Club Corner
Beer of the Month Club October 2024: Hanabi Lager Co.
Hanabi Lager Co. This month we have something pretty fun not only for beer fans, but also for those of us who have an interest in wine and its intersection with craft beer . Before starting Hanabi Lager, Nick Gislason and Jennifer Angelosante brewed beer together while they were at college at Western Washington University. Nick even spent a year working at their local brewery before graduating with a bachelors in chemistry. He received a master’s degree from UC Davis in enology and viticulture and worked at wineries such as O'Shaughnessy, Craggy Range, and Harlan Estate before landing at Screaming Eagle in 2010. All the while he managed one the only Japanese-style fireworks shows on the West Coast, a passion he had followed since the age of 12, apprenticing under a master fireworks builder. After getting her masters in Mathematics and spending a few years as an actuary, Jennifer apprenticed at Naked Wines before receiving a second master’s from UC Davis in Enology and Viticulture, and apprenticing at wineries such as Hanzell, Bitouzet-Prieur, Shea, and Chateau Certan. Once graduating she worked as an Enologist at Realm, Assistant Viticulturist at Silverado, and as a Technical Writer for Guildsomm, a non-profit member organization and great resource for in depth wine information. While doing all of this Jennifer and Nick brewed fresh beer for their fellow winemakers, trying their hands at a myriad of different styles, and eventually focusing on traditional Czech and German style lagers. They intertwine their winemaking philosophy with traditional brewing methods and utilize specific heirloom grains according to their seasonality. In 2015, they started to crystalize how they would take this project to the next step in a way that still felt personal to them. They assembled a workshop designed and built from the ground up with help from a brewery engineer and fabricator to help them focus on the most interesting barley malts they could get their hands on and limiting the ingredients to what a good lager should be: barley, hops, yeast, and water. Cheers! Justin Malesheetz Beer Buyer Hanabi Lager Co. Haná Pilsner Style Lager Napa, CA Their core beer brewed year round featuring the heirloom barley used in the first Pilsner made in 1842. Pouring a slightly hazy light yellow with a fluffy mousse like foam. Slightly grainy and floral on the nose. Bright and pleasingly bitter on the palate, with a touch of maltiness. Notes of lemon grass, mint, and fennel shine through on the dry finish. $15.99 per bottle / $173.29 per case Suggested Food Pairings: Fresh spring rolls, phở, dim sum, pozole verde Hanabi Lager Co. Edelweiss Pilsner Style Lager Napa, CA Made from a descendant of the Haná barley used in the Hana Pilsner. Light yellow and slightly hazy in the glass with a fluffy foam. Very light grain on the nose, with notes of lemongrass and bay leaf shining through. While this shares a lot of the same characteristics of the Haná (bright lemongrass and mint notes with a moderate, well integrated hop bitterness and light but distinct malt), there’s more coming through with notes of grapefruit pith, lemon peel, and lemon balm on the dry and refreshing finish. $18.99 per bottle / $205.69 per case Suggested Food Pairings: ceviche, spaetzle, fish tacos, Peruvian-style roast chicken
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Beer of the Month Club July 2024: Break Even Beermakers
BREAK EVEN BEERMAKERS This month we have an ambitious new project based out of a tiny city up in gold country. Originally founder Kevin Carter was looking for a place close to San Francisco to relocate his father from the Pacific Northwest. This eventually led him to Amador City, where he purchased a building that at the time was a beer house and BBQ restaurant as well as 40 acres nearby. Once he decided to open a small brewery in the space he was connected with Aaron Wittman who had started his brewing career at Rare Barrel after spending time in academia, went on to Cellarmaker, and was working with Berkeley Yeast designing beers to test newly engineered yeast to be used for commercial brewing before going over to help start Break Even. The pair started work in 2020, with an eye towards using local and sustainable ingredients from like minded companies close to home, like Admiral Maltings for grain and hops from California Farmers, going only as far as the Pacific Northwest for other needed varieties. They use a Copper 10 barrel system to make 2 to 3 Beers a month with a focus on high quality sessionable beers. They pride themselves in doing everything as hyper regional as possible, even planting an acre of hops along with an orchard with olive trees and apricots. All of this extra care shows in the beers, which are well balanced and expressive. Cheers! Justin Malesheetz Beer Buyer Break Even Beermakers Chasm Black Lager Amador City, CA Brilliantly clear black with a fluffy foam that quickly dissipates. Rich toasty nose with notes of vietnamese coffee, chocolate biscuit, graham cracker, toasted brioche, and a touch of vanilla. Dry on the palate while still feeling rich and showing some coffee fruitiness and a light pleasing bitterness on the long finish. $6.99 per 16 oz can / $26.99 per 4pk Break Even Beermakers Poppy Pedal Hoppy Lager Amador City, CA Pale gold, with a thick fluffy foam. Very floral and citrusy on the nose, with notes of bread flour, white peach, grapefruit, green apple. Moderate hop bitterness on the soft palate with a round maltiness and a more tropical flavor with notes of pineapple and mango. Perfect for when you want all the flavor of an IPA, but without the heaviness. $6.99 per 16 oz can / $26.99 per 4pk Break Even Beermakers The Head of Joaquin Murieta Hazy IPA Amador City, CA Slightly hazy straw with moderately fluffy foam. Bright and tropical on the nose with notes of pineapple, key lime, guava, and new world riesling. On the palate the lush fruit is accompanied by notes of cotton candy, banana, and a slight bread flour like malt character balanced by moderate hop bitterness and a dry finish. $6.99 per 16 oz can / $26.99 per 4pk
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January 2023 Beer of the Month Club: Lagers!
Lagers For January this year I’ve got some different lagers for ya. Mostly light in body, low ABV & crushable. From German light style lagers like a Helles & a Kolsch, to a hoppy “California” Pilsner, a black lager, a Mexican style amber lager, a rice lager that's been aged in an oak foeder and even a barrel aged sour lager with wine grapes. The basic difference between a lager and an ale is how they are fermented. Ales are fermented with top-fermenting yeast at warm temperatures (60˚–70˚F), and lagers are fermented with bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures (35˚–50˚F). Lagers can differ in style quite a bit, but don't seem to get recognition for their differences when compared to ales. Here’s the proof, have fun. Cheers! -Sam Ghost Town - Haka Location: Oakland CA Ghost Town brewed a Japanese style rice lager, then aged it in their huge oak Foeder. Beer style: Rice lager 5.3% abv Serve 38-45° F Barebottle - Green Haus Location: San Francisco CA Barebottle decided to use a hop build normally found in an american west coast IPA for this pilsner. Light in body but not in hops this will take you to flavor town without weighing you down. Beer style: West Coast Pilsner 5% abv Serve 38–45° F Laughing Monk - Santa Chela Location: San Francisco, CA Light like a standard lager, but with some subtle toasted bread flavors. Enjoy with or without a slice of lime. Beer style: Mexican style amber lager. 5.1% abv Serve 38–45° F Heater Allen - Schwarz Location: McMinnville, Oregon This black lager is roasty and full of flavor but keeps it light in body. This is their take on the Bohemian black lager, “Shwartzbier”. Beer style: Bohemian style Schwartzbier (black lager) 4.9% abv Serve 40-50° F Cooperage - Helles Lager Location: Santa Rosa, CA This German style Helles lager is golden, refreshing and just plain poundable. Beer style: German style Helles lager 4.7% abv Serve 38-45° F Original Pattern - Cross Hatch Location: Oakland, CA Kolsch! Crisp and clean. Technically a Kolsch has to come from Cologne Germany but whatevs. Beer style: Kolsch 5% abv Serve 38-45° F Russian River Brewing - Intinction Location: Santa Rosa, CA Russian River Brewing took a pilsner and aged it in Sauvignon Blanc barrels with Brettanomyces (an ale yeast) and fresh Sauvignon Blanc grapes, then refermented it in the bottle. Tart and complex! Beer style: Barrel Aged Pilsner 8.25% abv Serve 40-55° F
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