The next time you find yourself in Novato I suggest you pay Alan Atha a visit at his brewery, Baeltane Brewing.

Alan is the founder, co-owner and brewer. When mentioning his business partner, Cathy Portje, he called her his “partner in crime, business and passion.”

It’s clear to see that Alan is passionate about creating artisanal craft beer. He always considered himself  ‘an artist of some kind’ and says that he finally found his palette in craft beer.

Baeltane focuses on creating beer with a French, Belgian and West Coast influence. They don’t have a beer that they consider the flagship beer. “We have a flagship brewery, not a flagship beer” said Atha.

Baeltane Brewing is located at 401-B Bel Marin Keys Blvd. in Novato.

Most of the time you will have an option between eight or nine different beers that can be poured for you in the taproom.

Looking forward Alan is excited about a new Saison that he started brewing on October 3. The new beer is named Carousel and is a pilsner rye & wheat with the standard French yeast. Further into the future there are plans to celebrate the two-year anniversary in December on the winter solstice. For more information about Baeltane Brewing and upcoming events, see their website. http://baeltanebrewing.com/

– Peter Lopez