BJ's beer in the comment section below, and don't forget to follow/subscribe/RSS! <3

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14th Annual Legendary Boonville Beer Fest

 "The bahlest steinber hornin', chiggrul gormin', tidrick in the heelch of the Boont Region!"

A picture perfect day in Anderson Valley just off the Mendocino Coast line. I was so stoked to go to Anderson Valley's Beerfest for the week I even went as far as fasting and a psyllium husk cleanse to prepare for my favorite carb-loaded indulgence. The night before I stopped over in Petaluma to visit the Lagunitas Brewing company, just off the 101 and the 116 highways. I would like to say a couple things about this brewery, number one their Censored IPA was simply fantastic and paired with their local cheese plate, I spoiled myself silly. There was a band and a painter outside and my most favorite part of the entire ordeal aside from great beer and wonderful atmosphere I got to have my best friend, I.P.A, the Shiba Inu with me in the dog friendly beer garden. However, not to take anything away from Lagunitas but I must continue with my talk of the Beerfest!

We arrived in Boonville at about 9AM or so and took a quick snooze in the car since my husband and I were still recovering. We were woken up by the *ding*ding* of my iPhone when my friend Kelley mentioned that I should have camped out so I could have just continued with the cereal of champions at 6AM-- after all recovery is for amateurs.

After a quick jaunt around Boonville with the pooch to see the guys playing a round of disc golf at Anderson Valley Brewing Co. I noticed the line growing and headed to stand in line where I was entertained by what I think was the Humboldt State U. Band until 1PM. It was $50 at the door and $40 in advance, this one time fee gave you unlimited sampling of all the beers between 1PM and 5PM!!!

They herded the very thirsty (and excited) crowd in only to frantically look for the lady with the tasting glasses so I could get mine and start tasting. After all the formalities of getting in and grabbing my glass I feasted my eyes on over 100 beers from over 50 brewers. I didn't know where to start however I quickly made up my mind and started with Stone. They brought their Stone IPA, the Sublimely Self-Righteous and I think Ruination or Levitation I forgot which, however I decided to start out with their Stone IPA and scoot on down the line to pick up an Old Chub from Oskar Blues along with some shwag! With all the commotion it was difficult to make all of the brews (however hard I may have tried) however some of my favorite brewer's were there including Dogfish Head,Napa Smith (which I have recently tried at the Culinary Institute in Napa), Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Bear Republic. Also some smaller Micro's like San Clemente's Pizza Port and to my surprise we learned there is in fact a brewery in Tustin of all places (which they say has a wonderful little barley wine called Blizzard of Oz).

After about an hour and a half in, the lines became blurred and people were milling about with their brews all with happy smiles on their faces. I was very impressed and relieved at the lack of 5-0, everyone appeared to be on good behavior even with all the kissing and the passed-out, cat-naps on the lawn, and the couple of badges that were there were in good humor with the "Don't taze me, bro!"'s and "Can I hold your gun, man?!"'s and such.

For entertainment there were a couple local musicians including MoodAlice which played some very fun Bossa Novas. The overall atmosphere was indeed a big beer-loving party. Although I can't for the life of me figure out why on earth so many people were drinking bud and coors in the camping area and in line. IT'S A BEERFEST! WITH BEER! Why would you DO that? I mean, would you take a Budget Gourmet with you to an open house at Paris' Cordon Bleu? Perhaps if you are trying to catch the business end of a cleaver-- but come on people... if you're here you should know better!

I will be completely honest, I started to take notes on the beers I was trying but well...hehehe it goes like this- I don't remember how many beers I tried! I know, how can I write about beer if I don't remember what beer I had. I hang my head in shame at this however, it was all for SCIENCE I swear!

The "last call" was 5PM and I was happy to note that the beer was indeed running out. Some of the booths had run out closer to 4:30. Thankfully was no rioting at the thought that Beerfest was concluding as I had predicted in my own fantasy, perhaps it was the excitement of hitting up the camping ground to visit with old friends and classmates from Mendocino that kept people together. Bon fires, music and "hobneelch" as the boont would say, continued well into the morning till the last drop had been consumed. I feel that the 14th Annual Legendary Boonville Beerfest was a wonderful success and I can't wait till next year to go again! Advice to first timers: bring a tent and some food and do spend the night it is all part of the experience!

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There's No Place Like Home

As with all things in this world there is a definite starting point. From the big bang to an apple hitting Newton on his head there is always the definitive "ah ha!" point in history that all great things have grown from. For me it was a typical summer day hanging out with friends on the beautiful headlands of Mendocino, in Northern California. The usual run had been made to the local market for the normal supplies of beer and munchies by the kids who were "of age" and the goods had safely made it to the Big Log over looking the mouth of Big River. Maybe it was what we were smoking, maybe it was the way the sun had hit me in the face at that moment. What ever it was, I was not prepared for the quantum leap my pallet was about to make that day.
I popped open my beer on the log and notice that light release of spirit (co2) waft off the mouth of the bottle, put the bottle to my lips and time had stopped. It was not that it was my first sip of beer, it was not that it was my first sip of North Coast Brewery Scrimshaw either- No. It was something much greater than that. During that moment I had an epitome that my 17-year-old self could not account for. I remember jumping up and exclaiming how absolutely wonderful this godly nectar was! How perfectly crisp and light, yet full and robust this elixir of life tasted, felt, smelled! Beer was alive to me, and I was in love. The older kids laughed and patted me on the back with the usual “aww how cute!” remarks and went back to the usual business. I still dream about that beautiful fateful day, which is why, in homage to my home town and to my youth, I am starting with the North Coast Brewing Company, in Fort Bragg, California.

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North Coast Brewing Company
455 North Main St.

Fort Bragg, CA 95437

(707) 964-2739 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (707) 964-2739      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Located on the north end of this small town where I grew up is a Mecca for beer lovers and food lovers alike. Considered one of the top ten breweries in the world by the Beverage Testing Institute, this brewery boasts 10 core beers, and recently added a new Belgian ale, two organic beers. They currently have a special edition of their multi-gold winning beer Old Rasputin, with anniversary ale soon to come. Across the street they have their tap room (a beer garden should be completed before summer this year on the brewery side). The tap room has wonderful food including their pub burger with bleu cheese, or their fish and chips made with Scrimshaw batter. And for dessert you can indulge in their wonderful Old Rasputin chocolate cake drizzled with syrup made from condensed old stock ale- it is simply to die for!

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