The Conduit
Stories from the Abbey
News and Events
Cuvee Day 2018
01.15.18
We'll be celebrating all things Cuvee de Tomme this January 27th! Pouring verticals of one of our favorite barrel-aged blends at our Tasting Rooms and around the country.Cuvee de Tomme is a massive brown ale base made from four fermentable sugars: Malted Barley, Candi Sugar, Raisins, and Sour Cherries. This beer is fully fermented before being placed in bourbon barrel to age for one year with the sour cherries and the Brettanomyces yeast that we inoculate the barrels with.Each location will have a few select vintages to share. Years will vary by location, but will be anywhere from 2012 to 2017.LOCATIONSSan Marcos Tasting RoomThe Confessional Tasting RoomSan Francisco – ToronadoLos Angeles – Mohawk Bend, Kings Row GastropubOrange County – Native Son AlehouseSeattle – The Beer AuthorityPhiladelphia – Monk's CafeBoston – Row 34, Meadhall
2017 San Diego Beer Week Events
See us around San Diego County for SD Beer Week! (more events to be added)
SDBW Brewers Guild Fest Friday and Saturday, November 3rd and 4thBroadway Pier - San Diego
Barrel-aged BeersFriday, November 3rdSublime Alehouse - San Marcos
Barrel Night & Pizza PairingFriday, November 3rdPizza Port - Ocean Beach
Our 10th Annual Barrel Night!Saturday, November 4thThe Lost Abbey brewery, tickets for sale on EventBrite
Brews, Views & ChewsMonday, November 6thTom Ham's Lighthouse - Harbor Island
Coin-Op Brewery BattlesMonday, November 6thCoin-Op - North Park
Bike About with Tomme ArthurTuesday, November 7th3:30 - 5:00 pm | Clem's Tap House - Kensington5:30 - 7:00pm | Blind Lady Ale House - Normal Heights7:30 - 9:00pm | Toronado - North Park9:30 - 11:00pm | Hamilton's Tavern - South Park
Brew Battle @ CrushedWednesday, November 8thCrushed - Pacific Beach
Beer and Dessert PairingThursday, November 9thTap Room - Pacific Beach
Keep the Glass NightThursday, November 9thPlan 9 Alehouse - EscondidoBeer & Chocolate Pairing with So Rich ChocolatesFriday, November 10thTap That - OceansideRare Beer NightFriday, November 10thChurchill's Pub & Grille - San MarcosBBQ & BrewSunday, November 12thSD Zoo Safari Park - EscondidoBeer & Pizza PairingSunday, November 12thBrothers Provisions - Rancho Bernardo
Out and About in August!
Check out our three brands at these great events throughout August!Indie Invitational - Craft Beer Charity GolfMonday, August 7thRiverwalk Golf Club, 1150 Fashion Valley Road, San DiegoTaste of EncinitasTuesday, August 8thS Coast Highway 101, Downtown EncinitasSteel Beach Party & Beer FestFriday, August 11thUSS Midway Museum Flight Deck, Downtown San Diego91x BeerX FestSaturday, August 12thWaterfront Park, Downtown San DiegoIron MikeSunday, August 13thFletcher Cove Park, Solana BeachDog Days of SummerSunday, August 13thEncinitas Community Park, 425 Santa Fe Drive, Cardiff-by-the-SeaAsk a BrewerThursday, August 17thKarl Strauss, Pacific BeachStone Anniversary BrunchSaturday, August 19thThe Lost Abbey, Tasting Room/Brewery, San MarcosTaste of BrewsSaturday, August 19thShoreline Aquatic Park (aka Lighthouse Park), 200 Aquarium Way, Long Beach
2016 San Diego Beer Week Events
Check out our three brands at these great places all week!SDBG Brewers Guild Fest Friday and Saturday, November 4th and 5thBroadway Pier - San DiegoRare Beer Tap Takeover @ Sublime AlehouseFriday, November 4thSublime Alehouse - San MarcosOur 9th Annual Barrel Night!Saturday, November 5thThe Lost Abbey brewery, tickets for sale on EventBriteTap Takeover @ SD Tennis ClubSunday, November 6thSD Tennis Club - Mission ValleyBrews, Views and ChewsMonday, November 7thTom's Lighthouse - Harbor IslandSpecialty Taps @ UrgeTuesday, November 8thNewport Pizza - Ocean BeachCoffee Beer Night @ Barrel RepublicWednesday, November 9thBarrel Republic - OceansidePint Night @ Plan 9 AlehouseWednesday, November 9thPlan 9 Alehouse - EscondidoKeep the Glass Night @ Main Tap TavernWednesday, November 9thMain Tap Tavern - El CajonBarrel-aged & Vintage Beer Night @ Holiday Wine CellarsThursday, November 10thHoliday Wine Cellars - EscondidoVideo Game Olympics @ Coin OpThursday, November 10thCoin-Op - North ParkSpecialty Beer Competition @ SD Tap RoomThursday, November 10thSD Tap Room - Pacific BeachBeer & Chocolate Pairing with So Rich ChocolatesFriday, November 11thTap That - OceansideVeteran Brewery Night @ Barrel RepublicFriday, November 11thBarrel Republic - OceansideBeer Dinner @ Churchill's PubSaturday, November 12thChurchill's Pub - San MarcosCardiff Surf Classic Block Party - Patagonia CardiffSaturday, November 12thPatagonia - Cardiff-by-the-Sea
The Patio presents Table Talks with Gwen Conley
Join our Director of Quality and Production, Gwen Conley, at The Patio on Goldfinch on Monday, February 23rd for a palate trip and discussion with Certified Cicerone and beer buyer Kelly Logan. Beers to include: Avant Garde, Red Barn, Lost & Found, Judgment Day, and Board Meeting.Monday, February 23rd @ 4:00pm$10.00, no tickets necessaryDue to limited space, email events@thepatiosd.com to get on the guest list.The Patio on Goldfinch4020 Goldfinch St.San Diego, CA 92103(619) 501-5090www.thepatiorestaurants.com
2014 San Diego Beer Week Event Schedule
Come out and join us as we celebrate San Diego Beer Week by taking over as many taps as we possibly can!Friday, November 7thThe Lost Abbey vs. New Belgium Sour Competition @ Barrel RepublicKeep The Glass Night @ Sublime AlehouseSaturday, November 8thBingo! with The Lost Abbey @ SD TapRoomTap Takeover @ Surfside TaproomSunday, November 9thTap Takeover @ NeighborhoodGrowler Brunch @ Nates’s Garden GrillTap Takeover @ OB Noodle House 2Wiffle Ball Tournament @ Urge GastropubMonday, November 10thBrews, Views, & Chews @ Tom Ham’s LighthouseTuesday, November 11thBeer Dinner @ Leroy’s Kitchen & LoungeKeep The Glass Night @ Bier GardenWednesday, November 12thTap Takeover @ Raglan Public HouseBeer & Chocolate Pairing @ Tap ThatThursday, November 13thTap Takeover & Pinball Tournament @ Brabant Bar & CaféTap Takeover @ San Diego Beer WorksFriday, November 14thKeep The Glass Night @ Churchill’s Pub & GrillSaturday, November 15thA Night with The Lost Abbey @ Brother’s Provisions
2014 GABF Appearances
Great American Beer FestivalThursday, October 2nd – Saturday, October 4thThe Lost Abbey - Booth D8Port Brewing - Booth T20 The Great American Beer Fest: A How To
Tomme heads North for Seattle Beer Week
Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey's Director of Brewery Operations (and overall nice guy) leaves the heat of Southern California and heads Northwest for Seattle Beer Week 2013! If you're in the area, stop by and say hi! CLICK HERE for a full list of events during Seattle Beer Week.
Brewers night with Tomme ArthurThursday, May 16thElliot Bay Pizza4 - 7pmSourfest Thursday, May 16thBrouwers Pub8pm - 10pmBottle Signing with Tomme ArthurFriday, May 17thBeer Junction3- 5pmBottle Signing with Tomme ArthurFriday, May 17thChucks 85th6 - 9pmLost Abbey Tap TakeoverSaturday, May 18thSuper Deli MartAll Day (Tomme will stop by for a beer around 11am on his way to the airport... maybe 2 beers)
Repeterrior Collaboration Brew
Just a handful of photos from the brewing of the Repeterrior Collaboration at Sierra Nevada earlier this summer.[nggallery id=31]The description from Sierra Nevada is as follows:
A distinct 5.5% ABV session-lager brewed with elemental, native terroir from the following collective of brewers: Sierra Nevada (wild rice, beets, cucumber, mint and carrots), Avery (Colorado alfalfa honey), Allagash (Maine purple potatoes), Dogfish Head (free-range Atlantic Ocean “beach” wood), and Lost Abbey (cage-free Pacific Ocean “beach” wood).Born out of a backroom conversation in a Boulder restaurant and blooming into a full-blown cornucopia of a collaboration, Repoterroir is a coming together of like-minded craft beer compatriots. Brewed at Sierra Nevada’s brewery in Chico, CA this sessionable lager beer reclaims the earthbound mantle of terroir from the grape-soaked, buttoned-down world of wine and re-purposes it in a new sudsy sense.Featuring natural ingredients contributed by each of the five breweries, this unique and earthy beer is complex and layered but ultimately drinkable. Using the full repertoire of skills from more than 86 combined years of brewing knowledge and skill, this lager combines traditional (and not so traditional) ingredients into an ideal summertime brew.
This beer was an extremely limited draught brew served only in the tap rooms, tasting rooms and restaurants of the collaborating breweries.
I got beer! I got beer! I got busted...
This line comes to us from that Cinematic blockbuster of a movie that was Revenge of the Nerds II. In an opening scene a few of the young college Nerds head to Florida for Spring Break. One of the youngest members of the group purchases beer with a fake ID only to be busted as he's heading out the door. For some reason, I can't seem to shake that scene from the movie.
It could be because my friend Brendan Hartranft (who owns three great beer bars in Philadelphia) was raided by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PCLB) last week. Apparently, the "Fuzz" was working on an "anonymous" tip that his bars Memphis Tap Room, Local 44 and Resurrection were stocked with illegal beers.What made them illegal? That's a good question.Apparently, many of the beers that were deemed illegal were unregistered in the state of Pennsylvania. Essentially, we're talking about a paper pushing incident. It must have been some sight to see as all three locations were simultaneously "raided" at the same time by officers packing heat.I got word of this bust on Friday when we landed in Oakland for the Wine Warehouse meeting. Apparently, our beers were part of the contraband seized (it sounds way cooler than it is). It seems that we have neglected to register a couple of our brands and have been "breaking the law..."So today, I am in registration mode.It also means that I get to cut a check for $75 per brand of beer for which we're missing registration.God, I love a good registration day. NOT!Hopefully, things for Brendan and Leigh (His wife and business partner) will settle down. It sucks that this happened. They say any press is good press but in this case, I'm inclined to believe that being raided by the PLCB isn't what most of us would want.Here's a link that has many of the bloggers from Pennsylvania discussing what went down. Check out their webpages for detailed accounts.As for me, I have to go register our beers. I don't feel the need to be busted anymore for breaking the law.
Northern California or Bust
When I was a younger brewer in training, my family spent our summer's vacationing just South of Big Sur California each summer. It was usually August when we would load up my grandparents 5th wheel trailer and head out for a week of beach camping. We also spent time visiting Monterrey and San Francisco. I have very fond memories of each trip to Northern California.
As a brewer, I've lost track of how many times I have pointed my vehicle north on Interstate 5 or the 101 with the Bay Area (or beyond) as my final destination. It would seem that you cannot be a true lover of beer without making the pilgrimage to the birth place of Craft Brewing in this country. And, while I never found myself needing to hitch hike to get there, it was always a journey.And so it is, that we're about to celebrate our 4th Anniversary of brewing in San Marcos at Port Brewing (May of 2010), as we embark on another journey.This Friday March 5th, Matt and I will head to Richmond, CA., home of Wine Warehouse North where we will introduce our beers to a sales force numbering about 90 people. This is very big news for us here at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey.We have patiently waited (some would say too long) to find a distributor for our beers in Northern California.I for one, am very excited by this new partnership as it will allow us to focus on expanding our production and territorial reach. It's no secret, we have been growing at a steady and manageable level since we opened our doors. Last year, we added no new territories as we sought to grow our brands with our new Microstar Keg Contract.That was last year.This is a "Go" year. I have been telling anyone who would listen to me for the past 6 months that this would be a "Go" year for us. I knew we would be focusing our energies on growing Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey closer to home. They call this sort of thing "Protecting your own Backyard." Me, I call it simple math. California supports one of the largest economic opportunities for us and one that frankly we have neglected for too long.I know this because yesterday, a truck backed up to our loading dock and pulled away 20 pallets of beer heavier. This may not seem like much beer for some brewers out there, but it's a massive departure from our first few months when the Stone trucks would pickup 1-2 pallets worth of beer from us a week. Certainly, we don't expect that each shipment will be 20 pallets large (although we can always dream). Yet, there was an air of accomplishment yesterday.After work, we sat around and shared some beers. We remarked at the day that was Monday March 1, 2010. It's not often a truckload of beer leaves our warehouse (as in exactly never before yesterday). Who knows, it may be another 4 years before this happens again (doubtful but possible). It was a great day on so many fronts.So Northern California, here we come! It's been a long time in the making and hopefully, we'll live up to all the hype. 2010 promises to be a "Go" year.And you know what? "Go" rhymes with "Grow", which sounds pretty good to me.
Living life at 222
It's Friday and I finally have my desk cleared of all the clutter that piled up in my absence. On Wednesday evening, I returned from another week on the road into Boston and Philadelphia. I must be insane. First of all, I keep booking flights to the east coast during February when everyone is pining to be in San Diego. Secondly, my liver has decided that week long trips are getting to be too much especially when it involves drinking at the Extreme Beer Fest and spending time in Philly with Curt Decker and Tom Peters.
It was a great trip as I got to ship out a bunch of our new and forthcoming releases. For Boston, we tapped the only East Coast keg of Angel's Share Grand Cru, along with Red Poppy 2010, Framboise de Amarosa and other great beers. We have been working on these beers and tasting their progress for many months now and felt they would be well received. And they most certainly were. The Grand Cru is something that I think is expressive now but has the attributes to be amazing many many years from now.Down in Philly, we had another Lost Abbey beer dinner at Monk's Cafe. Very few places in this country know how to cook and pair food with beer better than Tom Peters so it's never a let down when we go there. There were 54 tickets to the beer dinner offered this year and it took them 10 minutes to sell it out. Thank you to the kind souls in The City of Brotherly Lover who waited in the frigid conditions in January to secure tickets. We hope we made it worth your while.The dinner started out with Red Poppy being served alongside Pate with a cherry sauce. The second course was Tartare of Salmon and Caviar paired with Carnevale 2009. The third course was the start of what is known as the "Monk's Double Meat Course(s)." It was Quail stuffed with Sausage and Wild Rice. Tom paired this with Framboise de Amarosa and it was delightful. I think everyone knows I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy which is why the fourth course of Oso Buco and Potato Ravioli was high on my list. It did not disappoint and it was paired with Ten Commandments and Lost And Found. The Ten Commandments with its' Honey, Rosemary and Caramelized Raisins really owned the dish- Sublime.I told the crowd that I was most looking forward to the fifth course as it was a cheese and beer pairing. I found it amusing that I would be most drawn to the cheese and beer pairing as it meant that Monk's actually didn't cook anything for the dish. Yet, it was the beers that I wanted to showcase. Tom offered up Angel's Share Grand Cru paired with an English Stilton that was beyond silly. We also had Veritas 007 (wiith Cabernet Franc Grapes) on the menu. This was paired with a Swiss Sheep's Milk cheese. I would have had more then one plate of each had dessert not been put in front of me. The final pairing of the evening was Cuvee de TomMe with a Molten Lava Cherry Cake. Sweet mother of Nomutu Nectar. I was spent when this thing was over. Monk's had officially risen to the challenge yet again and woven one of the most mystical tapestries of gastronomy for our beers that I have ever been a part of.I think I gained about 8 lbs on this trip. Considering the amount of ridiculous food and beer that was always being put in front of me, it's hard not to do so. I'm living life at 222 these days. It's more than I like to carry around but sometimes you just can't say no. This was but one week of my shrinking life. Albeit a very good one.
It's ALIVE!!!
San Diego Beer Week has shifted from first to second gear and it appears to be developing momentum on its way to third gear as we begin the week. The 10 day week kicked off on Friday with the 6th Annual San Diego Brewer's Guild event at the World Beat Center in Balboa Park. Gordie, Tim and Nate manned the taps as we poured Sinners 2009, Brother Levonian Saison and Devotion for the masses. Sounds like I missed a great event. However, I didn't miss out on a fantastic set of desserts at The Neighborhood in downtown San Diego (Thanks Lisa Penwell from Stone for setting this up)!When I arrived around 6:30 in the downtown area, I drove in circles looking for parking. (Thank God the Padres weren't playing too!) Once inside the restuarant, I orderd a Lost and Found and set out to decide on a dinner plan. Lisa joined me for dinner. I went for the Street tacos with Devotion and she had the Mushroom burger(they're known for their hamburgers). The Neighborhood was featuring four Lost Abbey beers that evening Devotion, Lost and Found, Red Barn and Ten Commandments alongside some desserts served Tapas style. I was a bit skeptical of our beers and dessert but the pairings were quite special. Hopefully some of you got a chance to partake in this menu. It was very cool.On Saturday we hosted a ton of people at the brewery. First, during regular business hours we saw 6 pub crawls and lots of "happy" people come visit our establishment. Then we closed the doors and cleaned up for our Night of the Barrel Party. Typically, this is the best event we host at the brewery each year. Although, you'd be hard pressed to convince me that having Christmas in July with Santa onsite isn't equally as fun.For the night of the barrels, we pulled out 10 different beers (or fractions there of) for the evening. On tap we saw Brandy Angel's 2008, Older Viscosity 2009, Sinners 2009, Cable Car 2009, Veritas 006-Sangre DC, Red Poppy 2010, Soured Avant Garde, Amazing Grace 2010, Port Barrel Aged Serpent's Stout (served with spice cake) and the last beer of the night an experimental barrel of Angel's Share which we added Cab Franc grapes to.As always, the party couldn't have been a raging success without the assistance of our volunteers lead by Terri and Sage. Matt Dolman even worked security in a tuxedo (dapper stunt double that Matt). Vince knocked socks off, bowled people over and otherwise threw down the gaunlet for Junkyard Chefs everywhere. He's seriously the MacGyver of cooking. I think a spatula, some charcoal and a fatted cloven animal is all Vince needs in order to feed the masses. It's no miracle at Cana when he cooks but then again, I've seen the light and eaten of the pork belly to be convinced what he does with food on a loading dock isn't mortal. A big shoutout to Vince for all the amazing food. This Night of the Barrels is impossible without that attention to detail.Sunday morning, I fell out of bed and headed down to KUSI for a 9:40 AM morning news spot with Christian Graves of J Six who will be hosting The Lost Abbey art show on Thursday night. We pimped a couple of beers and paintings (Carnevale and Judgment Day) and things went well the rest of the day as the Chargers played a great game. I headed back down to San Diego for the event at Phil's BBQ Event Center where tons of people turned out to see what we had to offer. I poured beers for two hours straight before running out. Carnevale went first, then Judgment Day followed by Avant Garde and Inferno. Met a ton of new Lost Abbey drinkers last night and all told it was a great event(their very first SD Beer Week event= Thanks Phil and Chad!)Tonight I'm off to the Tomme Arthur Experience at Stone. I've never had a Tomme Arthur Experience so this should be interesting. 20 beers all brewed here since we opened our doors three and a half short years ago! Could be a long night and longer morning if we try to run the gamut. Haven't needed to drink 20 beers in one night in a very long time (This one time at band camp...) Lastly, I talked with Michael at Trattoria Acqua today and they still have some seats left for our dinner tomorrow night. It promises to be an epic evening of food and beer. And now that the time change is upon us, we'll have a great view of the evening coastal lights as well. Hope to see you out there this week. San Diego Beer Week is ALIVE!!!And that's all I have to say about that.
San Diego Beer Week is coming...
I've been in the beer business in San Diego since 1996. During this time, our city has gone from relative beer obscurity to bonafide beer destination status. Last month the editors and publishers of Men's Journal even went so far as to name San Diego the # 1 beer related city in the country (without apologies to Portland, OR). Two years ago, Philadelphia, PA (another great beer city) launched Philly Beer Week and with it a host imitations. There's now beer weeks in cities all across this country including Detroit and Saint Louis.Well, San Diego is about to join the imitation is the sincerest form of flattery party as next Friday November 6th San Diego Beer Week (technically 9 great days of beer drinking and celebrating) begins. As of right now, there are over 160 events scheduled during the week we're doing our part to support the 9 day party. In case you haven't been paying attention to our Lost Abbey Calendar of events, here's what we'll be doing to celebrate the week.Friday November 6th you can catch us at The Neighborhood in Downtown San Diego featuring a tapas style menu with 4 Lost Abbey paired beers. On Saturday the 7th of November we're hosting our favorite event of the year our annual Barrel Aged Beer Party at The Lost Abbey. At this time, tickets are completely sold out (sorry about the tease). But. we're sure some of you already purchased tickets and are counting down the days like us. Veritas 006 will be released that evening and word on the street is the beer will taste an awful lot like the Sangre DC that we poured at the Stone Anniversary party in August.Sunday finds us dividing and conquering. I'll be heading to Phil's BBQ in the Sports Arena area for an event with Jim Crute and the gang from Lightning Brewery. I LOVE Phil's BBQ and am excited as many of my childhood friends may even make an appearance. We may even have a Brian Arthur sighting as well. Monkey and Monkey Rodriguez will be venturing across the great blue bridge that spans our bay and heading for the historic Hotel Del Coronado for an event featuring beers from Coronado Brewing, Ballast Point as well as Lost Abbey. Look for Cuvee de Tomme, Inferno and Carnevale to all be on display in Coronado.On Monday, I have agreed to something called the Tomme Arthur Experience at Stone. I guess this means that I'll be there telling you about 20 of the best beers you can't buy on a regular basis. We've got a cask of Bourbon Santa's Little Helper (held from this summer's Christmas in July release) as well as some other great things. Veritas 006 will be on draft in a redux of the Anniversary Party. We anticipate 8 draft beers (4 Port and 4 Abbey) along with the cask and some 12 other bottled beers. I'm excited. Hopefully I'll be able to live up the hype of having a whole night dedicated to my "experience?"Tuesday finds me checking into a hospital for Detox and hydration therapy. I'll check out for lunch and hopefully grab a pint or two with Vinnie and Rob Tod who are doing an event at Stone. I'll point the car for the coast and drop down into La Jolla for dinner at Trattoria Acqua. Can you say weight gain this week? Man I'm going to need some new pants. 5 courses of amazing food and Lost Abbey beers are on the agenda. Trattoria Acqua now features a bunch of our beer on their menu and Michael and Victoria McGeath have been gracious enough to keep us in stock.Wednesday we're going back to double dipping for the night. To start the night off, we'll be stuffing our bellies at The Ritual Tavern on 30th Street. It promises to be an amazing meal and I know that we're serving Mussels with Duck Duck Gooze, there's also Gift of the Magi 2008, Red Barn and Inferno on the menu. We'll spill out of The Ritual Tavern and head across the street to Toronado for a late night cap from 10-12. Ian and I haven't worked out the details but he called me from a Cable Car the other day to say hi.Thursday promises to bring one of the best events for us this week. We've partnered up with Christian Graves of J Six fame (Downtown) and we're going to launch the inaugural Lost Abbey Art Show. This will run from 7-9 PM and feature 15 original pieces of art that we commisioned Sean Dominguez to produce for our Lost Abbey Labels. We recently got all 15 pieces back from the framers and they look amazing! Our photographer John Schulz will also be on hand displaying some of the print ads he's created for us since we opened our doors.Christian's Culinary team will be working the room with passed appetizers. Our brewery staff will be on hand to sample all 15 beers that match the original art pieces. We've never seen an event like this done before and are incredibly jazzed about it to say the least. $20 to sample the beers, view the art and you'll even get to keep The Lost Abbey stemware glass from the evening. If there was one event to put on the list for this week for me, it would be this one.Friday and Saturday, I'm taking a break. I'll need it for sure. We'll end the week in a bang celebrating with two last events. In the early afternoon, you'll find us out at the Chef and Beer event taking place at Qualcomm's Headquarters in La Jolla. I'll drop down from there across to Kearny Mesa where Tom Nickel and I will direct about 40 people through one of the last events of San Diego Beer Week. A chance to taste some of the most incredibly rare and sought after beers we have produced in our 3 plus years of business is what's slated. I love the O'Brien's events like this especially when Chef Vince gets involved...Sunday night officially ends San Diego Beer Week. It's going to kick my ass. That's for sure. Monday will find me back at the brewery bright and early as we begin demolotion of our cold box in preparation for a new tasting bar area. Stay tuned for more details about this in my next blog. Be sure to view the calendar on our website which lists websites and more details for each event. Some of these are bound to sell out so don't delay!
When things go wrong
This past week was one of those weeks at the brewery. On Monday, we shipped out several pallets of beer for Massachussets. These pallets included beer for Distribution as well as some extra cases of beer for the two beer dinners we are partcipating in. Unfortunately, because I was out of the country the previous week, there were some cases of beers that fell through the cracks.Given that we had an additional week's worth of time before the events, it wouldn't be too big of a deal. On Tuesday, I boxed up 3 cases of Duck Duck Gooze and 3 cases of Cuvee de Dumbass. We packaged them in the proper beer shippers and sent them via fed ex to our Atlantic Importing (our distributor) in Framingham. They were scheduled to arrive on Friday which would allow Atlantic time to deliver them on Monday for the Tuesday dinner in Worchester. At least that's what we thought. You see, MA. is one of those states where it is illegal to ship beer into and Fed Ex (in Boston) halted the delivery of our packages to Atlantic.Gina got the phone call on Friday morning stating that our packages were not going to be delivered AND that we were going to have to pay for the shipping of the bottles back to us! ARGH this blows. Fed Ex would not allow us to reroute the boxes to a legal state nor would they allow our distributor to pick them up. So now, we are minus 2 on our beer dinner beers and in need of fixing this problem.Whew whew, this coming Monday, I am boarding a flight from Carlsbad to Boston and when I get to the airport, I will be toting an additional 4 cases of beer with me as well as my luggage for the trip. This means that when I land in Boston, I will have 5 items to handle instead of 1. It also means that I will now need to rent a car and drag all the beer with me from Boston to Worchester, MA. in order to have the right beers at the beer dinner. This is going to be a royal pain in my ass. It sucks for sure and it's not exactly the best way to travel. I'm also counting on the fact that United Airlines will allow me to ship 4 cases of beer in the belly of their planes(I'm calling to confirm this). But they'll also want to charge me for the right to place said beers in their planes. This is course means that on top of the Fed Ex costs (both ways), the rental car needs and the airline fees, this is turning into a very expensive proposition.Still, when I get to the beer dinner on Tuesday night, it will be worth it. Why? Well for starters, because Alec the Chef has been prepping for this dinner for over a month and he specifically asked for these beers. We could find other stunt beers to step in for our missing comrades but that isn't how chefs want to work. They don't want to agonize over the details only to have things fall apart at the last minute. So, on Tuesday morning when I land at Logan Airport, I will be in search of 2 cases of Cuvee de Dumbass and 2 cases of Duck Duck Gooze. As long as these make it, I won't mind if my luggage ends up in Tahiti. The beer is the most important thing. It always has been. Let's hope the guys handling the luggage don't get thirsty...
Wrapping up
It's been two weeks since I left for Denver and the Great American Beer Festival. And what a two weeks it's been. When I blogged last, I discussed some of our beers and the competition itself. Here's a recap of what happened. On Wednesday the 30th of September, Port Brewing won $5000 in the Lallemand Nottingham Dry Yeast contest. First place was $30,000 and while we didn't win that, we were awarded 1st place in the American Ale category for SPA (Summer Pale Ale). We will be using this money to purchase an ink jet coding system for our bottling line. We expect this to be operational before the end of the year (Hoorray BEER!) This is something we feel very strongly will help us with quality control issues. It's long overdue that's for sure.Thursday night, the festival opened and a long line of people ensued at our booth hoping to get a taste of our beers. Duck Duck Gooze proved to be a popular choice and by Friday night, we were out of the 15 Gallons that we sent! On Friday afternoon, we made the annual pilgrimage to Falling Rock Tap House for the Alpha King contest. Port Brewing and Hop 15 narrowly was defeated and finished 2nd out of about 70 beers. It's been a long time since anyone has won back to back awards and while we were pleased with our second place finish, missing by one point sure wasn't any fun. We'll try again next year.Saturday brought the awards ceremony and it was a very long but exciting day. We had high hopes for our Veritas 005 and Cuvee de Tomme. We felt one of these two beers would need to medal if we were going to make a run at the brewery of the year awards. They didn't and as such, we came up one point short of the mark. However, we were thrilled when Carnevale and Duck Duck Gooze struck gold in back to back categories. These are two beers that we are extremely proud of here at the brewery and knew had excellent chances to succeed. With the World Beer Cup coming up in April, we'll hope for more earnings on their coat tails.The coolest part of the awards ceremony was watching our brothers from Pizza Port bring down the house. Once we got firmly anchored in Ale land, the awards just kept rolling in. Seemed like every other category was being won by a Pizza Port beer. All told, Pizza Port earned 6 Gold Medals and if you throw in the two that we won as a sister company, an astounding 8 Gold Medals were earned. With 78 Gold Medals being earned, this means that over 10% of the Gold Medals called went to Pizza Port or Port Brewing Company. And given that this was the largest commercial beer competition in the world, it makes it that more impressive.Still, the most impressive part of the weekend was the performance by my good friend Jeff Bagby who managed to rake at this competition. His brewing talents (and those of his team) are likely to never be matched. They entered 15 beers. 7 of them earned medals including 4 Gold Medals! Pizza Port Carlsbad also was named Large Brewpub Brewery of the Year. Since 2006, a San Diego based brewery has earned a Brewery of the Year award 3 of the last 4 years at the Great American Beer Festival. This truly reinforces the overall quality of the beer being produced in this city.Post GABF, I headed to England to do some brewing in Faversham. Stay tuned for adventures in Kentish Brewing and Wooden leg devices.
The Nerves Have It
It's 9 AM on Saturday morning and I am sitting in the dead quiet of my hotel room. The cooling fan for the room is humming along and outside my window, the sun is piercing a crystal blue sky and downtown Denver is barely coming to life.Normally, I'd still be asleep trying to rest up for a very long day but last night, I climbed into bed much earlier than usual and as such, I am awake this morning much before I want to be. It sort of sucks, but I'm enjoying the solitude of my quiet room.At about 11 AM this morning, the day will officially kick into gear. We'll all descend from our hotel, stop at Chipotle on our way to the fest before arriving for the most important GABF session of the week. You see, Saturday is all about the awards show and steeling the nerves in your stomach.Each year, the awards ceremony takes place on Saturday afternoon. And each year at the GABF, you'll find me nervously pacing and contemplating utter failure relative to the competition. Last year, we won a single bronze medal for our Hop 15. Most breweries are happy to win a medal of any color at this fest. We're not any brewery. Never have been and don't want to become one.This year, we've brought 13 beers to the party. Not all of them are world class beers. Some of them however just scream "look at me" and hopefully that will be enough to get us on a roll. The Judges (including myself) saw just over 3300 beers come through the competition this week. It's an enormous increase in the # of beers for the festival. It's doubtful that all the new beers this year are world class. Remember, I tasted a bunch of them during judging. However, there will most assuredly be some great new beers and lucky recipients of GABF fame.It's Saturday morning. The nerves have kicked in and we're about 4 and a 1/2 hours from the first medal coming up on the screen. I'm going to organize my room and prep for leaving tomorrow to kill some time. In two hours, I will have my ceremonial good luck Chicken Burrito with Black Beans and Rice. So far, Chipotle hasn't let me down in terms of Saturday morning rituals. Let's see how it treats us this year. See you on the floor, nerves and all.
I feel old today
Sydney started pre-school today and so I'm feeling a bit old right about now. Mind you, not the my joints creak when I move sort of old and certainly not the I'm going to pop a 4 hour purple pill kind of seriously old. Yet, today Misses Piggles headed off to her first day of school. This means at 3 years of age, I now have 15 more years of school shopping to do. This year it was a princess backpack and Hello Kitty lunchpail. Who knows what it will be in two years when she heads off to school. I'm betting it won't be a Lost Abbey lunch box. Nope, it's going to take us a few more years to reach that level of sophisticated marketing for sure. But just so you know, we're working on it.It must have been a hell of a day at school for her. I can only imagine what it must be like to be dropped off at school for the first time. Thing is, I killed that brain cell many years ago. That whole Norm theory about weak buffaloes and all. Pretty sure that one ran off the edge when I was like 9. But, today was a great day and I am looking forward to heading home to hear all about it. There will be so much excitement and talk of her new friends. I'm most interested in how lunch went. See today, Sydney had to eat lunch all by herself. And given that no one told her in which order to eat things, I am certain the sandwich was last to go. Mind you, it was probably eaten (she's a voracious little eater) but I'm sure it went last.Tonight, I am heading home to fire up the juicer and squeeze fresh daddy lemonade (limes, Reposado, Sugar and Ice). I know it should be a cold beer sort of night but there's always beer in my life and not enough Tequila. Plus, if you keep poisoning the same brain cells with the same poison, don't they grow stronger? (The Norm theory of drinking). So tonight, we're going big. Brit and Tami Antrim are in town and visiting. I'm sure Sydney will make them laugh. Me, I'll laugh the whole night knowing that my brain cells are getting stronger, my hair thinner, as my waistline expands. Sydney started school today. What on earth has this world come to?
Cooks Confab Wrap Up
Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the Cook's Confab Beer event at Stingaree Restaurant and Bar in Downtown San Diego. The Cook's Confab is a collection of local chefs (who happen to be incredibly talented) and work for some of the best restaurants in San Diego. They hold quarterly themed events and make outrageous food. The event last night featured each chef teaming up with a local brewer(y) to pair courses and beers. The beers were amazing. The food was exceptional and the ambiance of a rooftop in downtown San Diego at night in August couldn't be beat.
Lost Abbey was represented last night and we were flanked on either side by Brian Stinnott of 1500 Oceanaire and Andrew Spurgin of Water's Fine Catering. Brian chose to pair a Duck Sausage with our Cuvee de Tomme while Andrew spent 4 days working on his Pork Belly to match the strength of the Cuvee. Both of these plates were home runs and it was a privilege to work with these guys.Other participants last night included Stone, AleSmith, Ballast Point, Green Flash and Lightning Brewery. There were over 250 people in attendance and most seemed incredibly pleased by what they tasted. I was overwhelmed by the support of the cooking community and was pleased to meet some very influential owners and bar managers.We at the Lost Abbey would very much like to make inroads on wine lists and finer dining establishments. Events like this go a long ways to showcase our beers to a wide range of consumers and potential markets. I spoke briefly with many of the chefs and asked them to consider an event with local beer to be added to the calendar once a year. It's the sort of thing that we as brewers need to support and lend a helping hand to.Last night was a permagrin night. There was so much to be thankful for. Considering the event took place about 4 blocks from where I got my start as a craft brewer, it was great to be back home. To me, last night was a seminal moment- a turn the page sort of place in time. We got the best chefs in San Diego to circle the wagons and fire up the grills. It was an all time night for our beers for sure.Thanks to the Cook's Confab and all the people at Stingaree who put on a great show last night. Too bad the Padres lost. Downtown would have been that much more electric.
Camp Chico
Chico, CA.Beer Camp? Are there two better words in the English Language? Okay, maybe Pale Ale, but seriously, a camp for beer lovers? God Bless you Ken Grossman. Now before you run out and try and sign up for this, there’s just one catch. Camp Chico (established 2008) isn’t open to the public. It is however open to industry personnel, publicans or in my case some brewers.As a professional brewer, I’ve toured countless breweries. Somehow, I’d never made the pilgrimage to Sierra Nevada to visit their operations. Shame on me, I know. This all changed this past April when I was invited along with Jeff Bagby of Pizza Port, Tom Nickel of O’Brien’s Pub and a few other personalities from the beer industry to attend Camp Chico. It might just be the two best days I have ever spent drinking beerThe email was a modest invitation to come tour the facilities, spend two days working with the brewers at Sierra Nevada on a recipe before producing two batches in their pilot plant. As a bonus, once the beer was packaged, each camper would receive an allocation of the brew. BRILLIANT! When I finished reading the email, I closed my eyes envisioning Beer Camp.Immediately I saw a sun soaked wood dock jutting out into a small lake with adults lazily floating in inner tubes sipping beer from proper glassware with nary a cloud dotting the sky for miles. Here, campers were ushered from one beery activity to the next and Camp "Counselors" repaired any "holes" that may have materialized in our glasses. You know, beer camp. Except that’s not serious beer camp. Sierra Nevada Beer Camp on the other hand is.It was obvious from the moment we stepped we arrived at Sierra Nevada that Camp Chico was not some crappy knock off version of beer camp. Most assuredly, our nights would not be spent singing Kumbaya around a campfire while knocking back 30 packs. There would be no beer pong tournaments or dueling keg stand contests at high noon. In short, this was a world class Beer Camp.As such, this brewery meant business. Our group of 8 campers was given two days to imagine a beer, execute a recipe and name the beer. This wasn’t camp lite! It was however an intensive crash course in brewing 101 with lessons in raw materials, process controls and sensory analysis training. We even took numerous mini thirst inducing hikes to outlying key areas of the brewery including labs, packaging facilities and cellars.Emancipated from my brewery, I participated in a brew without ever putting on my boots, cleaning anything or worrying about how much it cost. I actually almost relaxed. Well, except that one time at beer camp when they made us ride the uber bike.When I first beheld its magnificence, I was struck that Willy Wonka never had anything this cool. Two wood bars, a sunshade and a ten pack of seats meant some serious damage could be done on this gizmo. Each camper grabbed a seat, took possession of a beer and we pedaled our way around the grounds. This crazy uber bike sits on car chassis, weighs a ton and is truly a thing of beauty. It has no motor, a steering wheel and a twin tap tower with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on board.Beer Camp was amazing. Beers flowed. Torpedoes were launched and memories were catalogued for future campfires. It was everything Camp is supposed to be. It all makes sense now. Sierra Nevada is two words. So is World Class.