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Santa Rosa Brewing

Santa Rosa, California, United States

(Closed)

458 B Street
Santa Rosa CA 95401
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Notes

Updated: July 6, 2003

Visited: July 11, 1993

Opened: 1993

Closed: 1998

Annual Production: 1,500 bbl

Formerly Kelmer's.

Before April 1993 they were known as Kelmer's, and they were the eighth stop on my nine-brewery Beer Odyssey in 1992. Tons of different styles of beers, mostly seasonal, mostly drinkable.Directions: Tucked into the southwest corner of Seventh and B Streets in downtown Santa Rosa.

Beer List

Amber Ale

American-Style Amber/Red Ale

4.50% abv.
- Date: April 25, 1994 (#313)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA
  
  Score: 14 points
  
  Overall Impression
  Basically same color as Anderson Valley Centennial (6-0312). Dark. Thick white head. Transparent. Faintly soapy smell. Some fruity hops. Good body, nice bite. Good malt flavors, but not real assertive. Finish slightly bitter, sweet.
- Date: July 11, 1993 (#139)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: at the brewery
  
  Score: 13 points
  
  Overall Impression
  Much darker than previous two (Wammer and Golden Pale). Faint crystal malt aroma, fainter hops. (Cat crawled up my allergic nose last night, so I'm probably picking up even fewer aromas than usual.) Almost smooth, but just too fizzy. Not as heavy as it looks.

Amber Weizen

Dark American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast

Date: November 5, 1994 (#494)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
Light amber, good carbonation. Faint caramel nose. Fruity/caramel flavors. OK but unremarkable. Wheat character isn't very prominent.

Belgian Blonde

Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale

Date: April 9, 1995 (#858)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
Yellow, clear. Low carbonation and head. Spicy aroma, some sour notes. Sweet-sour...very reminiscent of Celis Grand Cru. Reasonably thick in body. Some astringency.

Bit o'Black Stout

Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout

Date: March 26, 1995 (#831)

Package: nitrogenated

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 18 points

Overall Impression
Quite black. Great head. Very burnt aroma indeed. Clean, yet burnt mouthfeel. This is very Guinness-like. Served from the nitro-tap.

Black Sheep Porter

Robust Porter

Date: August 21, 1995 (#1141)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Deep red, good brown head. Fresh black malt aroma. Black flavors, good body, smooth finish. Good Porter.
Date: June 5, 1995 (#997)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Dark red, clear. No head. Coffee aroma and flavor. Tastes like one of my old homebrewed Porters...one of the good ones.
Date: February 6, 1995 (#758)

Package: draught

Place: The Depot, Concord CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
Extremely dark red, not black. Good brown head. Lots of chocolate! Sweet, not burnt aroma. Very thick, big chocolate flavor. Finishes pretty quick, some lingering hop flavor.

Bohemian Ale

Münchner-Style Helles

Date: October 1, 1995 (#1217)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression
Bright gold, good carbonation, low head. Smells like Redhook. Malty...kinda chewy, but with a Tettnang note. Malty finish.

Cascade IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

Date: June 27, 1993 (#102)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
Amber and very clear. Fair head, but no bubbles in the glass. Lots of (typical West Coast) hop aroma. Almost very good. Carbonation lacking. Good crystal malt, but again it's masked by the hops. My first Santa Rosa beer since they changed ownership.

Chinooky Nook

American-Style Pale Ale

Date: November 13, 1994 (#604)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression
Dark red. Great brown head. Dry hops...smells like brown pot?!? DRY HOP FLAVOR. Not overwhelming, though. Goes to a reasonably-balanced beer with a long spicy finish. Chinook hop grenade.

Chocolate Stout

Sweet Stout

Date: April 1, 1994 (#393)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression
BLACK. So black, there's a dark halo around the glass. Burnt aroma, but subtle. I think it could be stronger. Body OK, touch thin. Some chocolate and coffee flavors. Very astringent. Short finish...bitter and burnt. Not big enough. Tastes like a dry stout, but feels like a sweet stout.

Cotati Stout

Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout

Date: January 15, 1995 (#717)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Extremely dark red. Gigantic brown head. Nice roasty coffee character. Surprisingly thin for a Stout. Pacific Coast keeps the stout keg under the bar, where it's WAY too warm. Takes five minutes to pour this beer because of the head it throws.

Cream Stout

Sweet Stout

Date: August 10, 1994 (#409)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 18½ points

Overall Impression
Black. Big brown head. Some chocolate aroma, lots of burnt grain. Excellent flavors. Smooth, burnt. Nice bite from hops and black grain.

Golden Pale

American-Style Pale Ale

4.70% abv.

Date: July 11, 1993 (#137)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression
Golden/deep yellow. Tiny bubbles. Rich crystal aroma for a beer so pale. Lots of hops. Tastes as heavy as it looks. Nice bite. Very well-balanced. Good beer from the former Kelmer's brewery.

Harvest Wheat

Light American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast

Date: May 30, 1994 (#345)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
Certainly amber. Pretty clear. Thick white head. Some diacetyl. Caramel malt aroma fairly prominent. Wheat character is very understated in start...does show up in finish. In between it's a typical amber beer.

Holiday Ale

American-Style Pale Ale

Date: November 26, 1994 (#615)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 10½ points

Overall Impression
RED. Flat. Clear. Brown smell...kinda musty. Brown flavor, same musty flavor. Chlorophenolic.

Hoppy Red Ale

American-Style Amber/Red Ale

Date: January 21, 1995 (#726)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression
Red-brown. Hoppy-caramel nose. Hop flavor. Good body, then more hops with a hoppy finish.

Hops!

American-Style India Pale Ale

Date: February 12, 1994 (#308)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression
Red, white head, sparse bubbles. Aroma is WAY too hoppy, even considering the name. Tastes like eating hop cones. Sorry, I'm not a hophead.

IPA

American-Style India Pale Ale

Date: January 4, 1995 (#690)

Package: real ale

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Nice red, some haze. Huge dense head, of course. Fresh hop aroma. Creamy and big...big hop flavor too. Pretty quick finish is unexpected.
Date: October 31, 1994 (#487)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 13 points

Overall Impression
Light amber, good carbonation and head. Citrus nose. Exceedingly fruity. Small bitter finish.

Maple Ale

Specialty Beer

8.00% abv.

Date: May 7, 1994 (#324)

Package: draught

Place: Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression
Brown-amber, hazy. Alcohol aroma with some sweet notes, but nothing obviously "maple". Sweet maple flavor. Probably OK if you like maple beers.

Mild Ale

English-Style Pale Mild Ale

Date: February 25, 1995 (#790)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Nice amber, good head. Moderate carbonation. Fresh hops prominent. Tastes like fresh-baked bread! Tasty, but rather sweet, even in finish.

Oatmeal Stout

4.90% abv.

Date: July 11, 1993 (#140)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression
Opaque black. Good brown head. Plasticky aroma? Very good taste...also very typical. Very good beer except for that weird aroma!

Organic Amber

American-Style Amber/Red Ale

Date: August 17, 1994 (#424)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression
Red. Lots of haze, but you can see through it. Thick white head. Some malt aroma...faint. Also some fruit. Smooth body. Flavors very subdued; typical amber flavors, but not much of them.

Pale Ale

American-Style Pale Ale

Date: February 18, 1995 (#782)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression
Red-amber, thick head. Dark. Caramel-spicy nose. Good caramel/hop balance, good body.

Raspberry Wheat

Garden (Fruit Wheat) Beer

Date: March 28, 1995 (#834)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 12 points

Overall Impression
Yellow, very hazy, good head, OK carbonation. Smells like Hi-C. Lots of raspberry flavor. Not much else. Finishes surprisingly clean.

Red

American-Style Amber/Red Ale

Date: March 28, 1995 (#833)

Package: draught

Place: The HopYard, Pleasanton CA

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression
Amber-golden. Some carbonation, good head. Malty clean aroma. Spicy hop flavor. Long smooth bitter finish.

Spring Wheat

South German-Style Weizenbock/Weissbock

7.00% abv.

Date: July 3, 1993 (#122)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression
Gold, tending to amber. Not much head, might be the glass. Sorta clove aroma...some crystal malt too. Sweet, clove, caramel, bitter, alcohol flavors, in that order. Unique. I've never tasted a beer whose flavors "separated" so obviously. Would have rated higher, but it's just too sweet.

Strong Ale

Old Ale

Date: February 6, 1995 (#763)

Package: draught

Place: The Depot, Concord CA

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Pale-amber. Fresh hop aroma. Bitter. Great body. Well-balanced. Had my first taste of this earlier today at Pacific Coast.

Wammer Wheat

Light American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast

7.25% abv.

Date: July 11, 1993 (#138)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression
Just a shade darker than Golden Pale. Slightly smoky. Tastes of alcohol. Fortunately, body is heavy enough to carry it. Smooth and sweet finish. Served with lemon, which I promptly removed.

Wee Heavy

Traditional Strong Scotch Ale

Date: December 18, 1993 (#2530)

Package: draught

Place: Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA

Overall Impression
Bright red. WHEEEE heavy! Beautiful smoke flavor. Rocket fuel.