BREWS IN THE NEWS Beer Buzz
News from around the San Diego Beer Community WHAT’S DEAN UP TO?
San Diego Brewing Company head brewer crafting beers for CBC
On January 27th, Dean Rouleau’s “Double IPA Belgian Grand Cru” was born, and he plans on entering the beer at this year’s World Beer Cup held in San Diego. Rouleau steeped his creation in the mash tun using ten pounds of Cascade hops from local farm Star B Ranch, employed two different Belgian yeast strains, and will soon incorporate oak in some secret way. The expected release date for the public is currently unknown, but as soon as we know, so will you.
OUR BREWS IN OTHER NEWS SD #14 on NY TIMES list of 45 travel destinations for 2012
Only four U.S. cities made the cut in the January 6th piece, three of which are in California (Oakland #5, Tahoe #30). Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Stone Brewing Company and Hess Brewing got nods on the beer-creation side, while bottle shop/tasting room duos Bottlecraft and the Pizza Port bottle shop were de- scribed as “staggeringly comprehensive.” Hamilton’s, O’Brien’s and Local Habit were rightfully denoted as “beer-obsessed.” San Diego’s home brewing roots were also referenced, as was San Diego Beer Week take four, coming in November.
MORE NATIONAL NODS Draft Magazine Article Hits and Misses On the cusp of its birthday, BLAH received its third consecutive nod in Draft Magazine’s annual “America’s 100 Best Beer Bars” write-up. The same article falsely stated that Hamilton’s (which made the list along with O’Brien’s) is “the oldest beer and wine bar in San Diego.” Prior to Hamilton’s opening in 2006, 1521 30th Street was Sparky’s; a long-time, divey neighborhood watering hole. The tavern’s website “about” section even states that it’s the “oldest beer and wine licensed location in San Diego.” Although the magazine mixed up its facts, we do agree with one thing — it’s one of the best places to drink craft beer in town. A big congrats to all three locations that made the 2012 list. (Note: Draft Magazine also failed to mention Bar Eleven as a “sister” location to Hamilton’s, stating only Small Bar and Mon- key Paw as related pubs.)
NEWEST ZEALAND Dean Rouleau pours local Star B hops into his mash tun
Owners of New Zealand-inspired Bare Back Bar & Grill open new Ocean Beach restaurant From the team that’s behind Bare Back Bar & Grill’s downtown and Pacific Beach locations comes a new concept in Ocean Beach: Raglan Public House. Named after a similar beach town in New Zealand, the new restaurant/pub features recycled barn wood from the old Santee drive-in theatre, garage door windows onto Bacon St., great burgers, and a 24 tap lineup just steps
from the OB Pier. Doors open in February (1851 Bacon Street).
LIGHTNING STRIKES
Poway brewery picked up by distribution arm of Stone Poway’s Lightning Brewery was picked up by the distribution arm of Stone Brewing Company in January. Stone also distributes locals Iron Fist, AleSmith, Port Brewing, The Lost Abbey, and Coronado within South- ern California. On a side note, Lightning’s Old Tempest Ale has been re-named Old Tempestuous Ale following a cease and desist order from a winery. The beer is set for release in early February.
COASTAL COLLABORATION QUAFF and Widmer Brothers team up to brew Spiced IPA A Spiced IPA recipe developed by members of San Di- ego homebrew club QUAFF is the fourth of five planned beers in the Rotator IPA series by Widmer Brothers Brewing, which marks the Portland brewery’s first na- tionally-released collaboration beer. Local homebrewers Paul Sangster and Chris Stawney brewed the winning recipe that was chosen in a blind tasting out of about 20 entries by QUAFF members. Spices used in this beer include malty Assam black tea, ginger, cinnamon, clove, star anise, black pepper, and cardamom. “The idea for this beer came from trying to integrate the interesting variety of spice flavors of chai tea with the fruity flavors of a West Coast style IPA,” Sangster said. The beer was first released to the public at 9 p.m. on January 30th at Blind Lady Ale House following a QUAFF-only event.
CALI-CRAFTED
New brewpub coming to Pacific Beach California Kebab, located on College Avenue across the street from SDSU, has been serving Doner Kebab-influ- enced flavors since 2009 along with a small but thought- ful craft beer selection. Now, they’re opening a new lo- cation, California Kebab and Brewpub, steps away from the Pacific Ocean at 4150 Mission Boulevard. Amplified Ale Works is the name of the brewing side of the
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