Beer & Food with Purpose | LA + OC

Since day one, TAPS has made hospitality a number priority – and TAPS’s new Brewery and Barrel Room doesn’t fall short. The trifecta of hospitality, quality, and community has held consistantly over two decades has led to TAPS Fish House & Brewery (in Corona, Brea, and Irvine), The Catch in Anaheim, and now TAPS Brewery and Barrel Room (Tustin), further strenghening their brand. Anticipating and following through on customers needs is why TAPS has been sucessful over the years – and their newest venture continues that proud tradition. The spacious tasting toom offers something different than the other locations: a dedicated food truck with (eclectic dishes with nods to modern Asian & Mexican flair), a pinball machine, arcade games, outdoor core hole yard, beautiful patio with a firepit, and much more! This stunning19,000 sq foot facility is truly an impressive location.

Beers

The taplist of beers offers a wide range of world class styles that everyone can enjoy – everything from a Keller Pils to a Barrel Aged Boppledock. As a recipient of over 100 medals for brewing exceptional beers, @tapsbeers lives up to credo, “World Class in Every Glass.” Hops and barley are curated in order to emulate the fine beers and brewing regions of the world. TAPS utilizes proprietary strains of yeast, reverse osmosis filtration, and tailors their water chemistry and processes for the specific beer being made. This passion for perfection has been recognized on the regional, state, national and international levels.  TAPS barrel-aged beers have also garnered national and international acclaim, and are sought out by collectors worldwide. My favorite beer is Silent Warrior, a barrel aged Strong American Ale. Woodsy. Deep. Flavorful

Maybe you’re looking for something beyond a beer – in that case, they’ve got options for you. Their other-than-lager-or-ale menu hosts a variety of beautiful Soju Cocktails. Looking for something a little more brunch-themed? Try the Michelada – it’s a nice blend that compliments a sunny day. Need a little eye-opener? Cold Brew Coffee is also available for the caffiene fiend.

Motto Expanded

This is an idea that comes to life when you’re there. – and it’s proudly featured in larger-than-life lettering on their cold box, visible through windows in the tasting area: “With a nod to the past and an eye on the future, we bravely brew an electric array of award-winning ales and lagers.  By expanding our boundaries and recognizing our strengths, we passionately strive to push the limits, pave the way of independent craft beer, and education our greatest asset: You.”

A Look Inside TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room |  Brewer Interview with Kyle Manns 

AM: What specialty brews does the TAPS brewing team have planned?

KM: With the Tustin Brewery not up & running yet, we haven’t been able to fully transition each location into it’s long term state of operation. Everything about TAPS’s beer program will change over the course of the next few months, and we have some pretty exciting things planned.

TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room will focus on the distribution, barrel aging, & special bottle release beer production, while Corona & Brea essentially become R & D breweries that we get to experiment with. We plan on being able to brew just about anything and everything, and we will.

We love lagers, so expect to see a lot of different ones coming up, namely Pilsners.

We are very excited to make a Bavarian-Style Hefeweizen on our brewhouse, and our setup will allow us to do an authentic German-Style Krystallweizen, so that is in the first round of beers.

We plan on weekly specialty releases, so keep an eye out.

AM: Explain the core values of TAPS Brewing & Barrel Room? (TAPS Brewery)

KM: Opening TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room has allowed for the opportunity to update our mission statement, and revisit our core values. We cannot operate without a great staff, and it is our duty to provide them the tools and resources to be as successful as possible in their positions. We believe in every single team member, and personal reinvestment is key.

Here is our new mission statement:

Our Mission

With a nod to the past and an eye on the future, we bravely brew an eclectic array of award-winning ales and lagers. By expanding our boundaries and recognizing our strengths, we passionately strive to push the limits, pave the way of independent craft beer, and educate our greatest asset: you.

-Your Brewers,
TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room

The number one core value and focus within the tasting room is hospitality. It’s rare to see that as a focus in a brewery setting, and frankly, we do it really well. Every aspect of the tasting room was designed with hospitality and efficiency in mind. We all have gone out and spent money food or drinks. Poor service or a bad experience is the quickest way to ruin someone’s day, and we do everything we can to ensure each guest is having the best experience possible.
AM: What inspired the conception of TAPS Brewing & Barrel Room?

KM: We set out to build a new production facility back in early 2015, which had a totally different concept at that point. A year in, the project fell apart due to an unfortunate turn of events, and we were forced to find a new location. We would go on to see the next two locations fall through at the 11th hour, setting us back a year each time. With each new location, we have had to tweak our concept to fit the space and its capabilities. All of the prior locations were located in retail centers, and had a restaurant attached. After the 3rd location fell through, spirits were pretty low within the whole team and I knew that if I didn’t act immediately, we would lose everything we had worked so hard to achieve in the meantime. That next day I tossed aside all previous space requirements & set out on a personal mission to find a new location. Leaving the retail avenue behind, I started exploring our options on the industrial side. After countless locations, I stumbled across our current spot in Tustin, and it was love at first sight. We have an incredible team of individuals, and we were able to make it happen. It’s almost as if this was the location meant to be the whole time…

We do food very well, and this particular space only has room for a production facility and a tasting room. Not being able to put in a kitchen forced us to think outside the box, so we custom designed a food truck to be a kitchen first and have little to no interaction with the guests. If you want food, you have two options: kiosks for credit/debit & Beertender for cash. Grab your number, and we will run your food order out to you. Ordering food at a beer line tends to slow down the process, and a goal of ours is to reduce the time spent in lines. Everything from the Beertender’s point of view has been designed for speed and efficiency of service. This tasting room really allows us to focus on our guests’ experiences, and the multiple order points, separate crowler fill station, kiosk food ordering, and food running all play a part in ensuring that our guests can focus on one thing – having a great time.

All in all, this operation is a culmination of the trials and tribulations over the past few years, and evolution at work.

AM: Tell us more about what you have planned for TAPS Barrel Room. . . 

KM: We are excited to overhaul and rebuild our award-winning barrel program, with two separate areas: Our temperature controlled barrel room for beers such as Remy, Silent Warrior, Velvet Hog and endless others, and a massive cold room for our cold barrel aged program which includes our Baltic Stout, Boppeldock, and others.

We’ve had some great success with our barrel aging program over the years, and look forward to being able to offer barrel-aged bottles releases again in the near future. It’s a long story, but the return of Remy will happen in 2019. With that being said, 2019 is our 20th anniversary, and we’ve got some big things planned.

AM: Will the TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room Kitchen have suggested pairings menu?

KM: Yes, each food item on the menu has a suggested pairing. These will rotate with new beer and food additions, and are clearly displayed to the guests on all digital and printed menus. Back to the culture question, The TAPS culture is much more than a menu suggestion.  Every staff member goes through a pretty rigorous training, and is updated daily on both the food and beer, and their pairings. When a guest asks for suggestions, it is expected that we can walk them through any and all food and beer items and their best pairings, all while educating them along the way.
AM: What beers are you most excited about revealing to the public?

KM: We have some new barrel aged products that have been hibernating in Corona, that we debuted at TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room. These play an integral part of our barrel program, as they are the initial brews that we have scheduled to go into barrels.

We have an award winning Doppelbock that our QA/QC Manager – Max Jones – designed, brewed, and then laid to rest in some bourbon barrels for a bit. We are very excited with the way this experiment worked out, and look forward to brewing it on the large system.

Our Head Brewer in Corona, Erik Zwack, went loose on a hazy IPA, and the response to it in the tasting room has been incredible. This one will be back for sure.

The TBBR beer will start rolling out in August, and we are very excited to debut vast variety of lagers. We will be now be able to expand our award-winning lager program & explore the entire spectrum.  This facility is designed to produce lagers, and we will definitely utilize it to its fullest potential in that regard. More clean lager beer for everyone excites us. Opening with four different Pilsners was pretty fun, and we will be releasing three more over the coming weeks.

Most of all though, we are all super stoked on our hoppy beers, & can’t wait to get more of them out there!
AM: What’s the most undervalued brewing ingredients?

KM: Yeast. All we do is make sugar water (wort) – to feed the yeast. We are using all of the other ingredients to manipulate the yeast, in a sense playing God by selectively choosing the best to survive, and creating a specific environment for them to react to. Everything we do as a brewer revolves around yeast doing it’s job. They turn our water into wine (beer), and truly should be center stage of your beer production. Most of the off-flavors I encounter are yeast-related & easily avoidable, and sometimes over-thinking it is just as bad.

AM: Where do you draw your inspiration?

KM: I try to draw inspiration from my surroundings. There is so much to be inspired by, and I try to look for the good in things to keep that inspiration fed. Family, friends, co-workers, industry peers, and Elon Musk play a big part…

AM: New favorite TAPS beer and food pairing?

KM: The Royal w/Cheese & Kellerpils is always a great pairing, but the Taco Swell Wrap happens to coincidentally resemble a guilty pleasure of mine, so I’m sure I’ll find myself enjoying those frequently.

AM: If you were omnipotent, what would you change (first) to improve our beer universe?

KM: To make everyone have the upmost care and desire to make the highest quality product possible, first and foremost, every time.

Featured Festival | Photography & Story | Greg Aleshire 

Back for its second year at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco, and Music Festival was sold out again and packed with a great crowd out to enjoy the sun on the beach. And the Craft Beer! And the Tacos! And the live music!

We had perfect weather for the fest this year with cool overcast early and the sun breaking through for the afternoon it was another beautiful April day in Southern California. Although parking was a little difficult, Doheny is a much better location than out near Irvine Lake where cell reception and therefore GPS cut out before you find it.

I’m pretty sure there was something for everyone there. Luchadores (Lucha Libre wrestlers, think Nacho Libre) battling in the ring, a skeleton faced juggler on a unicycle, and lots of fun outfits from some of the attendees were alCool part of the fun…so cool!

The Gringo Bandito Chronic Tacos Challenge, taco eating contest, was definitely no place for rookies. Takeru Kobayashi from Nagano, Japan (the man holds eight Guinness Book world records in eating competitions!) won for the second year in a row by scarfing down 154 tacos in ten minutes. I don’t think I could have done it in ten hours.

There were some people who actually tasted the tacos though, and they were the panel of distinguished food judges rating the “Best of Show” from the taco vendors. First place went to Chisme Tortilleria and their Asada Chimichurri Taco. Fiesta Gourmet took second with their Fiesta Fish Taco, and third place went to Sausage King for their sausage INYO taco. There was so much good food there that we had to remember to save room for the beer. But then there’s always room for beer, right?

Oh, and the beer…yes, the beer! With about fifty-six breweries pouring 2-4 beers each, try as we did, we could not taste each of them, but trying was the fun part! Plenty of really good beers were there and among my favorites were these (in no particular order).

Craft Beer Highlights

“Frederick H” from Bruery Terreaux in Anaheim is a Berliner Weissbier 4.4%ABV fermented in Oak Foeders and is pleasantly tart and funky with Brettanomyces. “Citra Extra Pale” 7%ABV from Knee Deep in Auburn, CA is a single hop (Citra) West Coast style American Pale Ale (APA) that I really enjoy, bright and a bit citrusy and fairly dry.

“Mexican Chocolate Stout” 7%ABV (being Sabroso Taco Fest there were a lot of Mexican themed beers) from Belching Beaver in Vista, CA, was delicious. Formerly known as “Viva La Beaver”, this chocolate stout uses “Abuelita” Mexican chocolate for its unmistakable flavor of Mexican hot chocolate. If you’ve never had the hot chocolate try it, then you’ll know how tasty it is…

“Bruiser” Imperial Chocolate Stout from Docent in San Juan Capistrano is a BIG beer coming in at 11.3%ABV and is definitely a sipper in small quantities but thoroughly enjoyable.

Music 

I also had a chance to sit down and talk to Dakota Gartner who is the lead singer of the opening band at Sabroso 2018, Naked Walrus. Along with lead guitarist Hayden and drummer Taylor, they have a straightforward rock sound that’s tight and clean. With influences such as Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, their sound gets the crowd rocking.

Although they’ve been accused of being too positive (being raised by hippies may have had something to do with that), they do have a good vibe happening that is appealing, and admittedly want “the love to radiate” when they are performing. They don’t want to write about negativity, even though “Acceptance” does have some dark(er) tones, as it is about substance abuse, something he sees a lot of when working events (he also happens to be the hospitality manager at Sabroso).

So the band’s name…Dakota and Hayden came up with Naked Walrus while in high school 7 years ago and despite friends telling them to change it, they didn’t, and it works! As part of their “anti-boy-band” themed marketing, “The Walrus” is the mask, and “Naked Walrus” is the band and is a part of the members’ aim for anonymity with masked photo shoots for promotion. I am glad to see they don’t perform in masks though.

Although they did a Kickstarter campaign for their second album they don’t want to do it again because it felt too disingenuous. So they spend a lot of time touring which they enjoy, doing 75 shows last year. I’m looking forward to hearing more of their music, including “Soul” which is written from the Devil’s perspective of taking over one’s soul.

As the beer tasting came near an end, the crowd was noticeably“happier” than when we started and we had a great time as usual. When the clock strikes 4:00 and the beer tasting ends, it can be disheartening to be third in line and waiting in anticipation for that taster of double IPA that never gets poured, but you’ve probably had enough anyway, right? It’ll just have to wait for next year, or the next beer festival, or jeez, just go to the brewery’s tasting room and buy some!! Cheers! Greg Aleshire

Now that summer is upon us, the heat is starting to rise – and the best thing to do is have a beer in hand. Whether you’re poolside or with friends at a barbecue, summer brings a plethora of local beers to please. Here’s a dual can release that will help you beat the heat.

Artfiex Brewing Company

Sober In The Morning DIPA | ABV 8%

Once again Artifex brews up a release with finesse and creativity. This next release is brewed in homage to Winston Churchill, and ceraintly does him justice by definatly packing a monumental hop bomb. This West Coast DIPA is brewed with a handsome amount of Simcoe, Galaxy & Citra. Even with a monumental amount of hops, the California Ale yest lends smooth mouthfeel with tropical notes and a clean finish.

The 411

Artifex Brewing Company
919 Calle Amanecer
San Clemente, CA 92673

When: 12:00 pm

Cans: No limit | 4 packs | Price TBA

Pizza Port X Pure Project | Nami IPA | ABV 6.8%

https://pizzaport.com/locations/san-clemente/

Nami India Pale Ale is the next in Pizza Port Beer – Buddies Project, brewed in collaboration with Pure Project as part of their own dual can release. This lighter West Coast style IPA was brewed with flaked rice to provide a light flavor and color, and keeps it simple with a two-hop profile of Citra and Mosaic.

Hop heads can also get their hands on a pack of Pure Project’s recently released Sakura IPA, which is Nami’s counterpart (take a look at Instagram @PizzaPortBrewingCo for a sweet picture of how the cans stack together!) Both beers were brewed from the same recipe, but using different hops, allowing for a unique tasting experience.

DETAILS. . .

From the founders of the always-satisfying beverage spot, Horchateria, comes a one-of-a-kind donut shop that speaks to my inner 90’s kid. Walking into Donas transported me a more simple time – a time when endlessly listening to Spice Girls while indulging on a whole box of Fruity Pebbles was the norm. A time, long missed, when instead of endlessly looking down at your cell phone, your time would be spent playing with your Tamagotchi.

Independently owned and operated with Mexican roots, Donas caters to those who love Mexican inspired sweets and Raza culture. Each of these delectable donuts bring creativity and a unique sensibility to the table – all in service of their local Downey community.

At family fiestas I’m sure many of you’ve found yourself sipping on some Corona with lime (or maybe some Modelos). Perhaps being nostalgic got you in the mood for something crisp. clean, and sessionable. We can thank the hardworking Austrian and German immigrants who, in the 19th century, began brewing beer from their homeland in Mexico. In 1864, Austria’s Maximilian I declared himself emperor of Mexico – and, in doing so, brought the Vienna lager to the New World. This beer style proved to be more popular in Mexico than Maximilian – it became the dominant beer in Mexico entering the 20th century.

Brewing Brilliance

Today craft drinkers are lucky to have brewers who produce excellent, craveable Mexican lagers. Artifex brewers Johnny Johur and Bryan Rederer have accomplished just that with Artifexican Mexican Lager (which also dazzled the judges at GABF in 2017, where it snagged a bronze medal for its finesse).

As far as I’m concerned, as another sunny California summer approaches, other styles of beer can step aside (although I must admit, I still crave Artifexican plenty in the cooler months). This beer is timeless, constant and will never go out of style on your taste buds. Grab your best beer friends and trek down to Artifex to take a swing at this flavor-filled ale pinata.

Hazy with a Chance of METAL. . .

In the mood for something devilishly hazy!? Look no further than Artifex for your hazy fill this weekend. Saturday ‘Llama Goat’ NE hazy DIPA will be unleashed to haze crazed hop heads. This aggressively hopped DIPA brewed with Nelson, Amarillo & Citra hops results in bright tropical flavors with a demonically silky-smooth texture and a remarkably clean finish.

The Devil Is In The Details 

When: Saturday 5/12 at 12:00 pm

Where: 919 Calle Amanecer  San Clemente, CA 92673

The 411: $20.00 | 4 pack for Llama Goat

Artifexican Mexican Lager | $14.00