American Craft Beer Gets Older and Younger In California

 

Having survived the first leg of my trip – a stop over in Sacramento, fighting traffic in LA and a 3 day Super Bowl party splurge in Orange County, then roaming the pastoral settings of Central California, it was time to head back to Oregon. But I had some serious stops left on my itinerary. Before hitting up the crown jewel of the trip – sampling Pliny the Younger on my birthday, there was still so much to do.

While on my way down, I was lucky enough to get a preview of the Bay Area scene before returning after the weekend. While the artisanal offerings around the area have always been strong, the buildup of breweries and brewpubs in the actual bay cities has been a slow burning one, now becoming a diverse landscape of many malted delights. Due to the timing of my visit I was bummed to have missed out on visiting The Rare Barrel in Berkeley and Cellarmaker in San Francisco, yet as you’ll see below, I came away with more than I’d ever expected from my visits up north.

Fieldwork Brewing, Berkeley

Open just over a year, this excellent brewer located in West Berkeley has created a diversely populated taplist. With 14 of their own beers on tap, everything served in short stemmed tulip glasses (including 6 glass taster trays) and everything available to-go in growlers or crowlers, there are many options available. Helmed by Alex Tweet, previously of San Diego stalwarts Ballast Point and Modern Times, you must try their Coconut Milk Double IPA, Black Thai Tea Espresso Porter and Amarilloweisse, a dry-hopped Berliner Weisse. While those offerings may not always be on tap, their constant rotation keeps seasonal variety at the fore, well matched with their great food menu of cheese boards and pasties.

The Monks Kettle, San Francisco

On day two of my trip, following a morning spent sipping coffee and roaming the absurd corporate grounds of “Super Bowl City” in the Embarcadero, I jumped on the BART and headed down to the Mission District to a place I was told by no less than 3 people that I had to visit. Featuring 30 ever rotating taps, consisting of wilds/sours, imperials and IPAs from Reno to Pasadena, I was even more astounded by their bottle list – actually a large folder filled with 150 high end options plus 15 vintage selections from their cellar. Then there was the food… decadent, from scratch, locally sourced and sustainable gourmet fare with people who know how to pair your beer and meal selections. I was stoked to try the 1904 from Brasserie St. James of Reno – a 100% Brett Saison with a crisp, yet tart flavor and the Triple White Sage from Craftsman Brewing in Pasadena – a uniquely balanced Belgian Tripel featuring a sturdy dose of sage, matched with one of the finest burgers I’ve had.

21^st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco

Jumping back on the train and headed back to the SOMA District (South of Market), I had to visit one of the first craft brewers I’d ever had from San Francisco. Known first to me via their craft cans, specifically Monk’s Blood and Back In Black, I was lucky to have hit them up during “Strong Beer Month,” a collaborative affair with Magnolia Brewing in February featuring 12 strong beers of 8.5% or more, all named with Led Zepplin’s second album in mind. Sampling the Manu’s Morning (Bourbon-oaked Imperial Coffee Stout), Morning After Pilz (Imperial Pilsner) and Red Titan (Imperial Red) , I was delighted in the variety of flavor they had on hand. This ended the first leg of my trip, with the remaining visits on my return North, starting the Tuesday after Super Bowl Weekend.

Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa

At this point in my voyage I was so excited and focused on getting to Russian River that I nearly forgotten it was my birthday until 2.5 hours of waiting to sit down on their patio to get my first taste of The Younger. What has always set it’s predecessor Pliny the Elder apart from the rest is it’s seemingly effortless balance as a Double IPA – tasting more like an IPA than a Double, making it dangerously smooth. Much the same can be said for Younger – supremely balanced and quaffable at 11.25%, though still tasting only like a double dose until you get your second 8oz pour. I was also excited to try tasters of Consecration (sour aged in cabernet barrels, 10%) and their Valentine’s Day special release, Rejection (Belgian Black Ale, 6.3%). Having met new friends in line who I lunched and sampled with, then resting and hydrating enough to carry on my voyage for the day, I carried on north.

Bear Republic Brewing, Healdsburg

While I’d to this point only been able to try their flagship Racer 5 IPA, I was excited to finally try some of their one off, pub-only options. Keep in mind it was still early in the day when I arrived here, around 3pm. But I slowly hung around the bar long enough to sample their excellent Happy Hour menu and of course the beers. I started off with their sour offering, Tartare Rouge – a wild red aged in Cabernet Foeders, giving it a tart Flanders Red quality. Next I moved onto their Hop Rod Rye IPA, the Hop Shovel (a tasty Mosaic IPA) and the aforementioned Racer 5. While I would’ve loved to try some of their bigger offerings, I had already sampled plenty, spending nearly 4 hours at the bar. I was lucky enough to meet another new friend at the bar who was willing to take me in for the night nearby. It was indeed an extraordinarily memorable 39th birthday.

Caldera Brewing – Ashford, Oregon

Beginning my last day of the trip at the ridiculously early hour of 5am, I weaved my way through the hills of Calastoga, facing incoming high-beamed traffic, in the dark, on my way back to the mainline drive of Interstate 5. Nearing lunchtime I had to stop at what I’d say was the most surprising visit of the trip. Caldera, founded in 1997, was the first on the West Coast to brew and can it’s own beers (2005), who 6 years ago undertook an expansion from a 10 to 30 bbl brewhouse. And in a way, this was how I was surprised – Portland gets 5 or 6 of their regularly canned offerings, but I’d never had any of their seasonals. Upon entering, one is overwhelmed by the owner’s collection of over 5,000 beer bottles and cans, officially the state’s largest. Upon examining the damage I’d done to my bank account, I opted for only a tulip of their Passionfruit Berliner Weisse. Despite my resistance to eat lunch or have another beer, I was even offered a tour of the 3,000 square foot location and still had to decline. I needed to return home where my friends were meeting up for our weekly bottle share. After all, I had stories to tell and new bottles to contribute.