BELTANE BREWING

2012-02-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

The Fairfax Brewfest is coming on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th!
http://www.fairfaxbrewfest.com/

Beltane Brewing is proud to be pouring at this event!
The line-up of beers: Luminesce Tripel, Pandora Chocolate Ale, Rumplestiltskin DIPA, Black Morai DIPA,
Paleo Belgo Imperial Session Ale and En Suite Saison.

Come support the brewers who support the community!

Slainte!

2012-01-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

http://707.pressdemocrat.com/2012-01-29/featured/nano-brewers-on-the-rise-in-north-bay. The newest news on the "Nano's of the North". Nice little article to keep me going. Being humble (ha) I am last on the list for this article. Enjoy.

Novato Home Brewer Plans Pub in Bel Marin Keys

2012-01-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here is an article that features me in the Marin IJ. This went to press on Tuesday, January 24th.
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_19786790.

It also features comments by Christian Kazakoff of Iron Springs Pub and Brewery in Fairfax and Brendan Moylan of Novato's Moylan's. Photography by Brian Stechulte who is also a Bay Area Beer Blogger on twitter.

I will also be a very minor participant in an article on Nanobrewers in the Sonoma Press Democrat that will come out on Sunday, January 29th..
Cheers,
Alan

Bay Area Beer Bloggers Come To Town

2012-01-15T16:20:00.000-08:00

The (SF) Bay Area Beer Bloggers are coming to the future Beltane Brewing Beer Cafe in Novato on January 18th.. This will be a crazy and fun social gathering of most of the local/regional authors who love to write about anything beer...and drink it as well!

Photo of me savoring En Suite Saison...

The Beer List:

Paleo Bilbo Belgian Style Pale Ale w/ Citra Hops
Luminesce Tripel - GABF entry
En Suite Saison
Pandora Chocolate Ale
The Frog That Ate The World 2XIPA
Friar Tuck Sour w/dregs courtesy of Russian River Brewing Co.
En Suite Sauvage (Saison) w/Rasberries
Beleriand Barleywine aged in Rum barrel

Beltane Brewing Beer Cafe Photos!

2011-11-16T19:31:00.001-08:00

First photos of the Beltane Brewing Beer Cafe. No equipment, lots of work to do!

2011-10-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

North Bay Bohemian article about the Nano's of the North (Beltane Brewing, Van Houten Brewing Company, Petaluma Hills and Healdsburg Brew Co.)!
http://www.bohemian.com/bohemian/10.05.11/feature-1140.html

2011-09-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

Nice article about Iron Springs Pub and Brewery that includes a paragraph or two about me and also a video by Justin Whitaker that shows Christian Kazakoff and myself brewing Luminesce Tripel for the GABF Pro/Am this coming weekend!!!!!
http://sananselmofairfax.patch.com/articles/fairfax-brewery-pumped-for-great-american-beer-fest

2011-09-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

GABF PRO/AM COMPETITION ENTRY with Christian Kazakoff, Head Brewer at Iron Springs Pub and Brewery and Alan Atha (Beltane Brewing)
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F29460101&h=IAQD2k1HnAQD1tMo4eYmx3jEKwd_aIQUtPuSSzP2Q3cHJ0w

Biketoberfest is Coming, Biketoberfest is Coming!

2011-09-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.7x7.com/eat-drink/marins-biketoberfest-haven-locavore-beer-lovers-bike-nuts

2011-09-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

Powell Avenue Brew (Justin Whitaker)
Headed down to the Whole Foods Market Coddingtown Tap Room this evening to taste two Sonoma Beerocrats Pro-Am brews that are headed to Denver for Great American Beer Festival. Great beers, great time. Best of luck guys!

Beerocrats Pro-Am Tasting

The Whole Foods Market Tap Room hosted the Sonoma Beerocrats Pro-Am brewers as they shared their creations to the club and the general public. Awesome beers!

By: Powell Avenue Brew

Photos: 6

Sonoma Beerocrats GABF Pro/Am Showcase

2011-08-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

On Friday, September 2, from 6-830pm we will be pouring two Beerocrats GABF Pro-Am beers in the Whole Foods Coddingtown Tap Room in Santa Rosa, CA.
The first is my Luminesce Tripel brewed at Iron Springs Pub and Brewery with Christian Kazakoff.
The second is Sean O’Connor's Extra Deluxe Tripels Alley brewed at Bear Republic.
Beerocrats will receive happy hour all night.
http://www.sonomabeerocrats.com/events/31058051/.

I would love to see any/all of you there!

2011-08-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Practice, Determination and a Little Luck Sets Beltane Brewing Apart

August 11, 2011 | Brian Stechschulte

At the end of a cul-de-sac in suburban Novato sits a garage with a split personality. Cars aren’t welcome on most days, pushed out by exercise weights, bicycles, carboys, steam and water that trickles down the driveway. The space is the center of Alan Atha’s creative universe, where he either molds athletes or coaxes barley and yeast into Beltane Brewing beer.

Atha is one of many homebrewers in the Bay Area with Nanobrewery aspirations, and he’s working hard to make it a reality with only three years of brewing experience. The short time frame may be cause for skepticism, but his beer has garnered several awards and he’ll be competing this fall in the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) Pro-Am competition.

Opening a brewery is just one of many different career adventures Atha has pursued since he left the U.S. military years ago. He’s worked as a commercial photographer shooting architecture, raced bicycles, and in the last fourteen years turned to training and coaching fellow riders after moving to Marin. “I needed some work and I also needed to get back into shape since I was taking some time off. I went to the local gym and saw what the trainers were doing, and I said there’s my new job.”

His interest in homebrewing developed alongside his work as a trainer when he realized the two activities were both rooted in science, physiology and creativity. “I’ve always been an artist and an athlete, so combining the two made sense. Now beer is my palate.”

He started out brewing with a friend who also had a passion for Belgian beer. That’s how he learned the basics, but before long struck out on his own and started entering beer into local competitions. According to Atha the feedback was helpful, but he didn’t take it too seriously.

“You look at the score sheet and you either take the criticism or you laugh at it, one of the two. In some competitions you get great tips and other times they’re subjective. You have to piece through it in a lot of ways, and at a certain point, as long as your beer doesn’t have any flaws, go with you heart. That’s what I do.”

Atha currently has six recipes he feels are solid enough for commercial production, a Belgian Pale, Triple, Double, Black IPA, and Double IPA. Clearly he doesn’t shy away from making big beers, but he won’t be pushing some boundaries. “I’m trying to be fairly traditional in my methods and then just tweak a little. I’m probably not going to be the guy that goes pumpkin guava.”

One of his recipes recently caught the attention of Christian Kazakoff, brewmaster at Iron Springs Pub and Brewery in Fairfax. Kazakoff hosted and judged a competition between members of the Sonoma Beerocrats. Atha is a member and president of the homebrew club. Winning the competition meant Kazakoff would brew the winning recipe and submit it to the GABF Pro-Am competition on behalf of the winning brewer.

According to GABF rules, qualifying entries must have won awards in competitions sanctioned by the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and the beer must be produced and served by the host brewery no later then August 19th.

Luminesce

Working on a short timeline the club entered a bunch of beers into the competition. Atha submitted his Belgian Triple he calls Luminesce, brewed with Belgian pilsner and fed with Westmalle yeast. The finished product stood up to Kazakoff’s standards and now Atha is headed to GABF in Denver where he’ll also be celebrating his birthday when awards are dolled out on October 1.

The beer was produced at Iron Springs on July 21. Atha assisted in the process and the beer will be served to the public at the brewery on August 18, one day before the deadline.

Atha believes his success is due in part to practice, but he also knows serendipity has played a role and he still has a lot to learn. “It’s been part luck and I wouldn’t say that I know everything, but at the same time sometimes the more you learn the stupider you get because you have to ask more questions. That’s how I look at it. I learn something new every day, whether it’s in my training or brewing.”

When Atha isn’t making beer or coaching a would be cyclist, he’s been working his way through the licensing process and searching for place to setup a business. Both tasks have proven difficult. “It’s a crazy process and it sucks, but if I do it right it will work.”

At the moment Atha is wavering between two different business concepts, one geared towards a café and another that’s simply production oriented with retail. He would love to open a beer café serving small bites of Trappist cheese and charcuterie, but it might not be financially in the cards.

As for location, he would like to put down roots in Novato near the 101 freeway, so according to Atha, “Everyone going up to Russian River Brewing can easily hit me on the way up or way back.” Unfortunately, two promising locations have slipped through his fingers for one reason or another. The city council has been helpful and he’ll keep trying, but he may have to move onto a different town.

Adversity may keep testing his resolve, but Atha appears capable of dodging punches with determination and a good sense of humor. For the time being he’ll keep brewing away in his garage, tweaking recipes and working towards a brewery, that with a little more of Atha’s Celtic luck, you may visit in the very near future.

Tags: Alan Atha, Beltane Brewing, Christian Kazakoff, featured, Great American Beer Festival, Homebrewing, Iron Springs Pub & Brewery, Novato

Category: Profiles

About Brian Stechschulte: Founder and Editor of BayAreaCraftBeer.com, writer and photographer. Brian is absorbed in the world of craft beer and enjoys sharing news, reviews, and stories about his escapades with new enthusiasts and dedicated beer geeks. His work has been featured on CraftBeer.com, on the Hop Press and he works on a personal beer blog at AllOverBeer.com. Contact: brian (at) bayareacraftbeer.com View author profile.

Comments

Iron Springs August Newsletter

2011-07-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

http://ironspringspub.com/newsletter/ is now out for your entertainment! It features me (Beltane Brewing) and the release of Luminesce Tripel, the GABF Pro/Am competition entry from Iron Springs and myself. I do hope many of you come on the release date, August 18th and party some with me. I will be there at the opening bell and stay for most of the evening.

RELEASE OF GABF PRO/AM BEER - LUMINESCE

2011-07-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

We now have an official date for the release of my Belgian Tripel, Luminesce at the Iron Springs Pub and Brewery in Fairfax, CA: Thursday, August 18th (it had to be released by the 19th at retail per the competition anyway)! For those of you out of the loop, Christian Kazakoff, Head Brewer at Iron Springs Brewery, chose my Luminesce to compete in the GABF (Great American Beer Festival) Pro/Am Competition to be held in Denver on September 29-October 1. This is also my birthday, so good luck to me! It is an honor just to be chosen by Christian but I do have a very good chance of winning this event. Denver, here I come! It is set as a Best of Show judging as this beer has already won in an AHA event during the past year. We are going to brew on July 21. Eleven barrels scaled up from my home brew recipe. Simple!
I do hope to see all of you at Iron Springs on the 18th! Come out, show your support for me and Iron Springs and the local artisinal beer community!

Beer Photo Friday - Excerpt from Bottlechasers

2011-07-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

Beer Photo Friday - Visual Jokes with Beer - July 8

Last Friday's Beer Photo Friday had some fantastic beer jokes - whether they were intentional or not:

@BeltaneBrewing posted an empty tulip glass, calling it "The Emperor's New Clothes". I'm looking forward to trying the beer from this new brewery. I promise to give legitimate feedback and not just blow sunshine up his.... tulip glass.
CAN YOU FIND MY BEER IN THIS MONTAGE? http://blog.bottlechasers.com/2011/07/beer-photo-friday-visual-jokes-with.html

OPEN HOUSE - Saturday, July 16

2011-07-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Enjoy tastings of Luminesce Belgian Tripel - GABF entry for Iron Springs Brewery in Fairfax and Automne Eve Belgian Double w/Maple/aged in American Oak w/Rum .
Brian Stechschulte of Bay Area Craft Beer (BACF) will be hanging too, writing an article about Beltane Brewing!
The Brewess (aka Cathy Portje) will be stirring the brew!
Hope you can join us.
Address: 116 Carmel Ct., Novato, 94945
Brew Time: 10:30 - 3pm

MARIN DEMOCRATIC PARY BREWFEST AND PICNIC

2011-07-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Marin Democratic Party Brewfest and Picnic, 7/30/11. Beers from the Nano's of the North: BeltaneBrewing, Van Houten Brewing Company, Petaluma Hills Brewing, a special appearance from The Brewess and more! Support a great cause and drink beer from some of the future pro brewers of the North Bay, CA.
I will be pouring Rumplestiltskin DIPA and Luminesce Belgian Tripel (picked by Iron Springs Pub and Brewery in Fairfax to represent them in the GABF (Great American Beer Fest in Denver for the Pro/Am Competition). I hope to see you at the brewfest/picnic!

GABF PRO/AM COMPETITION

2011-06-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

I am honored to announce that Iron Springs Brewery in Fairfax, CA has chosen me to represent them in the GABF (Great American Beer Fest) in Denver for the Pro/Am Competition. Head Brewer Christian Kazakoff and Assistant Brewer Phil Meeker poured samples given them from the Sonoma Beerocrats Home Brewing Club, evaluated the beers and picked my beer, Luminesce Belgian Tripel. Many of you have tasted this beer and I'm sure you are glad that It/I get our chance to strut our stuff. I will be brewing with Christian and Phil towards the end of July. Iron Springs will also have Luminesce on tap (info later) and also present it to the public in Denver. Needless to say, I'm excited.

ORWELLIAN BREWING

2011-06-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

In Mindspeak, the Big Brother is a rendering of anything and everything down to a base level...I bring you DOUBLE PLUS GOOD. The Plus means it's fantastically good, and the Double means that it is even better than that (it is also a DIPA for you b-geeks). It comes in at an abv. 8.5%

A beautiful colored beer with a malt base similar to my Rumplestiltskin DIPA but with a hop schedule that includes generous servings of Nelson Sauvin hops during a two-stage dry hop. The beer is light on the malt base and is balanced nicely with the hop additions. The NS hops give this beer a ‘wine’ character that will impress your palate.

Next time I have an open house brew day, come and have a taste.

I will also serve a little at the Sonoma Beerocrats Women's Brew Day this Saturday, June 11th at The Beverage People in Santa Rosa. Show up for that event and you get a taste!

Cheers,

Alan

Beer Collectibles & Breweriana

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Brian Stechschulte of www.alloverbeer.com is hosting his Session #52: Beer Collectibles & Breweriana next week. While many of us (you) are collectors of beer signs, glasses, wearables, etc., I could only come up with one 'collectible' that has been with me since 1972 (this date might be off by one year). My brother gave it to me as a gift, for Christmas, I believe. It is a Campagnolo front fork chrome drop-out, the end piece on the bicycle fork where your wheel gets locked into the bicycle. It is pure Italian design, except for the tiny notch that was hand-crafted into the piece....for the pleasure of pulling it out of your pocket and taking off the cap of a bottle of beer! All of my friends, upon seeing this, were coveteous of this simple and elegant piece. You decide.

T-SHIRTS ARE IN!

2011-05-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

Check out the new T's we have, made in America by Mojo Magic (www.mojomagic.net) and American Apparel.. The front is the Beltane Brewing logo and the back features the image of Rumplestiltskin doing his thing!
Sizes Available (unisex): S, M, L, XL and XXL.
Cost: $20 each if you pick up. $25 to mail it to you.
Quantities are very limited. Get yours now!

Contact alan@beltanebrewing.com

BELTANE IS MAY 1ST

2011-04-25T15:52:00.001-07:00

Come celebrate the first fire of the Celtic Season!

We won’t be having a Maypole Dance but we will be lighting the Beltane Fire under the kettle and brewing up a storm!

Come visit Beltane Brewing, the Novato Nano-brewery start-up and our Open House on Beltane. We will have tastings of Rumplestiltskin Double IPA, Black Moria Double Black IPA, Luminesce Belgian Style Strong, Paleo-Belgo Pale Ale and who knows what else! Alan will be brewing up his newest recipe, a take on Northern California hoppy IPA’s merging with the grape abundance from Sonoma.

Beltane Open House is 10am until 3pm. To get our address and RSVP email alan@beltanebrewing.com.

Craft Beer Tours To Visit Beltane Brewing

2011-03-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for an exciting beer-themed day? Craft Beer Tours offers trips to breweries (and a few great beer bars) around the San Francisco Bay Area. Have you been to Beltane Brewing? Ever heard of Van Houten Brewing Company? Exactly! We really want to introduce you to the nanobreweries that are making some noise lately while also hitting some of the best established breweries in NorCal. The tours change often. Some tours are a-la-carte, some are all-inclusive. Can you handle a weekend trip from San Francisco to Eureka exploring breweries along the way? We also plan to add themed tours such as winter beers, summer session ales, Mardi Gras and a tour for homebrewers. Private events always available.

Craft Beer Tour, Sat, April 30^th, $85 all inclusive!

Meet new friends & enjoy craft beer. Join us!

"Ego-free, beer-friendly"

Saturday, April 30th, $85 per person, open to everyone 21+: The Craft Beer Tour will be an exciting trip with fellow beer enthusiasts. Invite your friends! We will travel in a large, comfortable bus & will have lunch at our second stop, Lagunitas Brewing Company. You are welcome to bring all that you wish for the ride. I will have a cooler on board & provide some snacks.

We will pick up at the Glen Park BART (Diamond Street side) at 9:30am and then meet at Social Kitchen & Brewery for a 10am meet & greet/tour by brewmaster Rich Higgins. (You may meet us at Glen Park BART or Social Kitchen. We can make arrangements for Marin pickups.) We will also tour two new breweries (Beltane Brewing & Van Houten Brewing Company) and an old favorite (Lagunitas). We will return to San Francisco by 6:30pm.

April 30th itinerary: Social Kitchen & Brewery > Lagunitas Brewing Company > Beltane Brewing > Van Houten Brewing Company (subject to change)

You may invite friends. All participants must be at least 21 & show ID on the bus. We accept credit cards, Paypal, checks or cash. We will need your first & last name, email, cell number.

Larry Winum

cell: 415.215.7857

www.CraftBeerTours.com

OPEN HOUSE - Saturday, March 19

2011-03-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

Come by, chat and taste two of my beers that were well received at the SF Beer Week Nano Fest. 9am-3pm at 116 Carmel Ct., Novato, 94945. Email or call to let me know you are coming: alan@beltanebrewing.com. 415-328-1373.

Cheers!

Something's Brewing

2011-03-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

North Bay Bohemian article on home brewing featuring Beltane Brewing and friends: http://bit.ly/fIxH63.
Quite a lot of this article is mis-quoted and names are also mis-spelled. Just take it as a good read.
My quote was supposed to be: "Nano's are the new darling of the scene". We are all getting a laugh out of the printed quote, however!

Ramblings at the Nano Fest During SF Beer Week

2011-02-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 21, 2011

Nanobreweries are Big Stuff at the Breweries of Tomorrow Festival

I should have expected my predicament. Plenty of people I spoke to in the days leading up to SF Beer Week cited theBreweries of Tomorrow NanoBrewery Festival as one event they didn't want to miss, which featured a number of small, new breweries in the process of commericializing their operations. This explained why my wife Linda and I were stuck way in the back of a stagnant line leading out the door of Social Kitchen and Brewery and all the way down the adjacent parking lot at 6 pm on a cool Sunday evening. We considered going somewhere else that evening, but decided to wait out the line in hopes we could get in. But with the line not appearing to budge one bit, it was not looking so good for our plans.

Linda and I did eventually make it inside after about an hour of patiently waiting. There is a certain irony in the fact that I wouldn't dream of standing in line for an hour for a pint of something like Pliny the Younger from one of my favorite breweries Russian River, and yet here I was, standing in line for an hour for beers from a bunch of brewers I basically knew nothing about. You could say this experience gave me a new perspective on waiting in long lines for hard to find beers, since as soon as we got inside, Linda and I pretty much left our frustrations outside and enjoyed this quirky, crowded, and unusual festival.

What struck us was how these new comers genuinely produced beers every bit innovative and well crafted as anything you can find in the Bay Area. Linda and I tasted about twelve beers between us and were impressed by many of them, not finding one clunker in the bunch. It was fun talking to folks in the crowd, asking what they liked, getting various impressions from different breweries that were complete wild cards to virtually everyone in attendence. I was also glad to bump into fellow beer bloggersJohn Heylin and Matt Knopf.

So congratulations to Brian Stechschulte, creater of the Bay Area Craft Beer Website and blog All Over Beer, who organized this unique event that succeeded beyond everyone's expectations. And congratulations to all the nanobrewers, who proved they can craft a beer every bit as good as the big boys. While they were all good, I'd like to cite four beers that Linda and I tried that really stuck out from the rest. (Sorry if I got anything wrong here, the crowd made it difficult to take notes and I was just trying to enjoy all the new beers, so my note taking that evening was not the greatest.)

Peppermint Porter from 510 Brewing
Peppermint what? Both Linda and I both thought we weren't going to like this beer, judging it only by the name. Surprise, surprise, it was our favorite of the night. The peppermint is rather up front, but blended well with the roasted malt flavors of the porter. Think of a peppermint patty and you start to get the idea. 510 Brewing's Travis Smith explained this was their idea as a winter seasonal beer, since peppermint is a flavor associated a lot with the winter. I don't know exactly why this beer worked, but give these guys credit for trying something original and pulling it off.

Belgian Strong Ale from Beltane Brewing
A close second for favorite of the evening was this arresting Belgian Strong Ale from Beltane Brewing. I like enjoyed its rich malty character, aromatic flavors, and banana-like fruity esters at the finish. Beltane also poured either a Double or Triple Belgian Ale (can't remember which) that Linda really liked as well.Note: The beers were Luminesce, Belgian Strong Ale and Automne Eve, Belgian Style Double

Porter from Petaluma Hills Brewing
I'm a porter fan, and really liked this porter from Petaluma Hill Brewing. I didn't take any notes, just enjoying sipping away on this one not wanting to be bothered by writing down any tasting notes. The head brewer at Petaluma Hills Brewing gives his name only as "JJ". Dyno-MITE! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

English IPA from Orange and Black
I just loved the great hop aromas eminating from this well balanced and refined IPA brewed in the English style. If these guys keep brewing beers this good, they really ought to get themselves a website.

Can't wait for some of these brewers to give their beers actual names!

I look forwarding to all the brewers going pro, and might even wait in line over hour for their beers even then.

Nano Sunday: Feb 20 @ Beltane Brewing

2011-02-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

I'm brewing up a batch of Luminesce this Sunday, 10am - 4pm. Come chat and share with me my beers. I will have two or three kegs on tap: Rumplestiltskin DIPA, Automne Leaft Belgian Style Double and who knows what else. You MUST rsvp me at alan@beltanebrewing or call 415-328-1373 to attend...got to be nice to the neighbors. Directions will then be given to my location in Novato. Cheers!

Great Post by Yet Another Beer Blog of the NANO FEST @ SF Beer Week

2011-02-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

Nine nano brewers were attendance. Each bringing 2-3 of their finest batches for everyone to sample – all free to everyone.

I’d like to be able to give an unbiased review. To say that each beer was individually evaluated for attributes of a good beer. Alas I cannot be anything but biased. In my book, there is one clear winner for the list of who to watch out for in 2011 — Beltane Brewing.

The champion of Beltane Brewing, and for many of those in attendance, was Rumplestiltskin Double IPA. At 8.5% ABV, Rumplestiltskin packs the perfect balance of hops and flavor for an ideal DIPA. These might be blasphemous words, but I would put it range a quality and taste close to Pliny the Elder of Russian River fame.

I am flattered with the comparison to one of the best beers in the US. Thanks!

Mad-Cap Re-Cap of the SF Beer Week Nano Fest

2011-02-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

Before the opening there was already a line going around the block. It was said that this event had a longer line than the one at RRBC for the Pliny the Younger...and it was!
I poured, at my first public event, three selections: Rumplestiltskin Double IPA, Luminesce Strong Belgian and Automne Eve a Belgian Style Double. All were very well received by the huge crowd. I took 6 kegs and only one survived for me to enjoy at my leisure (while brewing up the next round). Got my first account, once I am legal so that was really cool! Click on the link for a great review of the event: http://pedalsandpints.blogspot.com/2011/02/breweries-of-tomorrow-recap.html
Here is a photo of the Rumplestiltskin: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katzzmeow/5446059568/lightbox/.

Cheers,

Alan

Courtesy of 7X7

2011-01-31T20:09:00.000-08:00

Another take on Beltane Brewing and other Nanobreweries at the SFBW Breweries of the Future: Nanobrewery Fest.

http://tinyurl.com/4hc8kjw

Beltane Brewing at SF Beer Fest 2011

2011-01-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

Stay tuned for the official announcement. I will be pouring beer at the Future Nanobrewery Fest on 2/13, 5-9pm. This event will be at the Social Kitchen Brewery in SF.

STAY TUNED! links coming soon!

2010-10-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

North Bay Nano-Brewery in Start Up!

I am happy to announce my start-up brewery, Beltane Brewing, in Novato, CA.

The brewery will be up and running during the 2011 summer.

Initally, the brewery will produce 234bbl per year. If all goes according to plan, I will then scale up the production with new equipment to enable a production of 832bbl per year.

My initial focus will be four craft beers:

Rumplestiltskin Double IPA - 8.5%abv - highly hopped with Magnum, Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo and Citra hops with a hidden malt background.

Black Moria Double Black IPA - 9%abv - bitter malt up front with chocolate and coffee and then a very nicely balanced hop bitterness behind using Chinook, Amarillo and Centennial hops.

Luminesce Triple - 10%abv - Belgian Style Triple, golden in color, very light hoppiness and beautiful yeast flavor.

Paleo/Belgo Belgian Style Pale Ale - 6%abv - light pale color with the addition of coriander and orange.

Once production is under control I will then start the process of barrel ageing beers for that next level of craftiness.

Stay Tuned!