BEER AND NOW
In Favor of Fall Flavor Five CA beer picks for autumn’s arrival By Jeff Hammett
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Jeff Hammett first noticed craft beer early in college when a friend introduced him to Stone Brewing Co.’s Pale Ale. After gradu- ating from UCSD with a degree in Philoso- phy, he moved to Santa Cruz where he frequented Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing and Seabright Brewery. Jeff would journey up to San Francisco to visit Magnolia and Toronado every chance he got. He started blogging about beer in early 2009 while living in Durango, Colorado. For a town of only 20,000 people, Durango boasts an impressive four breweries. Jeff quickly became a part of the brewing scene, and in January 2010 was invited to work with Ska Brewing Co.’s Head Brewer Thomas Larsen to formulate a recipe and brew on Ska’s pilot system. In addition to his love of craft beer, Mr. Hammett is an avid cyclist and can be seen riding on the road or trails most weekends.
s summer comes to an end, its crisp and refreshing beers give way to the sweeter, maltier, and often higher in alcohol fall season- als. From pumpkin ales to Oktoberfest lagers, there’s many flavorful beers to satisfy autumn tastes; enjoy these five fall choices, all brewed in California and available in San Diego as soon as this month.
Manzanita Brewing Co., Santee’s (just over) one year old brewery, is brewing their Witches Hair Pumpkin Ale again this fall. At 9.5% ABV this is more of an imperial pumpkin pie ale that packs quite the spiced punch. Canned pumpkin pie mix, along with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and ginger give this beer its slightly sweet, well-spiced character. All these spices make for an easy drinking beer; it’s hard to believe this one is close to 10% ABV. Manzanita predicts Witches Hair will hit the shelves in 22oz bottles and on draft in early October. Also look out for 2010 Witches Hair, which has been aging in bottles for the past year.
If pumpkin beers aren’t your thing,
don’t fret, for Orange County’s The Bruery has you covered with a beer brewed with yet another ubiquitous orange-colored fall fare: yams. Autumn Maple is brewed with over 17 pounds of yams per barrel, and many of the same spices found in pumpkin beers includ- ing cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup. Finished off with Belgian yeast that adds even more spice, Autumn Maple comes in at 10% ABV, 25 IBU and is available on draft and in 750mL bottles now.
Karl Strauss Oktoberfest is one of the few Märzen style beers (often called “Oktoberfest style”) brewed in San Diego. Darker than many lagers, this deep, golden beer has nutty, toasty malts backed by Perle hops imported from Germany. At 5% ABV and 20 IBU, Ok- toberfest is available in 12oz bottles and on draft now.
Last year Firestone Walker changed the name of their oatmeal stout when they bottled it for the first time. Velvet Merkin is now Velvet Merlin. Grab a dictionary and look up ‘merkin’ if you have to (I did); while the old name has charm, the change is understandable. Velvet Merlin is rich and creamy with plenty of chocolate and coffee flavors, and just about as black as beer can get. This beer makes its way down to SD in
4-
6 packs of Karl Strauss Oktoberfest are available around town now
12oz bottles and on draft after its October 1st release.
Sierra Nevada first brewed Tum-
bler Autumn Brown Ale last year, and it’s back again this fall. Far from what you might expect based on Sierra Nevada’s more famous, hoppier offerings, in Tumbler the hops take a backseat and toasted malt flavors drive. A little nutty and
a little sweet, Tumbler comes in at 5.5% ABV, 37 IBU and is available in 12 and 22oz bottles, and on draft now.
Aside from West Coaster, Jeff also writes for San Diego Beer Blog at
sandiegobeerblog.com, and you can follow him on twitter @SDBeer
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