Running March 2–12, Sacramento Beer Week is now an 11 day region wide celebration of all things craft beer, boasting hundreds of special events at local breweries, tap rooms, bars and restaurants. We spent hours scouring the seemingly endless listings and picked out 11 of our favorites, one for each day of SBW. To get the full rundown, you’ll want to visit Sacbeerweek.com or hit up your favorite watering holes to see what they’ve got going on. Happy Beer Week!

Kick off SBW with more than 40 breweries at the annual Sacramento Brewers’ Showcase on Thursday, March 2 at 6 p.m. at the California Automobile Museum. Just $40 in advance for an all-you-can-drink ticket. Plenty of food trucks will be on site to accompany all those brews. Sacbeerweek.com for tickets. 2200 Front St., Sacramento.

Day in and day out, whether it’s Beer Week or not, Capitol Beer and Tap Room is one of the best local spots to enjoy an ever-changing array of craft brews. On Friday, March 3, two of the most celebrated and seriously buzzed about California breweries, Alvarado Street from Monterey County and Moonraker from Auburn, will take over the handles at Cap Tap all day starting at 11 a.m. Check out which beers to expect that day, along with the rest of their SBW lineup at Capitolbeer.com. 2222 Fair Oaks Blvd., Sacramento.

Two of our absolute favorite breweries from the region, New Glory and Highwater, collaborated to create the quite exquisite sounding Lemon Meringue Pie Specialty Ale. It’s a strong American Blonde Ale brewed with graham crackers and lactose, fermented with vanilla beans and fresh local lemon juice. The release party is Saturday, March 4 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a food truck on-site from 5 to 9 p.m. 8251 Alpine Ave., Sacramento.

Go behind the curtain and watch brewers at work on Sunday, March 5 at the newly opened Fort Rock Brewing. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.-ish come enjoy a pint and watch them brew their next batch, and if you’re the curious type, toss out any questions you have because they’ll be there to drop knowledge. I hit up this brand new spot last week when they’d only been open a number of days, and I really enjoyed what they were pouring (available that night was a pilsner, IPA, red IPA, and a brown, which was my personal favorite). The space is great, too, very spacious, perfect for big groups of friends. Look for their Double IPA and Pale Ale to drop soon! 12401 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova.

It’s all the craze. That’s right, we’re talking about the haze! Juicy, murky New England-style IPAs are undeniably hot right now on the West Coast. A lot of breweries are making them, but whose is the best? To taste at least a dozen mostly local hazy IPAs for yourself in one spot, check out Boneshaker Public House on Monday, March 6, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., for the inaugural “Blinded By the Haze: Blind Hazy IPA Tasting & Competition.” Visit Boneshakerpub.com for details. 2168 Sunset Blvd., Rocklin.

Sometimes the most fun Beer Week events are often the silliest and most random-seeming ones, like this: On Tuesday, March 7 from 6–10 p.m., Sactown Union Brewery is hosting a Mario Kart 64 Tournament. Thirty-two teams will compete for beer, merch and bragging rights. Visit Facebook.com/SactownUnion and click on “events” for details. 1210 66th St., Unit B, Sacramento.

This list wouldn’t be complete without a sour beer event. There will be many during SBW, but Hot City Pizza’s on Wednesday, March 8 is sure to be special. Their Mixed-Bag Sours Day will feature sours from breweries all over the world that they claim you likely have never seen and will have trouble ever finding again. 5642 J St., Sacramento.

On Thursday, March 9, take a trip to Belgium with The Monk’s Cellar at their Five-Course Trappist Beer Dinner. It will feature a lecture and slideshow from Celebrator writer and beer traveler “Big” Mike Moore and brewmaster Andy Klein. Enjoy five different Trappist beers, each expertly paired with a traditional food dish from Belgium. $60 per person, and it will sell out, so get tickets early by calling (916) 786-6665. 240 Vernon St., Roseville.

New Helvetia Brewing Co. and The Craft Creamery are teaming up for an epic ice cream and beer tasting event on Friday, March 10. The ice cream was made using, you guessed it, beer! Planned pairings include B-Squad Blonde Ale with Lemon Zest and Honey, Molly American Red Ale with Salted Caramel, Mystery Airship Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with Dark Chocolate, and more. I scream for… Beer! 1730 Broadway, Sacramento.

On Saturday, March 11 starting at 3 p.m., Tank House BBQ and Bar is hosting their fourth annual Sacramento Beer Week Pig Roast featuring Anderson Valley Brewing Company taking over the taps. Food is free! Get there early because it will get packed. 1925 J St., Sacramento.

And for the finale, it’s the annual Capitol Beer Fest, a massive event on Sunday, March 12 from noon to 5 p.m., featuring well over 100 breweries, more than a dozen food trucks, live music, the whole nine. Tickets are $40 in advance for general admission, available online at Capitolbeerfest.com, or in person at Der Biergarten, Rubicon and a number of other local spots. 5th Street Bridge (between H & Railyards), Sacramento.

**This article first appeared in print on page 8 of issue 234 (Feb. 27 – March 13, 2017)**

Whereas Christmas only lasts one day, Sacramento Beer Week lasts 10 whole days! That’s a week-plus of beer, food, beer, entertainment and beer (glorious beer). This year’s Beer Week will see local bars and restaurants hosting a variety of events—way too many to list here—but here are a few that we think you’d be crazy not to check out. For a full listing, go to Sacramentobeerweek.com!

10 Days of Beer and Food Pairings

Ten22 • Feb. 22 • 6–11 p.m.
Executive chef Jay Veregge is teaming up with High Water Brewing to create a five-course dinner (a beer paired with each course) for $59. Space is limited, so make a reservation.

Revolution Wines • Feb. 23 • all day.
Revolution Wines will be pairing their favorite local beers with small plates.

Lucca Restaurant and Bar • Feb. 24 • 4–9 p.m.
Farmers Market Dinner will be paired with beer from Ruhstaller for each of three courses. The meal will be $35 with beer pairings and $25 without.

Clark’s Corner • Feb. 25 • 5:30–9 p.m.
A variety of beers, including Speakeasy’s new release, Smoked Payback Porter, will be paired with an assortment of smoked meats and artisinal cheeses.

Pangaea • Feb. 26 • all day
As it turns out, sushi and beer are BFFs. Pangaea and Billy Ngo from Kru will prove it to you at this all-day event.

Centro • Feb. 27 • 6–8 p.m.
Executive Chef Kurt Spataro will present a five-course tasting menu featuring beers from San Francisco brewery 21st Amendment for $35.

Capitol Garage • Feb. 28 • 3–6 p.m.
Join Mad River Brewery and Lagunitas at Capital Garage for beers paired with small plates.

Mulvaney’s B&L • March 1 • 6–10 p.m.
Join Mulvaney’s for a special beer dinner with Dr. Charlie Bamforth and Sierra Nevada’s brewmaster. Space is very limited so make a reservation.

The Porch • March 2 • all day
What’s better than bacon? Beer paired with bacon, obviously. Gorge yourself with this killer combo at this all-day affair.

River City Brewing Company • Feb. 22–March 3 • 5–10 p.m.
River City Brewing will offer a special Beer Dinner menu all Beer Week long. Just $30 for a three-course meal paired with six beers.

Beer Trivia Night

So you think you know your beer, smartypants? Put your knowledge to the test at the following events.

The Blind Pig
Trivia Tasting Extravaganza
Feb. 24, 8–10 p.m.

River City Brewing Company
Second Annual Beer Trivia Night
Feb. 25, 7–9 p.m.

The Shack
Lagunitas Trivia Night
Feb. 27, 6–10 p.m.

Beer 101

Maybe you’re not a smartypants, but you aspire to be. Don’t fret. Here are some events where you can get yourself beer-ducated.

Home Brewing Demonstrations
The Brewmeister (Roseville) • Feb. 23, all day
Learn how to make a variety of beers in the comforts of your own home!

Cooking with Beer
Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op • Feb. 25, 6–9 p.m.
Beer as seasoning? Let Chef Gigi show you how to spice up your meals with beer. Ruhstaller will also be on hand for tasting and to talk about the history of their brewery. Tickets are $45.

Beer Judging 101
Pyramid Alehouse Brewery • March 3, 1–5 p.m.
Back up your beer snobbery and learn how to differentiate a good beer from a mediocre one. Grand Master Level III beer judge David Teckam, a veritable Jedi of beer tasting, will be on hand to assist you. Tickets are $30.

Keep the Glass

Have a great time and sneak home with some free swag. Here are Beer Week locations that will let you keep your pint glass at select events. If nothing else, it’ll allow you to put off doing the dishes one more day.

Pine Cove • All Week

The Torch Club • Feb. 22 and 28

Old Soul at the Weather Stone • Feb. 23

Sacramento Beer Train • March 3

Whereas Christmas only lasts one day, Sacramento Beer Week lasts 10 whole days! That’s a week-plus of beer, food, beer, entertainment and beer (glorious beer). This year’s Beer Week will see local bars and restaurants hosting a variety of events—way too many to list here—but here are a few that we think you’d be crazy not to check out. For a full listing, go to Sacramentobeerweek.com!

Touch: Home Brewing Demo with Track 7 Brewing and Brew Ferment Distill at Bows and Arrows • Feb. 24, 2013

Have you ever tasted a finely crafted beer and thought to yourself, “I could totally do that?” Well now you totally can! Sacramento Beer Week will get its DIY on at Bows and Arrows on Feb. 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., during Bows and Arrows’ Sunday brunch, you will learn the ins and outs of home brewing and make your own IPA. Track 7 will provide the grains and hops and Brew Ferment Distill (located at 3527 Broadway, Sacramento) will bring the supplies. Bows and Arrows will also offer Track 7 beers on tap, including the brewing company’s much ballyhooed double IPA collaboration with Knee Deep of Lincoln, Calif. Best of all, this event is free and open to the public! Your attendance is guaranteed to quadruple your beer nerd cred points instantaneously. Check out Bowscollective.com for more information.

Photo by Scott Bellisario {Social Stitcher/Instagram @ufallome}

See: Sacramento’s Newest Brewery, New Helvetia Brewing Company • Feb. 25, 2013

New Helvetia Brewing Company just celebrated its grand opening this past week, but its roots in Sacramento’s beer scene actually delve much deeper. The company’s mission is to create craft beer inspired by the Buffalo Brewing Company, which was established in Sacramento in 1890. On Feb. 25, New Helvetia will host a casual gathering with Dr. Charlie Bamforth, U.C. Davis’ Chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology and Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences. Tickets to this event will be $25 in advance and $30 at the door. The ticket price will include up to six 10-ounce pours of New Helvetia’s brews. New Helvetia Brewing Company is located at 1730 Broadway, Sacramento. For more info on the brewery, go to http://newhelvetiabrew.com/.

Hear: Lagunitas’ Brewmaster Tony Magee Talk Shop at The Torch Club • March 1, 2013

Not only can Lagunitas’ brewmaster Tony Magee make a great beer, he’s also really good at playing American roots music. Magee will be making the trip up from Petaluma, Calif., to meet with all of you and perform a few songs at The Torch Club (904 15th Street) from 5 to 9 p.m. As an added bonus, he’ll be bringing Lagunitas’ Wilco Tango Foxtrot Brown Ale in tow. The Torch Club will offer an $8 beer and brat combo and $4 refills on your frosty beverage. You even get to keep the glass! Lagunitas may not be a Sacramento beer, but it is a local favorite, so expect this event to be especially lively.

Taste: The Rainbow of Beers at the Third Annual Capital Beerfest • March 2, 2013

Dude. Bro. OK. So all these Sacramento Beer Week events (and the multitude we didn’t have space to list) are awesome, but if there was one that you’d have to consider the pièce de résistance, it’s this. From noon to 5 p.m., Cal Expo will fill up with the sweet, sweet aroma of fermented barley and hops. The air will permeate with an alluring maltiness (which isn’t a word, but you see what we’re going for here). As of press time, 84 breweries have signed on to appear at the Capital Beerfest, 21 of which are from the Sacramento area. We’d normally consider namedropping as beneath us, but in this case we’re just going to let it roll: River City Brewing, Sudwerk, Ruhstaller, Roseville Brewing Company and Lockdown are just a few that will be representing our region; meanwhile, Alaskan Brewing (Anchorage), Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago), Hop City (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), Oskar Blues (Longmont, Colo.) and Rogue Brewery (Newport, Ore.) are some of the out-of-towners. You’ll also be able to sample food from restaurants participating in Sacramento Beer Week. Clearly, this event is going to be epic. All that it’s missing is you. Tickets range from $40 to $75 (and $5 to $20 for designated drivers). For more info on where to get tickets, go to http://capitalbeerfest.com/.

Bartender Andrew Calisterio on why Sacramento should be proud to be a “cow town”

Words by Anthony Giannotti

Sacramento has been labeled by many in larger metropolitan areas in California as a “cow town.” While this may or may not be true on many levels, the fact that we are surrounded by some of the best and richest farmland in the country is undeniable. Andrew Calisterio, bartender at Grange Restaurant and Bar, thinks we should embrace this “cow town” label.

“I grew up in rural Elk Grove before the whole tract home thing,” he says. “We had cows in my back yard. My family always had a garden and fresh food. Farm to table has always been a part of my life.” Growing up with a garden has definitely helped him know exactly what to do with the amazing produce we have around here. Calisterio continues, “We have tons of fresh ingredients. Look at all the citrus here. Don’t just put it on the side of the glass to make it look pretty, put booze in it and shake it up!”

Not only has Calisterio devoted his life to Sacramento and the fine local produce, but he is a big advocate of knowing what to do with it. He is one of the founding members of the Sacramento chapter of the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild–a national organization “of beverage service professionals dedicated to the continued refinement of [their] craft,” according to a mission statement on the USBG website. Calisterio makes no illusions of how important he thinks keeping up and furthering industry people’s knowledge is, “The education is what helps create and expand our creativity.”

It’s not just cocktails and shakers for Calisterio. He is also one of the key members in the resurrection of the Sacramento brewery Ruhstaller. “Ruhstaller was a brewery in Sacramento 130 years ago, started by Captain Frank Ruhstaller. I get to sell a really good beer to people in the industry, my friends.”

I got to catch up with the local advocate over a glass of whiskey, which of course he blended, to talk more about Sacramento and cocktails.

How did you start bartending?
I started this whole thing with coffee. I really enjoyed making things. I was 16 working at Starbucks. I liked making the things they had set for us, but I always wanted to make something different, something special. The guests wanted the same thing every single day, and to me that was just insane. I would try to work something in that was around what they liked, but pulling them toward something new or different. Eventually I got picked up by Java City, worked my way up the ladder there and came to a point where I could do anything I wanted with coffee. I really wanted to get into spirits. I’ve always been a fan of nice food and cocktails and experiencing flavors. I pride myself on having a good palate.

How did you start at Grange?
I went in applying for a bartending position, and they looked at me like I was crazy because I had no experience. So I asked what was available and they let me be a bus boy. There was no bar-back program there, so I would go behind the bar every chance I could to help, polish glassware, anything I could do to get in. I’d ask way too many questions and bother Ryan Seng, interrupt his conversations with guests to find out what he was doing and how he made that drink. I basically declared myself a bar-back position. One day a bartender didn’t show up. Since I knew how to make all the drinks–I even had two of my own drinks on the menu, and I was familiar with our wine list–I finally got to start bartending.

Grange is known for its affiliation with the slow food movement. Do you try to incorporate any of those principles into your cocktails?
Absolutely. I grew up in rural Elk Grove on four acres. I was in FFA [Future Farmers of America] as a kid, which ended up being beneficial for me when applying at Grange because I had this agricultural background. I knew the farmers that the food at Grange was coming from. When it came to building my cocktails, I wanted to represent the local Sacramento area.

You recently won a couple of cocktail contests. Can you tell us about that?
The big one was put on by Hangar One Vodka. It was a California-wide cocktail competition. I was already familiar with the brand because it is a farm to bottle spirit–right up my alley. A rep came in to ask me to join the competition but said they weren’t stopping in Sacramento. They were going to be in different major cities around California–Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose. I was a little offended that they weren’t going to be representing the capital city of California, where so much of California’s produce and agriculture comes from. So I came up with my cocktail and started networking, using social media to let my friends and peers know what I was working on and trying to represent Sacramento.

You are one of the co-founders of the Sacramento Bartenders’ Guild. What is that and what do you guys do?
As bartenders, we go visit other bars or bartenders that we respect and like to see what they are doing and learn from them. It started as this kind of informal gathering and eventually some of us decided to get together and make it formal and official. We wanted the education of bartending to be brought forward. It’s $100 a year, and if you go to just a couple meetings, you’ve already gotten your money back in products and education. We have tastings and training with brands that share their products but also teach us about spirits and what the differences are and help us learn how to use them to our best ability. We are using our connections to gather and share brands and ideas with our coworkers in town. Bar owners and workers get a chance to meet, so whether someone is looking for a job or needs a bartender, it’s just a great way to communicate. All of us are career bartenders, not just some guy who pours shots. We are trying to raise the bar around Sacramento. We have a great cocktail scene here; we just want to always see more out of it and let it shine.

So you think it’s important for bartenders to have extra education, to be able to do more than just give a shot or a beer?
Well even with that, there is a proper shot and a beer pairing, it has value. Sometimes you don’t want a cocktail. Sometimes you just want a shot or a beer. Dickel is a whiskey brand that has become really popular as a shot. Someone decided that that was a good shot to pair with a beer. And the beers aren’t Budweiser anymore. North Coast Company Blue Star is the inexpensive beer on tap now. So the bar is being raised even for just a shot and a beer. Having a vast knowledge of spirits and cocktail ingredients helps you to attract more guests and give them that experience they are looking for when they go out to eat or have a drink. I love when someone comes in and says “Make me something.” My next question is what do you usually like? And I will try to avoid that.

You’re not just a cocktail guy. You are also involved with Ruhstaller Beer…
I was brought on early with this company. I am honored to be able to help with the resurrection of the old Sacramento brand… They asked me to help build the brand because they know I am a social guy. I lug around kegs and talk to people and help with sales. I’m doing the same thing I do every day, but on the other side of the bar. I’m getting the bartenders to try this beer, telling them how good it is and then they buy it for their bars. The company has grown a lot and I help when I can, mostly with social networking or helping pour at events.

Do you ever try to combine your knowledge of beer and cocktails to make a beer cocktail?
For beer week, we had a beer pairing dinner at Grange with some big names from Sacramento. I put together a cocktail that was in the fashion of a shot and a beer, with a twist. I took [Ruhstaller] 1881 and made syrup out of it and made an Old Fashioned using Woodford Reserve. I even used local Sacramento oranges in it. I served it with a shot of beer on the side to help represent the beer. Darell Corti [gourmand and co-owner of Corti Brothers] said it was the best aperitif he’d had in Sacramento. I was so happy, I couldn’t stop smiling. It was a great boost.

What’s involved in a great cocktail?
Balance, first and foremost. I try to balance where the flavors hit on your palate. I generally start with a great spirit or an end result flavor. Or I try to pick out flavors that will work well in the cocktail and pair with the food. Sometimes it’s hard when I really like a certain spirit that has so much great flavor on its own because I’d rather just drink it neat.

Midtown Cocktail Week is coming up. What sort of blowout is Grange doing this year?
Blowout is a good word. Last year was such a success that it was too busy to accommodate everyone in the hall. So this year we will be using the dining room. Grange’s dinner service will come to a screeching halt and be replaced with amazing cocktails and appetizers. The band The Silent Comedy will play. The theme this year is Sacramento, so a little politically driven. At Grange, we are doing the anti-prohibition act. We want people to come out and vote for the cocktails. We are also going to have hometown hero Jayson Wilde come back and guest bartend the event.

Is there anything you’d like to see out of the Sacramento food and cocktail scene?
Sacramento has had a lot of successful people start here and make names for themselves, but they always end up leaving. It’s great when they come back around and visit, but Sacramento needs some talent to stick around. If Sacramento is going to grow or be more successful, we need these people to stay and be a part of this city. I would like to see some of the people from Sacramento that have been successful elsewhere be successful in Sacramento. I enjoy other cities and traveling, but this is my home. I have a lot of friends and inspiration here. We are the capital city in the largest state.

Midtown Cocktail Week will take place at various venues from Aug. 19 through 26, 2012. See what Andrew Calisterio comes up with at the “Repeal Prohibition – High Styled 1920’s Political Rally” event at Grange on Aug. 24, 2012. The event will run from 5 p.m. to midnight. To keep track of other Cocktail Week happenings, go to http://midtowncocktailweek.org/.

Do you know the two most important food groups on the pyramid? They’re beer and chili! At least they will be during the Beer and Chili Festival as a part of the third annual Sacramento Beer Week. The event includes live music, contests, homemade chili and beer samples from 18 different breweries. Enjoy beer from Hoppy, Ruhstaller, Auburn Alehouse, Sudwerk, Black Dragon, River City, American River, Dust Bowl, Two Rivers, Loomis Basin and Lost Coast. Don’t forget to bring a bib, extra napkins and sun block to Southside Park in Downtown Sacramento on Saturday March 3, 2012, from 12 to 4 p.m. And if beer and chili aren’t enough to get you excited, this event is raising money to help fund art education in Sacramento to the homeless and at-risk youth.

Track 7 Brewing Company sticks to its home brewing roots

Words & Photos by Adam Saake

All hail to the home brewer, the humble beginning of so many great beers we enjoy today. From an independent and environmentally conscious Sierra Nevada Brewing Company headed by Ken Grossman, who like many of today’s brewers started out with experimental 5-gallon batches, to home brewer Sam Calagione who grew the small Deleware brewery Dogfish Head into one of the most recognized and respected craft beer names in America. In short, great beer begins with a love of brewing and a passion to share it with those who love to drink it. Geoff Scott and Ryan Graham of Track 7 Brewing Company are among the ranks of home-brewers-turned-legit who share this same philosophy. Their recently opened brewery and taproom in the Land Park area, just over the Sutterville Pass, is sure to become an off the grid destination for beer drinkers and has already been established as a local watering hole for its surrounding neighbors.

Scott says that Track 7 has been open since the end of December and the space they occupy, an industrial warehouse with a rollup door, isn’t just a brewery.

“We got a special use permit from the city that allows us to manufacture and then have a tap room,” says Scott.

This mixed-use space creates something similar to what larger, more industrial-sized breweries attempt to accomplish in their accompanying restaurants or public view spaces. The difference is that Track 7’s space feels like you’re sitting and relaxing in the back yard of your friend’s house, except there are fermentation tanks off in the near distance making the delicious suds you’re savoring. The vibe is immediately neighborly. Couples cruise in with their dogs for a pint and groups of friends meet after a long day to unwind and chat with Geoff and his wife Rebecca, who greets guests from behind the bar and pours the day’s offerings from the orange and chrome taps.

Both Scott and Graham have been brewing beer for eight years. They started out by collecting their some-odd 15 batches of beer and having parties at their house where their friends would come over and enjoy the duo’s creations. But it wasn’t just their friends’ enjoyment and a collective skill for brewing good beer that motivated them to take the leap to brewery status.

“People said, your beer is really good, and at the same time our wives pretty much said, you have too much stuff at the house so you need to move it out. So it kind of worked out that way,” says Scott with a grin.

The transition from home brewing to having an actual brewery and operating on a larger scale wasn’t that difficult for the two in terms of process. Brewing was brewing. What did throw them for the loop was the assembly required to actually get started.

“One thing we struggled with was, the guy who built the brew house for us, he kind of just gave it to us and said here you go. We had to do all the piping underneath and it was like a giant puzzle trying to put it all together. We went off of one picture,” says Scott.

But the brewery did come together and the beer has been pumping out. Both Scott and Graham have different styles and tastes, which balances out their selections. Scott is more into IPAs and stouts like their Soulman Stout or Big 4 Strong Ale, where Graham gravitates more toward the Belgium style beers like their Alkali Wit that boasts flavors of coriander and orange. These beers, along with the rest of their concoctions, are all carried over from their days of brewing small batches and experimenting. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

“It’s interesting. Some beers like the Wit we probably tinkered around 25 plus times, and others like the Big 4 were born on the second or third try and that’s how they ended up,” explains Scott.

The four founders are dedicated to community and take pride in being a Sacramento brewery. Local artists like Skinner and Jesse Baggs have designed their bottle labels; their taproom table, a recovered railroad track and glass top, was also designed by a local artist. The name itself, Track 7, is derivative of railroad slang that refers to being out on the furthest track. Scott and Graham, two very down-to-earth guys, had a connection to this slang and felt it appropriate for their new venture. The beers they brew speak to their humble nature; thoughtfully crafted with balance and unique flavor. All eyes will be on Track 7 to see what they grow their new brewery into.

Track 7 Brewing Company’s taproom is located at 3747 West Pacific Avenue, Suite F, Sacramento. The brewery has a few events lined up for Sacramento Beer Week, including the release of a new beer Trainwreck Belgian IPA, which will be available at Track 7 starting Feb. 24, 2012. For more info on what they’ll be up to during Beer Week, go to Track7brewing.com.

Words by Adam Saake

J-E Paino, a Sacramento native by way of San Francisco, is the proprietor of Ruhstaller Beer, an up and coming Sacramento beer company whose name and history date back to the 1800s when Sacramento was a true Wild West beer town. While studying at UC Davis, Paino fell in the love with the rich and bountiful story of the Sacramento beer industry and how west of the Mississippi, we were home to the largest brewing facility–Buffalo Brewery where the present day Sacramento Bee is located–larger in fact than Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, Mo. To add, Sacramento had numerous brewing facilities that were in full production, brewing and shipping out beer to thirsty Americans.

“Sacramento’s never done anything better than make beer,” says Paino. “We were made to make beer.”

That we were–and still are today. It all makes sense, really. Consider that Sacramento has dark, nutrient-rich Delta soil, two rivers intersecting the city, trains constantly whistling and crisscrossing the streets and, until a while back, acres and acres of hops and barley growing all throughout our surrounding areas. There’s farmland, transportation and the climate for key ingredients. This isn’t breaking news to your grandparents because they remember some of this stuff, but the younger generations haven’t been exposed to this very important piece of Sacramento’s history because there isn’t much record of it and the schools sure as hell aren’t assigning home brewing as class projects.

“And there’s absolutely no remnant of it. No one talks about it, you read history books–gone,” says Paino with fervor.

Paino seems to be on a personal mission to change that, and he’s doing it in the best way he sees fit; by making beer that pays homage to this time and place.

While Paino was a student at UC Davis, he began a project that consisted of researching the history of Sacramento. He realized that there was this lack of information and he kept coming up with the same results.

“They all went the same way,” says Paino. “John Sutter lands, some Indians, lots of flooding, tomatoes, cows and all of a sudden there’s a governor’s mansion built and we’re the capital of California.”

And hell! Throw in the trains and trees and that’s a great history, something that many of us pride ourselves on and more often than not becomes the talking point of what makes Sacramento what it is. But Paino kept poking his nose around and eventually he struck upon a different version of what Sacramento’s history once was.

“Somehow I stumbled on a book by Ed Carrol. He was doing his thesis at Sacramento State. He wrote about the history of Sacramento, the beer industry in Sacramento,” explains Paino.

The Sacramento History Foundation ended up publishing a portion of Carrol’s thesis, which Paino read and was inspired by.

“It was phenomenal,” exclaims Paino.

Photo by Carolyn Jaime

The figurehead that continued to pop up was a gentleman by the name of Captain Frank Ruhstaller. He left home with his brother to flee the constraints of family duties and commitment. According to Paino’s research, the brothers left Switzerland because they didn’t want to be priests like their father had envisioned; they were set on brewing beer. Frank bounced from his homeland to the East Coast of the United States and eventually ended up in Sacramento, where he was part of Buffalo Brewery. He eventually broke off from Buffalo and started his own craft brewery called Ruhstaller where his “flagship beer was called Gilt Edge Lager.” The focus was on premium beer and making it the beer of Sacramento.

From there, Paino’s direction moved toward actually making a beer. It all began with Charlie Bamforth, the guru of fermentation sciences at Sacramento State, who is responsible for more than a few brewers’ careers. To even begin to touch on his influence and/or career attributes, well, that’s an entirely different article. Paino came to Bamforth looking for guidance and Bamforth lent him some of his literature–some science and some history–and Paino read both. But Paino is no brewer and the history was more to his liking. “Well you’re going to have trouble making beer,” Bamforth said to Paino. He then recommended a few candidates, and suddenly Paino was on the path to turning his love of Sacramento beer history into an actual drinkable product.

One was a gentleman by the name of Peter Hoey and the other was a woman by the name of Lindsay Guerdrum, a star student of Bamforth, who at the time was being offered a position at New Belgium Brewing Company. Yes, the New Belgium as in Fat Tire. Paino wasn’t in the position to match that offer, nor was he going to hold her back.

“We said, we’re the little guy. You can always work for the little guy, you only get one shot working for the big guy,” says Paino.

So Hoey was the man for the job. He and Paino got along well in the first place, and so began production of Ruhstaller Beer. Paino’s philosophy was focused on keeping the product locally produced, something not too common in the Sacramento brewing community. And with this, the expression of place could speak for itself.

“Let’s go find the best ingredients we can, source them locally as possible and let’s go make a beer that isn’t just a one liner but it’s more sophisticated. It kind of has a nose and kind of has a beginning middle and end, and when you’re done with it you want to read the book over again,” says Paino.

Paino is passionately telling me all of this as he sits across from me at a high top table in the corner of a very crowded and noisy Grange Restaurant, tucked underneath the elegant and very boutique Citizen Hotel. He’s a clean-cut guy, tightly buttoned collared shirt tucked into his jeans and he’s sipping tea not beer. I later figured out that he knew he was going to talk my ear off for an hour about his beer and Sacramento’s beer history. He was sort of warming up like a vocalist might do before a concert. “He looks like the guy from Cash Cab but with darker features,” said a few bartenders at Grange, joking lightly when I asked what he looked like. Paino was just about the only guy I hadn’t met or spoken to that was involved with Ruhstsaller. I was already greatly familiar with their PR and social media aficionado, Andrew Calisterio, as well as the aforementioned brewer, Peter Hoey, who seems to have his fingers in every kettle around town these days. I tried to contact him for this story, and he seemed apologetic for being out of touch, being what he called “a moving target these days.” Hoey stopped consulting for Ruhstaller in November, he told Submerge in an email, but all of the recipes for their current lineup of beers are still his.

The current lineup consists of their 1881 California red ale, the Captain California Black IPA and the wet hopped beer, Hop Sac, which is a seasonal beer.

Rushstaller is still a fledgling beer company, having been in business for roughly two and a half years and actually making beer for nine months. Their product is solid but the future is wild like the history off which they feed. Their crudely spray-painted logo that dons their wooden mobile taps and kegs is indicative of the rustic vibe they seek to portray. Even the bottles that can be found on the shelves of Whole Foods, Nugget Market, Pangaea and Corti Brothers are draped in burlap, a material that Paino says “holds California together” and is “the working man’s fabric.” This is a beer that is meant to speak to the people. Listen up Sacramento, this is your beer.

Look out for Ruhstaller events during Sacramento Beer Week including collaborations with Grange and Charlie Bamforth, Magpie Catering, Mulvaney’s Building and Loan and the infamous Rex Bikes. For a full list of events, go to Sacramentobeerweek.com or Ruhstallerbeer.com/events

Our Region’s Top Breweries Make Beers Exclusively for Sacramento Beer Week
Words by Adam Saake

Since I covered the inaugural Sacramento Beer Week last year, our area’s thirst for quality suds (and ciders) has grown exponentially. Last year, the focus was on all the local breweries that had shut down and how our beer scene was changing as a result. Well, boy has it changed and damn is it good. Many new faces have arrived on the scene and the old faces are still making and selling great beer. Alley Katz on 21st and O streets opened early this year and immediately caught the attention of serious beer drinkers when they heard the bar boasts close to 200 beers between bottles and draft. Owner Geronimo Avelar‘s neighborhood bar atmosphere isn’t a novelty shop for spendy beer drinkers. Affordable selections like $3.50 Anchor Steam bottles or 32 oz. mugs filled with draft selections for around $7 are going to keep this place alive with business.

Our beer scene is thriving and the events planned for this year’s Sacramento Beer Week is evidence alone. Feb. 25 through March 6, this celebration of “Sacramento beer culture” features over 200 events that include special dinners with food and beer pairings, meet and greets with brewers, pint nights galore and even demonstrations of how to make your own beer. New this year are two anchor events: the Capital Beerfest at Cal Expo and the Sacramento Brewers Showcase at the Crocker Art Museum. The latter will feature all the local breweries as well as “sneak previews of breweries opening soon.” This event also features tastings of specially brewed beers by Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas and Sudwerk that were created just for Sacramento Beer Week. Lucky for you, we’ve got the skinny on these tasty suds.

Lagunitas
Paradime Sac

There’s an episode of The Simpsons in which Homer meets his half-brother Herb whose existence he had no knowledge of. Turns out the guy owns a successful car company and subsequently, Homer is given the opportunity to design his very own car for the company. Problem is Homer’s an idiot, not a designer, and really only good at drinking Duff. The car ends up being a monstrosity that sinks Herb’s company, and he never speaks to the family again. Classic television of our childhoods becomes the perfect anecdote for Lagunitas’ limited-run Sacramento beer that they are brewing for our upcoming Beer Week.

Now imagine for a second that Lagunitas is Herb’s car company–successful and pumping out great product. Easy, right? But instead of Homer’s Duff palate and moronic sensibility, you have a lineup of Sacramento-area beer aficionados that include Kimio Bazett and Jon Modrow, owners of the Golden Bear; Michael Ng, general manager of One Speed; Gary Sleppy, owner of The Shack; Dylan Mauro, owner of Samuel Horne’s in Folsom; Rick Sellers of Pacific Brew News; and others whose names were drawn from a hat (seriously). The amount of Lagunitas accounts around Sacramento that have so loyally supported the company over the years were too high in number, and so a democratic process was necessary to select the intimate group that would travel to the brewery and participate in the process of brewing one very limited edition Lagunitas beer just for Sacramento. A 10-person van full of Freeport Bakery pastries and the Sacramento bunch arrived at the brewery in Petaluma, Calif., where a day of beer tasting and brewing, most importantly, was ahead of them.

“Say: LAH-GOO-KNEE-TUSS” is written on the label of the Hop Stoopid Ale in front of me while I write (research). A picture of the owner’s dog is on the cap of every bottle, along with a frantic story on the label that attempts to explain the beer you will be enjoying. With playful names like the aforementioned and others like Brown Shugga’, Little Sumpin’ Wild and Gnarly Wine, it’s clear that Lagunitas, the brewery with a tumultuous past of a shut-down and humorous run-ins with the ABC, doesn’t take certain aspects of their business too seriously.

“It was cool how casual, yet precise the brew master was,” recalled Bazett.

If what’s inside the bottle is carefully crafted and has years of trial and error to back up its progress, the rest is about having fun and enjoying making the beer. The guys at Lagunitas are very good at making beer and making fun. Part of that process is experimenting with different concoctions and seeing what kind of beers they can come up with. Often these are very limited runs and may not even see a life outside of the tap house at the brewery. You’re lucky if you get your lips on one of them because you may never drink it again as they may never make it again. That’s why when Lagunitas proposed the idea of a limited run beer specially brewed for Sacramento Beer Week, many were excited at the idea.

“Justin Seybold, our regional Lagunitas rep, had approached me a while back about having a bunch of us out to develop a beer for Sacramento Beer Week,” recalls Modrow. “I was freaking out over it.”

Although everyone at the brewery that day agreed on crafting a beer that was unique for Sacramento, naturally, opinions varied on what exactly the beer should taste like.

“We really tried to think of what the Sacramento customer base would like,” says Mauro.

Each had their say by filling out a survey that was given to them in advance. Questions about the flavor profile were on the survey, asking about hops and malts and light and dark and all the elements that make up the DNA of beer. This would help Lagunitas interpret the flavor profile that was collectively on all of their minds.

“Although I love a big hop-y beer, which is what a lot of beer snobs are into, we can’t forget what Sacramento is into,” Modrow told Submerge. “Blue Moon is one of the biggest selling brands in Sacramento and we’re the fifth biggest [Miller] Highlife account in the country. So, something that’s lighter and more on the malt end and a little less hop-y probably suits Sacramento a little bit more.”

Bazett’s opinion leaned more toward something that was “kind of hop-y and malty and bittery.” He feels that the winter seasonal beers come and go too quickly and likened his ideal profile to something more like Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale.

Both Bazett and Modrow ended up getting a little of what they wanted and it seems that according to the surveys, the varying opinions all came together in a very harmonious compromise as well. Seven different malts were chosen for the beer and the head brewer brought out six different kinds of hops for everyone to try.

“We all tasted the hops and discussed them and decided to do a real malt-based light beer,” said Seybold.

The day was a real hands-on experience for all those involved. The brew master brought out 10 oz. cups with not only the hops but all kinds of malts and ryes and grains and they snacked on the ingredients and got a taste for some of the flavors that could potentially go into their beer. One of the more unique grains used for the beer was the inclusion of rye. Although rye isn’t a new ingredient, Mauro explained from his alehouse in Folsom, it’s still “not widely used.” In fact, Seybold says that this is the first batch of beer with rye in it that Lagunitas has produced on their new brewing system and they haven’t made a beer with rye, period, in over 13 years. The rye will give the beer a little spice and play well off all the different malts.

“The style is an imperial rye ale, and it’s going be super dark and super dry and have about 77 IBUs,” said Seybold.

IBU stands for International Bittering Unit and is basically a scale for how bitter a beer is. Typically the more malt that is used in a beer (usually darker beers like porters or stouts) the more IBUs as this helps balance out the beer.

“We talked about it and we ended up with seven different malts and we didn’t want it to be super hop-y since it was going to be so malty. We just wanted a lingering bitterness,” said Seybold.

And in case you’re wondering, the alcohol will come out to about 7 percent, making that all sevens, something that was not planned. Lagunitas decided to call the beer Paradime Sac and about 80 kegs will be made and distributed to the various proprietors’ locations who participated as well as those that were not selected to participate in the brewing process. Lagunitas has planned a synchronized tapping of all the kegs at 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1. This idea, originally done for Chicago’s beer week (where Lagunitas first brewed a special batch), was a huge success. Seybold anticipates that Sacramento’s Beer Week will enjoy the same success.

Look out for information regarding the location of these limited edition kegs during Beer Week so you too can try a pint or two of Lagunitas’ Paradigm Sac. Who knows, maybe we’ll see it on shelves.

Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada
Sloughhouse Pale Ale

At the end of 2010, the EPA awarded Sierra Nevada Brewing Company with “Green Business of the Year,” a huge achievement that put the brewery back in the spotlight as one of the leaders in micro-brewing. From renewable energy to water conservation, to a zero-waste program, it’s good to feel good about drinking their beer. And, well, it’s really good beer. I can’t recall meeting a Sierra Nevada I didn’t enjoy, and that’s why I’m most excited to taste their Sacramento beer they are making special for Beer Week. That’s right, not one but two of California’s leading micro-breweries are busy concocting something just for us. This time, instead of the usual cast of characters behind the helm of the flavor profile, there’s just one very involved Rick Sellers. He’s the founder of Pacific Brew News, a WordPress site with all things beer, the former editor for Draft magazine, co-founder of Odonata Beer Company with Peter Hoey and an avid home brewer himself and most recently one of the faces behind Sacramento Beer Week. The guy knows beer, to say the least. He also got to know the brewers at Sierra Nevada well enough to pitch them an idea for a beer.

“Sierra Nevada does something called beer camp where they invite restaurant owners or people of the industry to come to brewery for a few days and make a beer of their own,” explained Sellers. “I did a little beer camp of my own where I did a black IPA and so I knew the process and I knew their brewery and the brewers.”

And as simple as that, Sellers approached the brewing company a few months back about them brewing the Sacramento Beer Week beer and they were excited at the idea.

“When I approached Sierra Nevada, they didn’t blink,” says Sellers. “Their mentality was Sacramento has been so good to us for so many years. There was no negotiating; I asked them and they immediately said yes.”

The concept of the beer was to have a low alcohol, very hop-y beer with complex flavors; something light but with body. It’s sort of like a guilty pleasure with a conscious.

“It’s something that people can enjoy more than a pint of without being in danger of DUI.”

This is a departure from what most beer drinkers geek out on and what a lot of pubs and bars are serving. The popularity right now lies in the high alcohol Belgian beers that carry intense flavors and aromas. Two of those and you’re lit. Sellers says that making a beer that is low in alcohol yet very tasty is something a “little uncommon in these parts.” The way to achieve the hoppiness and aroma, Sellers explained, was by adding a lot of hops late in the brewing process. So with this idea in mind he headed to the brewery and while there, he was able to play around with the hops that he wanted to use for the beer as well as the IBUs (Remember those? Think bitterness).

“We used a hop called Citra, which is what they use in their beer called Torpedo,” explains Sellers. “And we also used a hop called Strissel Spelt, which to be honest with you I’ve never heard of. It’s a nice European hop that has some peppery, sort of floral notes to it.”

There are many different kinds of hops to choose from like Cascade, Centennial, Willamette; the list goes on. Choosing the hops for your beer is like spices in your cooking; they determine a lot of the flavor, coupled with the malts and grains. And one ingredient that the Sierra Nevada beer will have in common with the Lagunitas is that coincidentally, they both will have rye.

“They added some rye to it to round out the edges with a little peppery, almost chewy texture to it,” says Sellers. “It’s going to play with people’s palates a little bit.”

The beer, which Sellers suggested be called Highway 16, is in reference to the highway that runs through Sloughhouse, Calif. Ultimately, the beer was named Sloughhouse Pale Ale.

“At one point, Sloughhouse was one of the biggest hop growing areas in the country,” says Sellers. “I wanted to pay tribute to Sacramento’s history of hop growing.”

Sellers spoke fondly of Sacramento’s beer history, citing letters written by Mark Twain who stepped off the train to a town full of saloons. His beer collaboration with Sierra Nevada will help those memories live on and hopefully inspire new generations of beer makers to keep pushing the envelope of fermentation sciences with nods to the past.

Here’s to Sloughhouse Pale Ale, and I’ll see you at Beer Week!

Sudwerk
Sacpiper Wee Heavy

Sudwerk is in on the Beer Week brews too with a specially crafted ale that’s done in a Scottish-style. What’s extra cool about this darker, high alcohol beer is that the hops used were sourced locally from Penryn, Calif. at Jordan Family Farms, which is also known for growing mandarin oranges and wine grapes. Appropriately named Sacpiper Wee Heavy, this Scotch ale goes through a long boil process, which produces a sweet carmelization. This will be a big boy, so save room for dessert. You can try Sudwerk’s Sacpiper along with the other specialty brews at the Sacramento Brewers Showcase at the new Crocker Art Museum.

Put down the PBR for a few days and enjoy Sacramento Beer Week Feb. 25 – March 6. Go to Sacramentobeerweek.com for schedule and info.