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Red Rock Brewing Company – Salt Lake City

Tuesday morning we left Elko, Nevada and continued east on I-80 through the remaining Nevada desert into the Utah desert. If you think Nevada is flat and arid, the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah makes it look like an oasis. The fact of the matter is that until you hit Salt Lake City there is not much to speak of beer-wise between Elko and Salt Lake.

Tanya was seeking food and found Red Rock Brewing Company; a brewpub in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately for us, Red Rock Brewing has two locations; the brewery and tasting room; and a few blocks away, the brewpub. She had set the GPS for the brewery, which may have had snacks but they did not have the food she sought. The Red Rock Brewing Company brewery is located at 443 North 400 West in Salt Lake City and this is their production brewery where you can find the higher ABV brews. Utah has some of the weirder beer laws that we came across. Oh, Mountain West Cider is right next door; we did not make it back there but if you are in the neighborhood you might as well stop in. Continue reading

A Tour of Reno & Elko Nevada Craft Beer

When I last posted here, I was at the California Craft Beer Summit in Sacramento (thanks again to HopSaint Brewing Company for the support); I was in need of a road trip so I figured since I was already there, I should make the two hour drive to Reno, Nevada to visit George, a friend of mine that is stuck at the VA hospital there because of all the Agent Orange he was doused with in Viet Nam. We have known each other since 1972 but I have not seen him in close to 10 years; I wanted to see him before it was too late.

After we signed George out of the VA and he wanted to go to lunch at a steakhouse in one of the big casinos; when we arrived we found out the steakhouse did not open for several more hours. George had another place he enjoyed, so we drove over there.

When we pulled up I was more concerned with finding a shady spot to park (for the dogs) than what the name of the place was, and I was really there to visit with my friend; I was not very concerned with where his appetite had brought us. Continue reading

Photos from the 2nd Annual Summit Beer Festival

These photos were taken Saturday at Matsuyama Japanese Fusion in Roseville, and the 2nd Annual Summit Beer Festival which was held at the Capitol Mall in Sacramento.

While I knew I would be attending the Craft Beer Summit, I was undecided as to whether or not I would be attending the Summit Beer Festival because I have friends that are a lot closer to Sacramento than I am and I really wanted to visit them. On Friday I discovered that the Summit Beer Festival was just a few blocks from my motel; when I realized that the festival did not start until 3:00 PM I figured I could drive 20 minutes to Roseville and visit my friend Song Kim, the owner of Matsuyama Japanese Fusion. I have mentioned Matsuyama once before here; suffice it to say, if you enjoy sushi and are anywhere in the Roseville area, you owe it to yourself to visit Matsuyama Japanese Fusion. You will not regret it; be sure to tell Song I sent you. Continue reading

Friday at the California Craft Beer Summit 2016

These photos were taken Friday at the 2nd Annual California Craft Beer Summit which was held at the Sacramento Convention Center. The day started off with seminars and panels covering various topics, such as understanding yeast, a preview of the taste panel training for cicerone hopefuls, how to build a beer list and how to discuss beer styles with uneducated customers.

After a few hours of education, the exhibit hall reopened with numerous vendors offering everything from hops and malts, to brew houses to canning machines and labels. Also, there were more panels and even some beer and food pairings for attendees to sample. A few of the local homebrew clubs were representing with a couple doing brews at the Craft Beer Summit. Of course, all the brewers guilds in the state were represented and providing samples to attendees. Continue reading

Thursday at the CA Craft Beer Summit 2016

These photos were taken Thursday at the California Craft Beer Summit which is being held this weekend at the Sacramento Convention Center.

Thursday was primarily checking into the conference, with a Welcome Reception being held in the exhibit hall. There were lots of vendors there displaying everything from brewing equipment, to different grains and a hop harvester. Of course, there were lots of beer samples available, courtesy of the many brewers guilds in attendance.

After the Welcome Reception, many headed over to the LowBrau beer hall for The Craft-er Party, sponsored by Drake’s Brewing. The party was used as a fundraiser for the CCBA, with $1.00 from each beer purchased being donated to the CCBA. Judging by the turnout on Thursday, this is going to be a great weekend. Continue reading

Photos from the 2nd Annual South Bay Tap Takeover at Flights

These photos were taken Thursday evening at Flights during their 2nd Annual South Bay Tap Takeover. This year we featured 15 of the best production breweries in the South Bay; with Absolution Brewing, Brouwerij West, El Segundo Brewing, Honest Abe Hard Ciders, HopSaint Brewing Company, King Harbor Brewing, Phantom Carriage, Rob Rubens Distilling & Brewing, San Pedro Brewing Company, Scholb Premium Ales, Smog City Brewing, State Brewing Company, Strand Brewing Company, The Dudes’ Brewing, and Three Weavers Brewing filling all four tap lines. I watched as people in the craft beer industry as well as the hundreds of craft beer fans looked with amazement at what a South Bay tap list looks like.

While it did get a little crowded during the peak hours, Flights staff, under the guidance of their manager Michelle Pettie kept food and beer flowing with ease. It was pretty obvious that the additional year of experience by the serving staff made a huge difference; I did not notice any of the delays that were experienced last year. I am sure cutting back on the food menu helped as the kitchen was faster which meant people could eat and drink a little quicker and the steady flow of new guests did not cause any of the lines I heard existed last year. Continue reading

Photos from the Great Society Cider & Mead Grand Opening

These photos were taken Tuesday afternoon when Great Society Cider & Mead officially opened with a ribbon cutting and the presentation of a Certificate of Recognition by the City of Long Beach. With that, the cider and mead began flowing and some very good food started coming from the kitchen.

The event was attended by family, friends, and representatives from the City of Long Beach and the Downtown Long Beach Associates along with what is bound to be the first group of Great Society regulars. Everyone seemed really enjoy experimenting with the various ciders and mead that were available. Continue reading

Pub at the Club Beer and Food Festival Photos

The photos were taken Sunday at the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club where they held their inaugural Pub at the Club Craft Beer and Food Festival to benefit the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club’s Junior Foundation programs for special needs, Para and junior athletes. 100% of the ticket sales were donated to their Junior Foundation Programs; a charity dedicated to developing champions on and off the court by supporting all athletes, including special need and Para-athletes.

The intimate event had a couple hundred attendees who enjoyed the day in the sun with more than 30 craft breweries, a few crafty breweries and several local restaurants that provided unlimited craft beer pours and tasty food stuffs. Continue reading

Cold War Brewing at Zymurgy Brew Works & Tasting Room

On Wednesday evening, Tanya and I headed over to Zymurgy Brew Works & Tasting Room where we met up with co-founder Bill Baker to try out their new Do-It-Yourself craft brewery which is slated to begin their soft-open on September 10, 2016. My brew would not only add some beer to my collection, but it would give Zymurgy an opportunity to dial in their system and it would provide samples for future brewers to enjoy during subsequent brews. I opted to brew a recipe my son has for his Sochi to Stanley Stout; a delicious Russian Imperial Stout. The reason for this was primarily because I did not want to power drink five gallons of an IPA; I would much rather open one bomber every few months and this beer would be just perfect for that.

I had sent the recipe to Baker ahead of time in order to ensure that all the ingredients or applicable substitutes were available. One substitute was replacing the pound of Special B malt with a pound a Crystal 120 which was presented to me as C-120; I thought that sounded like an explosive so I changed the name of the beer to Cold War Russian Imperial Stout. Homebrewers will acknowledge that a Russian Imperial Stout is a pretty ambitious beer for the average homebrewer; Zymurgy was excited to do it as it was a pretty safe bet that this would be one of the biggest beers they will brew there. Continue reading

Business & Beer Visits Rob Rubens Distilling & Brewing

These photos are from the August gathering of Business & Beer which was held Thursday evening at El Segundo’s newest production brewery, and Los Angeles’ only combination distillery and brewery, Rob Rubens Distilling & Brewing. As a co-founder of the Business & Beer networking group I have come to expect smaller than normal turnouts when we bring the group to the outback of El Segundo, so I was pleasantly surprised at the large turnout we had last night.

Founder and Master Distiller, Rob Rubens gave the group a tour of their operation, discussing the distilling as well as the brewing sides, their similarities and the differences. The group seemed to really enjoy the tour as there were plenty of questions being asked. One of the main differences is that it is a lot faster to distill spirits than brew beer; so while the spirits are not quite ready, they should be soon. Continue reading

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