Club Corner
Beer of the Month Club May 2025: Asian American Breweries
Asian American Breweries This month we’ll be featuring a trio of Asian American owned breweries from across the Americas. There is a long history of brewing in Asia, with evidence of brewing in China going as far back as 7000 BCE, and as far back as 8500 BCE near the Euphrates in modern day Turkey. Beer’s current popularity on the continent is a relatively recent development though, with larger industrial breweries becoming the norm following colonialism in the early 20th century. Craft brewing is also fairly young, having started in the late 20th century, before exploding in the mid 2010’s. Returning to the Americas, while 19% of restaurants in the United States are owned by Asian Americans, only 2% of breweries are Asian owned. We have selected 3 standouts to spotlight for May: Dokkaebier was founded in February 2020 by Youngwon Lee. Born in Korea but raised in America, Youngwon returned to Korea as a young adult to sell Californian wine and high end spirits. When he returned to California he pivoted to craft beer, eventually working at the Eureka offshoot of Korean Microbrewery The Booth. After the Eureka location closed, Lee began planning out opening his own brewery, recruiting Aaron Weshnak, former Head Brewer at The Booth, with the focus on brewing beer with Korean inspired flavors. Japas Cervejaria was founded in 2014 by Maíra Kimura, Yumi Shimada, and Fernanda Ueno, who met through the Brazilian beer industry and connected over their shared Japanese-Brazilian heritage. Fernanda and Maíra both have over a decade brewing and Yumi is an accomplished graphic designer. They deftly combine Japanese and Brazilian ingredients in their beers. King Cong Brewing was founded by Cong Nguyen. The son of Vietnamese immigrants, he graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton with a degree in Biology. After attempting to get into dental school, Cong pivoted and enrolled in UC Davis Master Brewers program and fell in love with the process. While working at his brother’s dental office during the day, he worked on perfecting his craft at night. Cong was eventually able to open his own taproom in 2017, he worked to create a welcome, community oriented atmosphere. Cheers! Plumpjack Wine & Spirits Dokkaebier Calamansi & Tea Lager Oakland, CA USA Tasting Notes: A clear medium amber with slightly thin mousse-like foam. Biscuit like malt notes along with candied lemon peel and tea on the nose. Soft and malty with a slightly bitter citrus finish. Head Brewer: Aaron Weshnak $4.99 per can Suggested Food Pairing: shrimp ceviche, fresh spring rolls Japas Ma West Coast Pilsner Sao Paulo, Brazil Tasting Notes: A clear pale gold with fluffy foam with notes of green tea, guava, grapefruit, and fresh pine. Slightly dry herbaceous finish with moderate bitterness and flavors of fresh herbs, grapefruit peel, and tropical fruits. HBC 1019 and Cascade hops. Head Brewer: Maíra Kimura, Yumi Shimada, and Fernanda Ueno $5.99 per can Suggested Food Pairing: Roasted root vegetables, hard cheeses, spicy dry sausages, cannellini bean salad Japas San Tres Blonde Ale with guava and jasmine Sao Paulo, Brazil Tasting Notes: Slightly hazy amber with a fluffy white foam. Bright guava notes on the nose with a light floral character. Where the guava shows more on the nose, the jasmine shines on the palate framing flavors of guava and satsuma with a slightly bitter finish and pleasant graininess. Head Brewer: Maíra Kimura, Yumi Shimada, and Fernanda Ueno $5.99 per can Suggested Food Pairing: Dim sum, chicken flautas King Cong Brewing Third Rail Rider West Coast IPA Sacramento, CA USA Tasting Notes: Slightly hazy gold with fluffy foam and a tropical, piney nose. Soft with moderate hop bitterness and a grainy maltiness balances notes of guava, passion fruit, and tangerine. Head Brewer: Cong Nguyen $4.99 per can Suggested Food Pairing: Fish tacos, rajas, chile verde, mango habanero wings
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Beer of the Month Club February 2025: Urban Roots Brewing and Smokehouse
URBAN ROOTS BREWING This month we’ll be looking at a brewery from 2 industry stalwarts who have created something very special up in our state’s capitol. Urban Roots Brewing was started by longtime friends Rob Archie and Peter Hoey, who had been talking about starting a project together for years. Rob is a Sacramento based Restaurateur with multiple successful restaurants under his belt, but is best known for starting Pangea Bier Cafe which pairs great food (including an award winning burger) with a beautifully curated draft list and regular brewer’s dinners. He paired his restaurant experience with head brewmaster Peter Hoey, who has decades of experience working with such breweries as Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Brewing Co., and Bison Brewing. Peter is also an instructor with the American Brewers Guild and has years of experience on the sales side working for Brewers Supply Group. Since opening Urban Roots in 2018, they have won numerous awards, including Brewery of the Year at the California Craft Brewers Cup, multiple gold and silver medals at various competitions, and most recently Business of the Year by the California Black Chamber of Commerce and CA Legislative Black Caucus for being a black-owned business and making a difference in the local community. From delivering meals to local college students during the pandemic and organizing the We Stand With You Initiative after the George Flloyd shooting, Urban Roots Brewing works hard to be a positive force in their community along with making great beer. Cheers! Justin Malesheetz Beer Buyer Urban Roots Brewing Like Riding a Bike West Coast IPA $4.99 per can / $17.99 per 4-Pack Pouring a clear golden with fluffy foam and medium carbonation. A classic resinous nose with notes of pine, peach rings, pineapple, grapefruit, and a light floral note. Fairly dry, with moderate hop bitterness and a crisp, fruity finish with notes of tropical citrus and cherry gummies on the palate. 6.2% ABV Urban Roots Brewing Extra Guac Double IPA $6.99 per can / $22.99 per 4-pack A brilliantly clear straw in the glass with moderate foam on the thinner side. Aromatic nose bursting out of the glass with notes of guava, tangerine, ruby grapefruit, and a light grain character. Soft and piny palate that doesn’t feel overly hot, with a pronounced hop bitterness that balances the long citrusy finish. 8.2% ABV Urban Roots Brewing Chocolate Moustache - Spumoni $23.99 per bottle A deep black with a slight red tint to the edges. A decadent nose jumps out of the glass bringing to mind German black forest cake, dark chocolate brownies, pistachio, and Dr. Pepper. Lush, mouthcoating, and boozy without feeling overdone. 14.9% ABV
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Beer of the Month Club December 2024: Other Half Brewing
OTHER HALF BREWING To close the year out we have a selection of IPAs from a brewery celebrating their tenth anniversary this year. Other Half Brewing was founded in 2014 by Sam Richardson, who studied fermentation science at Oregon State with chefs Matt Monahan and Andrew Burman. Richardson, who is the head brewer, met Monahan after moving to New York to work at Greenpoint Beerworks. After opening they quickly gained notoriety for the sprawling lines of beer enthusiasts waiting to get their hands on their beer. They soon expanded from their original Brooklyn facility to multiple locations in New York and eventually out to Philadelphia and Washington DC. They are known for their New England-Style IPAs, a richly aromatic, tropical style with a soft, pillowy mouthfeel from the addition of flaked oats or wheat malt, and without the bitterness sometimes found in some IPAs which is usually achieved by double dry hopping the beer. Essentially, this process involves using comparatively fewer hops in the boiling phase while adding more during fermentation or conditioning to keep the bright hoppy aromas while minimizing bitterness in the finished beer. Cheers! Justin Malesheetz Beer Buyer Other Half Brewing Green Flowers Double Dry Hopped West Coast IPA NYC / USA A clear straw with fluffy foam and a bright nose of papaya, peach, grapefruit, and mango with a slight herbal resinous quality. On the palate it is soft, with a bit of malty sweetness and bread flour character to balance the pineapple and tropical notes. Made with Simcoe, Chinook, Nelson Sauvin, and Columbus Cryo hops. 6.8% ABV Head Brewer: Sam Richardson $7.99 per can / $26.99 per 4-Pack Other Half Motueka+Galaxy Double Dry Hopped Imperial IPA NYC / USA A deep hazy straw with a thinner foam and lots of citrus on the nose with notes of ruby grapefruit, tangerine, mandarin orange, and pineapple. Lush and pillowy on the palate, with a grainy malt character, soft carbonation, and notes of orange sherbet. 8.5% ABV Head Brewer: Sam Richardson $9.99 per can / $33.99 per 4-Pack
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March Beer Of The Month
Cellarmaker Brewing If there’s one thing we love at PlumpJack, it’s establishing new relationships with local breweries to expand our selection of the freshest of the fresh from the localest of the local; and we are always excited to shine our spotlight on hometown heroes. Cellarmaker Brewing, from here in San Francisco, is in our opinion one of the best breweries in the bay. To coincide with bringing them into the fold, we have expanded our cold storage to fit all of your beer club selections. Why is this important? Well, you may have noticed a lack of hoppy beers in our beer club as of late. So let me lay down a fact for you all: hoppy beers need cold storage. Will the beer spoil without it? Not exactly, you can still drink it; but the flavors and aromas will vastly differ from the brewer’s intent. Time has a huge impact on the intricacies of the hops’ flavors, and the longer a hoppy beer is stored, the more it loses from its layers and complexities. Storing beer at room or even cellar temperature multiplies this aging effect almost 7 fold. There are other factors such as oxygen levels, of which Cellarmaker’s canning system excels at, but lets not get too far into those weeds. This month you have a mixed 6 pack of pints. A Lager, a Pale Ale, three single Hazy IPAs, and a double Hazy IPA. Enjoy the fresh hops and fruitiness of these beers, and please - keep them cold and drink them soon! Cheers! Sam Gold Stallion Hops: Crystal This California pilsner is brewed with low colored Canadian pilsner malt and a small amount of rice for an extremely light and crisp pilsner. We keep the malt restrained to showcase a judicious hopping of citrusy and spicy Michigan and Oregon grown Crystal hops. Refreshing as can be! Beer style: California Pilsner 5.2% abv, Serve 38°F Emerald Eyes Hops: Strata, Riwaka & Talus The world needs more pale ale. You should drink more pale ale. And that’s why we are stoked to rebrew this very new pale, sessionable and aromatic brew. Hopped with a unique and modern combination of Riwaka, Strata and Talus, Emerald Eyes is incredibly soft with aromas of peachy stonefruit, white grape and guava and underlying notes of coastal pine and lime. Beer style: Hazy Pale Ale 5.7% abv, Serve 45° F Wizard Hand Of Evil Hops: Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin & Idaho 7 Wizard Hand of Evil is a sinisterly drinkable IPA with aromas of just ripened pineapple, tangy OG Kush and Bartlett pears. It has a balanced malt profile and just enough bitterness on the back to make you go back for another sip. The all-seeing eye that sees! Hops: Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin & Idaho 7 Beer style: Hazy IPA 6.8% abv, Serve 45° F Cloudy With A Chance Of Doobis Hops: Citra The Dobis family is dedicated to brews made with 100 % Citra. Our tap list, like this Bay Area weather, is changing all the time. However, we love Citra so much, there is usually a chance of Dobis. This Dobis has an expressive yeast to soften & add even more tropical fruity flavors to your experience. We enjoy the aromas of passionfruit, mango & pineapple. Beer style: Hazy IPA 6.8% abv, Serve 45° F Wicked Juicy Hops: Simcoe, Citra & Galaxy In Northern California we say HELLA, but in Boston they say WICKED… We first brewed Wicked Juicy back in 2015 as our 1st attempt at creating an IPA in the style of the great hop-forward brewers in the Northeast. Now it is a favorite! We make this one with Simcoe, Citra & Galaxy hops along with a simple grist of pale malt & oats & ferment it warm with an expressive yeast. It’s totally unfiltered and juicy AF! Beer style: Hazy IPA 7% abv, Serve 45° F Captain Terp Hops: Simcoe, Enigma, Galaxy, Citra, Centennial and Idaho 7 Trade in your phaser for a dab rig and get ready to hit warp 3. Captain Terp is brewed with oats for a nice fluffy, nebulous mouthfeel that compliments the expressive yeast. Add to that an over the top hopping of Simcoe, Enigma, Galaxy, Citra, Centennial and Idaho 7 resulting in a robust, juicy ale; an apogee of tropical and bright terpene aromas. Beer style: Hazy Double IPA 8% abv, Serve 45° F
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