San Diego Beer News Roundup

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Chez Monieux, churchill's renaissance, Exponential Hoppiness, Neighborhood bottle shop

I’ve been a bad blogger lately, with a ton going on at work and home I haven’t been blogging much. Things might be a little slow for a while longer, but here’s a quick roundup with some links to keep you up to date.

According to Amy T. Granite, the CCDC has approved Neighborhood for an off-site consumption permit. They still need to get a license (or a change to their current license depending on how they will be operating) but it looks like they’re one step closer to opening a spot to sell bottles to go near 8th and G downtown. Here’s a post with a bit of back story on their proposed bottle shop/tasting room. Check out the comments to see what folks are saying about it.

Live from the CCDC public hearing: @NeighborhoodSD has been approved a permit for off-site consumption. #bottleshop

— Amy T. Granite(@saysgranite) March 1, 2012

This Saturday is Churchill’s Renaissance at Churchill’s Pub and Grille in San Marcos. The tap list looks amazing (dare I say Pliny the Younger is the most pedestrian beer on the list?). They’ll also have a limited amount of bottles of Port/Lost Abbey brewed Churchill’s Finest Hour available for sale to go, if last year was any indication it’s a good idea to get there early if you’re looking to score a bottle.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is also the second Turista Libre TJ Craft Beer Tour, the last one was a ton of fun, it’s great to see ambitious homebrewers turning out good beer south of the border.

Pat Mcilhenney at Alpine Beer Co. sent out a newsletter earlier in the week in which he announced a few changes to the ways their beers get released. First off he says they won’t be giving much notice when a new beer is coming out, maybe they’ll announce it the day before it goes on sale, maybe once it’s already on sale, or (Mcilhenney  doesn’t explicitly say this) but maybe they won’t announce beer releases at all. Much of his email is about rewarding local and loyal customers, not out-of-towners and those looking to resell Alpine’s beers and make a quick buck. Which brings up the part that got everybody talking (just check out the comments at Beerpulse):

You have seen your very last growler of “Exponential Hoppiness” ever to be dispensed. [The link included no longer show’s the auction which was ended soon after the email went out, here’s a link to the seller’s Ebay page]

Since I previously stated if I ever saw a growler of “Exponential Hoppiness” for sale on ebay there would never be another growler sold again. Don’t blame me, but you can see who to blame on the above link. As for bottles of “Expo” on ebay, I’m seriously considering never bottling it again. This is not just a personal issue, it’s illegal.

Mike Shess at West Coaster and Peter Rowe at Brewery Rowe both followed up with Mcilhenney, and it sounds like he may change his mind somewhere down the line, but I wouldn’t expect to see Alpine filling growlers of Expo during the next release.

And not to be forgotten in the hoopla, Alpine released bottles of the always delicious Chez Monieux Kriek this week. No word on how fast it’s selling (or if it’s sold out already) but I’d hurry up there if you want some.

Speaking of West Coaster, the March issue is out now, and if you didn’t get a chance to pick up the February issue, my column about “imitation” craft beer was posted to the web a few days ago.

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San Diego Brewed: The Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme

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Cuvee de Tomme

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

The Lost Abbey’s Cuvee de Tomme isn’t cheap, but if you like sour beer it’s worth it. Cuvee de Tomme starts it’s life as another Lost Abbey beer, Judgement Day, but goes through a year long journey to become the final product. The most recent batch of Cuvee de Tomme was released on Christmas Eve, so this is the 2011 batch that is on store shelves now. The previous year, the 2010 batch was underwhelming and wasn’t nearly as good as the year before that, 2009. But thankfully this 2011 batch is much better than 2010 in my opinion and is as good as I remember 2009 being. As the bottle notes: “… each batch of Cuvee will vary slightly between bottlings” and there are a ton of things that can contribute to the flavors between years.

I was a little worried when I opened the bottle and poured and there was almost no sign of carbonation, but thankfully there was just a bit of bubbles hiding in there, what seemed like the perfect amount.

Cuvee de Tomme is pretty sour, it smells of juicy sour cherries and tastes the same upon first sip. There’s plenty of woody oak flavor in there as well. I’m not much of a wine drinker but this reminds me of red wine, maybe it’s those “supple tannins” the label refers to.

At 11% ABV Cuvee de Tomme is very much a sipper and could take a good hour or two to finish, which isn’t a bad thing as the flavors really open up as it warms up. Don’t drink this one cold.

If you like sour beers I highly recommend Cuvee de Tomme. $17 for 375ml is pricey, it’s not an everyday beer, but worth it when you find the right time to open it. If you’re not much into sour beers, or don’t have much experience with them, this might not be the best to start with. Though picking up a bottle now while you can still find it on store shelves and saving it for a while isn’t a bad idea.

San Diego Brewed: Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi

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Gift of the Magi

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Gift of the Magi, the Christmas seasonal from The Lost Abbey is a beer I pick up a bottle of every year around this time of year. As a beer it doesn’t blow me away, and I usually only have it once or twice a year, but there’s something about it that causes me to pick it up each year.

I don’t think The Lost Abbey ever defines the beer style (they refer to it as a “Golden Ale”) but general consensus (at least on Ratebeer and Beeradvocate) seems to be that it’s a Bière de Garde.

Lost Abbey describes it as such

It seems that everyone knows the story of the Three Kings. Sent to follow the star in the sky each brought a gift for the baby they sought. One King brought Gold, the other Frankincense and the other Myrrh. Many breweries produce a Christmas Seasonal beer and this is our beer to celebrate the holiday season.

 

Gold in color and bittered with the bark of Frankincense, we have even used the smallest amount of Myrrh which is an herb that has roots in ancient winemaking as well.

 

A massive Golden Ale fit for a king (or Queen) we offer the Gift of the Magi each holiday season.

At 9.5% Gift of the Magi makes a nice Winter beer even though the style isn’t the first thing I think of having this time of year.

A dark reddish brown (I wouldn’t call it Golden in color) with a small white head, an earthy smell is the first thing that stands out. I’m pretty sure there’s Brett in there, but this beer is pretty fresh so it doesn’t stand out much. I’ve heard great things about 2-3 year old Gift of the Magi, but never aged a bottle myself (note to self: pick up another bottle). There’s also a slightly sweet, berry-like smell in addition to the earthiness.

It’s pretty bitter, I’m not familiar with Frankincense so I can’t pinpoint that specifically, but it is an earthy bitterness. There’s some toasty grain sweetness and a strong alcohol kick at the end of each sip. There’s no denying this beer is close to ten percent alcohol, making it a sipper. There’s a long bitter after taste which is somewhat plastic-tasting. I expected more spice but just didn’t find it.

Gift of the Magi isn’t my favorite beer, but isn’t a bad beer. I think I’ll put one away for a year or two to see how it changes.

Photo: CC Flickr:the_photographer

More Pizza Port News

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hollister brewing, jeff bagby, Noah Regnery, Pizza Port cans, pizza port carlsbad, pizza port palomar airport rd, pizza port production facility

Some more Pizza Port news to report following Monday’s post about Head Brewer and Director of Brewing Operations Jeff Bagby’s plans to leave Pizza Port to open his own brewery…

• As reported by Barbara Henry at the North County Times, Pizza Port has plans to build a 37,050-square-foot new facility to be located in Carlsbad at Palomar Airport Rd and Gateway Rd. Not only will this be Pizza Port’s fifth restaurant location, but it will also serve as a production and distribution facility. The production side of things will brew beer and produce pizza dough in bulk for Pizza Port’s restaurants. Henry also  reports that it will also house a canning facility. It sounds like things are still in the early planning stages, so there’s always the possibility that plans will change, but Pizza Port beer in cans (and presumably wider distribution) sounds pretty cool to me. Pizza Port’s proposal goes before the Carlsbad’s Planning Commission tonight at 6pm. A copy of the report to the Planning Commission can be seen here.

• I heard back from Jeff Bagby and he tells me that he’ll be staying on at Pizza Port through the end of the month. He says he’ll take a bit of time off before he starts full time on his own brewery project. He also mentioned that while his brewing position at Pizza Port Carlsbad will be filled by Ignacio (Nacho) Cervantes (as Gina Marsaglia told me), there is not as of yet a replacement for his operations position with Pizza Port. According to Bagby the recipes he developed while at Pizza Port are owned by Pizza Port and will stay with the brewpub.

• I had heard previously that Pizza Port San Clemente Head Brewer Noah Regnery was leaving for Hollister Brewing in Goleta  but didn’t have more details. Beernews.org tracked down a tweet from Regnery about training his replacement. Ryan Fields, former Lead Brewer at Port Brewing/Lost Abbey has taken over as Head Brewer at Pizza Port San Clemente.

This post was updated at 3:19pm on 12/7/2011

Blind Lady Ale House Meet the Brewer Tasting Flights

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guided beer tasting, meet the brewer, san diego beer week, San Diego Beer Week events, sdbw, sdbw blind lady ale house

Chuck Silva of Green Flash Leading a Flight Tasting During SDBW 2010

Yesterday I posted a roundup of what in my opinion are some of the best events happening during San Diego Beer Week. (And also posted a list of some of the best looking food and beer events as well).

But I wanted to highlight a series of events that Blind Lady Ale House did last year and will continue to do this year, Meet the Brewer Guided Flight Tastings. Throughout the week they’ll have a handful of different brewers in leading tastings through some of their beers. Last year I went to guided tastings at BLAH with Mark Jilg from Craftsman, Chuck Silva from Green Flash and Pat Mcilhenney of Alpine Beer Co. All were extremely educational, there’s no better way in my opinion to learn about a beer than to hear the brewer himself talk about it while tasting it, and affordable. Last year prices were around $25 per event. I haven’t seen prices this year, but I’d guess they will be similar. In order to keep things fun and make sure everyone can hear and ask questions BLAH limits the size of the events, which take place in the Hamm’s Room (West room at BLAH). So make sure to get there early if you’re interested in sitting through one of these guided tastings.

Blind Lady’s Meet the Brewer Guided Flight Tastings start tonight (technically SDBW Eve) and go throughout San Diego Beer Week. The full schedule (subject to change, so check with BLAH) is below.

Thursday, November 3rd 5pm with Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey and Port Brewing Co.

Friday, November 4th 12:30-2:30pm with Jeff Bagby of Pizza Port Carlsbad

Sunday, November 6th 12:30-2:30pm with Mother Earth Brewing Co.

Wednesday, November 9th 5pm with Yiga Miyashiro of Pizza Port Ocean Beach

Thursday, November 10th with Chuck Silva of Green Flash

Friday, November 11th 12:30pm with Patrick Rue of The Bruery

San Diego Brewers Bring Home Awards Aplenty at 2011 GABF

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gabf 2011, gabf san diego 2011, gabf san diego awards, gabf san diego medals, great american beer festival, san diego beer awards

Last year San Diego breweries brought home fifteen medals from the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Saturday afternoon the awards were announced in 83 beer categories with San Diego breweries bringing home twenty medals. In addition to the individual beer categories six brewery awards are given out and San Diego breweries brought home two of those titles.

Pizza Port Carlsbad was named Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year for the third year in a row. Pizza Port Ocean Beach and brewer Yiga Miyashiro took home the award for Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year for the first time. Overall the three San Diego Pizza Port locations dominated, bringing in twelve of San Diego’s twenty medals (Pizza Port San Clemente took home one bronze medal).

Pizza Port Carlsbad alone brought home six medals, tied for second place for most medals with Firestone Walker (Rock Bottom also took six medals, but all Rock Bottom locations were entered together, not separate for each location as Pizza Port was). Pizza Port Carlsbad also tied for second place with Firestone Walker for most gold medals won with three. Sun King Brewing in Indianapolis took home the most gold medals (four) as well as most medals overall with eight.

California breweries took home the most medals with 51 total while Colorado came was second with 44. The state of Oregon was third with fifteen medals. Think about that for a moment, San Diego breweries alone came home with five more medals than the entire state of Oregon and San Diego accounted for nearly 40% of California’s medals.

Congrats to Pizza Port Carlsbad, Pizza Port Ocean Beach, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Rock Bottom La Jolla, Rock Bottom San Diego, The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Company, AleSmith and Karl Strauss for their awards. Keep reading for the list of San Diego winners and a link to the full list.

San Diego Weekend Beer Events Thursday 9/22 – Sunday 9/25

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2007 Stone Imperial Russian Stout, adams avenue beer taste, Ballast Point Behind the Brewery, beer for boobs, Beer for Boobs fundraiser, Dark Seas Russian Imperial Stout, Dorado DIPA, miho gastrotruck, San Diego County Beer Fair, Schooner Fresh Hop Ale, Stone Imperial Russian Stout

I’m hoping to get back into the habit of regularly posting beer events. I won’t be posting all events, and just because an event isn’t listed doesn’t mean it isn’t worth going to. I’ll just pick one or two a day. I try to keep the Events Calendar up to date, so check it for the full list of things going on around down. If you know of a beer event that isn’t listed send me an email, events@sandiegobeerblog.com

I’m also testing out a new format, instead of posting a weeks worth of events at once, I’ll be posting the weekend events on Wednesday night or Thursday and then posting on Sunday or Monday if there’s anything noteworthy going on Monday-Wednesday of a given week.

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011:

The “Behind the Brewery” beer dinner’s at Ballast Point Linda Vista/Home Brew Mart are always fun. MIHO Gastrotruck pulls up behind the brewery and pairs their food with some of Ballast Point’s beers. It’s also the last day to get growler fills of Dorado DIPA and the first day to get your growlers filled with Schooner Fresh Hop Ale.

New Mission Brewery release - Dark Seas Russian Imperial Stout

Down at Mission Brewery they’ll be unveiling Dark Seas Russian Imperial Stout at 5pm with a cask tapped at 6pm. We hope that this is the first of many new and seasonal beers to come out of their new space. They’ll also have a food truck on site.

Friday, Sept. 23, 2011:

Up in North County Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Company is hosting a Beer for Boobs fundraiser. $10 gets you a commemorative pint glass and two pints of anything on tap.

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011:

Some people say that the San Diego beer festival market is getting saturated, and that could be the case, but don’t let it stop you from checking out one of the two festivals happening today. The San Diego County Beer Fair is happening at Liberty Station. Prices range from $35-50 for 12 4oz pours.

Over at the Adams Avenue Street Fair they’re having the Adams Avenue Beer Taste and billing it as the cheapest beer tasting event in San Diego. $20 gets you 12 4oz tasters.

Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011:

Stone Brewing Co.’s Imperial Russian Stout gets better with age, stop by the Stone Company Store in Escondido to pick up bottles that Stone has properly cellared since 2007 starting at 11am when the store opens.

San Diego Brewed: Lost Abbey Inferno Ale

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inferno ale, lost abbey inferno

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

As with many of the beers from Lost Abbey, you can’t tell exactly what you’re getting just by looking at the bottle of Inferno Ale. You get the alcohol content (9.0% ABV), a pretty picture (satan burning bodies with demons looking on) and a two paragraph story about hell which if you read to the bottom you get only the slightest hint about what kind of beer might be in the bottle (“straw yellow, bone dry and simply labelled Inferno”). I kind of like that.

For those that really like things classified, I don’t think anyone would argue with Inferno Ale being called a Belgian Strong Ale, or even a Belgian Strong Pale Ale if you want to really narrow things down.

The smell is doughy with spicy yeast. There is far less doughy-bread like flavor in the taste than the aroma would let on. Inferno Ale starts out fruity and sweet before fading to become spicy and a bit grassy, I’d guess from both the hops and the yeast. The finish is bitter and pretty dry, I don’t think I’d describe it at “bone dry”. The alcohol doesn’t really make itself apparent until the very finish creating a warming sensation that sticks around for a while. Not heavy at all, Inferno is pretty low bodied considering it’s alcohol content and it might have a slightly slick feel to it, but not so much as to detract from the drinking experience.

Adams Avenue Beer Tasting at Adams Avenue Street Fair, Saturday Sept. 24th

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adams ave beer taste, adams ave street fair, adams avenue beer taste, adams avenue street fair

The Adams Avenue Street Fair, which happens over two days in September every year along Adams Avenue in Normal Heights has long been one of the best street fairs and free music festivals around. In order to make things even better this year they’re adding a beer tasting area from Noon-6pm on Saturday, Sept 24th.

They’re not calling it a beer festival, but it’s a similar concept. $20 gets you in (far cheaper than most beer events of the kind) and 12 4oz tasters from fifteen breweries including Karl Strauss, Coronado, Manzanita, Stone, The Lost Abbey, Ballast Point and more. I’m told they’re selling a limited number of tickets, so things shouldn’t get too crowded and chances are good it will sell out before the day of the event.

The Adams Ave Street Fair always has good music, and now there will be good local beer as well. And if you still need more beer when you run out of taster tickets you can stop into Blind Lady Ale House, conveniently located in the heart of the festival for more.

Click here to buy tickets to the Adams Avenue Beer Tasting at the Adams Avenue Street Fair.

Photo: CC flickr user Roebot

San Diego Beer Events July 15th – July 20th

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2011 Bourbon Barrel-aged Santa’s Little Helper, 7th annual tj beer fest, christmas in july, Dupont Avec les bon Voeux, green flash treasure chest, tijuana beer festival 2011

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.  Not all of the beer events happening in a given week make it on the list below, I pick one or two per day to avoid information overload. Make sure to check out the Events page or the calendar below this post for all the week’s events. As always, events are subject to change, check with the venue putting on the event before hand for more details.

Lots of beer related stuff going on this weekend and into next week.

O’Briens Pub will hold the first of two “Christmas in July” parties happening this weekend on Friday. They’ll have plenty of Christmas/winter beer on tap and in bottles including one of my favorites, Dupont Avec les bon Voeux. The next day The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing celebrates the release of 2011 Bourbon Barrel-aged Santa’s Little Helper with their own party. They ask that you bring a $15 new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots as the price of admission. Make an additional $15 cash donation and you get to pick a gift from under their Christmas tree which will include rare bottles, Port Brewing & Lost Abbey gear and tickets to their Barrel Night during San Diego Beer Week. Food, entertainment and photos with Santa will all be provided.

Looking to try some beers you’ve never had before? Grab your passport and head to the 7th Annual Tijuana Beer Fest happening Friday and Saturday from Noon-2am on Revoluccion in downtown Tijuana. It’s an easy walk from the border (take the trolley or park near the border). I’m unsure about how much tickets are, but last year they were pretty cheap. Read more about last year’s festival here.

Manzanita Brewing Company out in Santee is celebrating their one year anniversary with a party. They’ll have three food trucks on hand and of course plenty of beer. The $5 admission goes to Beer for Boobs a breast cancer charity. That $5 admission also gets you a Manzanita glass and five 4oz tasters.

Tuesday is Chicks for Beer at The High Dive with Green Flash Brewing Co. and their Belgian Pale Ale Treasure Chest among others. As the name implies Chicks for Beer is ladies only.

Wednesday brings with it the monthly DrinkAbout, free shuttles provided by Brewery Tours of San Diego that stop at some of the best beer bars in Normal Heights, University Heights, South Park and North Park.