Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Odonata Saison Released Today

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Odonata Beer, a new brewery is Sacramento, is releasing their Saison today. Below is the press release with all the details:

ODONATA (OH-DOE-NAH-TA) is ecstatic to announce the arrival of its flagship beer, Saison! Brewed with malted barley, wheat & rolled oats, Saison is a rustic interpretation of the traditionally Belgium-brewed beer. Spiced with Styrian & East Kent Golding hops Saison has an aromatic, floral & peppery aroma and a modest hop bite. Our Belgian yeast strain also lends the slightly wild scents of passion fruit and spice. Saison is designed for refreshment & complexity; perfect on its own, or paired with ripened cheeses or classic Belgian-style seafood dishes. Saison bottles are bottle-conditioned, so serve chilled.

ODONATA Saison will be available on draft at select Northern California retailers beginning Friday, April 30, 2010 and will begin distributing bottled Saison in mid-May throughout Northern California. For further information regarding Saison, its availability or other inquiries, please contact Rick Sellers using the information found below.

ODONATA Beer Company is based in Sacramento, Ca. Brewmaster Peter Hoey is an experienced, award-winning brewer as well as an instructor at UC Davis’ prestigious brewing school and The American Brewers Guild. Sales Director Rick Sellers is an experienced beer journalist and former Beer Director for DRAFT Magazine, the world’s largest beer publication. Together Peter & Rick started ODONATA in 2009, with their first beer release (Rorie’s Ale) scoring a 100 on RateBeer and was named one of the best beers in the world.

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ABV: 6.4%
IBUs: 24
PKG: 22 oz. bottles
Suggested Food Pairings: Ripened cheese like Cyprus Grove Chevre’s Humboldt Fog; Pasta & Cream Sauce; Steamed Mussels
(The Homebrew Chef has also created a special recipe using Odonata’s saison for Saison-Steamed Mussels.
Serving Suggestions: Store Saison upright at cellar temperature & serve chilled, between 40-48 degrees, in a sturdy glass.

Women In Brewing Festival This Saturday In Sacramento

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This Saturday, April 24, another festival will be taking place in Sacramento. If yo happen to be up that way — or live nearby, of course — check out the 4th annual Women in Brewing Festival at Rubicon.

Here’s the info, from Rubicon’s blog:

In 2007 the Rubicon Brewing Company established the Women in Brewing celebration. This is an event that digs up the history of women in brewing while spotlighting the talent of those brewers in our industry today. The 4th Annual Women in Brewing Festival will take place at the Rubicon Brewing Company at 2004 Capitol Avenue starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 24th and will go until the beer is gone. Many talented female brewers have been invited to showcase their special recipes and hard to find brews. Some of these ladies will make the journey to the Rubicon Brewing Company to chat with event goers while enjoying a day in the sun with their fellow brewster’s and a pint. This event is not a competition nor is it a “brewfest.” It is a typical day at the Rubicon where we will highlight the fabulous “brewed by women” beer on tap for tasting in sample, goblet or pint along with food specials and, as always, great friends. A silent auction will be held with great prizes donated by local businesses. While honoring and bringing recognition to our women in the brewing industry, the Rubicon Brewing Company is dedicated to raising money and awareness for WEAVE. The event raises more than $4,000 to support crisis intervention services for victims of sexual assault. WEAVE is the primary provider of crisis intervention services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County.

Denise Jones, the head brewer at Moylan’s will be on hand, and probably additional brewsters, too. Stop by and help support a worthy cause. When I first met my wife, she was heavily involved in volunteering for a similar organization in the South Bay, Next Door, so it’s an issue near and dear to me and my family.

The beers below will be served Saturday, and each one was brewed by a female brewer:

  • Auburn Alehouse: Scarlet Red
  • Blue Frog: Ginger & Meyer Ann
  • Lost Coast: Scotch Ale
  • Moylans: Hell’s Lager
  • Rubicon: Bull of the Woods, Stardancer, 80 Grit
  • Santa Cruz: Witches Wit
  • Sierra Nevada: Summerfest, Scotch Ale
  • Urthel Al: Hop It, Samarath

Odonata Website Launched

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Sacramento’s newest brewery, Odonata Beer. Co. — recently founded by formed Sacramento Brewing’s Peter Hoey and former DRAFT magazine beer director Rick Sellers — has just launched their new website, which for months has been essentially wallpaper. For updates, there’s also the brewery blog, too. You can also get a look at the now-approved label for what they hope will become their flagship beer, Saison Ale. It’s great to see things moving forward. Hopefully there will be beer to fill the bottles with those label very soon.

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Beer In Ads #49: Buffalo Brewing’s Bison Riding Native

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Monday’s ad is for Buffalo Brewing, a Sacramento, California brewery that opened in 1890, in honor of the first day of Sacramento Beer Week. Though I can’t be sure, my guess is it’s from around the turn of the last century, when vague art and beautiful, often naked or scantily clad, women were all the rage — not like in the more enlightened future of today.

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Sacramento Brewing Closes

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If you haven’t heard the word yet, Sacramento Brewing has closed its doors for good, as of Monday, October 19. It seems the economic downturn claimed another fine brewery.

In an effort to accentuate the positive, SacBrew brewmaster Peter Hoey was in the process of launching his own new brewery, Odonata Beer Co., along with Rick Sellers from Pacific Brew News. They also have a blog up if you want to follow their progress.

I’m very sorry to see yet another good brewery go out of business but encouraged that Peter and Rick will soldier on. Rick also has a bit more about the Sacramento Brewery closing, if you’re interested in learning more.

Sacramento Closes Oasis, But Still Brewing

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I learned today that the Oasis location of Sacramento Brewing on Madison Avenue in Citrus Heights has closed its doors for good. The original location at Town and Country Village is alive and well and will continue as usual. Recent rumors that Sacramento Brewing was in danger of closing are simply not true. After the remaining beer in the tanks at Oasis is finished, all production — including bottling — will take place at Town & Country.

I’m told business at the Oasis location was always hand to mouth, even from the very beginning, but with the economic times we currently face dipped down below profitable levels. At Town and Country, on the other hand, business remains good and the new owner is optimistic and confident that will continue.

Head brewer Peter Hoey tells me that he will concentrate on having at least a dozen Sacramento beers on tap at any given time and will begin introducing guest taps, possibly as many as 24 in an effort to make the brewpub a Sacramento destination for not only his beers, but better beers of all stripes.

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Some some good news, some bad. I’m certainly pleased to learn that the brewery is not closing. I think Peter is a talented, under-appreciated brewer so it will interesting to see what he comes up with this year in the way of specialty beers, which he promises won’t be dull.

KVIE On Tap

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I keep forgetting to share this, but as it’s a slow news day, I figured today would be a good time. The PBS station in Sacramento, California, KVIE, created a show they called “On Tap” all about beer, and specifically beer in Sacramento. It was hosted by local sports announcer and television host Gary Gelfand. He interviewed Fritz Maytag, Charlie Bamforth (Professor at U.C. Davis), Ken Grossman (Founder of Sierra Nevada) and Don Barkley (founder of Mendocino Brewing and currently brewmaster at Napa Smith Brewing), along with presiding over a tasting of Sacramento beers with Rick Sellers (Draft magazine and Pacific Brew News), J.J. Jackson (owner of the Original Homebrew Outlet) and myself. The show aired in August (I think) and you can order the show on DVD online. You can also watch the full tasting that we did online, only a portion of which was used in the show that aired. Click on “Bonus Video” and then “Extended Beer Reviews” at the KVIE Viewfinder.

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Rick Sellers, me and J.J. Jackson tasting beer at the Fox & Goose Public House in Sacramento.

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This is the logo they created for the show.

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I’m sure I was making some point here. That or practicing my goofy hand gestures.