Cuvee de Tomme is looking both Rico and Suave in today’s Esquire Magazine blog Eat Like a Man. Cuvee de Tomme at Esquire.com
From the article:
Does your lady drink more Chardonnay than IPA? Try converting her – gently – with these crossover brews: They’re smooth Belgian-style ales with hardly any bitterness but a ton of luscious flavor. Oak barrels (and the microorganisms living within their wooden walls) mellow out the beer and make it taste like nothing you’ve ever tried before.
This past Wednesday, I attended the San Marcos Economic Development Committee meeting at City Hall here in San Marcos. During this luncheon, there was an award ceremony and, wouldn’t you know it, we won an EDE.
Since many of you readers out there may not know what an EDE is, I thought I would share with you that it stands for Economic Development Excellence award. All told, there were 8 EDE’s given out and Port Brewing earned the award for Product Excellence in Manufacturing. These awards are given to San Marcos based companies who display excellence in their business practices and promote the city at the same time.
Standing on stage (in front of all sorts of San Marcos City Council Members and Planners), it was an honor to receive this business based award.
You see, since we opened our doors some 4 years ago, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey has won numerous awards at local, regional and even international beer competitions. All of these awards focus on specific beers competing against other beers. And we love to see our beers do very well. Yet being a very young company means we don’t typically get nominated nor win awards for our civic contributions. Still, the great people on the EDC committee thought we were worth recognizing.
I guess having a World Class brewery in San Marcos does makes great sense and I for one am glad we earned this recognition. Hats off to all of our employees who made this possible.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find some glass cleaner. Someone got their fingerprints on our new shiny trophy…
4th Anniversary Celebration Wrap-up
Our 4th anniversary celebration last month was our largest yet and was doubly exciting, as it almost didn’t happen.
This year we divided the party into two sessions and converted our barrelhouse loading area into an outdoor dining area. Combined with our new, larger tasting room we were able to comfortably accommodate all our guests.
Beyond the great music and the great beer (naturally), the other highlights of the day were the tours of the new barrelhouse led by Tomme himself. (1,000 oak barrels full of beer stacked, racked and awaiting the angels’ blessing is something to behold.)
The barrelhouse only has room for 20 or so people at a time, so the plan was for Tomme to guide a tour every 30 minutes or so. But once folks got inside, people naturally began asking questions, taking photos, etc., and each tour ended up being closer to an hour long. As a result, we only did half the number of tours planned, but we’re pretty sure those lucky enough to go enjoyed the time twice as much.
We’ve posted a photo album from the Anniversary party on the website.
Upcoming events Christmas in July Celebration & Fundraiser
Christmas in July
This July 24th, celebrate the release of the 2010 Bourbon-barrel-aged Santa’s Little Helper and help us collect toys for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Foundation. There will be food, music, photos with Santa, and, of course, great Lost Abbey / Port Brewing beers on hand.
There’s no admission, all we ask is that you bring a new, unwrapped toy worth $15 or more for Toys for Tots. Last year we collected nearly $10,000 in toys and cash donations for the Foundation, and this year we’re hoping to beat that and help a lot of kids who otherwise might not get a Christmas.
With our increased capacity and expanding distribution, our beers are showing up in places more than ever. You can help your fellow Lost Abbey / Port Brewing beer lovers by adding the location where you found our beers to the map on our website.
Restaurant, pub, retailer — it doesn’t matter. We want to know!
Celebrate Dad all weekend long with these specials from Lost Abbey & Port Brewing
Father's Day at Lost Abbey
New Beer
Road to Helles
A classic straw-gold German lager like only Lost Abbey can brew it.
A traditional beer garden favorite, just take a growler of Road to Helles, add Dad, a couple of lawn chairs and a lot of meat searing on the grill and you have all the ingredients for a perfect Father’s Day. (Draft only)
Pints: $4 Growler Fills: $12 (New growler $4)
Gifts for Dad that he’ll actually like
West Coast-style
22oz. Bottle of Port Brewing Beer (Wipeout, Shark Attack, Hot Rocks, Midnight Sessions) and two Port Brewing logo pint glasses – $9.00
Belgian-style
750ml bottle of Lost Abbey beer (year-round release only) and two Lost Abbey stemware glasses – $20.00
T-shirts
All men’s T-shirts 10% off
(Tasting room purchases only. Specials not valid in online store.)
Take Dad to Lost Abbey on Father’s Day
Take Dad to the Lost Abbey tasting room, pull up a barrel and have a few world class craft beers from the source. All day Father’s Day (June 20) vintage beers will all be 20% off, we’ll be doing brewery and barrel room tours and holding hourly events.
San Diego Uptown News‘ Lauren Duffy (aka: “Hoptown Girl”) recently sat down with Tomme to discuss his beers and brewing style.
From the article:
Tomme Arthur leads a double life. As the co-founder of and director of brewery operations for Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey, Arthur oversees two distinct craft beer lines. On the one hand, he pursues bold, boundary-pushing West Coast—style beers under the Port Brewing label. This takes his tenure as head brewer at Pizza Port Solana Beach a step further with familiar beers such as the Wipeout IPA and Hop-15 and special releases such as the fresh-hop High Tide IPA and Midnight Sessions, a smoky black lager.
On the other hand, he runs The Lost Abbey. The Lost Abbey is a delightfully creative concept, a traditional Belgian brewery without a Belgian home. Under the label, Arthur creates modern-day versions of classic abbey ales, marrying centuries-old techniques with his inventive twist.
Brewery to celebrate its fourth birthday May 8th with food, music and two new beer releases
Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey will celebrate its fourth anniversary on Saturday May 8, 2010 with a big, two-session party at the brewery. Items on tap for the daylong festivities include specialty kegs from the barrel archives, bottled beer releases, food by our in-house chef, and live music from special guests, The Professors.
Brews, Food and Entertainment
As part of the day’s events, in what is now an anniversary tradition, brewmaster Tomme Arthur, will delve into the storied Lost Abbey barrel archives and give guests an opportunity to sample rare brews from past years. Port Brewing Chef-in-Residence, Vince Marsaglia, and his 20 foot mobile outdoor kitchen and barbeque will be on hand to steam, bake, broil, BBQ and fry their way through a stunning assortment of five-star foods.
Additionally, local music sensations, The Professors, will be on-hand to perform their brand of “sophisticated surf music” live.
The Details
Location
The Port Brewing Fourth Anniversary Celebration is Saturday, May 8, 2010 at our facilities located at 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069.
Time(s)
This year, we’re dividing the celebration into two sessions — the first from 11am to 3pm and the second from 4pm to 8pm. For a $15/session admission guests will receive a commemorative tasting glass, 8 beer tasting tickets and food (additional taster tickets are $1 each). Ticket sales are available online and will be strictly limited for each session. (Click here for tickets.)
Releases
This weekend we’ll be releasing two beers for 2010:
Food: Chef Vince will be rolling out his magic pizza trailer (and whatever else he decides to bring) and serving up an assortment of fresh-prepared foods like only Chef Vince can. (Read: bring your appetite.)
Music: By the Professors — they’ll having you rocking, rolling, shimmying and shaking in no time.
Specialties: Look for special bottles, and secret taps all day long!
Buy Tickets Online
Remember, we’re limiting admission for each session, so get your tickets early! (It’s unlikely we’ll have any at the door.)
When I was a younger brewer in training, my family spent our summer’s vacationing just South of Big Sur California each summer. It was usually August when we would load up my grandparents 5th wheel trailer and head out for a week of beach camping. We also spent time visiting Monterrey and San Francisco. I have very fond memories of each trip to Northern California.
Northern California Here We Come
As a brewer, I’ve lost track of how many times I have pointed my vehicle north on Interstate 5 or the 101 with the Bay Area (or beyond) as my final destination. It would seem that you cannot be a true lover of beer without making the pilgrimage to the birth place of Craft Brewing in this country. And, while I never found myself needing to hitch hike to get there, it was always a journey.
And so it is, that we’re about to celebrate our 4th Anniversary of brewing in San Marcos at Port Brewing (May of 2010), as we embark on another journey.
This Friday March 5th, Matt and I will head to Richmond, CA., home of Wine Warehouse North where we will introduce our beers to a sales force numbering about 90 people. This is very big news for us here at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey.
We have patiently waited (some would say too long) to find a distributor for our beers in Northern California.
I for one, am very excited by this new partnership as it will allow us to focus on expanding our production and territorial reach. It’s no secret, we have been growing at a steady and manageable level since we opened our doors. Last year, we added no new territories as we sought to grow our brands with our new Microstar Keg Contract.
That was last year.
This is a “Go” year. I have been telling anyone who would listen to me for the past 6 months that this would be a “Go” year for us. I knew we would be focusing our energies on growing Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey closer to home. They call this sort of thing “Protecting your own Backyard.” Me, I call it simple math. California supports one of the largest economic opportunities for us and one that frankly we have neglected for too long.
I know this because yesterday, a truck backed up to our loading dock and pulled away 20 pallets of beer heavier. This may not seem like much beer for some brewers out there, but it’s a massive departure from our first few months when the Stone trucks would pickup 1-2 pallets worth of beer from us a week. Certainly, we don’t expect that each shipment will be 20 pallets large (although we can always dream). Yet, there was an air of accomplishment yesterday.
After work, we sat around and shared some beers. We remarked at the day that was Monday March 1, 2010. It’s not often a truckload of beer leaves our warehouse (as in exactly never before yesterday). Who knows, it may be another 4 years before this happens again (doubtful but possible). It was a great day on so many fronts.
So Northern California, here we come! It’s been a long time in the making and hopefully, we’ll live up to all the hype. 2010 promises to be a “Go” year.
And you know what? “Go” rhymes with “Grow”, which sounds pretty good to me.
Greetings from Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey. Our beloved Director of Brewery Operations is taking this issue off from his column as he’s on the East Coast this week doing several special appearances (or, as we call it: “Being Tomme Arthur”).
Not to worry, however, as we’ve still got a lot of news for you. Read on.
Expansion Updates
First off, our tasting room expansion is nearly complete. As you’ve probably read in previous newsletters, via the website, Facebook, etc., back in late November we began a major expansion of our tasting room and warehouse / barrel room / cold storage.
We’re please to report that the expansion — save a few minor details — is complete. With the construction of the new warehouse and barrel room across the lot from the brewhouse and tasting room, we’ve not only been able to bump our barrel library to 800-plus barrels, but also nearly double the size of our tasting bar to 42 feet, add 14 more taps for fresh beers, and create a vintage bottle list for visitors who would like to sample some our rarer delights. Combine that with our swanky lighting, new bottle cabinetry and hip bistro-style barrel tables, and you’ve got a tasting room experience quite unlike anything else.
Along with our with our new tasting room, we’re also pleased to announce our new tasting room and special events manager, Terri Osterfeld.
Those of you familiar with Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey know that Terri (aka: “Beer Molly”) has been a staple behind the bar on weekends since late 2006.
But with our fancy new digs and the ever-expanding crowds, we started needing her here a lot more than just weekends. So as of January 1 Terri became a full-time employee in charge of the tasting room, merchandise, special events, and online sales. Now she’s here Wednesdays through Sundays, serving beers, filling orders, coordinating tours and basically keeping the public side of our operation running smoothly.
If you ever have a chance to drop by the brewery or purchase anything from our online store, Terri’s the girl who handles it for you, so make sure to say hi. She can be reached at terri@lostabbey.com or through our website at: http://www.portbrewing.com/visit-us/contact-the-tasting-room/
Extended Tasting Room Hours
Oh, and speaking of Terri, now that she’s on board fulltime, we have newly extended tasting room days and hours. They are as follows:
Wednesday: 1pm to 5pm – Growler Fills & Bottles Sales only
Thursday: 12pm to 5pm – Growler Fills & Bottles Sales only
Friday: 2pm to 8pm – Full Tasting Room (Tasters, Pints, Growlers & Bottles)
Saturday: 12pm to 5pm – Full Tasting Room (Tasters, Pints, Growlers & Bottles)
Sunday: 12pm to 4pm – Full Tasting Room (Tasters, Pints, Growlers & Bottles)
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
You can all the info on our tasting room (beers on tap, vintage bottles, special events, etc.) by visitng our website at: http://www.lostabbey.com/tasting-room/
Barrels for Sale
As you’re probably aware, we have quite an extensive collection of barrels in which we age beers. What you might not know, however, is that many of those barrels — especially our spirit barrels (bourbon, brandy, sherry) — we only use once.
Oh, they still impart lots of flavor and character, but the style of beer combined with the volume we’re producing really dictates that we used fresh distilled spirit barrels.
As a result, we have a regular supply of whole (empty) barrels that we’re willing to part with for very little. Not only do these barrels have great flavor, but there color and character are something to behold too. So if you’re a homebrewer, a gardener (yes, they make great planters), a craftsman, or any one of hundreds of other people who has use for gently-used spirit barrels, these are just $25 each (whole 33gal barrel) when you pick up it up.
Saturday, February 27th is our 3rd Carnevale di Lost Abbey Masquerade party. An annual bash held in honor of the release of our 2009 GABF Gold Medal-winning Carnevale Ale, we’ll be serving up food by our house chef Vince, live music by the Professors, and a huge tap and bottle list of great Port Brewing and Lost Abbey beers.
The masquerade is from 7pm to 11pm and food and music are free for everyone who shows up in costume and mask. It’s $10 for those without a costume (we will, however, provide you with a mask). Beers are all regular price.
Our DirectorI have an easy job. There I said it, easy. I show up for work at a brewery each day and make decisions about beer. It seems like an easy task and most days, this place runs itself. Sometimes, I am asked to make bigger picture assertions and this past week, we undertook a major redesign of our existing tasting bar.
You see, during the week and especially on the weekends we’ve started to see a major increase in the number of visitors to our warehouse.
Over the past 6 months, our original tasting bar just became so inadequate. The cold box also began bursting at the seams as we kept stuffing more kegs in it. So, we made an executive decision to tear it all down and start over.
Demolition began on Monday and by Friday evening, we were back up and running. We’ve added more taps, more bar top space and committed more open space for enjoying your favorite Lost Abbey beer. As an added bonus, we’ve now got shelving in our cold box and we’ll be launching a Vintage Beer List on December 12th. This list will include bottles we’ve been sold out of and potentially experimental beers we’ve never made available. Look for details on www.lostabbey.com.
Our beers are always in a state of evolution so it’s not surprising that our tasting bar has evolved as well. Mind you, we’ve kept the comfortable bar stools. And the attentive, colorful language swearing wait staff is still here. Those aren’t things you redesign. There’s 17 beers on tap right now with room for more! Come on down and see us. You’ll like what we’ve been up to.
I promise.
The Faces of The Lost Abbey
Ryan Fields, Lead Brewer
Ryan Fields, Lead Brewer
This month we’d like to introduce you to our lead brewer Ryan Fields. At the tender age of 24, he’s the youngest brewer on staff, but as a near two-year veteran of the team, he’s also the oldest employee (we don’t count Tomme).
Ryan started with Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey back in January of 2008 as a general brewhouse grunt, washing kegs, cleaning tanks, running the bottler, and all the dirty work no one else wanted to do. Before long he proved himself to be a hard worker and quick learner, and he was promoted to brew staff, initally as a brewer’s assistant, then and assistant brewer, and finally to his current lead brewer position.
These days you’ll find Ryan running the night brew shift, where when, he’s not moving beer from one place to another, he hides among the fermenters and pretends to be “the brewery troll” (don’t ask).
The night shift may not last long for Ryan, however. He made his first appearance as a Lost Abbey brewer at a special event at the Great American Beer Festival this year. Turns out his boyish good looks and humble personality made him a big hit, especially among the ladies in attendance. He ended up signing a lot of bottles and more than a few girl’s body parts.
Many people ask how Ryan got his first job at the brewery and we like to tell the story of his job interview.
One night he walked into the tasting bar and asked Molly the bartender “hey, are you hiring?”
Molly nodded to the man sitting next Ryan who happened to be none other than Tomme himself. Tomme turned to Ryan and said “what are your qualifications?”
“Well, I used to be an Eagle Scout,” Ryan answered.
He started work a few days later.
Brewery News: Tasting Room Updates
If you missed Tomme’s blog post on the website the other day, then you haven’t heard that we’ve recently done a major renovation on the brewery tasting room.
Our 25 foot long tasting bar, 16 taps and giant cold box have been replaced by a 42 foot bar(that’s 13 meters to those of you outside of the states), 29 taps and new restaurant style walk-in with double glass doors for bottles.
Not only is new new space larger and swankier, but it also affords us the ability to keep more bottles chilled for purchase and/or over-the counter consumption. click for larger image
Right now we’re still putting the finishing touches on the space — adding the new merchandise displays and bottle cabinets, plumbing the glass washers and re-mounting the big screen TV — but we’re still open for business, and patrons are here enjoying it on a regular basis.
We plan on finishing everything up within the next couple of weeks in time for the big grand opening on December 12th when we’ll be revealing our new vintage bottle selection. (Bottle of `06 Angel’s Share anyone? How about a nice cold bottle of Yellow Bus?)
Make sure to check the website for updates and a final list of the vintage bottles that’ll be avaialble that day. If you get a chance, make sure to drop by and check the place out. (You’ll find our tasting room hours and updates on the website right here.)
2010 Patron Saints and Patron Sinners Club Registration
Yes, this is the long-awaited announcement! Registration for the 2010 Lost Abbey Saints, and Lost Abbey Sinners will open on Tuesday, December 1 at 6am Pacific Time.
As with last year’s clubs, the Patron Saints will be limited to 200 members, each of whom will receive 14 beers, including the much coveted Saint’s “black label” release. The Patron Sinners limited to 350 members, each of whom will receive a dozen of our barrel-aged rarities including the annual Sinner’s Blend. Annual membership dues will also remain the same at $160 for Saints and $235 for Sinners.
In addition to the beers, members of each club will also be entitled to VIP status for all limited availability beer releases, receive a six-piece set imported Lost Abbey glassware, and get 10% off all non-specialty beers and merchandise purchases. Members of both clubs will also be invited to the annual Sinners and Saints Dinner and Tasting held every October at the brewery.
NOTE: Both of these clubs sell out very quickly. If you’re interested in becoming either a Patron Saint or Patron Sinner, make sure to register as early as possible!
New Online Shop
We’re pleased to announce the opening of our new online shop!
Now you’ll be able to purchase Port Brewing and Lost Abbey merchandise — T-shirts, workshirts, glassware, tap handles and more — all from the convenience of your computer. Additionally, if you’re a resident of the state of California, you’ll also be able to make bottled beer purchases online and have them delivered right to your door.
Here’s the current new releases for the holiday season. Both of these beers have been bottled and kegged and shipped into distribution, so if you’re in a region in which our beers are available (click here for a map), you should see these start to hit your favorite tap rooms and store shelves any time now.
