Tag Archives: craft beer
May 2013 & Summer Preview
Oh May, what a wonderful month. The start of the summer movie season, home to Memorial Day, American Craft Beer Month, and the month with the fewest letters so people don’t exactly know if they should abbreviate it. May is also the month when the weather starts to warm up, people feel they need to start getting a tan, and would love to stand outside drinking beer while they are perfecting that tan. So, from that notion, the summer beer festival season gets into full swing. And do you know how happy we are that it’s beer festival season? Happier than a) a brick visiting the Great Wall of China, b) a geologist at a rock concert, c) an apple wearing Fruit of the Loom. (Take a guess in the comments section below if you so wish). And boy this season is going to be a doozy. You can go to our events page for a full list of where we are going to be, but here is a brief preview:
Sunset Celebration Weekend – This event is located in front of Sunset Magazine’s headquarters in Menlo Park, CA June 1st & 2nd. This festival features exhibitors and speakers covering beer, wine, food, home and garden. It is truly a feast for all of your senses.
Raley’s Field 7th Annual Brewfest – While this event is a little bit outside of the Bay Area (located in Sacramento), the trip will most definitely be worth it. On June 7th, not only do you get to walk around on the field which is home to the Oakland Athletics triple A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, you will get to sample beers from over 60 beer vendors.
Breastfest – Not only a Bay Area staple, but a fundraiser for a fantastic cause. Breastfest is one of the largest beer festivals at San Francisco’s Ft. Mason. On July 13th, you can sample beers from a multitude of local brewers while raising money for breast cancer treatment.
4th Annual Blues & Brews Festival – Located in Pleasant Hill on July 27th, participants can enjoy a day of beer tasting, delicious food and free music from six different bands. Just in case unlimited beer tastings isn’t music to your ears, they will also have music for your ears. What could be better?!
As previously mentioned, this is just a small sampling of where we will be this summer; so, check out our continuously updating events page for all our events.
In addition to these public festivals, we also love to participate in corporate events. If your company is having a picnic, get-together, shindig, hootenanny, or just a plain old meeting and you’d like to have some Strike beer for it, please check out our corporate events page.
Well, if you’re anything like me, that is about enough reading for one day. So with that I wish you a wonderful day and we hope to see you out at all our wonderful events this summer.
Cheers! - Drew
Posted in Events | Tagged active lifestyle, baseball, Bay Area, beer, beer festivals, Blonde, brewery, brewmaster, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, fitness, imperial red, IPA, NorCal, San Jose, session beers, start-up | Leave a comment
A Little St. Patrick’s Day History
Top o’ the mornin to ye! I come to you writing this blog in my best Irish accent to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. While I am 62% sure that I do have some Irish heritage in me somewhere, it doesn’t matter. And why doesn’t it matter? It is because according to a passage written on a beam in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland “Everyone’s Irish on March 17th.” So, now that everyone has been inducted into the Irish culture, it is probably best that you know a bit about your new cultural identity.
Saint Patrick’s Day started out as a religious feast day celebrated on the anniversary of his death. As I am sure most will agree with, there are few kinds of days better than a feast day and by golly, we need more of them. But the grim reality is that feast days are in short supply, so we certainly must make the most of this one. One slight problem is that Saint Patrick’s Day falls within the Christian season of Lent which typically carries with it the brief prohibition of the consumption of meat and alcohol (apologies for the use of the “P” word). However, within the Catholic church, Saint Patrick was such a cool guy that they decided to waive the ban for his special day. As a result we now have the traditional Saint Patrick’s Day meal comprised of corned beef, cabbage and a Guinness. Children’s versions of the meal are virtually the same, just without the cabbage, due to fussiness.
While Saint Patrick’s Day is not a legal holiday in the United States, it sure doesn’t stop us from celebrating it. The first Saint Patrick’s Day parade took place in 1762 in New York City. Today there are over 100 parades across the country, with largest taking place in Boston and New York. A little more my style, the shortest Saint Patrick’s Day parade takes place in Dripsey, Cork, where the parade travels the 100 yards it takes to get from one to the other of the town’s two pubs. While many of you may think 100 yards is a bit far to travel to get from one beer to the next, suck it up. It’s only once a year. Geez.
One more juicy bit of info for you, there are sixteen places in the United States that share the name of Ireland’s capital, Dublin. And, coming in at number one, with 44, 541 residents, is…. Wait for it… Dublin, CA! Just had to give a shout out to our brothers and sisters in the East Bay.
Well, we hope this has been at least a tad bit interesting for you. And, we hope you have a fun and safe time eating your corned beef and enjoying either a Strike Imperial (Irish) Red or some other Strike beer that you’ve dyed green.
A piece of parting wisdom – Before you pinch somebody for not wearing green on Saint Patrick’s Day, make sure you also thoroughly inspect their underwear. You certainly don’t want five pinches coming back to you.
Slainte!
Drew O’Ehrlich
Yes that is real Irish red hair.
*All facts were rightfully stolen or used with implied oral consent, not express written consent, from Wikipedia and History.com.
Posted in From Left Field, Off the Wall, Uncategorized | Tagged active lifestyle, baseball, Bay Area, beer, beer festivals, beer industry, Blonde, brewing, brewmaster, Brown, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, cycling, Fight Gone Bad, fitness, imperial red, IPA, Irish, microbrewery, NorCal, Northern California, San Jose, St. Patrick's Day, start-up, strike, swimming | Leave a comment
San Francisco Beer Week 2013 – Part II
Amazingly enough SF Beer Week has now come to completion. As in years past, this was an exceptional series of events that proved to be a great deal of fun. Here are some of the things we were up to in the second half of the week.
A delicious pairing of fish tacos and select beers from Boulder Creek Brewery during the beer pairing dinner at Rootstock in Los Gatos.
Here is Drew talking with some of the participants in the beer pairing dinner. It may not look like it but he is very passionately preaching the details of his recipe for the perfect triple fudge brownie.
All of the breweries getting ready for the onslaught of drinkers at the Meet the Brewers festival at Hermitage Brewing Co.
And here is the afore mentioned onslaught. While the number of participants was quite large, they were a very well behaved group. In fact, I believe I even heard a group discussing the social commentary prevalent in 18th century French literature. Beer drinkers are so smart!
Strike has recently become a beer sponsor for the Silicon Valley Roller Girls. We obviously made a good decision because here is one of the girls showing us one of her many “off the rink” talents, the chugging of a tasty beer.
While you may think this looks like a quaint little tea party, these girls are ready to race around the track and beat each other to the ground. While you never want to get on the bad side of any woman, this doubly holds true for these fine ladies.
Just before the match, each team skated around the rink as the names of each player were announced. I’m no speed expert but I’m guessing they were skating somewhere in the neighborhood of warp 9.
Cheers! – Drew
Posted in Events | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, beer industry, Blonde, brewing, brewmaster, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, cycling, Cyclo Cross, Fight Gone Bad, fitness, imperial red, roller derby, San Francisco Beer Week, San Jose, session beers, SF Beer Week, SFBW13, sports, start-up, Stout, strike | Leave a comment
San Francisco Beer Week 2013 Part I
Beer Week has just begun, and because we expect to have so many photos by the end of it, we’re going to do this in two parts. So far we’ve been to the Opening Gala, the San Jose BeerWalk in Japantown, and the 4th Annual Beer Week Beer Run (held for the first time in the South Bay at C.B. Hannegan’s in Los Gatos). Here are a few photos from the fun:
The Silicon Valey Roller Girls swung (or skated) by to say hi before things got going. Strike is now an official sponsor of SVRG and they have their first bout this Saturday!
The Strike guys (Drew, Ben, Ryan… and Wrigley the Beer Dog) before the craziness began.
Wrigley guarding the kegs.
We had the pleasure of being at San Jose Autoworks for the 2nd time. Great spot, great band, and can’t wait to camp out here again in 2014!
And then onto Sunday’s Beer Run. This was the 4th Annual Beer Week Beer Run, and the first time it was held in the South Bay. We were thrilled to be the beer partner chosen by Derrick Peterman (from Ramblings of a Beer Runner), and partner with C.B. Hannegan’s in Los Gatos. We learned a lot from helping to put on this event and can’t wait to make 2014 even better than 2013!
The taps are looking good at C.B.s…Phinny, Strike’s phoenix mascot, has finally arrived in Los Gatos!
Drew and the raffle prizes donated to benefit Autism Speaks and the 2nd Harvest Food Bank.
Derrick Peterman explaining the route before the crew heads out. And make sure to follow his blog, Ramblings of a Beer Runner.
About 50 people crossing Santa Cruz Avenue on their way to the Los Gatos Creek Trail. In 2014 we may need to bring in some law enforcement to keep this safe when we hope to have 200+ people!
The trail was marked ahead of time..
And runners were encouraged along the way…
Nearly there!
And after the 5 miles were over… everyone rewarded themselves with a Strike beer!
Drew, Ben, Jenny & Derrick helping serve beer back at C.B. Hannegans.
NEXT UP: Pint Night tonight at Buddy’s Bites & Brews in Hayward, Rootstock Beer Dinner on Wednesday night, and Meet the Brewers on Saturday. Whew! What a week!
Part II coming soon…
Cheers,
Jenny & Drew
Posted in Charitable Causes, Events, Fitness & Craft Beer | Tagged active lifestyle, autism speaks, beer, beer industry, beer runner, beer week, beerwalk, Blonde, brewmaster, Brown Ale, cb hannegans, craft beer, crossfit, imperial red, IPA, los gatos creek trail, microbrewery, NorCal, San Jose, SF Beer Week, start-up, strike, triathlon | Leave a comment
Looking Ahead to SF Beer Week 2013
Christmas is such a magical time of year. Kids are all amped up with excitement in the anticipation that Santa will bring them the one gift they have been longing for all year long (an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle of course!). The day finally comes and there is a flurry of activity in the living room, as if a pack of Tasmanian Devils has hit the Christmas tree and all the presents underneath, leaving only wrapping paper in their wake. Then it is all finished off with a meal to induce the mother of all food comas, second only to Thanksgiving.
Unfortunately, as time goes on, the luster and magic of that blessed holiday seems to wear off. As we get older, Christmas almost seems to become more of a chore. Dealing with the massive crowds at the mall, desperately trying to think of and purchase the perfect gifts, and heaven help you if you have in-laws visiting to which nails on a chalkboard would be a welcome substitute.
Alas, do not be disheartened by this disappointing fact of life. The wonderful brewers and sellers of bay area craft beer have come to your rescue! This, I can only assume, is the reason why we have come up with Christmas for adults, or more officially titled, SF Beer Week.
Following quickly on the heels of the holiday season, SF Beer Week seeks to recapture the magic that seemed to have been lost those many years ago. This festival of festivals outdoes even Hanukkah by giving you a week of beer that last 10 whole days. In this wonderfully long period of beer-filled excess, you’ll have the ability to enjoy opening galas, meet the brewer nights, beer pairing dinners, and single beer style festivals, all that will singlehandedly cause your mouth, stomach and liver to pat you on the back and say “well done old chum!”
If the prospect of this exciting event hasn’t caused your taste buds to tingle or your palette to palpitate, you’d better check your pulse and consult your doctor as something may be seriously be wrong. We here at Strike Brewing are very excited about SF Beer Week and the plethora of events in which we plan to participate. Here is just a smattering of where you’ll find us hanging out between Feb. 8-17th:
Friday, Feb. 8th - SF Beer Week Opening Celebration at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco 6pm-10pm
Saturday, Feb. 9th – BeerWalk in Japantown, San Jose 2pm-6pm
Sunday, Feb. 10th – 4th Annual SF Beer Week Beer Run at CB Hannegan’s in Los Gatos
11am
Wednesday, Feb. 13th – Beer Pairing Event at Rootstock Wine Bar in Los Gatos
Saturday, Feb. 16th – Meet the Brewers at Hermitage Brewing in San Jose 12pm-5pm
This list is subject to change and there may be more added, so please keep up to date using our Events Page.
We hope to see a huge number of people out at these events because there will be copious amounts of beer being poured and lord knows we are too weak and frail to carry it home. But more importantly, it will be a darn good time.
Cheers! – Drew
Posted in Events, Off the Wall | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, beer festivals, Blonde, brewmaster, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, cycling, imperial red, IPA, microbrewery, NorCal, Northern California, San Francisco Beer Week, San Francisco Beer Week 2013, San Jose, session beers, SF Beer Week, SFBeerWeek, Stout | Leave a comment
Hello 2013!
Well folks, the last day of 2012 is upon us. It is a day/night for celebrating all of the great things that have happened in the past year, and to start getting excited for all of the fun things that will happen in the new year. Just in case you were living under a rock, or your tv/radio/computer/newspaper/neighborhood gossip network broke, here are a few of the notable things that happened in 2012:
Non-Strike related news:
- Barack Obama wins the election to remain President of the United States
- Channing Tatum was named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive (Drew was 337 millionth in the voting)
- The world did not end on Dec. 21, 2012
- Regrettably Etta James, Andy Griffith, Dick Clark, Whitney Houston and Norman Schwarzkopf passed away. More regrettably, Justin Bieber’s career did not.
- Facebook became a publicly traded company. Mark Zuckerberg becomes rich enough to buy the trademark on the word “hoodie.”
- Felix Baumgartner set the world record for skydiving at an estimated 24 miles above earth.
- The Grinch, yet again, failed to steal Christmas.
Strike related news:
- Strike celebrated its one year anniversary on Dec. 15th
- Strike participated in over 90 events
- Strike produced more than 450 barrels of beer (> 14,000 gallons)
- Strike was sold in over 80 locations in the greater bay area
2012 was a great year and 2013 is shaping up to be pretty fantastic. Strike has many exiting things in the hopper (or should we say fermentor?) that will no doubt lead to many exciting pieces of news in the new year. We can’t wait to share them all with you.
We hope you all had a wonderful year and that your 2013 will be even better. Thank you for all the support you’ve given us over the past year. Have a fantastic new year and we’ll see you in 2013!
Cheers,
Jenny & Drew
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, beer industry, Blonde, brewmaster, Brown Ale, craft beer, cycling, Fight Gone Bad, imperial red, IPA, microbrewery, Northern California, San Jose, session beers, Stout, swimming, triathlon, Wit | Leave a comment
Hello December!
Hello, December! Time has flown by these past few months especially since we’re closing in on Strike’s First Anniversary on December 15th. And as usual, there’s been a lot going on. First and foremost, we’re excited that Drew is now on board full time. For the next few months he will be out doing sales in the Greater Bay Area. So if you know of a bar, restaurant or retailer that needs to carry Strike, please feel free to call or email him non-stop until you see it there.
If you don’t happen to have any holiday parties this weekend, there are two great events that you should consider attending. The first is the Winter Kraft Brew Festival at the Imperial Ballroom. The list of holiday beers that will be served is fantastic: http://www.nagleeparkgarage.com/eventspage.html
And on Sunday, if you don’t feel like cooking dinner after all that football-watching, join us at Morocco’s in Mountain View for a one of a kind beer pairing dinner. We are working with Sham to create a four-course dinner of Moroccan cuisine and local beer. We’ll be pouring the Wit, Brown, Red and Blonde. Make sure to make reservations soon for this one. 
And in honor of our newest beer that will be released later this month, on December 18th to be exact, we’ve been playing with some food pairings that work well for Stouts, and for the holidays. Here are a few of our favorites that we think you should try.
LONDON BROIL BRAISED IN STRIKE STOUT
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds London broil, at least 1 inch thick (or substitute boneless beef chuck roast)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 strip uncooked bacon, cut into 6 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 large clove garlic, peeled and cut
- 1 large onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup Strike Stout
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Directions: Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Trim London broil of any fat and membrane around the edges. Sprinkle meat on both sides with half the salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the cornstarch, and pat the cornstarch into the beef. Sprinkle thyme over bacon and press firmly into the bacon pieces. With a sharp knife, cut 6 gashes evenly spaced across the London broil. Push 1 piece of bacon and 1 sliver of garlic into each gash in the meat. Sear the London broil on both sides in a lightly oiled heavy dutch oven pot or oven-proof casserole. Arrange onion slices on top of meat. Combine bay leaf, Strike Stout, honey, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, stir. Pour mixture over the top of the onions. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Place a layer of heavy duty foil over the top of the pot, and cover tightly with a lid. Bake 3 hours. When done, remove from oven and let rest at least 15 minutes. Carve into slices cut against the grain and place on serving platter. Cover with half of the pan juices. Pass remaining pan juices in a gravy boat at the table.
Or my personal favorite, partly because it’s so simple, but also because you can really taste the beer:
MINI STOUT FLOATS:
- 1 cup vanilla ice cream
- ½ cup Strike Stout
- 3 tablespoons chocolate-flavor syrup
Directions: Using small ice cream scoop, place 2 small scoops in a small dessert glass. Slowly pour about 1 tablespoon Strike Stout into each glass. Drizzle each with about 1 teaspoon syrup and add more to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Cheers to holiday beer! – Jenny
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, beer industry, Blonde, brewing, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, fitness, holiday beer, holiday beers, Porter, San Jose, sports, start-up, Stout, Wit | Leave a comment
OktoberFit at CrossFit Silicon Valley – 2012
Lederhosen. Barbells. Beer. That pretty much sums up last Saturday at CrossFit Silicon Valley’s Oktoberfit. Our friends over at CSV hosted an amazing CrossFit throwdown consisting of 60 teams and 5 workouts (or WODs for those fluent in CF speak).
Costumes abounded during the day, so the workouts were extra fun to watch. From tutus to lederhosen to beer paraphilia, these teams knew how to have a good time while being active. And then of course they crushed a whole lot of Strike beer when they were done (nearly 5 kegs!)
These were some of our favorite socks we saw. Now we’ve got to find some for the Strike team to wear! We also saw some that said “Bacon” down the sides… we might get those for Drew, which would compliment his “Sunnyside Up!” boxers and complete the breakfast ensemble.
Overhead squats, in a tutu no less. This brought some much needed “class” to the event. Swan Lake anyone?
Double-unders (jumping rope where the rope passes under your feet twice per jump) in lederhosen. No easy task. Especially if you follow the rules of counting out loud in German.
Muscle-ups in Beer socks and suspenders. The outfit was great and the dismount was spectacular! 10’s across the board!
The entertainment for the day. Luckily they were right across from the beer tent. So, due to the location, and the pants he was wearing, we got to see the whole show.
And the last workout of the day for the top 8 teams was our personal favorite. It consisted of one team member holding a Strike keg overhead (with about 70 pounds of water in it… very “sloshy”!) while the others did muscle-ups. Both of these alone would be pretty solid workouts, but put them back to back and you can’t feel your arms afterwards, let along hold a beer. We’ll bring straws to future events to help combat the arm fatigue.
More great photos from the day can be found here from Tabata Times.
2012 is turning out to be quite the year of events and 2013 is already shaping up to be pretty jam packed as well. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter for some big news coming out within the next few weeks as well…
Cheers! – Jenny
Posted in Events, Fitness & Craft Beer | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, beer industry, Blonde, brewing, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, fitness, imperial red, IPA, microbrewery, Northern California, San Jose, session beers, strike, Wit | 1 Comment
GABF 2012
Last weekend, we (Ben & Jenny) attended the Great American Beer Festival. If it were up to us, we’d probably classify it as the 8th Wonder of the World. It is an incredible experience that we would recommend that you all check out at least once in your lifetime. There were over 2,500 beers to try from 580 breweries across the nation. Obvioulsy we couldn’t make it to all of them in the one night we were there, but if someone was able to and is reading this blog, send us a note and we’ll give you a free t-shirt!
But what an experience this was. For starters, the line wrapped ALL the way around the entire Denver Convention Center. Luckily the organizers have this down to a science and it moved very quickly.
Once inside, we were greeted by the Merchandise Wall. Pretty cool opportunity to stock up on some t-shirts that we couldn’t normally find in California. We waited until the end of the night to hit this up.
Once we caught our breath from the overwhelming display of breweries (580 took up a LOT of space!), Ben turned to pose in front of Leinenkugel’s end cap booth. Who has two thumbs and likes to smile? This guy! Ever since we visited their brewery in Chippewa Falls last year, we notice when they’re around. They like mixing their beers just like I do…
Here was just one piece of one section of breweries, organized by region. Lucky Hand had a cool little mini tent at their spot. Maybe Strike will have to invest in one of these when space is of the essence.
Here’s another brewpub from Austin that we’ve been to. Good stuff!
And finally, Ben made a new friend from Yazoo Brewery in Nashville, Tennessee. Here he is posing with one of their brewers and trying out their Fortuitous beer and their award winning Hefeweizen.
All in all it was quite the eye opening weekend and now we are better prepared to be back in 2013.
And a huge Congratulations to all of the medal winners! We are already looking forward to next year.
Cheers! – Jenny
Posted in Events | Tagged active lifestyle, baseball, beer, beer festivals, beer industry, Blonde, brewery, brewmaster, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, cycling, Cyclo Cross, Fight Gone Bad, fitness, GABF, Great American Beer Festival, imperial red, IPA, microbrewery, Northern California, strike, Wit | Leave a comment
San Francisco Sailing & Moxie Madness CrossFit Throwdown
Well, here we again, back for another Strike blog. We do so many great things in our not so spare time that we can’t help but use the medium of photos to show you what we are up to. So, on with the show.
Strike beer on tap, a boat, and a sailing expedition to McCovey cove on a beautiful Saturday. Scholars maintain this is what heaven was described as in the early revisions of the bible.
Here is a beautiful couple enjoying Strike Blondes on the beautiful San Francisco Bay. Strike beer, helping couples fall in love since 1931 (give or take 80 years or so).
Just in case you’ve ever wondered what the view is like from inside McCovey cove, here you go. For anyone who doesn’t want to waste the energy to kayak here, SF Sailing Co. is the only way to go. Shameless plug? Yes. Does Drew have shame? Not that we’ve found.
The ultimate spotlight shining down on Phinney, the Strike Phoenix. And then Drew in the lower right corner had to ruin the shot.
Earlier in the month, Jenny and three of our trainers from CrossFit Los Altos participated in the CrossFit Moxie Madness Throwdown. We’re a little slow getting this recap up, but here are a few photos…
Here is the clichéd slow motion walk by the gang about to kick some tail. Somewhere there is an awesome soundtrack playing and a slow-mo explosion happening.
Here is Danielle of the Strike/CrossFit Los Altos team in WOD 3. Only Strike beer and spinach can give you strength like that.*
*Claims not proven by medical science.
Jenny and Matt cruising their way through another event. If Jenny’s arm wasn’t in the way, you’d see the impressed look on the judge’s face.
This is our shirt model Matt. Unfortunately a few minutes after this was taken, we lost him to J-Crew.
All smiles after the Moxie Madness competition. Superman may be super, but he obviously copied the logo of this stellar group.
Cheers! – Drew
Posted in Events, From Left Field | Tagged active lifestyle, baseball, Bay Area, beer, Blonde, brewing, brewmaster, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, fitness, IPA, Northern California, session beers, sports, start-up | Leave a comment
Stumptown Beer Revival & Campbell SausageFest 5K
Well, here we are, back again for another rousing picture blog to keep everyone up-to-date on the fun stuff we are doing. In today’s edition, we will be covering the Stumptown Beer and BBQ Revival as well as the SausageFest 5k Fun Run in Campbell.
The summer is winding down and starting to come to an end which means that beer festival season is doing the same. We’ve had a great time traveling to all the different venues this summer and can’t wait to do it again. However, before we get all weepy, it is good to remind ourselves that we have post-season baseball, pro football, college football, and hockey just around the corner! Hazah!
Without further adieu, on to the pictures.
A nice top-down view of the Stumptown Beer and BBQ Revival. Not to be confused with the gypsy camp that set up shop just across the river. Have you seen my goat?
Not only were they able to sample some of the best beer and BBQ around, festival goers were given the chance to take a bath. For those who had been camping, this was a nice option to have. And just weeks earlier, this was the same river that Ben and Jenny swam in during the Vineman 70.3 race. The water sure gets some use during the summer months.
The Strike crew hanging out and having a beer with our buddy Jack from Lost Coast. Who has the better looking ring? I think we all know the answer to that.
Here is Ben and Drew hanging out in the cattle pen waiting for the SausageFest 5k run to start. Drew was also having a staring contest with that little girl. She won.
As they were leaving the pen, Drew heard a really funny joke. He wrote about it later that night in his diary. He also laughs like a chipmunk.
Here’s a shot of the boys after the race, sitting back, having a brew. Amazingly enough, 10 minutes later they all landed a modeling job for headbands. They were a package deal.
Cheers! – Drew
Posted in Events, Fitness & Craft Beer | Tagged 5K, bay area brewery, beer festivals, beer revival, Blonde, craft beer, crossfit, fitness, fun run, IPA, Northern California, russian river, session beer, strike, stumptown, triathlon, Wit | Leave a comment
Velodrome, Beer Olympics & California Beer Festival Photo Recap
As predicted, Strike has been very busy this summer. We have participated in many exciting events such as bike racing at the Hellyer Park Velodrome, the California Beer Fest and the Beer Olympics. And, we are certainly not done yet. Here is a brief recap of what we’ve been up to.
This is just one of the many races we saw at the velodrome in Hellyer Park. While we didn’t know how many of the rules for the races worked, we were still in awe of just how fast these cyclists were going. While you can’t see it in the picture, Drew was just about to catch up to the pack in his pink roller skates with neon green wheels.
Here is the line for the Strike tent at the California Beer Fest in Aptos. This was by far the longest line at the festival because not only did patrons get an ice cold beer when they reached the front, they were also treated to the quick wit and operatic song stylings of our very own Jenny “The Queen of Heavy Metal“ Lewis.
The California Beer Fest in Aptos had no shortage of celebrities. As I’m sure you already guessed, this is the great great grand-nephew of Uncle Sam himself. Strike a pose! (pun intended)
Jenny and our good friend, Dave, manning the booth. This was just before they both broke into a rousing rendition of the electric slide and Thriller.
Drew and Katie hanging out at the Strike station just before the crowds descended upon the Beer Olympics at Fort Mason. Drew was able to exercise his talent for table decorating with garish, over-the-top trimmings. Stuck the landing!
Campbell Beerwalk and Santa Cruz Triathlon are up next this weekend!
Cheers! – The Strike Team
Posted in Events, Fitness & Craft Beer | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, beer industry, Blonde, brewing, Brown, craft beer, crossfit, fitness, imperial red, IPA, microbrewery, Northern California, Porter, session beers, start-up, Wit | Leave a comment
Vineman, 107.7 The Bone Brew Fest & More
Well July has been yet another fun-filled month, and it’s not over yet! In the past few weeks we’ve had a lot of interesting stuff going on. I do want to take a quick moment to say congratulations to Bradley Wiggins who won the Tour de France and also to Andy Potts and Jessie Donavan, winners of Ironman Lake Placid.
Among all of the beer events going on this month, Ben and I also did our first Half Ironman up in Sonoma last weekend. It wasn’t quite our normal Sunday; but at least, we can say we finished it. Ben said he’ll probably do it again next year. I’m not quite so sure yet. I’ll probably stick to the sprint triathlons and CrossFit. But here are a few shots from the race.
The starting line for the swim. It’s pretty cool that the beach where we started in Guerneville is also the same beach where the Stumptown Beer Revival Festival will be held in just a few weeks.
The bike racks after transition two at Windsor High School. And this was only about half of them in this shot.
Mustering out a smile and thinking, “Thank god that’s over, now it’s time for a beer!”
Congrats to the nearly 2,500 finishers!
Now back onto the subject of beer. Just this past Saturday we got to participate in The Bone 107.7 Brew Fest at Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley. This event supported a great cause – Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation and Berkeley Firefighters Random Acts of Kindness. Hanging out with firefighters, supporting a very worthy cause and drinking beer was a pretty darn good way to spend a Saturday. Here’s a few quick shots from our friend, Mike Condie.
We got to share a booth with our good friend, Jack, from Lost Coast Brewery. If you haven’t seen his beer cap website yet, check it out. www.jackscaps.com. He does some pretty cool stuff and always has swag specially made for each event. Note the 107.7 The Bone necklace.
We had to call in some backup for the Bone Brewfest because Drew was out of town and Jenny wanted some company…luckily they did an awesome job pouring and chatting up everyone who came by our tent. Thanks Jessica & Erica!
Just a quick taste test. Have to make sure the beer is good!
In other news, there are a LOT more events coming up in the next few weeks. And, we’re signing up new event partners left and right. We’ll be out at Hellyer Park for the Velodrome racing this Friday, and also doing some running events (ultra marathon anyone?) with a new group called West Coast Trail Runs. The Santa Cruz triathlon series is happening in early August. Strike will be pouring samples while you’re picking up your race packet. Gotta load up on those carbs!
Plus, there are still many more beer festivals this summer. If you haven’t gotten your fill yet, check out our calendar to see where we’ll be each weekend!
And of course, we love hearing where you want to see Strike beer. Shoot us an email at jenny ‘at’ strikebrewingco.com and we’ll do our best to get it into your local hangout.
Cheers and have a great week everyone! – Jenny
Posted in Charitable Causes, Events, Fitness & Craft Beer | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, ber festivals, Berkeley, brewmaster, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, cycling, fitness, imperial red, ironman, running, session beers, strike, swimming, The Bone 107.7 | Leave a comment
It’s a bird, it’s a plane…. no, it’s Strike at a helicopter show!
Last weekend was quite packed with five events over four days. Since we are a company of only one full time and two part time people, covering all the events was a bit of a challenge. However, coordinating our schedules wasn’t nearly as impressive as what went on at the Hiller Aviation Museum on Friday and Saturday. Rather than try to describe everything that went on, I just took a few photos.
Here is Otto the helicopter flying the flag during the National Anthem.
This was the view from our tent looking out over the crowd, food trucks (yum!), and runway where the airshow was being performed. Not a bad view.
The California Highway Patrol showed how they would perform a rescue mission. 
Synchronized kite flying. This was a first for me, and pretty cool.
Even though the weather was in the 90s, we were able to keep the beer ice cold… and we’re already looking forward to next year’s air show!
While I was hanging out with the pilots and Marines, Drew took care of things over at the Zanotto’s Anniversary event and our good friend, Chris, helped us out by pouring our first ever firkin at the Los Gatos Brewing Co. Firkin Fest. So thank you Chris!
To wrap up the weekend, on Sunday we went and hung out with our friends at Beer Revolution. It was the first time ever that all 6 Strike beers have been on tap at the same time. If you haven’t been to Beer Revolution yet, you should definitely go check it out. Word on the street is that they are opening a restaurant next door in the very near future…
We are also incredibly pleased to tell you all that the Brown was awarded 1st place in the American Brown Ale category at the California State Fair 2012! Click here for full results and congrats to all of the breweries who won!
Cheers! – Jenny
Posted in Events | Tagged active lifestyle, baseball, Bay Area, Blonde, brewing, brewmaster, Brown, craft beer, crossfit, cycling, fitness, helicopters, imperial red, IPA, microbrewery, Porter, session beers, start-up, Wit | Leave a comment
CrossFit Regionals Northern California 2012
This past weekend, May 19–20, Strike was honored to be one of the featured beers in the beer garden at the 2012 NorCal CrossFit Regional at the Santa Clara County Fair Grounds. Now three of the Strike founders are avid CrossFitters, however, the folks who participated in this event put us all to shame.
Here is a view from the top of the stands at the stadium. If you look on the ground those are giant pogs or tiddlywinks, depending on which generation you are from.
Here are some of the boys readying themselves for their back squat chorus line. The ones in the back won’t make the team due to their timing issues.
This is our good buddy Rick. He was 20th overall, but number one in our hearts, and number three on our speed dial.
One of the many fine women competing in the games. Yes men, she is stronger than you.
One of the events required the men to lift 100lbs over their head with one arm. Yes, 100lbs. That’s 7.14 stone, 25,600 dram or a very chubby toddler.
The games had such a fun atmosphere, a random dance party even broke out. Traditional Russian folk dance anyone? Actually, these are one legged or “pistol” squats and are incredibly difficult. Every time I attempt one, I tip over.
The boys of CrossFit Los Altos/Strike Brewing loitering near the beer garden. They actually stood like that for over an hour without moving or blinking.
Many women cheered when these men took their shirts off. I actually received $10 to put mine back on.
With all joking aside, this event was a spectacular one to watch. All of the participants were in incredible shape and put on an amazing show. We’d like to give a special congratulations to the following men, women and teams who will be moving on to the CrossFit Games in L.A. in July:
Men
1 Jason Khalipa
2 Neal Maddox
3 Gabe Subry
4 Joey Warren
Women
1 Jenny LaBaw
2 Annie Sakamoto
3 Candace Hamilton Hester
Teams
1 CrossFit 808
2 Rocklin CrossFit Honey Badgers
3 Diablo CrossFit Anejo
Strike had a great time both watching the regionals as well as providing beer for them. Ultimately, we’d love to be the official beer of the CrossFit Games. So, anyone who plans on attending any CrossFit events, make sure you tell the organizers that in the future they need to carry Strike beer.
Unrelated to CrossFit, make sure you get out there and get your hands on some of the newly released Strike IPA and Imperial Red. They are both available in 22oz bottles as well as on draught. These two are our first foray outside of our Session Series, and they sure did turn out tasty.
So, until the next time we have something awesome to blog about, take it easy and make sure you grab yourself some delicious craft beer.
Cheers! – Drew
Posted in Events, Fitness & Craft Beer | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, beer festivals, Blonde, Brown, craft beer, crossfit, CrossFit Games, CrossFit Regionals, Fight Gone Bad, fitness, imperial red, IPA, session beers, strike, swimming, Wit | Leave a comment
Beer Festival Season is Here
Well folks, the summer beer festival season is upon us, and this means that Strike is making the rounds about the bay area pouring liquid love for the masses. We’ve actually been going for a couple weeks now and have many more weeks to go; but, we have a few photos from our trip to the Martinez Bay Area Craft Beer Festival.
Jenny and Drew are getting ready for the massive hoards that will be descending upon them within the hour. They are sporting snazzy new green wristbands which made them the pretty belles at the ball.
Drew giving the bottle he just poured a stern talking to. He doesn’t like it when they give him lip.
Jenny and Drew’s attempt at using Strike coasters as a jigsaw puzzle. They were soooooo close.
Our next door neighbors from Shmaltz Brewing Company demonstrating the perfect pour.
Just a glimpse of the crowd that decided to stop by.
The selection of Strike beers available to the festival goers. Also, Drew’s foray into the world of hand modeling.
Strike helpers at the ready. They are like oompa loompas only they don’t tell you how to raise your children through song.
Well, that was the Martinez Craft Bay Beer Festival folks. We had a great time, and for those of you that made it out, we hope you did too… and if you didn’t make it – we’ll see you next year!
Coming up next we’ve got the subZERO Festival in San Jose, the Monterey Beer Festival and many, many more fun beer-filled events. So, make sure to sign up for our newsletter (which we plan to get out this week) and keep an eye on the Events page for more updates.
Cheers! – Drew & Jenny
Posted in Events | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, beer festivals, Blonde, brewing, Brown, craft beer, crossfit, fitness, imperial red, IPA, microbrewery, Porter, San Jose, strike, triathlon, Wit | 1 Comment
Strike’s First Distribution Agreement Signed
It’s been another huge week for us here at Strike. There are lots of things happening. And one of the biggest that we want to share is that we have signed a distribution agreement with a major local distributor. This basically means you will be able to find Strike in a lot more places in Santa Clara County very soon.
This week a Strike press release announced the agreement for the distribution of Strike’s craft beers in Santa Clara County. The official launch date is today, Friday, April 13th, which also happens to be the day of the Giants home opener. Our new distribution partner is DBI, Inc., and we are extremely pleased to become part of their strong craft beer portfolio.
After releasing our first three beer styles in December 2011, and adding a fourth in February, we see DBI’s sales force bringing Strike beer to many, many more locations as a very positive sign.
We are committed to continuing to add to and develop our Session Series. Yet we will also be adding some additional very drinkable styles somewhat higher in alcohol. Both an IPA and an Imperial Red will be released in 22 ounce bottles and draught on May 23rd, 2012.
You can also check out a recent blog about this announcement from one of Strike’s favorite beer industry reviewers, Brian, at www.bayareacraftbeer.com
Cheers! – Jenny
Posted in News | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, Blonde, brewery, brewmaster, Brown Ale, craft beer, crossfit, cycling, fitness, imperial red, IPA, microbrewery, Northern California, Porter, session beers, Wit | Leave a comment
April 7th – A Big Day For Beer
Let’s recap what’s happened in the past 70 years or so that made the date of April 7th just such a great day for beer lovers…
December 18th, 1917 – the Volstead Act, also dubbed the National Prohibition Act, was passed by the Senate; this eventually led to the 18th amendment (not good for beer)
January 16th, 1919 – the 18th Amendment was ratified (really not good for beer)
October 28th, 1919 – the Volstead Act was passed by Congress and established the enforcement of prohibition (probably the worst thing to ever happen to beer)
1919 through 1932 – Bootlegging and moonshining become well-known illegal activities
December 5th, 1933 – the 21st Amendment repeals prohibition (possibly the greatest thing to ever happen for beer)
But, a lot more went into repealing prohibition before the 21st Amendment was actually signed into law…
Franklin D. Roosevelt had a lot to do with the repeal, and so he ranks pretty high in our list of cool presidents. Early in his presidency, he asked Congress to modify the Volstead Act to legalize the making and selling of our beloved liquid. Eventually the Cullen-Harrison Act made 4% ABV beer a-okay by federal government standards.
And, “so why is April 7th so important?” you may ask…
After FDR signed the Cullen-Harrison Act on March 23rd, 1933, it was set to take effect on April 7th, 1933. And so, this is why April 7th is an important day in the beer loving community.
And, just coincidentally, The Session Beer Project has also noted that these 4% beers were, in essence, session beers. Check out the Session Beer Project here and help us raise awareness that lower alcohol beer can still taste great, and be enjoyed over a longer period of time.
Just this week, our local San Jose Mercury writer, Jay R. Brooks, also wrote a great piece about session beer. You can read that one here, too.
So, on April 7th, raise a glass and toast what is nationally known as Brew Year’s Eve with a session beer in hand.
You can also come out and raise a few tasting glasses with us at Zanotto’s Market (1421 Foxworthy) tomorrow from 11am to 4pm. We’ll be out there for their Easter celebration helping raise awareness for session beers and the importance of April 7th in the brewing community. Do some grocery shopping, paint some eggs, and drink some beer!
Cheers! – the Strike Team (Jenny, Drew, Ben and Bill)
Posted in Events | Tagged active lifestyle, Bay Area, beer, Blonde, brewery, brewing, brewmaster, Brown, craft beer, crossfit, fitness, microbrewery, NorCal, San Jose, session beers, start-up, Wit | Leave a comment
St. Patrick’s Day Trivia
Since it’s nearly St. Patrick’s Day, a beer-filled holiday, we thought it was a good reason to give away a Strike shirt. Be the first to comment back on the bottom of the blog (not on Facebook) with all of the correct answers and WIN!
1) What nationality was St. Patrick?
- A) Irish
- B) English
- C) Turkish
- D) Japanese
2) What was St. Patrick’s true given name?
- A) Patrick Dempsy
- B) Maewyn Succat
- C) Patrick Swayze
- D) Danica Patrick
3) Before green, what color was originally associated with St. Patrick?
- A) Salmon
- B) Fuchsia
- C) Blue
- D) Atomic Pink
4) What dangerous animals was St. Patrick known for banishing from Ireland?
- A) Bed Bugs
- B) Snakes
- C) Thunder Cats
- D) The Cast of Glee
5) What is the true name of the Irish language?
- A) Italian
- B) Klingon
- C) Antarctican
- D) Gaeilge
6) What were the original shapes of the four marshmallows in boxes of Lucky Charms?
- A) Circles, Squares, Triangles and Even Bigger Circles
- B) Hearts, Moons, Stars and Clovers
- C) Cows, Horses, Chickens and Old MacDonald
- D) Spiral, Stop Sign, Hourglass and the Batman Symbol
7) What is the best Irish movie ever made?
- A) Leprechaun
- B) Leprechaun 2
- C) Leprechaun 3
- D) Leprechaun 4: In Space
- E) Leprechaun in the Hood
- F) Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood
- G) All the above
8) What does Chicago dye green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day?
- A) Hair
- B) The River
- C) The Grass
- D) Eggs and Ham
9) What drink is most often associated with Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day?
- A) Turnip Juice
- B) Hawaiian Punch
- C) Guinness
- D) Appletini
10) Which one of these people is not Irish?
- A) Colin Ferrell
- B) Gandhi
- C) Bono
- D) The Riverdance Guy
Good luck and have a safe and fun St. Patrick’s Day!
Cheers! – The Strike Team
Posted in Trivia | Tagged active lifestyle, baseball, Bay Area, beer festivals, Blonde, brewing, Brown, craft beer, fitness, IPA, Porter, San Jose, south bay, south bay brewer, St. Patrick's Day, strike, trivia, win, Wit | 2 Comments
Bay Area Brew Fest 2012
We survived our first Fort Mason event. And what a day it was. Three kegs and four hours later it felt like it flew by. There wasn’t a moment beer wasn’t flowing from the taps – every brewery ran dry just before 5pm when it ended. So a huge props goes out to the event organizers who knew exactly how much beer we needed to bring. We documented the day in photos so that if you couldn’t make it, you’ll be even more enticed to attend next year…
If you haven’t been there it is an incredible building. Here’s the entrance and interior (sans people).
We were also pretty stoked that we could drive the Strike-mobile (i.e. Jenny’s SUV) right up to the table to unload.
Just outside the front door was a group of food trucks just waiting to satisfy the appetites of 3000+ beer-filled attendees. This here is Toasty Melts, feeding your childhood grilled cheese addiction since 2000-something.
Just outside the back door is a lovely view of some island in the middle of San Francisco bay. I think it used to be center for marriage counseling or something. Regardless, people didn’t want to be there.
Just 20 minutes before the doors opened, the ice finally showed up. Thank goodness! If you serve people warm beer there is the possibility of losing an eye or a leg.
Here they come… You’d be amazed at how fast people can move when there is beer waiting for them.
And here’s what our table looked like all set up. Drew is very thankful for the slimming properties of black.
The Strike mascot proudly perched on the jockey box just waiting to pour liquid-love to the next passer-by.
Around 3pm it started to turn into a party. We think this photo was taken during the ever memorable song, Don’t Stop Belevin’ by Journey. It’s one of our personal favorites.
We also wanted to take this time to let you know that we have decided our next two beers will be an IPA and an Imperial Red released in 22oz bombers. We’ve been doing test batches and will let you all know when they hit the tanks!
Stay tuned for more big news over the next few weeks… and remember to like Strike on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more instant updates!
Cheers! – Jenny & Drew
Posted in Events | Tagged active lifestyle, bay area beer, beer, beer events, beer festivals, Blonde, Brown, craft beer, fort mason, IPA, Northern California, Porter, running club, Wit | Leave a comment