CoffeeBeer >> Pint Pleasures >>Fresno & Bakersfield 6


The central California city of Fresno has always been known for its farming roots, particularly in grape cultivation, leading to its recognition as the "Raisin Capital of the World”, although nearby Selma actually claims the official title. But the entire state of California, as well as the rest of the Pacific Coast, is becoming well known for its beers; so naturally Fresno will have its own share of breweries. On this year’s earlier visit to the US, my friend Rick and I visited Fresno, where we spent a fun time out with my Unkletom. We were there for only one day and one evening, so we couldn’t visit all thirteen of the city’s breweries; and as we were there on a Tuesday, some of them were closed on that day anyway. But we did the best we could.

When Rick and I arrived in Fresno, we first checked into our motel and then headed over to the California Veterans’ Home, where Da Unk is now living. After he showed us around the establishment, disappointed that the robot butler in the dining room was off duty that day, we climbed into Rick’s car and headed off to find lunch and a pint. We first stopped at the Mad Duck Brewpub at Campus Pointe, which is located right next to Fresno State University. Obviously there was some sort of graduation celebration going on because it was impossible to find a place to park. So Rick dropped me and my walker-bound uncle off at the pub while he drove around to find parking. Unfortunately once we were inside, there was a long wait for a table, and there was absolutely nowhere to sit down to actually wait for a table. So when Rick finally showed up, I suggested we go find a different place.

After consulting our phones, we drove to another Mad Duck, located in the city of Clovis. This Duck was much less busy, and we were seated immediately. Rick and I split a plate of three pan-seared blackened red snapper tacos on flour tortillas, with shredded lettuce and mango salsa, and Unkletom had the Baja red snapper tacos. Our food was really good, and we were so happy to be in this more peaceful Mad Duck. For our drinks, Tom had a pint of Opulence Oatmeal Stout (5.7% ABV), Rick had a pint of the IPA (7.0% ABV), which is a classic dry-hopped California IPA, and I had a pint of Mohazeic Hazy NEIPA (7.0%). All of these were brewed in-house, and they were pretty decent.

After our meal we took off for the Barrelhouse Brewing Company to have the obligatory after-lunch pint. Rick and I had visited the original BarrelHouse in Paso Robles three years earlier, so we knew their beer was good. Unfortunately, once again with my Unkletom in the car with his walker, it was impossible to actually drive to this location to drop him off, as the whole area, mostly pedestrian only, was according to the signs “closed for event”. Rick finally located a parking spot outside the center, so I jumped out of the car and ran up and down and around until I found the place. The day was getting very hot, so I scoped out the most direct walking route to our pints. And when we finally reached the BarrelHouse, it was nicely air-conditioned inside the big room. We found a place to sit where we could peruse the enticing beer menu. Unkletom decided on a pint of Barrelhouse Black Oatmeal Stout (6.0% ABV, Barrel House Brewing Company, Paso Robles, California), which he was very happy with. I went for the Really Nelson Hazy IPA (6.0% ABV, BarrelHouse), and Rick went for the West Coast IPA (7.5% ABV, BarrelHouse). These were all good choices. Even though it was nice and cool in the place, the sun blazing through the window was too intense for my eyes from where I was sitting, so Rick traded places with me--but it was too intense for him as well. As we both sipped and enjoyed our pints while squinting painfully, Da Unk related all sorts of broken stories and rants. It was actually great fun. I guess sometimes pain can be fun.

After we took a break to enjoy a Yemeni coffee, my uncle decided he could just about handle one more half of beer. So for our final outing of the afternoon with Da Unk, we headed over to the irresistably-named Goldstein’s Mortuary and Delicatessen. (Seeing as how Rick and I had a workmate named Larry Goldstein during our programming years, and both of us and Da Unk are avid cemetery explorers, this place was an absolute must.) Inside the place it was once again cool and vibrant, and the beer list was again vast. This time Rick and I both had pints of Daisy Pusher Bergamot IPA (7.4% ABV) and Da Unk had a half of Riley's Hard Rootbeer, mistakenly thinking that it was a soft drink. Oh well, we figured he’d sleep very well that night. And we were all feeling quite jolly by this point, but it had really been a great day.

We then dropped Da Unk back at CalVet in time for his dinner, whereupon Rick and I headed back to our motel, stopping on the way for a quick bite of cheap Mexican food. And then for a nightcap we walked over to the Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden. The dark night had descended upon the city, the place was really crowded, and our heads were just a tiny bit foggy. So in need of a pick-me-up, we both ordered pints of Yosemite Facelift IPA (6.5% ABV, Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company, Fresno, California), which was brewed with an appealingly smashing collision of CTZ, Cascade, Simcoe, and Mosaic hops. We took our pints over to a table on the outskirts of the human maelstrom and next to the pavement, sipping what was obviously going to be our final Fresno brew for this visit. When we finished our pints we walked back to the hotel for the night. It was only 9:30pm, but we had a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and we were both ready to get some sleep.

A couple of weeks earlier, I was visiting my sibling group in Bakersfield, just two hours south of Fresno. As my adopted brother Kim was studying to be a chef, I (easily) talked him into visiting a brand new gastropub and brewery that had just opened downtown. As we walked into the Centro Cali Brewing Company, I insisted we sit at the back bar so we could talk to the staff. Kim, who’s deaf as a doorpost, gave the place one check for his programmable hearing aids; and as it had what he called a “friendly” music system, he was fine with our location. (I mean, it was merely pop music, but at least it wasn’t that offensive dance crap which can get on anybody’s nerves.)

As the place had only just opened, the beer list wasn’t very long, but it had some good options. I went for a pint of Blood of the Valley West Coast IPA (6.5% ABV), a West Coast IPA brewed with blood oranges. It was very good and quite drinkable. Kim went for a pint of Golden Hour Haze NEIPA (7.8% ABV), offering aromas of mango, citrus, and pine, so it was excellent as well. I could tell by the quality of these beers that the brewer was obviously experienced, because for a new place where the emphasis is more on food, these were both superb beers. The food menu was really appealing as well. On this occasion we decided to split the Four Cheese and Figs Pizza, with Mozzarella, Provolone, Goat Cheese, Blue Cheese, Fig Compote, and Frugula with White Sauce, and it was absolutely heavenly.

While we enjoyed our lunch we chatted with the barman Christo, who has lived in Bristol but is originally from Gran Canaria, and his barmate Alex. I also had the chance to chat with Adrian, the head brewer, who (as I suspected) has had years of experience, and Kim chatted with Daniel, the head chef. We could easily have stayed for another pint; but Kim’s truck was parked outside.

So we came back a week later for a second lunchtime visit. We sat again at the bar, but this time the place was so busy that Christo didn’t have much chance to talk. But no worries, because it was good to see them so busy. On this occasion I went for a pint of the Golden Hour Haze NEIPA, and Kim and I shared a plate of Creamy Pesto and Artichoke Penne with asparagus, rocket, and Parmesan. And once again it was very good food.

I’m looking forward to revisiting this downtown goldmine next year, because they promised they’ll have quite a few more beers on tap by then.

On another day, Kim and I made the long car journey across Bakersfield to where a handful of breweries are located. Before visiting one that we both really like, I suggested we stop at the one we had yet to visit, Grumpy’s. When we walked into the tiny place and sat at the bar, the owner and brewer greeted us and gave us tastes of several of his beers. We assumed this must have been Grumpy, although his real name, Patrick, seemed a bit more fitting. The first taster was Rednut Red Ale (5.0% ABV), which was so coconutty that Kim flinched with disgust and I, who really like coconut, realised that I would be tasting that flavour for the rest of the day. Patrick did admit it was a bit over the top, as he was relatively new in the brewing business and likes to experiment. We ended up sharing half pints of the other two tasters. The Xperimental IPA (6.4% ABV) was “a mistake”, Patrick said, and the JTC-Galaxy IPA (5.5% ABV) also contains Columbus hops. Both beers were a bit dank in colour and hazy, although not the desired sort of hazy.

To be fair, Grumpy’s is Patrick’s first brewing venture, which seemed obvious to me. He started the brewery just before lockdown, but then he had to close it down, waiting to re-open it until the Covid coast was clear. He told us he was finding brewery equipment and vats overwhelmingly expensive, so he was struggling a bit with that. As we left we wished him the best luck in the future, as he obviously had quite a few things to learn. And I knew he was eager to learn, because he seemed like a really nice, passionate guy.

Grumpy’s is open every day but Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and they have regular events like karaoke and pro wrestling. And I just noticed on their Facebook page that they’re offering alcoholic slushies as well. I don’t know what flavours they come in, but I assume they’re probably like frozen cocktails. I suppose, because Bakersfield can get extremely hot in the summer, there’s a market for that as well.

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PUB UPDATES:

  • ITCHY PIG, SHEFFIELD: I hadn’t been to this Broomhill micropub in years. But since my friend Olly has just moved closer to Broomhill, and we wanted an afternoon pint after a really nice lunch in town, we stopped in here. I first had a taste of Buckeye (3.4% ABV, Roosters Brewery, Harrogate, North Yorkshire), simply because I also hadn’t had a Roosters beer for years. This was a pleasantly drinkable beer but a bit too smooth for what I wanted. So I went for a pint of Daydreamin’ (4.2% ABV, Bristol Beer Factory, Bristol). Described on the pump clip as a US/German Session Pale, this is hopped with Talus and Ariana hops, so of course the flowery Talus instantly attracted me. Ariana, which is new to me, is a dark resinous German hops, so it’s a really great marriage of two star hops.
  • THE HALLAMSHIRE, SHEFFIELD: On a recent sleepy afternoon (with me being sleepy, that is) I stopped in and had a pint of Too Jazzy (3.8% ABV, Electric Bear Brewing Company, Bath, Somerset). Hopped with Azacca,Cascade, Centennial, Citra, and Vic Secret, this was just a pleasant little hoppy zinger with a very reasonable ABV. It was nice, but not too anything, really, so not the best thing to wake me up.

    And then I had a taste of Hazy with a Chance of Idaho (4.1% ABV, Redwillow Brewing, Macclesfield, Cheshire), which is a session NEIPA. It was quite pleasant, as all Redwillow beers are, I have found.

    Most recently I’ve discovered a gentle but peppy little safety number, Pocket Rocket (3.4% ABV, Arbor Ales, Bristol). Brewed with Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic hops, it’s no wonder that it’s peppy, because those hops successfully poke their heads out of that low ABV. It’s definitely a good little brew to keep in one’s pocket when needed.
  • WALKLEY BEER COMPANY, SHEFFIELD: Recently I once again couldn’t make up my mind between two beers, so I went for two halves. The first was Deep Roots Coolship Bitter (5.0% ABV, Ideal Day Family Brewery, Lostwithiel, Cornwall) and the other was Hollis Session NEIPA (5.5% ABV, Little Mesters Brewing Company, Sheffield, South Yorkshire), a Session NEIPA hopped with Cashmere and Belma. The Coolship Bitter was quite hoppy and balanced for a bitter, and those two interesting hops in the Hollis were nice but not quite as wowie! as I was hoping. Still, my two half pints, one dark and one pale, looked very nice standing next to each other, making the world seem like a more tolerant and friendly place.

    On another visit, when I unexpectedly walked into a book release party, I had a pint of In the Walls Hazy (4.6% ABV, Shiny Brewery, Derby, Derbyshire). Hopped with Mosaic, Luminosa, and Ekuanot hops, this offered a nice citrus herby character and was quite drinkable. In fact if I hadn’t had a Cousins and Unks zoom to conduct later, I probably would have had at least another half. The book being introduced, meanwhile, was Tis' The Season To Be Gory, written by Sp. and illustrated by WBC manager Jay himself. It’s apparently a collection of Xmas horror short stories, which sounds interesting to me. I'm not much into Xmess, and I’m not much into horror, but I will excuse the misplaced apostrophe in the title to support a fellow Sheffield writer, and the stories look wonderfully satirical. After all, my adopted brother Kim and I both love the film Rare Exports, where a Finnish man and his son hunt and trap wild and dangerous Santa Clauses. So I plan to order a copy of this book and put it in my queue. I already have way too many books to read, too little time, too many things I want to do (including both European and meet-my-countless-cousins travel, cartoons to draw, a mandolin to practice, the 88-weighted-key Yamaha electric piano to order and get back up to scratch on, and also I want to get back to my French lessons, perhaps take those brush-up tapdance lessons to remind myself how to do the time step, find another table tennis partner and venue, etc. But for now I’ll finish this nice pint.
  • TWO SHEDS, SHEFFIELD: On a crowded Friday after work I squeezed myself into this crowded micropub and took a Ride North to Scarborough Pale Ale (4.2% ABV, Abbeydale Brewing Company, Sheffield, South Yorkshire), which was on cask. I ended up having this on two succeeding visits, as it’s a decent hoppy quaff.

BOTTLED/CANNED BEER UPDATE:

  • Sampled last summer in Bakersfield:
  • Lunar Kitten WCIPA (7.5% ABV, Los Angeles Ale Works, Hawthorne, California). This beer was described as “purrfectly crushable with just the right amount of cat-titude. Claw-some notes of Simcoe, the most feline of hops, with tails of dankness. Who loves kitty? Paw-lease!” When my little brother Kim and I saw this in Whole Foods in Venice before our drive up to the Bakersfield House of Cats, we obviously had to get a six-pack. The graphic on the can features a cat in a spacesuit, space-walking. And the beer was really nice, icily hoppy and playful across the tongue.
  • Waiheke WC IPA (6.7% ABV, Harland Beer Company, San Diego, California). Brewed with Nelson, Pacifica, and Wakatu hops, this was a most satisfying hops experience.
  • Knuckle Sandwich DIPA (10.0% ABV, Bootleggers Brewing Company, Fullerton, California.) This turned out to be wayyyy too strong, way too malty, too bitter, too alcoholic, too much everything. I didn’t like it, so Kim decided he would drink the rest of the four-pack. But all it really did for him was get him drunk.
  • Stress Dissolver Mango Sour 5.0% ABV, Common Space Brewing Company, Hawthorne, California). Brewed with Mosaic hops, Rahr Pale Malt, and Acidulated Carahell, this mango sour was a bit too overpowering on the fruit side. Kim didn’t like this at all, but it struck me like some overdone sours do: enjoyable for half the can, but then I really didn’t want to finish it.
  • Party Tricks IPA ( 6.8% Alesmith, San Diego, California). Hopped with the lovely Strata, El Dorado, and Citra hops, this is a nice fruity IPA, and I adore Strata hops anyway. And El Dorado seemed most appropriate for the 99-degree afternoon in Bakersfield that we tried this. Kim and I were being decadent by drinking this well before the sun hit the yardarm, simply because the two cans I bought of this wouldn’t fit into the overstuffed beer fridge. But hey, any excuse...
  • Level Line Pale Ale (5.0% ABV, Topa Topa Brewery, Ventura, California). Brewed with Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Magnum hops, this was described as citrus and woodsy, which definitely captured the taste. I really do like that taste combination.
  • Mind Haze Hazy Tropical IPA (6.2% ABV, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, California). Hopped with Azacca, El Dorado, and Melon hops, this was a wonderful popping bang of tropical haziness. And the Melon hops, from Germany, was a new flavour for me.
  • Picnic Lightning (6.8% ABV, Brouwerij West, San Pedro, California). The can demanded that we “keep chilly cold. Drink fresh. Like now.” So we did exactly that. Kim kept wondering why all these beers I was buying on this visit had skeletons and skulls on the label. I suppose it’s just the theme at the moment in this country, which isn’t too surprising.
  • Nectarine Pie of the Tiger (6.0% ABV, Full Circle Brewing Company, Fresno, California): This beer’s can featured a rather confusing graphic of a skull and a ghetto blaster in what looked like a pile of laundry. The beer was a bit undefined as well, but it did have a pleasant nectarine sour to it--but no real body to back it up. So where was the pie’s Nectarine puree, and the “notes of cinnamon”? Apparently this beer was technically a California gose, or also a California Wild Ale. It was okay, really, and perfectly drinkable. But after half of a can, Kim and I really felt like something hoppier and with perhaps a bit more to say.
  • Sampled more recently, back in the UK:
  • Pagan Juice Hazy Pale (5.0% ABV, Bluntrock Brewery, Rock, Cornwall). Apparently this is the brewery’s flagship beer, and the graphic on the can appears to be of pagans sitting around a campfire. It’s kind of a, um, slightly upsetting graphic. But the beer offered a crispy cold hoppiness on the crispy cold pre-Halloween night that I drank it. The very light yellow colour made the haze seem more of a lemony haze. It is a nice brew, and would be great to take to a party or gathering.
  • Earl Grey IPA (6.8% ABV, Marble Beers, Salford, Greater Manchester). I couldn’t really help buying this can, not only because it sounded interesting but because it was in a 500ml can. On the side was an embarrassingly huge announcement that said “The Strong Brew”. And this particular beer was created by Kees Bubberman and John de Vries, who are now with Brouweriji Kees. Anyway, it was fermented with timed additions of Earl Grey tea, so I was instructed to pour it carefully because of possible sediment (tea leaves?) in the can. It turned out to be a gently hoppy brew, actually very pleasant, even though I was hoping for a big splash of bergamot. I mean, as a coffee addict I’m not really a fan of drinking tea; but back when I cooked a lot I used to make a nice sea scallop dish with black tea in the sauce, and I think green tea ice cream tastes delicious. So why not in beer? It does work, and it also gives a real bitter character to the hops. After a work day spent standing outside the building because the fire alarm kept going off, this full pint was an earned reward.