Sequoia Brewing Co. Fresno, CA

It's been a while... But alas, it is time to get back to writing a little about beer. While I have consumed many good brews over the last few months, I really have not been doing so with the intent of writing anything of interest about them. I have literally just been drinking them for pure enjoyment... a noble reason if I may say so. I could easily write about many of these beers, but without any coherent tasting notes to accompany them, it would just be conjectural rambling and praise most likely. Instead, I had the pleasure of going to a central valley brewery that I may have never gone to if not for my work situation. On the way back from 29 palms California, our crew decided to stop at the Sequoia Brewing Company for lunch. So, here I will give my personal run down of the joint and the brews they offered.

Sequoia Brewing Company Bar & Grill was started in October
of 2003 by Scott and Michele Kendall who purchased Butterfield Brewing Company in February 2000. Butterfield's started in the Spring of 1989 with award winning Brewmaster Kevin Cox in the heart of the historical Tower District, Fresno, California. The Micro Brewing Company and Restaurant is known as a neighborhood icon in Fresno. Scott and Michele changed the name to wholesale their beer throughout the United States. The brewery has a second location in Northeast Fresno in July of 2005 at Piazza del Fiore. (http://www.sequoiabrewing.com) 

As most breweries go, the decor and set-up was fairly standard. Comfortable banquet room adjacent to a more intimate taproom/ gift shop area. The menu offered a fair spread of normal pub grub... nothing particularly inventive or unique. The price point was average, and everyone including me seemed to enjoy their food. However, I was interested in the beer most of all and I ordered the 10 beer sampler as my appetizer... 

Beers: Half-Dome (Hefeweizen-Pale Ale hybrid), Blossom Trail (Wheat orange blossom pale), China Peak Pilsner, Moto Brew (Pale-Ale), Hopfest (Dry Hopped Pale-Ale), General Sherman IPA, Tamarack Amber Ale, Black Oak Porter, Del Oro (Mexican Style Light Ale), and a Seasonal Red IPA.   

Half- Dome: This beer was confusing at first. The Hefe style comes through right away. Good wheat flavor with a little bit of the yeast profile coming through, a little clove taste but not too strong. The more interesting part of this beer is the Pale Ale half which come through as hoppy and little bit a bready malt taste. As you let it sit on the palette, the mixture of both beer styles start to compliment each other and it actually creates a pretty tasty brew. This would be the taste of summertime if I had to be poetic... I enjoyed it! 

Blossom Trail: One of the hands-down oddest beers I have had in a long time. Very pale in color and slightly hazy. The first taste is light wheat taste with very little malt behind it, but the star of this show is the orange blossom honey. It comes towards the end and is very floral in taste. No the least bit hoppy... at all. I am not really a fan of this beer in particular, but it literally achieves its goal as a beer. It is well done and probably enjoyed by many who come here. 

China Peak Pilsner: A fairly standard pilsner in any case. Kind of a sweet maltiness, the hops are skunky and aromatic. I tend to prefer a pilsner a little more on the dry side, but this beer is described as a Kolsch and is therefore an Ale. The name pilsner might not be accurate for this beer, however as a light tasty german-style beer it is pretty spot on. 

Moto Brew: This Pale-Ale seems to adhere to a more conservative variation on the theme. Not very hop driven and more of a light malty ale with some bitterness behind it, I find that it is a little underwhelming. It is more comparable to Oregon varations of pale ale like Mirror Pond from Deschutes. Fairly standard brew, however it would not be my go to beer. 

Hopfest: This beer was good from the first taste to the last. This is easily a well balanced IPA of sorts. Very good up front bitterness, somewhat citrus and floral aromas on the nose, but balanced with a good malt that was dry and a little bready. This one was my favorite of the sampler. I would have easily knocked back a couple of these and been quite content. 

General Sherman IPA: As IPA's go this one is a textbook example. It has a fair amount of hops and malt. Not a ton of aroma coming off of this one, but the bitterness of the hops is upfront enough. I could see this being an old stand-by kinda beer. Nice and strong. I liked it.

Tamarack Amber Ale: As a category, amber ales are kind of ambiguous, the flavor profile is anything but consistent. Basically if the beer is somewhat red in color it can be an amber. That said, this version is quite enjoyable and little bit more than ordinary. The key in my opinion in making one of these beers good is by creating a tasty malt base and only accenting the beer with a mild hop character. This beer does it. Slightly sweet bready malt with alot of flavor, a nice hop finish that gives the beer a little spice at the end. I really like this one. 

Black Oak Porter: Coffee anyone? Yeah, this is definitely a porter. Burnt, sweet and good. Cant really give much more of an opinion on it. A really good porter...

Del Oro: This was kind of an odd ball beer. A mexican style-ale is fairly ambitious. This one is pretty spot on. A light ale with a dry finish. It lacks that distinctive Mexican beer after taste, but a valiant effort none the less. 

Seasonal Red IPA: This beer is a definite double IPA, pretty strong and bit more malt than hop in this one. But the hops do make their presence. Good aroma with nice spicy citrus finish. Not the best IPA on the plate, but a good one worth a second pint or two. 

Overall I enjoyed this place and will probably go back if given the opportunity... good beers for a small operation... until next time!!!