The votes are in and the fan favorites for the Bear Republic Cellar Party are in: Old Saint Chango, 13 votes: A winter warmer with Mexican chocolate. Churchill's Pale, 12 votes: a super hoppy rye pale ale (this was my favorite, but I didn't vote. Journalistic detachment, dontchaknow?). Old Baba [...]
Ok, we need another National [insert subject here] Day like yet another hole in our heads but here goes anyway, just because this happens to be in favor of our favorite passtime: Today happens to be National Drink Beer Day. So drink up everybody (though no driving afterward, right? Same [...]
Gov. Brown has signed the liquor tasting bill that we wrote about last week, allowing most distillers to offer tastings at their production facilities. Distillers aren't exactly celebrating, however, since the bill does not allow direct sales of most kinds of spirits, the way wineries and breweries can do. Until [...]
New Hampshire-based Smuttynose will get a toe-hold (nose-hold?) on the West Coast with an agreement with two Southern California beer distributors, Brewbound reports. Previously, you could only get it as far west as Michigan and Indiana. That's sorta good news for us in the North Bay - which is to [...]
Fall is fresh hop season, where brewers take the product of the harvest directly to the kettle. There is some debate about how much of a difference fresh hops make in terms of taste and aroma versus other options, such as using dried or pelletized hops, but there is no [...]
Ok, Beer is good. And let's face it, I would go a long way out of my way to acquire a good beer. But this guy perhaps went too far. The Marin Independent Journal reports that 18-year-old Cesar Montes of San Rafael was arrested Friday, accused of using a replica [...]
Here's one more thing to do beerwise this weekend. In addition to the Oktoberfest event at Bergamot Alley I mentioned earlier this week, there's the Second annual "Mowkeef Festival" at Anderson Valley up in Booneville on Saturday. The event celebrates the equinox and marks the release of the Mendo Mello [...]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzZVcvusbTg My colleague Kevin McCallum reports today on a new marketing campaign by the city of Santa Rosa to tout itself in major cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland in an effort to tell tourists that we're about more than wine. One of the interesting elements is [...]
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 [...]
One of the interesting things about Oktoberfest is that it really doesn't happen in October, at least not mostly. Traditionally, the two-week Oktoberfest starts in mid-September and wraps up the first week in October. That means Oktoberfest is pretty much right now. If you can't make it to Germany, there [...]
http://vimeo.com/nkmotion/homebrew Want to learn how to brew your own beer? Well, here's a reasonable guide to the process in handy video format by an animator in New Zealand, all in less than two minutes. In a nutshell: get some malted grain, grind it up, add it to hot water, hold [...]
Fourteen local breweries will be on display Saturday at the Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival, from 1-6 p.m. on Water Street in downtown Petaluma. There will be food from a variety of area restaurants, and music by The Fossils, joined by some other local favorites. Tickets are $30 in advance [...]
My colleague Clark Mason had an article over the weekend about a deal between the city of Cloverdale and Bear Republic Brewing that has big implications for the company and the craft brewing world in general. Because the city's water supply is stretched thin at best, Bear Republic is stuck [...]
Sonoma County homebrewer Greg Haas is getting some attention for his "Bodega Bay Fog" recipe lately after San Leandro-based Williams Brewing, a well-known homebrew supply house, included it its "Customer Recipe Issue" of its seasonal catalog. It's the first time since 1991 the company has included customer recipes in its [...]
Several prominent Wine Country brewers will be on hand Oct. 19 at Sierra Nevada's first-ever "Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild Harvest Festival" in the hop garden at the Chico brewery. On tap are Lagunitas, Russian River, Marin Brewing, and Moylans, with more breweries possibly added later. They will join state [...]
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