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Beer Event Review: Slater’s 50/50 Backyard Brewfest

Posted on April 11, 2013
beer, Beer Event, Beer Tasting, CA, slater's 50/50
Comments: 2

This last weekend I spent the afternoon reveling with brilliant people of the craft beer world and those in appreciation of said craft beer at Slater’s 50/50 Backyard Brewfest in Lake Forest, CA. It was a balmy, partly cloudy day in So Cal when I arrived to a small event located in a parking lot behind the stores off Rockfield and Lake Forest drive. I expected a larger event and larger crowd from all the press, but at the end I really enjoyed how relaxed the event was mostly due to not being wall-to-wall people. Warning: I took something like 250 photos of this event and I got it down to like 40 so enjoy all the photos. I couldn’t help myself.

I entered the rectangle event space and have a nice chat with taphunter.com about the cool stuff they offer for all the local bar/restaurant owners and then I’m off to find my friends and Sean (my fiance), who was working the event for Hangar 24. There was a great selection of breweries and craft beer there. It was pretty impressive. I saw Ballast Point pouring Victory at Sea, and of course, Hangar 24 was pouring Hammerhead (13.8%ABV) and Palmero(7%ABV). I know I talk a lot about Hangar, but they always go above and beyond at events. They had the most employee presence and their draft truck and shade tent. I think it was very appreciated by the crowd.

I really enjoyed the Wolf Among The Weeds IPA from Golden Road Brewing Company (8%ABV) and the secret growler of black session ale they had. I discovered Ohana Brewing Company out of LA and I loved all their beers. I especially loved their sour they had secretly pouring out of a bottle for people who asked for it. I gabbed about it to fellow beer lovers later that evening and the consensus was that WE LOVE OHANA! I can’t wait to try more of your beers.

The food was impressive and I liked that it was included in the ticket price. I had the 1/4 of Slater’s burger with bacon and an egg and it was really good. I also got to try the salmon taco from Chapter One: The Modern Local which was very good. It went really fast.

There was two gripes about the event:

1. Plastic cups for an unlimited beer event. Meaning, every beer you got was in a new plastic mini-cup and you would be wasting several cups during the event because they claimed the ABC laws wouldn’t allow them to have the commemorative pint glasses be on the black-top pavement. I get that, but why couldn’t they have plastic commemorative cups similar to OC Beer Fest?

2. NO WATER!! Yes I am being serious. There was no water at this event. The only water was for designated drivers and even the coolers stationed at the cooking booths were only for cooks to wash their hands with and not for drinking. I complained and I got ONE water bottle, which I shared with my several friends at the event. If I had known, I would have brought a cooler full of water to store at the Hangar booth for people. If you are planning an unlimited beer tasting event, you need to supply the attendees with water, period. If you don’t, you are asking for people to get drunk, dehydrated, and sloppy. Inevitably, some people were a little sloppy. The one saving grace is I complained to Sean and he complained to his boss who complained to the manager at the Lake Forest Slater’s who immediately started having his employees bring trays of water out to people. I really recognize the swift action taken and see it as a sign of good management.

Despite the minor gripes, I loved going to the event. It was well laid-out ant the beers were top-notch. Good job to Slater’s and Taphunter.com for their first event together in Lake Forest and I hope to see continued involvement in future events in Orange County. If you went to the event let me know your thoughts!

Beer Doughnut Balls

Posted on April 8, 2013
baking, beer, Doughnuts, Hangar 24, recipe, Uncategorized
Comments: 8

I have never made doughnuts. I know, it’s crazy. I figured it couldn’t be that hard to make because it’s just dough or batter fried in hot oil. I was so wrong. I made two batches of over fried, under fried and too large doughnuts before finally getting the hang of it. I have a new-found respect for doughnut makers everywhere.

Ingredients:

2 cups canola or vegetable oil for frying

2 1/4 cup AP Flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup beer (I used Palmero from Hangar 24)

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 egg (slightly beaten)

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Put the 2 cups oil in a skinny and tall pot for frying. You want your doughnuts to float and not touch the bottom. Heat to around 350-375 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer you can put a wooden spoon in the oil and it if bubbles then it’s ready.

2. Mix the dry ingredients and then pour in all the wet ingredients. It’s okay for the batter to be lumpy, you don’t want to over-mix the dough otherwise the doughnuts will be tough.

3. Using two spoons, put the batter into small balls and drop into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown. It should take 2-3 minutes. You want the balls to be small, the size of a quarter. Otherwise if you make the balls too big, the outside will cook faster than the inside and no one wants that.

4. Once the doughnuts are ready, remove them from the hot oil and place on a plate with paper towels for draining and cooling.

5. After the doughnuts have had a chance to cool down, about 5-10 minutes, you can roll them in powdered sugar or a sugar/cinnamon mixture. I did both options, just for fun.

The beer gave these doughnuts a wonderful flavor. Not overly sweet and not too savory. Palmero is a Belgian Dubbel with flavors of dates, rum, spice, caramel and raisins. Perfect to integrate into baking. They added a fantastic spice character to the doughnuts, which played off the added cinnamon nicely. The outside was ultra crunchy while the inside was cakey and moist. I would totally make this again. It would be so perfect for entertaining a late-night crowd!

GIVEAWAY: Slater’s 50/50 Backyard Brewfest

Posted on April 3, 2013
Bar, beer, Beer Event, Beer Tasting, Uncategorized
Comments: 13

Good news, gentle readers! I have been given 2 tickets to giveaway to the upcoming Slater’s 50/50 Backyard Brewfest!

Where: Slater’s 50/50 Lake Forest Parking Lot

24356 Swartz Drive, Lake Forest, CA 92630

When: Saturday, April 6th, 2-6pm

What: A beer and food event with proceeds going to charity! This will be benefiting the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation which strives to bring hope to children who are struggling with cancer. There will be fantastic food and several breweries in attendance. The current list is:

Ritual

Bootleggers

Hangar 24 (yes, draft truck & my fiance Sean) (On Tap: Orange Wheat, Double IPA, Hammerhead, Palmero, maybe Helles too….)

Rough Draft

Ballast Point

El Segundo

Golden road

Fireman’s Brew

Deschutes

Cismontane

NAW (Noble Ale Works)

Sam Adams

latitude 33 (will they have Breakfast with Wilford??!!…I can dream!)

Valiant

Taps

Ohana

Allagash

Old Orange

With support from Taphunter.com and West Coaster Magazine.

How: You can go to the event website to purchase tickets for $30 online or get tickets at the event for $40. The tasters will be unlimited until the beer runs out.

Why: really? Why are you asking why?!

Another way to get tickets is to comment to this post about what brewery/beer you are the most excited to try. The giveaway ends on Friday at 12pm. I will announce the winner shortly after that and you will have tickets waiting for you at will-call. I use a random number generator to find out who will be the lucky winner!

Sea Monster Ice Cream

Posted on April 1, 2013
baking, Ballast Point, beer, beer ice cream, ice cream
Comments: 1

Homemade ice cream is the best. I made some vanilla bean ice cream before and it was a huge hit, so I have been itching to do it again. We had a party over at my house and afterward I discovered a half-full, flat re-capped Ballast Point Sea Monster in the fridge that wasn’t really good for drinking anymore. I thought: It’s perfect for a syrup!

I put 1 cup of flat Sea Monster in a skillet and added a 1/2 cup of sugar and cooked on low until the mixture has shrunk by half and coated the back of my wooden spoon. I let the syrup cool on the counter and once it was room temp, I put it in the fridge.

Ice Cream:

4 cups half & half milk

2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream

2-3 vanilla beans

Directions:

1. Using a large pot, pour all the milk in the pool. Cut the vanilla beans length-wise and scrape all the vanilla beans out. Put the inside of the beans and the used husk in the milk. Cook until almost at a bowl on medium or until 170 degrees.

2. Turn off the heat and let the milk cool to room temp. Strain the vanilla beans and milk through a fine strainer into an airtight container to sit in the fridge overnight.

3. Put milk mix into an ice cream maker and fill only about half-way since it will double in size. Add about half your cooled beer syrup during the ice cream making process and reserve the second half for topping.

4. Once the mixture is similar to soft serve, put in an airtight container and allow to freeze in the freezer for at least an hour before serving.

The vanilla bean flavor is there but not overpowering. You can really taste the beer! This was fantastic, I would totally make this again. It has a wonderful complexity to it, and it’s not overly sweet by any measure.

Rance’s Chicago Pizza: Passionate and Proud

Posted on March 28, 2013
Bar, beer, Beer Tasting, PIzza
Comments: 3

This is a re-post of an article I contributed to California Beer and Pizza.

Have you been to Rance’s in Costa Mesa, CA? If you haven’t, you need to make some time to go. It’s in a small strip of stores off Baker and Harbor, in-between a nondescript sushi place and indeterminate Chinese place, just waiting to be discovered. Inside this gem you will find craft beer, delicious pizza, and a friendly staff just waiting to share their passion with you.

I was fortunate enough to have an impromptu sit-down with the owner and founder, Rance Ruiz. He shared some of his secrets to success and explained his passion for pizza.

Jessica: How did you start the restaurant and know it’s what you wanted to do?

Rance: I was visiting my sister in Berkley, CA when we ate at a local Chicago pizza place and I immediately fell in love. Every year I visited her I made a point of it to eat some Chicago-style pizza. I was saddened that there really wasn’t anything like it around where I lived so I decided I would open a place to satisfy that hole in the market. I made my first pizza at 18, and began testing and perfecting recipes with my mom. People really seemed to enjoy our pizza creations so it seemed only natural to start a restaurant so we could offer it to more people. I have no restaurant experience, no kitchen experience. I just know how to make really good pizza with all original recipes that people really seem to respond to.

Jessica: What kind of flavors and textures are you trying to achieve?

Rance: Flavor profile from the first bite to the last bite. The crust is such a huge part to the pizza, we had to perfect the recipe to build upon to make a fantastic pizza.

Jessica: I notice your crust for the deep dish stuffed crust is a pie-like crust that is flaky and buttery. This is totally different from your pan-crust with the crispy-crunchy pieces and soft and doughy center. Why make both? Do you have a preference?

Rance: The crust is meant to be savored. If I see crust pieces coming back on plates to the kitchen I get frustrated because I feel like I failed to make the best crust I could. I want everything to be flavorful and savored until the last bite. The crust adds flavor, texture, and crunch to an otherwise singular experience that is pizza that I feel is not only necessary but enhances the experience.

Jessica: Your crust is insanely good, so I think you achieved your goal there. What about people who want to take their pizza to go?

Rance: We of course offer a to-go option. Since we make everything from scratch we aren’t fast in producing the pizza. On average, it takes 20-40 minutes for the pizza to cook so I recommend calling your order in and then coming to get it in about 30 minutes. If you want you can also have your pizza par-baked and take it home to finish the baking process and have a hot, semi-homemade pizza in the comfort of your own home.

Jessica: How do you choose your craft beer on tap?

Rance: When we opened I really wanted to keep with the Chicago-style of beer and that’s why we have so much Goose Island. I want to feature beer that are artisan in nature, and has brewers who aren’t afraid to be experimental. I would like to keep adding more beers to help with the flavor and satisfaction of the restaurant experience. Why follow the rules when you can let your taste buds guide you?

Jessica: Do you make your own salad dressing?

Rance: Yes, in fact we do. We take pride in the fact that most everything we make is home-made and our own recipe. From the pizza to the salad dressing, it’s all hand-made.

Jessica: Are you the sole owner or do you have partners? Has it been hard mixing business with family or friends?

Rance: I have a partner, Aaron Tofani, who has been my friend since 2^nd grade. We were both raised in Mission Viejo and working together has been surprisingly easy. It’s amazing how well things can run when there is mutual respect and a good work ethic.

We ordered the crowd-favorite of mushroom and spinach with the stuffed crust deep dish style and the pan pizza with sausage and pepperoni with jalapeno. Both were equally wonderful. The delectable pie-like crust crumbled yet playfully held the unctuous cheese in place while barely being able to keep the luscious tomatoes at bay. I am not a tomato person and I could probably just eat a bowl full of these tomatoes. It’s like they secretly put crack in there, and now no other stewed tomatoes will satisfy me.

The pan pizza is more “traditional-like” where it has a crunchy crust with a soft and chewy center. The jalapeno are spicy but not overbearing to the savory sausage and pepperoni. The little charred crispy pieces of the crust flirt with my eyes enticing another fleeting bite. It’s a hodge-podge of heavenly items that shouldn’t make me want more while beads of sweat drip into my eyes, but my hand reaches for more.

Since we arrived and had some time to kill before the pizzas were ready, we had the caesar salad and a few beers. The caesar salad was crisp and crunchy and had the unami punch that you would expect from a good caesar dressing. I was entirely impressed by the entire experience.

I love this place. In the middle of the interview with Rance, a pregnant woman came in and asked if they had soy cheese they could substitute in their pizza. Rance replied no, but he offered to use any soy cheese they brought in. He offered a suggestion of a local Trader Joe’s who had soy cheese he could use and offered to make a pizza without cheese. He was so accommodating and warm; it was really like you were a guest in his home.

Everything about Rance’s impresses me. I hope all the readers will make a point to visit and support this small, locally owned, amazing pizza place. I am working on Rance to have a tap-takeover and expand his craft beer selection. They are putting Hangar 24 Helles Lager in soon, so that is exciting. I love me some Helles Lager. Maybe a Speakeasy tap-takeover is in the future? Only time will tell!

Big Bad Baptist Brownies

Posted on March 25, 2013
baking, beer, brownies, Epic Brewing Co., recipe
Comments: 3

Brownies are a favorite around my house, but for some reason I don’t make them that often. Perhaps it’s the work to result ratio that deters me. I don’t like the amount of work for the little results compared to cookies or cupcakes, especially if I am looking to entertain and have deserts on hand. I did have a bake sale recently, so I decided I would triple my recipe and make a ton of brownies and use a fantastic complimentary beer in them. Epic Brewing Company makes Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout which is a 11%ABV monster with notes of chocolate, cherry, oak, and coffee. Sounds like it would make a wonderful addition to brownies.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 oz. dark chocolate

1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

3/4 cup of AP flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon course salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons beer

1/2 cup almond slivers

1 cup chopped milk chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter your brownie pan on the bottom and sides so the brownie mixture won’t stick. Set pan aside.

2. Melt dark chocolate and butter and cocoa powder together and set aside to cool. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment mix eggs, sugar and beer until pale. In the meantime, mix the flour and baking soda and salt in a bowl. Once the egg mixture is pale, after about 4 minutes of whisking, add the melted chocolate butter mixture. Then add the flour mixture until just combined.

3. Take bowl off the mixer and fold in the milk chocolate and almond slivers. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared tin and spread with spatula so even and bake for 30-35 mins.

4. Make sure the brownies are done by inserting a toothpick into the thickest center area and having the toothpick come out clean with only a few crumbs. If the toothpick comes out with batter liquid stuck to it, it needs more time. Let cool completely in the tin on a wire rack, and you should be able to lift-out the brownies to cut them into squares.

Yield: 16 small squares or 9 big squares

Lasts: 3-4 days in airtight container

These turned-out delicious. They are rich and thick and chewy with a crunchy texture. I will definitely make these again 🙂

Baking with Beer: Speculoos, Gunniess and Cocoa Nibs Cookies

Posted on March 21, 2013
baking, beer, cookies, Uncategorized
Comments: 2

Speculoos spread is similar to peanut butter but tastes more like graham crackers or gingerbread rather than peanuts. My buddy who went to Europe last summer came back with an obsession with speculoos and said that people eat it like crazy there. I, however, was not immediately fond with the new spread invading my nutella love affair. Speculoos did grow on me eventually so I decided that it would be good to try a cookie with the spread. I decided to substitute a peanut butter cookie with speculoos and see how it turned out. Spoiler alert: it turned out awesome! The texture is flaky and crunchy while the flavor is sweet and complex.

Ingredients:

3 cups AP flour

1 2/4 teaspoons baking soda

2 cup (4 sticks) unsalted butter (room temp)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large egg

1 teaspoon Guinness Beer

1 jar of speculoos

1 cup of cocoa nibs

1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour and baking soda and salt in a bowl with a whisk.

2. Put butter and both sugars in your electric mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in eggs, mix until combined. Add in beer and speculoos spread. Add flour in slowly and mix until just combined. Take off the bowl and mix in with a spatula the cocoa nibs and chocolate.

3. Using a cookie scoop, drop the cookie balls onto baking sheets with parchment paper. Space about 1 1/2 inches apart, these cookies will spread. Don’t bother pressing these cookies, they spread on their own.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating once during cook time. The edges of the cookies should get a little color and then you know they are done. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10-15 mins then place on wire racks.

Yield: 4 dozen

Shelf Life: 3 days in airtight container

I can’t really taste the Guinness but I think the beer off-sets the sweetness of the speculoos nicely. I would definitely make these again!

Coasters, Cozies and Beer at Creative Outlet Studios

Posted on March 20, 2013
beer, Beer Tasting, Coasters, Costa Mesa, Creative Outlet Studios, DIY
Comments: 1

Creative Outlet Studios in Costa Mesa, CA hosted a coasters and cozies night on March 15th in celebration of the (then) upcoming St. Paddy’s Day. Even though St. Paddy’s day is now over, I will cherish my DIY coasters. I happen to be a fan of them on facebook and was invited to the event. I was really intriguing on making my own coasters and cozies because I happen to be a bit of a coaster hoarder. Ask my friends or fiance, they will confirm this.

We arrived to Creative Outlet Studios and was greeted by a warm atmosphere, snacks and wine. Lauren, a co-owner of Creative Outlet, greeted us and we settled in on the large work table and started to cut circles for the coasters. We used this cool blue and lime green material that feels like leather but is this aqua-marine material that is made to withstand water and moisture.

We cut the circles out and then either taped them together or glued them so we could sew them along the edges. You then had the option to use embroidering thread to close up the edges and make the finished product more polished (I opted to keep it the way it was without the embroidering thread). I didn’t actually get around to making the cozie (I was too busy taking pictures and chatting with new friends) but they were really cute! While we were there we drank some Speakeasy Betrayal 8.2%ABV and Yeastie Boys Pot Kettle Black 6.0%ABV which were both really great. The Betrayal is an imperial red with malty flavors and intense red color while the Pot Kettle Black is a dark IPA balanced with coffee and chocolate notes which made for a really great beer overall.

We met Gena from Bake All The Things and got to take home a box of her slutty brownies. I haven’t tried them yet but the concept of cookie dough, oreo cookies and brownies all in one bar are very creative and interesting. It seems so rich and indulgent, that’s for sure. She sells her baked goods on Etsy, you should check her out.

All in all, it was a lovely evening. The crafting and conversations were so enjoyable I can’t wait for the next event!

Visit Creative Outlet Studio’s facebook page here. Like their page!

Baking with Beer: Madeleines with Heretic’s Worry

Posted on March 18, 2013
baking, beer, Beer Tasting, Belgian, cookies, Heretic Brewing Company, Madeleine
Comments: 0

Madeleines can be a very versatile pastry because they can be eaten any time of the day. They are great for breakfast with coffee or tea, they make a great brunch addition, and I love having them in the evening after dinner with a good craft beer. The recipe allows for a ton of experimentation with different spices and citrus so they can have endless possibilities Adding beer in place of vanilla and/or fruit juice creates another dimension of flavor and aroma which was pleasant and intoxicating (not literally). The texture is crunchy on the outside and soft and cakey on the inside. They remind me of little doughnuts but without the fried aspect. If you don’t have a madeleine tray I highly recommending getting some. I have two regular-sized madeleine trays and two mini madeleine trays. I used the mini trays for this recipe because I wanted to be able to share more of them, but people just ate two or three anyways!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon course sea salt (I used vanilla bean sea salt)

3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons of beer or fruit juice (lemon/orange/lime/grapefruit…etc)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or beer)

2 tablespoons of citrus zest ( I only did 1 lemon because I don’t want the zest to over-power the beer)

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter (3/4 cups)

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. I always cheat and put the salt in the bowl without sifting, it gets stuck!

2. Put eggs, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla (or beer), beer (or citrus juice), and zest in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-high for 5 minutes. You can also use a hand-held electric mixer with the whisk attachment, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work just as good. The mixture stays very loose but turns more pale in color. Mix in butter (should be room temp, but you can zap it in the microwave for 45 secs and achieve “room temp”). Take off the mixer and fold in the flour mixture with a spatula.

3. I know, folding in flour into anything is a pain. It’s a chore, but it’s worth it. If you whisk in the flour or rush the incorporation the batter gets tough and makes the madeleines too firm. So I just fold the batter from the side of the bowl into the middle, fold from the side into the middle and repeat. The process feels like it takes forever but making sure there are no flour bombs is essential. Once the batter is done, put plastic wrap on top and place in the fridge to sit for 30 mins. Melt a little butter and butter your madeleine tray and place in the fridge to set while you are waiting. 10 mins in the fridge should be enough to get the butter hard enough.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take your batter out of the fridge and using two small spoons take little scoops of batter (about 1 teaspoon for mini trays and 1 tablespoon for regular trays) and place in the little reservoirs. They do spread while baking so be mindful not to over-fill.

5. Bake for about 7-10 minutes. I would bake for 5 minutes, rotate the trays, then set your timer for 3 minutes and check them. I happen to like my madeleines with color and crunch, so I cook them longer but you might prefer them a little less cooked. It’s all about preference. After they are done, let them sit in the tray for a few minutes and then place on wire racks to cool. After the madeleines cool to about room temp, you have the option to dust with powdered sugar or dip in chocolate or brush with a frosting glaze.

When thinking about what beer I wanted to add to this recipe I did some soul-searching in our beer fridge and decided on Heretic Brewing Company’s Worry. This 9.8%ABV Belgian strong ale aged in Grgich Hill Estate Chardonnay barrels has a light citrus oak flavor with a very slight alcohol burn. It seemed like the perfect complement to lemon zest. The beer added a sweet floral smell that enveloped the house into decadence while baking these little beauties. Let me know what you think and if you make them how they turn out!

Pacific Gravity Monster Brew at Tustin Brewing Co.

Posted on March 12, 2013
baking, Bar, beer, Beer Event, Beer Tasting, Brewery, Homebrew
Comments: 6

I am so lucky! I am so lucky to have a co-worker who is as into beer and homebrewing as I am because otherwise I wouldn’t have known about this event. My co-worker, Kurt, is a member of Pacific Gravity Homebrew Club who hosted Monster Brew at Tustin Brewing Company this last Saturday. “What is this Monster Brew?” you ask, well it’s an event where you can pay $30 for 5 gallons of wort brewed right before your eyes at Tustin Brewing Company in Tustin, CA. The event was from 6am (so early!) to roughly 1pm and during that time the head brewer and Pacific Gravity member, Jon Porter, spearheaded the brewing of a Saison beer with club members helping and observing the large-scale brew process.

I woke-up around 5:30am and managed to drag my sleepy groggy self to Tustin Brew Co. with Sean and beer cookies in tow. I had been up until 1-1:30am the previous night making the damn cookies because …well… I tend to want to over-achieve with my baked goods, especially if I am bringing them to a group of people who I have never met.

Entering the already-crowded brewpub, I delivered the cookies and a rye red homebrew bottle to Kurt to try and chatted with the Pacific Gravity homebrew club members. The morning went really well, we met a bunch of homebrewers and bounced experiences and ideas off each other. While some people were planning to add citrus and oak to their wort when the bring it home, and we plan to add our Mexican Key Lime leaves from our citrus tree. Sean and I are always met with funny faces when we describe our ideas for homebrews, but mostly we had curiosity and interest from the homebrewers on Saturday. It was a very accepting and easy-going afternoon, above all.

During the event, there was free pours of beers from Tustin and Smog City (Jon Porter’s new brewery in the works) which was nice but it’s really early for me to drink beer so I didn’t have all that much. The brewing process was fun to watch, and the club members seemed to be enjoying themselves. Of course, when it comes to cleaning the mash tunne, everyone scatters.

I had a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see how the wort turns out! I hope to see Pacific Gravity members again, they were all lovely people as per my expectations. Thanks for the wonderful Saturday morning.