Before leaving Oregon we stopped at Crater Lake National Park on the way to California. If you have never visited Crater Lake, put it on your bucket list. This 5 Trillion Gallon Lake, nearly 2,000 ft deep is the most beautiful blue you will ever see. The only water entering into the lake is from rain and snow, giving it a clarity of over 100 ft. Wow, what type of beer could you brew using this water. In addition to driving around the 33 mile perimeter, we ventured down the 2.2 mile trail to the water's edge. Nearly killing me on the return to the top ( comparable to climbing 65 flights of stairs), at Least I burned off enough calories to continue the Beer Quest.
OK....back to the beer quest. Heading south to California, we made an overnight stop in Medford, Oregon. Now you may recognize Medford as the home of Harry& David's gift baskets and pears. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the craft beer revolution taking hold in the city. Medford currently has 5 Breweries and as luck would have it I was able to visit all 5. So this is a few highlights of the Medford Brewpub Crawl.
- Opposition Brewery- Yes the name has some meaning. Brewer/ Owner, Nick Ellis went thru a corporate downsizing, so he and his wife, Erin, decided to turn their home brewing hobby into a new career. Partnering with another couple that were friends, they opened Apocalypse brewing. Shortly after opening 10 barrel Brewing claimed to own the Domain "Apocalypse" and took them to court. Since they were opposing a team of corporate lawyers and an established financed brewery, they ended the fight and changed the name to Opposition Brewery. I do not like to see breweries go to war, but you got to Love how Nick & Erin handled this one. Opposition Brewery is a Nano brewery located in an industrial park area. The small tasting area sits in front of the brew works, some expansion is in progress. Nick was a great host, loved to talk beer and spent some time showing me the brewing system. The beer was very good, I enjoyed the Devastated Sky Stout, Sixth Seal NW APA, and the Blast Radius APA.
- Portal Brewing Co- located in town, this is the the newest brewpub in Medford. Owners Mike and Tess have created a very unique brewpub with a very artistic decor, unique label art, a killer food menu and yes some very good creative beer. THe Life Line Coffee Vanilla Porter could sustain life if this is all you had to drink. The Buckwheat Blonde w/coconut and the Black Ghost CDA were very good.
- Lost Coast Brewing- located in the heart of the historic section of Eureka, CA. The city has seen better days and Lost Coast Brewing is the highlight of the city. A large brewpub that was packed, again the highlight of the city. It was definitely popular with the blue collar workers. Two of the brews I enjoyed were the 8 Ball Stout and the Indica IPA. I will say I have never visited a brewery that had so many fruit flavored beer on tap.
- Bear Republic- located in the neat little town of Healdsburg. The main part of town was packed with little shops that could be deadly to the credit card. So while my travel companion went off to the shops, I went down the side street to Bear Republic. THe brewpub has a very large bar and a large seating area. Now the beer lovers know that Bear Republic brews Racer 5 IPA and let me tell you it is even better fresh at the brewery. I also enjoyed the Crazy Ivan IPA , Racer X Dbl IPA and the Big Bear Black. Great place to visit and they hold true to the west coast IPA tradition.
- Russian River Brewery- home to Pliny the Elder and the more elusive Pliny the Younger. OK, if you have never heard of The Pliny's then you need to stop right here and take craft beer appreciation 101. I was able to enjoy that Elder on draft and took a few bottles with me. Unfortunately the Younger is brewed once a year and unless you want to camp out in line, you better know someone who can sneak you in. Enough of the Pliny, Russian River is located in Santa Rosa, also home to Guy Fieri, of Dinners, Drive-ins and Dives fame. It is rare that this brewpub is not packed, however, once you find a spot be prepared for good beer. Thier speciality is IPA's, Pale's and Wild Ales (sour), OK I'm not into sours, but the brews are good. I ordered the half sampler which is 9 beers and I added a pint of Pliny. The sampler included some of their classic brews: Damnation, Benediction, Sanctification, Temptation, Supplication consecration......did I miss any. Great stop and I highly recommend that if your within 100 miles of Santa Rosa, Stop in.
- Napa Smith Brewery- located at a cross roads between Napa Valley Sonoma, this brewery is taking off in the middle of wine country. The Beer Server told me they are becoming very popular with the wine lovers, who find their way back to beer. I enjoyed the Hop Java, Porter, Hopageddon Imperial IPA and the Crush. Napa Smith cracked the door open for Breweries in Napa Valley,so watch the Beer revolution grow.
- Lagunitas-another great brewery located in Northern California wine country. One of a few west coast breweries that has a national distribution. They recently opened a brewery in Chicago to insure the east coast gets fresh beer. Well back to Petaluma, the brewery has indoor and various outdoor tasting areas. We arrived 15 minutes after the brewery opened and it was packed. we squeezed into a small table in the bar area. My sampler included the Jarrylo Pale Ale, Imperial Stout, an Imperial Pilsner and Sebastimaximus. As usual Lagunitas brews were very good and they are even better fresh at the brewery. After our short visit, the crowds were still coming in. So if you visit, get there early the brewery is really popular.
Before heading back east, my cousins decided to join the quest, visiting a Sonoma brewery with me.
- Hopmonk Brewery- located in Sonoma, yes sneaking into wine country for beer, the brewpub had a very large outdoor tasting area. The weather was sunny and very hot for October. So the Tavern Pale Ale and the IPA were really refreshing on this warm day. They also have a very nice food menu and I recommend the fish tacos. More importantly I was able to enjoy the afternoon with cousins and spouses.