Holy smokes and oops, sorry… I looked over my notes and discovered that I had visited breweries almost a year ago that I haven’t written about yet. So, to rectify that gross oversight, I humbly offer the following notes and memories.
After reviewing the choices I settled on a pint of Pepper in the
A few weeks later I found myself back in Quincy once again with a need to visit lovely Susanville to track down Lassen Ale Works.
Since my friend Traci needed to hit up the Social Security Office in Susanville, she likes beer and she shares my passion for fish & chips, it just screamed out Road Trip!
Of course, despite claims on their website, the Social Security offices were closed so we repaired to the brewery to assuage our feelings of betrayal and to avail ourselves of beer and grub. Since I was driving, Traci ordered a tasting flight and I limited myself to a pint of Bizz Johnson Blonde. While we were perusing the menu the owner came by, a discussion ensued about the quality of fish & chips here and there and, for all intents and purposes, she offered to comp the lunch if we didn’t like their version. Bottom line, we ordered fish & chips, all the beers in the flight were excellent, the fish & chips disappeared and we paid for our lunch. Granted Susanville is a bit out of the way and on the way to nowhere else, but this place is well worth the drive.
Of course, despite claims on their website, the Social Security offices were closed so we repaired to the brewery to assuage our feelings of betrayal and to avail ourselves of beer and grub. Since I was driving, Traci ordered a tasting flight and I limited myself to a pint of Bizz Johnson Blonde. While we were perusing the menu the owner came by, a discussion ensued about the quality of fish & chips here and there and, for all intents and purposes, she offered to comp the lunch if we didn’t like their version. Bottom line, we ordered fish & chips, all the beers in the flight were excellent, the fish & chips disappeared and we paid for our lunch. Granted Susanville is a bit out of the way and on the way to nowhere else, but this place is well worth the drive.
A few days later it was time to head home again to Sammy Cruise and the lovely Tama. Instead of a marathon through drive, busting down the freeway for six hours, I decided to wander home the back way and hit a couple of “out of the way” breweries that had been dodging their place on my list.
Just up the hill from the place where John Marshall
discovered gold on Mr. Sutter’s property is the Gold Hills Winery & Brewery. A little hard to find and once you
find the parking lot your work day is still not over.
Down the stairs, across the road, a peek into an empty
foyer, a couple of locked doors, round the back, down another flight of stairs,
across another small parking lot and you find yourself at the bottom of a last,
short flight of stair that takes you to the beer tasting room.
It was hot and I was tired so it was a real treat to get a
cold, excellent 22 ounce bottle of 49’er Red to drink on the shady deck
overlooking acres of vineyard. As I said, it was hot and I was miles from a
motel room but their beer was so good that I bought a variety of other beers to
consume later. Well worth a stop if
you’re out that way but hit the web ‘cuz they got short hours and they’re only
open a couple of days a week…
Down the road into the flats and the heat, heading to prison
and Lockdown Brewery in beautiful downtown Folsom, California .
Right in the middle of old town and up a flight of stairs in a beautiful old
commercial building, it had all the appearances of a nice, cool and refreshing
break from the late afternoon heat. But, sadly, appearances can be deceiving
and when I asked which of their beers I should start with, I was informed that
none of their beers were available on tap… no weekend rush draining the kegs
(it was a Saturday…) no “just ended” local celebration… they were just out of
beer save but one.
Being no stranger to this sort of adversity I ordered a pint
of the beer they had and I must say it was very good. I sampled Stoney Bar
Scotch Ale and then, after hearing that they offered no kind of food nor bar
snacks, I paid up and moved on down the highway to my Motel 6 reservation and
air conditioning…
I must remind readers here (again…) that this is by no means
a critical review of the breweries. I was there once, for half an hour, and may
well have hit their only flat spot.
You truly should not base your visit or avoidance plans on
what you read here… remember that even a bad beer experience is better than a
no beer experience.
