San Diego Beer News
Beer of the Week: Oggi’s Barrel-Aged Black Magic Stout
Oggi’s Barrel-Aged Black Magic Stout
From the Beer Writer: There are some beers that just stick with you. I started drinking in the late-nineties. Back then, the landscape for local beer was much different. Most of today’s drinkers wouldn’t even recognize an India pale ale (IPA) of that era against one from present-day (except Stone or Swami’s IPA). Back then, I was more about the malt and easily gravitated to one of the first deep, dark stouts I tried, Black Magic Stout from Oggi’s. It’s a very traditional beer that gives a stout fan everything they want—roasted, chocolate, nutty and coffee flavors—along with a low viscosity that makes for a pleasant and prolonged imbibing experience. Recently, I hit up the newest Oggi’s location in Vista and was pleased to see a barrel-aged version of this classic on tap. I ordered it up and got lost in memories that were just as rapturous and enjoyable as this beer, which comes in at 7.7% alcohol-by-volume with added flavors of vanilla and dried fruits (think raisins or dates) as a result of its spirit-barrel rest. It felt good saying hello to an old friend. In terms of beer, we had both done a bit of maturing, but it remained way smoother than I’ll ever be.
From the Brewer: “This is a version of Oggi’s Black Magic Stout aged in new American oak bourbon-style barrels. The beer pours black with a tannish head. The aroma is filled with vanilla, figs, cookie-dough and Tootsie Rolls. It has a chocolate, coffee, raisin and toasted coconut flavor and delivers a good, warming sensation, finishing dry with some fruity notes. This is a solid beer with a nice, smooth flavor.”—Randal Dilibero, Master Brewer, Left Coast Brewing Company
What’s with The Beav—Part 1
Vista-based Belching Beaver Brewery has carved out a good fan-base behind a line of mostly hoppy beers augmented by various forms of milk stout, including its popular peanut butter-flavored version. Enough of a fan-base that the company has been able to grow rather quickly, adding numerous brick-and-mortars to its wide-ranging empire faster than most of its contemporaries. Not long after opening its initial Vista brewery, Belching Beaver opened a satellite tasting-room in North Park, something only Stone Brewing had attempted at that point (2013). Last year, the company had two big construction projects going simultaneously—a new, larger brewing facility in Oceanside and renovation of a Vista Village bank into a brewery-equipped restaurant. The latter, Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern and Grill (302 East Broadway, Vista) scheduled to open very soon—if all goes as planned, the brewpub’s outdoor area will be open in time to welcome patrons this Saturday (it’s perfect timing with the San Diego Brewers Guild’s annual Rhythm and Brews Festival happening right next-door that very day.
Though this is their first food-equipped venue, the Tavern is a rather polished product with a number of stylish touches. Were it not for the safe-door off the bar, which remains the shiny, sturdy, heavy-metal icon it was in the building’s previous use, it would be tough to peg this place as a former money depository. (That portal leads into the former 17-foot-by-17-foot vault, which is being converted into a wine-room.) All this from a project originally conceived strictly as a tasting room. But the 6,740-square-foot building (roughly 12,000 SF, including the outdoor area) spot was simply too large, so they challenged themselves to take things to the next level. In doing so, they enlisted the services of chef Ramiro Guerra, who has put together a menu of familiar proteins made interesting through the inspiration of multiple culinary cultures and Belching Beaver’s beers.
An early draft of the opening-day bill of fare was broken down into “beaver small nibbles”, “brewers flat breads”, “beaver building materials (vegetation)” and “the beaver’s tail”. That last category encompasses main-course meats, poultry and fish plus sandwiches with house-made dressings (e.g., lillekoi kombucha or soy-smoked lemongrass vinaigrettes, Me So Honey mustard dressing) or “fat sauce” as they’re affectionately known here. Once more, all naming conventions aside, the menu sounds rather good, as does the fact vegetables are sourced from Cyclops Farms, Olive Crest Farms and Palmquist Elementary School Farm, along with herbs and citrus from the Tavern’s own outdoor area.
The flatbreads are made with a combination of brewer’s yeast and Belching Beaver’s Dammed IPA, and come in four varieties—sausage and leeks, four-cheese, pepperoni and sausage, and a blend of smoked duck breast with barbecue sauce. The “vegetation” equates to salads, including a soy-dressed, sesame-crusted ahi number drawing Asian inspiration, a duck-fortified riff on a Cobb, and a “San Diego Salad” with chili-rubbed chicken, black bean-corn relish and southwestern Ranch dressing. Starters include house-smoked chicken wings, roasted bone marrow, a duo of “dueling” poke (tropical vs. smoked) and a trio of sliders (bratwurst, chorizo and braised pork Cubano).
The entrées range from a pork Bahn mi sandwich and burger (beef or turkey patty) with milk stout-infused ketchup to miso-coated white-fish steamed in a banana leaf, chicken cooked in a corn husk with Ranchero sauce, passion fruit-glazed pork chop with pineapple fried rice, and three regionally inspired steak dishes—Central America with chimichurri and Peruvian beans, Brasilian Picanha with yucca fries and a U.S. version with cold-brew coffee steak sauce and mashed cauliflower. Belching Beaver could easily have gone with standard pub fare. It would have been both expected and easier, so an A for effort and ambition are in order.
The same goes for the décor. There could have been sawdust on the floor and lame neon and tin bric-a-brac lining every wall, but roll-up garage doors give way to a put-together spot. Varying shades of reclaimed wood, patina-enhanced copper and stained concrete flooring make for a complete, earthen color palette punched up by TVs at the 70-tap bar displaying the full beer list. Separating the 40-foot bar from the dining room (which seats around 120, though the entire venue can hold about 350) is a 30-foot-long faux fire-feature that uses colored lights to make mist look like flames. Outside, there’s a bar equipped with 15 taps, a quartet of fire-pits surrounded by Adirondack chairs and plenty of space for the weekend barbecues the venue intends to hold.
Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern and Grill head brewer Thomas Peters
On the brewing side, the 10-barrel system will be manned by veteran Belching Beaver brewer Thomas Peters. Most famous for crafting Pound Town, the triple IPA that took top honors at the annual Great American Beer Festival-aligned Alpha King Challenge in 2013 (as well as a malt liquor called Hot Liquor Stank), Peters will get to brew exactly what he wants, which is essentially the dream of every brewer on the planet. Up first will be a pale ale, Helles lager and a “malt liquor IPA.” For now, I’ll leave you to ponder that, but check back to West Coaster next week for a look at The Beav’s new main brewery in Oceanside.
Four breweries among largest in US in 2015
It’s that time of year again. The Brewers Association, the national trade organization representing American breweries, has released its lists of the top 50 breweries and “craft breweries” in the country, based on barrels of beers sold during calendar year 2015. Four breweries from San Diego County are included in the “craft brewery” list.
Once again, Stone Brewing is tops on the list, but the Escondido-based company slipped from ninth to tenth in the standings…one notch above Miramar-based Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits, which rose a full 20 points from its 2014 position. But wait…after being sold for $1 billion to Constellation Brands late last year, Ballast Point no longer qualifies as a “craft brewer” by the BA’s standards (*). But they are on the list based on the decision to include companies that met the BA’s criteria for all or part of 2015.
Mira Mesa-based Green Flash Brewing Company rose from 48 to 41 this year, while San Diego’s oldest continuously operating brewing operation, Karl Strauss Brewing Company, came in at 46 (down a notch from 45 in 2014). On the list of U.S. breweries, which does not consider businesses’ “craft” nature, Stone placed 15, Ballast Point came in at 17 and Green Flash edged in at 49. All three operations figure to produce far more beer in 2016 once additional brewing facilities and equipment come on-board.
Stone is looking to a third-quarter debut of breweries in both Richmond, Virginia and Berlin, Germany, while Ballast Point recently upped its production capabilities in a big way by adding a 300-barrel brewhouse and securing space in Long Beach for a barrel facility that will give birth to sours. Meanwhile, Green Flash is still hard at work on finishing construction of its East Coast brewery in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- BA Craft Brewer definition—Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer that has a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers.
Best Beer Futures: North
Indian Joe Brewing Co. owner Max Moran stands in front of his newly acquired building
Twice a year, I assess the landscape of in-process brewery-owned projects and pick a few that I feel are the most promising. I’ve been at this for nearly four years at this point, so I thought this time around I’d take a look back on the ponies I bet my money on in previous years and see how they turned out. Today, we’ll start with upcoming businesses in the northern expanses of San Diego County.
Belching Beaver Tavern & Grill, Vista: The name of the company and some of the beers would lead one to expect some sort of dive-bar with greasy fried vittles out of this soon-to-open brewery-equipped restaurant, but after touring the space, this former bank is going to look downright stylish and offer a great deal in the way of food, drink and indoor-outdoor comfort. Read more about why this tops my list of North County projects in the near future on the West Coaster site.
Indian Joe Brewing, Vista: The ownership behind this family brewery made a nondescript business park suite look downright beautiful and now they’ll get a chance to work their magic with a large, two-story facility stocked with way more taps, a giant, high-def television, outdoor eating-and-drinking area and a full-time head brewer. That last one wasn’t part of the equation before, so yeah, this figures to be a big next-step for this small business.
Northern Pine Brewing Company, Oceanside: Not a lot is known about this Kickstarter-funded brewery project, except that its owners hail from Idaho and New York, and one of them teamed with Vista’s Mother Earth Brew Co. to brew a beer paying homage to fallen Marines. But the fact that giving back to the community is one of the few for-sures with this business gives it an anticipatory edge.
Past Promising Projects: North
2013: Bagby Beer Company (Oceanside; Grade—A; spacious, unique, wide-ranging, outstanding quality), Pizza Port Bressi Ranch (Carlsbad; Grade—A; carries on the tradition with two stories and views of production), Prodigy Brewing Company (San Marcos; Grade—B; still tons of promise, but beer production stunted by business hiccups and move), Plan 9 Alehouse (Escondido; Grade—C; great food and guest tap list, but house-beer production woefully sporadic)
2014: Green Flash Brewing Company Cellar 3 (Poway; Grade—A; nice next chapter with good décor), The Hop Concept (San Marcos—A; stellar hoppy beers from hoppy beer experts), Second Chance Beer Company (Carmel Mountain—A; Rock Bottom’s loss is inland North County’s boon)
2015: Belching Beaver Brewery – Oceanside (Oceanside—Grade B; better system maintaining company’s quality beers); Mason Ale Works (Oceanside; Grade—B; early beers promising and place is perpetually packed); North 40 (Carlsbad; Grade—N/A; farm-to-table, ground-to-glass collective project still getting off the ground)
Q&A w/ Douglas Hasker – Brewmaster, Gordon Biersch Mission Valley
Veteran Doug Hasker @ Gordon Biersch Mission Valley; all photos by Kristina Yamamoto (@kristinamoto)
How long have you worked at Gordon Biersch?
I started at Gordon Biersch in 1990 when they opened their second store in San Jose. I worked as a bar manager, and not too long after that I started brewing with Dan Gordon. The company started building the San Diego brewery restaurant in 1998, and in 1999 I started brewing here.
What’s the ownership structure?
Gordon Biersch as of 2010 is owned by a subsidiary of Centerbridge Capital Partners called CraftWorks. They also have the Rock Bottom breweries and others like Boulder’s Walnut Brewery in their portfolio. In total I think there are more than 70 brewing operations; we’re the largest brewery restaurant group in the United States.
That must give you tremendous buying power?
Yes, we can contract all the hops and grain we want. I’ve been very fortunate to be in the position I’m in. I now oversee six breweries as a regional manager, so I’m on the road quite a lot.
As part of a massive company, how does that affect public perception?
There are many who just see us as “the box in Mission Valley that makes lagers.” We’re trying to change that perception by making beers other than lagers and by staying involved with the local scene.
No more Reinheitsgebot?
Not anymore! Just over a year ago we got the green light to branch out. Since then, I’ve been leveraging my relationships around town to learn more about the hoppier side of brewing. It’s been an interesting learning curve; the biggest challenge with making these West Coast-style beers is that my tanks aren’t built for dry hopping. I have just a small opening at the top and the first time I tried to dry hop, the thing geysered on me and I spent three hours just cleaning up the place. The servers all had a good laugh. So I had to learn another way to make it happen, and now I clean and purge a tank, add the hops I want for aroma, and then bring the beer back over it.
What other styles are you making that you couldn’t before?
Right now we have a rye session IPA on tap, plus we’ve done Belgian wits and Belgian tripels. It’s fun to have brewers especially come in to try our new beers. I was honored that Travis Smith from Societe enjoyed our IPA.
You talked about staying involved with the local scene. What does that mean?
It’s something I talk with all of our brewers about; I ask them, “What are you doing to stay relevant in your local market?” For my part, I come in for a class on Post-Fermentation and Maturation once a semester at UCSD’s brewing program. Everybody joins that program to learn how to make West Coast IPAs, and I’m there to open another little door to other styles of brewing. I always invite the students to come have a beer with me at Gordon Biersch, and the feedback has been positive. I also recently gave a guest lecture on the same topic at SDSU’s program; George Thornton of The Homebrewer was gracious enough to give me about 45 minutes to speak.
I also try to do collaborations with folks around town. The most fun one in recent memory was at Karl Strauss’ Old Columbia brewpub. Scot Blair really wanted a Zwickelbier on tap, so I teamed up with other guys like Paul Segura (Karl Strauss), Cosimo Sorrentino (Monkey Paw/South Park) and Doug Duffield (Ballast Point) to brew. Blair was there all day long, and then Colby Chandler (Ballast Point) showed up, and so did Chuck Silva (formerly Green Flash, now Silva Brewing). My assistant Dan Anderson was in awe, and sat down with Chuck immediately and just started peppering him with questions. That day was a lot of fun. There’s also been talks of a collaboration with Doug Pominville (Ballast Point Grunion creator), Doug Duffield, Doug Constantiner (Societe), and myself. That beer might have a pretty funny name that starts with “4 Dougs” but we’ll see.
You seem to know tons of people in the industry?
That’ll happen after 26 years in the business. I’m fortunate that veterans like Lee Chase (Automatic/Blind Lady), Tomme Arthur (Port/Lost Abbey/Hop Concept), Tom Nickel (Nickel Beer Co) and others seek my advice on lagers. Grant from ChuckAlek and Ray from Fall Brewing were just in the other day to pick up yeast. Chuck Silva used to bring in his brew crew to sit at the bar and ask me questions. Jim Crute (Lightning) is a good friend of mine and he’s making a great pilsner in Poway. Those guys aren’t afraid to be seen in here, even though I’m a brewer at a big corporate company.
I like to make myself available to brewers; I love to learn and to teach. I gave some advice to Dan Egan at Mission Brewery when he wanted to make a great Bohemian pilsner. I don’t care about giving away trade secrets. I just want everyone to have better beer.
Can you tell us about your brewing assistants?
I’ve had many assistants in these two-plus decades. Some of them have gone to Siebel and other brewing schools, and some are nurtured from within. Carli Smith, who’s now the head brewer at Rock Bottom La Jolla, used to be a hostess here. But she asked once if she could help brew some time, and I said, “Sure, be here at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.” She showed up and then I could never really get rid of her after that. And what’s so fun is that now the student has become the master — she gave me some great advice when I wanted to make a Belgian wit. I had never brewed with orange peel and coriander before under Dan Gordon. Her excitement about the industry keeps me excited. And the same goes for my current assistant, Dan Anderson. He was willing to stack grain and learn the process, so I started teaching; he’s probably my heir apparent in the brewery and does a great job promoting Gordon Biersch at festivals.
Dan Anderson with Doug Hasker
So why aren’t more local brewers making lagers?
Well I think there are a few reasons. First, most of the brewhouses in town aren’t built for it; here on my system I can really cook the grains the way I want. Secondly, most brewers aren’t willing or able to give lagers the proper amount of time to rest at cold temperatures. If you need a 21-day turn-around, then lagers aren’t for you.
Is there a future for lagers?
Of course. I see it especially at festivals where we’ll pour an IPA and a helles side by side. Folks in this town love IPAs, but during that last hour especially, we’ll have a long line for our Helles because people want something drinkable. Tastes are cyclical, and even though IPA is huge right now, I’m sure we’ll see a strong swing back towards lighter flavors at some point.
What’s your take on India pale lagers?
Honestly, I haven’t had any that I’ve really liked.
What do you think will happen in the next 5 to 10 years?
I wish I could see the future. I mean, if you had told me 10 years ago that we’d have 120 breweries in San Diego, I don’t know if I’d believe you. I hope that we’ll see more brewpubs, with more people focusing on doing a small number of things very, very well, like a Rocky’s burger for example. With all the battling for shelf space, I think that approach makes sense.
It’s amazing to see the growth of the scene. During the classes I’ve taught you see all the shirts and hats of these newer breweries that are popping up. For me, it’s been tough to keep up. I can’t download the rulebook every day about which brands are cool and which aren’t. I just drink good beer. I still drink Ballast Point because I know the brewers and I know they work hard to dump the grain in. But I understand why people may not think the same way that I do, and that’s okay. That’s why we vote with our dollar.
Do you have advice for newer brewers?
A. Stay true to yourself. B. Always be true to the quality. You have to make really, really good beer. And if it’s not good, you can’t sell it.
Do you have any upcoming events?
Yeah, around the 5th of this month we’ll be tapping a Czech pilsner, and on the 19th we’re having a Maibock release party. This style is brewed for the month of May and springtime, and my band The Barnacles will be playing some live music on the patio. Then, hopefully this summer, we’ll have a session Bonobos brewed at Gordon Biersch, but I’m still trying to convince Cosimo to jump on board with the idea.
