And they call it winding down
The six to ten crowd, smoky bars
Notes on napkins and business cards
Describe the days events and go on home
And it’s likely they won’t drown
The price goes up and one more round
They close up all the bars downtown
As the singer plays one last rip roaring song
- Clint Black, “Winding Down”
Words won’t do the weekend justice, and I didn’t take any pictures, so I don’t suppose this will be the most in-depth reporting on the weekend that was.
I was fortunate to judge this year’s barleywine festival at Toronado again, so I had to be there pretty ‘early’ in the day. Wanting to start the day off right, I got in extra early and had a great breakfast around the corner at Squat and Gobble. As is normal, as it got closer to 9:30 there were more and more judges hoping to also get a quick bite before settling in for a party. I sat with a couple guys who’d driven in from Reno, enjoyed my Juevos Rancheros and made my way to the Golden Peacock, where the judging would take place.
I was part of the first round of judging, which is just fine with me, so we gathered around tables, sitting in groups of three, and went through our flight of beers – which meant 8 barleywines to judge for must of us there. Every beer is judged twice in the first round, a double blind technique that gives the beer more of a chance of succeeding should one table not agree to it’s worth or quality. Of the 8 beers per panel, we are requested to send only 3 of them on to the next round (our panel only sent on 2). The scores are tallied by the organizer, Russ Wigglesworth (who has been doing a bang-up job running this for years!) and in the second round the beers passed on are again judged twice. Eventually the master judges of the final round will be delivered a managable number of beers, the crowds will gather and winners will be announced… by number only, of course. It’s a great system, and this is one of the many competitions in the country every year that really ‘means’ something. The caliber of judges is good, the caliber of beers exceptional – to be a winner, you’ve got to be damn good!
Of course the winners were:
- Old Gnarleywine 2006, Lagunitas Brewing
- Old Guardian 2006, Stone Brewing
- Abacus Blend, Firestone Walker Brewing
The results surprised some, but perhaps nobody as much as Dan Hanson of Lagunitas, who told me the following day he had no idea until early that morning! Apparently he doesn’t usually send beers in for competition, but with a little friendly prodding by Dave at Toronado, he sent in a keg for good measure. Congratulations, by the way, to all the folks at Lagunitas.
The afterparty would start shortly after the judging was over, with food delivered and served to the judges, along with beers served up front – not all barleywine either. Before long it was time for many to move on to “phase two” of their day, with a trip to Anchor to celebrate the state’s best homebrew clubs. The Anchor Party is a great and generous event for the homebrew community, with dinner served at the brewery, enjoyed alongside Anchor’s proud beer lineup.
Of course, not everyone homebrews, so several folks (myself included) headed across the street to join the madness that is Toronado. Incredible! Several people likened the experience to a “human carwash”, getting bumped and violated (incidental contact, I’m sure) along the way. Through the mess of humanity, the sticky sweet air and all the noise, it was actually quite relaxing to be there, sipping on big beers and knowing that when all is said and done, a friendly cab will take me to the hotel.
Toronado never really quieted down that day. As the first wave of flesh stumbled to their rides home, a new and fresh wave found their way – and their seats – just in time to keep the staff here hustling to keep up.
Reflecting on the day that was, I can’t wait for next year. This isn’t a sustainable form of drinking or partying, but every once in a while, it’s just fun to be part of something like this! The whole time you’re there, things move a bit faster – even after a few – as you’re seeing people you know, folks you’d like to know, and always chatting it up with the guy/girl next to you just to see what they’re enjoying.
Special Thanks
There’s a few folks I just gotta say hello to, people I spent time with over the weekend that helped make it what it was. Yes, this looks like ass-kissing, perhaps moving into name-dropping, but it’s my blog and I can kiss as much ass as I want to. Right? There’s a lot more, but these guys all have blogs about beer!
- Chris, The Beer Retard! Dude… always a good time. Thanks for the beer!
- Chris and Merideth, The Beer Geeks (dot com!). You two are good people and I look forward to seeing you in a couple weeks.
- Jay Brooks. I still feel honored you know who I am… and you still say hello to me! Seriously, if there’s a good guy award in the industry, he’d be a finalist. It’s stunning to see how many people, from all over the country, genuinely like this guy.
- Steve Beaumont… You introduced me to some habit forming behaviors, and I think a follow-up trip to Bourbon and Branch is in order. You also proved that judging can take as long as it needs to. 
Of course there’s others, the weekend was full of friendly faces and good times. If you weren’t able to make any Beerapalooza events, I’d recommend you plan for 2009. As Big Mike says, “it doesn’t suck.”
I was able to participate in this year’s judging for the Bistro’s 8th annual Double IPA Festival, thanks to a well connected friend. I’ve judged a lot of competitions, but nothing quite like this. To begin, the judging was done downstairs by only eight qualified judges. The Bistro is not in what anyone would consider a new building, so the downstairs area was more reminiscent of a cellar more than a finished basement. In fact, the old stairs were worn down and rounded, as you can see in the picture below.
The judging quarters had something to it that is hard to come by these days, comfortable in that there were few comforts. There were the judges, surrounded by beer gear from days past, papers, pens and plenty of samples of beer.
The job we had was pretty simple, identify the top three beers in order. But choosing which would ultimately be crowned champion (this was Double Dog, by Flying Dog, by the way) involved some lively conversation and a look at individual interpretations of the style – how much and what kind of malt profile should a beer have, and just how out of balance can it be while still keeping its overall drinkability? The conversations that happen around tables like these are my favorite aspect of judging, and not typically those found where the celebration is. It shouldn’t be, either, if you want my take on it – after all, remembering what Don Younger says is a good starting point: “It’s not about the beer, it’s about the beer”.
Speaking of life upstairs, we must remember that the Bistro’s events simply kick ass. The crowd here isn’t a raucous one, the revelers instead seeming content to engage in conversations with friends and strangers, all while sampling and enjoying the goodness in the glass. This was a great time spent with my wife and friends, it was also a good opportunity to see people I genuinely enjoy being around – brewers, writers and the super-enthusiasts who seem to be at every beer event.
If you’re in Northern California, remember this event was the kick-off party to Beerapalooza, and event that will be capped Feb 16 and 17 with the Toronado Barley Wine Festival and Celebrator’s 20th Anniversary Party. In days that separate these monumental occasions, check out Big Beer Month at 21st Amendment or Magnolia Brewing – in San Francisco. Speaking with Shawn from 21A it sounds as if there’s more than a couple treats for those in the area. In fact, I just heard from Craig, an industry guy in the city, who said that their Watermelon Wheat Wine was worth finding if you can. Of course, his Hop Crisis was a pretty big hit at the Bistro yesterday, in case you’re in need of something a bit more hopped.
Speaking of hits at the event. I did want to list a few ’surprises’ for me, beers I found to be exceptional.
- 21 Amendment Hop Crisis: Already mentioned, but what a great beer.
- Schooner’s: I don’t remember the name of this beer, but it was absolutely exceptional. I’ve enjoyed Schooner’s in the past, but this still managed to impress me.
- Valley Brewing Uberhoppy: Very enjoyable, like many it was a beer you wish you’d had a pint of.
Yeah, there was more to write about and a lot more I remember, but perhaps another day. I just returned from an Indian baby shower, with more food than necessary. I’d like to post on the fabulous time at this event too – the bright colors, wonderful people and new-to-me cultural events that take place at a baby shower. Another day perhaps.
Just a quick and minor update regarding this weekend’s festivities in Sacramento. I just received the updated and final list of IPAs on tap at Rubicon Brewing this weekend, from Rubicon’s owner, Glynn Phillips. If you’re not familiar with the brewery, it is located at 2004 Capital in Sacramento’s downtown area (20th and Capital). For lovers of Craft Beer, you’ll want to do what you can to get here.
If you don’t have a lot of time to go through all the beers, may I suggest you start with the Wet Hopped Rubicon IPA on Cask? After that, the SacBrew Imperial Red and Elk Grove’s Imperial Red. You can’t go wrong with those choices.
Here’s the complete list:
#1 RUBICON- IPA
#2 RUBICON- CAPRICORN BLACK IBA
#3 MENDOCINO- RED TAIL ALE
#4 TRIPLE ROCK- RED ROCK 5.5% Hoppy American Amber Ale
#5 SAC BREW- IMPERIAL RED
#6 ELK GROVE BREWERY- WOODY’S HOP HEAD RED 6.8% Big, Hoppy Red Ale
#7 HOPPY SUPER HOPPY
#8 MARIN BREWING CO.- WHITE KNUCKLE – Double IPA
#9 MOYLANS- HOPSICKLE 9.2% Imperial Ale9VG
#10 BLACK DIAMOND- IPA 7% Traditional IPA
#11 ANCHOR- LIBERTY ALE 6%
#12 LAGUNITAS-IPA Homicidally Hoppy Ale
#13 SUDWERK-IPA
#14 AUBURN ALE HOUSE- GOLD DIGGER IPA
#15 BEAR REPUBLIC- RACER 5
#16 GREEN FLASH -WEST COAST IPA
#17 ANDERSON VALLEY – HOP OTTIN
#18 SPEAKEASY- BIG DADDY IPA
#19 RIVER CITY- HOPTIMUS PRIME
#20 DESHUTES- HOP TRIP 5.5% Fresh Hop Pale Ale
#21 EJ PHAIR IPA
#22 Wet Hopped Rubicon IPA on Cask
If you live in Northern California and you love good craft beer, then this weekend will be a tough one for you. Here’s what’s on tap:
- Toronado Wet Hopped Beer Festival
- Rubicon’s 20th Anniversary / Hoptoberfest
Need more information? Well, let’s take a look at the details for each event. First up, the Toronado lineup.
- Deschutes Hop Trip
- Drakes Brewing Co. Harvest Ale
- Bear Republic Confiscation
- Beach Chalet Hop Patootie
- 21 st Amendment Harvest Moon
- Half Moon Bay Green Gold
- Blue Frog Last Hop Standing
- Moonlight Brewing Co Sublimmminal
- Moonlight Brewing Co Greenbud Chinnook
- Moonlight Brewing Co Greenbud Cascade
- Sierra Nevada 20th Street Ale
- Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
- Marin Wet Hop Cask IPA
- Moylans Wet Hopsicle
OK, just a few notes on this mother of all wet hopped beer lineups. Oh, and according to the Toronado site, there were 5 other beers that didn’t make the trip from San Diego.
Moonlight’s beers have been getting way too much attention this year to not be worth the sampling. I mean, really, have you read a bad report on these, or even one that wasn’t glowing? Brian out there went overboard this year with a bit of help from Russian River’s expansion. You see, Vinnie just wasn’t able to use his harvest, so he passed them on to Brian – and that seems to have been a great use of them.
Next up, did that say Wet Hopsickle? I don’t know if I can even pretend to comprehend that one… I mean, just how many hops could they actually fit into this bad boy? Man, this sounds like a good time.
Then, of course, we have the celebrated Rubicon’s 20th Anniversary Party, featuring no small lineup themselves.
- Rubicon IPA
- Rubicon IBA (India Black Ale)
- Mendocino Redtail Ale
- Triple Rock Red Rock
- Sac Brew Imperial Red
- Elk Grove Woody’s Hop Head Red
- Hoppy Super Hoppy
- Marin White Knuckle
- Moylans Hopsickle
- Black Diamond IPA
- Anchor Liberty
- Lagunitas IPA
- Sudwerk IPA
- Auburn Gold Digger IPA
- Bear Republic Racer 5
- Green Flash West Coast IPA
- Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’ IPA
- Speakeasy Big Daddy
- River City Hoptumus Prime
- Deschutes Hop Trip
You would almost think, just by looking at this lineup, that the guys at Rubicon enjoy a well made IPA. I recently tried the still-young Imperial Red by Sacramento Brewing, and holy crap this is a monster… a hoppy, wonderful, fun loving monster. Another beer you may not know, the Gold Digger IPA from Auburn, is worth the trip to 2004 Capital in downtown Sacramento this weekend.
So, once again, what are you doing this weekend?
Now, check out the dope video from the 2006 Anniversary/Hoptoberfest.
Hoptoberfest 2006
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Filed under: Beer Fest
The 2007 California Brewers Festival, celebrating its 13th year, took place at Sacramento’s picturesque Discovery Park, in a bit of a savanna-like setting of rolling green grass and mature oaks. My wife, Tracy, and I arrived at Discovery Park an hour before the gates opened, allowing us to talk with a few brewers, reps and volunteers, as well as take a few non-crazy pictures.
This years event feature more than 50 brewers, well sort of, and more than 150 beers poured from tap and bottle. I say ’sort of’
because there were quite a few breweries that essentially donated a few cases of beer to be poured, brewers like: Modelo, Pacifico, Newcastle and more. As an aside, how wrong is it to pour Pacifico from bottles at a seemingly ‘premier’ beer fest? Sorry CBF organizers, that is just irresponsible when charging 25 bucks a head, plus one dollar a sample. Luckily, these less than premier beers were tucked away in the shadows.
In all the event was spectacular; the weather was near perfect, warm without a cloud in the sky and with a crowd that was well behaved, while still clearly having a good time. Then of course, there was the beer. With the west coast’s biggest and most celebrated brewers making their way there and the smaller, harder to find brewers in between, revelers were sure to find something to satisfy their palate.
For major brands: Sam Adams was there with the Boston Lager and Oktoberfest (which, by the way, is my favorite US Oktoberfest year to year); Sierra Nevada had their Torpedo, Pale, IPA and Kolsch; Deschutes had the 19th Anniversary and Mirror Pond; Stone was there with Arrogant Bastard and Pale Ale; Lagunitas provided IPA and something else; New Belgium showed up with the Fat Tire and Skinny Dip. Heck, Avery was even in attendance, pouring several offerings from bottles, the IPA, Brown and Wit. These guys are always good to see at events like this, even if I didn’t necessarily find my way to their beer, because their brands really do bring in the casual beer fan, in some way lending credibility to the event.
Of course, my heart was with the smaller guys and their wonderfully crafted beer. I can tell you right now, the hit of the 
event for me had to be the Sacramento Brewing Company’s Peterson’s Pride, an uber-hopped English IPA that was like, as Craft Beer Radio says, “Man Candy”. With a massive aroma of flowers and spice, and a strength of flavor uncommon for the style, this beer just had it all. I suspect if Peter (left) were to present this to the average beer geek, we’d guess it was an American hopped beer – only because of the intensity of aroma and flavor. No, there were no grapefruit notes common in American hops, its just that powerful. SBC also did a good job on their Imperial Red; clearly, Peter Hoey is doing great things in Sacramento, which is great to see.
Runner-up for the best of show goes to Great Basin, who brought three fantastic beers: the Icky IPA, a Jalepeno Pale and the out-of-this-world-good Rauchbier. The Jalepeno beer was created with 30 pounds of fresh jalepeno, 20 pounds added to the boil and 10 pounds used to create a tea used in the fermentation. This resulted in a beer with a wonderful fresh jalepeno aroma and taste, but with no heat. Brilliant. Then there was the rauchbier, created using malts smoked by a local homebrewer with apple, mahagony and alder wood. This beer wasn’t overpowering, like many smoked beers in the US, but wonderfully toasted sweet up front with a smoked malt finish that was better than you’d imagine it could be. Absolutely incredible.
There were other wonderful stops along the way.
Nick at Blue Frog (right) is always a great sight, because I absolutely adore his European inspired beers. He mentioned to me that his Maibock and Pilsner are brewed using a decoction mash, which blew me away. Folks, that is just a hell of a lot of work he’s doing out of a sheer commitment to quality and tradition. The guy’s a genius.
Kevin Cox (right) of of Sequoia brewing was on hand to field questions and soak in the event as well. Kevin has been, over the years, one of the most successful brewers
at this event, and it is no secret why. His beers are always clean, without fault, and often with intense flavors and remarkable consistency. He was mentioning new bottled products to keep an eye out for and his hopes to continue expanding his operation. In fact, we have an extensive interview with Kevin that is currently being edited for the next episode of PBN Radio.
A new-to-me brewery was discovered as well, Brew Brothers of Reno’s El Dorado casino. Now, if you’re like me that last part scared you, but don’t be fooled. This casino-based brewery has been around for more than a decade and the two beers they had to offer were of high quality. Greg (left), the head brewer, was there and his enthusiasm was contagious – I was embarrassed to admit I’d never been to his place, let alone heard of their existence. You see, I can be a bit slow sometimes.
There is plenty I am missing, but with time running shorter each day I figure its time to wrap up. In closing, let me just say this event was a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I had a great time with my friends, Mark, Joerge, Lothar, Jose, Todd, Mike, Jim and others, and was appreciative of the time spent with my lovely wife, Tracy. Clearly, life is good. Thanks everyone for helping make the day what it was, I look forward to the next beer fest in the not-to-distant future.
Great beer and wonderful people, how can you ask for more?
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Filed under: Beer Fest
This Saturday (Sept 15th) from 1PM to 5PM, join the PBN guys as we celebrate the 13th Annual California Brewers Festival, in Sacramento’s Discovery Park. This is a premier beer event for the region, with more than 65 brewers slated to pour more than 150 beers.
Tickets are still available, 25 bucks in advance or 30 at the gate, and the weather report looks AWESOME – we’re talking 85 degrees and not a cloud forecasted! Folks, it doesn’t get any better than that.
If you’re planning on attending, let us know. Mark, Mike and I will be there with mic in hand, recording the sounds of this wonderful event that benefits local children’s charities (how cool is that?).
Fore more info, check out the Cal Brewer Fest website.
Some of the brewers pouring:
- Alaskan Brewing
- Anchor Brewing
- Anderson Valley Brewing Company
- Beermans
- Bison Brewing Company
- Blue Frog
- Butte Creek
- Deschutes Brewery
- El Toro Brewing
- Elk Grove Brewing
- Etna Brewing
- Firestone Walker
- Fox Barrel Cider Company
- Full Sail
- Great Sex Brewing
- Hoppy Brewery
- Kelley Brothers
- Klaster Brewery
- Lagunitas Brewing
- Lockdown Brewing Company
- Lost Coast Brewery
- Mad River Brewing
- Mendocino
- Mountain Meadows Mead
- Moylans
- New Belgium Brewing
- Rogue
- Sacramento Brewing
- Sequoia Brewing Company
- Sierra Nevada Brewing
- Valley Brewing Company
Grass Valley, CA 25 August 2007
Written by Mike Sober
“That’s a very good question” was Celebrator Beer News magazine Editor/Publisher Tom Dalldorf’s response to my inquiry as to why his group of brewers/beer people, The Rolling Boil Blues Band, was not the featured entertainment at this year’s Sierra Brewfest. Instead music for the 18th version of this gem of a beer happening was provided by Cold Shot, as part of the Music in the Mountains benefit event.
The Sierra Brewfest is held on the Nevada County Fair grounds amongst the giant pines in picturesque Grass Valley, California. This season 36 breweries accepted the invitation to set up shop in, what over the years I have come to refer to as, Beer Meadow. There were a number of the solid industry standouts in attendance including, host brewer, Sierra Nevada, Alaskan, New Belgium, Sam Adams, Anchor, Full Sail, Lagunitas, Pyramid and Widmer Brothers.
The Nor-Cal region was represented by Hoppy, Sacramento, Anderson Valley, Sudwerks, Blue Frog, Butte Creek, Firestone Walker, Lost Coast, Mad River, Black Diamond and very noteworthy newcomers Fifty Fifty out of Truckee and Auburn Alehouse which just opened it’s doors in June in the old Shanghai building in Old Town Auburn to rave reviews. The San Diego region sent Ballast Point, Back Street and Stone Brewing.
The three and a half hour length of the event seemed a tad on the short side, but with a number of breweries bringing limited amounts of beer, or simply pouring from a few cases of bottles, beer supplies were running short well before the 6:30pm deadline.
There were a few brews that stood out. Lagunitas brought their ‘Imperial Red’ and the new Frank Zappa tribute ale, Kill Ugly Radio. Sierra Nevada broke out a case or two of Bigfoot barley wine half way through, just about the time they were running out of their Anniversary Ale. Back Street Brewing was also a hit, with their single IPA being nearly as hoppy as their double. Auburn Ale House was the last brewer standing, pouring their Pilsner and IPA to a happy crowd of repeat customers. According to the nice pink brewers information handout there were 15 wheat beers, 8 Pilsners, 12 Reds and Ambers, 15 IPA’s and 17 Golden or Pale Ales.
All in all, it was a nice, festive occasion. It clearly wasn’t the most remarkable or diverse beer festival I’ve ever visited, but well attended, seamlessly organized and a nice event to test out a lot of the typical craft brews that are available all across the California landscape.
This just in from Full Sail, a great brewery and supporter of so many in this industry. This is announcing one of several hop-harvest time festivities in my home state of Oregon, the Hood River Hops Fest, on October 6th.
Looking for an extra excuse to visit our Brewery and Hood River? Well mark your calendars hop heads, here comes the Hood River Hops Fest, Saturday, Oct 6th, 2007. The event is held in downtown Hood River, right across the street from our brewery on Columbia and 5th Streets. Noon to 9pm
This FREE event will be full of fun for the whole family. Beyond the great live music ranging from hot, soulful blues to Bavarian Umpah, the Hops Fest will have: sidewalk chalk art, face painting, food vendors, arts & crafts, and more. And needless to say – lots of freshly brewed BEER including our Lupulin Fresh Hop Ale and IPA!
While you are here, be sure to swing by for a pint, grab a bite, tour the brewery, or just soak up the view. Our Tasting Room and Pub is open daily @11:30AM. Brewery tours are available daily, free of charge at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00PM.
This is such a beautiful location and this time of year is a great time to visit. If you’re in the Northwest and can make the event, you should do what you can to do so. I’m a bit sad to say I won’t be there, but I hope you can tell me how it was.
The crew from BJ’s celebrating their good showing at this years competition. David Mathis (Puffy) is in the black shirt and is the head regional brewer – Andy is in the white shirt and made most the beers that took honors. Andy is now at Beermann’s with Tim, the guy in the maroon shirt.
Chuck of Green Flash – Winner of the top honors this year with his Belgian Trippel.
Brendon Moylan took home a few awards too.
Jason of Lodi Brewing did a wonderful job this year, as evidenced by his ribbons proudly displayed.
Filed under: Beer Fest
Brian of Moonlight Brewing – His “20 to Life” Sour Ale was a huge hit with many in attendance – myself included.
YUM! These ribs are resting for a few minutes before they’re served.
Dan of Rafters (brewer) – Great IPA he was pouring.
Brewers of Trumer out of Berkely. Darren Moser, Lead Brewer, and Dave, assistant brewer, thanks for the glass. Oh, Dave, it is always good to see you, we’ve missed you since you left Beermann’s.
More Pictures online here – or listen to the Podcast from the Festival.
