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| The filtering tanks |
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| The bottling line |
Wild Blue--Full, round and warm with a pleasant ripe blueberry flavor/aroma that's rounded out by tart and zesty notes. Brewed with a blend of two- and six-row barley malt, classic aroma hops from the Willamette Valley and German hops from the Hallertau region in Bavaria and all-natural blueberry syrup made from real blueberries. 8%
Michelob Brewing Co Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale--Smooth, robust taste full of rich aromas, hints of vanilla and flavorful hops. Brewed with Carapils, caramel and two-row barley malts and imported Hallertau and Alsace hops. It is then aged on bourbon oak casks and whole Madagascar vanilla beans. 6%
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| Wild Blue |
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| Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale |
After leaving Anheuser-Busch, I grabbed some lunch and then headed to a newish brewery, Napa Smith (http://www.napasmithbrewery.com/). At the time Napa Smith had been open for about a year and a half. The brewery did not have any tasting room hours, so I called to see if I could arrange a private tour. The owner was more than happy to show me around. Unfortunately I did not take any photos. After a brief personal tour, I had a few beers with the owner:
Amber Ale--Our Amber Ale uses seven malt varieties and three unique selections of hops in order to achieve the deep complex flavors. This taste starts off with a slightly sweet and then progress to a clean, dry finish. 5.75%
Pale Ale--Our Pale Ale uses the best European and American hops and a blend of "plump" two-row barley. As a result our beer has fragrant aromas with a hint of caramel malt. 5.25%
Wheat Beer--Preserving the clean characters of the style, we have brewed this beer to accentuate the flavors of hops and malts. Our Wheat Beer has distinct aroma, and a crisp dry finish. 4.6%
Organic IPA--Our Organic IPA uses the finest two-row organic malts including Pale malt and Munich malt. Preserving the tradition of classic India Pale Ales, Organic IPA is infused with a hefty dose of aromatic Cascade hops to create a bold, lingering finish. 7.1%
It was then time to pick up Sarah from her interview. On the way back to Napa we stopped at a winery for a quick tasting.
For dinner we went to Downtown Joe's Brewery and Restaurant (http://www.downtownjoes.com/), a restaurant we had wanted to try when we honeymooned in Napa, but ran out of time. Downtown Joe's is a regional microbrewery with six core beers and a few seasonals. I was able to taste the six beers that were on draft the day we visited:
Tail Waggin' Amber Ale--Crisp and flavorful with a slight roast aroma and delicate hop flavors. Our most popular ale among the ladies and their admirers. 5.6%
Lil Blonde--This light and refreshing ale has hints of clove and banana. 5.5%
Tantric India Pale Ale--This hoppy IPA is high in alcohol and except for the American hop aroma, is very British in style. This style was originally developed to survive the voyage from England around the Cape of Good Hope and back North to India to keep the British troops happy. 6.8%
Temptation Dark Ale--This is the lightest dark beer we can make. Refreshing and roasty. 4.5%
Napoleon Bounty--I forgot to get a description of this special ale.
Ale Industries Orange Kush--This is a wheat beer that is brewed with chamomile, orange peel, and coriander. These are added to the boil kettle, and gives the beer an amazingly simple refreshment. 4.4%
Saturday we spent visiting some wineries we hadn't visited before. Among the wineries we visited were the Hess Collection (http://www.hesscollection.com/), Jessup Cellars (http://jessupcellars.com/), Mumm Napa (http://mummnapa.com/), Hagafen Cellars (http://www.hagafen.com/), Reynolds Family Winery (http://www.reynoldsfamilywinery.com/), and finished the day at Black Stallion Winery (http://blackstallionwinery.ewinerysolutions.com//index.cfm).
Our last day saw us visit a couple wineries in Sonoma on the way back to SFO. We stopped at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards (http://www.jacuzziwines.com/) and then across the street at Cline Cellars (http://www.clinecellars.com/). After the wineries we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at Steelhead Brewing Company (http://www.steelheadbrewery.com/) in Burlingame, where we grabbed a late lunch and sampled some beers before catching our flight. The taster flight consisted of eight samples:
Hairy Weasel Hefeweizen--A straw-yellow, slightly cloudy wheat beer. Bready aroma and mild in flavor. 5.4%
Broadway Blonde--A golden blond, effervescent American style cream ale. Crisp and delicate. 5.6%
Raging Rhino Red--Deep amber color and a crisp hoppy aroma. Roasted toffee and caramel finish. 5.4%
Bombay Bomber IPA--Deep gold citrus-floral hop nose with lots of malt flavors. Intense hop finish. 6.5%
First Date Imperial Stout--Imperial stout with sweet dates and alcohol beginnings. Followed by big dry roast malt flavors and an intense hop finish. 9.9%
Grateful Red Ale--A beautiful crisp red ale with caramel flavors accented by four layers of hops. ABV unknown
Gold Nugget Pale Ale--An American style pale ale medium-bodied ale flavor and aroma from nugget hops. ABV unknown
Nigel's Extra Special Bitter--Unfiltered English bitter, rich English malt and hop flavors. Finishes dry and hoppy. ABV unknown
Amber Ale--Our Amber Ale uses seven malt varieties and three unique selections of hops in order to achieve the deep complex flavors. This taste starts off with a slightly sweet and then progress to a clean, dry finish. 5.75%
Pale Ale--Our Pale Ale uses the best European and American hops and a blend of "plump" two-row barley. As a result our beer has fragrant aromas with a hint of caramel malt. 5.25%
Wheat Beer--Preserving the clean characters of the style, we have brewed this beer to accentuate the flavors of hops and malts. Our Wheat Beer has distinct aroma, and a crisp dry finish. 4.6%
Organic IPA--Our Organic IPA uses the finest two-row organic malts including Pale malt and Munich malt. Preserving the tradition of classic India Pale Ales, Organic IPA is infused with a hefty dose of aromatic Cascade hops to create a bold, lingering finish. 7.1%
It was then time to pick up Sarah from her interview. On the way back to Napa we stopped at a winery for a quick tasting.
For dinner we went to Downtown Joe's Brewery and Restaurant (http://www.downtownjoes.com/), a restaurant we had wanted to try when we honeymooned in Napa, but ran out of time. Downtown Joe's is a regional microbrewery with six core beers and a few seasonals. I was able to taste the six beers that were on draft the day we visited:
Tail Waggin' Amber Ale--Crisp and flavorful with a slight roast aroma and delicate hop flavors. Our most popular ale among the ladies and their admirers. 5.6%
Lil Blonde--This light and refreshing ale has hints of clove and banana. 5.5%
Tantric India Pale Ale--This hoppy IPA is high in alcohol and except for the American hop aroma, is very British in style. This style was originally developed to survive the voyage from England around the Cape of Good Hope and back North to India to keep the British troops happy. 6.8%
Temptation Dark Ale--This is the lightest dark beer we can make. Refreshing and roasty. 4.5%
Napoleon Bounty--I forgot to get a description of this special ale.
Ale Industries Orange Kush--This is a wheat beer that is brewed with chamomile, orange peel, and coriander. These are added to the boil kettle, and gives the beer an amazingly simple refreshment. 4.4%
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| Me with my flight of tasters at Downtown Joe's |
Our last day saw us visit a couple wineries in Sonoma on the way back to SFO. We stopped at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards (http://www.jacuzziwines.com/) and then across the street at Cline Cellars (http://www.clinecellars.com/). After the wineries we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at Steelhead Brewing Company (http://www.steelheadbrewery.com/) in Burlingame, where we grabbed a late lunch and sampled some beers before catching our flight. The taster flight consisted of eight samples:
Hairy Weasel Hefeweizen--A straw-yellow, slightly cloudy wheat beer. Bready aroma and mild in flavor. 5.4%
Broadway Blonde--A golden blond, effervescent American style cream ale. Crisp and delicate. 5.6%
Raging Rhino Red--Deep amber color and a crisp hoppy aroma. Roasted toffee and caramel finish. 5.4%
Bombay Bomber IPA--Deep gold citrus-floral hop nose with lots of malt flavors. Intense hop finish. 6.5%
First Date Imperial Stout--Imperial stout with sweet dates and alcohol beginnings. Followed by big dry roast malt flavors and an intense hop finish. 9.9%
Grateful Red Ale--A beautiful crisp red ale with caramel flavors accented by four layers of hops. ABV unknown
Gold Nugget Pale Ale--An American style pale ale medium-bodied ale flavor and aroma from nugget hops. ABV unknown
Nigel's Extra Special Bitter--Unfiltered English bitter, rich English malt and hop flavors. Finishes dry and hoppy. ABV unknown
