California Craft Beer is proof that good beer can
overcome daunting adversity.
Located on the fringes of Fremont, California Craft
Beer has to work extra hard to attract the attention of beer distributors more
inclined to spend their time cultivating the already robust beer market to the
north in Oakland and Berkeley, and in the south, where they pursue the wallets
of thousands of affluent, underserved beer drinkers in Silicon Valley and San
Jose.
Moreover, the Fremont bottle shop and 16-tap pub exudes
neither boutique beer bar charm nor gritty divvy-ness—traits that typically
characterize successful pubs. It seems more like a beer store with a small bar
added on almost as an afterthought. Homey touches, such as Kathleen Martin’s
eye-catching murals, rescue the pub from industrial sterility.
Despite those drawbacks, California Craft Beer does
have a couple of things going for it: Thirsty beer lovers parched for a local
pub where they can enjoy a brew among their friends and neighbors, and a
hard-working beer manager on a mission to bring them the best beer possible.
Almanac Brewing, which makes its beer not far away at
Hermitage in San Jose, took over the taps at California Craft Beer on Thursday,
Dec. 5, and the place was packed with a mixed crowd happily enjoying four small-pour
tasters of some of Almanac’s recent creations: Golden Gate Gose, Bourbon Sour
Porter, Smoked Chipotle Stout, Single Origin IPA, and especially the sublime
Farmer’s Reserve #3 (not included among the tasters but available on tap).
Local brewery tap takeovers and small-pour tasters seem
to be regular features at California Craft Beer, as beer manager Thomas Sparks
gently nudges local drinkers in the direction of some of the current trends in craft
beer, particularly beers aged in barrels and exposed to wild yeast.
The clear winners among Almanac’s offerings were
Farmer’s Reserve #3 and Golden Gate Gose, a puckerish German style wheat beer.
As in many great beers, balance is the key, and with unpredictable microbes in
play, things can easily get out of whack. Which is what makes a beer like
Farmer’s Reserve #3 so remarkable. It’s puckerish tart, but not overly so, and suggestive
of fruit without being fruity-sweet. On the other hand, the wild yeast seemed
to have hijacked the porter in the Bourbon Sour Porter, and we were
hard-pressed to detect the characteristic roastiness that should have balanced
the tartness.
Experimentation is the name of the game in craft beer
these days, and happily Fremont’s
California Craft Beer is blessed with an aggressive beer manager who is unwilling
to settle for ordinary beer.
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