Sacramento Brewing Closed

I'll keep this blog short. Just wanted to thank everyone for all their support over the last 15 years. Some amazing friends have been made and great times have been had at Sacramento Brewing. As of today, we have closed the doors for good.

PLEASE support your local breweries, the numbers are dwindling in Sacramento as we have lost three breweries in the last year alone and not for lack of quality. We have multiple Great American Beer Festival award winning breweries making world class beer right in your back yard, please think of them the next time you are buying beer at the grocery store or deciding where to have a pint.

Cheers,
Peter Hoey, Brewmaster
Sacramento Brewing Company

Collaborative Evil Wins Bronze at 2009 GABF

Sacramento Brewing Company earned a bronze medal in the Belgian and French Style Ale Category for Collaborative Evil this year at the Great American Beer Festival!

Chris Macias from the Sacramento Bee blogged about it here and Dan (Stickie) at the Sac Rag has a nice article here as well.

This is the biggest beer competition in the world, below are just some of the quick stats.

2009 GABF Quick Stats
49,000	Attendess (includes brewers, volunteers, and tick holders)
3,308	Beers in the GABF Competition
3,000	Volunteers
2,100	Beers served in the hall
495	Breweries in the competition
457	Breweries in the festival hall
132	Judges from 10 countries
78	Categories judged + Pro-Am category
72	Beers entered into the Pro-Am Competition
51	Breweries attending for the first time

$3 PINTS and ALL YOU CAN EAT RIBS!

STARTING TODAY (SEPTEMBER 7th)
Where: Sacramento Brewing Company
When: EVERY Monday and Tuesday Night (after 4:30)
What: $13 all you can eat ribs and $3 pints of Sac Brew beer

Starting MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7th we will be launching a new promotion here at Sac Brew. If you don't know already we have all you can eat St. Louis style ribs for $13 EVERY Monday and Tuesday night. We decided to sweeten that pot by offering $3 pints of Sac Brew beer EVERY Monday and Tuesday to go with our delicious, falling-off-the-bone ribs smothered in house made Red Horse Ale BBQ sauce.

Summer Brewers Dinner in Pictures

Rick Sellers from pacificbrewnews.com was kind enough to take pictures at our brewers dinner last night. It was a great time with fantastic food, Chef Cres really outdid himself this time. Each dish was fresh, light and flavorful fitting the summer theme perfectly. Get a look at his creations here.

Cheers,
Peter

September Brewers Dinner

SEPTEMBER 1st, 2009
Sacramento Brewing Company Brewers Dinner

Ahi Tuna Pizza
Grilled pizzas topped with ahi tuna and salmon roe
Abbey Extra

Chilled Lemon Cucumber Soup
Lemon cucumbers, fresh dill and yogurt soup
Brett Blond

Grilled Vegetable Salad
Summer vegetables and endive grilled and topped with balsamic reduction and manchego cheese
Celtic Amber

Ribs Two Ways
Red Horse Ale BBQ Sauce and Harisa Honey Glazed Baby Back Ribs
Red Horse Ale

Sorbet Trio
House made Watermelon, Canteloupe, and Honeydew Sorbet
Brussels Blond

Seating at 6:00, Dinner at 6:30. Price $40 plus tax and tip.

California Brewers Festival Results

The results are in for the California Brewers Festival:

1st Place India Pale Ale - India Pale Ale
2nd Place Amber Ales - Red Horse Ale
3rd Place Strong Ales - Brussels Blond

AND India Pale Ale took 2nd Runner Up for Best of Show!

Complete results here.

$3 Beers and All You Can Eat Ribs!

STARTING SEPTEMBER 7th
Where: Sacramento Brewing Company
When: EVERY Monday and Tuesday Night (after 4:30)
What: $13 all you can eat ribs and $3 pints of Sac Brew beer

Starting MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7th we will be launching a new promotion here at Sac Brew. If you don't know already we have all you can eat St. Louis style ribs for $13 EVERY Monday and Tuesday night. We decided to sweeten that pot by offering $3 pints of Sac Brew beer EVERY Monday and Tuesday to go with our delicious, falling-off-the-bone ribs smothered in house made Red Horse Ale BBQ sauce.

Collaborative Evil 2009

Collaborate: to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor.

Collaborative Evil returns with more breweries and a bit of leeway. In 2008, three brewers decided to create a beer recipe and then brew it at their respective brewhouses. The beer a Strong Dark Belgian-inspired Ale brewed with Honey, and spices. Each brew had a unique ingredient distinguishing it from the others. This effort was intended to get the beers to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver so that they could be served at the same time under one roof. Two of the three beers managed to get there and be served to the public, the third alas was there but not able to be judged or served at the time of the festival. The founding brewers Zac Triemert of Lucky Bucket Brewing Co. La Vista, NE, Matt Van Wyk of Flossmoor Station, Flossmoor, IL and Todd Ashman of FiftyFifty Brewing, Truckee, CA.

In 2009, we’ve brought in six more breweries. The base style for this year is a Belgian-inspired Strong Pale. The larger group presented some interesting hurdles and this also proved to be what this collaboration is all about.

Working together but also working within the confines of each respective brewery. We have production breweries and brewpubs involved and some with tight schedules and others with lot’s of play in the brewing regimen. We asked each brewer to create a beer based on the style and then make it uniquely their own but within the parameters of the ‘Belgian-inspired Strong Pale’. This was important because it demonstrates what people think of when you mention a style. Because one of the things we focus on in Collaborative Evil is entering the respective beers in the Great American Beer Festival. Entry guidelines forbid entering the same beer so creating a theme and then allowing each brewer participating in Collaborative Evil to spin-off their own beer based on our base style. Tough but not impossible and the interpretations are very spread out and will be fun for GABF attendees to seek out on the festival floor.

The brewmasters are:

Valley Brewing, Stockton, CA, Steve Altimari
Sacramento Brewing, Sacramento, CA Peter Hoey
Fatheads Brewery and Grill, Cleveland, OH, Matt Cole
Flossmoor Station, Flossmoor, IL, Bryan Shimkos
Oakshire Brewing, Eugene, OR Matt Van Wyk
Silver Peak Brewing, Reno, NV Brandon Wright
Speakeasy Brewing Co., San Francisco, CA. John Gillooly
FiftyFifty Brewing, Truckee, CA, Todd Ashman
Lucky Bucket Brewing Co, La Vista, NE, Zac Triemert

Look for these beers on the festival floor at the 2009 GABF and at the breweries participating. Production breweries may have limited releases so check with your favorite for more details…

Read more here:

chow.com

Beer Camp Tasting 8/15

Sierra Beer Camp Tasting Saturday, August 15th Our friends Chris and Merideth from thebeergeek.com and Rick Sellers from DRAFT magazine and pacificbrewnews.com both had an opportunity to brew a small batch of specialty beer at “Beer Camp” hosted by Sierra Nevada. Come meet the brewers and try their creations during this very special tasting.

Updated List for IPApalooza

The updated list for IPApalooza '09
Wendesday, July 22nd 2009 ALL DAY

Auburn Alehouse - Gold Digger IPA, Un-Obtanium Double IPA
Bear Republic - Racer 5, Racer X
Deschutes - Red Chair IPA
Fifty Fifty - Rockslide IPA
Firestone Walker - Union Jack & Double Jack
Flying Dog - Double Dog
Great Basin Brewing - Ichthyosaur IPA
Green Flash - Imperial IPA
Lagunitas - Hop Stoopid & IPA
Marin Brewing Company - IPA
Moonlight Brewing Company - Bombay by Boat IPA
Moylan's - Hopsickle (unfiltered!) & Moylander Double IPA
Rubicon - IPA
Russian River - Pliny the Elder & Blind Pig IPA
Sac Brew - IPA, Independence IPA, Half Pint Double IPA, & Abbey IPA
Sierra Nevada - Torpedo Extra IPA
Stone - Ruination & 13th Anniversary Ale
Valley Brew - Uberhoppy

Basic Brewing Sour Preview

Last month I was interviewed at the the National Homebrewers' Conference by James and Steve at Basic Brewing. They run a website and podcast (video and audio podcasts) focused on making better beer at home so if you are a beginning or advanced homebrewer or just want to learn more about beer check out their site.

I decided to bring the first release from our sour beer project to the tasting. We named it Beersel after the city where our sour culture came from and this particular batch also had some tart cherries added to the barrel. The beer had spend 16 months aging in barrels with brettanomyces, lactobacillus and pediococus and this was the first sample available for public tasting. It has a nice sharp sourness with a plesant earthy and spicy character from the brett. Just a touch of acetic acid (vinegar) but not overwhelming and a mild cherry finish. I expect the beer to be available in mid August at the brewery.

You can see the video here. There is also a great interview with Brian Hunt of Moonlight Brewing at the end about brewing with out using hops as well as great advice for professional and homebrewers alike.

IPA Festival update

Here is a partial list of the beers we will be pouring for our IPApalooza on Wednesday July 22nd:

All being served when we open at 11:30. Chef Cres will have plenty of great Mexican specials to pair with this hoppy selection!

Auburn Alehouse - Gold Digger IPA
Bear Republic - Racer 5
Bear Republic - Racer X
Deschutes - Red Chair IPA
Fifty Fifty - Rockslide IPA
Firestone Walker - Union Jack
Firestone Walker - Double Jack
Flying Dog - Double Dog
Green Flash - Imperial IPA
Lagunitas - Hop Stoopid
Lagunitas - IPA
Moylan's - Hopsickle (unfiltered!)
Rubicon - IPA
Russian River - Pliny the Elder
Russian River - Blind Pig IPA
Sac Brew - IPA
Sac Brew - Independence IPA
Sac Brew - Half Pint Double IPA
Sac Brew - Abbey IPA
Sierra Nevada - IPA
Stone - Ruination
Stone - 13th Anniversary Ale
Valley Brew - Uberhoppy

CASK ALES ON HANDPUMP:
Sac Brew IPA extra dry hopped with Columbus
Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA extra dry hopped with Centennial


Still a few more to be confirmed....stay tuned.

California State Fair Results

We had another great showing at the California State Fair Commercial Beer Competition this year. Here is the list of hardware:

1st Place
Russian Imperial Stout
Celtic Amber (the THIRD year in a row this took gold in this category)

2nd Place
Sac-Squatch Scotch Ale
Luna de Miel
Abbey IPA
Old Pappy

3rd Place
Red Horse Ale

We entered 9 beers this year, so 7 our of 9 ain't bad at all!
The complete results listed by county can be found here.

The Deschutes Dinner

Deschutes Brewing Beer Dinner
Saturday, July 11th, 2009 at 6:00

Halibut and Prawn Ceviche
with fresh flour chips

Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Black Bean, Chorizo and Black Butte Porter Soup
with sour cream and cilantro
Black Butte Porter

Empanadas filled with Chicken, Queso Fresco, and Chile Verde
served with potato croquettes stuffed with goat cheese
Red Chair IPA

Ice Cream Sandwich
Homemade cinnamon Obsidian Stout ice cream, chocolate chip cookies covered in chocolate ganash.
Obsidian Stout

$40 per person, limit 40 people. Tickets available at the bar.

The Bruery is Coming...

The Bruery from Orange County, CA is starting distribution in Sacramento this month and we want to give them a proper welcome! Monday June 15th we will be featuring the beers of The Bruery and welcoming owner and brewer Patrick Rue to our restaurant.

We will start pouring tasting flights and glasses at 4:00 and Patrick Rue will join us at 6:00 to meet and greet our local homebrewers and beer aficianados.

We will be pouring:
Orchard White
White Zin
Virgin Papier
Batch No. 1 - Levud's
Black Orchard
Hottenroth Berliner Weisse

Bottles of Saison Rue, Saison de Lente and White Orchard will be available for purchase as well.

The first 30 sample flights that are ordered will come with a beautiful Rastal crystal tulip glass with The Bruery logo etched on the front. You do not want to miss these!

Chouffe Tasting

We will be pouring the beers of d'Achouffe on Wendesday June 10th starting at about 2:00 and going till close.

La Chouffe
Mc Chouffe
Houbblon Doubblen IPA

Tasting flights, full glasses as well as logo glassware as well for you to keep. As usual Chef Cres will put together some great food specials that night. Hope to see you there!!

AVBC Tasting

Anderson Valley Brewing joins us tonight (5/20) for a special tasting of Boont Amber, Hop Ottin' IPA, Imperial IPA, Oatmeal Stout AND 2007 Brother David's Triple. 4 ounce samples of each, a full pint of your choosing and a logo AVBC to keep all for $14.

Food specials for the tasting include:

Brother David Triple steamed Mussels with garlic & parsley served over homefries. $6 (Suggested pairing: Triple)

Two chorizo potato and serrano pepper tacos with fresh pico de gallo and cilantro on a corn tortilla. $5 (Suggested pairing: IPA or Imperial IPA)

Hope to see you later tonight!

KCRA A-List Results

Thank you to everyone who voted for Sac Brew on the KCRA A-List, with your support we took 1st place for the second year in a row! See the full results for the KCRA A-List here.

To celebrate we will be offering $14 prime rib dinners on Friday and Saturday nights! Come on in, have a great meal and try some of our new brewers specials like Half Pint IPA and Luna de Miel.

Mother's Day Brunch

Join us at Sacramento Brewing Company for a fantastic Mother's Day brunch featuring all our normal brunch favorites like eggs benedict & biscuits and gravy plus hand carved Prime Rib, made to order omelette station, fajita bar and Poached Salmon.

Only $24.99 for all you can eat plus unlimited Mimosas, Champagne, and Sac Brew Beer. $19.99 if you want the food but not the unlimited drinks.

Seating starts at 9:30am and last brunch seating at 2:00pm.

Reservations strongly recommended.

Events this Week

Luna De Miel Release Party
Tuesday, May 5th
We will release Luna de Miel, our amber Mexican lager, on Cinco De Mayo this year. This beer was originally brewed to celebrate Brewmaster Peter Hoey's wedding and when translated means "Honeymoon."

We will have mexican food specials to go with the beer and Chef Crescencio's signature lobster rellanos which are part of our daily menu now!
So far chevechie and empanadas are on the menu.

Allagash Tasting
Wednesday, May 6th
We will be tasting some great beers from Allagash Brewing (Portland, ME) that rarely make it out to the Sacramento area. We will be pouring:

White: A Belgian-inspired white ale
Curioux: A Triple aged in bourbon barrels
Four: A quadruple style ale
Black: A Belgian-inspired stout

$10 gets you an Allagash logo chalice (to keep) full of White and then 4 ounce samples of Curioux, Four and Black.