It’s always cause for celebration when a new brewery opens, doubly so when it represents the resurrection of a long-dead brand. Wunder Brewing last brewed in San Francisco in 1909. So it’s been almost a century since it closed. There was another Wunder brewery in Oakland just after Prohibition ended, around 1934, but it lasted less than a year. So it is with great promise that this historic brand tries to make a go of it once more in San Francisco’s inner sunset district. The only downside to this story is that Eldo’s — and more importantly their brewer Joe — are now gone from the local brewing community. So I wish new owner Carl Durham well, and hope his new venture will be …, well, wunder-ful. According to the brewery’s website, they should be open the first week of July.

I love the tagline they used on this tray, “None Purer, None Better.” The original Wunder Brewing was first known as Philip Frauenholz & Co. when it opened in 1852. Over the years it went through five more name changes, usually involving some form of Bavaria Brewing, before becoming Wunder Brewing in 1898. That was after John C. Wunder purchased the brewery, having arrived in California a few years before, either in 1895 or on March 15, 1896, depending on the source. The first thing Wunder did upon arriving was found the San Diego (California) Brewing Co. in San Francisco. He later bought out the Bavarian Brewery, organizing his two breweries under the Wunder name. The brewery was originally a steam beer plant but it’s unclear if it remained so through its many incarnations, not to mention locations, which include Vallejo and Green, Vallejo and Montgomery, and Greenwich and Scott Streets. The brewery on Greenwich was still standing until 1990, when damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused it to be torn down. Sometime in the 1920s or 30s it had been turned into a residence and was made to look like a Spanish-style stucco home.

As for the new brewery, they started their first batch at 11:50 a.m. on Saturday, June 9. It was a pale ale, and they expect to also offer a brown beer, which is described on the website as like a Viennese lager, among others. That makes some sense, since Vienna Lager’s color is usually described as reddish brown or copper, with a pretty narrow SRM range (10-12). But there’s certainly no reason why a commercial beer can’t make something close to that style that’s slightly darker. I like Vienna lagers, they’re a little sweeter and toastier than pilsners, but are also clean and crisp like their more popular cousin. I’m looking forward to trying Durham’s interpretation.

I’ve been staring at this poster below for many years now, as there’s one hanging in the Celebrator Beers News‘ offices, so it seems more like a familiar friend than an antique. It’s interesting to note that it’s exactly 100 years old.

Brian Ford, the former brewer at Beermanns Beerwerks near Sacramento has been trying to get his new brewpub open for some time now. Finally, his new Auburn Alehouse Brewery & Restaurant will be opening this Thursday, June 21 in Old Town Auburn, California, which is also just outside Sacramento. I saw Brian and tried a pair of his beers at the Raley Field Brewfest May 12. Brian even invited me up this weekend to try things out but with Father’s Day it just didn’t work out.

Photograph by Ben Furtado of the Auburn Journal

Yesterday’s Auburn Journal, the local paper, ran a nice introductory story on the brewpub. Although I confess to a chuckle over this amusing understatement: All beer is brewed using traditional ingredients like malted barley, hops, fresh water and yeast, as well as some specialty ingredients like wheat, maize, spices and regional fruits. As opposed to …? When I first read that, it made me think the reporter was informing the reader as to what beer is made with, but to be fair, she copied this statement from the Auburn Alehouse’s website, but changed the first few words from “All beers will be brewed using …” to “All beer is brewed using …., which changes the meaning considerably.” But that gentle gaffe aside, it was great to see Brian’s new venture get some local attention. Their website lists nine regular beers and will also be supplemented “seasonal or monthly special brew,” along with what they’re calling “Pub Brewed Special,” which sounds like very small batches.

Also the food to be served at the restaurant sounds pretty damn good. The chef is Luis Gomez, who is also a co-owner. He’s apparently been cooking for almost thirty years centering on “Mediterranean and Southwestern flare.” The restaurant will also feature more than a dozen appetizers, including crab cakes, alehouse wedge fries and pub pickle chips, roughly 30 entrees including steak, fish and pizzas, soups, salads and desserts. And the cheeseloaf sound pretty tasty, too. It’s described as a “[b]aked to order sourdough round loaf, stuffed with Gruyere, Parmesan, Swiss, garlic butter, and chives, served with balsamic and olive oil.” He’ll also be using as many local ingredients as possible. I’m looking very forward to the time when I can try Brian’s beer and eat some of the food at Auburn Alehouse.

For eight years, Eric Rose was the head brewer at Santa Barbara Brewing. And life was good. But Eric, like many brewers, dreamed of opening his own place one day. That day was Sunday, when his Hollister Brewing opened its doors to the public for the first time.

Situated in a modern strip mall setting in Goleta, a high-tech suburb of Santa Barbara, the new building, brewery and restaurant was built from scratch. I was in Santa Barbara over St. Patrick’s Day weekend (the missus had business that took her there for a long weekend) and hooked up with Eric for my regular column in Ale Street News, the Left Coaster. I’ve always liked Eric’s beers and feel like he often doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, despite winning awards for his Belgian-style beers and hoppy west coast IPAs. Rose is installing a brand-new 10bbl system and will offer twelve of his own beers — all of them organic — in a wide range of styles along with eight guests taps featuring his friends’ beers. After he’s up and running, he also expects to start doing some barrel-aged beers in small quantities.

Also from my Ale Street News column:

His new brewpub, named Hollister Brewing Co. for the street in the Santa Barbara suburb of Goleta where it’s located, will be something of a Gastropub among chain restaurants. They’ll serve reasonably priced upscale food made for all-local ingredients prepared by the former chef from Bouchon, one of the most well-respected local restaurants. The menu will feature eclectic brew food with homemade sauces, specialty pizza and six daily lunch specials to cater to the high-tech industry nearby.

As Rose tells me, “there used to be a time when you had to choose between being green and good taste.” But now that you can have both, he believes more people will make the responsible choice that gives them both great taste and the feeling that they’re doing the right thing, too. Organic beers have truly come of age. So far in the first few days he’s getting some good reviews from locals and the local paper, the Santa Barbara Independent has written favorably about the opening. I’m really looking forward to tasting what Eric will be brewing at his new venture. If you visit Santa Barbara, be sure to stop by his new place and give it a try.

From the Independent article:

Located at the northeast corner of the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta, the new brewery is replacing Camino Real Café. The three looked at a number of different locations, but decided on the Camino Real Marketplace because of the activity surrounding the area. “It’s a very important part of the Goleta Valley,” Rose said. With traffic being generated by a movie theater, Home Depot, Starbucks, and Borders, the trio envisions the brewery as another option for older college students and researchers to enjoy a nicer beer, as there is nothing of the sort in Goleta. The brewery has “enough TVs to make sports fans happy,” but is low-key enough that it isn’t a sports bar, Rose said.

Hollister Brewer Eric Rose in March.

After being closed for several months, next Friday May 4th, Full Sail will be re-opening their Pub and Tasting Room. Here’s the press release:

Full Sail Tasting Room & Pub Grand Opening Friday, May 4th

Hood River — After months of planning, design, construction, remodeling and lot’s of recipe tastings, Full Sail Brewing is reopening their pub. The Grand Opening will be on Friday May 4th, 2007, in the same spectacular location with the same great beers. What is new is a more comfortable seating area that highlights the view of the Columbia River and the Gorge and a special menu designed to celebrate Full Sail’s beers.

The menu will include many dishes designed to share such as the brewmaster’s ploughman platter and hand cut Belgium style fries with a variety of sauces. Also on the menu is an assortment of sandwiches including two New Orleans specials – a muffuletta and a crispy shrimp poor boy. “Big dishes” include Session battered fresh Alaskan halibut and hand-cut fries with lemon-caper tartar sauce and Amber ale barbecued pork loin with hot mustard, grilled scallions, cilantro and coconut sticky rice. There will also be some delicious vegetarian dishes.

“To update our Pub after twenty years so that it celebrates and reflects the quality of beers as well as the growth of Hood River itself has been a very fun and satisfying project. It is a twentieth anniversary present for all of us at Full Sail and for our customers,” said Irene Firmat, Full Sail’s CEO & Founder. “Most of all we are thrilled to offer a menu that will complement our award winning brews and take advantage of the wealth and quality of local ingredients. We have also added several new members to the Full Sail crew – Chef Brian Hutchins, in the kitchen and Robert Carpenter as our front of the house manager. We are happy that our continuing investment in the brewery keeps offering the opportunity to create more employee owners,” added Firmat. Swing by the Full Sail Tasting Room and Pub to taste of Chef Brian’s tempting talents along with a cold pint of Full Sail.

The independent and employee-owned Full Sail brewery is perched on a bluff in Hood River, Oregon, overlooking the most epic wind and kite surfing spot in the world. At this very moment 47 specialists in the liquid refreshment arts are crafting barley and hops into your next beer. The Full Sail crew has been fermenting godlike nectar since 1987. Their award winning brews are now available in 17 states. The Full Sail Tasting Room and Pub is open seven days a week. Swing by for a pint, grab a bite, tour the brewery, or just soak up the view. The Tasting Room and Pub will be open daily from 11:30 am for lunch and dinner. Brewery tours are still available daily, free of charge at 1, 2, 3 and 4pm.

Last year, my friend Fal Allen left for Singapore to open an American-style craft brewery for Asia Pacific Breweries. Archipelago Brewery originally opened in 1931 but by 1941 was sold to Malayan Breweries (which today is Asia Pacific Breweries). Closed since then, it finally reopened July 24 with three craft beers created and brewed by Fal: Traveller’s Wheat, Straits Pale Ale and Trader’s Ale, which is made with “a touch of Gula Melaka (palm sugar) and ginger.”

From the press release:

Combining the best of Western beer brewing techniques and exotic Asian spices, Archipelago draught beers will be created in small, unpasteurised batches to obtain the freshest beers that complement the region’s weather and food - perfectly.

“We wanted to create a craft brew that is distinctly Asian with a strong heritage. With the use of special Asian spices in our beers, the distinctive taste of Archipelago will undoubtedly appeal to beer connoisseurs in Singapore”, said Ms Andrea Teo, General Manager of Archipelago Brewery Company. “With the refined drinker in mind, the signature tastes of the Archipelago Beer range promises both pleasure and adventure with every drinking experience. By introducing specialty craft beer to the market, we also hope to educate the public about the finer points of beer appreciation and beer-food pairing.”

Brewed and crafted in Singapore to ensure maximum freshness and optimal product quality, the new Archipelago Brewery Company is devoted to the art of brewing and the enjoyment of flavour with a unique blend of East and West. Launching the brand are three main variants, Traveller’s Wheat, Straits Pale and Trader’s Ale. All three combine the credibility of Western brewing techniques with Asian ingredients such as lemon grass, tamarind and Gula Melaka, to create what is arguably the first Asian conceptualised craft beer with Asian characteristics.

I can’t wait to get over there and try them for myself. But Fal will be in Denver for GABF in late September. Perhaps he’ll bring some of his new beers with him for us to sample.

Fal at the brewery opening.

Work, work, work.

According to an article in the Corvallis Gazette-Times, Orgeon Trader Brewing located in Albany, Oregon has been sold and re-named Calapooia Brewing Co. The new owners, Mark Martin and Laura Bryngelson, opened about three weeks ago. Their best-seller so far is Yankee Clipper IPA. They also apparently offer an amber, a chile beer, a pale ale, a stout and a wheat beer. Best of luck to them both.