What's with Santa's Private Reserve?

It's typically one of my favorite X-mas time beers. This year, its seems really toffee-esque to me. I don't like toffee flavors in my beer, it seems skunky to me. But I am sure that this is not what it typically tastes like. Did they change the recipe or did I just get a bad batch?

Kellerweis

Ok, so I am not posting like I thought I would. Of course with two kids it is much harder to get out and have new beer experiences... How I long for a romantic beer trip back to Portland or Seattle....

Anyway, I tried Sierra Nevada's new Kellerweis Hefeweizen, and I must say, I am really digging it. It's a good 'hot day in Sacramento', or 'drinking in the sunshine all day' kind of beer. It is pretty traditional as far as hefeweizens go, slighty more spicy that banana-y, just the way I like them. So if you like hefes, I suggest you pick some up. :)

Yeah Hefe!

So currently the hefeweizen is back on draft at SBC right now. I have no idea how long it will last, but I will most certainly be in there on Friday and probably off and on for the next few weeks. (I will be in Sac for a few weeks.) And in these triple digit Sac days, boy will it be refreshing! My mouth is watering...

Yikes...

So I made it back to SBC, several weeks ago. I am so glad they are still open, would miss them incredibly if they closed, and it would certainly be a great loss for beer lovers everywhere. But with that said... I am terribly dissappointed. They do have a much more extensive beer list, and they have some magnificent beers. At least they do sometimes. Seems everything I wanted to order was out (they were out of at least 3 beers I wanted to enjoy.) And I say this in my saddest, most pathetic, woe is me voice: They are not brewing the hefeweizen anymore. That hefe is the standard to which my husband and I compare all hefes! I have gloated and bragged and convinced people to drive to Sac soley for the hefe (I do push the IPA too)... whatever will I do without my hefe? Sacramento in the summer is already horrendous, and now it shall be that much worse without the delight of hefe to keep me from melting in Sacramento. Anyway, as I said, they do have some excellent beers to choose from in their beer list, as long as you get there within a few days of tapping, Bear Republic brews being among my favorites. I went on Easter as well as they had dogfish head Aprihop. I have always wanted to try that and it was rather yummy. (It would never be an everyday beer, but an excellent choice for to have. ) They at one time had Maudite on draft, and some local Rubicon brews. I do believe they had far too may Firestone Walker taps. Don't get me wrong, its dcent beer, and good to have as variety, but they dedicated like 5 taps to them. There is definitely far superior beer to be pouring...

Overall, I will still visit SBC whenever I can, and I will probably cry in my beer every time as I will be wishing for a hefe... But I still highly reccomend them, they are just no longer in my top faves...

The death of my youth...

So as aforementioned, my husband and I are from Sac, and pretty much fell in love at Sacramento Brewing Company. We spent time there almost every day, as we both worked very nearby, and you certainly couldn't beat their happy hour prices. A pitcher or two PLUS a decent-tasting, well apportioned, pepperoni pizza for $20? Heaven. And as we spent so much time there, eventually everyone did know our name and SBC was our home away from home. We definitely felt like family. Eventually though, our lives had come to a standstill in Sacramento, and we decided to move to Santa Cruz (my husband chose UC Santa Cruz for his BS.) Our local brewery here in Santa Cruz is no match to SBC and we miss it every day. (Seabright Brewery is delightful and has become a staple of our sunny Santa Cruz afternoons.) As all of our family and friends still live in Sac, we make it back about once a month. And SBC is still our central location for catching up with friends and family. Our best friend will always show up if I tell him we're at the brewery, and another very close friend tends bar and brews beer at SBC. Back in October, I celebrated my 28th Birthday and it was the best birthday I have had in countless years (except maybe 21 in Vegas). The atmosphere is very inviting, everyone is friendly, and the beer is magnificent.

On my last trip to Sac (early January), I planned a meet up with everyone, as always, at the brewery. I dropped the kids at my parents and headed out. Upon arrival... my heart was broken. They were closed. No explanation, no personal apology to me (their biggest fan), no final farewell pint. And now, there was nowhere to meet with friends. I haven't been back to Sac since. My husband and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary a few weeks ago and were not able to celebrate it where we fell in love. Tragic.

But, there is still hope! They also have another location in Sac, and this one did not close. They are still operating, albeit, they have changed the pace slightly. From what I understand, they have expanded to 36? taps of exceptional microbrews. I must be planning a trip to Sac... (Hopefully they are still family friendly.)

And please support them if you get the opportunity. A pint is such a small sacrifice to pay in these hard economic times. :)

It's like drinking liquid flowers...

My husband and I from the Sacramento area, and spent pretty much all of our 21 and over years at Sacramento Brewing Company's Sunrise at the Oasis in Citrus Heights. It was very close to where we worked, featured amazing happy hour specials, and well, everyone knew our name. SBC brews one of my all time favorite hefeweizens and I am proud to say, SBC was my first real introduction to beer. Before I met my husband, I HATED beer. Swore it off completely. My dad (never a big drinker) would have Coors in cans in the fridge, and as I entered high school, I would occasionally sneak one off to try. But the few times I did that, immediately upon opening, I realized what a mistake that was and how absolutely awful it tasted and I would dump the whole can out. After a few tries, I realized how much I did not like beer and gave up on it altogether. A few years later, after high school, I met my future husband. He, on the other hand, had grown up with a beer drinkin' mama and uncle, and they had even dappled in brewing their own. So he definitely appreciated good beer (we won't talk about the Natural Ice of his high school days), and tried desperately to persuade me of the finer qualities of a well brewed ale. I wasn't easily convinced, and thank goodness he's stubborn, because I eventually fell in love with SBC.
Now his favorite was known as Pharoh's Liquid Gold, and you used to be able to purchase it in a gallon plastic beer to go contraption. So before I was 21, he would pick one up and he and his best friend would again try to convince me that beer is indeed liquid gold. IPA as a push to a non beer drinker? Probably not the best move. But I was willing to keep trying as he LOVED it so much. (the things we do for love.)

Well, in trying to find a beer that I would like, we started trying to explore the different aspects and flavors in beer as a jumping off point. So we tried beers that were very malty, versus very hoppy, versus very yeasty. He always tried to convince me that hops make the beer taste and smell like a flower. HA, never bought that one. I don't know what kind of flowers he was sniffing, but I didn't find anything but bitterness. And then... the flower enveloped me in a beer called Red Horse. I took one sip from a freshly poured pint of Red Horse and suddenly the world of hops became clear to me. I'll be damned if that didn't taste like the best, most complex, most delicate flower I had ever tasted. How on Earth do you make something taste like that? I was hooked - my favorite beer became Red Horse and I spent as much time at SBC as possible (within reason), drinking all the liquid flowers I could. And that eventually leads to the death of my love...