Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Valentine’s Day Rejection: It’s Delicious

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Russian River Brewing’s Valentine’s Day seasonal beer is called Rejection, a name so perfect for the holiday that I thought I’d go there today with my sweetheart (in this case with my daughter Alice) and try a pint.

When I arrived, Vinnie and his assistant brewer, Travis, were in the middle of a bottling day, the third in a row of four scheduled. So after a brief chat, we excused ourselves and with Natalie, Vinnie’s partner in all things, Alice and I went back to the brewpub for a little lunch. While Alice gnawed on her yummy pizza, Natalie and I talked about this and that. I had only visited the brewpub once other than on its opening day almost three years ago. The place still looks great; open, airy and inviting.

Since I specifically came for the Rejection, I ordered a pint of it, which came in a tulip glass. It’s a Belgian-style black ale, and is surprisingly mild given its name and the fact that roasted malt is used. But in fact Vinnie uses de-bittered black malt. This is a special malt that uses an evaporative process that makes it much less astringent than your average black malt.

This is the second year Russian River has brewed Rejection. The name came from Tomme Arthur, brewmaster at Pizza Port Solana Beach in San Diego who had an epiphany a few weeks before Valentine’s Day last year and rang up Vinnie to give him the idea. Vinnie looked around to see what he had around the brewery and rejection was born. This year’s, with slightly more planning time, uses a different yeast but is otherwise the same as the original. It’s 6.1% abv but tastes lighter than that.

Rejection has dark black color with a generous tan head and light nose with malty sweetmess. Clean, malty flavors with mildly sweet notes that are never cloying. There are delightfully subtle undertones of jam and plums. It has a wonderful mouthfeel and a very clean finish. If this is what rejection tastes like, give me more.

Russian River owner/brewer Vinnie Cilurzo with his assistant Travis and Brian Hunt, owner/brewer of nearby Moonlight Brewing who had stopped by for a visit today.

Marin Brewing Up a Quadruple

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Arne Johnson, brewmaster at Marin Brewing Co. in Larkspur, California (and the winner of this year’s Bistro Double IPA Festival), told me on Saturday that he’s brewed his first quadruple and that it’s in the tank now. He anticipates it will be available at the pub in about six weeks. That would be the week of March 26, the last week of the month. Mark your calendars, it should be worth waiting for.

Photo Gallery: 6th annual Bistro Double IPA Festival

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The 6th annual Double IPA Festival was February 11 at the Bistro in Hayward, California. It looked to be their biggest crowd yet for the popular event that highlights Double IPAs, one of the newest beer styles. A healthy percentage of the local beer cognoscenti was on hand to support the event and the extremely hoppy Double or Imperial IPA style.

 

A sign above the bar announces the beginning of Beerapalooza and the Double IPA Festival.

Inside the Bistro at peak festival time.

Bistro co-owner Cynthia Kralj shows off the festival t-shirts.

Rodger Davis of Drake’s and Arne Johnson of Marin Brewing enjoy a beer out front in the warm sunshine.

Shaun O’Sullivan of 21st Amendment and me, also outside along the side wall.

Bistro co-owner Vic Kralj and Dave Keene, owner of the Toronado. (Note Cathedral Hotel beer chef Bruce Paton accidently lurking over Dave’s shoulder.)

Shaun O’Sullivan gracefully accepting his third place award on behalf of 21st Amendment.

Arne Johnson accepting the first place award on behalf of Marin Brewing.

Vic presents the People’s Choice Award to Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing.

Natalie toasts the crowd.

The winners who were present for the award ceremony, from left: Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, Shaun O’Sullivan and Arne Johnson.

Marin Takes Top Honors at Double IPA Festival

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Marin Brewing was chosen best in show at the 6th annual Double IPA Festival today at the Bistro in Hayward, California. The full winner list is below.

 
 

 
 

Judging at the Bistro Double IPA Festival

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Today was the 6th annual Double IPA Festival at the Bistro in Hayward, California. I was happy to be one of the judges sequestered in the basement trying to choose the best of over forty Double IPAs. it took us about three or so hours to complete our task. Happily, we had a steady stream of vistors. It was a labor of love for all of us there, because extreme beers are some of our favorites. Though they are certainly a challenge to judge. In the end we only knew the numbers of the beers that took the top three spots. We had to wait until 5 pm (about three hours) with everyone else to find out who the winners were. Luckily, there was more beer, food and friends to make the wait more bearable.

The judges in the cellar, clockwise from bottom left: Kenny Gross, me, Barry Marshall, Dave Keene, Tom Dalldorf, Grant Johnston, Josh Charlton, Paul Marshall and Mike Long.

And from the other side, clockwise from bottom left: Grant Johnston, Josh Charlton, Paul Marshall and Mike Long, Kenny Gross, me, Barry Marshall and Dave Keene

Dame Judy Ashworth, Queen of the Micros, paid us a visit.

Vicky, our hard-working beer steward between Tom Dalldorf and Grant Johnston.

Tom talks with Lagunitas owner Tony Magee, who warms up before doing a set of blues guitar on stage.

Shaun O’Sullivan cracks up Dave Keene and Grant Johnston during a subterranean visit.

21st Amendment Taps Firkin of Imperial IPA at Barclay’s

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Last Night at Barclays Restaurant & Pub on College Avenue in Berkeley, 21st Amendment brewer and co-owner Shaun O’Sullivan tapped a firkin of his new Double Trouble Imperial IPA. One of several new beers for Strong Beer Month, the Imperial IPA is 10.1% abv and an absolute delight on the firkin. It’s brightly amber colored and begins with strong alpha hop aromas. I detected the obvious Cascade aromas (which Shaun later confirmed, along with Amarillo, Simcoe, Stygian and Goldings and others). The lush flavors have a big hop presence but it’s enchantingly smooth with a great mouthfeel. Overall it’s creamy and delicious and lingers pleasantly on the tongue for many minutes. Highly Recommended.

Shaun O’Sullivan (at left) mugs for the camera with James Costa of Moylan’s Brewing, my local pub in Marin County.

Celebrator 18th Anniversary Party on the 19th

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One of the magazines I write for, the Celebrator Beer News, is having their 18th Anniversary Party on Sunday, February 19 from 4-8 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person and that covers your beer, food and entertainment. There will be 15 breweries pouring over 50 different beers for sampling, cajun food such as pulled pork and jamalaya cooked on-site and at least three bands, including a cajun band. This years theme, in case you haven’t guessed is Mardi Gras and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Louisiana breweries through Abita Brewing and the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. The party will be held at Trumer Braurerei in Berkeley at 1404 Fourth Street, off of Gilman. I have tickets if anybody needs one or even easier, you can buy tickets online through PayPal. You can either follow the link on the left column of this blog or go to the Celebrator website. Hope to see you there.

Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, California. [ Google Maps ]

Strong Beer Month Begins in San Francisco

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Magnolia and 21st Amendment have again teamed up to bring Strong Beer Month to the Bay Area. This is always a fun event and everyone should make a point to visit both brewpubs during the month. This year, there will be at least ten special beers available. Below is the press release with all the information you could ever want about the month’s activities:

4th ANNUAL STRONG BEER MONTH STARTS TODAY!

Here it is Strong Beer Month already. Once again, the 21st
Amendment and Magnolia have worked together to present you with a cornucopia
of very special beers, five at each brewery, and they all go on tap today.
Pick up a punch card at either brewery and sample your way through all ten to
get a commemorative tasting glass.

This year, Magnolia will be featuring:
Old Thunderpussy Barleywine
Promised Land Imperial IPA
Tweezer Tripel
Slipping Into Darkness India Brown Ale
Smokestack Lightning Imperial Stout

The 21st Amendment will serve:
Lower de Boom Barleywine
Double Trouble Double IPA
Golden Doom Belgian Tripel
Mac’s Strong Scotch Ale
Hendrick’s Espresso Imperial Stout

In addition, both breweries will dig into their beer libraries and serve some
vintage strong ales. Magnolia will kick off the month with two vintage
versions of Old Thunderpussy Barleywine in addition to the 2006 release. A
tasting flight of all three will be available for a limited time. We’ll tap a
cask of Smokestack Lightning and follow that up with casks one after
the other of Promised Land, Slipping Into Darkness, and Old Thunderpussy. A
couple of other vintages of Old Thunderpussy will make brief appearances
throughout the month, as will the last of Batch 700 and some 2004 Smokestack
Lightning. Last but not least, we’ve got some Smokestack Lightning currently
aging in a bourbon barrel (Oakstack Lightning) as well as another barrel-aged
surprise. Look for those around President’s Day Weekend.

Magnolia’s weekend food specials will be tailored for pairing with various strong
beers and there will be a few other treats throughout the month, like a
reprise of last year’s popular Old Thunderpussy/Stilton Cheese pairing.

And we are all very pleased to have legendary artist Michael Everett on board
for the glass, t-shirt and poster design this year. Michael has done a
wonderful job and we can’t wait for you to see his work. All Strong Beer
merchandise will be available for sale at both breweries while supplies last.

Planning and brewing for this exciting exploration of the more esoteric side
of craft brewing is begun as early as September and tomorrow we invite all of
you to visit both breweries to enjoy the results.

Russian River Named Brewery of the Year by Malt Advocate

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Russan River Brewing Co. of Santa Rosa, California was named brewery of the year by Malt Advocate. The announcement was made today with the publication of the latest issue of the magazine. Malt Advocate is primarily a magazine for the whisky enthusiast but they do cover beer, as it does contain a considerable amount of malt, after all. The Malt Advocate Whisky Awards are given each year in a variety of categories including brewery of the year. This year marks the 12th year awards have been given by the magazine. Previous winners include Stone Brewing, Deus Brut des Flandres, Victory Brewing, and New Glarus Brewing. Congratulations to Vinnie and Natalie at Russian River.

John Hansell, Publisher & Editor of Malt Advocate, had this to say about Russian River Brewing:

Beer without boundaries. I’m not sure if the Russian River Brewing Company has a motto, but this one would certainly work. One glance through their beer portfolio and you’ll understand why: Supplication, a brown ale aged for 12 months in pinot noir barrels, produced with sour cherries and wild bacteria and yeast; Beatification, a blond ale aged in New Belgium Brewing Company’s La Folie Barrels for 22 months; Pliny the Elder, a high-alcohol, high-gravity, super-hopped double IPA. Their list of beers seems endless, restricted only by how many hours a day brewing craftsman Vinnie Cilurzo (pictured) is willing to brew, and not willing to sleep.

Vinnie first started brewing Russian River beers at the Korbel Champagne Cellars in 1997, and there is indeed a wine influence in many of the beers he produces today—both in his production methods and flavors. Since 2003, he has been producing his cutting-edge beers in downtown Santa Rosa, California. Within the past two years, he has already garnered many awards and accolades from the beer industry. It’s time that the rest of the world discovers his beers. He doesn’t make much, so it will make his already scarce beers even more coveted. But in the long run, we will all benefit.

Russian River beers transcend styles and marry cultures. Truly, beer without boundaries.

New Bottling Line for Lagunitas

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I dropped by the Lagunitas Brewing Co. today on my way back from a photographic trip to Cotati. I was quite literally “in the neighborhood.” I recalled that Lagunitas was planning on being closed during the month of January and would be installing a new bottling line. So I figured I’d stop in and see if either owner Tony McGee or sales director Ron Lindenbusch were around. Happily, both were in residence so we chatted for a few minutes before Tony gave me a little look-see at the new line that’s being installed.

Bottles on the new line as engineers work to install everything.

Tony shows off the combination filler/bottle washer. It was made by Italian manufacturer BC Technologies. Apparently they’re doing a lot of business with smaller brewers who cannot afford Krones’ new pricing. Other breweries recently having installed a BC bottling line inclue Saint Arnold’s, Dogfish Head, Avery, Lost Coast and Rogue.

Tony explains how it works and how he can trick it into thinking there’s a bottle on the line.

Having tricked it into thinking there’s a bottle on the line, it got to work and sprayed a jet of water in an effort to clean the imaginary bottle.

It looks like it will be finished and up and running in another week, at most. In another part of the brewery, two new 300 BBL fermenters have been installed and one more is on order. Tony reports that sales of Lagunitas beer was up 23% last year, with their tasty IPA accounting for 70% of the business.

The fermenters out back. There is now room for five more along the back wall of the brewery.