North Coast Brewing Company

I just got back from a weekend in Mendocino, and let me tell you that one of the highlights is North Coast Brewing Company, located in Fort Bragg, California.

Fort Bragg is a small coastal town in Northern California (not to be confused with Fort Bragg, North Carolina); it is called Fort Bragg because it was established as a military fort during the Civil War. It later found use as a center of trade for dealing in lumber, though just recently Georgia-Pacific has given up its massive lumber mill there. Like many quaint, rural, scenic towns, it is struggling for (but on the verge of finding) a renaissance as an artist's community and seaside resort/getaway/vacation spot. I can safely say art galleries and B&Bs outnumber lumber mills in the area by a vast ratio.

In any case, currently Fort Bragg is most famous for (in no particular order... I think): Glass Beach (an old ocean-side dump which has now seen the force of nature pummel and recycle old glass into a beach strewn with smooth, worn shards/pebbles of sea-glass), California Western Railroad (the "Skunk Train" which started in 1885 as a lumber train and now runs tourist rides through the local redwood forests to Willits, CA), and... North Coast Brewing Company.

The North Coast Brewing Company is unassuming enough -- located at 455 North Main Street (aka. Rt. 1 along the Pacific coast of California) -- but makes some fantastic beer. In fact, I'm drinking an Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout as I write this -- and I'm lamenting that I only bought a 4-pack of it while up there!

I didn't get a chance to visit the brewery (free tours Saturdays at noon; no reservations required) or store (they have some nice, albeit overprices, merchandise), but I did stop into their Taproom & Grill for dinner (and a 2nd time the next day to take some beer with me to go!)

On a Saturday evening at around 7:30 (half-hour wait), the food at the brewery was fine -- some of the dinner entrees seemed overpriced ($20-$30/plate), but I saw several people ordering them and I have to say that they looked good, even though I never gave them a try. I debated on ordering one of the specials of the night -- coconut shrimp with red curry sauce -- but I'm glad I didn't, as I saw another patron order the dish and it looked skimpy and untempting. My girlfriend and I opted for the beer-battered calamari appetizer (not the best calamari I've ever had, but very good) and a 1/2 lb. burger with cheddar cheese and garlic waffle fries. Everything was fairly standard pub fare, though the garlic fries had a generous helping of garlic (unfortunately it was all concentrated in one pile, and we were not informed that opting for garlic fries was $1 more than regular fries, bringing the total bill to about $11 for the calamari appetizer and $15 for the burger with fries, or $26 total for food.) For beer, I had randomly tried their Red Seal Ale at the Hydro Grill in Calistoga and enjoyed it (though a bit hoppy for my usual taste), so I decided to order a sampler; you can get four 4-ounce sample servings for $5, or 10 samples for $12. Since both my girlfriend and I are big fans of Belgian trappist ales (and they have some variations thereof on offering), she ordered a glass of La Merle saison ale, and I ordered samples of: Pranqster Belgian-Style Golden Ale, Brother Thelonius Belgian-Style Strong Dark, Old Stock Ale (English old ale), and Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Ale.

In short, I tasted some of the strongest, most flavorful beers on the menu. (a little tip: some of these beers are far cheaper to get in a sampler than they are by themselves! For example, Old Stock Ale -- a very strong English Old Ale at 12%+ abv -- was $4-$6 -- sorry, I don't remember -- per 6 oz. serving. But I do remember that, in the sampler, I obtained 4 ounces of it for about $1.25) I love Belgian-style beers and the fact that North Coast Brewing Company makes so many of them -- and does it so well, at such an affordable price -- is part of the reason I love them. All of their trappist/abbey-syle ales were superior to other American ones I've tried (including New York's Ommegang brewery as well as some Canadian ones, as well), second only to some varieties from the Netherlands and Belgium itself. My favorites of the North Coast beers I tried (in order of preference) were:

1. Old Rasputin: Amazing. If you love Belgian abbey/trappist ales (malty/syrupy and strong alcohol content, with perhaps a bit of spice) and traditional stouts (Guinness/Murphy's, etc. - dark, creamy beers with strong roasted flavors of malts) then this is THE beer for you. And since I like them both... it's the beer for me! Fantastic. A little bit like the flavor of Dogfish Head's Raison d'Etre beer, but a slightly-stronger, slightly creamier version.
   
2. Old Stock Ale: This one claims it is a good one to "lay down" (save for later; let it age), and I for one am curious, so I've set a bottle a side. It's "vintaged" as a 2008 brew/release, and at $3/bottle (12 oz. -- and that's right in Fort Bragg!), it's not cheap, but it IS strong and complex. Hoppy, AND malty, AND syrupy (and a bit sweet ... a little like a Scotch ale, minus the smoky flavor)
   
3. La Merle: Saison ale, and a fantastic one at that. Slightly-strong, slightly spicy-sweet, a little bit complex. This holds its own against the best of the Belgian brews... and at $8 per 750 ml bottle!
   
4. Brother Thelonius: Similar to La Merle, but a bit darker and heavier. Another beautiful abbey-style ale; you'll probably like this if you like Chimay.
   
5. Red Seal Ale: a hoppy red-amber ale, if you like that sort of thing; like a mix between Killian's, an IPA, and an ESB
   
6. Pranqster: A Belgian-style golden ale, stronger than your average beer but lighter than most Belgium trappist/abbey ales. Good, but doesn't have the richness or complexity of most. In my opinion it is comparable to Duvel.
   

I haven't tried all of their beers (sadly, I never got a taste of their more-typical Blue Star unfiltered wheat or Scrimshaw pilsner), but I can safely say that North Coast Brewing Company is my favorite West Coast brewery (my favorite for the East Coast would be Delaware/Maryland's Dogfish Head brewery); and this is coming from someone who has tried an array -- not all, but quite a variety -- of California, Oregon, and (a few) Washington beers.