Greg Koch's 6 Essential West Coast Beers

By Steven Armstrong Thu., Sep. 15 2011 at 3:09 PM

Categories: Beer

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Greg Koch preaches to the craft beer choir

Recently we asked Greg Koch, the evangelistic demagogue behind Stone Brewing Company -- the largest craft brewery in Southern California -- to share his top five essential West Coast beers. But, in true Stone Greg fashion, Koch gave us six -- two of which aren't individual beers, but two series of beers. Why? Because he can. So, without further ado: Greg Koch's Six Essential West Coast Beers, in no particular order.

John Holzer

Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter

6. Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter:
"Delicious. Local. Perfect blend of the classic Porter characteristics of roastiness, chocolate, and coffee. If you are one of those poor, mislead, skittish souls who thinks they are afraid of 'dark beer,' stay in your self-concluded, preconceived-notion corner. I don't want to know you." Ballast Point Brewing Co., 10051 Old Grove Rd., San Diego, (858) 695-2739.

Pizza Port Solana Beach

Pizza Port Solana Beach Swami's IPA

5. Pizza Port Solana Beach Swami's IPA: "One of the first-ever West Coast-style IPAs. First brewed in the mid-90s, still brewed today, and one of my eternal favorites. Should be one of yours, too." Pizza Port Solana Beach, 135 North Highway 101, Solana Beach, (858) 481-7332.

Charlie Essers

The Bruery Saison Rue

4. The Bruery Saison Rue: "I love this fantastic Saison from Orange County. In my humble opinion, it was an instant classic from the time it was released just a few years ago. And it's from nearby -- no ocean voyage required (unless you wisely decide to take it on an afternoon of sailing off the SoCal coast)." The Bruery, 715 Dunn Way, Placentia, (714) 996-6258.

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Was N. Was

"If you are one of those poor, mislead, skittish souls who thinks they are afraid of 'dark beer,' stay in your self-concluded, preconceived-notion corner."

Sounds like a great salesman -- a spokesman, if you will, for the toy-beer industry.

Jforward

This list is not that good....you've missed out on Mammoth Brewing Co. Golden Trout Pilsner for one...No 2, I'd like to think that Scrimshaw Pilsner from North Coast Brewing Co. is also a Top 6-er....and No. 3 - what about Lagunitas? The make an excellent Pils...of course, you do have Ballast Point - but their best beer is actually the Pale Ale.

Matthew Olesh

Nice article!

Maui makes the ONLY HI-brewed beers to hit the mainland US? Not true. Kona Brewing Co., brewed on the Big Island, available on the mainland.

Steven Armstrong

Kona isn't craft and it isn't Hawaiian. It's brewed by Widmer, a subsidiary of foreign-owned Anheuser-Busch.

Guest

As a brewer at the Kona Brewing Company in Kona it's frustrating to hear poeple say that we're not "craft" anymore because of our relationship with CBA now. In fact, we are still very much a "craft" brewery in that we keep at least 15 different beers on tap at our pubs that are only made by us and can't be bought anywhere else, even on the mainland. Besides a large, always available selection of beers from lagers to barley wines we have an extended barrel aging program and release bi-weekly, one-of-a-kind firkins. We here all have the passion to make great and unique beer that I think most people in the beer industry have. Owned by a big company or not, our 10,000 BBL brewery is full of beer nuts and making great beer is our "craft".

Guest

I researched your statement about Widmer being a subsidiary of the InBev owned Anheuser-Busch corporation, I cannot validate the information. I did find that the Kona Brewery brews beers on the mainland in association with the Craft Brewers Association, Inc out of Portland, OR. The main Brewery is in Kailua-Kona where the recipes are created. If I am wrong or ALL the websites involved are wrong, let me know. Great article though. Thanks.

Guest

In the late 90's, Budweiser, seeing the potential of craft beer invested in Widmer and bought stake in the company and gave them access to their distribution network. Widmer eventually merged with Redhook in the mid-00's and called themselves the CBA. CBA also purchased a minority stake in Goose Island and Kona. They began to contract brew Kona at Widmer and Redhook's brewery in New Hampshire and then fully bought out Kona last year. Bud, looking to get more in the craft beer market bought out the CBA shares of Goose Island this year and acquired the company. Bud has a 36% share in CBA currently.

Steven Armstrong

You're correct, except it's the "Craft Brewers Alliance" -- essentially a pretty name for an InBev adjunct. It's sticky territory, and opinions are divided. Mr. Koch has made his opinion clear, and I tend to agree with him, though any statements he's made are his own, and any statements I make in this comment section are also my own (i.e. my opinion, and not necessarily the opinion of LA Weekly). At any rate, Kona's Longboard Lager pairs well with BBQ chicken pizza. Cheers!

chazlakip

All the Kona Brewing beer on the mainland is brewed at Widmer in Portland and Redhook in Portsmouth, NH. Then distributed by Budweiser/In Bev as part of the Craft Brewers Alliance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K...