One of the more interesting beer stories I've written....now in the Spring issue of Edible Silicon Valley

Damien Fagen and Jesse Friedman of Almanac Beer
(Almanac Beer photo)

One of the best things about writing about brewing is that most beers have a story behind them. Thankfully, I got to write about a beer with one of the more interesting back stories. A San Jose non-profit called Garden to Table goes around to picking fruit from private property owners that would otherwise go to waste. Almanac Beer uses some of this local fruit for their Valley of the Heart's Delight sour ale. It's shows how a local, untapped food resource can be taking by forward thinking individuals and transformed into something special and unique.

I want to thank Zach Lewis of Garden to Table and Jesse Friedman of Almanac Beer for their time and assistance with the story, and of course, thank my editor Kerri Stenson of Edible Silicon Valley for her enthusiasm. I think it's one of the best article I've published, and you can read it now in the Spring issue of Edible Silicon Valley right here:  The Valley of the Heart's Delight is Still Bearing Fruit

Rambling Reviews 3.14.2016: Anchor Brewing's Go West!, Off Color Brewing's Le Wolf, and Almanac Farmer's Reserve Blueberry

Running a marathon, plus lots of work and family commitments have slowed down my beery explorations lately. However, I've still had time to sample some new brews to ramble about them in my little corner in the online world. So let's get to it!

We'll start with Anchor's new IPA foray, Go West!. Anchor has an interesting history with IPA's. Anchor arguably launched the whole IPA thing in America with their Liberty Ale.  Even though it was released in the 1970's, Liberty Ale still holds up today as a strong example of the style. A not so strong example of the IPA in my seldom humble opinion is Anchor's unnamed IPA, which I find rather timid  and underwhelming. There's no such problem here, Go West! hits all the classic West Coast IPA notes, full of punchy grapefruit and pine flavors, and a slightly resinous finish. Presumably, the marketing folks at Anchor hope an exclamation point does a lot more for this beer than it did for Jeb Bush.

Next up, Le Wolf Biere de Garde from Chicago's Off Color Brewing. I found this toasty, yeasty, estery concoction just a real pleasure to sip. It's a little on the sweet side, and at 7.3% abv, offers a real kick. Fruity esters dominate. I picked up some apricot and peach, but it was more one unique flavor not easily broken down into components.  A few folks on Beer Advocate noticed pear. It's one of those beers you can analyze for hours, or one you can enjoy without thinking about it at all.

Last, but hardly least is Almanac Farmer's Reserve Blueberry. Ho hum, Almanac put out another excellent barrel-aged brew. Almanac first brews their house sour ale, and then racks it to a secondary fermentation in wine barrels filled with Northern California blueberries. There it sits for a few months, picking up the blueberry flavors and a nice purply color. Sipping the result, the blueberries served as a light accent to the wine, oak and moderately strong sourness. It's balanced, all the flavors playing nicely together rather than popping out on their own. What else can I say, it's another example of the usual Almanac magic.

Rambles: Hermitage Magnum Single Hop, Running Pastor and World Record Beer Milers

You'll feel lucky after drinking Magnum Single Hop IPA from Hermitage

I've been finding more and more interesting stories, news, and beers that were worth a mention, but for whatever reason, couldn't devote an entire post to.  So instead of keeping these things buried, I decided to accumulate them release them in small batches called "Rambles".  So welcome to the first of these random dispatches of noteworthy beer and running news, bits, and whatnot.

Hermitage Brewing's Magnum Single Hop IPA
Hermitage Brewing recently released Magnum Single Hop IPA latest in their single hop IPA series.  It's an unexpected choice for a single hop IPA, since Magnum hops are best known as a "bittering" hop.  Brewers use bittering hops for background, allowing hops with like Willamette, Cascade, or Chinook to take the forefront in the beers flavor profile.  Brewing an IPA entirely with Magnum hops is like conducting an orchestra entirely composed of tubas.

But hey, the beer works.  It doesn't have the more brighter, citrus flavors of typical West Coast IPA.  Instead, there's a softer, warmer, and lightly piney vibe making this a great change of pace IPA.  Further proof that despite the glut of IPA's, brewers continue to innovate on the style.

A Couple Other Good Beers
I really enjoyed Almanac Farmer's Reserve #3,  This light ale is aged for a year in white wine barrels, fermented with a Belgian yeast blend,  and made with strawberries and nectarine.  The tangy flavors from the yeast, strawberries and nectarines play off one another really well.  Summer in a glass.

To my slight surprise, I've found the crisp, lightly lemony Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat Ale to be my go-to lawn mower beer lately.   Yes, it is an ABInBev product.  Please spare me the Craft vs. Crafty nonsense.

Pastor Running for Clean Water in Africa
Running across the country this summer at a rate of about one marathon per day, is Steve Spear, a 49-year old pastor raising money for Team World Vision to provide clean water for impoverished regions of Africa.  According to a press release, Steve will run 3,200 miles, burn through 6,100 calories a day, and go through 10 pairs of running shoes while speaking with various churches and religious organizations across the country about the need for clean water in Africa.  Funny thing is that not too long ago, Steve absolutely hated running.  You'll find more about his remarkable story and journey here.

Want to Set a Beer Mile PR?
For those who want to test their ultimate limits in a Beer Mile, this interview with Tasmanian Josh Harris, who recently broke the Beer Mile World Record, is required reading.

Beer of the Month: Summer 2010 by Almanac

This review is really a sham, because I just don't have the guts to trash this beer. That's because Jesse Friedman, one of the co-founders of Almanac is such a revered figure in the Bay Area Beer Blogging world. He created the highly influential Beer & Nosh, full of gorgeous photography, clever yet economical prose, and plenty of hip culinary insight before becoming an honest to goodness professional brewer by founding Alamanac Beer with Damian Fagen. I would face likely beer blogger banishment and excommunication if I even dared whisper a bad thing about Alamanac's inaugural release, called simply Summer 2010, for the time of its inception.

It's a citra hopped, golden ale, aged for months in oak red wine barrel with four, count 'em, four varieties of Sonoma County blackberries thrown in for good measure. To me, this all sounds dangerously like too much is going on, and I expected this either to be something really good, or turn into some horribly over done monstrosity.

And so it was an awkward moment when I first tasted Summer 2010, and was rather underwhelmed by it, as all I could really taste was a lot of toasty malt and little else. But there lies the beauty of this beer, as my first sips were of it chilled, right out of the refrigerator. As it warmed, all sorts of new flavors started to emerge. First some punchy red wine flavors, then a little bit of oak, and then some very delicate notes of blackberry could be teased out of each sip as it gradually warmed. While the conventional wisdom is that beer should be brought to temperature before serving, I found it more fun drinking it this way.

So while saying bad things about this beer could be dangerous to this blog's survival, you'll just have to believe me when I tell you all the layers of subtle flavors really work together to produce something unique and intriguing. Trust me on this one.

The label suggests that this beer pairs well triple-cream cheeses, roast pork, and grilled stone fruit. I guess so. Frankly, I find beer pairing to be a black art, so I'd take their word for it. Like all beer, it also goes well with pizza.

Have they inspired me to take my homebrewing professional? Uh, no. Given my rather modest and sometimes undrinkable homebrews, I'll stick to blogging and running, and let the guys who actually know how to brew go pro. And I honestly can't wait to see what they do next. Their first act is a tough one to follow. Whether or not they can meet or exceed the high standards they've set for themselves, it seems every one's curiosity is peaked just to watch them try.