Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Boonville Beer Festival

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Saturday was the 11th annual Boonville Beer Festival, held as usual at the Mendocino Fair Grounds in Boonville, California. Over the last few years, this festival has really become one of the “must attend” fests of the year, and this time was no exception. I didn’t hear the final attendance figures, but it must have been another record year. I did hear that despite ordering almost double the festival glasses as last year, they still ran out early and had to resort to dixie cups for late-comers. It was also Cinco de Mayo and the festival tried to celebrate the Mexican holiday, as well.

The Anderson Valley horse-drawn coach transported VIPs from the brewery to the festival.

During the opening of the festival, we were serenaded by the traditional Humboldt Firkin Tappers. For a video of their performance, see the photo gallery.

Anderson Valley Brewery owner Ken Allen.

Brian Hunt from Moonlight Brewing.

Adrienne, in her watermelon wheat hat, and Motor, who podcasts at Beer School.

Brian Hunt from Moonlight Brewing, Aron Derosey from Beach Chalet , Jeff Barkley (also from Moonlight) and Melissa Myers from Drake’s.

Vinnie Cilurzo does a celebrity endorsement of 21st Amendment’s IPA in a can. Watch the commercial at the photo gallery.

In another bit of shameless promotion, Shaun O’Sullivan from 21st Amendment gets Matt Brynildson, from Firestone Walker, to wear the watermelon wheat pimp hat.

Claudia, Yuseff Cherney, from Ballast Point, Jeff Bagby, from Pizza Port Carlsbad, and his assistant brewer.

For many more photos from the festival, visit the photo gallery. At the photo gallery there is even video of the Humboldt Firkin Tappers and Vinnie drinking beer from a can. And if you’re a fire bug like me, there is also many photos of the bonfire, including what it looks like when a beer bottle melts.

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.

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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.
 

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Dinner with the Brewmaster: Rob Tod of Allagash

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

New Albion Honored

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Last year, my friend and author Maureen Ogle was having a book release party at Anchor Brewery in San Francisco and she asked me to help her put together the guest list since I lived here and she was in Iowa. When she sent me her preliminary list of guests I was very surprised to see Jack McAuliffe’s name and address among them. It had been quite some time since anyone knew where McAuliffe was and I had heard he’d made it abundantly clear he wanted to keep it that way. I immediately asked about Jack, and Maureen told me that in the course of working on her book Ambitious Brew that she’d become good friends with him.

I mentioned all of this to Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing a week or so later and he told me that Jim Koch was looking for McAuliffe because he wanted the Brewers Association to honor him and New Albion Brewery for his great contribution to the craft beer industry. At GABF I let Koch that Maureen knew how to reach McAuliffe and the rest, as they say, is history. At this year’s Craft Brewers Conference, the Brewers Association Recognition Award was given to Jack McAuliffe, founder of New Albion Brewing Company in Sonoma, California.

From the press release:

The Brewers Association Recognition Award went to Jack McAuliffe, founder of New Albion Brewing Company. McAuliffe’s inspiration, enthusiasm and support have contributed to the development of American craft beer movement.

Steve Bradt, Head Brewer at Free State Brewing Company and Brewers Association Board of Directors member says, “As founder of what author Maureen Ogle calls ‘…the most important failed brewery industry’s history, the New Albion Brewing Co.’ Jack McAuliffe epitomizes the kind of tough, ingenious, and fiercely independent men and women who have come since in the Craft Brewing world. In fact, probably find reason to present him with each of the awards presented today, not just this one.”

Even though New Albion Brewery lasted only a few short years, it’s influence on the future of microbreweries cannot be underestimated. We all owe Jack a debt of gratitude. Pick up Ambitious Brew for the most thorough account of that period of history. Unfortunately, McAuliffe could be coaxed out of his self-imposed isolation. Instead, his assistant brewer, Don Barkley, was on hand to accept the honor on his behalf. After New Albion closed in 1982, Barkley went on to success as Mendocino Brewing’s brewer.

Bradt giving the Brewers Association Recognition Award to Don Barkley, who accepted it on behalf of Jack McAuliffe, founder of New Albion Brewing Company, who was unable to be present.

Don Barkley reminisced about working at New Albion and about McAuliffe. Maureen Ogle asked me take a picture since she wasn’t able to be there either, and I decided I could make her feel more like she was actually there my shooting some video with my camera, so that’s what I did and it’s below here.

 

Sierra Nevada’s New Pry-Off Cap

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I made a trip up to Chico, California last week to interview Ken Grossman for an article I’m working on and fortuitously happened upon a new innovation that Sierra Nevada Brewing just launched. They’ve discarded the twist-off crown in favor of a new one they’re calling a “pry-off cap.” They’re using up their old stock now and then replacing it with the new crowns so over the next few weeks or months you’ll begin seeing the new crowns on store shelves. Some, like Pale Ale, have already made the switch.

What’s innovative about this is the material they’re using inside the cap that sits against the top of the glass bottle providing the seal. Oxidation is, of course, probably the most common reason beer goes bad. Twist-off crowns and regular crowns do a pretty good job of creating an oxygen barrier and keeping out the oxygen, but they’re not perfect and some oxidation will occur over time. So Grossman spent the last 6-7 years researching how to make a better seal. What he came up with was a super high-density non-PVC substance that’s used in Germany but is uncommon here. It’s harder than the usual rubbery crown insides and requires a bit more pressure to seal, which is why they can’t use the twist-off cap any longer. But the new substance keeps out oxygen ten times better than anything else Sierra Nevada tested, so having to use a bottle opener is a small price to pay for a fresher beer that stays fresher longer. Now that’s a good use of new technology.

 

Fantastic Fourth Firkin Fest

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Today one of the most fun festivals in the Bay Area took place, the Firkin Gravity Festival at the Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse in Berkeley. This is the fourth year for this event and it’s great to have an event like this that spreads awareness of these beers. There were two dozen firkin beers from around California. A firkin is a cask that’s the size of a quarter keg, but measured in British volume, meaning it’s 9 imperial gallons (which is roughly 10.81 U.S. gallons). All the beer was cask conditioned and dispensed using gravity taps rather than hand pumps.

There were some mighty fine real ales there today, not least of which was the one brewed by our host Christian Kazakoff, Triple Rock’s Bad Monkey … No Banana. Some other stand-outs included a cask Pliny the Elder, Firestone-Walker’s Bourbon Barrel Stout and Stone’s Russian Imperial Stout. Iron Spring’s Casey Jones Imperial IPA and Marin’s IPA on cask were both also memorable, as was Grant Johnston’s English-style beer. Farmhouse had a nice cask Porter and Lagunitas put last year’s Gnarlywine to the wood.

Outside Triple Rock in Berkeley.

Triple Rock’s head brewer Christian Kazakoff.

Shane, Steve and Melissa, brewers one and all.

A row of firkins at the fest.

Arne Johnson (Marin Brewing), Christian Kazakoff (Triple Rock) and newlyweds Claudia and Rodger Davis (21st Amendment & Drake’s)

By early afternoon, the alehouse was truly packed. It was a great turnout and nice to see so many people supporting real ale.

Christian again with a trio from 21st Amendment.

Iron Springs’ Newest Brewer

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Join me in congratulating Mike and Anne Altman as they welcome the newest addition to the Iron Springs Brewing family. Joseph Evan Altman was born at 11:30 last night. Mother and son are doing great.

Particulars:

Original Gravity: 8 pounds, 1 ounce
Style: Boy
Release Date: March 22, 2007, 11:35 p.m.
Label: Joseph Evan Altman
 

Anne, Joseph and Mike.