Auburn Ale House

Just noticed Michael got in the picture...at least he's cute!

A few weeks ago Michael was a groomsman in his college friend's wedding in Lake Tahoe (check out the post on my other blog). We stopped had dinner with his sisters and brother-in-law since we would be passing by and have not seen them in awhile. For her birthday last year, we had brunch at awesome little place and wanted to go back again, the Auburn Ale House.

Auburn is small gold rush town about 40 minutes from Sacramento. Old Town has been restored, giving a nice Gold Rush era feel. We have only explore the brewery and a few shops, but plan on checking more of the historic places out soon (Michel promised me a Gold Country camping trip before the summer ends).

Auburn Ale House opened in 2007 in Old Town. The decor theme is mix between Gold Rush California and Nostalgic American. Interesting mix of Americana. It was founded by Brian and Lisa Ford, who hoped to create a family-friendly destination that would both standout culinary and compliment the history of the building. They wanted to go beyond the old standard of basic burgers and pizza---and trust me they did.

When we went last year for brunch, not much on the direct menu was vegan. However, they were more than happy to accommodate me. They made me sourdough toast with no butter, fresh fruit, and homefries with veggies. And not to mention the bottomless mimosas...

This time I ordered Barley Burger with no cheese or aioli. I love barley burgers and I hardly ever see them in restaurants, so I was very happy. Cooked perfectly and loved the sweet roasted red pepper on it.

Michael got the Alehouse Reuben, as usual whenever he sees it on the menu. He said it was great too.

Ok, now for the beer...

I got the American River Pale Ale First (and so did the brother-in-law). A classic IPA that smells very citrus-y. This will go well with almost anything. "Highly drinkable" as they describe it.

Michael got the Old Town Brown, I am not sure I agree with calling it a "Session Ale" as the website describes. It was slightly mild for brown ale, but not enough that the word "session" ever came to my mind. Loved the balanced malty chocolate flavor.

He started drinking it before I got a pic...

His sister got Gold Country Pilsner, she said it was good and very drinkable. I loved the straw color.

And, we grabbed a growler of American River as a present for the bride and groom, and one of Fool's Gold Ale for us. We bought a bottle of this last time and loved it. It reminds me of hoppy Oregon beers. Lovely rich gold color and pretty strong (7.8%) for a pale ale. Nothing not to love.

We LOVE this place. I love history of the area. The staff is very friendly (our waitress, without hesitation, brought a few samples so we could decided what to get in the growlers). The atmosphere and decor are warm and inviting (who doesn't love a pin-up girl their beer?). And the beers are amazing.  You HAVE to try this place. Take a trip out the Gold Country and have a delicious craft beer on the way, serious worth the trip.

Seabright Brewery

source

Last weekend Michael and I went for a bike ride long the coast in Santa Cruz. It was a lovely clear and sunny day, but VERY cold. Afterwards, my frozen bones were ready for some warm food and a tasty beer. Michael told me about Seabright Brewery before, having been there when he went to college at UC Santa Cruz. So, we stopped in for dinner after our ride.

The place is an eclectic mix of college kids, old guys chatting at the bar, sportsfans, hippies, and surfers--- like the general population of Santa Cruz. I cannot find much about the history of the brewery, nor can I find an email address to contact anyone for more information. I will update this post later when I get more information. The website states that it features regular and seasonal beers. There is Neighborhood Night on Tuesdays (Michael says it is awesome) and live Music on Fridays.

Loved the veggie patty!

I got the Hawaiian Five-O Burger with no cheese and a vegan vegetable patty. The patty had real chunks of veggies, which was a nice change from a plain Garden Burger.  The pineapple was juicy and sweet. And it was not smothered in teriyaki sauce like most restaurants do, just enough to taste. No complaints! 

mmmm, garlic fries!

Michael got the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, he had no complaints either so I assume it was good too! We both had garlic fries, which were very good. 

Ok, the beer...

Since were meeting some friends and knew we will come back, we decided to get full glasses rather than a sampler. 

An unholy ale and a smooth stout.

I started with the Sacrillicious Ale. The menu describes this beer as pungent, and that is right. I could smell the it minute I picked up the glass. It is very malty, but the malt is instantly taken over by the hops. I would describe this as a dirty red ale, because it is high in alcohol and is far from a classic red ale. Michael first had Oatmeal Stout. It is very smooth and I loved the hint of coffee. 

I totally see why this beer can make your nigh a blur.

Then I got hesitantly got The Blur. I torn between wanting a traditional Pacific Northwest IPA and being worried after reading the reviews on FourSquare about how strong it is. The Oregonian in me won out and I am glad it did. It reminded me of all the great IPA's back home. It is strong, but big on flavor. 

Light but very drinkable 

Then Michael tried the Loose Lucy Scotch Ale. It reminded me of a more flavorful and jacked-up Budweiser. A very drinkable beer, I see this going nicely with some spicy hot wings. 

I couldn't get a better picture,
but yeah, drawings of naked women.

I really liked this place, dirty beers to drawings naked women on the walls included. This was so my kind of place, we will definitely be coming here again. And hopefully the next bike ride will be warmer! 

Bison Brewing Company: Gingerbred Ale and Chocolate Stout

As I mentioned in the previous post, I attended the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco this past weekend. In addition to the Lucky Hand I had during dinner Friday night, I got to sample two more beers during the Taste Pavilion on Saturday. Bison Brewing Company, an organic brewing company from Berkeley, had a few of its year-round and seasonal beers to try.

I had the Gingerbread Ale. It was just spicy enough and not too heavy. It was very fragrant. Michael had the Chocolate Stout. It's a medium-dark beer and not overpowering on the chocolate or malt like really dark stouts. We enjoyed both, and I am a fan because they are USDA Certified Organic!

I am going to look for their IPA at the store so look for that review in the future...

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival and Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale

A few weeks ago the weather started to change and the air became a little crisper in the Silicon Valley. My mind began to dream of fall. I wanted wander through a pumpkin patch in a cozy sweater with my sweetheart. I told my daydream to my boyfriend, Michael, and he told me about the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. I instantly wanted to go.

I have to warn about two things: this is not a beer festival and there are not that many actual pumpkins at this festival. But trust me, it is still worth the trip. It's more of an arts and crafts fair. There is everything pumpkin and fall related, with some other randoms things as well. We bought some cute Hawaiian decorations for our house (we met in Hawaii while attending the University of Hawaii at Hilo and want to decorate our home like where we fell in love). 

We also had some classic fair snacks, grilled corn on the cob with no butter for me and he got a sausage. 

And of course we had a few beers, pumpkin beer in fact! Blue Moon Brewing Company's Pumpkin Harvest Ale.  We both really enjoyed this beer. It's a lighter pumpkin ale. Not too spicy, but spicy enough. Not so pumpkin-y that it's heavy, but enough that you can still taste it. It was very refreshing, especially considering my dream of a cool fall day was in fact a unseasonably, upper 80's kind of day.

We also got the awesome official festival beer mugs. They have a new design every year. I overheard a guy said he collected all of the the past 25 years. I think Michael and I have a challenge now! We will definitely being going again next year and I am going buy a some Pumpkin Ale next time I am at the store.