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Before I start my review, my Bay Area friend Mistah Rick is currently on a multi-week campervan adventure with Vicky through Alaska. And since I'll probably never make it to any Alaska breweries at this point in my life, you can check out Rick's beer-tasting highlights in the Last Frontier here.

Back in June, for the final week of this year’s trip to America, Rick and I drove one day from Fresno to Oakland, where Rick lives. On the way we stopped for a couple of afternoon pints in Livermore, the easternmost city in the San Francisco Bay area.

Considered the Gateway to the Central Valley, Livermore is probably most famous for being the home of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which was established in 1952, followed by the Sandie National Laboratories. The area where Livermore now exists was originally home to the Ohlone Costonoan people. By the early 1800s, after the Spanish mission of San Jose was established nearby, the Livermore-Amadore Valley was used as grazing land for herds of cattle, sheep, and horses. Four decades later Robert Livermore, a Brit who jumped from a merchant sailing ship that was stopped in Monterey, moved to the area and eventually started making money by selling longhorn cattle to Gold Rush miners. In 1869 the city of Livermore was founded, and by the end of the century the wheat and barley fields had been replaced by vineyards. These days the city is known as a major research and technology hub.

But of course Livermore offers more than technology and wine. As we were hungry for a late lunch, we first stopped at Hop & Sessions, which is the city’s only self-pour taproom. When we entered we found 25 self-serve taps, and I was instantly reminded of my visit to Beerstro in Lille, France earlier in the year, where I was given a card coded to my table so that I could dispense as much beer as I wanted. The system at Hop & Sessions asks customers to insert their debit cards into slots under the taps. We first poured ourselves tasters of three beers. The Maui Waui IPA (6.5% ABV, Altamont Beer Works, Livermore, California), hopped with Mosaic and Citra, was pleasant enough. Our second was Conspiracy IPA (6.7% ABV, Henhouse Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, California). A collaboration with Hollow Moon, this was hopped with Mosaic and Sorachi, and it was intense-- in fact, a bit too intense for the early afternoon. So we both settled for the Daisy Cutter Union West Coast IPA (7.0% ABV, Half Acre Beer Company, Chicago, Illinois). A collaboration with Firestone Walker of Paso Robles, this was yummy and absolutely perfectamento. Because we were pouring our own glasses, we dispensed what looked like half pints to us, and we weren’t too far off in our calculations.

For our late lunch we shared a Beet Salad with mixed greens, beets, goat cheese, walnuts, dried cranberries, balsamic vinaigrette, and a bowl of Garlic Truffle Fries. We sat at a table on the front pavement, which was a great choice because the weather was absolutely perfect. And what a wonderful introduction this was to my first day of the Bay Area leg of my journey, with my good friend. I mean, good food, good beer, a nice fresh breeze, and adventure was lying ahead of us.

We moved on down the road to another Livermore brewery, Dust Bowl Brewing Company. Located in a plain modern building in a rather minimal shopping centre, this is the fourth taproom of the brewing company, the original having opened in Turlock in 2016. The Livermore Dust Bowl is the largest, with 30 back-to-back beer taps and a large beer garden with food truck and fire pits. Although there was plenty of comfy seating inside, we chose to sit at the bar where we could chat with the staff, as is our custom.

For our late afternoon session, Rick and I decided to share four 4-ounce tasters. Our first choice was Dust Bowl IPA (6.1% ABV, Dust Bowl Brewing Company, Turlock, California). Hopped with a mixture of Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe, and Strata, this is a gentle beer, easy to drink, with a mere 56 IBUs. Our second choice was Fruit Trap Strawberry Lime Kettle Sour (4.7% ABV), brewed with lime zest, strawberry puree, and salt. So it was basically a strawberry margarita in beer form. I was tempted to leap up and start dancing while singing da-da-da-da-da-da-TEQUILA!. But I restrained myself. The third taster was Day Ender Imperial IPA (8.7% ABV),which was quite heavy on the Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, and Simcoe, and with 60 IBUs. It was quite excellent, if I don’t mind saying so. Our last taster was the powerful Dump Truck of the Gods Quadruple IPA (11.7% ABV), loaded with 130 IBUs. I mean, sure, this was ridiculously strong, but we simply had to taste it. And it was malty and hoppy and obviously bittttttter!! Wow! I mean, this was a really dangerously good brew! It offered just the right amount of super-bitter rrrRIPPPP! that was smoothed with a balance of dry malt and hoppzzziness, and probably more examples of double and triple letters as well. “It’s like a long-lost friend tapping on my shoulder,” commented Rick. “And I have that supreme senior moment when I can’t recall who it is.” I decided that the intense bitterness of this brew was definitely needed to head off the powerful taste of liquor. This was one of those “dangerous gentlemens”, as an old late blues singer friend of mine may have described it.

As we sat at the bar, we admired not only the view out onto Jack London Boulevard but also the dust bowl-era artwork on the walls. The brewery’s name was inspired by the Tate family, who during the Great Depression drove out west from Oklahoma to Turlock in their Model A Ford to start a new life. In 2006 Brett Tate, a third-generation descendent of the settlers, started the Dust Bowl Brewery with Don Oliver, and three years later they produced their first beer, appropriately named Hops of Wrath IPA. In 2016 the Turlock tap room was opened, along with a distillery producing gin, bourbon, and moonshine, and that was soon followed by taprooms in Elk Grove, Monterey, and finally Livermore.

Although we didn't go out to see the beer garden, the food truck there offers a selection of sharing plates, salads, burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads, and desserts. The Dust Bowl Brewery ranks in the top 2% of all independent craft breweries in California and the US, and their beers are distributed not only around California but as far as Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Arizona.

Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our selection of tasting experiences, and I thought to myself what a cool place this is. I mean, I could easily become a regular, if only I lived in Livermore. But I don’t. So on future Bay Area visits we’ll have to come back, or at least check out one of their other locations.

Related Links

guinness eileen

Hops and Sessions, 2339 First Street, Livermore, California

guinness eileen

Dust Bowl Brewing Company, 3034 West Jack London Boulevard, Livermore, California

PUB UPDATES:

  • TWO SHEDS, SHEFFIELD: During this year’s Tramlines Fringe, I braved my way through crowds toward Maida Vale--the West Street club, not the posh London Neighbourhood, where I suffered through a pathetically bland pint of Camden Pale while watching an excellent psychobilly band with the wonderful name of Galloping Dick. When I got back to my neighbourhood, I stopped in here to rinse my palate with a pint of the wonderful Wave Breaker (4.5% ABV, Abbeydale Brewing, Sheffield, South Yorkshire). As part of my ocean bodysurfing theme of the week, this beer is hopped with another New Zealand mix, this time of Superdelic, Nectaron, and Riwaka Hop Kief, all rolling back and forth like spume across a golden malt tide. This is really a quite wonderful beer, and that subtly dry golden malt takes me back to Admiral Maltings in Alameda, California, where I recall seeing an actual bed of golden malt in a back room that smelled heavenly. And having just suffered the thick smell of senior hippie sweat at the gig, this was like a breath of fresh sea air on my palate.
  • WALKLEY BEER COMPANY, SHEFFIELD: On a Wednesday after work, I stopped in here and enjoyed a pint of Nokota Session Pale (3.8% ABV, Wild Horse Brewing Company, Llandudno, Wales). This is one of those Whoomph! swoon-inducing brews. With my expert online research I learned that it's hopped with Citra and Loral, and then dry hopped with Amarillo and Equanot, and the yeast is London Ale III. I felt as though I were bashing my way through a tropical jungle, brandishing my wicket-shaped smashing instrument as it lightly bruised the yellow and orange succulents that stood in my way. Oops, sorry, CRASH! SMASH! just trying to describe my KRRRASCH!--oops!--my pint. It sure smelled good and fresh in the glass. I had started with a taste of Northern Pale (4.0% ABV, Three Brothers Brewing, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham) which is described simply as a citra pale. And it was perfectly good, with nice bitter hops. But I preferred my Welsh equine beer, even if it meant I would end up having to wash sticky sap out of my clothes. I mean, to have that sort of experience with a 3.8 beer was a real treat.

    On another couple of visits, I enjoyed a really low-ABV beer: Sir Cancelot the Cautious (3.4% ABV, Electric Bear Brewing, Bath, Somerset). Brewed with Simcoe, Idaho 7, and Ella hops, this is surprisingly hoppy and tasty for such a ridiculously low ABV. In fact, this is really quite a find. I’ve never heard of Electric Bear Brewing, but I look forward to tasting other offerings.
  • THE HALLAMSHIRE, SHEFFIELD: On a recent warm and steamy afternoon, I had a cheeky taste of Thornbridge’s latest version of Jaipur, Chaipur Chai IPA (5.9% ABV, Thornbridge Brewing company, Bakewell Derbyshire). The unanimous opinion of the bar staff seemed to be a resounding “meh”, because why try to improve the classic Jaipur with a touch of cinnamon? I agreed completely with Ash: we both like cinnamon, but not in a beer. I have to say that I was relieved, because I didn’t really want to like it, at least not with that high ABV.

    I ended up going for a pint of Yorkshire Rider (4.5% ABV, Kelham Island Brewing Company, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, in collaboration with Brew York, York, North Yorkshire). This pale ale was brewed in celebration of Yorkshire Day as an homage to Kelham Island’s Pale Rider. But I’m happy to say that this is better, more like the brewery’s Easy Rider, which I always liked much more than their popular Pale Rider. It’s a pretty nice classic beer with good hops and balanced bitterness. And there’s a nice classic graphic of a proper English rider on his horse. I suppose it might have been a little better with a proper English rider on her horse; but I’m not going to complain too much.

BOTTLED/CANNED BEER UPDATE:

  • Arise Pale Ale (4.4% ABV, Burning Sky Brewing, Firle, East Sussex). This beer is hopped with Citra, Centennial, and Amarillo hops and contains pilsner and wheat malts. There is a graphic of a group of people holding hand tools and glasses of Arise. I don’t think I quite understand why, but hey, I do like tools. And this is a nice, easy-drinking beer, and it’s got quite a low ABV for a can.
  • West Side Glory (7.0% ABV, Thornbridge Brewing Company, Bakewell, Derbyshire, collaborating with Stone Brewery, Carlsbad, California). This collaboration with Stone Brewery of Carlsbad, California uses all-American hops, including Centennial, Citra, Cryo Idaho 7, and Sabro. Described on the can as offering “assertive pine and grapefruit” which “leaps on the palate with tangerine and lemon", I was really looking forward to tasting it. It’s a pretty can as well, with palm trees basking against a colourful sunset. And yeah, it definitely suggested a nice cooling pine-scented Pacific ocean breeze blowing while I held a grapefruit-lemon cocktail in my hand. It was just what I needed for the depressing week it had been. Yes! Yes! Good day Sunset!
  • Tapawera '25 (6.0% ABV, Burnt Mill Brewing Company, Ipswich, Suffolk). The can says this is a Hop Revolution Fog IPA, in collaboration with Loughran Brewers Select and the Hop RevolutionTM hop farm in New Zealand. The malts used are Pale, Flaked Oats and Wheat, Chit, and Dextrin, and it’s hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka, and Pacific Sunrise. This was really good and powerfully refreshing after a day when somebody stole our blue paper recycling bin. I mean, who would do that? But I’ve ordered a new one from the Council, so it’s best not to stress out about it. Shit happens, but good beer happens as well.
  • Orders NEIPA (6.0% ABV, Attic Brew Co, Birmingham, West Midlands). Hopped with Motueka, Idaho 7, Citra, and Azacca hops, and brewed by Harry, whoever he is, this beer is described as tasting “fresh, zesty, sherbert, with lashings of fresh lime juice.” And you know what? This is a nice summer hazy beer, perfect for a picnic or even a barbecue! Yessiree! Perhaps with grilled marinated fish, maybe sea bream or California halibut steaks. Yep! It’s a zoomy beer! Fun! Music! Party!
  • Siege NEIPA (5.3% ABV, Triple Point Brewing Company, Sheffield, South Yorkshire). Hopped with a wonderful mixture of Amarillo, Azacca, Simcoe, and Talus hops, this beer is named after a group of herons. The art on the can, featuring sort of a mandala of herons, is part of the Helion Art Ilustration series. I’d be happy to sit cross-legged on a hooked rug decorated with the image on this can, closing my eyes and meditating gently on that mixture of hops. It had been a sleepless week of worry about relatives and friends, along with giant Russian earthquakes, tsunami warnings, and volcanic eruptions, but the weather had been gorgeously sunny and temperate. So I felt I could use a bit of a siege. I do really like herons as well, my favourite being the Great Blue Heron I once saw perched silently and majestically on a cyprus knee in the Bayou south of New Orleans. This beer was just a nice clean grapefruit fruit bomb of a brew, and it wasn't too powerful, either, so I knew I wouldn’t be accosted by fascist police or ICE or gun-toting Magas or rivers of lava or raging bulls or Godzilla or Rodan or anybody. I mean, I might be accosted by a needy friend, or perhaps even someone knocking on the door asking me to donate to their worthy cause--but that sort of accosting I can deal with.
  • North East IPA (5.8% ABV, Three Brothers Brewing Company, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham). A hazy NEIPA brewed with Amarillo and El Dorado hops, then dry hopped with Simcoe and Summit, this is a good hopper of a soother, with that uniquely special Amarillo character, marked by that subtly musky El Dorado touch, creating the interesting underbase. I mean, this isn’t complicated or sexually arousing, but it’s welcoming, especially after a day at work where my immediate colleagues and I were suddenly made homeless. This beer is kind of like an old-school (meaning a decade ago) happy, hoppy brew. The can features a graphic of a transporter bridge. I couldn’t find out which bridge in particular, but it’s likely to be the Tees Transporter Bridge, also known as the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, which runs over the River Tees. but perhaps not.
  • Opening Theme Hazy IPA (6.5% ABV, Left Handed Giant Brewing Company, Bristol). Brewed with Nelso Sauvin, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe, this beer is described as offering creamy malt with classic hops, grape and ripe blueberry, and pine. The first version was brewed in 2019, and this new recipe has a few tweaks. When I popped the can open, I could instantly smell a pine forest. And wow, now, this is a classy beer, and the description on the can does say it all. It’s lovely and elegant. First there’s a smooth base of pale malts, with some frisky hopping little hops notes, all while sitting around a real Christmas tree, like my brother and I did as kids when my dad was still alive. Do I smell my mother’s wonderful crescent rolls in the oven? This is a comforting beer, very comforting. It suggests an opening theme of a film that you just know you’re going to enjoy.