Lip-smacking beers—Fog of Fidens, Fog This!, Life Finds a Way and Significant Otter included—were to be expected.
Same for slick bar design, strategic positioning and approachable service.
But not everything at the latest outpost of Humble Sea Brewing Co.’s widening dynasty (Pier 39, San Francisco)—now freshly open seven days a week—is so predictable.
I wouldn’t have guessed, for example, it would already feel like it’s been there for awhile, or have its own raft of regulars after a month.
Such is the power of great craft beer, and building out places with consistent DNA and their own individual expressions, now appearing in Felton, Alameda and Pacifica, on Santa Cruz Wharf and at the OG Westside locale.
“We want each location to offer a totally different experience, so it feels like a little adventure hopping between them,” says co-creator Frank Scott Kreuger, pun perhaps unintended. “You might visit one with your kids on a sunny weekend, and another with your beer geek buddies after a hike.”
The brisk evolution had me believing a Humble Sea e-blast announcing a Smithsonian Institute collaboration, which HSBC titled “Capitol Records.”
“They wanna put [flagship beer] Socks & Sandals in a museum,” it reads. “No joke. Right next to the Constitution. It all started almost 20 years ago in [HSBC co-founder] Nick’s garage as a Pliny clone. Then it became Cut & Run IPA about 10 years ago.
“After hundreds (literally) of iterations, it’s the juicy, citrusy, fog-blasted masterpiece you crush today. Most dialed-in hoppy beer we make.”
It turns out the Smithsonian honor was a hoax.
The quality of the S.F. destination—and Socks & Sandals—I can attest, are 100-p accurate.
SHROOMNEWAL
One of the more original foodie ideas to emerge from Santa Cruz in the last few years is applying a new name to its smiley-face product. Paul and Katie Lazazzera have trampolined from the “Shroomsicles” title to Benni Pops in recent months, to better emphasize the benefits of mushrooms in their popsicles while appealing to a broader audience. “Turns out, people hear ‘shroom’ and think they’re about to eat a frozen portobello on a stick or go on an interstellar adventure,” Katie writes on their website. “Spoiler: they’re not doin’ either.” My favorite popsicle doubles as their signature, the lion’s mane mousse, which leads an array of flavors like reishi cinnamon roll and cordyceps orange vanilla, all designed to unleash adaptogenic might with dessert-level satisfaction. A bunch of spots including Terra Superfoods (1010 Pacific Ave., Suite A/B, Santa Cruz), Soul Salad (7957 Soquel Drive, Aptos) and Blue Zone Waters (1715 Mission St., Santa Cruz) all stock the summer-friendly pops, more via bennipops.com.
FLAVORFUL FUN
Good Times wellness columnist Elizabeth Borelli, creator of speaking-coaching-workshopping hub The Mindful Mediterranean and author of Tastes Like La Dolce Vita, is getting vivid with the good life across several events, including a food-and-vino tasting with winemaker Dave Moulton in the historic Burrell School garden (July 12); “Embracing La Dolce Vita!: A 6-Step Mediterranean Diet Workshop” at Cabrillo College (July 26); and “From the Farmers Market to your Plate—Explore, Taste, and Create!” at the Aptos Farmers Market (Aug. 2); and makes 50 of her A Taste of the Mediterranean plant-based recipes free (!), at elizabethborelli.com…Winemaking revolutionary Randall Grahm is hosting his first public tours of Popelouchum vineyard for small groups, with swirls of a few wines and a box lunch prepared by chef Jarad Gallagher, using property produce, on July 5-6, 18-19, 20, and 25-27, popelouchum.com…Attention, carb heads: Next month Tombstone frozen pizza is launching “French Fry Style Crust Pizza,” so there’s that to look forward to?…San Francisco’s own Om Malike, coax us out: “I like the muted sounds, the shroud of grey, and the silence that comes with fog.”
