OC Beer Society 2nd Annual Chili Cook-off & Bottle-share at Peace Brewing

OC Beer Society 2nd Annual Chili Cook-off & Bottle-share

Wow, that title is quite a mouthful, but clearly articulates what went down over the weekend.  For the second year in a row I attended and entered chili at OC Beer Society's 2nd Annual Chili Cook-off & Bottle Share which was held once again at my buddy Brad's house (aka Peace Brewing).  If you would like a rundown of last year go check out the post Greg at OC Beer Blog put up.

This year the turnout was pretty much double what it was last year, and the competition for top chili honors was fierce. Where as last year I helped my wife make a kick-ass turkey chili with IPA this year I was really shooting for the gold with what I thought would be hands down winner - Barrel Aged 33 Brand Chili (recipe below).  To seal the deal I even went the extra steps of topping it with bacon.  Unfortunately in the end it was to no avail and Greg ended up taking the top prize with Daniel coming in second, but enough about the chili let's talk beer!

Beer!

I brought four beers this year; Cuvée Saint-Gilloise (Cantillon), Holiday Beer 2010 (SNB Brewing), Commander (Lift Bridge) and The Auroch’s Horn Aged On Rhubarb (Olvalde).  The Cuvée was excellent and was my 1,200th check in on Untappd. I was really surprised by how good the Holiday Beer 2010 had gotten, all the spices have really melded well into the beer to create something truly special. I've got two bottles left and I think I'm going to continue the tradition of opening them at this event next year and the year after.  The other beer I brought that I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it was The Auroch’s Horn Aged On Rhubarb (Olvalde).  I got a slight sour/tart note on it that reminded me of chardonnay.  I asked someone who knew wine what she thought and while she didn't get chardonnay she could see where I was coming from when I described why I was tasting chardonnay.

Some of the beers I thought were highlights of the event for me were; Four and Five (Surly - shocking I know), Rooster King (Beancurdturtle Brewing - really developing nicely with the Portola coffee), Murda'd Out Stout (Three Floyds - I'd wanted to try it), Kopi-Speedway Stout (AleSmith - score), Le Bleu (Ithaca - fantastic blueberry beer) and Black Note (Bell's - once I'm back from Europe and the frenzy dies down I'm trading for a 4-pack)

Here's the complete list of beers (red highlights = what I brought / blue highlights = highlights for me)

• Rooster King by Beancurdturtle Brewing
• Thumbprint Cran-bic Ale (2011) by New Glarus Brewing Company
• Totality (2012) by FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
• Cuvée Saint-Gilloise (Champions) by Brasserie Cantillon - Untappd Check-in 1,200!
• Trappistes Rochefort 10 by Abbey Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy
• 120 Minute IPA (2012) by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
• Five by Surly Brewing Company
• Murda'd Out Stout by Three Floyds Brewing Company
• Winter Ale by Kern River Brewing Company
• Four by Surly Brewing Company
• Holiday Beer 2010 by SNB Brewing
• Kentucky Dark Star by Fremont Brewing
• Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale Aged In Bourbon Barrels (2010) by Stone Brewing
• Firestone 13 Anniversary Ale by Firestone Walker Brewing Company
• Earl by Hill Farmstead Brewery
• Commander Bona Fide Barleywine (2011) by Lift Bridge Brewery
• Speedway Stout (Kopi Luwak) by AleSmith Brewing Company
• Bourbon Abominable by Fremont Brewing
• Black Note Bourbon Barrel Aged by Bell's Brewery, Inc.
• Gingerbread Stout by Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
• Bourbon Barrel Aged Plead The 5th (2012) by Dark Horse Brewing Co.
• Excelsior! Le Bleu by Ithaca Beer Company
• Rodenbach Caractère Rouge by Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm Breweries)
• Excelsior! White Gold by Ithaca Beer Company
• Ola Dubh 18 Year Special Reserve by Harviestoun Brewery
• Trappist Westvleteren 8 by Brouwerij De Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren
• Noyaux by Cascade Brewing Company
• The Auroch’s Horn Aged On Rhubarb by Olvalde Farm and Brewing Company
• 50 25 Sour Belgian Style Quad Ale by Stoudts Brewing Company
• Arthur by Hill Farmstead Brewery
• The Count by Grimm Brothers Brewhouse
• Eclipse - Heaven Hill Rye (2009) by FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
• R & D Golden Ale by New Glarus Brewing Company
• Ruination IPA with Habanero Peppers by Stone Brewing Co.

Scott and Brian (Thee Beer Book)

It was a great afternoon of beer. Brad and Ron (OC Beer Society) really put together an incredible event that was a ton of fun.  I got to try a lot of great beer but more than that I got to hang out and really get to know a lot of the OC beer scene.  For me it was really a fusion of multiple groups; OC Beer Society, SBS (Scott, Steve, Ryan with David and Marisa) Brewluminti etc.  A few people from the OC Beer Society like Chris (Orangey) I'd seen only online while others like Nick (Miklos) and Jeff I'd met before but got to know this round.

I honestly can't wait for the 3rd Annual!

Cheers

- SNB

Manfish Brewing Comes to Town Part 2 + Bootlegger’s Brewery and Peace Brewing

When we last left our tale Ken from Manfish Brewing and Scott from SNB Brewing had teamed up to investigate rumors of outstanding beer and food in the port village of Long Beach.   After concluding that yes one could find dynamite suds and grub in the Aquatic Capital of the Nation they were trapped on the wrong side of the Orange curtain. For a while we wondered if our intrepid heroes would be able to break away from the Gateway Cities back into the OC… Fortunately Ken’s wheelman skills were more than a match for the mean streets of the LBC and soon they crusin the 91 toward Fullerton and their next destination Bootlegger’s Brewery.

Bootlegger's Brewery 

The Beer on tap board

Now that the intro is over I can dive right back into journey.  As I mentioned in part 1 the last time Ken was in town I’d taken him to Bootlegger’s to get a pint of Knuckle Sandwich and I knew he wanted to go back.  One of the biggest reasons for this was how much Bootlegger’s has changed and grown over the last year. Unfortunately due to a shortage of Simcoe hops Knuckle Sandwich has been very limited and increasingly hard to get so he was unable to enjoy another glass.

Fermenting Tanks

Bootlegger’s Brewery was founded in 2008 by homebrewer Aaron Barkenhagen, a great guy who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a couple of times.

Bootlegger’s is one of those places I really want to love… unfortunately more often than not I am let down.  Don’t get me wrong they make some very good beer. Knuckle Sandwich is insane and lives up to the hype, Palamino is a very nice pale ale, the 77 Anniversary was great and one time I has a excellent spring ale.  For me I think it might be my own expectations for myself and them that is at fault. 

They have been growing a lot and I still love to see what they have going on.  They are by far the second best commercial brewery in the OC and are always worth a visit.  The thing I really love about them is their mission to be a small artesian brewery supplying the local community.  They have done a great job lately in penetrating local restaurants allowing me to often have a local craft option with dinner.

Eliminator IPA

For this trip I stared out by sampling the Black Lager, which in my opinion was pretty well made.  It was clean, dark and malty. Not want I was wanting by great in its own way.

Ken ordered a full pint of the Nose Job IPA, while I opted for a half pint of the Eliminator IPA dry hopped with some centennial and sorachi ace.  I’ve had a couple of beers now using sorachi ace and I don’t think I dig the lemoniness that the hop imparts.  The color though was a gorgeous golden orange with brilliant clarity.

Before leaving I had one last sample of the Plum Riot which is a “Belgian” brewed with plums while Ken grabbed a fill of the Rustic Rye IPA in the growler I had once sent him full of Knuckle Sandwich.

Peace Brewing

Really quick before I go on to Peace Brewing I want to point out that all of the photos in this section were taken by the amazing Brian Evans.  I first met Brian when he came over to a brew day I hosted to photograph my buddy Don Barnum of BackhouseBrew for his Thee Beer Book Project.  If you have a second I highly recommend you check it out as you will find tons of great pictures of brewing (both big and small) as well as getting an intro to the legendary Shawn!

Entry Sign to Peace Brewing
Photo Courtesy of Brian Evans Photography

While in route to Bootlegger’s I gave one of my BrewBrothers, Brad, a call to ask if we could stop by after hitting Bootlegger’s.  I wanted to introduce Ken to Brad who I have a lot of respect and love for and so he could check out the amazing pub/brewery that Brad had built in the back yard.

The Pub Side of Peace Brewing
Photo Courtesy of Brian Evans Photography

The house itself is an old craftsmen that Brad and his wife Daira had restored and the place is absolutely beautiful.  In the back yard stands a century old avocado tree that defines the space, next to it a tranquil fish pond.  On this visit I got a chance to see the deck Brad had recently been building between visits.  I still remember talking to him at a brew club meeting about how he was thinking of redoing the deck.  Three days later I was back over for an IPA tasting to find the deck gone, fish moved and in its place the frame work for the new deck.  In three days.  The new deck is absolutely outstanding, done in a gourgous stained redwood.  Trust me, I could go into serious detail about how much I love this deck and using redwood (I’ve built a few myself in the past) but this is not SNBDecking.com (hmm I should register that…).

Pub/Brewery is the house’s old garage which no longer has street access.  Brad converted it into a British style pub complete with a walk in climate controlled room that he houses his fermenting beer in, an industrial glass front fridge for beer and keg storage which is connected to the pub via a tap wall.  The pub also includes a gentleman’s restroom complete with a blackboard on the door warning that the elusive hopburglar is in the area, good to know.

The Brewery Side of Peace Brewing
Photo Courtesy of Brian Evans Photography

For his brewing set up Brad employs a hoist that always him to brew on a very small footprint. The premise is he heat his strike water in his hot liquid tank, hoists it up to fill his mash tun lowers it back down and repeats for the sparge water.  Once the mash is done he fires up his brew keggle and boils on the burner, it’s really a great set up.

Brad hooked me up a with an awesome pint glass that he etched the Peace Brewing logo onto using glass etching paste.  I’ll probably get around to doing the same for some SNB Brewing imperial pints later in the year. 

I wanted to break it in right away but Brad instated that I use another glass so I did.  Starting out in the pub I enjoyed a glass of his house porter on nitro! This beer was rich and silky smooth on the nitro really well done.  I followed that up with a pint of the house blonde and headed outside to relax on the deck.

I’ve mentioned before that there are few things I enjoy more that hanging out with my friends drinking great beer.  This was definitely one of those moments.  I was very pleased to have had the opportunity on an otherwise busy day of beer touring to make a decently long stop at Peace Brewing.

Here is a full video tour of Peace Brewing hosted by the man himself.

And with that we were off to our next destination, The Bruery

Cheers

-SNB