Reading Time: 11 minutes read “I never drink…wine” – Dracula, Dead and Loving It. If you’ve read this blog before, you’re probably aware that we deal with craft beer quite a lot, sometimes spirits, and occasionally coffee. This is our first foray into non-alcoholic versions of traditionally alcoholic beverages. Yes, there’s a trend sort of thing happening. Yes, there are all the hashtags for dry January or sober October (terrifying). To me, those are quite beside the point. However, I am a fan of the idea of people having options, and that seems to be important to Surreal Brewing Company.  ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes read The following press release came from Cascade Brewing. They are one of my favorite and most-respected breweries. They really are pioneers in the craft brew scene, and I feel very fortunate to have visited their blending house last spring. Look for more on that soon. In the meantime, here’s their news. Cascade Brewing announces sale to local group of brewery and taproom owners Existing production team and pub management will remain in place (PORTLAND, Ore. –– April 2, 2020) –– After more than 20 years, one of Oregon’s founding fathers of Oregon beer i ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes read The following press release came from Tröegs. In my experience (which has been pretty long), they do a great job of sharing details on their new beers, and generally being a great brewery on both the visiting and imbibing fronts. Sadly, we don’t get their beers in Texas, but it’s all good. I’m also not a huge fan of hazy pale ales, on general principle, but would be willing to be these guys have developed a good one. Hazy, bright new beer was 6 months in the making on small-batch Scratch System Photo courtesy of Tröegs Independent Brewing. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:&nb ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes read Words and photos by Benjamin Wilson Waking up in the bungalows at the Beach House Inn on Pudding Creek in Fort Bragg, CA, reminds me of the first time as a nearly-almost adult that I stayed on the coast. I was 17, I stayed for a few days with my brother and his roommates, and got hit on by some college girl named Summer, who most likely did not know I was under-age. I walked the miles to the beach every day; not the tame, combed sand, Florida / Southern Cali type of beach, but the raw, rugged, majestic central Oregon coast. The type of place you call a “coast” rath ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes read The following press release is courtesy of Four Corners Brewing Company. Folks often ask if we’ve covered this or that local Dallas brewery, so here’s something about one of them. I’ve not tried La Chingona Double IPA yet, but it looks like Four Corners is going on the list to check out. Also, this music festival they’re starting sounds really cool. It’s coming up on Saturday, March 14. DALLAS (Feb. 6, 2020) – Four Corners Brewing Co. or ¡FCBC!, a Dallas-based craft brewery featuring lotería-style branding, announced its inaugural ChingonX ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes read The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.– G.K. Chesterton From Santa Rosa to Fort Bragg, you have a couple of very sensible route options. You can go north on US-101 for about 78 miles, and then take Hwy 20 back toward the coast, and almost straight into Fort Bragg. Or, you can take a little bit longer, and go a bit inland via CA-29, passing by Clear Lake, and then join Hwy 20. On this sunny Monday morning in early May, we choose neither route. As pleasant and scenic as the interior or Sonoma County is, we’ve come to see some coast ..read more

Reading Time: 7 minutes read “I firmly believe, from what I have seen, that this is the chosen spot of all this earth as far as nature is concerned.” ― Luther Burbank By Meagan Wilson Photos by Ben Wilson Photo by Ben Wilson. If you’re a craft beer drinker, or perhaps even if you’re not, Russian River Brewing Company hardly needs any introduction. Unlike a couple of the other world-famous breweries we had a chance to visit on our Pacific Coast Highway trip, Russian River is not one of the “Class of ’88” craft breweries that were established that year. They are, however, very well e ..read more

Reading Time: 6 minutes read “San Francisco has only one drawback. ”Tis hard to leave.” — Rudyard Kipling By Ben Wilson and Meagan Wilson As much as I am loathe to malign another writer – Kipling was full of shit. Leaving San Francisco is easy.  Unlike nearly every U.S. city, getting out of town on a work morning takes very little time, and is a pleasant drive. Within a half hour, you’ve crossed the Golden Gate and are in the beautiful, windy (both with wind, and winding) Marin Headlands, away from the handheld signs reading “I JUST NEED HOOKERS AND COCAINE, EVEN A DOLLAR WILL HELP” an ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes read “With a bit of luck, it’ll ruin his life – forever thinking that just behind some narrow door in all his favorite bars, men in red Pendleton shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he’ll never know. Would he dare to suck a sleeve? Probably not. Play it safe. Pretend you never saw it.” -Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas The first thing I notice when I step off the plane in San Francisco is an incredible miasma of bland – but it’s not San Francisco’s fault. Airports are a cultural desert most anywhere in the United States; here, a billboard ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes read Editor’s note: The following is a press release from Cascade Brewing. We will be visiting Cascade this Friday, and hope to be able to try this beer then. PORTLAND, Ore. (May 6, 2019) – Cascade Brewing has announced the upcoming release of Bean-to-Barrel Triple, a collaboration project with Danish brewery Mikkeller. The Northwest sour ale will be released on Friday, May 10, and will be available in 500ml bottles and on draft at Cascade’s two Portland pubs and through limited distribution. Bean-to-Barrel will also make its Euro ..read more