Seismic Brewing Co. | Namazu Oat Pale Ale

Did you feel that tremor coming from Sonoma County?! The epicenter is Seismic Brewing Co. and you better brace yourself for a lot of aftershocks. When people think of Sonoma I am 90% sure they think of wine country, sun-soaked vines and not about the fantastic beer scene that is exploding up there. Namazu Oat Pale Ale is at the epicenter of that quake.
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Brewery Showcase | 7Sisters Brewing (San Luis Obispo)

I’ve seen some environmental friendly breweries before, but nothing quite compares to the level of commitment to sustainability that 7Sisters Brewing has. The moment you walk through doorway you see a tasting room filled with repurposed materials. My favorite piece is their bar. It was built from school lockers and topped with zinc-wrapped wood from the shipping crate the lockers arrived in. Throughout the tasting room you will see lighting made from Cal Poly lab lamps and tables that used to be shop benches from LA technical college. Heading out to their patio you can see the patio railings that were repurposed from the wood forms used when pouring the concrete.

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Drake’s Brewing Co. | 1500 Dry Hopped Pale Ale

The Bay area here in California is blowing up Craft Beer wise! Drake’s Brewing Co. has been around for awhile, and they just celebrated their 28th Craft Birthday!! Read More

Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. | Pumpkin Harvest Ale

Some of my favorite Fall things are the leaves changing colors, pumpkin spiced foods and beverages everywhere, cooler weather, and of course pumpkin beers! Half Moon Bay Brewing Co brews up their Pumpkin Harvest Ale seasonally to delight the taste buds. Read More

Brewery Showcase | Cleophus Quealy Beer Co.

If you haven’t heard about Cleophus Quealy Beer Co. consider this your formal introduction to a great farmhouse brewery in the East Bay! They are located at 448 Hester Street, San Leandro, CA 94577 – which is right by the Oakland International Airport! So, you know it’s good to grab a great beer on your layover or on your way out of town.
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Event Preview | California Craft Beer Summit

Over the next week, craft beer brewers, connoisseurs, retailers and distributors from across California will converge on Sacramento for the 3rd annual California Craft Beer Summit. This three-day event is focused on education, knowledge sharing, collaboration and celebration of everything California craft beer. “The Summit isn’t just a food pairing event, it isn’t just a festival, it isn’t just a trade show and it isn’t just educational – it’s all of the above,” says Leia Ostermann Bailey, Managing Director with the California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA), “The Summit brings together a community of people that share the same values of creativity and innovation.“  Read More

7 Weird Beer Names from California Breweries

Names are a very important part of every culture and we use names within language to communicate, categorize and understand. It’s how we relate to one another or a subject matter. Keeping this in mind, I would argue that naming beer is not only an art form, but is as equally important as the naming of a brewery. Breweries are almost solely represented by their beers across social media now. Fans showcase their favorite pints, can designs, and bottles on their pages spreading their love for their favorite breweries. Many times the beer is the first exposure someone has to a brewery they haven’t heard of before.

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Brewery Showcase | SLO Brew

Right before you reach the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, there is an industrial area packed with offices. Tucked off to the side is SLO Brew‘s The Rock, the second brewery location that opened earlier this year. Son of Dr. Stanley Hoffman, one of the pioneers who established the Paso Robles wine region, Mike Hoffman founded SLO Brew in 1988 with Kathy Ireland. It was the first brewpub on the Central Coast since prohibition. The current owner, Hamish Marshall, a beer loving Aussie who fell in love with SLO, took over as owner in 2010.

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PorchDrinking Playlist | Mraz Brewing Company

Featured photo courtesy of Mraz Brewing Company.

For this PorchDrinking Playlist we reached out to one of our favorite California natives, Mike Mraz, owner and head brewer for Mraz Brewing Company in El Dorado Hills, CA. We had the pleasure to meet Mike a few years back during the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO. It was a wonderful experience to walk the great halls of the Colorado Convention Center with such a knowledgeable master of beer. An expert craftsman showing us the way was both thrilling and a tad bit intimidating. Mike welcomed us into his crew for the weekend, resulting in an adventurous time. The following year we hung out again, inspiring a portion of our Are You GABF Experienced? playlist. Read More

Event Preview | The Bruery Black Tuesday Release Party

October is that spooktacular month where we are visited by all manner of ghouls, goblins, and other graveyard guests. In the midst of scary-oke sing offs and werewolf bar mitzvahs, there is one monster in particular that I eagerly await the arrival of, and that is the behemoth known as Black Tuesday from The Bruery. Every year on the last Tuesday of October – 10/25 this year – there is a celebration in the region of Placentia, CA presenting this roughly 20% ABV stout to the public, and The Bruery goes all out to toast one of its flagship beers. While its namesake recalls the disasters of both the fall of the stock market in 1929 and the legendary day that BT was born, the beer itself reminds us that sometimes you can take a real mess and produce something of absolute quality. Like Tina Fey being able to use Lindsay Lohan to make Mean Girls.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

The AB InBev/SABMiller deal is approved by shareholders, salons in California can sell craft beer, and the Deftones design their own IPA. From business to law to music, craft beer touches all sectors of the market. Don’t miss out on the latest craft beer news; keep reading to catch all of the details in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.
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Almanac Beer Co. | Apricot De Brettaville

ABV: 6.5%

Almanac Beer Co. makes “Farm to Barrel” seasonal beers, inspired by the culinary tradition began by Bay Area celebrity chef Alice Waters. Founded in 2010 by then-homebrewers, Jesse … Read More

Fieldwork Brewing Co. | Sea Farmer Sea Salt Grapefruit IPA

ABV 7.3%

Two words in the beer world that are instantly recognizable: Grapefruit Sculpin. Alex Tweet, head brewer and co-founder of Fieldwork Brewing Co in Berkeley, CA, decided to “take that idea in a different, but complementary direction” then the original Grapefruit Sculpin he created for Ballast Point. The different, but complementary direction resulted in Fieldwork’s Sea Farmer Sea Salt Grapefruit IPA (say that 10 times fast!). This grapefruit IPA is absolutely delicious and refreshing, making Sea Farmer the quintessential summertime fruit IPA.

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Event Preview | Fieldwork Brewing Anniversary Weekend

Fieldwork Brewing is a Berkeley-based brewery committed to quality and freshness, that has taken the Bay Area by storm. Their beers are some of the most aromatic and balanced hoppy beers that you will ever have. The vast beer array of beers Fieldwork offers are truly unique and forever changing. The draft list may be completely different a week later.

Having been open for a year and exponentially growing in popularity, Fieldwork Brewing has reason to celebrate for three days. Co-founder and head brewer Alex Tweet stated, “in my eyes the anniversary is to celebrate our customers. We honest to god have the best customers I have ever seen in this industry, and the anniversary is hopefully going to be a fun weekend for them to celebrate what they helped build. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be in business.”

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Event Recap | BAJA BEER CRAFT 2015

On a warm and breezy Friday evening in Balboa Park of San Diego, foodies and craft beer drinkers alike gathered at the Mingei International Museum for the first-ever Baja Beer Craft event.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

The White House partners with Crazy Mountain, Labatt buys a craft brewery, and brewery stocks are on the rise. If you’re into politics, money, or beer, this week’s Growler is sure to spark your interest. Keep reaching to catch all of the details of the latest craft beer news.

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Smog City | Kumquat Saison

ABV:  6.0

Even before brewing at Smog City Brewing Company, head brewer Jonathan Porter has been no stranger to the Southern California brewing scene. As former brewmaster of Tustin Brewing, Porter had an award winning resume before heading out on his own—and it shows. Read More

Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

American Craft Beer Week kicks off with exactly what you need: the beer news. This week, I’m showing you why girls are the best and that California is killing it in craft beer, among other things. Get your daily dose of craft beer education in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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AleSmith Brewing Company| Speedway Stout

AleSmith Speedway Stout, 12% ABV, 70 IBUs

After enjoying a couple different beers from AleSmith, I was very excited to see Speedway Stout at my local beer shop. … Read More

Modern Times Beer| Blazing World

ABV: 6.8%

Modern Times’ can first caught my eye because it reminded me of a classic baseball uniform, inviting in that vintage American summer day feeling (I guess it’s like that every day in Southern California). This can is beautiful, simple, classic, and awesome. In the beer world, looks can deceive, but Modern Times Beer has it all: perfect inside and out. Read More