We know a lot of folks are coming down to San Diego for the upcoming Independence Day weekend (and who wouldn’t? Have you seen our weather forecast?), so we just wanted to give you a quick update on extended our tasting room hours for the holiday weekend. Independence Day Weekend Hours:
Friday (July 1): 3pm – 9pm
Saturday (July 2): 12pm – 7pm
Sunday (July 3): 12pm – 6pm
Monday (July 4): 12pm – 4pm
We’ll have both the front and back tasting room bars open and the bottle shelves will be fully stocked. Ten Commandments is also back in bottles this week. If you’d like to see what’s on tap for your tasting & growler filling pleasure, as well as what’s available in bottles, make sure to check our what’s on tap page (updated every Friday at 2pm).
Oh, and if you’re looking for an easy way to travel between the beach and brewery, check out the Sprinter train. It runs every 30 minutes and costs just a couple of bucks. It’s a great way to avoid traffic and the crowds! More info on how to get to us via the train (as well as your car) is in our Visit Us section here.
As you may have heard via the social media channels, we did okay at the 2011 San Diego International Beer Festival last week.
Okay, we’re being modest. We did really well, pulling down six ribbons in all — 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze — which was more than any other brewery.
Our winners were:
GOLD
Red Poppy (Sour Ale)
Shark Attack (Imperial Red Ale)
Veritas 008 (Specialty Beer)
SILVER
Hot Rocks (American Style Brown Ale)
BRONZE
Amazing Grace (Sour Ale)
Inferno (Belgian Style Pale Strong Ale)
Our cousins over at the Pizza Ports didn’t do too shabby either, grabbing seven ribbons — 4 for Carlsbad, 2 for Ocean Beach and 1 for Solana Beach — as well as Best of Show for Poor Man’s IPA, making this the third consecutive year a Pizza Port has owned Best of Show.
The SD Beer Festival is kind of a big deal for us, not just because of its size (150 breweries, 350+ beers), but because it’s judged by our fellows in the San Diego brewing community — none of whom are exactly slouches when it comes to great beer. When your peers here in the world capitol of craft beer heap awards on you, you know you must be doing something right. (One day we’ll find out what that is.)
All of the 2011 winners have been posted on the San Diego County Fair website in PDF format. You’ll find them here:
By now you probably know that we brewed a special beer for the National Homebrewer’s Conference going on here in San Diego. A couple of days ago we posted a little bit on the story behind the beer and the homebrew version of the recipe. Today we’re pleased to present the video on the making of the beer.
Run time is just a little under 8 minutes. Hope you all enjoy it!
Join us in celebrating our dads by bringing yours to the Port Brewing & The Lost Abbey tasting room and buying him a pint. When you do, your Dad keeps the pint glass! You can even buy him two pints and get him a matched set! All dads are welcome. See you (and your Dad) in the Tasting Room!
Details:
What: Hoppy Father’s Day – You buy Dad a pint and Dad Keeps the pint glass (Port Brewing Logo pint glass)
When: Father’s Day (Sunday, June 19, 2011) – 12pm to 6pm
In the world of craft beer there’s a very close relationship between homebrewers and professionals. Most of the guys (and girls) in the business started brewing small batches of beer in their garage, and many continue to homebrew even after they’ve turned pro or retired from professional brewing altogether. As a result, brewers — paid or not — share a special affinity for the craft of beermaking that the rest of us as consumers and aficionados may not fully understand.
Today the National Homebrewers Conference opens here in San Diego and thousands of homebrewers from all over North America have descended on the county to meet, talk, trade tips and see for themselves why San Diego is the current craft beer capitol of the world (hint: a lot of it has to do with homebrewers). In honor of the conference and the homebrewers that make it what it is, our brewmaster/DOBO/COO Tomme Arthur chose to brew a beer with special significance just for conference attendees — La Cruda Porter.
La Cruda Porter
La Cruda, or Makanudo Porter as it was known back in 1996, was one of the first beers Tomme ever brewed as a professional. At the time Tomme was assistant to Troy Hojel, head brewer at Cervezerias La Cruda (roughly: “the hangover brewery”), a new brewpub in downtown San Diego. La Cruda’s brewhouse wasn’t quite up and running early enough, so Troy and Tomme approached another brewer, Skip Virgilio, the former brewer at Pacific Beach Brew House, about brewing a beer at Skip’s new brewery, AleSmith. Skip consented and the three proceeded to brew a robust porter recipe by Troy that they named Makanudo Porter (yes, Makanudo with a “k”).
It was the worst selling beer in La Cruda’s brief 12 month lifespan, but it also won a gold medal at the 1996 Great American Beer Festival — only the third medal to be won by a San Diego beer† in the GABF’s 13 year history. (Oh, how times have changed…) Troy left professional brewing after La Cruda as did Skip a few years later. Tomme, of course, landed at Pizza Port Solana Beach to begin that brewpub family’s dynasty (one that continues today), and in 2006 spun off to found Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey and do it all over again.
In honor of the relationship between homebrewers and professionals, Tomme, once the homebrewer but now the professional, invited Troy and Skip, both former professionals and now homebrewers, to The Lost Abbey to brew “La Cruda” Porter for the first time in 15 years. Each NHC attendee will receive a bottle.
This Friday we’ll be posting a video of the story behind La Cruda Porter and the people who made it. In the meantime, if you’re a homebrewer and you’d like to give the beer a whirl, you will find the recipe scaled down to five gallons below. And if you’re not a homebrewer, you can still try the beer just by dropping by our tasting room where it’s on draft and available in 22 ounce bottles (there’s only just 70 cases though, so if you want some in bottles, shop early).
† Here’s some “6 degrees of Tomme Arthur” for you: The first medal won by a San Diego beer was in 1994 — A bronze for a barley wine called Old Boneyards brewed at Pizza Port. Vince Marsaglia was one of the brewers. The same year A Pacific Beach Brew House won a gold for Belgian Strong Ale brewed by none other than Skip Virgilio.
The AHA National Homebrewers Conference arrives in San Diego next week, so we’re extending our tasting room hours and rolling out the red carpet for all our fellow brewers coming to town!
Extended Hours
Mon – Thurs (June 13 – 16) – 12pm to 6pm Fri (June 17) – 12pm to 9pm Sat (June 18) – 12pm to 7pm Sun (June 19) – 12pm to 6pm
Group Information
If you’re planning on dropping by the brewery during NHC week and you’ve got a group of 6 or more, please give Terri our Tasting Room Manager a heads-up via email or phone call. Email: terri@lostabbey.com, Tel: (760) 920-6121. (We’re not a huge operation, so if she knows you’re coming she can make the proper scheduling arrangements and ensure you’re well taken care of during your pilgrimage to the Abbey.)
La Cruda (Back in Mak) Porter On Tap / Video Premiere
In addition to the extended Tasting Room hours, we’ll also be tapping kegs of La Cruda (aka “Back in Mak” when it’s on draft) Porter, a special reunion beer brewed especially for NHC attendees.
Friday night will also include the premiere of a video short on the story behind this beer and it’s brew again for the first time in 15 years.
Father’s Day Special – Buy Dad a Pint, He Keeps the Pint Glass
Sunday, June 19 isn’t just the last day of NHC week, it’s also Father’s Day! And because we can’t think of a better way to celebrate fatherhood than with a beer, if you come into the tasting room Sunday and buy dad a pint, dad gets to keep the Port Brewing Logo pint glass as a bonus. A great way to finish a great week even if you aren’t a homebrewer, wouldn’t you agree?
