Football, Philosophy and the Natural World: The Brewing Lair

Monday, September 23, 2013

The Brewing Lair

While I was camping up in the Sierra this weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the most remote (well, except for perhaps Silver Gulch Brewery in Fairbanks AK) micro-brewery I've ever been to. It's just outside the tiny town of Blairsden. And when I say "just outside" I mean about 200 yards. And when I say "tiny town" I mean the whole of it includes a hardware store, a florist (odd I thought) and a laundromat.
Anyway, the entrance to The Brewing Lair, as it is called, was about as noticeable as any other winding dirt driveway along the highway...except for the cutout sign of a rather ominous comic-book man in a fedora and trench coat holding a pint of beer. Things were looking good!
We followed signs painted on wood pallets up to the tasting room, which also happens to be the brewery. The building that housed everything was clean lines and modern, but it also had a woodsy feel because of the corrugated rusted metal siding, and the array of hand-hewn patio furniture surrounding it that comprised the seating area. Most of it looked like it was made from the redwoods on the property.
When we got out of the car we were greeted by two dogs. One was white and fluffy, the other looked like a Rottweiler mix and was clearly the boss. She greeted every car (all three) that pulled in while we were there.
The brewery is run, and was built by, a single person. He was described to us by a local as a "savant who had eclectic taste, and who excelled at everything he put his hand to". From my experience, that clearly was the case. The place was meticulously thought out in every detail.
There were five beers on tap, and so we got a sampler, which included a taste of each of them. My two favorites were the Simco, which was a "Single hop session IPA". I don't have any idea what that means, so don't ask, but it was light, hoppy, and had a ton of citrus (grapefruit) flavor to it. Yum-ee. The other was a dark beer, a porter of some kind made with 20 pounds of coffee. I can't remember what it was called, but we joked that it should have been named the Double Buzz.
It just so happened that the sun peaked out enough to dry the outdoor chairs, and so we enjoyed a couple pints while absorbing the sun into our chilled bones.
I have no idea how the owner makes a living at it, being all the way out there in the middle of nowhere, but I can say he makes a damn fine beer, and has a gorgeous tasting room. We will be back. Oh yes, we will be back.