Clockwise from left: Miles Berry (18), tenor sax, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts; James Francies (17), piano, High School for the Performing & Visual Arts, Houston; Michael Mitchell (18), drums, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts, Dallas; Jose Albizu (17), bass, New World School of the Arts, Miami; Joel Ross (17), vibes, Chicago High School for the Arts; Nick Saia (17), guitar, LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, New York

How do you get to be one of the best young jazz musicians in the country? It doesn’t just happen. It takes dedication to the art form, discipline to practice for countless hours, focus during lessons, concentration during rehearsals, respect for colleagues and the creativity and chops to improvise. It also helps to have talent and some great teachers for role models, instruction and inspiration.

The six young musicians who comprise the 2013 Thelonious Monk Institute National Performing Arts High School All-Star Jazz Sextet are among the best young jazz musicians in the country. They attend high schools that participate in the Thelonious Monk Institute National Performing Arts High School Program. Of all the musicians in this nation-wide program they have been selected as the best of the best.

The Program is designed to support the education of gifted musicians who are attending public performing arts high schools across the nation, offering these students a high-level, musically sophisticated, performance-based jazz curriculum. Participants have the opportunity to study with some of the best jazz artists and educators in the world, perform in jazz combos with their peers, and learn, absorb and integrate what they need to gain entry into esteemed music conservatories and university music schools.

The Institute works with each school to develop a course of study that includes classes in theory, composition, improvisation, history, styles and analysis. It also provides ongoing private and group instruction with Institute educators and visiting artists. The students have opportunities to work with jazz masters and perform in high-profile student ensembles.

Over the last six years North Coast Brewing has contributed more than $500,000 to the Monk Institute in support of jazz education through contributions from the sale of Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale. In its role as Presenting Sponsor of the Mendocino Music Festival, North Coast Brewing is delighted to bring the Monk Institute’s National High School All-Star Sextet to perform in the 2013 season. This is an opportunity for North Coast Brewing to dovetail two organizations it supports and bring an outstanding group of young jazz players to the Mendocino Coast. The concert will take place on Saturday, July 20^th at 3:00 pm at Preston Hall on Main Street in the town of Mendocino. Tickets are on sale at the Mendocino Music Festival website or 707 937-4041 and are $25, non-reserved and limited seating. In other words, get your tickets now before they sell out.

In addition to the performance, the members of the Sextet will conduct a Peer-to-Peer Jazz Workshop, a special event free to students, on Saturday, July 20 at 10:00 am at the Matheson Theater on Ford Street in Mendocino. The workshop will be a micro version of the Peer-to-Peer Jazz Education Initiative, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Through this national initiative, jazz combos in the performing arts high school programs together with established jazz artists, participate in week long performance and information workshops called “informance tours.” Members of the combos perform for and play alongside high school musicians whose schools they are visiting, acting as ambassadors of jazz. They teach their peers about the rich history of jazz and about the deeply held American values it represents: teamwork, collaboration, unity with ethnic diversity, and the vital importance of really listening to one another.

The setting on July 20 will give music students from Northern California the opportunity to work with the exceptionally gifted and motivated members of the All-Star Sextet who are eager to share their skills and knowledge and encourage their peers. High school students interested in participating should contact the Mendocino Music Festival at 707 937-4041.

Eminent jazz educator and professional bassist, Dr. J.B. Dyas, Vice President for Education and Curriculum Development at the Monk Institute, will accompany the All-Star Sextet on this visit to the Mendocino Coast. Formerly Executive Director of the Brubeck Institute, Dyas has performed across the country, taught students at every level, directed large and small ensembles, developed and implemented new jazz curricula and written for national publications. His dynamic and innovative teaching style engages and inspires. Among the many projects he works on, Dyas visits the eleven performing arts public high schools in the program two to three times a year, works with the students, mentors their teachers in how to better teach jazz and goes on the road with the groups selected for the Peer-to-Peer Informance Tours.

So, will the young musicians in the All-Star Sextet go on to become professional jazz musicians and educators? There’s a very good chance they will. These youngsters have a distinct sense of who they are. They are creative, goal oriented, focused and able to concentrate and build on their skills as individuals and in a group. The have developed self-esteem and confidence. They have high expectations for themselves. They have a passion that inspires and guides them. Whatever they decide to do, they have developed the skills to succeed and to create fulfilling lives for themselves.

The crane operators are positioning the first tank while the second tank is sitting on the truck, awaiting its turn.

The NCBC crew helps guide the tank to the correct position for its descent to the four foot deep concrete base.

The third tank on its way up to the brewery roof.

Here’s a view of the roof top action from inside the brewery.

The first two tanks are in place as the NCBC crew guides the third tank to the correct position for its descent into the brewery.

The three new fermenters are in place inside the brewery.

All photos by Karen Wineland except last photo by Nancy Harris

On the evening of May 13, excited spectators watched a calm and competent crew from North Coast Brewing Company direct the placement of three brand new stainless steel fermenting tanks into the southwest side of the Brewery. Two heavy-duty cranes lifted the 22,000 pound tanks above the roof and lowered them onto the floor. This event was the culmination of over two years of planning, permitting, designing, engineering and construction. Under the direction of NCBC President and Brewmaster Mark Ruedrich, team leaders Chuck Martins, Head Brewer and Plant Engineer, and Mike Wineland, Project Manager, masterminded and implemented this expansion.

In preparation for the installation, three twelve foot diameter holes were cut into the Brewery roof and the existing eight inch concrete floor was excavated and replaced by a four foot thick concrete base laced with rebar and topped with steel anchor bolts to hold the fermenters in place. Each tank holds 16,275 gallons, roughly enough to fill 171,500 twelve ounce bottles. When full, each tank will weigh 152,000 pounds. Once the tanks are plumbed and the electrical work is completed, the fermenters will be fully operational. NCBC projects the addition of the tanks will boost production 40% over last year and add about a dozen additional people to the workforce.

The tanks were manufactured by the Paul Mueller Company in Springfield, MO., and transported 2100 miles to Fort Bragg, CA in three Mueller flatbed trucks. According to one of the drivers, the toughest part of the route was the last 30 miles between Willits and Fort Bragg. If you live on the Mendocino Coast, you can easily see the three new fermenters from the Brewery Taproom across the street from the Brewery on Main Street in downtown Fort Bragg. Check out the NCBC blog to see more photos of the three new tanks.

Truck photo: Bob Swatzell
Roof top photos: Jason Ross

On Saturday, June 8 she’ll head out to the Houston Beer Festival at Hermann Square Park from 1:00 to 10:00 pm to pour Brother Thelonious, Old Rasputin and Le Merle. This is a major beer event in the Lone Star State and all these events add up to a big BIG beer week in Houston!

]]> http://northcoastbrewing.com/blog/join-north-coast-brewing-june-6-through-8-at-houstons-big-beer-week/feed/ 0 http://northcoastbrewing.com/blog/craft-beer-replaces-wine-as-young-womens-drink-of-choice/ http://northcoastbrewing.com/blog/craft-beer-replaces-wine-as-young-womens-drink-of-choice/#comments Mon, 03 Jun 2013 23:20:48 +0000 Nancy_NCB http://northcoastbrewing.com/blog/?p=1399 Continue reading →]]>  

Detroit Free Press
By Kathy Flanigan
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Photo of Melissa Modlinski of Paramount Merchants and a Rep for North Coast Brewing in Chicago.

Meagan O’Brien sipped her beer and bit her tongue as the man next to her tried to describe to his date some of the 60 craft beers at a Milwaukee bar. Turns out, he didn’t know his ales from his hefeweizens. “She kept asking questions, and this guy just kept making up stuff,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien, 31, could have set him straight easily. A sales representative for Tallgrass, a craft beer brewed in Kansas, she’s also a certified cicerone – kind of a sudsy version of a sommelier.

Although O’Brien didn’t correct the man at the bar, she had the satisfaction of knowing that the men-know-beer/women-prefer-wine cliche could be on its way out, thanks to a growing wave of interest in craft beer among women.

Groups for beer-drinking women are springing up nationwide, including an international club called Barley’s Angels. Craft beer sales in general have doubled in the past six years and are set to triple by 2017, according to BeerPulse.com. Many of those customers are women between 25 and 34 who appreciate the nuanced flavors of small-batch beers. According to a 2012 Gallup poll, beer has been the favorite beverage among drinkers since 1985. It typically held second place as the adult beverage of choice for females, but recently, beer has edged out wine among women ages 18 to 34. “I like craft beer a lot, and this seemed like a good opportunity to meet with other people who like beer,” said Sarah Booth, 29, during a Barley’s Angels class about pairing beers with food. “It’s just what I like to drink. It feels more personal drinking something that’s brewed in a small batch.”

Julia Herz, the craft beer program director for the Craft Brewers Association in Colorado, has her own theories about why women are moving toward craft beer, defined as the product of a brewery with annual output of 6 million barrels of beer or fewer. Women in their 20s and 30s are in “the sweet spot” for craft beer consumption, Herz said. “They’re the same quality-minded people who are buying artisanal cheeses and fair trade coffees and who don’t mind waiting for a bartender to shake a craft cocktail. Craft beer is an affordable way to buy artisanal. The cost of a bottle of beer, usually less than a bottle wine, affords aficionados a chance to sample several craft beer flavors for a simple trade up in price compared to wine,” Herz said.

Image also factors into the reason that woman are gravitating to beer. “This is bold for me to say, but beer in the past has been marketed as a gender-specific beverage to men,” Herz said. While some macro beer producers use women in tank tops to sell beer, the 2,300 craft brewers in the U.S. generally market in a way that’s not gender specific.

If craft beer producers have learned to make beer a genderless beverage, bartenders are still on a learning curve. Beer expert O’Brien recalls the time she ordered a $12 glass of Angry Monk. The bartender asked what she thought of it, and she mentioned that it seemed a little sour – a term meaning that the beer would benefit from more time in the bottle to mature the taste. He offered to add soda water.

Lucy Saunders, author of The Best of American Beer and Food: Pairing & Cooking with Craft Beer and beercook.com says those bartenders are missing the boat by underestimating a woman’s palate and knowledge of beer.

Still, beer “is a little bit of a boys’ club” Rachel Reiman said during a Barley’s Angels home brewing session in Milwaukee. She notices that whenever she and her husband tour a brewery and mention that they’re home brewers, “they immediately start talking to my husband.”

Marianna and Spencer are both outstanding students academically, active in sports, extra-curricular activities and community service. Marianna has been studying and playing piano since the age of five, first with her father, Richard, and then with Paula Butler for the last twelve years. She has performed at events and recitals and even accompanied her high school choir. Spencer became actively involved in music in his fifth grade band program. He plays bass and percussion and sings in the high school concert choir and advanced vocal ensemble. Music has played an important role in both their lives, expanding their skills, experiences and horizons. In the essays they wrote as part of the scholarship application, both stated that music is a constant source of inspiration and will be an integral part of their adult lives. Both plan to continue their music studies.

At the performance, Marianna will play the 1877 Weber square grand piano in an excerpt from Debussy’s Clair de Lune. Then the two musicians will play several duets, with Marianna on piano and Spencer on bass. Their performance is an opportunity for leaders and members of the coastal community, educators, family and friends to celebrate Marianna and Spencer’s achievements.

The Mendocino Coast Jazz Society has produced jazz events and sponsored educational programs and scholarships for high school seniors since 1984. North Coast Brewing has been a supporter of the Jazz Society’s scholarship and mentor programs for many years.

In 1995 Sheila Martins began working at North Coast Brewing Company as a substitute for the receptionist who was on a two week vacation. When the receptionist decided not to return, Sheila was hired for the position. Over the last 19 years Sheila’s work has evolved and changed, and this past April she was promoted to the position of Assistant Vice President of Sales & Administration.

Sheila attended Santa Clara University as an undergraduate, and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she earned a teaching credential. She was a substitute teacher in the Fort Bragg Schools when the opportunity to work at North Coast Brewing came along. Sheila’s innate intelligence and her interest in the business led to more and more responsibilities. She began handling state and federal registrations, compliance issues and label approval, taking orders, arranging freight and managing inventory. As her competence and expertise grew, she became an integral part of the business.

Commenting on her promotion, Sheila said “I think I have the best job at the brewery!” Working with NCBC President Mark Ruedrich and Vice President Doug Moody, Sheila is the bridge between production and sales. She manages supply and demand. She knows when, where and how much beer is produced, the timeline of the brewing, bottling and shipping, the orders that need to be filled and how to keep the process moving along in as seamless a way as possible.

She always has a cheerful smile and a friendly greeting even in the midst of dealing with the unexpected. “I put out fires,” she says in her understated way, although she does not hesitate to say what’s on her mind, and when she does, those around her listen. After all, she is deservedly at the center of the action.

Sheila and her husband, NCBC Head Brewer and Plant Engineer Chuck Martins, have a home in Fort Bragg and are the proud parents of two children, 12 year old Joey and 11 year old Maddy. Sheila’s family life is of the utmost importance to her, as is her work life. “Not only do I feel lucky to be where I am with the business today, I feel fortunate to work with the people I do and to work for a business with such great products and high standards. It’s wonderful to feel proud of what we make and what we stand for and to contribute to the quality of life of our community.”

Sam’s easy-going, friendly personality belies his hard-driving work ethic. Born, raised and educated in Pennsylvania, his first professional position was an In-Charge Auditor with Ernst & Ernst in Cleveland Ohio. He moved on to work as an Auditor Supervisor for Beatrice Companies and within a decade became President and General Manager of Rosarita Mexican Foods where he developed the idea of manufacturing vegetarian refried beans, now the best-selling refried beans on the market.

After his tenure at Rosarita, Sam held various management positions with a number of companies including Vice President and General Manager of the $70 million Bakery Distribution Division of International Multifoods and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Bay State Milling, a $200 million flour milling operation. In 1997 Sam answered an ad that led him to the Mendocino Coast. He became CEO of Thanksgiving Coffee Company where he worked for the last 15 years.

Sam began working at North Coast Brewing on April 1, 2013 and he says he’s delighted to be a part of a business that makes quality products, encourages clear communication and ongoing collaboration among its staff and employees and values and respects its workers. In addition, Sam said, “It’s not just about dollars and cents. North Coast Brewing is about community and people and making our coast (and our world) a better place to live, and I like that!”

Sam is an active participate and volunteer in the community. He is past chair and director of the Executive Committee of the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as a director of the Mendocino City Community Services District. He also serves on the Wine and Mushroom and Finance committees of Saint Anthony’s. When he’s not working or volunteering, Sam likes to garden, enjoy the ocean, and travel with his wife, Ginger to visit their children and four grandchildren. In addition, and of course, Sam likes to relax after work with one of North Coast Brewing’s fine craft beers.

Photo by Deborah Moody

Monday May 13^th 6:00 – 9:00 pm
The Latona Pub
6423 Latona Ave NE,
Seattle WA 98115 – 206 525-2238
Class of ‘88 Barleywine Celebration
The Class of ‘88 breweries are hosting a final joint anniversary party in Seattle. This is a celebration offering horizontal tastings of the three variations of barleywines brewed by North Coast Brewing, Deschutes Brewery and Rogue Ales. The entire collaboration is a rare event, and this opportunity to taste all three versions will possibly be the last time you can taste all three variations in one place. So if you’re in the vicinity of Seattle Washington, join the party, sip some ale and have a good time.

Tuesday May 14^th 6:00 – 8:00 pm
T. S. McHugh’s Splendid Foods, Lagers & Ales
21 Mercer St
Seattle WA 98109 – 206 282-1910
Swine & Barleywine
North Coast Brewing will feature the awesome and refreshing PranQster Belgian Style Golden Ale, the exquisite Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale, and the Class of ’88 Barleywine. The T. S. McHugh’s chef will be serving Pork Butt Sliders to compliment these wonderful beers.

Wednesday May 15^th 4:00 – 6:00 pm
The Red Door in Fremont
3401 Evanston Ave N
Seattle WA 98103 – 206 547-7521
Beer & Cheese Pairing Party
Join us at the Red Door in Fremont as we celebrate 25 years of success. To commemorate this special event we have invited Dennis and Theresa from the Cheese Cellar in Seattle to prepare a flight of eight cheeses paired with eight selected beers from North Coast Brewing. This is a rare event and a great way to begin the evening. Each participant who purchases a flight will receive a commemorative goblet to take home.

Thursday May 16^th 6:00 – 10:00 pm
The Back Door
462 N 36^th St – Fremont
Seattle WA 98103 – 206 632-7322
Brewers Dinner
Menu for the Evening
First Course
Le Merle Saison, Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale paired with
Artichoke-Basil Soup with Goat Cheese and Wild Mushrooms
Second Course
Ruedrich’s Red Seal Ale paired with
Salt Cod Fritters with Lemon Remoulade
Third Course
Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale paired with
Beef Short Rib Braised in Brother Thelonious with Potato Gratin & Mustard Greens
Fourth Course
Old Stock Ale paired with
Banana Bread Pudding in Crème Anglaise

At 10 pm the jazz trio Gravity will perform in a tribute to Thelonious Monk. You can find out more about Gravity at the group’s website.

The Back Door restaurant is entered (you guessed it) through the back door at
462 N 36^th St – at Fremont 
Seattle WA 98103
206 632-7322

Menu for the Evening

First Course
Le Merle Saison, Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale paired with
Artichoke-Basil Soup with Goat Cheese and Wild Mushrooms
Second Course
Ruedrich’s Red Seal Ale paired with
Salt Cod Fritters with Lemon Remoulade
Third Course
Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale paired with
Beef Short Rib Braised in Brother Thelonious with Potato Gratin & Mustard Greens
Fourth Course
Old Stock Ale paired with
Banana Bread Pudding in Crème Anglaise

At 10 pm the jazz trio Gravity will perform in a tribute to Thelonious Monk. You can find out more about Gravity at the group’s website.

Published March 17, 2013 in the New York Times
By Jeffrey P. Kahn

Human beings are social animals. But just as important, we are socially constrained as well.

We can probably thank the latter trait for keeping our fledgling species alive at the dawn of man. Five core social instincts, I have argued, gave structure and strength to our primeval herds. They kept us safely codependent with our fellow clan members, assigned us a rank in the pecking order, made sure we all did our chores, discouraged us from offending others, and removed us from this social coil when we became a drag on shared resources.

Thus could our ancient forebears cooperate, prosper, multiply — and pass along their DNA to later generations.

But then, these same lifesaving social instincts didn’t readily lend themselves to exploration, artistic expression, romance, inventiveness and experimentation — the other human drives that make for a vibrant civilization.

To free up those, we needed something that would suppress the rigid social codes that kept our clans safe and alive. We needed something that, on occasion, would let us break free from our biological herd imperative — or at least let us suppress our angst when we did.

We needed beer.

Luckily, from time to time, our ancestors, like other animals, would run across fermented fruit or grain and sample it. How this accidental discovery evolved into the first keg party, of course, is still unknown. But evolve it did, perhaps as early as 10,000 years ago.

Current theory has it that grain was first domesticated for food. But since the 1950s, many scholars have found circumstantial evidence that supports the idea that some early humans grew and stored grain for beer, even before they cultivated it for bread.

Brian Hayden and colleagues at Simon Fraser University in Canada provide new support for this theory in an article published this month (and online last year) in the Journal of Archeological Method and Theory. Examining potential beer-brewing tools in archaeological remains from the Natufian culture in the Eastern Mediterranean, the team concludes that “brewing of beer was an important aspect of feasting and society in the Late Epipaleolithic” era.

Anthropological studies in Mexico suggest a similar conclusion: there, the ancestral grass of modern maize, teosinte, was well suited for making beer — but was much less so for making corn flour for bread or tortillas. It took generations for Mexican farmers to domesticate this grass into maize, which then became a staple of the local diet.

Once the effects of these early brews were discovered, the value of beer (as well as wine and other fermented potions) must have become immediately apparent. With the help of the new psychopharmacological brew, humans could quell the angst of defying those herd instincts. Conversations around the campfire, no doubt, took on a new dimension: the painfully shy, their angst suddenly quelled, could now speak their minds.

But the alcohol would have had more far-ranging effects, too, reducing the strong herd instincts to maintain a rigid social structure. In time, humans became more expansive in their thinking, as well as more collaborative and creative. A night of modest tippling may have ushered in these feelings of freedom — though, the morning after, instincts to conform and submit would have kicked back in to restore the social order.

Some evidence suggests that these early brews (or wines) were also considered aids in deliberation. In long ago Germany and Persia, collective decisions of state were made after a few warm ones, then double-checked when sober. Elsewhere, they did it the other way around.

Beer was thought to be so important in many bygone civilizations that the Code of Urukagina, often cited as the first legal code, even prescribed it as a central unit of payment and penance.

Part of beer’s virtue in ancient times was that its alcohol content would have been sharply limited. As far as the research has shown, distillation of alcohol to higher concentrations began only about 2,000 years ago.

Today, many people drink too much because they have more than average social anxiety or panic anxiety to quell — disorders that may result, in fact, from those primeval herd instincts kicking into overdrive. But getting drunk, unfortunately, only compounds the problem: it can lead to decivilizing behaviors and encounters, and harm the body over time. For those with anxiety and depressive disorders, indeed, there are much safer and more effective drugs than alcohol — and together with psychotherapy, these newfangled improvements on beer can ease the angst.

But beer’s place in the development of civilization deserves at least a raising of the glass. As the ever rational Ben Franklin supposedly said, “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

Several thousand years before Franklin, I’m guessing, some Neolithic fellow probably made the same toast.

Jeffrey P. Kahn, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, is the author of Angst: Origins of Anxiety and Depression.

Ensemble VIII, under the direction of conductor and artistic director Dr. James Morrow, will present Blessed Mother, Eternal Spirit – The Eton Choirbook on Friday, May 10 at 7:30 pm at St. Louis Catholic Church in Austin, Texas.

Rich, brilliant, rhythmic and sonorous are words that aptly describe the music contained in the Eton Choirbook, compiled in the early 1500s at the English prep school Eton College. The selections in this collection represent the supreme musical culmination of 15^th century Pre-Reformation England and the composers serve as the foundation for later English masters such as Tallis and Byrd. This concert is a rare opportunity to hear this astonishing and extraordinary music.

Tickets are available at Ensemble VIII’s website and prices range from $10 for students to $45 for special priority seating.
Friday, May 10, 2013, 7:30 pm
St. Louis Catholic Church Chapel
7601 Burnet Rd, Austin, Texas

Ensemble VIII performs Renaissance and Baroque vocal music at the highest artistic level with keen attention to scholarship and historically informed performance practice.

In the spring of 2011, some of the country’s most talented early music vocalists met for the first time in Austin, Texas under the direction of Dr. James Morrow. With a national reputation for excellence as a conductor and soloist, Dr. Morrow selected eight highly trained early music specialists to present both familiar and seldom-heard masterworks spanning the years from 1400 to 1750.

Ensemble VIII features vocal performances of extraordinary refinement and clarity. Pre-concert lectures enrich the concert experience by providing historical context for this early music. Eight is the number of completion, the eternal and a new beginning.

Farm Manager Gowan Lester, unloading a truck full of spent grain and hops donated by North Coast Brewing, is teaching a workshop at the festival about using this valuable resource in the home garden.

Saturday, April 27 is Mother’s Day – Mother Earth That Is!

Noyo Food Forest is a non-profit with a mission to enrich and nurture community by teaching the value and satisfaction of growing and eating one’s own food. North Coast Brewing Company is the Primary Business Sponsor of this worthy organization because we share a common vision of enhancing and encouraging the health and well-being of members of our community.

The Earth Day Festival supports the Farm to School Program that teaches children in the Fort Bragg Schools to grow their own vegetables and supplies the school cafeterias with fresh, organic produce. Children love to eat what they grow!

The highlight of the 2013 Earth Day Festival is the noon time dedication and launch of Garden Within Reach, a raised-bed, wheelchair accessible garden that makes it possible for elders and mobility challenged people to grow their own food. Noyo Food Forest is using Kickstarter, an online project driven platform, to gather pledges and raise $6,000 for this special garden. Learn more about Kickstarter and pledge to support this project.

If you live on the Mendocino Coast, come on out and celebrate Earth Day with your family and friends! It’s free. It’s healthy. It’s fun!!

Noyo Food Forest’s 7^th Annual Earth Day Festival
North Coast Brewing Company – Presenting Sponsor of the Event
Saturday, April 27^th from noon to 5 pm
Fort Bragg High School Learning Garden
300 Dana St w Fort Bragg CA 95437
Food - Music - Community Art - Workshops - Plant Sale
Kids’ Activities

]]> http://northcoastbrewing.com/blog/noyo-food-forests-earth-day-festival-supports-farm-to-school-food-program/feed/ 0 http://northcoastbrewing.com/blog/class-of-88-barleywine-hits-the-shelves/ http://northcoastbrewing.com/blog/class-of-88-barleywine-hits-the-shelves/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:28:23 +0000 Nancy_NCB http://northcoastbrewing.com/blog/?p=1471 Continue reading →]]> Take a look at our Class of ’88 Barleywine in the 750 ml bottle with a cork and wire cap.
We think it looks quite handsome. The Brewery Taproom will have this barleywine on tap and it’s available in limited distribution for a short time in the 750 ml bottles. On Thursday, April 11, the barleywines from Rogue Ales and Deschutes Brewery, Class of ’88 members hailing from Oregon, will be available for a horizontal or “trifecta” tasting at the pub. These three ales have been developed from the same guidelines, but differences in kinds and amounts of malted barley and hops and differences in water will yield three different brews. Curious? Come on over and try all three.

Adapted from a recipe on CraftBeer.com

The mix of rich Gorgonzola cheese with warm balsamic dressing, the crunch of caramelized onions, a hint of lemon, and the aromas of tropical fruit from  Le Merle Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale make this salad a light, healthy and delicious spring lunch or dinner.

Ingredients
8-12 ounces of fresh salmon
1 sweet onion
1 bunch of asparagus
1 bag/box of spring mix salad greens
1 lemon
Gorgonzola cheese
balsamic vinegar
honey
olive oil
Le Merle Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale

Prep
Set oven to broil and the place the rack 6 inches from the heat.
Bring a quart of water to a boil, and place frying pan on the stove at medium-high heat.
Cover a baking sheet with foil, and place salmon skin side down.
Mix equal parts honey and Saison to use as a glaze.

Fish
Fish should take about 15 minutes to cook.
Paint the fish with the honey/Le Merle glaze when it goes into the oven and reapply 2 – 3 times as it cooks.
Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork.
Once done, squeeze fresh lemon juice over fish, cover with foil until ready to add to the salad.

Dressing & Final Preparations
Start slicing your onions. Thicker chunks of onion will caramelize better and retain their flavor in the finished salad.
Caramelize the onions in your frying pan with a very small amount of olive oil. Cook until the onions are tender, stirring only once or twice.
Remove the tough ends from the asparagus. Add the spears to the boiling water for about 2 – 3 minutes. Be sure not to cook them fully, as they will be grilled when you make the dressing—same with the onions. When almost finished, remove the onions and asparagus from the heat and put them aside until the salmon is finished cooking.
Once you’ve deemed the salmon fully cooked, heat up a few ounces of olive oil on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the onions and asparagus. Then add a few ounces of balsamic vinegar to the mix. Place the salmon over the greens, add the dressing and veggies, and crumble with Gorgonzola cheese.