Ladyface Ale Companie, located in Agoura Hills, is a Belgian-centric restaurant that features a wide range of their own handcrafted beers.  At the time of this post Ladyface Ale Companie had no less than eleven of their beers on tap. Click here to see their current tap selection, which includes several guest taps.

Picture City Porter comes in two different versions: regular and bourbon-fied. It is my understanding that this is a limited edition (available in small quantities and/or for special occasions) beer so be sure to ask if the bourbon barrel version is available if you want to experience the beer in this review.

When you order a beer that comes from a bourbon barrel it is hard not to have any preconceived notions about the aromas and tastes you will encounter.  Try to put any of those notions aside and dig a little deeper, you won’t be disappointed. Picture City Porter is a treat and a challenge to taste; and with a little digging you will discover a wonderful, complex beer.

Served in a pint glass, the traditional drinking vessel, Picture City Porter poured an opaque brown with a diminishing off-white head. I think it would have had better head retention if served in a less traditional tulip shaped glass.  However, what it lacked in head retention it made up for in the wonderful lacing pattern it left on the inside of the glass. 

Generally I don’t care for pint glasses as they tend to let the aromas dissipate too quickly (as well as the head) which can eliminate a layer of complexity that could be enjoyed throughout the session.   However, this beer held its own against the mighty mouth of the pint glass.  The bourbon aroma is a thick and unmistakable layer that floats on the beer’s surface and will greet your nose just a tick before each drink. While it does dissipate a bit, the bourbon aroma hangs around for the whole session.  I love the bourbon aroma but the real pleasure in this beer is finding its hidden layers. If you “squint” just a bit you will discover an all but hidden layer of subtle earthy notes wafting just behind the bourbon. For me it was reminiscent of freshly turned soil with a mix of herbs sprinkled about. 

My first thought as I tasted the beer was “Where is the bourbon?” The bourbon aroma was so powerful that I was certain that each drink would be overrun with bourbon flavor.  Instead, roasty malts dominated the palate with a subtle burnt toast flavor that was mixed with a chocolaty sweetness. The dark malts and hops provide a moderate bitterness that keeps the sweetness in check. 

As the tasting progressed I started to discover two more hidden layers.  The earthy notes showed up again but this time in the flavor.  My guess is that these earthy notes are a result of the beer being aged in oak barrels.  Then from under the earthy notes a new layer emerged, almost as an afterthought. Spice. This layer can be easily missed if you aren’t paying attention because you won’t experience it until you exhale. After you swallow take a moment (your frites won’t cool down that much) and enjoy this final stage of tasting a beer that is so often overlooked. Exhale. Feel the spicy esters float to the roof of your mouth and then up and out of your sinuses. Was this spice caused by the hops or the oak or was it a magical combination of the two?  I’m not sure but I AM glad it was there.  

The beauty of this beer is in its layers.  Its tough guy persona (the bourbon aroma) is just a façade that is protecting its more delicate almost hidden layers. Picture City Porter rewards those who stick around to get to know it.  Do yourself a favor, pull up a chair and introduce yourself to this beer. 

Somewhere near the bottom of Two Tree Hill you will find a residential neighborhood like many in Ventura with shady, tree lined streets casting dappled shadows across front lawns and cars parked in driveways.  Nothing looks out of the ordinary and you certainly wouldn’t expect to find a brewery hidden on this street.  But that is exactly what you will find if you walk up Al Trevisan’s driveway and into his garage.

My interview with Trevisan was more like two old friends getting together over a couple of beers more than anything else. We spent two hours talking about his brew system, fermentation procedures and anything else in-between all while tasting a couple of his homebrews and enjoying the warm SoCal sun. Oh yeah, the life of a beer reporter can be pretty tough.

Trevisan has been homebrewing for four years and like most homebrewers he started out brewing small batches on the kitchen stove.  As many of us homebrewers remember, that is a foot in the door start to our homebrewing obsession.  However, we soon realize, as Trevisan did that we can’t keep up with demand brewing small batches in the house. So, after purchasing a larger system he moved his “operations” to the garage.

It wasn’t until he read an article about nanobrewing in All About Beer that Trevisan started to seriously consider turning his hobby into a profession. With support from acquaintances, loyal friends and most importantly his family, he started the process of turning his home brewery into Two Trees nanobrewery.

Operating a nano-brewery out of his garage is quite appealing for Trevisan for a few of reasons.  First, he would be able to use his current homebrew system so he wouldn’t need to rent or purchase any more storage space or equipment.  Second, the brewery’s size and location means he wouldn’t be brewing anymore than he is right and since it is in his backyard he wouldn’t miss out any additional family time.

State and federal requirements deal mostly with tax issues but they do specify that the brewery need to be located in a detached permanent structure. The catch is a Ventura city ordinance that prohibits residents from operating a business out of their garage. Until the city ordinance changes, Trevisan’s professional aspirations are on hold and for now he is content to hone his brewing skills by brewing as often as he can.  Last and possibly the most convenient, Two Trees beer is kegged in five gallon soda kegs and Trevisan can easily self distribute his beers to local bars and/or pubs.

Currently, Trevisan is brewing as often as he can, about ten gallons every two weeks.  He enjoys sharing his brews so much that he brews beer for friends and colleagues whenever there is a request. Don’t worry if you don’t know Trevisan personally because you will have the opportunity to taste Two Trees beer in September at the California Beer Festival.

One of the most exciting things happening in the craft beer world is the explosion of local breweries in the U.S. and Ventura county is no different.  We have finally topped pre-prohibition brewery numbers and the market doesn’t show any sign of slowing down.  Two Trees could be the next brewery providing fresh local beer but not until an exception is made to the current city ordinance.  Show you support for Two Trees by visiting it’s Facebook pageand ask what you can do to help change the ordinance.

Learrn more about brewery sizes @ http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/market-segments

Or

http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/beerology/small-independent-traditional

Click image to visit Island Brewing Company!

In the beginning…Before there was a bourbon barrel program or Island Brewing Company or even homebrew Paul had visions of becoming a vintner.   After completing his formal fermentation education at UC Davis he started making his own wine.  Fortunately for the beer world he was never happy with the way his wines turned out.  Then one fateful Christmas, Paul’s wife gave him a “Beer Machine” (the original can still be seen above his office in IBC’s taproom) and he never looked back.

Paul joined a homebrew club, retired his Beer Machine, went all grain and became president of his homebrew club.  Under his leadership and with help from its talented members, HOME (Homebrewers Of Marin and Elsewhere) became the California homebrew club of the year.  Paul started volunteering and working at Marin Brewing in his spare time where he started on the ground floor, quite literally.  His first jobs were cleaning the floors and kegs.  He eventually moved up to kegging and bottling a couple days a week and this is where Paul added real world brewing experience to his UC Davis education.

When Paul’s day job moved to Las Vegas he and his family decided moving to Sin City just wasn’t going to work for them and through a series of events (daughters attending UCSB, getting married etc.) he packed up his bags and moved to Carpinteria. It was then and there that Paul realized his dream and opened Island Brewing Company

What you should know…Once a month Island Brewing Co. features one of their beers as a cask conditioned ale. What makes this so special is that one cask (7.75 gallons) of the beer is racked off the batch before it is finished fermenting into a small keg.  When the beer has finished fermenting and conditioning it is tapped on a “First Friday” of each month.  The beer is served much warmer and at lower carbonation levels then usual but serving the beer this way allows the malt flavors to shine through.  These beers are generally consumed by the end of the weekend so be sure to check out their website so you don’t miss the next “First Friday” cask tapping.

Island Brewing Co also ages some of their bigger beers (higher in alcohol and/or flavor and/or body) in bourbon barrels.  The barrels they use have only been empty for only a week or two so when they get them they are full of bourbon flavor.  Fresh beer is taken from the fermenter and put into the barrel where it will condition for several weeks.  The beers are tasted throughout the aging process to check their progress and when they have just the right amount of bourbon flavor they are racked into a brite tank where they are conditioned and carbonated.  Then the beer is bottled, hand labeled and numbered. Each batch produces around 250 bottles.  Look for these bottles in their beer fridge next to the bar as they are rarely on tap. Island Brewing Co. has had much success with its bourbon barrel program.  In addition to being some of my favorite BIG beers the Big Island IPA won first place at the Great American Beer Festival.

Geeky brewhouse specs…
Island brewing uses a tricked out 15 barrel (472 gallons) Bohemian brew system commonly found in brew pubs.  The boil kettle is fitted with sensors to avoid boil overs and the mash tun has sensors to regulate water levels while mashing-in and sparging. 

The brewed wort is then cooled and transferred into one of the five 15 barrel fermenters.  After fermentation the beer is filtered and transferred to a brite tank where the beer “rests” and carbonates before it is bottled or kegged.  All of IBC’s beers are filtered to increase the shelf life of the beers.  A courser filter is used on their ales to avoid stripping too much flavor out of the beer while a finer filter is used on the lager to ensure a crystal clear beer.

Island Brewing Company’s official distinction has changed from production microbrewery to brewpub since more than 25% of its beer is consumed on premises.  50% of the beer IBC produces is consumed at their tap house. There are nine taps in the IBC taproom. Three of the nine taps feature a specialty or seasonal brew while the other six taps pour their regular offerings

Future Plans…Paul is always looking to the future.  Island brewing Co. has reached its consumption capacity and so Paul is now considering expanding off premises.  He is specifically looking for a second location that would increase production and enable IBC to move into more markets like Santa Barbara.Soon Island Brewing Co. will be canning.  That’s right, cans!  I am especially looking forward to this because when that happens there will be no reason that I can’t have a beer at the beach.   Well, almost no reason.  Keep an eye on their website for their official announcement, coming soon I hope!