The Bruery's 3rd Anniversary Celebration Recap

Fantastic. That basically sums up The Bruery's 3rd Anniversary Celebration on Sunday, May 29th 2011. The Bruery had the even in two sessions, session A from 10:30am to 2pm and session B from 3:30pm to 7pm. Standard tickets were $35 and VIP was $50 so it just made sense for me to purchase VIP tickets. The line for the VIP booth was quite long but it moved pretty fast. It was a wonderful sunny day which was awesome except I forgot my sunglasses and sunscreen so I got a little burnt. Oh, and I was sick. Leave it to me to get a cold right before I have a beer event to attend. Besides me blowing my nose all day, I still managed to have a great time. Plus, 100% of proceeds to benefit Lestonnac Free Clinic.

 

I ran into Patrick Rue, the co-founder and CEO of The Bruery, while he was sweeping up some trash. I promptly gave him some crap for cleaning.He was in a jovial and excited mood and I said how much I love their beer and that I can't wait to see where they go in the coming years. I mentioned that I had made some cookies with Old Richaland and he immediately said, "Oh! You made those cookies? Those were great" which tipped me over the giddy stalker-fan scale and seriously made my day. He is above all things: a really nice guy. I can say that about almost every person I have met who works for The Bruery. 

 

The beer was also outstanding. They had a beer truck with a bunch of Bruery beers like Salt of the Earth and Iniquitous and Strand's 24th Street Pale Ale (6.1% ABV 77 RB) which was nice and hoppy. It was my first taste and a good start. Sean had the Iniquitous (10%ABV) which was a more simple Belgian Strong Ale comparatively to other Bruery beers but again, a very nice start to the day. 

 

Inside a large white tent was a bunch of guest breweries. On the list was: Ballast Point, Black Market Brewing, Cismontane, Coronado, Craftsman, Firestone, Hanger 24, Inland Empire, Kern River, Ladyface, Left Coast, Noble Ale Works, Packing House, SoCal Beer, Stone, Strand, Taps, and Tustin Brewing Company. One of the notable beers I tasted was the Dark Sybian IPA (6.5%ABV 77 RB) from Noble Ale Works. It was a nice hoppy IPA that was incredibly dark with some coffee notes. The IPA from Cismontane was so good, it made me feel like I got over my cold - temporarily. Sean had their Blacks Dawn (8%ABV) which had nice smokey flavors which reminds you of coffee, chocolate and had texture like a good Irish cream ale. Of course, I had to get the 2007 Stone Imperial Russian Stout (10.5%ABV 100 RB) which was nothing short of wonderful. In my notes I simply wrote: Great as per usual. Packing House's Black Magic IPA (7.4%ABV) was surprisingly hoppy which made Sean's eyes grow wide. We are suckers for a good hoppy beer. It was very dark with little to no head at all. Mental Note: go and visit Packing House in Riverside...and drag local friends along. 

 

Overall, I was happy with the event. I mentioned that I was happy to see the same tab bracelet system that Stone had at Oakquinox and I was then informed that they had a new event coordinator who used to work for Stone now working for The Bruery. Good for you guys! I love it when events are so well organized. My only gripe was when we got to the front of the VIP line they were out of Chocolate Rain...less than an hour after the event started. That was a bummer. On the plus side, I finally got to try Black Tuesday (19.5%ABV 100 RB) which was super sweet but complex and certainly didn't taste very high in ABV but apparently it was! That explains all the fun and ridiculous photos at the end of the day...         

  

See the full gallery on Posterous

OC Beerfest 2011 at Irvine Lake Recap

2011's OC Beerfest was held at Irvine Lake on a very overcast Saturday afternoon, unlike last years heat and sun, which was a nice change of pace. The atmosphere was jovial and excited as I walked into the festival with my friends. The booths are shaped into a long curve with two lines in the middle of more booths and the first booth in the curve was Evan's Premium Lager tent.

 

I was surprised and curious about Evans since they were not there last year and they had a photo wall with a very-scantily clad model posing with people. They also had some very amusing jumbo-sized Evan's bottle mascots dancing (yes people were paid to wear giant beer suits) around the event. We went there for our first taster of the event. Here was what I wrote on my notepad: German style lager, tastes just like bud light. The representative at the tent said they are a new brewery based in Yorba Linda and they are only 5 months old. Visiting their website tells me that they will have other offerings, which I am excited to try. My verdict on Evan's Lager is: eh. I would pass on this just because I prefer more bang for my buck. I must also note that I am not a fan of the beer models concept either. I makes me feel like they are treating me like I am stupid consumer and your hot models will make me want your beer (similar to the big beer companies ... cough cough).

 

On to more notable tastings: Magic Hat. If you are a friend of mine, you will know how interested I became in Magic Hat Brewing Company after the first time I tried their #9 (4.6ABV% 51/100 ratebeer.com) fruit-style beer at last year at the 2010 OC Beerfest. They don't distribute in orange county, and you can only get them at the Yard House in Irvine Spectrum. How sad, because this lovely light-apricot is fantastic. Of course I visited Stone Brewing Company's booth because I am a crazy fan. Seriously, like Beatles-fans from the 1960's crazy. Ok, maybe not that insane, but infatuated none-the-less. I was stunned to see that they were serving Highway 78! It's a dark scotch ale that's 8.8%ABV (94 ratebeer.com) collaboration between Stone, Green Flash and Pizza Port. It's amazing and complex. In my mind was a bit dominating compared to all the other beers I tried.

 

I was excited to see Taco Asylum and Haven Gastropub had booths there as well although I didn't really care for the Eel River Acai Berry Wheat (4.4%ABV 22/100 ratebeer.com) that I had because it tasted like berry jam. I did like the Eel River IPA that they also had..I noted that it was pretty decent. The Left Coast Trestles IPA (6%ABV 82/100 ratebeer.com) was light and clean and pleasantly hoppy, one that I will have to investigate more. There was a rice-style beer from a Korean brewery called Kooksoondang was interesting. It was milky-looking and sweet (my friends said it tastes like jicama) and slightly carbonated. I wasn't a fan (didn't taste like beer at all!!) but my friends were impressed.

 

Lastly was Bootleggers, Cismontane, The Bruery and Deschutes. Bootleggers, I am so sorry. I have been dragging my feet and neglecting to visit you eventhough you are so close to my house. Well, no more! I tried the Black Phoenix (6.7%ABV 94/100 ratebeer.com) and it was epic. Even though I had so much beer and visited your booth at the second to last tasting it still stood-out and was so interesting. The flavors of this stout was complex and I could really taste the chipotle pepper and coffee. Cismontane has an amazing coffee stout that is a must-try! The Bruery had their Trade Winds Triple (8%ABV 95/100 ratebeer.com) and Saison De Lente of which I had the Trade Winds. The Thai-inspired saison is "yummy" according to my Michelle and with flavors of rice and basil, I agree. Deschutes had an amazing IPA on tap, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was called. I did however take a lovely photo of the guys working there. 

 

In short, an amazing day of fun was had. Thanks for all the memories! Oh, and the ridiculously awesome photos that resulted.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Avery Brewing Company: My New Obsession

Recently I have really gotten into Avery Brewing Company from Boulder, Colorado. I really enjoyed the duganA I had at Pizza Port in San Clemente not that long ago, and decided to venture into the Avery section at BevMo to indulge my curious mind. I ended-up getting the Collaboration Not Litigation Ale (8.91%ABV 96/100 ratebeer.com)  which was a blend of Russian River's Salvation and Avery's Salvation. It was nothing short of amazing! I expected it to be harsh but it wasn't. It was complex and rich and the flavors were all over the place but harmonious at the same time. Not a beer for the timid drinker! Wanting to try more from Avery, I purchased the Maharaja (10.24%ABV 100/100 ratebeer.com, 102 IBU's) and was surprised that it didn't smack my face off with all the hops it has. This is a dark red/amber beer that has an insane amount of malted barley, which balances the bitter of the hops so well, it is fascinating to this IPA girl. The very predominant citrus/grapefruit quality makes it nice and light, perfect for being a summer seasonal.

 

My favorite Avery so far: duganA. It's a double IPA that is brutally bitter, perfect to eat with chips or my personal favorite: hummus. Avery's duganA (8.5%ABV 99/100 ratebeer.com, 93 IBU's) is surprisingly lower IBU count compared to the Maharaja but it packs much more of a hop face-slap. Needless to say, I am a fan. This is exactly the type of beer I can stand behind. What's your favorite brewery/beer?     

See the full gallery on Posterous

Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast Chocolate Crackle Cookies

I decided to make one of my favorite recipes more awesome by adding Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast (7.5% ABV 100 rating from ratebeer.com). It's a oatmeal chocolate stout that has a smokey, breakfast quality that pares incredibly well with my already chocolaty crackle cookies. It helps enhance the flavor by making the dough the night before baking.

 

Ingredients:

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped then melted.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (like sea salt)

1 stick of unsalted butter - room temp. (or melted!)

1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup whole milk

1/3 cup Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast

 

(For the rolling before baking - not the batter!)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup confectioners sugar

1. Melt chocolate and set aside to cool. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a bowl (i just whisk because the sea salt gets stuck).

2. With an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla and then the melted chocolate. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the flour mixture in two batches alternating with the milk. Then add the beer. Divide dough into three or four equal pieces and wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (2 hours to overnight).

3. Preheat oven to 350F and divide each piece into sixteen 1 inch balls. Roll in the granulated sugar and then the powdered sugar and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. About 2 inches apart because they will spread.

4. Bake until the surfaces crack, about 14 minutes. Rotate the sheets halfway through. Let cool on wire racks. Cookies can be stored for up to 3 days.

I like to add some extra spice to the flour mixture like spicy cayenne pepper and cinnamon. They really have a fantastic warming effect on the cookie. That is up to the baker though. I personally added some pumpkin pie spice and grated nutmeg and a tiny bit of cayenne.

Enjoy!!

See the full gallery on Posterous