My five year plan is to visit, and thereby sample the wares of, every microbrewery in the state of California. I include the ‘big boy” craft brewers since the goal is drinking beer not business profiling. That being said, if they have multiple breweries, I consider one stop at one brewery a fulfillment of my goal.*

These are my personal ramblings about beer and should, in no way, be construed as the last word on either the subject or locations mentioned. And, since we are in the disclaimer business, let me just say two things... one, it is a lot easier to start up a webpage than an actual brewery and, two, when you are going headfirst into Chapter 11 the last thing you worry about is closing out your website. Combine that with the general uncertainty of the information highway and you won’t be overly dismayed when you track down a brewery and find it either DOA or something completely different as they say.

All these dire warnings and disclaimers will, of course, fall by the wayside every time you find that cozy little brewpub in some out-of-the-way burg where the food is good and the beer is great…

*See the amendment to this plan at the bottom of the February 26,2012 blog post...

Monday, December 17, 2012

GONE OUT EAST


One thing you learn on a project like this… it’s true, size doesn’t matter.  About a hundred miles west of Quincy you can visit a brewery that is now pushing the limits of calling themselves a micro… I’ve already posted my opinion on that one. About twenty miles east of Quincy you can find the antipodal option for the serious beer lover. 

Out on highway 70, pretty much across the highway from the town of Blairsden, sits Undercover Aleworks.  Look for the sandwich board out on the side of the highway saying they are open and tootle up the winding driveway into the trees.  Small but dedicated to craftsmanship in every detail this small brewery seems to contravene some basic laws of physics by being larger inside than outside – you among the trees, the beer among your tastebuds. 

These are people who take beer seriously and life with more than a bit of whimsy, making the whole visit a chance to stop and smell the fermentation.  A curious tangle of local ordinances prevents them from serving food (even though Susan has been a restaurateur for years…) but they have no problem with you bringing in a picnic to wash down with a few of their beers.  I had already gorged myself on Mexican food just up the road so I was happy just to suck down a couple of pints. I started with Deep Cover Ale, an old favorite from local bar taps and then, because I wasn’t driving. I ordered up a pint of Transplant Saison, a specialty brew celebrating a local friend’s recent successful surgery.

There isn’t much to do here except savor the beer and listen to the wind wandering through tall trees but it is remarkably hard to get back off your butt and get on with your business… what a great legacy for a brewery.
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