Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Bistro Double IPA Winners 2019

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On Saturday the 19th annual Double IPA Festival was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California. I got there early for judging again this year, and was sequestered in the dark, dank basement out of the view of the beautiful Bay Area sun for most of the morning. We judged 66 Double IPAs and 34 Triple IPAs.

Double IPAs

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Peter Hoey from Urban Roots accepting his silver medal from Double IPA.

Triple IPAs

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Craig Cauwels from Morgan Territory winning gold for his triple IPA.

Peoples Choice Awards

Congratulations to all the winners.

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It was a beautiful day at the Bistro for tasting 100 Double and Triple IPAs.


Russian River’s New Windsor Brewery Opens Today

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At 11:00 AM today, the grand opening of the new Russian River Brewing Co. production brewery and brewpub in Windsor, California, took place. The 85,000 square foot building houses a 75-bbl state-of-the-art brewhouse, a tank farm, barrel room, coolship, and much more. Eventually, they’ll offer both a guided tour and a free self-guided tour that will give visitors a unique view into the brewery’s operations. To see the whole thing, you really need to take both tours. But that part of the experiences is still a few weeks away as they focus on other aspects of the business.

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The extrance to the restaurant/brewpub. (Photo yesterday, courtesy of Natalie Cilurzo)

What will open today is the restaurant and brewpub, which owners Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo refer to simply as the Pub. It has a warm, rustic feel and includes several areas and seating for nearly 190 guests. In addition, there’s a 1,000-sq. ft. gift shop, a separate tasting room, and a tour lobby (for when the tours start). Growler fills will be available in three locations. Here are the basics:

Russian River Windsor
700 Mitchell Lane,
Windsor, CA 95
(707) 545-2337 (BEER)

HOURS:

Sunday-Thursday: 11:00 AM-10:00 PM
Friday-Saturday: 11:00 AM-11:00 PM

I was fortunate enough to have visited the brewery leading up to today’s opening, and here is what you can expect to see when you visit the brewery.

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There’s a larger circular fireplace with comfy chairs where you sit with a beer and wait for your table, or just sit and converse with your friends.

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Of course, you can just sit at the bar, too.

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Or sit for a meal and one of several dining areas.

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The menu is completely different from the original downtown Santa Rosa brewpub, with no pizza, but they do have a selection of salads and other nibbles.

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Along with several entrees, like these delicious burgers topped with malted bacon and cheddar fondue.

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There’s also a second back bar in an adjacent dining area, that in the summer will open up to an open area that overlooks several acres of wetlands. The first beer brewed at the new place was Windsor Porter, a variation on Vinnie’s award-winning Porter (fun fact: Russian River’s very first medal at GABF was for their Porter). It was also the first beer he brewed at the original brewery at Korbel, and also when the opened the downtown Santa Rosa brewpub in 2004. It’s now pouring in the brewpub (and is quite tasty) along with the first batch of Pliny the Elder, with many more to follow.

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You can also pick up bottles of the Windsor Porter in the gift shop, and they’re labeled “Batch 1.” The gift shop itself is fairly large, and in fact, just the cooler in the adjacent shop is larger than the whole gift shop at the original brewpub.

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Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo in the new brewhouse, which is 75-bbls, a little bigger than their previous one, which was 50-bbls.

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But the new brewhouse is a cathedral of beer, large enough that you can barely make out Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo, who are looking down from the top of the spiral staircase at the upper center of the photo.

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Master Brewers’ Banquet 1915

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Yesterday I shared what I thought was an interesting story and photos of the Master Brewers’ Convention, from 1915, which began on September 30. It was held in San Francisco, California. On the second day of the two-day convention, October 1, 1915, they also held a formal banquet for all of the attendees and guests. It was held at German House, in the same space where the convention took place. Notice that a lot of the men there are wearing the same distinctive hat. Was there an MBAA hat that members wore?

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Master Brewers’ Convention 1915

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This is an interesting little tidbit I found looking through an old copy of “The Western Brewer: and Journal of the Barly, Malt and Hop Trades” from October 1915. In it, there’s a report on the Master Brewers’ Convention which took place the previous month in San Francisco, California. In addition to the story, there’s a really cool panoramic photo. Here’s the story:

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This photo of all the attendees, including delegates and guests, of the Master Brewers’ Convention was taken on September 30, 1915. It was shot on the steps in front of German House, in San Francisco, where the convention took place. The photo was printed on two separate pages, with the left side above here, and the right side below.

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I’m not sure if this list exactly matches who’s in the photographs, but this is a list of who registered to attend the convention:

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And this photograph is inside German House of the meeting of the Master Brewers. Notice how there’s a beer in front of almost every person there.

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Celebrator Beer News Ceases Print

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While staff was told earlier last month, Tom Dalldorf of the Celebrator Beer News, today made the official announcement that he was shutting down the print side of the business, suspending the printed version of the 30-year old brewspaper. As the former GM of the Celebrator, it was sad to see this news, but in today’s media climate where many breweries use guerilla marketing and social media over traditional journalism, it’s not terribly surprising. People have to support a robust media in order for it to thrive. The model of how people consume their beer news has undoubtedly changed in the last three decades, and there are less advertising dollars being spent, despite the growing number of breweries, on a greater number of media outlets. C’est la vie.

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The Celebrator writers in attendance at the 30th Anniversary Party held at the end of SF Beer Week this February.

Here’s the press release from publisher Tom Dalldorf:

After 30 years of publication the Celebrator Beer News, the first publication to focus exclusively on craft beer, has suspended its print edition. Tom Dalldorf, editor and publisher, stated that the economics of a print magazine requires an advertising base that simply is no longer viable.

“The pervasive use of electronic media has rendered print media superfluous. The expense of design and layout and printing and distribution doesn’t work for the beer enthusiast the way it did just a few years ago,” said Dalldorf. “The craft beer world has grown tremendously in the last twenty years and beer enthusiasts, craving news and opinions on their favorite subject, are depending on websites and apps for news and reviews,” he said recently.

Consequently, Celebrator has re-launched its website on a WordPress platform that will allow it to be more timely in its coverage of the rapidly changing craft beer world. “Our new site allows us to get stories, news and information up instantly rather than waiting up to two months for the next print issue to drop,” said Dalldorf. Celebrator Beer News is now available 24/7 at celebrator.com. A mobile app is in the works as well, according to the publisher.

Hopefully, the Celebrator can make the transition to an online publication.

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Tom and me at the 30th Anniversary Party.

And this was the final cover of the last Celebrator Beer News in print.

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Beer Birthday: Meg Gill

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Today is the birthday of Meg Gill, founder and owner, along with Tony Yanow, of Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles. Meg is also the former national sales manager for Speakeasy Ales & Lagers in San Francisco. When I first met Meg she was working for Oskar Blues, and later she organized the Opening Gala for SF Beer Week in years two and three, a Herculean undertaking. Golden Road made some waves a few years ago when they were acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev, and I haven’t seen her since she went over to the “winning team,” and alienated us losers. Although she did try to pretend it didn’t happen when Golden Road announced they were building a taproom in the Temescal area of Oakland and were met with some opposition. Ultimately, it was approved and they should be building a brewpub in the near future. Still, join me in wishing Meg a very happy birthday.

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Justin Crossley, from the Brewing Network, with Meg at the 22nd Celebrator Anniversary Party in 2010.

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Speakeasy owner Forest Gray, Brian Lenzo, from Blue Palms in L.A., and Meg at a Speakeasy Anniversary event several years ago.

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Faction’s (then Triple Rock’s) Rodger Davis, struggling to keep the sun out of his eyes, with Meg at the Sour Fest.

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Meg and me at SF Beer Week’s Opening Gala a few years ago. (Photo by Mike Condie.)

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An older photo of Meg and Dave Hopwood, from Stone Brewing. (Photo purloined from Facebook.)

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2018

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On Saturday the 18th annual Double IPA Festival was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California. I got there early for judging again this year, and was sequestered in the dark, dank basement out of the view of the beautiful Bay Area sun for most of the morning. We judged 63 Double IPAs and 36 Triple IPAs.

Double IPAs

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Judging in the basement of the Bistro.

Triple IPAs

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It was a beautiful day at the Bistro for tasting 99 Double and Triple IPAs.

Peoples Choice Awards

Congratulations to all the winners.

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Jeremy Marshall, from Lagunitas, and Terence Sullivan, from Sierra Nevada, with their wives, enjoying some camaraderie at the Double IPA Fest.

California Brewery Count Hits 900

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Today the California Craft Brewers Association announced another milestone in California breweries has been reached. There are now 900 breweries in the Golden State, which means that over 9 out of 10 California resident now lives within 10 miles of a brewery.

Here’s the press release:

“The craft beer industry has tripled over the last five years, up from 300 breweries in 2012 to just over 900 breweries in operation today, according to data released by the nonprofit trade association representing the industry, the California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA). California is home to more craft breweries than any state in the nation, with nearly 92 percent of the state’s 39.5 million residents living within 10 miles of a brewery.

’11 percent of the craft brewing industry’s total $67.8 billion economic impact comes from California,’ said Bart Watson, Chief Economist at the Brewers Association. ‘These data highlight the powerful economic impact craft brewers have in California and across the nation.’

According to the CCBA report, the total economic impact of craft breweries in California exceeds $7.3 billion. This figure is derived from the total impact of beer brewed by craft brewers as it moves from breweries to distributors to retailers as well as non-beer merchandise sold at breweries and tasting rooms.

By the Numbers:

  • Craft breweries in California supported nearly 50,000 full-time jobs with an average wage of $55,000 a year.
  • California’s craft breweries paid $1.49 billion in taxes in 2016, including $868 million in state and local taxes and $617 million in federal taxes.
  • California’s craft breweries produced 3,295,221 barrels of beer in 2016. Breweries exported 1.17 million barrels, which is greater than the total craft production in all but five states in the nation.
  • The number of licensed breweries grew by more than 100 in the last year – more than any state in the country and an increase that was greater than the total licensed number of breweries in 34 states.

‘The positive impact of craft breweries on the state of California goes far beyond just the benefits of tax revenue, manufacturing jobs and tourism,’ said CCBA executive director, Tom McCormick. ‘Craft breweries also have a tangible influence on the growth and development of their region, investing in their community, employing their neighbors and supporting local nonprofits. Craft breweries are the living room, the town hall and the gathering place for their community.’”

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Black Diamond Brewery Closes

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Just saw on their Facebook page that Black Diamond Brewery in Concord closed on Tuesday under mysterious circumstances, to say the least. Apparently, when coming into work Tuesday morning, brewery operations and production manager, Shawn Whitaker, found this taped to the front door.

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And earlier today, this was posted on their Facebook page:

“Due to unfortunate circumstances the locks have been changed and Black Diamond Brewery is closed for the foreseeable future. Thank you to everyone who supported us during our 23 year run!”

Also, the brewery’s website domain name expired October 6. So the obvious guess is they got into some kind of financial bind, and perhaps we’ll learn more in the coming days or weeks, but for now, that’s all we know.

Beer Birthday: Alan Atha

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Today is the 66th birthday of Alan Atha, former co-founder and brewmaster of Baeltane Brewing in the town I most recently lived in, Novato, California. I first met Alan when he was a nanobrewery in planning, and he’s taken the experimental spirit of homebrewing and transitioned beautifully to commercial brewing, while retaining the playful nature that makes so many of his beers interesting, and delicious, with names like The Frog That Ate the World Double IPA and Rumplestiltskin. Unfortunately, Baeltane closed last, and I’m not sure what Alan’s next move will be, beer-wise, but hoping we’ll learn something soon. Join me in wishing Alan a very happy birthday.

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Alan, in a great photo by Mario Rubio.

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Serving bread and beer. [Photo by Riggy.]

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Joe Tucker, me and Alan at the Craft Beerd book release party in Petaluma.

[Note: first two photos purloined from Facebook]