Heading back to Cali. Here's what I/you need to know about two brewing fixtures - Bear Republic and Speakeasy

I'll be in the Bay Area in a few weeks with an intention to focus my beer efforts on some of northern California's oldest craft brewers. So, it was good timing to see these two press releases pop into my mailbox. One for Bear Republic, which is marking its first anniversary at a second brewpub location in addition to its production facility. The second press release below is for the re-energized Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, which has emerged from the financial brink with new owners just in time to celebrate 21 years of brewing. I've been to Speakeasy's location before and while it's not the most convenient for public transit, once there, the people and the beers make it worth the effort.

Bear Republic? Oddly enough, I've never been there. Been to at least a brewer's dozen (how many's that? dunno. but definitely more than 12 if a Beer Week can be called 10 days!) breweries in the North Bay and beyond. Actually, maybe close to two dozen, come to think of it. But, yet, somehow, never Bear Republic. No matter the crazy amounts of praise I heap upon the Racer 5 .

Ok, here you go. Both press releases in one post. Oh, and one more piece of news about what has become an SF establishment over the last 11 years. It looks like City Beer Store will have completed its move two blocks closer to Market Street (albeit missing the mid-block cut through street to Cellarmaker) and reopening by the time I arrive. In its early years, was a destination bottle shop in the city's SOMA neighborhood. Then became a destination to buy said bottles, but only after getting distracted for an hour or more by one of the city's most drool-worthy draft lists.

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Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Celebrates 21 Years of Brewing in San Francisco
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Releases Gilded Ale (Golden Stout with Gold Glitter) and Syndicate Series No. 04 (Barrel-Aged Vintage Ale) at 21st Anniversary Event
San Francisco, Calif. — Wednesday, August 1, 2018 — Speakeasy Ales & Lagers has been in the craft beer game for more than two decades brewing exceptional small batch beers at their San Francisco Bayview-Hunters Point brewery. On Saturday, August 25, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers celebrates the gilded era of craft beer with a 21st Anniversary event inviting beer aficionados to join the Speakeasy staff inside the taproom with exclusive VIP access (VIP ticket packages range in price), in addition to the General Admission experience for only $5. Whether you book the Godfather's Office or Scarface's Lounge for you and your closest friends or simply join the party for tastings of up to 17 draft beers, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers hosts one of the summer's most anticipated Bay Area craft beer events with an array of their favorite San Francisco businesses.

Achieving 21 years in the beer business is certainly a milestone, and with their upcoming anniversary summer bash Speakeasy & Lagers also hoists a pint in celebration of being open for almost a year under its new ownership. Marking such a momentous occasion is the special draft-only release of Gilded Ale, a Golden Stout with Gold Glitter paying homage to the golden era of Speakeasy. The 21st Anniversary event also serves as the annual 22 oz. bottle release of Syndicate Series No. 04. A unique blend of Speakeasy beers that have been aged for no less than one year in bourbon barrels, Syndicate Series No. 04 includes Scarface Imperial Stout (Aged 22 Months), Fixed Fight Old Ale (Aged 20 Months), Scarface Imperial Stout (Aged 23 Months), Betrayal (Aged 50 Months), and Old Godfather (Aged 48 Months). Syndicate No. 04 pours dark with heavy tobacco, leather, chocolate, and vanilla notes along with hints of dark fruit and coffee. Syndicate No. 04 clocks in at over 10% ABV, but is smoothed over by its extensive aging time.

Many of San Francisco's revered local businesses will join Speakeasy Ales & Lagers' epic anniversary party, including Philz Coffee, Dandelion Chocolate, Humphry Slocombe, Etta+Billie, Glass Coat Photo Booth, Regrained, El Taquero, Samara Southern Creations, and Long Bridge Pizza. Live music by The Helltones, Mad Mama and the Bona Fide Few, and Sweetwater Black.

VIP tickets ($50) include access to the taproom, a Speakeasy 5 oz. glass with unlimited tastings, a Syndicate Series Vertical Flight, and early entry at 1 pm. Speakeasy Taster Glass tickets ($30) include unlimited tastings and early access at 1pm. Pre-sale General Admission tickets ($5) include one beer, and GA tickets ($5) at the door allows entrance only.

Tickets are now on sale at https://speakeasybeer.ticketsauce.com/e/speakeasy-ales-lagers-anniversary-2018/tickets

About Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers has been defiantly brewing small batch beers in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood since 1997. The brewery started with a single iconic beer, still made today, Prohibition Ale. The hoppy amber beer embodies the spirit of bootleggers and gangsters who persevered when America's taps ran dry. Speakeasy quickly gained a loyal following with its bold, complex beers, and striking 1920s imagery. Speakeasy's kingpin Big Daddy IPA is the brewery's highest seller among its wide array of celebrated beers, from session ales to bourbon barrel-aged imperial stouts. In 2013, the Speakeasy Taproom opened serving thousands of local craft beer lovers with fresh draft beer to be enjoyed onsite or to-go in growlers and crowlers.

Speakeasy's original 15 barrel brewing system was replaced in 2015 during a major expansion, which included a 60 barrel brewhouse, centrifuge, malt handling system, canning line, and an additional 1,200 barrels of fermentation capacity.

Hunters Point Brewery LLC, a company founded by former owner of Horizon Beverage Company, Ces Butner, acquired the Speakeasy beer brands and brewing equipment in 2017. Under new ownership, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers will grow by leaps and bounds. The brewery's trademark eyes, ubiquitous and cryptic, beckon you to join our mob, no password required.

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers' taproom is located at 1195 Evans Avenue, San Francisco, CA. For more information, please visit: https://www.goodbeer.com

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Bear Republic Brewing Company Celebrates One Year Anniversary of Rohnert Park Location
SONOMA COUNTY, CALIF. (August 1, 2018) — Bear Republic Brewing Company (BRBC), a Sonoma County, California based brewer, celebrates the one year anniversary of Bear Republic Brewing Company Lakeside on Tuesday, August 21 with a luau themed party.

Bear Republic Brewing Company Lakeside One Year Anniversary Luau features a roasted pig, aloha welcome cocktail hour, full buffet dinner, fire dancers and authentic Tahitian and Hawaiian dance performances. VIP tickets for the event have sold out, General Admission tickets are still available on brownpapertickets.com or bearrepublic.com. Located at 5000 Roberts Lake Road in Rohnert Park, BRBC Lakeside offers award winning craft beers and delicious pub fare with a twist.

“We’re thrilled the Rohnert Park community has welcomed our Lakeside location with open arms. This luau celebration marks a successful year of crafting nationally recognized ales and serving mouthwatering dishes in a family-friendly environment,” said Tami Norgrove, Bear Republic Brewing Company Co-founder and Owner. “We look forward in continuing to deliver experiences worth celebrating with our latest craft brews, evolving menu and live events.”

BRBC Lakeside opened in August 21, 2017, the location includes a 10-barrel brewing system, a full bar offering house and beer cocktails, a stage, a kids play area, and an adult games area. A large outdoor dining area overlooks Roberts Lake flanked by palm trees. The kitchen serves pizzas along with classic Bear Republic dishes.

Established over twenty years ago, Bear Republic Brewing Company has expanded from a small brewery in downtown Healdsburg, CA into distribution markets all over the country. Bear Republic is the 42nd largest craft brewery in the United States and employs more than 220 people. The company operates two brewpub locations, a production brewery, and shipping warehouse. Bear Republic maintains a sense of loyalty and tradition from eras gone by with a constantly growing portfolio of craft beers.

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© Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge, 2018. All content is owned and uniquely created by Bryan J. Kolesar. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Kolesar is strictly prohibited. Excerpts, images, and links may be used with advance permission granted and only provided that full and clear credit is given to Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Contact Kolesar at TheBrewLounge@gmail.com

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3 favorite beers from August 21 - August 27

Gonna make things easy on you this week and put just three very good beers out there for you to consider.

(I like the branded glassware almost as much as I like the beer.)
~ Apex Special IPA (8.25%), by Bear Republic Brewing Company (Cloverdale, Calif.)
    Call it a special IPA, an imperial IPA, a strong IPA, a double IPA, or whatever you like. In my case, I call it one of the best examples of a strong, clean, and very well-balanced hop forward beer. Melon fruit, assertive but palatable bitterness, with a solid bready malt base. I've never visited them in person in all my visits to the brewery's home state. I may change that in October.

(Live music, pig roast, bottle release, beautiful weather made a perfect Saturday in Berwyn.)
~ Hipster Catnip (7.2%), by La Cabra Brewing (Berwyn, Pa.)
    Even if I was a hipster before the word was invented (and, hopefully, I wasn't), I don't believe I'd drink a beer that called attention to my hipsterdom. But, here and now, not drinking Hipster Catnip would indeed be dumb. Citra hops. Mosaic hops. Package this up in a cat toy and I'd chase it around all afternoon. They did a very nice job opening their parking lot to an afternoon festival last Saturday and I hope to see many more such events in the future (Something about Oktoberfest was mentioned; watch the calendar.)

Also catching my attention at La Cabra during the event was Zettle. I'm not typically attracted to many a Hefeweizen, but this one's a refreshing balance of clean, not muddied, hallmark spices and its easy finish made this a winner.


Click back here for an index of all beers that I've covered in the past.

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© Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge, 2017. All content is owned and uniquely created by Bryan J. Kolesar. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Kolesar is strictly prohibited. Excerpts, images, and links may be used with advance permission granted and only provided that full and clear credit is given to Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Contact Kolesar at TheBrewLounge@gmail.com

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Philly Beer Week 2010: Day 6 Wrap-Up

Day 6 Pictures are all displayed below--yes, there are only 4 of them and yes, one of them is a picture of food and the other of glassware...promise many more people pictures tomorrow.

Link back to Day 5 ----- Link forward to Day 7

Brew Lounge activity during Philly Beer Week 2010 has been brisk, but I can see that many of you are between 1 and 3 days behind in your reading and browsing. Fortunately, last night was a light and suburban night for me, so I've got very little to share today.

With my main goal of getting home for what turned out to be the last of the Stanley Cup Finals games last night and preparing (yes, preparing) for Philly Beer Geek tonight in Manayunk, I opted away from some of the big names and big lights of the city (Lambic Summit, Brewers Pub Crawl, and Vintage Happy Hour at Nodding Head, et cetera).

Instead, I made a quick stop in to see the guys at Exton Beverage and have a taste of a few porters and stouts that they were pouring. They've had a nice stream of people tasting and hanging out at each of the tastings that they've been conducting. They even got a completed job application from one of the tasters last night. Tonight is a sampling of a half dozen or so Belgians and Friday is canned beer (think: Sly Fox, Brooklyn, 21st Amendment...and I think I may have heard Red Racer, Caldera, and one or two others). Stop by, they're fun to hang out with after work---or whatever time of the day that is for you.

Then, I made my way to The Drafting Room where Bernie from Stockertown was going to be repping Bear Republic from Healdsburg, CA. Fortunately, the beers rep themselves well enough, because Bernie got stuck in Philly and wasn't able to make it. I figure that brewers and reps would have a difficult time cover the city, let alone the city and suburbs together with the jam-packed schedule that has them so spread thin during these ten days.

No matter, Racer 5 IPA on hand-pump? If this isn't a go-to cask-conditioned American IPA for you, you should really check it out and see if you agree. The Apex (one of my best-in-show at the Double IPA Festival in Hayward, CA two years ago) and the Crazy Ivan (Belgian Strong) were real crowd pleasers.

But what else did we spy on the bottom of the chalkboard menu? Why, under the Erie Pilsner, it was Lost Abbey Angel's Share on tap, something that many people were also dabbling and delighting in.

It was a solid crowd of people enjoy a lot of Bear Republic beer and take-home pint glassware. The Drafting Room has a nice-looking Great Lakes event tonight and Brooklyn on Friday...two more great reasons to pull in off of the madness of route 100 in Exton, PA.

Remember, that no matter where you are during Philly Beer Week, it's important to support your local guys (Bucks County? Hulmeville Inn; Delaware County? Iron Hill-Media; Montgomery County? Iron Abbey or Teresa's Next Door....just to name a few suburban spots participating in Philly Beer Week). Celebrate every week of the year with them like it was Philly Beer Week.

(Exton Beverage poured out the Stouts and Porters during Happy Hour in Exton, PA--Weyerbacher Old Heathen and Yards Thomas Jefferson were crowd favorites) (Exton Beverage poured out the Stouts and Porters during Happy Hour in Exton, PA--Weyerbacher Old Heathen and Yards Thomas Jefferson were crowd favorites) (tasty Pastrami eggrolls have replaced the cheesesteak eggrolls at The Drafting Room) (yes, this is really just a picture of Bear Republic glassware at The Drafting Room...that was their representation)

What it takes to be a winner at TJs, California-style

Ballast Point. Bear Republic. That's how they list alphabetically. According to the first 50 ballots submitted at TJs in Paoli, PA this past Saturday night, it's the reverse of how these breweries are ranked, though by a slim enough margin to almost call it a draw. After tasting 4 samples of each brewery, guests were asked to rank them from 1-10. (There were 11 beers in total combined from both breweries.) Here you'll see one anonymous ballot. Southeastern Pennsylvania has been under a torrent of what almost seems like daily thunderstorms (the really, really bad kind) of late. Figures as I jumped into the car to check out this event at TJs, the skies unleashed their fury. It may have deterred some, as I was surprised the bar area wasn't packed in every square inch. Either the weather, or they heard that the Pittsburgh contingent of Woody Chandler and Brian Parker was taking up residence at the bar showing off their Penguins team colors. Congrats are in order, I suppose...though, that Crosby kid...grrr. And, yet another angle from which Mr. Chandler to rail against Philadelphia...boy, am I glad he doesn't write the Philadelphia column in the brewspapers. Still, there was barely an empty seat and it was a comfortable night for the IPAs that seemed to win over the crowd the most. I had the Navigator Dopplebock just a few days earlier and was surprised to see how lowly rated it was compared to the others. Maybe that's where I had the advantage of drinking it alone with a braised short ribs sandwich the day it was tapped. If you missed out, as of this posting there was still some Ballast Point (Calico Amber, Navigator Dopplebock, Wahoo Wheat, and Big Eye IPA) and Bear Republic (Heritage, Hop Rod Rye, NorCal Pale, Racer 5 Cask, and Racer X) to be found at TJs. Get thee to TJs and polish off those suckers. The cask, I understand, is very close to the end. Quizzo tomorrow would be a great excuse to stop in to make some new discoveries and acquaintances. Oh, and in case you're wondering, that truly was not my rating card pictured above. I didn't stick around long enough to taste them all on Saturday. I did, though, go back last night to finish off my tasting (would a "credible blogger" do otherwise?!). Here would be my complete ranking: Racer 5 cask (9); Big Eye (8); Sculpin (8); NorCal(8); Dorado (7); Hop Rod (7); Racer X (7); Heritage (6); Wahoo (6); Calico (6); Navigator (???)...all of which means that it appears that I give a whisker of an edge to Bear Republic as well. Biggest Surprise? Probably the NorCal. As far as my memory goes, I've not had the NorCal before and thought this came across as a real nice, pretty well-balanced, almost session-like, beer in its moderate hopping, English malts (can someone confirm?), and medium mouthfeel. Not necessarily a lawnmower beer, but definitely one I could have all night long hanging out at the pub. The Heritage, too, was a nice smoked Scottish malt delight that I'll be keeping my eye open for during my next trip to the Bay Area. (This follow-up added after original draft.) Okay, this deserves a WTF. As in...WTF happened to the Navigator? The day it was tapped it was a real nice and solid dopplebock. Not the kind that explodes with richness and malty flavors. In that case, maybe a bock-and-a-half, instead of double. It paired extremely well with the Braised Short Rib Sandwich. But, last night at my follow-up visit? It lacked virtually any carbonation, had a distinctive smoke aroma and flavor to it. Now, it wasn't necessarily undrinkable, but man did it change and wasn't nearly as good of an experience as I had just 5 days earlier with it. I liked the approach to this night and the format. Already looking forward to the similarly-structured Battle for Michigan on July 18th, but disappointed that Jolly Pumpkin won't be included in the mix...though, some might argue that would be a tad unfair, eh? From a posting at Beer Advocate by Jeff Miller, proprietor of TJs. Sculpin 236; Racer X 224; Dorado 218.5; Racer 5 Cask 206.5; Hop Rod Rye 205.50; Big Eye 181.50; Heritage 173; Navigator 157 Winner: Best Brewery of the Night--- Bear Republic with 809 points Winner: Best Beer of the Night--- Sculpin with 236 points Ballast Point's main deficit was the Navigator... most scores were 3-5 points out of 10 for this one.