The California Craft Brewers Association brought together brewers from all parts of the state for a memorable two day event that took place in Sacramento on September 11th and 12th. Homebrewers and beer geeks were invited to the California Craft Beer Summit and Showcase for an opportunity to meet their [...]
The Brewers Association released the 2014 Year in Review report yesterday and the craft beer numbers are quite impressive. Before I share some of the numbers released, I want to mention that the Brewers Association is a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers. The following are [...]
The ABCs of beer in northern California. I want to apologize if I left a worthy contributor to our beer scene out. I simply thought of a letter and jotted down the first thing that came to mind. How different does your list look in comparison to mine? Anderson Valley [...]
What to drink with your favorite football eats.
John Kimmich of The Alchemist Brewery with Russian River Brewing's Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo (photo from Twitter) The owner of The Alchemist Brewery, John Kimmich, paid Sonoma County a visit this week. The casual beer drinker may not be familiar with John or his brewery, but the biggest [...]
The craft brew industry is very communal. From the brewers to the consumer it’s easy to see that beer loving people enjoy getting together to taste and discuss their favorite beverage. Brewery owners have set the example with their willingness to collaborate with other breweries to make a special and [...]
Yvan the Great: Belgian-Style Blonde. A collaborative brew of Sierra Nevada and Russian River Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America 12 packs were recently released and will not be around much longer. If you have not yet picked one up, I suggest you do so. It is an [...]
What a month it has been for Russian River Brewing Co! Zymurgy readers have voted Pliny the Elder their #1 beer for the 6th time in a row. The brewery was also named the #1 brewery commercially available in the United States by the same voters. Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo [...]
101 North and Old Redwood represent Sonoma County in Battle of the Brews winners.
Three of the top 10 are brewed in Sonoma County, according to a new ranking.
Is there any accolade that Santa Rosa's own Russian River Brewing has not received? Excepting perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, it seems the answer is no. The brewery is at or near the top of everyone's list, including our own Press Democrat Best Of awards, voted [...]
TheDailyMeal.com continues its ongoing look into the world of craft brew this week with a list of the "Top 15 craft breweries in the USA." Anyone surprised that Sonoma County stands out? Me either. The only surprise is that the numbers aren't a little higher. Lagunitas weighs in at #7, [...]
Is there any craft beer list left in the universe that doesn't rank Lagunitas and Russian River somewhere near the top? Anyone? I didn't think so. Website The Daily Meal recently quizzed its readers on the best American craft brew outfits and, perhaps unsurprisingly, our two locals showed up on [...]
Since everyone seems to be into ranking things on the Internet these days, it was only a matter of time until someone went so far as to decide on the "Best Small Cities for Beer Lovers." A website known as Credit Donkey decided to compare various factors, including population, bars [...]
The guys at the irreverent sports website Deadspin decided to rank 36 cheap beers and came up with an amusing list, starting with the bottom. Coming in at 36 was what they deemed "the worst beer currently sold on American soil," Keystone (not Keystone Light, curiously, which weighs in at [...]
A resident of Santa Rosa for most of his life, Peter Lopez Jr., 34, has taken over the duties of beer blogger for the Press Democrat. He has been a part of the beer and wine industry for almost his entire adult life and brings a wealth of knowledge. Currently Peter is a partner at the Healdsburg Emporium where he does the beer and wine purchasing. He is also the wine 
buyer at Fircrest Market in Sebastopol and the administrator of the NorCal Beer Geeks group on Facebook.
Beer is a big business in this part of the world, with some of the best and most sought-after brews made right in our own back yard. But too often that beer culture is hidden behind the iconic wine industry that defines the region. The Beer Country blog will bring you news and notes about our local brew scene, and maybe a little about cider while we’re at it. Have news, ideas, or questions that need answering? Drop a line in the comments section of the blog or email us at info@pressdemocrat.com