Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Epic Stops In San Francisco

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epic
My friend Luke Nicholas, the founder and brewer for New Zealand’s Epic Beer, was in town on Monday for a couple of days, before flying to Delaware to do a collaboration brew with Sam Calagione at Dogfish Head. I met up with him at 21st Amendment for a quick drink and to try two of his new beers.

The first, a stout, was also a collaboration between the Thornbridge Brewery in the UK. Rich and chocolately, it was a very nice stout. The second, Oaked Aged Armageddon IPA, is Luke’s regular IPA, but aged on lightly toasted oak. It uses all American hops: Cascade, Centennial, Columbus and Simcoe. At 66 IBUs it’s a big, hoppy, floral IPA. But for New Zealand — whose mainstream lagers are even lighter than our mainstream lagers — it’s so huge it’s … well, epic. But the toasted oak adds a nice dimension that’s subtle but a welcome addition.

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Luke and Zambo.

Also, new head 21A head brewer Zambo was just tapping their most recent creation, a Belgian-style IPA, similar to the Belgian Pale Ale they did last year, but hoppier, of course.

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Me and Luke outside 21A.

Odonata’s Youngest Employee

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odonata
Talk about a father’s day gift. I just got an e-mail from my friend Peter Hoey, who’s the co-founder and brewmaster of Odonata Brewing in Sacramento. His wife Britany gave birth last night to their second child, and first son, Liam. But I can’t help but beam with pride after reading his middle name. Now that’s a beautiful name — good choice. Peter tells me they’re “now home resting and getting to know him.” Please join me in congratulating Peter and Britany Hoey as they welcome the newest addition to the Odonata Brewing family.

Particulars:

Original Gravity: 9 pounds, 0 ounces
IBUs: 21 in.
Style: Boy
Release Date: June 19, 2010
Label: Liam Porter Hoey

Liam Hoey
Peter, Britany and Liam Hoey.

California State Fair Beer Competition Winners

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cal-state-fair
On Monday, the results of this year’s California State Fair competition for “Commercial Craft Beer” were released. As usual, the winners are listed confusingly by county, with no overall list. Why they do this is beyond me. Also, the commercial competition is judged using the 23 BJCP categories, plus three for mead and two for hard cider. I have nothing against the BJCP guidelines, though they were developed primarily for homebrewing and often don’t fit commercial standards as well. The only standard that commercial beers need to satisfy is that of their customers, who could often care less what style a beer is as long as they like it.

At any rate, the top honors went to:

  • Best of Show: Sudwerk Marzen
  • Best of Show 1st Honorable Mention: Triple Rock IPAX
  • Best of Show 2nd Honorable Mention: Lightning Brewery Elemental Pilsner
  • Best of Show 3rd Honorable Mention: Fox Barrel Mulled Cider
  • Best of Show 4th Honorable Mention: Sudwerk Dunkelweizen

And the “1st Gold” Awards in each category were as follows:

  • 1A,B. Lite American Lager & Standard American Lager: Michelob Ultra
  • 1C. Premium American Lager: Michelob
  • 1D,E. Helles & Export: San Pedro Longshoreman Lager
  • 2A. German Pilsner: Lightning Brewery Elemental Pilsner
  • 2B,C. Bohemian & Classic American Pilsner: Sierra Nevada Summerfest
  • 4. Dark Lager: Sudwerk Marzen
  • 5A. Maibock/Helles Bock: San Pedro Welke Bock
  • 5C,D. Doppelbock & Eisbock: Lodi Eisbock
  • 6A,C: Cream Ale & Kolsch: River City Kolsch
  • 6B. Blonde Ale: Eel River California Blonde
  • 6D. American Wheat or Rye: Santa Cruz Ale Works Hefeweizen
  • 7. Amber Hybrid Beer: Jack’s Gridiron Amber
  • 8A,B. Bitter Ordinary/Special/Best: Faultline Pale Ale
  • 8C. Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale): Anderson Valley Boont Extra Special Beer
  • 9A,B,C. Scottish Ale: Devil’s Canyon Full Boar Scotch Ale
  • 9D. Irish Red Ale: Taps Irish Red
  • 10A. American Pale Ale: Auburn Alehouse American River Pale Ale
  • 10B. American Amber Ale: Mad River Jamaica Red Ale
  • 10C. American Brown Ale: Omaha Jack’s Up Town Rancho Brown
  • 11. English Brown Ale: Tied House Ironwood Dark
  • 12A. Brown Porter: Mammoth Lakes Double Nut Brown
  • 12B,C. Robust & Baltic Porter: Uncommon Brewers Baltic Porter
  • 13A,D,E. Dry, American & Foreign Stouts: Mad River Steelhead Extra Stout
  • 13B,C. Sweet & Oatmeal Stout: Etna Brewing Grubstake Oatmeal Stout
  • 13F. Russian Imperial Stout: Fifty-Fifty Brewing Totality Imperial Stout
  • 14A. Engllish IPA: Eel River Organic IPA
  • 14B. American IPA: Triple Rock IPAX
  • 14C. Imperial IPA: Moylan’s Hopsickle Imperial XXX IPA
  • 15A. Weizen: Sierra Nevada Kellerwiess
  • 15B,C. Dunkleweizen & Weizenbock: Sudwerk Dunkelweizen
  • 16A,C. Witbier & Saison: The Brewhouse Baseball Saison
  • 16B,D,E. Belgian Pale Ale, Biere de Garde & Belgian Specialty Ale: River City Cap City Pale Ale
  • 17. Sour Ale: Valley Brew “Bill Brand-Bic”
  • 18A. Belgian Blonde Ale: Uncommon Brewers Siamese Twin Ale
  • 18B. Belgian Dubbel: Anderson Valley Brother David’s Double Abbey Style Ale
  • 18C. Belgian Tripel: Main Street Bishops Tipple Trippel
  • 19A. Old Ale: Lightning Brewery Old Tempest Ale
  • 19B. English Barleywine: Schooner’s Old Diablo Barleywine
  • 19C. American Barleywine: The Brewhouse Big Johnson Barley Wine
  • 20. Fruit Beer: Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat
  • 21. Spice, Herb Vegetable & Winter Beers: Marin Hoppy Holidaze
  • 22C. Wood-Aged Beer: Mayfield Iconoclast Nocturna
  • 23. Specialty Beer: Drake’s Impinoir Stout
  • 27. Apple Cider: Crispin Cider Crispin Light
  • 28. Specialty Cider: Fox Barrel Mulled Cider

cal-state-fair-2010

Update On Steve Altimari

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mountain
I spoke to Steve Altimari, former brewer with Valley Brewing in Stockton, who’s vacationing in his home town near Ithaca, New York, with his family. Naturally, I asked about what went down at the brewery and why he was out of a job. Having known Steve for a number of years, I was well aware that the family-owned company had its share of drama and that they hardly knew what a talented brewer they had in Steve. Here’s what he was able to tell me.

About a month ago, he heard from the owner, Kelly Jacobs, that she wanted to sell the brewery and gave Steve a price if he was interested. So Steve went to work, found partners and investors in short order and made an offer based on his earlier conversation with Jacobs. No dice. The price was now inexplicably higher. They tried again with higher offers, but each time the owners kept raising the price. Then they fired John, their only salesman. Last Thursday, they tried one last offer, which met with the same frustrating negative response. On Friday, the day before Steve was scheduled to take a family vacation, he asked for explanation. He was told they “decided on another offer, and they don’t need you. Thanks, but get out.” In less than two hours he was locked out of the brewery that he helped build for the past fourteen years.

I never expected that the owners were warm and fuzzy people, but that takes ingratitude to a whole new level. None of the family members know the slightest thing about brewing and if not for the Herculean efforts of Steve, no one would have ever heard of their brewery. I realize it’s unfair to place any of the blame on the new owners — whoever they may be — but it’s going to be difficult for anybody to come in and fill his shoes.

On the plus side, the partners and investors are sticking with Steve and the plans now have shifted to acquiring or building a brewery somewhere in the Bay Area. Apparently, the financing is already in place, so we may not be without beer brewed by Steve Altimari for long.

Steve will be hard at it when he returns from vacation next week, and the first order of business is coming up with a new brewery name. I suggested something that’s the opposite of a valley, like a mountain peak, which is why the icon above is of Mt. Everest. Then perhaps Altimari Brewery could work; it means “high water.” Let’s wish him the best of luck. What brewery name suggestions do you have for Steve’s new venture?

Peace Or 2 Medals: Steve Altimari, from Valley Brewing
A very happy Steve at the Falling Rock Taphouse in Denver, after winning two medals at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival.

Beer Pioneer Jack McAuliffe Initerviewed

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The Brewers Association’s new website, CraftBeer.com, has a great article and interview up today with Jack McAuliffe. If you don’t know who Jack McAuliffe is, you should. McAuliife founded the New Albion Brewery in Sonoma, California in October of 1976. New Albion was the very first modern microbrewery in the country, and along with Anchor and several early brewpubs, is the reason that the San Francisco Bay Area is the birthplace of craft beer in America.

McAuliffe
Jack in his new brewery back in the day.

Check out The Rise and Fall of New Albion Brewing led the way for the American Craft Beer Revolution by John Holl.

Sierra Nevada is also doing a collaboration beer, Jack & Ken’s Ale (a barley wine) with Jack McAuliffe as a part of their Sierra 30 Series, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.

new-albion-ale
A New Albion label.

Valley Brewing Loses Brewer Steve Altimari

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valley
I just heard that Valley Brewing in Stockton is being sold and their long-time (and quite talented) brewer Steve Altimari will not continue on with the new owners. Steve posted the following on his blog:

As of 6/12/10 I am no longer working for Valley Brewing Company, my employer for the last 13 years. The brewery is being sold and I am not a part of the new owners plans, so I bid everyone a fond goodbye and see you on the flip side.

Unless the new owners are kick-ass brewers themselves, I don’t see how that’s a positive for the brewery. Hopefully, there will be more details soon.

Outside Lands Music Festival Pairs Rock & Roll … With Wine

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woodstock
I have nothing against wine, I drink it fairly often and am an unabashed cross drinker. But this is still a little odd, to me. The Outside Lands two-day music festival that will take place in Golden Gate Park in mid-August appears to be wine only. And that’s despite having Heineken as one of the “partners” of the festival. The tagline for Outside Lands 2010 is “Music — Food — Wine — Art,” listed that way even on the Tickets page — they go on sale tomorrow. There are some great bands playing, including a favorite of mine — Gogol Bordello — a band I can’t imagine without beer. To me that seems like an epic fail. Rock & Roll without beer is like … well, I can’t think of an apt metaphor. It’s just wrong.

Short Pour Film Winner Announced

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short-pour-films
“The inaugural Short Pour Film Festival on the subject of beer, which was announced last August, was judged last weekend. The films will debut at the Monterey Beer Festival on June 5th, 2010, from 12:30pm to 5pm.” The Winning Film, along with the entire One Hour & Twenty Minute Program, will be shown in the historic ”King City Room”, a 10,000 square foot building at the Monterey Fairgrounds (home to The Monterey Jazz Festival & The Monterey Blues Festival).

The overall winner is “The Swagger Stagger” in San Francisco by Sayre Piotrkowski, which you can watch below.

The runner-up was by the Beer Nation Show and titled “Legend of Craft Beer Bandit” by Mike Winn & Seth Wright.

The winners will also be screened at this year’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver, September 16-18.

New York Times Features Beer Stores

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six-pack
Today’s New York Times has a great little article extolling the virtues of beer tasting bars, beer stores with tasting licenses allowing them to have limited taps and sample customers on the beers they carry. The story, Tastings With Craft Beers, features two Bay Area beer stores, Beer Revolution in Oakland, and City Beer Store in San Francisco, both terrific, relatively new, additions to the Bay Area beer scene. City Beer Store opened in 2006, while the Beer Revolution began this past February, during SF Beer Week.

If you haven’t been to either, now would be a good time to go. City Beer Store was founded by Craig Wathen, who formerly was with Pete’s Wicked Ales, and his wife Beth. They’ve created a cozy space on Folsom packed with over 300 beers, many of them hard-to-find elsewhere, and also managed to make the space comfortable and inviting.

Oakland’s Beer Revolution was started this year by Rebecca Boyles and Fraggle (a.k.a. Mark Martone — I didn’t even know Fraggle’s real name until just now!). I featured the pair in a long article I did on “Beer Geeks” for beer Advocate magazine several years ago. For them, this is a passion realized, a dream made real. In a larger space than their city doppelganger, Beer Revolution has a dozen taps and many, many bottles for sale. Both stores are constantly doing small, intimate in-store tastings and events.

The other three stores mentioned are all in Oregon, including the iconic Belmont Station in Portland. Only a few years ago, stores like these were a rarity, but their presence has been growing by leaps and bounds lately, and that’s great news for beer lovers.

Win Tickets To The SF Giants Brewfest Saturday

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sf-giants
Come join me and my family this Saturday for the inaugural San Francisco Giants Brewfest at the ballpark, sponsored in part by the San Francisco Brewers Guild. All seven brewery members (Beach Chalet, 21st Amendment, Thirsty Bear, Social Kitchen Brewery, Magnolia Pub, Speakeasy & Gordon Biersch) will be pouring their beer from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, and then the game begins at 6:05. Tickets are $20, which includes a commemorative glass, unlimited samples, music by “The Famous” and tickets to the Giants vs. Diamondbacks game.

Giants-Brewfest-2010

What could be better than a deal like that? How about free tickets? Leave a comment here telling me why you’d like to go to the Brewfest and the baseball game this Saturday and the best answer will win two tickets, courtesy of the San Francisco Giants and the Brewer’s Guild. Comments, or entries, must be posted here by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday (yes, that’s in two days) and the winning entry will be announced at 6:00 p.m. The winner will then be able to pick up their tickets at will call on Saturday. See you there!

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UPDATE 5.27: And the winner …? It was a tough choice, there were many worthwhile entries. I almost chose the newly engaged couple, and the recent San Diego transplant. Then there was the never-been-kissed friend and the intern on his first weekend in San Francisco. But I was most moved by the plight of Stuart Dejesus, who desperately needs a day away. He’s trying to plan a wedding with twin 10-month old babies. I think he and his fiance deserve a day in the (hopefully) sun. Congratulations Stuart, your tickets will be at will call under your name.