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Christmas in July

Tomme & Santa
Tomme & Santa
Here in San Diego, even when it’s supposed to be Christmas time, it rarely truly feels like Christmas.  In December each year, other parts of the country, throw on their best Christmas sweaters and sing about how the “weather outside is frightful.”  Us, we head for the beach and roast Marshmallows (not Chestnuts) by a bonfire.  Yet, each year we at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey do our part to support seasonal beers with the production of not one but two Christmas beers- Santa’s Little Helper and Gift of the Magi.

Last August when we produced the 2008 Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout, we put a plan in motion to age a portion of the batch in Bourbon Barrels for a Christmas in July promotion that I wanted to do at the brewery.  Last weekend, we had another kick ass event at the brewery (thanks to all of our volunteers who supported us)!  There were great new beers in bottles and on tap (including the first release of Duck Duck Gooze).  Chef Vince of course whipped up some amazing pizzas and The Professors sounded as tight as they could in a brewery environment.  Santa Claus even paid us a visit.  All told, it was a great event for the patrons of Lost Abbey.

But what truly made the event memorable was the overwhelming support that we received for Toys for Tots.  As part of our Christmas in July promotion, we asked attendees to bring one unwrapped toy (valued at $15) in exchange for entrance to the party.   I must say that I was blown away by the generosity of our people and clearly they understand that together we can make a difference.  We raised over $10,000 worth of new toys from this event.  Those who didn’t bring toys were asked for a cash donation and $1,500 was sent to the Toys For Tots Foundation as well.

It gave me goose bumps on Saturday night to stand next to all the great toys that we collected.  It meant an awful lot to me that we were able to take something (like beer with the associated stigmas) and do great work for kids.

Just a few of the bins of toys
Just a few of the bins of donated toys

I know that beer and children can be very taboo in our society but if you look at what we accomplished this weekend, I know this is not always the case.  Personally, this was an incredibly gratifying and rewarding day.  Many children will need help in order to celebrate Christmas this year.  Knowing that our beer brought so many people together for this cause is an exceptional feeling.

So, to everyone who was there on Saturday and gave a little bit to help brighten the Christmas morning of so many children, I say thank you!  Christmas in July has landed here at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey and will remain on our calendars each year from here on out.

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Christmas in July Update #2

The Giving Tree
The Giving Tree

Just a quick note to let you all know that we’ve wrapped the gifts and placed them under the Giving Tree! If you’d like to receive one of them on Saturday, we’re asking that you give a $15 donation, the proceeds of which will go to benefit the Toys for Tots Foundation. (There’s a limit of four donations per person so that more people have an opportunity.)

Here’s a list of what you’ll find under the tree come Saturday afternoon:

  • Brandy Angel’s 08 (750 ml) bottles
  • Bourbon Angel’s 09 (375 ml) bottles
  • Bourbon Angel’s 09 (750 ml) bottles
  • Cuvee de Tomme (375 ml) bottles
  • Cuvee de Tomme (750 ml) bottles
  • Isabelle Proximus (750 ml) bottles
  • Older Viscosity 09 (375 ml) bottles
  • Saints Devotion (750 ml) bottles
  • Veritas 004 (750 ml) bottles

Additionally, there’s also a number of super-special “Golden Ticket” rarities:

  • Angel’s Share 06 (750 ml) bottles
  • Cable Car 08 (750 ml) bottles
  • Cuvee de Tomme 06 (375 ml) bottles
  • Sinner’s 08 Blend (375 ml) bottles

Hope you’ve been good enough to make Santa’s “Nice” list this year.

See you at Christmas in July on Saturday!

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Christmas in July Update

We’re pleased to announce that we now have a final schedule of events and full tap and bottle list for next week’s Christmas in July beer release and fundraiser.

The schedule of events is as follows:

  • 12:00pm — Tasting room opens. Bottle Sales; tasters & pint sales begin.
  • 1:00pm — Santa Arrives; Photos with Santa in the Barrel Room.
  • 2:00pm — Food service begins (Chef Vince and his magic pizza trailer).
  • 4:00pm — Photos with Santa end; Giving Tree* gift distribution.
  • 5:00pm — Santa Leaves. Live music by The Professors.
  • 6:30pm — Last Call. Final bottle, taster and pint sales.
  • 7:00pm — Doors close.

* In exchange for a $15 cash donation to Toys for Tots, you will be able to select a gift from the Giving Tree. (Must be 21 or over to receive gift.)

A printable schedule of events and full list of what will be on tap and in bottle (along with pricing) is available for download here:

For more information on the full day’s events and beer releases, please click here.

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Port Brewing’s Annual Pre-Stone Anniversary Brunch

Join the Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey crew for brunch before Stone Brewing’s 13th Anniversary Celebration on August 22nd, 2009.

Naturally Chef Vince will be cooking up a hearty breakfast that includes eggs, bread, at least half a dozen things made from pork — all of which you can wash down with our big tap list of award-winning beers. As always, the food is free and the beer (a very reasonable) regular price.

We’re opening at 8:30am to give you plenty of time to carbo-load before heading up the hill to the Stone party.

To get directions to the brewery, » click here.

See you there!

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This past week

It’s Saturday morning July 4th, 2009.  Happy Birthday America!  Yesterday was July 3rd which happens to be my wife Maureen’s birthday.  It appears that we get 48 hours of parties each year because of these two days.  Not too shabby!  Yesterday the gang at Stone Brewing Company hosted local radio station 94.9 FM in the brewery gardens.  The party started at 6 AM with the early morning DJ’s and featured .94 cent beer samples all day.  I was asked to come out to the gardens to spend some time on the air.  My slot was 11 AM with Hilary (the mid day DJ).  Hilary also happens to be a friend of Maureen’s so we loaded the Arthur’s up and headed for Stone Brewing.  When we arrived, it was damn near impossible to find a parking space.  The restaurant was packed and at one point they made an announcement that the restaurant was out of sample glasses as all 750 of them were full of beer.  The party was great and I am thankful that 94.9 and Stone got together to give us a chance to talk about San Diego beers on the air.  Mike even got in on the act.  As chief marketing guy (and head brewer), he asked everyone to show up for our Christmas in July promotion in January.  DOOH!!!  Oh well, at least he makes great beer!

Speaking of Christmas in July, it’s true Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus.  Three weeks from now, we are launching what we hope will be another great day of festivities at the brewery.  On July 25th, 2009 we will be celebrating the arrival of our Bourbon Barrel Aged Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout.  We also will be releasing our 2009 bottling of Older Viscosity plus a new little diddie called simply Duck Duck Gooze.  All told, it will be an awesome beery day.

We’ll open the doors at noon.  There will be food and Santa is scheduled to arrive at 1PM.  In exchange for an unwrapped toy (suggested donation no less than $15) you will get access to food, a great band and an opportunity to have pictures taken with Santa.  We know that the local economy is in the toilet right now but we still think all kids should get to celebrate Christmas with toys.  We will have two Marines on hand from Toys For Tots to accept our donation as the day draws to a close.    Lastly, there will be a giving tree on site as well.  As our gift to you, we will have a tree loaded with envelopes.  For a $15 cash donation, you will be able to pull an envelope from the tree.  Naughty or Nice, Sinner or Saint, we won’t be judging.  We promise the tree will be loaded with rarities and things that haven’t been for sale in quite some time.  I am very excited for Christmas in July and can barely contain my enthusiasm for what promises to be an amazing day of beer, food and festivities.

Lastly, this past week is the title of the blog for today.  Why?  Well, we had one of those weeks here at the brewery.  Thursday was about the worst day ever here and I really want to take the time to thank all the guys who chipped in a put a little bit of extra time in for us.  We packaged Older Viscosity on Thursday.  During the run, one of our tanks (Judgment Day) developed a leak at the gasket sealing the door to the tank.  As we had over 120 bbls of beer in the tank, there was little we could do.  This was mostly due to the fact that we had no empty tanks to move the beer to!!!  Yes, it was truly an oh shit moment.  We were able to devise a strategy for dealing with the door but it required an enormous amount of effort and I even jumped on the bottling line to assist the guys in the production of 400 cases of Older Viscosity on Thursday.  That was the bad news for the week.

The good news is that we shipped our first sets of Microstar kegs out this week to the East Coast.  Those of you in the Boston area should start seeing some of our beer next week at your favorite watering holes.  Look for Wipeout IPA, HOP 15, Devotion and Ten Commandments.  Coming in August you’ll also start to see Panzer Pils in bars and on the shelves.  This years batch is off the charts and gets the Schrago seal of approval.  That’s all for now.  I need to get my office cleaned up as I leave for Chicago on Monday for a couple of days of promotional work.  The kind of work my liver quivers over.

Happy 4th of July.  Remember our troops as you celebrate today. We all know somebody who’s out there keeping us safe

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Christmas in July Beer Release & Fundrasier

Sure it’s hot outside, but it’ll be cooler than ever at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey’s first Christmas in July Celebration and Fundraiser, Saturday, July 25, 2009 from noon to 7pm.

Events on tap:

Beer releases:

  • Santa’s Little Helper (Bourbon Barrel-aged) – 22oz bottles; $12 each; 6 bottle limit
  • Older Viscosity 2009 – 375ml bottles; $15 each; 12 bottle limit
  • Duck Duck Gooze (yes, that Duck Duck Gooze) – 750ml bottles; $30 each; 6 bottle limit
  • The Angel’s Share (Bourbon Barrel-aged) – 750ml bottles; $30 each; 6 bottle limit

Food & Beer:

  • Food Stylings from our own Chef Vince Marsaglia
  • Tastings – Duck, Duck Gooze, Older Viscosity & Santa’s Little Helper (Bourbon)
  • On Tap – All of Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey’s regular line-up

Activities:

  • A Visit from St. Nick – Get your photo with Santa Claus in the Barrel Room
  • Live Music – Special musical guests, The Professors

Toys for Tots drive and fundraiser:

  • Toy Drive – Bring a new, unwrapped toy values at $15 or more to benefit Toys for Tots
  • Giving Tree – give a $15 donation to Toys for Tots & you get to select a gift from under the Christmas Tree (Gifts include many rarities from our barrel archives – Isabelle Proximus, Cuvee de Tomme, Veritas `04, and more!

The Details:

  • When: Saturday, July 25, 2009; 12pm to 7pm. Beer and bottle release sales begin at 12pm. Santa arrives at 1pm. Food and music begins at 3pm.
  • Where: Lost Abbey / Port Brewing Co., San Marcos, San Diego County, CA
  • How Much: Food, music and photos with Santa are FREE! We are, however, asking everyone who attends to bring a new, unwrapped toy valued at $15 or more to donate to Toys for Tots. (Beers are all regular price.)

Update – July 17, 2009:

A full schedule of events as well as the tap and bottle availability list may be downloaded here:

    Note: There will be no growler fills on this day.

For more information:

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Appearance: Craft Beer! / Cooks Confab

Tomme Arthur will be appearing at The Cook’s Confab Craft Beer Dinner / Pairing along with a number of other San Diego brew masters and chefs. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go to support Slow Food Urban San Diego.

Location:

Stingaree (rooftop)
454 6th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
619.544.9500

The evening’s brewer line-up includes:

AleSmith – Peter Zien
Ballast Point – Colby Chandler
Green Flash – Chuck Silva
Lightning – Jim Crute
The Lost Abbey – Tomme Arthur
Stone Brewing – Greg Koch

More information is available at: http://cooksconfab.com/

Cooks Confab, Craft Beer & Food - August 9, 2009
Cooks Confab, Craft Beer & Food - August 9, 2009