With names such as Blind Pig, Hop Logic, Pliny the Elder, Wookey Jack and Old Rasputin, craft beers have become a popular and tasty alternative for those who enjoy a frosty brew over a warm glass of Merlot or Pinot.
Stop by an establishment selling or serving adult beverages these days, and a plethora of craft beers may take up as much stock space as the wine selection.
On tap, ask for an IPA – short for India Pale Ale, one of the most popular types of craft brew today – at any local restaurant-bar such as Old City Hall or Bella Viva Ristorante in downtown Gilroy, and the waiter will gladly pour a pint.
By the bottle, a single 22-ouncer or traditional six-packs can be found on the refrigerated shelves of Sun Valley Market & Liquors on Monterey Street in Morgan Hill as easily as at local Safeway grocery stores or Hecker Pass Liquors in Gilroy.
“They’re pretty popular,” said owner George Seoud, whose Sun Valley Market carries about 30 styles of craft beer. “A lot of my customers are brewing their own beer and comparing to brands that are out there.”
Gilroy resident Jeff Achtzehn is a home brewer who formulates his concoction of malted barley, hops, water and yeast – the four main ingredients in any beer – four times per year. Each time, Achtzehn produces a five-gallon batch, well shy of the legal limit allowed of 100 gallons annually. Homebrewing was legalized during President Jimmy Carter’s administration in the 1970s.
“Designing beer and making something that’s unique that you can share with family and friends” is one reason that the 46-year-old aviation engineer indulges in the science of brewing. Now in the high-tech industry, the 13-year Gilroyan sometimes dreams of opening his own small nanobrewery in town.
He’s not alone.
According to the Brewers Association, craft brewers – such as Petaluma-based Lagunitas Brewing Company and Paso Robles-based Firestone Walker Brewing Company – sold an estimated 13.2 million barrels of beer in 2012, up from 11.5 million in 2011.
“They taste way better than the normal beers. They have better flavor and, of course, more alcohol,” commented Seoud.
But even the big boys of the beer industry have started brewing beer with stronger alcohol content such as Miller Brewing Company’s new Fortune and Anheuser-Busch’s Black Crown.
Craft brewers stake claim to 12.2 percent, or $11.9 million, of the $99 billion U.S. beer market in 2012. The Brewers Association tallied 310 microbreweries and 99 brewpubs opening in 2012 alone, joining the 2,347 craft breweries already in operation throughout the country.
“It’s a combination of art and science,” explained 62-year-old retired teacher and former beer-legger Barry Marshall, who began his home-brewing adventures more than 30 years ago with his brother. “I have a great imagination, so I come up with some really weird recipes.”
One of Marshall’s home brews, called Raspberry Bock, made with fresh berries, won “Best In Show” at one beer tasting competition in Hayward in the early ’80s. That’s also around the time that Marshall became a judge at some regional beer competitions, something he still does today. As a judge, he grades beers in categories such as aroma, flavor, appearance, mouthfeel and overall impression.
Back in his brewing days, Marshall was making five to 10-gallon batches twice per week. Soon enough, he stockpiled 250 gallons of home brew in his apartment because “you cannot drink that much beer.”
His love for the crafty brews soon took a backseat to the love of his life, wife Sandy, who demanded that he give up the overflowing hobby when the two moved into their Gilroy home.
“It was either that or my wife. I didn’t have an option,” admitted Marshall, who shipped the remaining brew to a friend in Chico and gave all the equipment to his brother.
With equipment that includes a grain mill, mash tun, wort bucket, brew kettle and chiller, Achtzehn sets up camp under a pop-up tent in the driveway of his Gilroy home. He mills the grain, adds hot water and pours it into the mash tun, where he steeps the grain for an hour. From that, he extracts a sugary liquid called the wort into a brew kettle, where he boils it for another 60 minutes and uses a floating thermometer to hit just the right temperatures.
At this point, the liquid is put in a wort chiller with a copper coil, which is hooked up to a water hose and runs re-circulated cold water through it. When it hits about 70 degrees, the wort is transferred to a fermentation vessel, and the brewer sprinkles yeast in the batch. At the top of the vessel, there is a one-way valve lock with some form of sanitizing liquid in it such as vodka. Carbon dioxide percolates, and the active fermentation process begins.
Next, Achtzehn places the container into a self-made cooling chamber, where he keeps the brew at a designated temperature with either tubs of ice or electric heating pads. The fermentation process takes between one to two weeks, he said.
Once the brew is ready, there are two options: bottle it or put in a keg. Achtzehn prefers using a five-gallon keg with a CO2 tank that he places inside a refrigerator in his garage. He also drilled a hole through the door of the fridge and connected the keg to a San Jose State University tap on the outside for easy pouring.
One of about 25 active members of Campbell-based The Headquarters Brew Club, which is always welcoming new members to join them for their monthly meetings, Achtzehn can still recall his first batch of craft beer: his own recreation of an IPA-style craft brew called Racer5.
“It was beginner’s luck,” admitted Achtzehn of how tasty it came out after overcoming “one problem after another” during the five-step process of sanitizing, mashing, boiling, fermentation and bottling. “To this day, that was one of the best brews I’ve made.”
Relax! Grillin & Chillin
3 locations
• 3650 San Juan Road, Hollister
• 650 San Benito St. #110, Hollister
• 401 McCray St., B24, Hollister
What’s on tap: Firestone Walker 805 Honey Blonde, Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale, Drake’s Denogginizer, Deschutes Obsidian Stout Nitro, Humboldt Hemp Brown Ale, Kona Longboard Island Lager, Lagunitas Brown Shugga and the list never stops – not to mention a host of bottled craft brews such as Anchorage Galaxy White IPA and Boulevard Dark Truth Stout.
Roadhouse Jack’s
6945 El Camino Arroyo, Gilroy
Bottled up: More than 100 crafts, including Firestone Double Barrel Ale, Flying Dog Doggie Style, Full Sail Pale Ale, Lagunitas Lil Sumpin’ Sumpin, Lost Coast Amber, Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale, Stone Ruination IPA and on and on.
El Toro Brewing Company
17605 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill
What’s on tap: Poppy Jasper Amber Ale, Extra Hoppy Poppy Jasper, El Toro Oro Golden Ale, William Jones Wheat Beer, Gena’s Honey Blonde Ale, Barker’s K’lsch, Morgan Hill Centenni-Ale, El Toro Negro Oatmeal Stout and the list goes on.
Other spots: Sun Valley Market & Liquors, 16725 Monterey St., Morgan Hill; BevMo!, 6855 Camino Arroyo, Gilroy; Pap’s Hecker Pass Liquor, 221 First St., Gilroy.
