Home Brew Mart

Hello All,

I survived the Strong Ale Festival! The event was a huge success. AleSmith walked away with the people’s choice and the brewer’s choice award for the J.P. Gray’s Wee Heavy–which was served on a beer engine. Over 250 people showed up throughout the evening despite the rainy weather. The kitchen made up a smoked bratwurst, red cabbage, sauerkraut pizza with a mustart suace on a wholegrain beer crust for the night which was awesome.

Lots of raffle prizes were given away and everyone had a good time. Bottom line is that it went well enough to start thinking about the next festival–real ale fest with beer engines in the Spring. Check out the Fest T-shirts as well.

Lots of updates and reviews in here this time. I reviewed the beers from the Strong Ale Fest. I also have started some new sections since I am now talking about a new brewery. In What’s Brewing I will mention new beers being brewed, brewhouse topics, ingredients, etc… I will also be doing an On Tap section that will highlight special beers on tap at the Port.

And since I am making changes, this is a fine time to give me any suggestions you might have on what you like/don’t like or how to make this newsletter better–other than having it come out more often. Next month I start my third year of the AlEmail. Thanks to all who have been here since the beginning and to all who have jumped on along the way.

I wish you all a merry christmas and bery happy and suds filled new year!

Cheers

Tom

CONTENTS:

STRONG ALE RESULTS
WHAT’S BREWING
SO CAL BEER PAGE
BEER DESCRIPTIONS
PUB UPDATES
ON TAP
WEB SITE
RECIPES
MEAD

STRONG ALE RESULTS

We collected over 150 votes from the Fest for our People’s Choice award and here is how it finished:

1st place AleSmith J.P.
Gray’s Wee Heavy

2nd place Stone Brewing Company Turbo Arrogant Bastard Ale

3rd place San Diego Breiwng Company Red Star Stout

Honorable Mention Ballast Point Navigator Barleywine

And then we took votes just from the brewers in attendence for a Brewer’s Coice award. The hands down favorite was:

AleSmith J.P. Gray’s Wee Heavy

The voting wasn’t even close for this one. It was a great beer. Tomme Arthur from Port Solana finished second with his Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout. If you weren’t there to see the trophies, we gave away Hercules action figures mounted on a wood base. Congrats to all the brewers and breweries that won!

I would also like to extend an enormous THANK YOU to eveyone who participated in the event and helped to make it a success and to all who showed up on a rainy night. I owe a huge THANKS to the staff at Port Carlsbad, especially the bartenders who did a great job of making the festival run smoothly. And a special thanks to White Labs Yeast for helping sponsor the event! To those who could not come–plan to be there next year!

WHAT’S BREWING

At Port Solana we are two beers into our trilogy of Belgians. The Grand Cru is now aging in secondary. It is a big, fruity beer with lots of raisin and banana notes. The alcohol is over 9% by volume giving it a nice warmth as it goes down. This beer will most likely age for a few weeks and go on tap mid-late January. In the meantime enjoy the Dubbel Overhead Abbey Ale on tap at both Ports.

The final beer in this run will be the Trippel Overhead. A light, golden trippel with plenty of candi sugar and alcohol. Brewer Tomme Arthur predicts this one will be over the top. It will be brewed in early January for release in late February or early March. I will keep you posted.

While the White Labs Trappist Ale Yeast is floating around, Skip at AleSmith decided to brew his gold medal Belgian Ale from the old P.B. Brewhouse. Look for that to be a late Winter release.

Up at Port Carlsbad we will be adding a Pale Ale to our regular rotation of beers. If all goes well, I will get to brew the inaugral batch using my own recipe. Brewdate should be in early January for release by the end of the month. Believe me, this you will hear more about as it happens!

SO CAL BEER PAGE

A great Southern California Beer and Brewing site! Check out:

http://members.aol.com/socalbeer

and

http://members.aol.com/scbeernews

The pages are packed with all kinds of info on beer, brewing, pubs, breweries, homebrewing, etc… He has event listings and all kinds of good info on the So Cal beer scene. This should be a regular stop for any beer-nut web surfer!

BEER DESCRIPTIONS

I thought I would jot down some of my hazy memories from tasting all of the beers at the Strong Ale Fest.

AleSmith’s J.P. Gray’s Wee Heavy – Served on a beer engine from a traditional English Firkin (a type of keg used for real ale). This was a great beer. Easy to drink, not too sweet with a nice caramel flavor and a creamy finish. The only down side is that the keg was emptied.

Baja Brewing Co.’s Baja Belgian Trippel – This beer benefitted from its extended aging from this Summer. Clear and fruity, this light-bodied offering was almost too easy to drink. A warm alcohol flavor and a subtle maltiness lingered in the finish.

Ballast Point Brewing Co.’s Navigator Barleywine – The strongest beer at the fest. This beer still had tons of hop flavor in it. A nice caramel/brown sugar flavor was there to balance it out. Too bad you can’t get this in bottles, because this beer will age very well. Let’s hope they throw a keg or two aside for next year!

Del Mar Stuft Pizza & Brewery’s Belgian Holiday Ale – Made with White Labs Trappist Ale Yeast this beer had a big spicy-clove aroma and flavor. Lots of specialty malts–mostly Belgian, gave this beer a complex grain/malt flavor.

Hang Ten Brewing Co. brought two beers, both served on nitrogen:

Barneywhine – This light colored barleywine went down like cream from the nitrogen tapping. A definite alcohol warmth that will mellow with time. Subdued hops and very little crystal malt. A very interesting barleywine Toes Over

Imperial Stout – This beer was nearly a year old at tapping time. The nitrogen took the bite out of the roast flavors leaving the beer with a very chocolatety finish.

La Jolla Brewing Company’s Blitzen Holiday Ale – This is basically a double recipe version of their Red ale. I listed it as an old ale, but it has a nice roastiness that would be out of style. Not what I expected, but a very good strong ale.

Port Carlsbad’s Elfin Holiday Ale – I’ve been drinking this one for the last few weeks and it just keeps getting better. The spices mellowed perfectly so that neither the cinnamon or vanilla is overwhelming at all. Not too dark, with just a little mix of crystal malt for color.

Port Solana also brought up two beers:

Old Boneyards Barleywine – Hoppy and fruity. This was a nice middle of the road offering in comparison to the other barleywines at the fest. Unfortunately this was the last keg, but don’t worry, we’ll brew more. Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout – A big bad Imperial Stout. Sweet at first with a slight bitterness right at the end. British Chocolat and Roasted malts add deep color with a biting coffee-like flavor. And yes, it was named after the dog on the Simpson’s.

San Diego Brewing Co.’s Red Star Stout – Very different from the other two Imperial Stouts at the fest. A huge, hoppy, bittersweet flavor dominated this complex beer. Lots of roast character and plenty of color. Look for the Old 395 barleywine from SD Brew Co. in February!

Stone Brewing Co.’s Turbo Arrogant Bastard Ale – The extra maltiness in the Turbo version was enough to balance out the obscene amount of Chinook hops in the normal version. Wish this is the one that was available. Too bad they only had a five gallon keg at the fest!

PUB UPDATES

A couple of non-Strong Ale Fest related updates here.

Callahan’s Pub in Mira Mesa Mall is nearly finished with its renovations. The brewery is not up and running yet, but Charles at San Diego Brewing Co. is working hard to keep the house beers flowing. The best new feature is the addition of about 15 guest handles to the bar. No local offerings on tap, but a good selection of West Coast micros is there for the sampling–including Sierra Nevada Celebration. The place looks great and has certainly become much more beer-friendly. They still have wing nights on Wednesday as well.

Ballast Point Brewing Co. is brewing its new Yellow Tail Pale Ale today (Tuesday) for release in mid-late January. Salesman Mike Mellow already has 8 accounts lined up for the new beer so keep an eye out for it in the new year. In the meantime look for the Navigator Barleywine to be released soon to bars around town including the Port, Porter’s Pub and San Diego Brewing Co.

New brewer Andy Schwartz at Del Mar Stuft Pizza has his new IPA on-line and it is very good. A mix of Columbus, Centennial and Cascade hops, this one has a great hop flavor without an overpowering bitterness. I tried his new stout at 3 days old and it is going to be good as well. Andy is a friendly guy so go down and try his beers and say hello.

Rumors floating around indicate that Baja Brewing Company is selling its brewing equipment, but keeping the restaurant open. If I hear something concrete I will pass it along.

ON TAP

A quick run-down on some of the seasonal and specialty offerings available at the two Ports:

Solana Beach:

Dubbel Overhead Abbey Ale – a great Belgain dubbel. Dark brown, fruity and 6.5% alcohol. Check out the rad surfing monk T-shirts from the release party.

Ale Nino – A seasonal fill-in for the 101 Nut Brown. This one is a little stronger, though slightly lighter in color.

Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout – One of the biggest Imperial Stouts I’ve ever had. Its thick and chewy and goes down smooth. With 10.5% alcohol by volume don’t drink too many pints.

Also on tap are: AleSmith’s Wee Heavy, Redhook’s Winterhook, Stone’s Arrogant Bastard Ale and the Elfin Holiday Ale from Port Carlsbad. Look for the Yulesmith from AleSmith coming soon–perhaps the finest beer I have drunk all year.

Carlsbad:

Elfin Holiday Ale – A nice copper-colored ale spiced with vanilla and cinnamon. The spices blend effortlessly with the beer making this one easy to drink.

Carlsbad has a great selection of holiday beers right now including:

Anchor X-mas, Pyramid’s Sno Cap, Full Sail’s Wassail, North Coast Brewing Co.’s Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, Widmer Winternacht and the Dubbel Overhead Abbey Ale. Sierra Nevada Celebration jsut came back as well! Also Mendocino’s special Eye of the Hawk Ale will be coming to both Ports.

WEB SITE

Our web site is starting to come together. Check it out at: www.pizzaport.com Any comments or suggestions would be welcome! I am going to start posting back issues of my AlEmail on the web site.

RECIPE

I am passing along a beer and a mead recipe this week. The beer is a variant on my Pale Ale recipe. The mead is tasty combo of cranberries and blackberries.

This is designed to be like Sierra Nevada. As usual, I brewed this one as
an all grain. I will pass along the grain and an extract version.

Tom’s Pale Ale

9# Great Western 2-row
.75# 40L Crystal
.5# 60L Crystal
.25# Carapils

1 oz Chinook (pellets or flowers) pellets at 10.6% AA – Boil 1 hour
1 oz Cascade 15 minutes
1 oz Cascade Knock Out

California Ale Yeast

I mashed as close to 152F as I could. Pual and I made 1 barrel of this and tried several different yeasts including White Labs Burton Ale and British Ale both of which should work great in this beer.

Extract:

8# Pale Malt

.75# 40L Crystal
.5# 60L Crystal

1.25 oz Chinook pellets – 10.6% AA – boil
1 oz Cascade – 15 minutes
1 oz Cascade – Knock out

California Ale Yeast

MEAD

One note before I start the recipe, Port Carlsbad has the three Honeyrun Fruit Meads available: Cranberry, Blackberry and Cherry. The recipe below comes out much like the Cranberry one. Quite good. The tartness of the fruit balances the slightly sweet finish. A nice alternative to beer once in a while. I drank nearly a whole bottle of the Cranberry at the Port X-mas party.

This mead is a great fruity drink. A bit of a kool-aid character to it when it is young, but it has aged beautifully. The blackberries add a bit of color, though not too much flavor. Recipe is for 5 gallons.

Crackberry Mead (cran/black berry)

14 pounds Light Honey – Wildflower blends work well

2.5 pounds Cranberries
1 pound Blackberries

2 packs Cote Des Blancs Yeast

I boiled the honey for 5 minutes and then added the frozen fruit and let it
steep for 15 more. I tied the fruit up in a big steeping bag and left it
in a plastic bucket for a two-week primary. The fruit really kicks the
yeast into high gear. Transfer to secondary and age. Sparkaloid may be
used to help it clear. Finish should be off-dry.

Thats All Folks!
Tom

Hello All,

Here is my first official email from Pizza Port. This week I am
sending out all of the info for the Strong Ale Festival. I know this
email is huge, but there is a lot of good info here. All of the info was
taken from the press packet that I have been putting together. I’m also
including my latest brew recipe and a few other updates. Hope to see you
all at the Fest–to avoid any crowds, show up early.
And one homebrewing note here–the info on the America’s Finest City
competition is available down at the Linda Vista Home Brew Mart. The
organizers, Quaff, will also have a web page up and running. When I know
for sure that it is ready, I will pass along the address.
Cheers,
Tom

CONTENTS:

PIZZA PORT
PUB UPDATES
STRONG ALE FEST
BEERS AND BREWERIES
BASIC PROCESS
STYLES
HISTORY
ORGANIZERS
RECIPES

PIZZA PORT

This Thursday, Dec 11th Pizza Port Solana Beach will debut its new
Double Overhead Abbey Ale. It is a Belgian Style Dubbel brewed with many
Belgian grains, candi sugar and of course a Belgian style yeast strain
(from White Labs). The party will happen from 6-11pm. Get a limited
edition T-Shirt and Pint glass for $10 while the shirts last. The design
features a monk cathcing a wave–its a cool shirt. I’ll be there along
with head brewer Tomme Arthur, so we will see you there!

Every Wednesday is Wing and Cheese Stix night at the Port. Only
$.15 each for wings or stix. Come by this Wednesday and check out the
great selection of guest beers including: AleSmith’s Wee Heavy, Ballast
Point’s Copper Ale, Stone’s Pale Ale and Arrogant Bastard Ale, and
Anchor’s Old foghorn Barlewine!

Local Draft Pick for Monday, December 15th is from the La Jolla
Brewing Co. brewed at the new Mission Brewery facility. $2 pints and $6
pitchers during the game–Denver at San Francisco, should be a great one!!!

PUB UPDATES

Del Mar Stuft Pizza has a new head Brewer, Andy Schwartz. He
previously worked in Colorado where he won a gold medal for his stout. He
has only been there a few weeks, but expect a big turn around in many of
the beers at Stuft Pizza. Their holiday ale, a Belgian Strong is on tap
right now as well.

AleSmith will be seving a keg of its fantastic Yulesmith through a
beer engine this Thursday, Dec. 11th at O’Brians in Clairemont. This is a
great chance to try a great beer on a hand pump at a reasonable price!

STRONG ALE FEST

1st Annual San Diego Strong Ale Festival

What: The 1st Annual San Diego Strong Ale Festival. A unique collection
of local strong ales on tap in one location for one night. Many of the
beers we will be serving are not available outside of the brewpub in which
they were made. Every beer featured will contain at least 8% alcohol by
volume. Taster glasses will be poured in 4 oz samples.

When: Thursday, December 18th from 5:00 pm until 11:00 pm. Media hour
from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm with special tasting and brewery tour. Raffle to
be held at 9:00 pm. Anouncement of people’s choice awards at 10:00 pm.

Where: Pizza Port Carlsbad at 571 Carlsbad Village Drive in Downtown
Carlsbad. the restaurant is one half mile West of I-5 at Roosevelt Street.
Phone (760) 720-7007.

Why: To drink great beer and to promote awareness and understanding of
hand-crafted beers in San Diego. Wintertime brings with it a taste for
stronger, more aggressive beers. This festival will highlight these
special, locally produced seasonal beers. As people learn more about what
they are consuming, they understand the different tastes and styles. Beer
appreciation means thinking about and enjoying what you are drinking rather
than just chugging a cheap domestic.

Who: Beer enthusiasts everywhere!

San Diego Beer Scene:

There are 19 microbreweries and brewpubs in San Diego County producing over
150 different beers. Only ten years ago San Diego was without a local beer
producer. San Diego breweries have won three medals at the Great American
Beer Festival in Denver, including two Golds. Bottled beer is available
from four different local breweries around town. San Diego’s brewing
community is bolstered by a strong and active homebrewing community. There
are over a half dozen homebrew supply shops providing avid brewers with
their ingredients. San Diego is also home to more than 7 home wine and
beer making clubs. The brewers and homebrewers all help contribute to an
active brewing scene that includes competitions, beer festivals, tastings,
and pub crawls.
This festival was endorsed by the San Diego Brewers Guild. The guild is a
professional organization for brewers in San Diego. It meets once a month
to discuss activities and ways to promote locally produced beer.

BEERS AND BREWERIES

Beers and Breweries Participating

All participating breweries are listed in alphabetical order. Included is
address and phone number and whether the brewery is in a pub restaurant or
just a microbrewery. Each beer is listed in bold along with the
traditional style, alcohol by volume and the brewer or contact for each
brewery.

1. AleSmith Brewing Company Microbrewery
9368 Cabot Drive (619) 549-9888
Beer: J.P. Gray’s Wee Heavy Style: Scotch Ale
Alcohol: 8.25%
Brewer/Contact: Skip Virgilio

2. Baja Brewing Company Brewpub
203 5th Avenue (619) 231-6667
Beer: Baja Belgian Trippel Style: Belgian Trippel Ale
Alcohol: 9.4%
Brewer/Contact: Jim Owens

3. Ballast Point Brewing Company Microbrewery
5401 Linda Vista Road Suite 406 (619) 298-2337
Beer: Navigator Barleywine Style: Barleywine Ale
Alcohol: 10.5%
Brewer/Contact: Peter A’Hearn

4. Del Mar Stuft Pizza and Brewery Brewpub
12340 Carmel Country Road (619) 481-7883 or (760) 414-5705
Beer: Belgian Holiday Ale Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Alcohol: 8.0%
Brewer/Contact: Greg Distefano

5. Hang Ten Brewing Company Brewpub
310 5th Avenue (619) 232-6336
Beers: Barneywhine Style: Barleywine Ale
Alcohol: 9.5%
Toes Over Stout Style: Imperial
Stout Alcohol: 9.2%
Brewer/Contact: Paul Segura

6. La Jolla Brewing Company Brewpub
7536 Fay Avenue (619) 456-2739
Beer: Blitzen Holiday Ale Style: Old Ale
Alcohol: 8.0%
Brewer/Contact: Dr. John Atwater

7. Pizza Port/Carlsbad Brewery Brewpub
571 Carlsbad Village Drive (760) 720-7007
Beer: Elfin Holiday Ale Style: Herb and Spice Beer
Alcohol: 8.0%
Brewer/Contact: Vince Marsaglia

8. Pizza Port/Solana Beach Brewery Brewpub
135 North Highway 101 (619) 481-7332
Beers: Old Boneyards Barleywine Style: Barleywine Ale
Alcohol: 9.7%
Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout Style: Imperial Stout
Alcohol: 10.2%
Brewer/Contact: Tomme Arthur

9. San Diego Brewing Company Brewpub
10450 Friars Road (619) 284-2739
Beer: Red Star Stout Style: Imperial
Stout Alcohol: 8.4%
Brewer/Contact: Charles Hudak

10. Stone Brewing Company Microbrewery
155 Mata Way (760) 471-4999
Beer: Turbo Arrogant Bastard Ale Style: None
Alcohol: 8.5%
Brewer/Contact: Steve Wagner

BASIC PROCESS

The Brewing Process

The basic ingredients in beer are malted barley, hops, yeast and water.
This sheet will give you a quick look at how these different ingredients
come together to make a standard beer.

Malting

Raw barley kernels are malted by allowing them to soak in water. This
activates natural enzymes within the barley that start to convert starch to
sugar which the growing plant uses as food. The grain is then kilned or
dried at a low temperature to preserve these enzymes.

Mashing

The malted barley is cracked to expose the starchy inside. The cracked
grain is then soaked in warm water for one hour. This process, known as
mashing, reactivates the natural enzymes to convert all of the starch in
the barley into sugar, some fermentable, some not. The sweet water, or
wort is then drained from the grain. Additional water is rinsed, or
sparged over the grain to collect any residual sugar. The wort runoff is
collected in the boiling kettle.

Boiling

The wort (pronounced wert) is boiled for one hour. During this time hops
are added. Hops contribute the bitterness as well as flavor and aroma to
beer. Hops that are boiled with the wort for the full hour add in
bittering resins to the beer. Hops added at the end of the boil contribute
volatile flavor and aroma oils. It is because beer was boiled that it was
often safer to drink than well water throughout much of history.

Pitching

The wort is cooled down to room temperature after the boil. Once cooled,
the yeast is pitched into the beer and fementation begins. During
fermentation the yeast metabolize the simple sugars into alcohol. As a
product of this reaction the yeast release carbon dioxide and esters, which
are unique fruity flavors given off by different yeast strains. The yeast
eat up only certain sugars, leaving others behind to create the body of the
beer. The natural sweetness of the malt is balanced out by the bitterness
of the hops.

Serving

After fermentation the beer is allowed to age for two weeks before it is
ready to serve. Some beers require more time, some less depending on
alcohol and the strength of various flavors. Once the beer is aged it is
carbonated and ready to serve. Malt has become beer!

Ales and Lagers

All of the beers in this festival fall into the broad category of ales. An
ale is any beer fermented at room temperature (60-77 degrees) as opposed to
lager beers which are fermented at cold temperatures between 45 and 55
degrees. Pale Ales, Porters, Stouts, Wheat Beers, Nut Browns and Honey
Beers are all examples of common ales. These beers have a full, rich
characteristic balanced with a slight fruitiness from the yeast
fermentation. We have seven different styles of ales represented in the
festival.

STYLES

Beer Styles

We have seven traditional beer styles represented in the festival. We have
three beers each in the Barleywine and Imperial Stout categories. Below is
a description of the common characteristics of each style.

Barleywine
This is not a wine, but rather a beer brewed to wine strength. It
is traditionally the strongest style of beer with alcohol contents ranging
from 8% to as high as 12%. The color will be tawny to deep amber, almost
brown. As with many of the strong ales, barleywines are aged for long
periods to allow the beer to mature just like a wine. The flavor is vinous
and rich. British versions will allow the sweet malt and fruity
characteristics to dominate while the American style has a pronounced hop
bitterness and aroma. The finish should be smooth and warming.

Belgian Ale
The Belgian Ale category is divided into 7 sub-styles. Most of the
beers are marked by a strong yeast fruitiness that can give off hints of
banana and nutmeg. Belgian breweries often use a unique house yeast strain
to create very different flavor profiles for beers that fall within the
same category. We have two sub-styles of Belgian ales represented in the
festival.

Trippel
This is a strong golden colored ale with little hop character. A
spicy, alcoholic aroma will come through over a subtle fruitiness. Rock
candy sugar is used to add fermentable sugars in place of additional malted
barley. This leaves the beer high in alcohol and warming without being too
thick or full bodied.

Belgian Strong Ale
This is a broad category that encompasses beers of many colors.
The common thread between them is a warming alcoholic flavor and a light to
medium body. Belgian Strongs are allowed more hop bitterness than a
Trippel, while hop flavor and aroma will usually be very low. The overall
impression is a big, fruity, warming beer without too much body and a good
malt character.

Imperial Stout
This is a sub-style of the Stout category. Stouts in general use
unmalted roasted barley to develop a dark, coffee-like character. Imperial
stouts are darker, richer and often more fruity than a normal stout. The
high alcohol content blends with the predominant roast character to give
this beer a unique flavor among stouts. The style originated due to the
popularity of British Porters and Stouts in Czarist Russia where they were
drunk as a Winter warmer. To survive the long trip by sea, brewers made
the beers with more alcohol and extra hops. Alcohol and hop oils both act
as natural preservatives to keep the beer fresh. The stouts gained favor
in the Imperial court of the Czar which lent the name to the style of
stout.

Old Ale
This style is a lower alcohol cousin to the Barleywine. Old Ale
will have less alcohol warmth and fewer wine-like flavors than a
barleywine. The beers are often dark in color, ranging from amber to dark
brown. Hop flavors and bitterness are low leaving a malty finish. With an
alcohol range of 6% to 9%, some lower alcohol barleywines are better suited
as Old Ales.

Scotch Ale
This is a sweet, malty strong ale. The flavor will have big notes
of caramel and malt with virtually no hop flavor or aroma. The Scottish
use the name “Wee Heavy” to denote the strongest of Scotch Ales, usually 7%
to 10% alcohol by volume. These beers will have low hopping rates which
leave the beer with very little bitterness. Hops were first used in the
U.K. in England and were initially resisted in Scotland as being an
“English” ingredient.

Herb and Spice Beer
These beers use herbs or spices to flavor the beer in place of or
in addition hops. Practically any cooking herb or spice can be used in
beer. Holiday versions usually include some of the following: cinnamon,
allspice, nutmeg, cloves, orange peel, honey and vanilla. Each beer will
be different and accent different spices.

Traditional Serving Methods

In keeping with traditional British serving methods, two of the
beers at the festival, AleSmith’s Wee Heavy and Ballast Points Barleywine,
will be served on beer engines. Rather than pushing the beer to the tap
with compressed gas, beer engines pull the beer from the keg by hand. As
the beer is drawn from the keg it is forced through a screen which break
the carbon-dioxide in the beer out of solution. this leaves the beer with
a rich, creamy head and less carbonation. The lower carbonation level
allows more flavor from the beer to come through. It also lets enjoy
drinking the beer without feeling gassy or bloated.
Serving beer with a nitrogen and carbon-dioxide mixture like
Guinness mimics this effect with modern compressed gas. Both beer engines
and nitrogen tapped beers produce a cascade of foam in the glass when first
poured.

HISTORY

Pizza Port – Tasty Grub and Grog

Pizza Port was established in 1987 when siblings Vince and Gina
Marsaglia started making hearty pizzas. We were excited when people would
make a point to tell us it was the very best pizza they’ve ever had. Our
customers and employees have always been truly genuine people that helped
build this place from constructive ideas and pure loyalty. While the
restaurant was taking off, Vince and Gina started brewing beer as a hobby.
As they began brewing more than they could leisurely drink, they really
wanted to share some of the incredible brews that they created with
customers. So the decision was made to cram a 7 barrel (217 gallons)
brewery in the small unused square footage that was available. The
planning, licensing and permits took 2 years and the actual build out took
3 months!

We celebrated our first handcrafted beer sold on the premises in
October of 1992, when Solana Beach Brewery was added to our name. Now we
also get really excited when people travel miles just to taste their
favorite brew. It’s hard to believe its been 10 years of sharing good
times with everyone that walks through our doors. This has proven to be
our infinite reward for a true labor of love.

Pizza Port’s ten year anniversary was celebrated by opening a second
location in Carlsbad. By this time we confirmed that only a true love of
beer could tell the blood, sweat and tears story of how it all progressed
to this. It has been exciting to offer different styles of our own beer on
tap and experiment a little more with recipes that push the envelope on
hopping and alcohol strength. We have also been able to serve more guest
beers to ry some of the other great beers that are out there. And yes, we
serve the same great pizzas at both locations.

We are continually exploring new styles and planning events to help
promote and educate the growing number of beer enthusiasts that visit Pizza
Port. Every month brings a new calendar of beer events and specials
including pint nights, wing nights, cheap pitchers and release parties for
new beers. We also organize an annual pub crawl through San Diego. We
load up a bus with thirsty beer enthusiasts and sample San Diego’s finest
brews. The Strong Ale Festival furthers our commitment to bring increased
awareness and enjoyment of quality beer. There is no excuse to drink bad
beer!

ORGANIZERS

Festival Organizers

The Festival was the brain child of Tomme Arthur and Tom Nickel. While
milling grain one afternoon they began to talk about all of the great
seasonal ales that were going to be available in San Diego this Winter. It
was quickly agreed that it would be great to try and get them all together
for one fantastic evening of beer tasting. The Strong Ale Festival was
born!

Tomme Arthur is the head brewer of the Solana Beach Brewery at Pizza Port.
Tomme, a San Diego native, started brewing beer at home four years ago.
He was formerly the assistant brewer at Cervecerias, La Cruda Brewery
downtown in the Gaslamp Quarter. While there, he and head brewer Troy
Hojel won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver for
their Makanudo Porter. Tomme became the brewer at Pizza Port in June of
1997 and at 24 he is the youngest head brewer in town. Since then he has
created several new seasonal ales at the Port including Ale Nino Autumn
Ale, Dubbel Overhead Abbey Ale and Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout
(which will be on tap at the Strong Ale Festival). Tomme has a passion for
brewing Belgian Ales so look for new Belgian beers on tap next year.

Tom Nickel works alongside Tomme Arthur at Pizza Port. Also a San Diego
native, Tom began brewing beer with friends over 6 years ago at the age of
19 (It is perfectly legal to brew your own beer even if you are not 21!).
After graduating from Yale University in 1994, he worked for several years
at Home Brew Mart in San Diego. During his time there he taught countless
people how to brew their own delicious beer at home. Tom is now organizing
a way to get some of Pizza Port’s great beer into bottles. In the Spring
he will also take on cellaring duties for cask conditioned ales to be
served out of two traditional British beer engines at the Port. When not
brewing beer at work or home, Tom keeps busy by making mead, a traditional
wine made from fermented honey instead of grape juice.

RECIPES

I finally did the all-grain class and I am passing along the recipe
from it. I wanted something like Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale. Its a
big, deep amber beer with plenty of malt character and hop aroma. It is
technically an IPA style beer, though in a contest it would be judged as
being too dark.

Tom’s Grandfaloon Ale

10# Great Western 2-Row
1.5# 80L Crystal
1# Caramunich

1.25 oz Chinook Flowers – 13.5%AA – boil
1 oz Cascade – 15 minutes
1 oz Centennial – Finish

White Labs California Ale Yeast

I mashed at 151F for one hour with a standard one hour boil. I may yet
dry-hop this beer depending on what it tastes like into secondary. If I do
I will let you know. I would most likely use .5 oz each of cascade and
centennial.
If you are wondering about the name, read some Kurt Vonnegut–especially
Cat’s Cradle. If I can find a relevant passage for next week that defines
it, I’ll write it in.

Extract Version:

9# Pale Malt Extract

1# Caramunich
1# 80L Crystal

1.5 oz Chinook Pellets – 10.6% – Boil
1 oz Cascade – 15 minutes
1 oz Centennial – Finish

White Labs California Ale Yeast

Thats all for now!
Tom