Not sure how I missed this, but a couple of years ago Lagunitas posted a video showing techniques for Mastering The Lagunitas Butterfly Bottle Opener. Shortly thereafter, they posted a second video showing advanced techniques for using their butterfly beer opener.
21st Amendment’s Rickshaw Run For Reading
This is a fun one. I just heard from Shaun O’Sullivan at 21st Amendment Brewery that they’re sponsoring a team in the Rickshaw Run, which is a two-week, 2,000 mile journey across Northern India in what can best be described as a glorified lawnmower. O’Sullivan believes that “the sponsorship seed was planted last summer at Boneyard Beer in Bend, Oregon,” when this photo of him was taken.
21-A co-owner Shaun O’Sullivan encouraging you to finish your beer … for India.
Several months back, a friend of the 21-A (and beer PR consultant) Renée, told Shaun that she was driving a motorized rickshaw across India, and he tells me “I couldn’t stop thinking how cool it would be to have the 21A logo on an Indian rickshaw.” So they decided to sponsor her team in the Rickshaw Run, which they affectionately refer to as the “Gangetic Blunder.” All the money they’re raising — as in 100% of it — goes directly to Room to Read, a San Francisco-based charity that promotes children’s literacy in India. Their team, the Reading Rickshaw, consists of four team members and you can follow their progress on a map, and also on the adventurists, which also has a live map along with a list of all the teams, including Reading Rickshaw (2) — which is Renée and Gabriel — and also Reading Rickshaw (1) — which is Thuy and Vatsal.
The four intrepid members of team Reading Rickshaw, with 21st Amendment logo.
21st Amendment will be sharing the Reading Rickshaws’ travel updates on twitter and the 21A blog, as these Bay Area adventurers make their way, slowly, through the land of Kingfisher beer. You can follow along using the links above, or better still, donate to the Room to Read.
Porter’s Porter Day
My son Porter turns 12 this coming Tuesday. In his dozen years, he’s visited more breweries than the average adult. He’s listened to countless tour guides, brewers, Daddy’s beer friends, and me ramble on about beer and brewing for his entire life. Apparently it started to sink in. A few years ago, he began asking me if we could homebrew together. A casual question initially, but his desire intensified over time and earlier this year I promised him we could start homebrewing when he turned twelve.
Regular readers will no doubt know at least a little about Porter. By age three, he barely spoke. We visited numerous specialists and eventually he was diagnosed as being autistic. I quit my job as the General Manager of the Celebrator Beer News to stay home and do whatever we could to help our son. We found a special pre-school, hired tutors, took him to physical therapy, worked with endless flashcards, and basically did anything we could in the hopes of changing Porter’s fate; we read so many horror stories about worst case scenarios that we were committed to preparing him for a best possible future, at least. Happily, he responded magnificently, and by the end of the first year he was doing well-enough that I started freelancing. That’s also when I started the Brookston Beer Bulletin. Porter’s progress continued, but we decided to hold him back from starting kindergarten for a year (primarily because we’d been convinced that all boys tended to do better in school the later they started). Whatever it was we did, at least some of it worked. Academically, Porter flourished. His math and science (scores and grades) were off the chart. And perhaps more importantly, he caught up in language. When people meet him now, they’re astonished to learn he once didn’t talk. He’s certainly made up for lost time. In his last round of state-mandated testing, he scored perfects on four out of the five math sections, and even managed three perfects in language skills.
His autism mostly manifests itself these days in social awkwardness — but then he has me (and Sarah) for parents, so that’s not too surprising. We notice little things because we’re hyper-attuned to him from years of closely monitoring his behavior and progress. But most people don’t, and he appears more and more like a typical middle-schooler each year. He plays in band, loves Minecraft and was an all-star in little league baseball, where his team won the league championship this year. He even has a girlfriend and several good friends, something we thought impossible as recently as five years ago. The other way that his autism manifests itself is that he’s incredibly detail oriented. Some might say anal retentive. He often takes things literally, missing the nuance of humor or sarcasm. But I’m working on him. But that attention to detail I also thought would serve him well in homebrewing. A lot of brewing is precision and consistency.
I’d been eyeing Russian River Brewing’s pilot brewery — a 20-gallon brew sculpture from MoreBeer — and over time had asked brewer Vinnie Cilurzo how he liked it. I wanted to recreate commercial brewing at home, as best we could, for Porter to learn the brewing process along with the chemistry and science behind it. I spoke to Chris Graham, COO at MoreBeer, about getting a slightly smaller 10-gallon system for Porter and me to brew on. In anticipation of homebrewing, Chris recommended that Porter read John Palmer’s How to Brew. He made it through 18 chapters before he decided it was getting too complicated and felt overwhelmed. Chris and I lamented the fact that there were no books on “homebrewing for kids,” and suggested I work on the problem.
Because the last time I homebrewed was over twenty years ago (when I was a messy carboy homebrewer at best), I thought I’d ask a few friends if they would be willing to help. To my delight, everybody I asked enthusiastically agreed and we set a date, September 7. Vinnie Cilurzo, from Russian River Brewing, agreed to come and brew with Porter for his first time, and we concluded that his first beer most certainly had to be a porter. I thought we’d use one of Vinnie’s old porter recipes, but he surprised us by creating a brand new porter recipe, which he named “Porter’s Porter.” We also got some help from Rich Norgrove, from Bear Republic, Sean Paxton — the Homebrew Chef — and Dave Keene, owner of the Toronado.
Since we were going to do all-malt brewing, our first job was milling the barley, which Porter’s sister Alice seemed to love doing. Along with some friends, she ran the mill and got ready about twice as much of the base malt as we needed, just because she was enjoying herself so much. She’s now talking about becoming a maltster when she grows up.
The next step was weighing and measuring out the base malt and specialty malts needed to start the brewing. Porter weighed it out and kept track of the grain build.
Then Vinnie and Porter started the homebrew and got things really going. If you noticed that camera in the corner, my friend Justin Crossley, from the Brewing Network, brought a film crew to record Porter’s brew day. He interviewed father and son, along with all of the helpers, and is planning on creating a short film about families brewing. After the beer is finished, we’ll take some to the Brewing Network studio, and everyone except Porter will try the beer for the first time on the Sunday show. Should be fun.
Vinnie watching the numbers, while Porter measures the kettle, getting ready to move the wort for the hop additions.
Porter making the first hop addition.
Porter trying the sweet wort for the first time.
Getting everything set up to transfer the wort to the fermenter using a counterflow chiller, while Vinnie and Rich lamented the fact that we had no glycol.
Brewmaster Porter and his intern/assistant Vinnie Cilurzo posing for a photo after the brewing was done.
After a six-hour brew day, the wort was in the fermenter and we had to wait for the temperature to drop so we could pitch the yeast. In between, we drank some great beer, ate some tasty food, and enjoyed a beautiful day in Sonoma County. We can’t thank Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo enough for making Porter’s first brew day such a special one. He was thrilled and excited the entire day. In addition to Vinnie and Natalie, it was great seeing (and having the help of) Rich, Tami and Sam Norgrove, Dave and Jennifer Keene, and Sean, Arlene and Olivia Paxton. Five families getting together to eat, drink and brew. And thanks to Justin Crossley for recording it all for posterity. What a day!
Porter’s Porter fermenting. Stay tuned to see how it all turned out in a couple of weeks.
Whole Foods To Open California Brewery
For a number of years, Whole Foods Market has carried a decent selection of craft beer and better imports, and has been steadily increasing their commitment to good beer. They have an especially decent selection for a national chain. Last week, they announced that they were taking it one step father, and opening a “6,000-square-foot, two-story craft beer brewery and tap room,” according to a story in the Silicon Valley Business Journal. This will be their first grocery store to include a brewery. The 27,291-square-foot grocery store where the brewery will occupy the rooftop, will be located at 700 The Alameda in San Jose. The company broke ground on Wednesday, and expects to include “a wall for growing hops.” The San Jose Whole Foods & Brewery is expected to open in the summer of 2014.
Wheatland Hop Riot Legacy
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Wheatland Hop Riot, a seminal event in labor relations, the second major labor dispute in U.S. history, and the first event to shine a light on the plight of agricultural workers and their conditions. It was for this event that High Water Brewing named their Hop Riot IPA, as its name pays homage to the legacy of hops in California, which before prohibition was the largest hop-growing state in the U.S.
Here’s one account on the riot, this one from True West:
In the region northeast of Sacramento, field temperatures had hit the 120s—tough working conditions for the migrants harvesting hops, the green plant (related to hemp) used in brewing beer.
The work was hard, and the season short (by the end of August, the migrants would be moving on). The Durst Ranch, the largest agricultural employer in California, needed about 1,500 workers; nearly double showed up. Most workers made less than $1.50 a day—big pay in a time of national recession.
Conditions were hellish. Workers had to buy water (contaminated by acetic acid) for five cents, plus food and other supplies from a price-gouging company store. Dysentery was rampant, with less than a dozen toilets available for workers. Garbage and refuse cluttered the area. (In all fairness, the situation at the Durst Ranch was not unusual for California operations that hired migrants.)
Richard “Blackie” Ford, a former organizer for the radical Industrial Workers of the World, decided to mobilize the Durst Ranch workers to get higher pay and better conditions. He presented a list of demands to Durst on August 3. The rancher agreed to all of them—regular ice-water breaks (at no charge), more toilets and so forth. But he wouldn’t boost the pay.
Ford said that wasn’t good enough; some accounts state Durst responded by slapping Ford in the mouth. The labor man then went to a nearby platform to harangue the workers. Durst went into town to get the authorities.
The rancher returned with a couple carloads of men, including Yuba County Sheriff George Voss, Deputy Eugene Reardon and District Attorney Ed Manwell. They arrived shortly after five p.m., and Ford had the crowd worked up.
Just what happened next depends on which side you believe. The authorities and Durst claimed that some workers had attacked them. Ford and the migrants said the lawmen had opened fire on them. Either way, a melee ensued.
When it was done, Manwell, Reardon and two workers were dead. Sheriff Voss was severely injured, as were an untold number of folks on both sides. Ford was on the run, and most of the workers had scattered to the four winds. The day became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
Ford and organizer Herman Suhr were arrested. Neither participated in the attacks, but officials accused them of inciting the violence and charged them with murder.
The trial took place in January 1914 in nearby Marysville. Most locals (including jury members) weren’t sympathetic to the union or the migrants. Both defendants were found guilty of second-degree murder and given life sentences. The proceedings received international press coverage.
After the incident, the Durst Ranch gave in to all the demands, including the higher pay. The hop crop was brought in without any further trouble.
Ford was pardoned in 1924, and Suhr paroled two years later.
Another account, suggests that Durst was hardly blameless, and at least shared responsibility by the way he tricked and treated his workers, a not uncommon occurrence at that time.
An important and highly-publicized event in California labor history, it was the second major labor dispute in the United States supposedly initiated by the Industrial Workers of the World. The bloody clash, which occurred at the Durst Ranch in Wheatland, California, was the climax of growing tensions brought about by the difficult conditions farm laborers at the ranch endured. The riot resulted in four deaths and many injuries. It focused public opinion for the first time on the plight of California’s agricultural laborers, and resulted in new state legislation to regulate labor camp conditions. A new State Commission on Immigration and Housing was created to help improve working conditions. The Wheatland Hop Riot was also the first major farm labor confrontation in California and a harbinger of decades of attempts to organize or control agricultural labor.
Durst advertised for 3000 hop pickers and other seasonal agricultural workers, though he only needed half that number — in order to drive wages down. Of a $1.50/ day wage, $0.78 – $1.00 was withheld from the workers’ pay. If a worker didn’t stay till the end of the season, Durst kept that withheld money. Durst then had the workers harassed, cheated, and abused to try to make them leave before the end of the season. The strikers demanded water twice a day, separate bathrooms for men and women, and higher pay. During a speech by Richard “Blackie” Ford, the Yuba County sheriff and a group of over 100 vigilantes fired into the crowd of workers, causing the riot. Two workers, a deputy, and the district attorney were killed. The National Guard was ordered into the area and 100 workers arrested.
In addition, libcom.org has an account of the hop riot and the Sacramento Bee has their version to commemorate the 100th anniversary this year that was posted a few days ago. You can also read more about the Wheatland Hop Riot at Wikipedia, too.
David A. Kulczyk also wrote an interesting, more labor-friendly, account, published in 2007, entitled “Hops of Wrath, 1913’s bloody Wheatland Hop Riot eventually led to better conditions for workers. Too bad it was only temporary” and LaborNet has the Legacy of Wheatland.
So tonight, drink a toast to the men and women of the Wheatland Hop Rio, and make it a High Water Hop Riot IPA.
Pine Street Brewery Needs Your Help
One of San Francisco’s newest beer companies, Pine Street Brewery, is building its own brewery and trying to expand its business. One of things they’re in desperate need of is tap handles and kegs. So they’ve turned to Indiegogo (a crowdfunding website similar to Kickstarter) to help raise the funds they need to grow. They’re offering various tchotchkes for different levels of financial support, as detailed in the Indigogo Pine Street Brewery web page.
With our recipes perfected and a commercial brewing space secured, we need tap handles and kegs to keep up with growing demand in San Francisco! With your help we can provide our city with enough green PSB handles to have our beer in every neighborhood.
We’ve brainstormed hard to come up with great incentives for your donations – just a small token of how much we appreciate your generosity. (Check the gallery for photos of the prizes: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pine-street-b…). Your contributions will help us establish our presence in the city, and we hope you’ll be proud to say you helped make it happen!
The Pine Street Brewery founders.
The Pine Street Brewery Story
Our Story – Pine Street Brewery from Pine Street Brewery on Vimeo.
Anchor Announces New Fall Seasonal
Today, Anchor Brewery announced that they’re releasing a new fall seasonal beer, BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red. According to the press release, the beer will be available beginning August 5 and will be around through October. In addition to draft, it will also be bottled in 6-packs and 22-oz. bombers.
BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red was inspired by a native California tree, its incredible leaves, its delicious syrup, and the colors of fall. The tree, known as Bigleaf maple, thrives along the banks of California’s mountain streams. Native Californians once made rope and baskets from its bark. Today, artisans handcraft its wood and burl into custom guitars.. Bigleaf maple sugaring in California dates to the 1800s; yet this tree’s unusually flavorful syrup remains the product of a small group of hobbyists. A hint of maple—including bigleaf maple—syrup in every brew perfectly complements the malty complexity, balanced hoppiness, and rich fall hue of BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red, a red ale like no other.
“When presented with the challenge of developing a new seasonal beer, all of our brewers collaborated to think fall and came up with this red ale,” said Mark Carpenter, brewmaster at Anchor Brewing. “We are very happy with the finished product, especially since we don’t do test batches here at Anchor. It requires us to be on top of our game when crafting new beers and BigLeaf Maple is a beer we’re all proud to share.”
BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red (6% ABV) is a quaffable, well-balanced red ale with character. Its malty complexity and coppery color come from a combination of two caramel malts, pale malt, and a hint of maple syrup. To complement these flavors, Anchor Brewing uses three additions of Nelson Sauvin hops in the brewkettle and a unique blend of Nelson Sauvin, Citra, and Cascade for dry hopping. The result is a distinctive fall seasonal with extraordinary depth and intriguing aroma.
Since the 1970’s, Anchor Brewing has worked with renowned local Artist Jim Stitt to create our beer labels. A distinct, handmade beer deserves a distinct, handmade label and BigLeaf Maple is no exception. In autumn, the bigleaf maple’s huge leaves, up to a foot across, can display a full range of color as they slowly turn from green to gold to red. Capturing this symbolic transition from summer to fall, a watercolor of bigleaf maple’s magnificent leaf is featured on our label and signed by Jim Stitt.
Moylan’s Hires Derek Smith As New Brewmaster
Got the news last week, but it slipped my mind. You may not have heard, but Denise Jones gave her notice last month that she was leaving Moylan’s, apparently to pursue an interesting enterprise brewing custom beer for celebrities. The company is somewhere in Napa, which is closer to home for Denise, though I haven’t yet had a chance to ask her about the details yet. In the meantime, Moylan’s has announced her replacement, Derek Smith, who used to brew at Black Diamond
From the press release:
Moylan’s Brewery is pleased to announce the addition of new Brewmaster Derek Smith. Smith joins Moylan’s from Black Diamond Brewing Company in Concord, California, where he served as Brewmaster for the past 6 years and was instrumental in leading the brewery to a number of award-winning beers. Derek has a seasoned history of California brewing and has been a longtime friend and fan of Moylan’s Brewery.
Smith graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in architecture. Upon graduating, Smith traveled abroad and took a job at the White Horse in London as a cellarman. The White Horse instilled in Smith a deep appreciation for great cask ales and Belgian beers. Six months abroad turned into a four-year odyssey of travel, scuba diving, and beer tasting. Smith bolstered his newly discovered passion for brewing by apprenticing at Two Rows Brewery followed by The Master Brewers Program at UC Davis. Since then, Smith has served as Brewmaster for Black Diamond Brewing Company, where he was well known for his creative and bold hop-centric IPAs, Belgian ales, and barrel-aged beers.
Founder Brendan Moylan is excited to have Smith onboard, commenting, “Derek is the perfect choice to take over the reigns here at Moylan’s Brewery. He is known in West Coast brewing circles for his passion and dedication to making great craft beer. We are excited to bring his expertise to Moylan’s and we believe Derek will play a vital role in shaping our brewery’s future.”
Smith is eager to bring his unique style and talents to the popular Novato brewery. “I am looking forward to sharing in Brendan’s vision of crafting quality beers at Moylan’s…” commented Smith, “and I am excited to be joining one of the strongest teams of innovative beer makers in the Bay Area.”
Great news for both Derek and Moylan’s.
Derek, at far right, after the Beef Chef’s Chocolate & Beer Dinner in 2009; with, from left: Arne Johnson (Marin Brewing), Fal Allen (Anderson Valley), Bruce Paton, Alec Moss (Half Moon Bay).
The Best Beers In California: 2013 California State Fair Winners
Last week, the judging took place for the 18th annual California State Fair Craft Beer Competition in West Sacramento. This year’s entries came from 83 of the state’s breweries, with roughly 700 beers judged.
From the press release:
Some 40 beer experts from all over the state judged the various panels with blind tastings of the entries considering beers by style and classification. The judging panels were selected by Head Judge Tom Dalldorf, publisher of Celebrator Beer News, a national beer magazine.
The Best of Show tasting panel consisted of five of our top judges who were confronted with an unprecedented 47 entries all gold medal winners in previous rounds of judging. After a lengthy judging session, the panel agreed on giving Best of Show honors to a stunning Vienna Lager called Una Mas from Left Coast Brewing Company in San Clemente, Calif. A new award, Best of Show Session Beer (under 5% alcohol) was awarded to a wood-aged saison called Ocho Barril from Half Moon Bay Brewing Company in Half Moon Bay, Calif.
Beer enthusiasts can taste the award winning beers from the State Fair’s Craft Brew Competition on Saturday, July 20, from 3 pm–6 pm at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento, Calif.
Full disclosure, I was privileged to be one of the dozens of judges who tasted all of the beers over three days, and even was on the panel of five that tasted all 47 of the winners of each category to pick the “best of show,” this year’s choice for the best beer in California. It was a very hard decision, as there were some unbelievably great beers on the table, in a breathtaking variety of styles. Best of show judging is harder than regular judging, because you’re not comparing like styles against one another. Instead, your looking for intangible qualities that make one beer stand out over another, made doubly difficult because every beer was already an award winner. But we persevered, and after a few hours emerged with a unanimous decision.
Below are all of the award winners. 1 is a Gold medal, 2 is Silver, 3 is Bronze, and 4 is an Honorable Mention.
Category 1: Light Lager — Dortmunder/Premium American
- Auburn Export Lager, Auburn Ale House (Auburn)
- Local Lager, Tahoe Mountain Brewing (Tahoe City)
- Dead Canary, Ol’ Republic Brewing (Nevada City)
Category 1: Light Lager — Munich Helles
- Blue Eyed Blonde, Solvang Brewing (Solvang)
- Helles Lager, Hangar 24 Brewing (Redlands)
- Lager, Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch (Davis)
Category 2: Pilsner — German Pils
- Brainfood, Monkey Paw Brewing (San Diego)
- Longshoreman Lager, San Pedro Brewing (San Pedro)
- Pivo Pils, Firestone Walker Brewing (Paso Robles)
- Honorable Mention: Port Town Pilsner, Port Town Brewing (Los Angeles)
Category 2: Pilsner — Bohemian/Classic American Pils
- Summerfest, Sierra Nevada Brewing (Chico)
- None awarded
- Gold Country Pilsner, Auburn Ale House (Auburn)
Category 3: Amber Lager
- Una Mas, Left Coast Brewing (San Clemente)
- Marzen, Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch (Davis)
- Sullydunkel, 21st Amendment Brewery (San Francisco)
Category 4: Dark Lager
- Tatoo Black Lager, San Pedro Brewing (San Clemente)
- Bavarian Black Lager, Ol’ Republic Brewing (Nevada City)
- California Black Beer, Dale Bros. Brewery (Upland)
Category 5: Bock
- Welke Bock, San Pedro Brewing (San Pedro)
- Mai Bock, Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch (Davis)
- Doppelbock, Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch (Davis)
Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer — Cream Ale
- American Cream Ale, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery (Antioch)
- None awarded
- None awarded
Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer — Blonde Ale
- Common Sense, Berryessa Brewing (Winters)
- 805, Firestone Walker Brewing (Paso Robles)
- California Blonde, Eel River Brewing (Fortuna)
Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer — Kolsch
- Kalifornia Kolsch, Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery (San Francisco)
- Kolsch, Faultline Brewing (Sunnyvale)
- Bruin Blonde, San Pedro Brewing (San Pedro)
- Mission Blonde, Mission Brewery (San Diego)
Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer — American Wheat/Rye
- Lucille’s Hefeweizen, Bayhawk Ales (Irvine)
- Gramarye, Heretic Brewing (Fairfield)
- None awarded
Category 7: Amber Hybrid
- Alt-bier Ale, Hangar 24 Brewing (Redlands)
- California Amber Lager, Ol’ Republic Brewing (Nevada City)
- Anaheim 1889, Anaheim Brewing (Anaheim)
Category 8: English Pale Ale — Standard/Ordinary Bitter
- Freewheel Bitter, Freewheel Brewing (Redwood City)
- Freewheel Pale Ale, Freewheel Brewing (Redwood City)
- None awarded
Category 8: English Pale Ale — Special/Best/Premium Bitter
- Bonnie Lee’s Best Bitter, Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery (San Francisco)
- None awarded
- Freewheel Special Bitter, Freewheel Brewing (Redwood City)
Category 8: English Pale Ale — Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
- Drake’s Amber, Drake’s Brewing (San Leandro)
- Blue Bell Bitter, Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery (San Francisco)
- SBC Bitter, Solvang Brewing (Solvang)
Category 9: Scottish/Irish Ale — Scottish Heavy 70/-
- None awarded
- Maltopia, Hermitage Brewing (San Jose)
- None awarded
Category 9: Scottish/Irish Ale — Irish Red Ale
- Conner’s Pride, Old Hangtown Beer Works (Placerville)
- Rimpau Red, Main Street Brewery/Lamppost Pizza (Corona)
- Red Trolly Ale, Karl Strauss Brewing (San Diego)
Category 10: American Ale — American Pale Ale
- Grand Am, Bear Republic Brewing (Healdsburg)
- Pintail Pale Ale, Karl Strauss Brewing (San Diego)
- American River Pale Ale, Auburn Ale House (Auburn)
Category 10: American Ale — American Amber Ale
- Mission Amber, Mission Brewery (San Diego)
- Rubicon Amber, Rubicon Brewing (Sacramento)
- Danske, Solvang Brewing (Solvang)
Category 10: American Ale — American Brown Ale
- Coloma Brown, American River Brewing (Rancho Cordova)
- Roasted American, 21st Amendment Brewery (San Francisco)
- Farmer’s Flannel Maple Brown, Anacapo Brewing (Ventura)
Category 11: English Brown Ale
- Ironwood Dark, Tied House Brewing (Mt. View)
- Downtown Brown, Lost Coast Brewing (Eureka)
- Whippersnapper, Berryessa Brewing (Winters)
Category 12: Porter — Brown Porter
- None awarded
- None awarded
- Double Nut Brown, Mammoth Brewing (Mammoth)
- Honorable Mention: Devil’s Peak Porter, Tahoe Mountain Brewing (Tahoe City)
Category 12: Porter — Robust Porter
- Oil Piers Porter, Surf Brewery (Ventura)
- None awarded
- Black Robusto Porter, Drake’s Brewing (San Leandro)
Category 12: Porter — Baltic Porter
- Badland’s Baltic Porter, Dale Bros. Brewery (Upland)
- Recession Ale, Loomis Basin Brewing (Loomis)
- None awarded
Category 13: Stout — Dry Stout
- Organic Chocolate Stout, Bison Brewing (Berkeley)
- Dragoons Dry Irish Stout, Moylan’s Brewing (Novato)
- Black Hawk Stout, Mendocino Brewing (Ukiah)
Category 13: Stout — Sweet Stout
- None awarded
- None awarded
- Black Jack Sweet Stout, Feather Falls Casino & Brewery (Oroville)
Category 13: Stout — Oatmeal Stout
- Oatmeal Stout, Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch (Davis)
- Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, Anderson Valley Brewing (Boonville)
- None awarded
- Honorable Mention: Shanghai Stout, Auburn Ale House (Auburn)
Category 13: Stout — Foreign Export Stout
- Homeland Stout, New Helvetia Brewing (Sacramento)
- Crude, Belmont Brewing (Long Beach)
- None awarded
Category 13: Stout — American Stout
- None awarded
- Export Stout, Ol’ Republic Brewing (Nevada City)
- Roxanne Red, Main Street Brewery/Lamppost Pizza (Corona)
Category 13: Stout — Russian Imperial Stout
- Sunken City Imperial Stout, San Pedro Brewing (San Pedro)
- Imperial Stout, Mendocino Brewing (Ukiah)
- Ryan Sullivan’s Imperial Stout, Moylan’s Brewing (Novato)
- Honorable Mention: Parabola, Firestone Walker Brewing (Paso Robles)
Category 14: India Pale Ale — English IPA
- English IPA, Ol’ Republic Brewing (Nevada City)
- Organic IPA, Eel River Brewing (Fortuna)
- White Hawk IPA, Mendocino Brewing (Ukiah)
Category 14: India Pale Ale — American IPA
- Union Jack, Firestone Walker Brewing (Paso Robles)
- Torpedo, Sierra Nevada Brewing (Chico)
- Hop Daddy IPA, Main Street Brewery/Lamppost Pizza (Corona)
Category 14: India Pale Ale — Imperial IPA
- Double Up, Oggi’s Pizza & Brewery (Del Mar)
- Evil Cousin, Heretic Brewing (Fairfield)
- Denogginizer, Drake’s Brewing (San Leandro)
Category 14: India Pale Ale — Other IPA
- Evil Twin, Heretic Brewing (Fairfield)
- Our Dark Secret, Moylan’s Brewing (Novato)
- Boardwalk Black IPA, Karl Strauss Brewing (San Diego)
Category 15: German Wheat/Rye Beer
- Thunderweizen Ale, Lightning Brewery (Poway)
- Dancing Trees Hefeweizen, Feather Falls Casino & Brewery (Oroville)
- Orgasmica 4-grain Hefeweizen, Pizza Orgasmica (San Rafael)
- Honorable Mention: Windandsea Wheat, Karl Strauss Brewing (San Diego)
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Wit Beer
- Wit’s End, Ritual Brewing (Redlands)
- Wahoo Wheat Beer, Ballast Point Brewing (San Diego)
- None awarded
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Belgian Pale Ale
- Summer Honey Citrus, Monkey Paw Brewing (San Diego)
- None awarded
- None awarded
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Belgian Pale Ale
- Le Merle, North Coast Brewing (Fort Bragg)
- First Conversation, Discretion Brewing (Soquel)
- Saison, Berryessa Brewing (Winters)
- Honorable Mention: Fields Ablaze, Valiant Brewing (Orange)
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Biere de Garde
- None awarded
- Farmer’s Daughter, 21st Amendment Brewing (San Francisco)
- None awarded
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Belgian Specialty Ale
- Solace, Firestone Walker Brewing (Paso Robles)
- None awarded
- None awarded
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Flavored Saison
- Saison Savoureuse, Tahoe Mountain Brewing (Tahoe City)
- None awarded
- None awarded
Category 17: Sour Ale
- 24th Anniversary Flanders-style Ale, Karl Strauss Brewing (San Diego)
- Saison Tart, Green Flash Brewing (San Diego)
- Le Petit Diablotin, High Water Brewing (San Leandro)
Category 18: Belgian Strong Ale
- Axiom, Valiant Brewing (Orange)
- Dipsea Triple, Marin Brewing (Larkspur)
- Rio d’Oro, High Water Brewing (San Leandro)
Category 19: Strong Ale — Old Ale
- Good Faith, Discretion Brewing (Soquel)
- Triple Exultation, Eel River Brewing (Fortuna)
- Old Stock, North Coast Brewing (Fort Bragg)
Category 19: Strong Ale — English Barleywine
- Old Diablo, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery (Antioch)
- Barrel of Monkeys, Devil’s Canyon Brewing (Belmont)
- None awarded
Category 19: Strong Ale — American Barleywine
- Imperial Barleywine, Mendocino Brewing (Ukiah)
- Fat Hog, Ritual Brewing (Redlands)
- Beacon St. Barleywine, San Pedro Brewing (San Pedro)
Category 20: Fruit Beer
- Blueberry Ale, Marin Brewing (Larkspur)
- Golden Eagle Wheat, Loomis Basin Brewing (Loomis)
- Strawberry Wheat, Six Rivers Brewing (McKinleyville)
Category 21: Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer — Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
- Platypus Venom Imperial Stout Star Anise, Marin Brewing (Larkspur)
- Blue Bridge Coffee Stout, Coronado Brewing (San Diego)
- Organic Honey Basil, Bison Brewing (Berkeley)
Category 21: Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer — Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer
- Stumpkin, Old Hangtown Beer Works (Placerville)
- Hoppy Holidaze, Marin Brewing (Larkspur)
- Movetta a Trois, Karl Strauss Brewing (San Diego)
Category 22: Smoke-Flavored/Wood-Aged Beer
- Ocho Barril, Half Moon Bay Brewing (Half Moon Bay)
- Bourbon Barrel-aged Island Pale Ale, Island Brewing (Carpinteria)
- Pugacheu’s Cobra, Hangar 24 Brewing (Redlands)
- Honorable Mention: Sucaba, Firestone Walker Brewing (Paso Robles)
Category 23: Specialty Beer
- IPA 395, Mammoth Brewing (Mammoth)
- Barrel-aged Kriek, Island Brewing (Carpenteria)
- 4th Anniversary Ale, Hangar 24 Brewing (Redlands)
- Honorable Mention: Campfire Stout, High Water Brewing (San Leandro)
A few statistics: Firestone Walker, Karl Strauss and San Pedro Brewing won the most medals, six apiece. Ol’ Republic Brewing and Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch each won five. And Auburn Ale House, Heretic Brewing, Marin Brewing and Mendocino Brewing each won four medals. Eleven more breweries won three medals each.
BEST OF SHOW
- Una Mas, Left Coast Brewing (San Clemente)
BEST OF SHOW SESSION BEER
- Ocho Barril, Half Moon Bay Brewing (Half Moon Bay)
Congratulations to all the winners.
Beer In Ads #918: Over The Fence With Acme Beer
Wednesday’s ad is for Acme beer, from the 1950s or 50s. It’s another one by the famous pinup artist Alberto Vargas, this one depicting a blonde going over a fence, about to rip her short skirt, while carrying a bag of Acme beer cans and bottles.
