Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Eric Rose’s Hollister Brewery Open

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For eight years, Eric Rose was the head brewer at Santa Barbara Brewing. And life was good. But Eric, like many brewers, dreamed of opening his own place one day. That day was Sunday, when his Hollister Brewing opened its doors to the public for the first time.

Situated in a modern strip mall setting in Goleta, a high-tech suburb of Santa Barbara, the new building, brewery and restaurant was built from scratch. I was in Santa Barbara over St. Patrick’s Day weekend (the missus had business that took her there for a long weekend) and hooked up with Eric for my regular column in Ale Street News, the Left Coaster. I’ve always liked Eric’s beers and feel like he often doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, despite winning awards for his Belgian-style beers and hoppy west coast IPAs.

Rose is installing a brand-new 10bbl system and will offer twelve of his own beers — all of them organic — in a wide range of styles along with eight guests taps featuring his friends’ beers. After he’s up and running, he also expects to start doing some barrel-aged beers in small quantities.

Also from my Ale Street News column:

His new brewpub, named Hollister Brewing Co. for the street in the Santa Barbara suburb of Goleta where it’s located, will be something of a Gastropub among chain restaurants. They’ll serve reasonably priced upscale food made for all-local ingredients prepared by the former chef from Bouchon, one of the most well-respected local restaurants. The menu will feature eclectic brew food with homemade sauces, specialty pizza and six daily lunch specials to cater to the high-tech industry nearby.

As Rose tells me, “there used to be a time when you had to choose between being green and good taste.” But now that you can have both, he believes more people will make the responsible choice that gives them both great taste and the feeling that they’re doing the right thing, too. Organic beers have truly come of age.

So far in the first few days he’s getting some good reviews from locals and the local paper, the Santa Barbara Independent has written favorably about the opening.

I’m really looking forward to tasting what Eric will be brewing at his new venture. If you visit Santa Barbara, be sure to stop by his new place and give it a try.

From the Independent article:

Located at the northeast corner of the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta, the new brewery is replacing Camino Real Café. The three looked at a number of different locations, but decided on the Camino Real Marketplace because of the activity surrounding the area. “It’s a very important part of the Goleta Valley,” Rose said. With traffic being generated by a movie theater, Home Depot, Starbucks, and Borders, the trio envisions the brewery as another option for older college students and researchers to enjoy a nicer beer, as there is nothing of the sort in Goleta. The brewery has “enough TVs to make sports fans happy,” but is low-key enough that it isn’t a sports bar, Rose said.

Hollister Brewer Eric Rose in March.

All A-Gush for Allagash

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Beer Chef Bruce Paton’s next beer dinner next year will feature brewmaster Rob Tod and the beers of Allasgash from Portland, Maine. It will be a four-course dinner and well worth the $85 price of admission. It will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Friday, May 25, 2007, beginning with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations. Make your reservations soon, because the dinner, as usual, should fill up fast and this is yet another dinner you won’t want to miss.
 

The Menu:

 

Reception: 6:30 PM

Beer Chef’s Hors D’Oeuvre
Hugh Malone Ale

Dinner: 7:30 PM

First Course

Chef’s Selection of Cheeses with Traditional Accompaniments

Beer: Allagash Interlude

Second Course:

Medallions of Dayboat Scallop with Anise Cured California King Salmon, Fennel, Corn and Morel Mushrooms

Beer: Allagash Odyssey

Third Course:

Cutlets of Slow Roasted Lamb with Fingerling Potato Risotto and Bing Cherry Compote

Beer: Allagash Inoculator

Fourth Course:

Banana Upside Down Cake with Butterscotch Mascarpone

Beer: Allagash Curieux

Three of the beers that will be served at the Allagash Beer Dinner.

 
5.25

Dinner with the Brewmaster: Rob Tod of Allagash

Cathedral Hill Hotel, 1101 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
415.674.3406 [ website ]

Session #4 Announced: Drink Locally

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Snekse, of the Gastronomic Fight Club, a primarily food-oriented blog from Nebraska, will be hosting June’s “Session” and will be taking us in a bit of a different direction.

With this Session, he wants to “create a guide book of tasting notes to drinking local.”

The idea here is to be as helpful as possible for visitors to your area. What is the beer/brewery/brewpub that you feel is quintessential to your city? What do the locals drink? What could a tourist drink that would make them feel like they’ve found something special; something that they’re going to miss when they go home?

Here are the rules:

  • You can pick anything commercially made within 150 miles of your house, but try to pick the brewery or brewpub closest to your house (NOTE: the average American lives within 10 miles of a craft brewery).
  • You can select any beer or even a sampler if you want.
  • If you select a single beer, let us know why you choose this beer (e.g. favorite, seasonal, limited edition, best seller).
  • Preferably you’ll shy away from beers with wide distribution outside your immediate area.

It looks to be an interesting way to approach the next Session, and it could be quite revealing. I certainly like the idea of each of us mining our own local areas for hidden treasure. So please join on the first Friday of June, which is also the first day of June. To participate, simply drop Snekse an e-mail “with the words “Session #4″ in the subject line,” and the following:

Include your name, the name of your blog, the URL to your post, the name of the brewery or brew pub that made the beer(s) you drank, where the place is located, the name and style of the beer(s) you drank and lastly, a general description of the availability of the beer(s). If you don’t have a blog, email me your notes and I’ll include them in the round up.

Rally at Raley Field This Saturday

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This Saturday will be the Raley Field Brewfest in Sacramento, California, a benefit for the Northern California Brewers Guild. Tickets are $30 at the door, or you can save $5 by purchasing tickets online.

Here are some of the breweries slated to be pouring:

Rubicon Brewing Company, Blue Frog and Grog Brewery, Butte Creek Brewing Company, New Belgium Brewing Company, Jack Russel Brewing Company, Marin Brewing Company, Moylans Brewing Company, Sacramento Brewing Company, Bison Brewing Company, Trumer Brauerei, Lockdown Brewing Company, Bear Republic Brewing Company, Elk Grove Brewing Company, Brew it Up Brewing Company, Hoppy Brewing Company, Two Rivers Cider, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Davids Ale Works, Black Diamond Brewing Company, Drakes Brewing Company, Valley Brewing Company and many more!

The festival will begin a 1:00 p.m. at Raley Field. “One ticket is valid for up to 10 tastings. Additional tastings can be purchased on-site.”

There will also be music and food available. Come out and support this very worthy cause. The newly formed Northern California Brewers Guild was created to keep good local craft beer available throughout northern California. Help them help you by attending the event and enjoying some terrific beers, most of which were created locally.

5.12

Raley Field Brewfest

Raley Field, 400 Ballpark Drive, West Sacramento , California
916.376.4700 [ information ] [ online tickets ]
 

Lost Abbey Found-ed One-Year Ago

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Today is the one-year anniversary of Pizza Port taking over Stone’s old brewery in San Marcos and re-making themselves into both Port Brewing and the Lost Abbey. They’ll be hosting what will surely be a great party to celebrate today at the brewery (see details below). Congratulations to Tomme Arthur and the gang at Port Brewing.

Port Brewing’s Tomme Arthur (at left) with Adam Avery (behind bars) and Eric Rose, at this year’s Craft Brewers Conference in Austin, Texas.
 

From the press release:

Fans of great beer will have an opportunity to enjoy Cinco de Mayo Belgian style at Port Brewing Company’s First Anniversary Celebration, Saturday, May 5 at the brewery’s facility in San Marcos, California. The $15 admission will entitle attendees to sample Port’s award-winning line up of house beers, as well as become the first to taste a number of special releases and limited editions from the brewery’s ground-breaking Lost Abbey Belgian-style ales. Additionally, partygoers will have the opportunity to purchase Lost Abbey’s new seasonal issue, Ten Commandments dark farmhouse ale, and the highly anticipated Cuvee de Tomme, a barrel-aged specialty of Port’s brewmaster, Tomme Arthur.

“As the brewery’s first anniversary, we want this one to be something special,” Arthur said. “So we’re not only making it the premier of our anniversary ale, Ten Commandments, but we’re also treating our guests to some special beers that I made and kept hidden in the barrel room just for this occasion.”

Since Port Brewing’s founding, Arthur has established the company’s Lost Abbey label as one of handful of American breweries committed to pushing the boundaries of the centuries-old Belgian Ale style of beer. Nearly 40 percent of the facility is dedicated to racks of French Oak, Brandy and Bourbon barrels in which the Lost Abbey’s signature beers are aged for as long as 18 months prior to release.

The Port Brewing First Anniversary Celebration runs from noon to 9 PM on Saturday, May 5th at Port Brewing Company’s facility located at 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos (the old Stone Brewing facility). Admission of $15 entitles visitors to 8 beer tastings and unlimited access to a taco bar prepared by Port’s in-house chef, Vincent Marsaglia.

Hobnob and Squab with Rob Tod and Odd Cod

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Okay, perhaps a bit too Suessian with the title here, but I’m excited. Beer Chef Bruce Paton’s next beer dinner will feature Maine’s Allagash owner and brewer Rob Tod. It will be another four-course dinner, though Bruce is still working out the menu so I really don’t know if squab or cod will be served. I’ll get it up as soon as it’s available. It will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Friday, May 25, beginning with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations. Make your reservations soon, because this dinner should fill up fast and you won’t want to miss this one. Rob is making some great Belgian-inspired beers up in the wilds of Portland, Maine that is, Portland, Maine.
 

From left: Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, from Russian River Brewing, Matt Brynildson and a co-worker, from Firestone Walker Brewing, and Rob Tod, from Allagash, taken at last year’s GABF.
 

5.25

Dinner with the Brewmaster: Rob Tod of Allagash

Cathedral Hill Hotel, 1101 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
415.674.3406 [ website ]

Full Sail Reopens Pub & Tasting Room

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After being closed for several months, next Friday May 4th, Full Sail will be re-opening their Pub and Tasting Room. Here’s the press release:

Full Sail Tasting Room & Pub Grand Opening Friday, May 4th

Hood River — After months of planning, design, construction, remodeling and lot’s of recipe tastings, Full Sail Brewing is reopening their pub. The Grand Opening will be on Friday May 4th, 2007, in the same spectacular location with the same great beers. What is new is a more comfortable seating area that highlights the view of the Columbia River and the Gorge and a special menu designed to celebrate Full Sail’s beers.

The menu will include many dishes designed to share such as the brewmaster’s ploughman platter and hand cut Belgium style fries with a variety of sauces. Also on the menu is an assortment of sandwiches including two New Orleans specials – a muffuletta and a crispy shrimp poor boy. “Big dishes” include Session battered fresh Alaskan halibut and hand-cut fries with lemon-caper tartar sauce and Amber ale barbecued pork loin with hot mustard, grilled scallions, cilantro and coconut sticky rice. There will also be some delicious vegetarian dishes.

“To update our Pub after twenty years so that it celebrates and reflects the quality of beers as well as the growth of Hood River itself has been a very fun and satisfying project. It is a twentieth anniversary present for all of us at Full Sail and for our customers,” said Irene Firmat, Full Sail’s CEO & Founder. “Most of all we are thrilled to offer a menu that will complement our award winning brews and take advantage of the wealth and quality of local ingredients. We have also added several new members to the Full Sail crew – Chef Brian Hutchins, in the kitchen and Robert Carpenter as our front of the house manager. We are happy that our continuing investment in the brewery keeps offering the opportunity to create more employee owners,” added Firmat. Swing by the Full Sail Tasting Room and Pub to taste of Chef Brian’s tempting talents along with a cold pint of Full Sail.

The independent and employee-owned Full Sail brewery is perched on a bluff in Hood River, Oregon, overlooking the most epic wind and kite surfing spot in the world. At this very moment 47 specialists in the liquid refreshment arts are crafting barley and hops into your next beer. The Full Sail crew has been fermenting godlike nectar since 1987. Their award winning brews are now available in 17 states. The Full Sail Tasting Room and Pub is open seven days a week. Swing by for a pint, grab a bite, tour the brewery, or just soak up the view. The Tasting Room and Pub will be open daily from 11:30 am for lunch and dinner. Brewery tours are still available daily, free of charge at 1, 2, 3 and 4pm.

Session #3 Announced: The Mysterious Misunderstood Mild

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As I’ll be hosting next month’s “Session” on Cuatro de Mayo, or May 4, it’s time to unveil the theme for our third round. The theme will be “The Mysterious Misunderstood Mild” to coincide with CAMRA‘s May promotion Mild Month. Saturday the 5th will also be National Mild Day on the other side of the pond. For those of us here in the colonies, we may have a harder time finding a mild to review. But several craft brewers do make one, even if they don’t always call it a mild. So you may have to do a little detective work to find one, but that should prove to be half the fun. See you in the merry month.

 

Craft Brewers Pour into Austin in Two Weeks

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Austin to Host Conference on Craft Beer

Boulder, Colo. • In mid-April Austin will be flooded with flavorful craft beer and the brewers who make it. That’s when the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association for America’s small brewers, will hold its annual professional conference. Craft brewers from across the country will pour into Austin to attend the Craft Brewers Conference, the brewing industry’s largest gathering in North America. Attendance is expected to exceed 1,600.

Austinites will benefit from this surge of beer culture with public events at local venues featuring special beers on tap, craft beer-paired dinners and good elbow-rubbing time with the royalty of craft brewers. “Austin is a city rich in craft beer culture and we look forward to bringing the industry together in such a beer-friendly town,” said Cindy Jones, Marketing Director for the Brewers Association.

Today, sales of craft beers — beer made by small, independent and traditional brewers — are at an all-time high. 2006 marked an 11.7% increase for the category totaling a retail sales figure of $4.2 billion and 3.2% share by volume of the beer market with over 6.65 million taxable production in barrels. America’s craft beers are now a world-class brand being emulated and talked about globally.

“Having the Craft Brewers Conference come to Austin is a fantastic opportunity for the local brewers to showcase our beers,” says Chip McElroy of Live Oak Brewing Co. “We Austinites are proud of our town and the local things we have produced — especially music and beer. We just had the SXSW music conference in town, now bring on the brewers!”
 

Events open to the public include:
 

Event: American Homebrewers Association Rally
Presented by: Independence Brewing Company
Date/Time: Sunday, April 15, 3-6 pm
Location: 3913 Todd Lane #607, Austin, TX
Contact: 303-447-0816 x 123
Cost: Free for American Homebrewers Association (AHA) members or $33 for non-members– which includes a 1 year membership to the AHA!
To kick off the Craft Brewers Conference and support the American Homebrewers Association, Independence is hosting a rally. There will be special guest speakers, brewery tours, raffle prizes, complimentary beer tasting…and to top it all off, they’ll be pouring an experimental beer they’ve been working on. Visit the website for more details. www.independencebrewing.com
 

Event: American Beer Feast
Presented by: Alamo Drafthouse Lakecreek
Date/Time: Thursday, April 19 @ 7:30 p.m.
Location: 13729 Research Blvd., Austin
Contact: 512-219-8135
Showing of “American Beer”, the movie, with director Paul Kermizian and many other special guests. Ticket price includes pre-show appetizers and a three-course craft beer meal (many great beers) to accompany the film.
Cost: Admission is $65 and includes entrance, meal and beer. Guaranteed to be a special evening. Visit the website for more details. www.drafthouse.com/lakecreek/frames.asp
 

Event: Zax Pints and Plates Beer Dinner
Presented by: Zax Pints and Plates
Date/Time: Thursday, April 19 @ 7:00 p.m.
Location: 312 Barton Springs, Austin
Contact: 512-481-0100
Join your friends at Zax Pints and Plates for a 4 course beer and food pairing featuring fine ales and lagers from Victory Brewing Company. Space is limited so make reservations early.
Cost: Open to the public. Admission is $45.
Call 512-481-0100 for more information and reservations. www.zaxaustin.com
 

Event: John Langford Live and in effect!
Presented by: Opal Divines Austin Grill (Penn Field)
Date/Time: Friday, April 20 @ 7:00 p.m.
Location: 3601 South Congress Street. Austin
Contact: 512- 707-0237
A free concert and short film featuring the music of John Langford and featuring Dogfish Head Craft brewed ales.
 

Be sure and visit craft beer hotspots in the Austin area open year-round: Blue Star Brewing, Draught House Pub and Brewery, Fredericksburg Brewing Co, Independence Brewing, Live Oak Brewing, Lovejoys Taproom and Brewery, North by Northwest Restaurant and Brewery, Real Ale Brewing Co. Visit beertown.org for a complete list of breweries by state and city.

For more information about the conference visit www.CraftBrewersConference.com. The Craft Brewers Conference is open to brewing industry professionals and media only.