As I packed my car and prepared for the drive back from Humbolt to San Francisco, I was pretty sure I was done with my beer adventures for the day.  After all, I had to drive a fair distance, and it seemed a shame to only be able to sip a few beers.  But as I headed south, several of the signs on the highway reminded me that I was passing by the Eel River Brewery. My morning coffee was starting to catch up with me, and i figured I was entitled to a bathroom break.  It seemed like a safe bet that their tap room would have a restroom, so I pulled off the highway.

It turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. The restaurant was mostly empty since 11 am is a wee bit early for too many beers (discounting the one or two dedicated individuals who looked to be a few pints in already), so i was able to monopolize a bartenders time.  Understanding my driver’s dilemma, she graciously poured me a wide selection of very small samples so i might try a few different beers.  Nearly all of their beers are certified organic, and I made my way through the list.  The California Blonde was particularly good, and in keeping with the theme started at other breweries, i also tried their Acai Berry Wheat – the berry flavors were overt, but worked, melding nicely with the wheat.  Also good was the Triple with it’s malty backbone.

Finishing my samples, i asked if i might be able to see the brewery.  As it turns out, like Lost Coast, their brewery was no located in a second facility ten miles south in the next town of Scotia.  A few phone calls and polite begging later, and I was finding my way to the brewery, where a tour awaited me. 

 

The actual building is located in a mostly abandoned industrial park, along a small river.  A crane and several smaller birds were resting in the river as i pulled up, but quickly took off when i pulled over to take a few pictures. 

Inside the brewery, I was greeted by Matt, one of Eel River’s brewers, who took me around the brewery for my tour.  Unlike the confined spaces of the other breweries I visited on my trip, Eel River has plenty of space to play inside of their large warehouse.  In the center of the giant space was their new bottling line, which was actively churning out twelve ounce bottles of porter. 

Matt was an enthusiastic tour guide – he was excited to show off their equipment and their process, especially their shiny new bottling line which was actively humming in the background.   Compared to the creaking mechanical series of gears that bottled beers at Mad River, this was a technological wonder, quickly filling bottles and capping them off through a series of sterile Plexiglas chambers. 

All around the brewery, employees were busily bottling, kegging, cleaning, and brewing. 

They take great pride in their ingredients, as he walked me through their mill room, where everything had a veneer of malt dust, even the vacuum.  Matt also led me out back, where he showed me the hop rysome they were growing – no where near enough to hop a batch of beer, but the horticulture experiment showed them trying to get closer to the ingredients they brewed with – an admirable goal, especially for an organic brewery.  Finally, he brought tout the freeze dried acai berry powder that they use to infuse the berry wheat I tried earlier in the day. 

  

  

As our tour wound down, I left with a six pack of their porter with crooked labels.  The labels are off – but the beer isn’t – it’s a chocolately rich brew, with dark malt and coffee notes.  I’m thinking it’d be great paired with a dark chocolate desert – maybe something studded with cocoa nibs?

And with that, I said my goodbyes and resumed driving through the coastal redwood forest back to San Francisco.

Tags: brewery tour, eel riuver, humbolt

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 6:13 pm and is filed under Stories, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.