Cannery Row Brewing Company and De Tierra Vineyards

Michael and I decided to have a little impromptu celebration of our year and half anniversary. We drove out to Carmel and Monterey for the day. We got massages from A Petite Retreat, which was soooo relaxing. While Michael was getting his I explored downtown Carmel (check out my previous post about Carmel). I received a free wine tasting coupon at De Tierra Vineyards Tasting Room from the massage, which I was more than happy to try.

When I got to the tasting room, they were technically not open yet, but let people who came by in anyways, which I thought was very nice. Anna runs the tasting room, she is very friendly and very knowledgeable. I tried the 2009 Monterey Syrah and the 2008 Montery Pinot Noir, both very nice.

She was extra nice and let me try the dessert wine, the 2006 Ekem Late Harvest Pinot Gris. I am not usually a big fan of dessert wines or liquors, but this was different. I overheard Anna say that sometimes they can be syrupy and that is exactly what I do not like. Why would you want a class of sugary goo after you just ate a delicious dinner? This wine, however, is just sweet enough and not syrupy at all. I bought a bottle :-) Although Michael is not a big wine fan, but I cannot imagine he will say no to some of this poured over ice cream.

Afterwards we headed over to Monterrey. We had lunch at El Torrito. It is just a standard chain Cal-Mex restaurant, good but nothing special. The reason we went is for the view! It hang out right over Monterrey Bay with tons a wildlife in plain sight. There were tons of gulls, adorable harbor seals just loafing on the rocks, a few sea lions went by, and I even as a manta ray jump!

The view from our seat by the window!

Afterwards we walked over to Cannery Row Brewing Company. I cannot find much information on the history of the brewing company itself, I will update this later if I get more information. I can assume they chose the name because they are located on Cannery Row. Cannery Row is located in the New Monterey Section of Monterey (New in the sense that is was not founded back in the early 1800s) right along the water front. From 1902-1973, the area was home to numerous sardine canneries. It was immortalized in John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row. However, over-fishing caused a major collapse in supply and the business had to shut their doors. Today many of old cannery buildings have been refurbished into restaurant and shops, making the area a tourist attraction.

In side of of Cannery Row Brewing Company looks pretty much like a restored cannery. Bare wooden beams and metal fixture.

There is a prohibition theme throughout the place, which I thought was a nice twist. More seaport bars either do the nautical or tropical theme (as beautiful as Monterey is, it is far from tropical).

Since we already ate dinner, we just ordered fries to munch on. They were good, no complaints.

They have chalk boards on the walls by the bathroom. 

Now for the beers...

There are so many on tap, it is hard to chose! According to the website, there are 73 beers on tap plus several bottles. 

One side of the menu is just for beer!

We arrived during happy hour, so the Signature Beers were only $5. I got the Monterey Bay Brown Ale. The Brown Ale was excellent. A simple, well-made malty brown ale. Michael wants to make one exactly like it. At first I did not know how I felt a brewery that only makes three beers but when you make that quality of beer, it does not matter.

Then I had a hard time deciding what to get next, so I consulted the bartender. I did not catch her name, but she was awesome. Not only did she know how to pour beer of the tap correctly (a lost skill nowadays), but she knew everything on tap by heart. I told her I liked wheat beer, so she gave me a few fruit ones to try. They were nice, but not what I wanted. Then she pulled out a classic German wheat, Erdinger's Drunkel Weizen. I want to make a beer exactly like that one!

I ordered one more beer, knowing that Michael would probably finish it for me since I was pretty full.  I picked something we both would like. I asked the bartender for something oatmealy and chocolately, and she brought me a glass of Port Brewing Company's Board Room. It was exactly what I wanted. We both want to make a beer like this one.

We then walked around Cannery Row for a while and headed back to the Silicon Valley. It was nice to celebrate our love and have awesome beer.

Ass Kisser Strawberry Belgian Style Wit

On Sunday Michael and I spent most of the day cleaning the house on Sunday. But in the afternoon we had enough and decided to look for decorations for the living room. Somehow we ended up at BevMo!...I wonder how that happened...

I was looking at the beer selection and saw more Ass Kisser's (check out my last post for information on the brewery). They did not have the American Style Hefewiezen that I wanted to try, but the Strawberry Wit sounded pretty good too. 

The minute you open the bottle you can smell strawberry. Lovely golden color, with a little bit of pink tin. However, as much as it smelled like strawberries, I could not taste any. I did like the taste though, do not get me wrong. The website lists lemon zest as an aroma, I argue to tastes more zesty than it smells. I like the citrus though, very cleansing. I think a "full-bodied Belgian Wheat Style Ale" listed on the website is a better reflection of the beer than calling it strawberry. Overall, I liked it, I enjoy full-bodied beers.

Still going to look for the Hefewiezen...

Zombie Apocalypse Wheat Beer: Part 3

Finally! Last Saturday we tried our first batch of homebrew. If you haven't yet, check out Part 1 and Part 2 to read about the process of making it.

We cranked open a bottle to have with dinner. It is best to pour homebrews into a glass rather than drink out of the bottle. The yeast sediment settles to the bottom and can upset your stomach. Plus, you can enjoy the beer more out of glass. See the color and smell the aroma awhile you leisurely sip your tasty brew. 

It smelled very banana-y like a hefeweizen should, so I was very happy. And, I was even happier when it tasted like a hefeweizen too! A little bit of spice, a little malty, and of course very banana-y. I was very pleased with the outcome. The only minor addition I would make a orange slice on top. 

We have a batch of California IPA in the fermenter now, I hope it comes out as well as this one did. Once we start developing our own recipes or try a cool kit, I will post another homebrew story. Thanks Michael for my awesome Christmas present!  

Zombie Apocalypse Wheat Beer: Part 2

As I stated in Part 1, the next step in my beer making adventure was to bottle the beer after fermentation. The two or so weeks we waited for it ferment we collected as many beer bottles as we could. This meant drinking a beer with dinner almost every night and asking our friends to save theirs for us. When I asked my boss if I could have the empties from work, he gave me the fabulous advice of using Pacifico bottles. He said to soak them in soapy water and the labels will peal right off. And they did! We also sanitized the bottles with the solution provided in the kit before  filling.

When I got back from Oregon I checked the specific gravity and it was perfect. I waited eagerly for Michael to come home so we could bottle it.

Smelled so good!

It smelled just like a hefeweizen the minute he took the lid off. I was so happy all our earlier issues did not ruin it.

However, just as I thought that, I made another mistake. The instructions say siphon the beer into the other fermenter then add corn sugar packet. I add the corn sugar packet first. It foamed up instantly and I realized I did it in the wrong order.

I quickly siphoned it into the other container.

It was still pretty foamy so I figured it was not that big a deal.

Still foamy, phew!

 Next came the very messy part, the actual bottling. The second fermenter as a little spout on it so we just put it on the edge of the table and started filling. The spout sprayed everywhere at first and it took me a few bottles to get the hang of it. Once I got it down, it still took FOREVER to empty the fermenter.

It actually pours better if you hold the bottle farther from the spout.

As I filled, Michael capped the bottles. Our kit came with a nifty capper tool and bottle caps.

He complained that he only got to do the grunt work.

We probably lost about 2 beers due to the spout spraying. We put some towels on the ground underneath the spout to soak up the mess.

In the end we filled 47 normal bottles and 2 large bottles.

Ignore my messy living room...

The beer needs to carbonate in the bottles for 3 weeks. So Part 3 will be coming up soon.

Zombie Apocalypse Wheat Beer: Part 1

Before I launch into the first part of my home brewing experience, you are probably wondering about the name we chose for our beer. Well over a year ago I was invited to attend the factious Zombie Apocalypse on Facebook, you know since the world is ending tomorrow. Then when Michael and I started dating, I noticed he was attending too! Since this could be our only sustenance while we fend off the zombie, it seemed fitting. 

Home tiki bar one day? source

Awhile ago Michael and I discussed what we wanted to do with our back bonus room and the idea of putting a bar or a kegerator came up. That got me to thinking about brewing our own beer. So I asked Michael for a home brew kit for Christmas. He loved the idea and instantly started researching it. 

It takes about a month to make beer so, we got my present early. Michael found a wine and beer making store in Campbell called Fermentation Solution. We went last Monday and asked a bunch of questions. The guy who helped us (I don't think we ever caught his name) was very friendly and super informative. He recommended the Starter Beer Making Kit and one of their Recipe Ingredient Kits.  We discussed it some more then I came back on Friday and bought it. 

I was so excited! Then I read the instructions that came with the recipe kit and realized our first issue. The beer takes 7-12 days to ferment. We were leaving in a week to spend Christmas with my family. That meant we either started it right then and hoped it would be ready before we left, or wait until we got back to make it. When Michael got home I told him the issue and he said let's just go for it. He is coming back few days before me so if it wasn't ready in a week, he would bottle when he got back at the 12 day mark. So I followed the recipe instructions as best I could.

First,  I essentially made tea from grain. I put wheat malt and row malt  in a bag and stepped it in very warm water.

Grain bag, steeping in 164 degree water.

Then I realize our second issue. We had a 3 gallon pot of water to steep the grain, but we need another pot to serve as our brew kettle---and it needed to be at least 5 gallons. So we quickly ran to Target and bought another pot. 

In our new pot, we brought 2.75 gallons of water to boil...which took FOREVER!

Bringing 2.75 gallons of water to boil while the grain steeps.

Then I added the "tea" to the pot and realized our third issue. The pot was completely full now and we still need to add 3 lbs of liquid wheat malt. Rather than pour off some of the liquid to make room and risk loosing the flavor, we decided to boil off about 1 inch of it instead. This once again took FOREVER. 

Too full to add the liquid malt...hmm...

I finally added the liquid malt and brought the kettle back up to boil. Then I added the bag of hops and then let it boil away for an hour. 

Our house was very humid and sugary smelling after all the boiling.

That is when Michael realized the fourth issue. We needed to add more cold water before it ferments. He bought 5 gallons of purified water, but we boiled off a gallon or more of it already. Luckily the kit comes with dechlorination tablets so we dechlorinated water from our fridge. 

Then we removed the hops bag and siphoned the beer into the fermenter while trying not to get the trub (the layer of stuff on the bottom).  

Never thought learning how to siphon water troughs back
 in 4H would come in handy one day

Next we added enough the dechlorinated water to bring it up to 5.25 gallons. Then I rehydrated the yeast packet in warm water and added it to the fermenter. 

5.25 gallon of sugary yeast water.

Then Michael put the lid on and stuck in the airlock. 

Ready to ferment!

It should be kept in a cool (between 62 and 72 dergees) and dark place during fermentation, so Michael decided on the garage. 

The instructions said it should start fermenting within 12-24 hours. I check it in the morning before I left for work and there were no bubbles in the airlock. But it had only been 12 hours at the point so I was not concerned. That night after dinner I check it again....still nothing. But there was a residue visible on the side of the fermenter as if something was happening so I still was not too concerned. The temperature in the garage was 60 degrees so I figured it was just taking longer because it was chilly. 

On Tuesday, there was still nothing in the airlock and the temperate was 56 degrees in the garage. I was worried fermentation never started or stalled, so I had Michael bring it inside. 

It warmed up to just barely 62 degrees in the living room by the next day, but I was still concerned. After some research online, I decided that it was probably okay since it smelled like yeast. But I wanted to open it just to be sure. There was a lovely yeast cake right on the top, just like all the photos I saw online. I just chalked it up to being slow because it was too cold in the garage. On the plus side, there is no way it will be ready soon so we do not have to frantically bottle it before we leave. It can probably wait until I come home now. 

The next step will be bottling and waiting for it to carbonate. So Part 2 will follow soon.