BAM Brewery Tour 2015

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Saturday, Izzy & I took part in the Bay Area Mashers’ Sacramento Brewery Tour, where essentially this homebrewing club arranged for a Google bus to take 40-50 likeminded homebrew enthusiasts up to Sacramento where we toured FOUR breweries in the Rosemont area. This is very similar to the SF Homebrewers Guild annual brewery bus tour (coming again this December) but we had never gone quite as far as Sacramento… and this trip was fantastic!!!

 

First stop was New Glory Brewing which opened in 2012… and the taproom / brewery that we went to was located in essentially a “warehouse” area of town with lots of concrete structures, storage units, basically industrial space. That being said, the taproom had a very rustic feel to it… similar to a sort of high-class, dive bar or a Man-cave kind of vibe. Lots of wood accents, but the furniture was still comfortable, and of course, most importantly… the beer was on point. I particularly liked their Robust Porter and Hoppy Amber Ale… but that’s pretty obvious for me. They also had several variations of Saison on tap (French, hibiscus, etc) and a pretty sweet 15 barrel brew system… here are some pictures…

 

Two blocks away was Device Brewing which opened recently as well, and flaunts “Beer with Purpose.” The brewery & taproom had more a minimalistic modern aesthetic (similar to Elevation 66) with more bare-bones walls… but some great local art on the walls for sale as well as very kid & dog friendly for a great sense of community. The beer is also very good which a little bit of everything from lagers to imperial stouts and everything in between including a variety of Belgian ales. All that I tried were fantastic as well. I would definitely check both out if I’m in the area. Here are some pictures…

 

Next up was a few miles away at Track 7 Brewing which dons a wide variety of beers but is actually the only one on this trip that I’ve seen in a few taprooms here in the Bay Area. They seem to be more of a production brewery than the first two… and they also happen to have a taproom with long communal tables and usually have food trucks available to offer greasy delicacies to help you sop up their delicious beers. I personally loved their Nite Bite (Cascadian Dark Ale) & their Left Eye Right Eye Double IPA wasn’t too overpowering. Again, though, they’re all pretty good from what I’ve tried. Here are some pictures… and yes, it's located next to Cock Grease Hair Pomade...

 

Our last stop was Oak Park Brewing Company which seems to be a little more focused on the restaurant aspect of the brewery with a very diverse menu with chefs and what have you… but the beer isn’t lacking either. It was very similar to the restaurant at Sierra Nevada last month but with a 7 barrel system as opposed to the massive complex in Chico. Their draft list was really diverse with things like a Pumpkin Saison, Imperial Oatmeal Porter, Coffee Porter, Flanders Brown and frankly… they were all pretty darn good. We also order some bacon & bleu mac & cheese… and it was scrumptious. Here are some pictures…

 

Sunday, I was due to help out with the bottle sort for the California State Homebrew Competition… but unfortunately… I apparently got a pretty bad case of food poisoning. “Come on $teve, you were just f**king drunk and/or hungover! Let’s be real…” Oh no, I was VERY respectable… the entire time that I was in Sacramento with no more than two pints at a location… over the course of MANY hours… and I was perfectly fine until I dozed off on the drive back… and it just HIT me. I have no idea what it was… but I have a few suspicions… but I don’t want to go into details. The important thing was that my lovely ladyfriend Izzy was an absolutely champ, took care of me (SEE! She wasn’t drunk either! She’s a lightweight!) as well as helped the bottle sort by picking up one-third of the entries and dropping them off. I feel really bad that I wasn’t able to help out… but hey, there’s still time before the big show in a few weeks! Regardless, the rest of the San Francisco Homebrewers Guild and other volunteers got everything set for the preliminary round next week (when we’ll be moving Izzy’s mom, so I’m sure I’ll be helping after that).

 

Anyway, so it was a great weekend other than a few REALLY suck-ass hours Sunday… but it was still okay… we watched some football & some movies… but more on those later. Until then, go check out some of those great breweries in Sacramento… and have a great day everybody!!!