It Ain't Easy Being Green

5 Seasons Brewing of Georgia is focused on handcrafted brews available on demand (like Comcast?). They are also focused on being green and they do so by harvesting rain water for brewing. According to one report, "The brewery was already making green efforts in their production methods by reusing cooking oil from the kitchen to fire their kettles." However, this was not enough and 5 Seasons recently decided to brew only with rain water - harvested and filtered using RainHarvest Systems. The real question being is it safe to drink?

The University of Georgia Soil and Water Laboratory certified the water (we assume certification is a good thing). The local, state, and federal governments decided otherwise. Although the water goes through 6 stages of filtering, "followed by a dual-beam ultraviolet sterilization that results in water of superior quality to tap water, " the government still has questions.

Creative Loafing's Jeff Holland believes it's all about educating the bureaucrats. "The EPA wants to weigh in on (the situation)...It's a touchstone case for the future of commercially-used water, because you know this thing is going to become more and more popular. It's all about education at this point: Showing them how it works, and how it's maintained, and how it's good for the state." To which, we say - good luck buddy.

We Hate Organic, but Love this Brew

What we really despise about this whole "green" movement is that it's pretentious and wrought with guilt. Latte liberals driving around in their Toyota Prius and looking down their nose at our H3 - making us feel like our very existence is killing the the polar bears. We're born and raised Catholic so we don't need help feeling guilt.

So, frankly we did our best to avoid the Peak Organic Brewing Company. Sitting on the top shelf, looking down on the other brews with their preservatives and non-organic labels. Sure, it's not the same as being green but it's in the same family. Let's be honest - brewing beer is really quite organic. It's malt, yeast, water, and hops mashed together until it turns into beer. Maybe there are some preservatives, maybe not but it's only a step or two away from being a naturally organic process - regardless of who is brewing.

We do love coffee. Obviously we love beer. Peak's Espresso Amber Ale just called out to us - every damn time we walked through a beer aisle. So, we picked up a 4-pack. And we like it, we really begrudgingly like it. Like Sarah Palin, you want to hate it but you can't. It pours too beautifully to hate. In fact, it's not a clear brew (probably because it's so natural) at all. It has a copper color with a strong fogged look. This is probably what causes a much lighter red-brown head that's full but breaks down in short order. If you can't smell the coffee you bit off your nose to spite your face. The flavor is full and the coffee is present through out. It's definitely an ale and even a bit sweet with a roasty, chocolate undertone.

If you're truly interested in the fair trade, and righteousness, you can check out the Peak Organic Web site. If you want a good beer, skip the Interweb and go straight to your local brew store and pick up this fine brew. Have it in the evening after dinner or have it for breakfast. What the hell, it has coffee in it.

Cheery-o, I Kissed the Bloke

For the most part we here at Dumbarton's Beer could care less about British Royalty. Let's face it, we fought a war and intentionally created a new country devoid of royalty to express our displeasure with the crown. That said, when the Prince is kissing boys for beer we take notice.

Rocky Bennett found the Prince in a night club and offered to buy Harry a pint of his favourite ale in exchange for a kiss.


Quoting Mr. Bennett: "I went up to him and told him I would love to buy him a drink if he gave me a kiss. Harry just burst out laughing, threw his arms around me and kissed me on the left cheek. I’m not going to wash my face for a month now. It was the best moment of my life. I just burst into tears, he’s so down to earth."

Chelsey Davy was not available for comment.

DB's San Diego Beer Week Continues

So, on Thursday we finished off a long day with some brews in the Gaslamp Quarter (again) when we stumble upon the Lost Coast Downtown Brown. We found it at one of the local Irish pubs and we might add that Irish pubs are becoming a theme on this trip.

Downtown Brown is described as a "smooth, full bodied nut brown ale" and that's pretty much accurate. There's something about this brown ale that is unremarkable yet once you get a taste for it you just can't move on to other brews. That really is the sign of a great nut brown - it is full bodied and brings you back for more yet isn't filling like a stout. At the bottom of each glass you really only have one option - get yourself a refill.

Today, after pulling the work equivalent of a college all nighter, we ate with friends at the Yard House. This place is not for the elder statesmen. It's loud, roucus, and focuses on the younger crowd. That said, they have something like 250 brews on tap. There is no age restriction for that kind of aesthetic draw. We settled on Bear Republic's Racer 5 IPA - based on input from the knowledgeable wait staff. If you land on the left coast you need to find this beer. While not as hoppy as many IPAs, it's full bodied and has a very nice clean finish. The aroma is what gets you. Take a quick sniff before you drink and it will remind you of your first grade crush. We have one more night here and if Racer 5 is on the menu it will be hard to find a reason to experiment.

San Diego Beer Week, Almost

When we heard it was Beer Week in San Diego we hopped on the first flight we could find to the left coast to partake in the festivities. Upon arriving, we learned of other priorities (like work) that would make us miss much of the Official Beer Week activities. So, we bring you Dumbarton's Beer Week in San Diego. If by some chance we stumble upon an offical activity we'll be sure to let you know but don't hold your breath.

We first hit the Rock Bottom Brewery located in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter. Sure, it's a chain but it's the only brewpub in the Quarter and they do make beer on site. We hit up the Liquid Sunshine and the Mary Jane IPA. Liquid Sunshine is a good pilsner - full malt flavor with a nice bitter hops finish (as opposed to a flowery hop finish). By far the better of the two brews we sampled. We finished the afternoon with Mary Jane IPA for obvious reasons. It's a fine if forgettable IPA.

After drinking from the Wells at Mr. A's, we hit The Field, an Irish Pub, for a nightcap. This stop was more about atmosphere than the brews. Like any good Irish pub, the Field features low lighting, dark wood, and live Irish music. We settled down for a few Boddington's and soaked in the evening. The Field may be a regular night cap stop for the remainder of the week.

Mary Jane IPA - cool name. good but not great beer.

@ Rock Bottom in Gaslamp Quarter drinking Liquid Sunshine.

Super Heros

Carrying on with the post-Halloween news.

Irony Tastes Like Beer

James Miller, 20, of Cincinnati, Ohio dressed as a breathalyzer test for Halloween and the fuzz picked him up for suspicion of driving under the influence. That's right, he's not even the legal drinking age (we're assuming Ohio is on par with the rest of the country). The story goes something like this:

"Oxford police arrested James P. Miller after allegedly finding him driving the wrong way down a one-way street with no headlights at about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 1., according to a police report.

Miller, who was allegedly stuffing his mouth with chewing gum, told the officer he did not have anything to drink that night, according to police."

The conversation went something like this:

Miller: I swear ociffer, I haven't been drinkin'.

Officer: You were driving with no headlights.

Miller: Well, uh, jeez, it's easier to see with the natural lighting.

Officer: The wrong way down a one way street.

Miller: I didn't see the sign 'cause it's dark.

Mr. Miller blew a .158 and is pictured above. We could not locate a picture of the breathalyzer blowing into a breathalyzer. That is probably just being greedy but we looked anyway.

Sierra Nevada Wins Green Award

This week, Food Engineering Magazine held its inaugural Sustainable Plant of the Year Awards and Sierra Nevada took home top honors.

Here is why they won (according to the FEM article):

"To reduce energy, heat recovery equipment has been installed to capture excess heat from boilers, fuel cells and kettles. Energy-efficient controlled lighting is used throughout, and electronics and equipment were chosen to minimize the use of energy. Monitoring equipment keeps track of the process and facility energy expenditures, and employees were trained to save energy.

The facility has its own co-generation fuel cells, which generate up to 1.2 MW, and they can be powered by either natural gas or biogas byproducts captured from the brewing process. Waste heat is converted to steam for maintaining brewing temperatures. Food-grade carbon dioxide, recovered from the brewing process, is used for carbonation in bottling, keg pressurization and counter-pressure in holding tanks and provides all of the CO2 the plant requires.

Measures to conserve water—critical in California—include automated CIP systems, efficient cleaning and rinsing systems, scheduling, internal flow meters, hose bib retrofits and education. All these efforts and more keep water usage to about 290,000 gallons per day.

An on-site wastewater treatment plant processes all brewery water, has a two-stage aerobic and anaerobic capability and produces biogas for heating and electricity generation. The brewery is a firm believer of intermodal transport, with rail doing the long trips. In 2008, SNBC diverted 68,000 tons from landfill and avoided $4.5 million in waste hauler charges. Just about everything imaginable at the plant is recycled—from spent grains and yeast to cans, bottles, packaging material, batteries, compost and construction debris."

Whew, that's a lot of reading. You may also recall that Sierra Nevada has a contract with the folks at E-Fuel Micro Fueler. EFMC is the company that makes fuel from beer and is partially owned by Shaq. It's safe to say that Sierra Nevada is one of the greenest brewers out there and other brewers should take notice and follow suit.

Smell A Rat

We found this posting on craigslist and thought it would be fun to share (bold added for emphasis). Can you spot a flake or a con artist a mile away?

Micro Brewery anyone?? (Eagle Point)

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Date: 2009-10-30, 2:50PM PDT
Reply to: sale-ryurm-1444837149@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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This Renaissance Brewing system can generate in excess of $50,000 in profit per month as it stands. It is a truley amazing piece of equipment, and capable of brewing any style of beer that much larger systems can brew. It is also scaled down in size so that it can be used in an area as small as 6' x 6'.

I really do not want to sell it, but could be persuaded for the right price. I paid a tad over $75,000 for it, but when you consider how much it will generate for it's owner per month, it would have been a bargain at $250,000. I am actually interested in locating the system somewhere and sharing in the profits generated by the system. If the model works...I would of course pay to duplicate the program in as many locations as makes sense.

If you have a sense of adventure. I'm happy to sell it to you, or???? Maybe we could create an incredible local beer brand following. I'm open to idea's.

I can spot a flake or con artists a mile away, so don't waste my time if you're broke or have a lousy credit rating.

Email me with your thoughts. If I like the way you think...I'll be in touch.

If you think this is a bad idea...ask Mike or Brian McMenamin in Portland what they think.

• Location: Eagle Point
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests