I discovered olallieberries at the Swanton Berry Farm one weekend when I was in college. That Saturday, we turned a few miles south of Davenport at the yellow pick-up truck carrying a comically large wooden strawberry, and my old, low-bottomed Acura crawled up the dirt drive toward the farm stand. We stopped in to see what sort of instructions we needed to gain entry to their U-Pick organic strawberry fields, and were quickly distracted by a roomful of tasty delights. Amidst the cheesecakes, pies and dozens of preserves, a squat jar of olallieberry jam made me stopโWhat the heck was an olallieberry? Spooning a healthy purple dollop onto an animal cracker, I discovered this special fruit for the first time. Its deep color and flavor reminded me of the blackberries I used to pick as a kid in the foothills outside of Yosemite, but with the tartness of a raspberry. It turns out that this hybrid, with Logan and Young berry ancestry, is delicate, finicky and does not ship well. As a result, olallieberries can only be found at a few places along the West Coast, cultivated by die-hards who have fallen in love with their romantic flavor. Santa Cruz happens to be one of those places, and their brief appearance at farmers markets in July and August has become one of the highlights of summer. Although the U-Picks at Swanton Berry Farm and Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville are closedโthe season was especially brief and modest this year due to the drought and other seasonal factorsโyou can still find their enigmatic flavor around town in the form of pies, jams and even popsicles from said farms. For the over-21 crowd, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewingโs seasonal OโBerry Ale is available at the taproom in the Swift Street Courtyard. This refreshing, pink-hued American-style wheat beer is crisp and clean with a hint of that beloved sweet summer flavor, and, like its namesake, is only available for a limited time.
Meal on the Ranch
Monkeyflower Ranch and Garden Variety Cheese are hosting a five-course dinner on the farm outside of Watsonville on Sunday, Aug. 14. The meal is a collaboration with the chef and spirit masters of the event company Street_Social, and will feature homemade cocktails, the Ranchโs carefully raised pork and handmade cheeses. Tickets are $80 and available at gardenvarietycheese.com.
There is nothing like sharing good wine with family and friends, which is exactly what I did with the bountiful Beauregard Vineyards Pinot Noir 2013, Santa Cruz Mountains ($40). I made a typical Greek meal of stuffed squash, served with a Greek salad, and cracked open the Pinot for everyone to try. It got high marks from all. Made with Ryan Beauregardโs skillful hand, this is a Pinot to be reckoned with. Grapes were harvested in September 2013 and then aged in 20-percent new French oak until bottling in August 2015. The result is an absolutely stunning ruby-red Pinot. โThe nose is delicate and a touch spicy with oak aromas,โ says Beauregard, including โred cherry, fresh-picked strawberry, pomegranate, wet roses, sandalwood, wood chips, and various baking spicesโ to its flavor notes. Fruit-forward flavors of cranberry and pomegranate seeds linger on the palate, but best of all are the abundant earthy hints of grape stems, wet herbs and spicy French oak. Beauregard suggests keeping the wine until 2017 to โexperience its best moments,โ but I will simply buy another bottle next year. Beauregard Vineyards, 10 Pine Flat Road, Santa Cruz, 425-7777, beauregardvineyards.com.
Farm to Table Dinner at Chaminade
The next in the farm-to-table dinner series is Friday, Aug. 5, with Storrs as the featured winery, and seafood from Stagnaroโs. A superb alfresco dinner on Chaminadeโs beautiful patio is a glorious experience. Visit chaminade.com for more info.
Wrights Station Food & Wine Pairing
Wrights Station is doing a food and wine pairing with delicious food by Tanya De Cell. The event is from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7. Cost is $25 (or $15 for wine club members). Call 408-560-9343 to reserve a spot, and for more info visit wrightsstation.com.
In ancient Egypt the annual flooding of the Nile occurred as Sirius, the blue-white star left of Orion, became visible just before sunrise. This is called the Heliacal (Greek, near the Sun; helios means โSunโ) rising of Siriusโa flashing forth of the light of Sirius at pre-dawn before the Sun appears. Rising before the Sun and over the dome of the sky, Sirius rising and the Nileโs floodwaters (helping grow food for the year) appeared simultaneously. The Pyramids (Temples of Initiation) were built to align with Sirius. A sculpture of Isis, aligned with the rising of Sirius, stood in the Egyptian temples. On her forehead a jewel was placed. As Sirius flashed forth in the pre-dawn sky, its light touched the jewel of Isis and it began to sparkle and glow. Soon, the Nile would overflow. And the Egyptian new year began. The days (heliacal rising) of Sirius (July 3-Aug. 11) are called the Dog days (Sirius is located in the system Canis, Major, Great Dog) of summer (also the hottest days for northern latitudes). Sirius, the star of freedom, both oversees and was behind the founding of the United States. Sirius is where love originates; a love that flows through Leo into the hearts of humanity. Make contact with Sirius and love is released. Christ, the World Teacher, is from Sirius. Upon completing our Earth (a cosmic school), journey, seven cosmic paths appear for us to choose from. One is the Path to Sirius (Path of Electric Fire). Sirius is a binary star, which means there are actually two stars. In Mali, West Africa, the Dogon tribe has known of Sirius and its companion star Sirius B (Po Tolo, Seed of Creation). The Dogonโs source of information was the Nommo, amphibious beings from Sirius. Night Light News (our website), is named after Sirius B.
ARIES: Itโs important to recognize what you know. It is a gift to be shared with others. You can be strong-willed, driven by self-confidence and authority. However, your fire soon burns out, your attention shifted elsewhere. Itโs important to acknowledge othersโ beliefs and points of view, allowing others to share their accomplishments. Then you become a true leader for others to learn from. TAURUS: You remember many things about family and friends. Each memory has a message. Donโt allow other peopleโs beliefs, criticisms or behaviors deter you from your mission. Identify with your own thinking and intuition. Itโs important to feel secure with the information you present to others. However, do not present ideas to those who will either appropriate it or test you with it. Maintain protection.
GEMINI: Your mind quickens with curiosity and creative expressions. Take a walk-about into neighborhoods. Interact with the five kingdoms. People will want to talk with you. Listen to whatโs behind their words. Notice indecision. It reflects the dual nature of our world. Careful with distractions and finish what youโve begun. Do only what keeps your mind interested and focused. Youโre to initiate intelligent, heart-centered conversations. CANCER: Itโs important to ponder deeply upon essential decisions you need to make. You must have all the facts and be practical while proceeding slowly. Thereโs value in taking your time, contemplating different choices. This allows for deliberation on final decisions. Determination colors your actions. Youโre developing a greater level of concentration. Concentration is the first level of meditation (the Leo level). LEO: Your voice is at times stronger, serious and more practical, and at other times, more spontaneous than usual. You might say things you donโt mean or didnโt consider. Your tone may have changed, too. Notice any arguments, competition, irritability, impatience and impulsiveness occurring. Concentration (Leoโs way of meditation) may seem impossible so you make quick decisions. All these observations help you get to the heart of all that matters. VIRGO: Youโre able to communicate with angels, devas and unseen beings. Devas are the angelic builders living in nature. As you contact them new ideas begin to be impressed. Intuition expands. Use your imagination and visualization to create the world you seek to live in. Listen carefully to what others believe and value. Do they correspond with your values? Our minds change when we learn more. LIBRA: Your professional work of service is your Vesta lamp. Its light fills you with confidence and well-being. Youโve worked hard, gained success and status, climbed every step of the ladder. You’ve been generous with knowledge, time and skills. You rule with order and ethics. You have pride in your work and the many life decisions you made. Itโs also essential to remember those who helped along the way, always loving you. SCORPIO: Scorpios learn the underbelly (hidden realities) of life, which develops a keen awareness of sorrow and pain, death and betrayal, leading to trust and mistrust. You have a sense of ethics and justice for everyone. Your most important tasks are uncovering lifeโs mysteries and the truth of the matter. Then self-identity emerges. Knowing what you know, you could rule the world. You also know the dangers. Hillary is Scorpio. SAGITTARIUS: In the past years, youโve gained strength, expanded borders, extended horizons, and projected yourself into new fields, making yourself better. You lead others through dramatic stories, explanations, long journeys, your eyes always on the prize (mountaintops ahead). Your love of heritage and family produced a true self-identity. Remain calm. When you overdo, overdramatize, consequences result. Donโt let your crown slip. CAPRICORN: Your values, sense of tradition and willingness to explore new realities have always been sources of strength. As you share your values and resources with others, subtle changes occur in your life. All hidden gifts come to the light. Remember anger, sadness, conflict and chaos all present us with messages. Learn to understand them. If overtired and overwhelmed, take a respite. Contemplate these things. With another. AQUARIUS: Sometimes, in learning to understand relationships, we allow others to have more power. Eventually we become disheartened with this situation wondering whatโs wrong. Itโs not good for you to be in the shadows. You need freedom, excitement, love and consistency. Then you begin to trust and settle down. Itโs good that others recognize your leadership skills. You bring the future to humanity. PISCES: Soon you sit at the helm, become the organizer, the achiever, the advisor with the rules and a time watch. Few see the importance for responsible qualities. You will go in and out of everything falling away, disappearing and appearing again. Place your entire heart into your work. Visualize and imagine, draw and paint, in detail, your perfect life and how to seek to serve. Then the petals of your heart unfold. Twelve petals.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I apologize in advance for the seemingly excessive abundance of good news Iโm about to report. If you find it hard to believe, I wonโt hold your skepticism against you. But I do want you to know that every prediction is warranted by the astrological omens. Ready for the onslaught? 1. In the coming weeks, you could fall forever out of love with a wasteful obsession. 2. You might also start falling in love with a healthy obsession. 3. You can half-accidentally snag a blessing you have been half-afraid to want. 4. You could recall a catalytic truth whose absence has been causing you a problem ever since you forgot it. 5. You could reclaim the mojo that you squandered when you pushed yourself too hard a few months ago. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): August is Adopt-a-Taurus month. Itโs for all of your tribe, not just the orphans and exiles and disowned rebels. Even if you have exemplary parents, the current astrological omens suggest that you require additional support and guidance from wise elders. So I urge you to be audacious in rounding up trustworthy guardians and benefactors. Go in search of mentors and fairy godmothers. Ask for advice from heroes who are further along the path that youโd like to follow. You are ready to receive teachings and direction you werenโt receptive to before. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): When a parasite or other irritant slips inside an oysterโs shell, the molluskโs immune system besieges the intruder with successive layers of calcium carbonate. Eventually, a pearl may form. I suspect that this is a useful metaphor for you to contemplate in the coming days as you deal with the salt in your wound or the splinter in your skin. Before you jump to any conclusions, though, let me clarify. This is not a case of the platitude, “Whatever doesnโt kill you will make you stronger.” Keep in mind that the pearl is a symbol of beauty and value, not strength. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Itโs your lucky day! Spiritual counsel comparable to what youโre reading here usually sells for $99.95. But because youโre showing signs that youโre primed to outwit bad habits, Iโm offering it at no cost. I want to encourage you! Below are my ideas for what you should focus on. (But keep in mind that I donโt expect you to achieve absolute perfection.) 1. Wean yourself from indulging in self-pity and romanticized pessimism. 2. Withdraw from connections with people who harbor negative images of you. 3. Transcend low expectations wherever you see them in play. 4. Donโt give your precious life energy to demoralizing ideas and sour opinions. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Youโre not doing a baby chick a favor by helping it hatch. For the sake of its well-being, the bird needs to peck its way out of the egg. Itโs got to exert all of its vigor and willpower in starting its new life. Thatโs a good metaphor for you to meditate on. As you escape from your comfortable womb-jail and launch yourself toward inspiration, itโs best to rely as much as possible on your own instincts. Friendly people who would like to provide assistance may inadvertently cloud your access to your primal wisdom. Trust yourself deeply and wildly. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I hear youโre growing weary of wrestling with ghosts. Is that true? I hope so. The moment you give up the fruitless struggle, youโll become eligible for a unique kind of freedom that you have not previously imagined. Hereโs another rumor Iโve caught wind of: Youโre getting bored with an old source of sadness that youโve used to motivate yourself for a long time. I hope thatโs true, too. As soon as you shed your allegiance to the sadness, you will awaken to a sparkling font of comfort youโve been blind to. Hereโs one more story Iโve picked up through the grapevine: Youโre close to realizing that your attention to a mediocre treasure has diverted you from a more pleasurable treasure. Hallelujah! LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Could it be true that the way out is the same as the way in? And that the so-called โwrongโ answer is almost indistinguishable from the right answer? And that success, at least the kind of success that really matters, can only happen if you adopt an upside-down, inside-out perspective? In my opinion, the righteous answer to all these questions is โYESSS???!!!โโat least for now. I suspect that the most helpful approach will never be as simple or as hard as you might be inclined to believe. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your strength seems to make some people uncomfortable. I donโt want that to become a problem for you. Maybe you could get away with toning down your potency at other times, but not now. It would be sinful to act as if youโre not as competent and committed to excellence as you are. But having said that, I also urge you to monitor your behavior for excess pride. Some of the resistance you face when you express your true glory may be due to the shadows cast by your true glory. You could be tempted to believe that your honorable intentions excuse secretive manipulations. So please work on wielding your clout with maximum compassion and responsibility. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Did you honestly imagine that there would eventually come a future when youโd have your loved ones fully โtrainedโ? Did you fantasize that sooner or later you could get them under control, purged of their imperfections and telepathically responsive to your every mood? If so, now is a good time to face the fact that those longings will never be fulfilled. You finally have the equanimity to accept your loved ones exactly as they are. Uncoincidentally, this adjustment will make you smarter about how to stir up soulful joy in your intimate relationships. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You may experience a divine visitation as you clean a toilet in the coming weeks. You might get a glimpse of a solution to a nagging problem while youโre petting a donkey or paying your bills or waiting in a long line at the bank. Catch my drift, Capricorn? I may or may not be speaking metaphorically here. You could meditate up a perfect storm as you devour a doughnut. While flying high over the earth in a dream, you might spy a treasure hidden in a pile of trash down below. If I were going to give your immediate future a mythic title, it might be โFinding the Sacred in the Midst of the Profane.โ AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Iโve worked hard for many years to dismantle my prejudices. To my credit, I have even managed to cultivate compassion for people I previously demonized, like evangelical Christians, drunken jocks, arrogant gurus, and career politicians. But I must confess that thereโs still one group toward which Iโm bigoted: super-rich bankers. I wish I could extend to them at least a modicum of amiable impartiality. How about you, Aquarius? Do you harbor any hidebound biases that shrink your ability to see life as it truly is? Have you so thoroughly rationalized certain narrow-minded perspectives and judgmental preconceptions that your mind is permanently closed? If so, now is a favorable time to dissolve the barriers and stretch your imagination way beyond its previous limits. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Are you lingering at the crux of the crossroads, restless to move on but unsure of which direction will lead you to your sweet destiny? Are there too many theories swimming around in your brain, clogging up your intuition? Have you absorbed the opinions of so many โexpertsโ that youโve lost contact with your own core values? Itโs time to change all that. Youโre ready to quietly explode in a calm burst of practical lucidity. First steps: Tune out all the noise. Shed all the rationalizations. Purge all the worries. Ask yourself, โWhat is the path with heart?โ
Homework: What if you didnโt feel compelled to have an opinion about every hot-button issue? Try living opinion-free for a week. testify at Tr**********@***il.com.
The new Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie is not for the uninitiated. If youโre not already a fan of the cultish โ90s TV series, chances are youโll have no clue whatโs supposed to be funny about two clownish women of a certain age in ridiculous clothing attempting to stave off the ravages of time with gallons of champagne, while clinging desperately, by ferociously manicured claws, to the ragged fringes of trendy pop culture. But those who already have a soft spot in their hearts for the ribald and outrageous TV series will find much to chuckle at in the big-screen adventures of sad-sack Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and coolly caustic Patsy (Joanna Lumley). Scripted by series creator Saunders for director Mandie Fletcher (veteran of many of the TV episodes), the movie falls prey to the usual pitfalls of TV-to-film adaptations: itโs tough to maintain a coherent storyline and keep delivering the laughs over 90 minutes instead of 30. Still, despite the slower passages, the brio with which Eddie and Patsy pursue their absurd agendaโin the face of common sense, common decency and realityโremains oddly cheer-worthy. And beneath the frantic facade lurks a sharp satire of our celebrity-obsessed society, along with, at times, a surprisingly poignant look at how women who have the bad judgment to age are treated by the popular culture that finds them so instantly disposable. In the movie plot, would-be PR maven Eddie and sporadically employed fashion editor Patsy are at a crossroads. The alimony payments Eddie has been receiving for decades from her ex are about to run out. This is bad news for the household his checks support, which includes Eddieโs sane, straight-arrow, long-suffering daughter, Saffy (Julia Sawalha), her elderly, slightly nuts mum (June Whitfield), her loopy factotum, Bubble (Jane Horrocks), and Saffyโs mixed-race 13-year-old daughter, Lola (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness), recently arrived from Africa. The cheerfully dysfunctional duo is unable to grasp the concept of economy, even after Saffy cuts up her motherโs credit cards and empties all the champagne from their walk-in refrigerator. (โIf you want things, youโre going to have to pay for them,โ Saffy declares, to which Patsy replies with scrunch-faced disbelief, โSince when?โ) ย When Eddie tries to sell her memoirs to a publisher (Mark Gattis, portrayer of Mycroft Holmes on TVโs Sherlock, which he also co-created), her book is rejected on the grounds that her life is โnot interesting,โ and nobodyโs ever heard of her. When word comes that supermodel Kate Moss is in the market for a new PR firm, Eddie and Pats crash a trendy London fashion event to try to sign her upโa celebrity-crammed sequence that lambasts the cult of the famous, and the even more vapid folk who interview them on the red carpet. Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) and Jon Hamm are very funny as themselves in cameos. But a major mishap has Eddie and Pats pursued by police and paparazzi alike. They pack up Lola (whoโs just been sent a shiny new credit card from her dad), and head for Cannes, where they hope to reconnect with a wealthy playboy who once pined for Pats, sometime back in the Thatcher administration. But the plot doesnโt matter; itโs just the framework on which to hang random laughs, like the girlsโ first distasteful experience flying economy class (Rebel Wilson is their tough-cookie stewardess). When Pats runs out of champagne, she snorts Chanel No. 5 out of a flask. Hot on the trail of her wayward mom and daughter, Saffy winds up at a drag club, singing โAt Seventeenโโwhich has all of the drag queens singing along, in tears. The perpetual joke is that our heroines donโt realize they are no longer players in the trendy fashionista scene (if they ever were)โ even though Pats still wears the same beehive hairdo, and Eddie incurs the wrath of Stella McCartney for daring to wear her clothes. As a movie, thereโs not much there, but itโs still touching when Eddie admits their outrageous antics are their only defense against the fear of getting old and obsolete. At least the Ab Fab franchise continues to tout the joys of growing old disgracefully.
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: THE MOVIE **1/2 (out of four) With Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, and June Whitfield. Written by Jennifer Saunders. Directed by Mandie Fletcher. A Fox Searchlight release. Rated R. 86 minutes. ย
Craft beer is a thing in a lot of places now, I realize. But, even so, thereโs something special going on in Santa Cruzโs scene, and I think everyone whoโs discovered it here can agree on that. The problem with covering it is that itโs growing so fast that by the time you get an interesting snapshot of the scene together, itโs already added new breweries and artisans who are ready to morph it into something new.
Case in point: this weekโs cover story. In the time between Aaron Carnes doing his tour of local breweries and his story about it running in this issue, a couple of brewer posts have changed, and a new brewery has gone online. (The story has been updated to explain those changes.)
Despite the rapid evolution, though, I think Carnesโ article accomplishes its goal of visiting almost all the local breweries (one, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, declined to participate) in search of what makes the local craft brew scene unique. Itโs a useful overview of what brewers here are doing differently to make Santa Cruz stand out.
For a deeper dive into a single brewery, check out Lily Stoicheffโs story on the innovative techniques at Elkhorn Slough Brewing Co. Itโs the flipside of the cover story, with a narrow scope and a lot more detail. Between the two of them, I think this issue provides a nice snapshot of the current state of beer in Santa Cruz. Prost!
STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Highway 1 andย Climate Change
In your recent article โTransportation Measure Gets Unlikely Allyโ (GT, 6/1) Paul Elerick dismisses opponents of highway widening by saying they are โsingle-issue environmentalists who … only care about global warming,โ and that they donโt care about people who canโt get home from work due to traffic.
With all respect to Mr. Elerick, neither of these claims hold water.
For one thing, a main focus of opposition to highway widening is the fact that such projects donโt actually work to provide long-term traffic relief. Caltransโ own Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Highway 1 project states that it would result in only โa very slight improvement in traffic congestion.โ Even this slight improvement may be overly optimistic, as Caltransโ report ignores the well-documented pattern of โinduced traffic,โ wherein new lanes invite drivers onto the road who used to stay home during peak traffic times. Highway widening is therefore bad public policy, and a colossal waste of taxpayer money.
On the other hand, climate change is perhaps the greatest threat ever to face humankind. So far weโve experienced only a 1 degree Celsius increase above historic averages, and already weโre seeing more severe droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events. Even in the best-case scenario, assuming an immediate, rapid transition away from fossil fuel use, we are faced with the likelihood of an additional one-half to 1 degree temperature rise, multiplying the catastrophic effects of climate change. Yet so far such a rapid shift is only a dream, as the U.N. climate talks have left us on a trajectory for a far higher and more catastrophic temperature rise. If we want to avoid an apocalyptic future in which sea level rise floods huge cities around the globe, extreme weather and drought cause crop failures, and changing conditions uproot unimaginable numbers of people as refugees, citizens around the world need to take the lead in steering our societies away from fossil fuel dependency.
In Santa Cruz County, driving is our biggest source of emissions, and we should be working to reduce our miles traveled in the county rather than increasing driving capacity. While the RTC plan includes a lot of funding for low-carbon transit, including bicycle projects, these cannot outweigh the harm of expanded driving capacity. The climate is not going to reward us for trying; we need to actually sharply reduce emissions. To that end, no amount of new โgreenโ infrastructure is going to help unless it serves as a real alternative to driving, leading to a major decrease in miles driven. That this plan includes added lanes for driving shows that it does not take transit alternatives and emissions reductions seriously, but rather keeps us on course to continue driving as much or more than ever, endangering future generations.
Steve Schnaarย |ย Santa Cruz
River Safetyย Re-Revisited
Re: โRiver Safety Revisitedโ (Letters, GT, 7/6): We appreciate your reviewing the Advisory Group minutes/agendas and our โDangers of Paddling on the San Lorenzo Riverโ report.
We respect your statement about the skilled/experienced paddler, but we consider it prudent to think of the people who have minimal swim skills, no paddling experience, no boat safety knowledge, and who are unfamiliar with the construction hazards in the lower San Lorenzo River.
History shows that constitutional rights are reviewed according to existing conditions.
So the question is: Is it really in the best interest for society and the environment to insist on paddling a short urban river stretch for a few days in the year with so much at risk? Is your constitutional right to paddle the river more important than human safety, more important than protecting at-risk environments and worth the hefty financial expense?
And yes, we do want the paddling stopped for the safety of the birds, but that does not negate the very real hazards that our article also identified for humans!
Lisa Sheridan and Jane Mio | Members of the San Lorenzo River Advisory Group
PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
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GOOD IDEA
TALENT EFFORT
A newly formed group aiming to match eager young people with equally eager employers is having its first event this August. The summit for Monterey Bay Internships (MBI) is from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. MBI, an offshoot of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, went live earlier this year, partnering with the Santa Cruz County Business Council, the Community Foundation and local colleges.
GOOD WORK
DOC BOX
Homeless advocate and videographer Brent Adams has spent more than a month traveling around West Coast cities and investigating the conditions of homelessness. Along the way, heรขโฌโขs been shooting a documentary, and he recently launched a Kickstarter to help finish the journey. The project, รขโฌลOut of Sight, Out of Mind,รขโฌย has 22 days left to raise the remaining $682 of his $3,000 goal. Bidders can get gifts like entry to a dinner party screening and a DVD copy.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
รขโฌลI am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.รขโฌย
Itโs official. Santa Cruz has gone beer crazy. Not long ago, there was just a small handful of brewers in the county. Now there are more than a dozen, with more undoubtedly on the way. When I realized Santa Cruzโs brewery scene was blowing up, I knew the only way I could do the scene justice as a journalist was to go into the trenches myself and visit every single breweryโin a single weekend. Well, it made sense in my head. So I got on the phone and called my buddy John MacAvoy and explained this very important mission. I knew John would bring the much-needed high-alcohol-tolerance perspective. Our goal was to find the Santa Cruz-ness within each brewery. In other words, we looked for the strangest and most unique beers in the county. Iโd spoken to enough brewers already to know that theyโve been brewing up some pretty unusual flavors (Bacon Brown Ale, anyone?). With the help of John and Uber, I resolved to get to the heart of what makes our brewery scene tick. Hereโs my journal of how it all happened.
DAY 1
9:30 a.m. I donโt normally start drinking this early, but I am a professional, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the public good. Itโs off to Corralitos Brewing Co. first. A few weeks earlier, co-owner Luke Taylor told me that they grow hops on their property, which they use in their My Girl Rye Pale Ale, which he considers their most unique beer. Iโm anxious to try it. 10 a.m. Corralitos Brewing Co. is located on the outskirts of Corralitos, a gorgeous piece of property with a phenomenal view. The brewery interior is decorated entirely with wood. This is what all breweries should look like. Taylor greets me in the warehouse, which is also filled with lumber from his parentsโ business. I briefly meet his partner Mike Smith, but he is busy doing something. Taylor, like most other men in their 30s, has a bushy beard. Heโs friendly and eager to tell me about the brewery, including his plans to open-ferment some beers. Thereโs what looks like a cow trough in a room next to the brewery. Thatโs where the open fermentation magic happens. 10:45 a.m. Taylor pours us several beers. My Girl is a phenomenal drinkโnot strange per se, but distinctive, and it has a nice backstory. How many brewers can claim to grow their own hops? It tastes like a clean pale ale, but smoother and fresher. He also pours us Plan A, a solid sour with just the right amount of tart, and a hint of Chardonnay. John is drinking roughly twice as much as I do, and seems unfazed. Taylor tells us about a beer he wants to can called the Steady Ed, a tribute to Ed Headrick, inventor of Disc Golf. Itโll be a low-alcohol, easy-sipping red ale. You know, the kind of beer youโd want to pound while doing a few rounds on the disc golf course. 12 p.m. We pull up to the Uncommon Brewers warehouse, where head brewer Alec Stefansky is waiting for us with a row of Uncommon beer cans lined up on a stack of pallets, along with three cups. On the way, I picked up Good Times news editor Jake Pierce and his pal Nick. Stefansky grabs two more glasses and starts cracking open cans. We drink seven in total, and they are strong! Three that stuck out were the Japonica Pils (Pilsner, ginger, wasabi), the Flamenco Roja (Flanders red ale, pomegranate, raspberriesโaged in Pinot and Syrah barrels), and the Baltic Porter (porter, licorice, star anise). So much flavor. In no time we are buzzing hard, and John starts interviewing Stefansky. Hey, thatโs my job! ย AT HIS DISCRETION The author (center) and John MacAvoy (left) with Discretion Brewing Chief Beer Ambassador Dustin Vereker. 12:45 p.m. Most people may know Uncommon Brewers for their outlandish concoctions, like the previously mentioned Bacon Brown Ale, but really, their beers are all balanced quite well. Stefansky, a lively character in his early 40s, tells us about his early rebel years of college home-brewing, and time spent working in restaurants. Funny, his beers seem exactly how a crazy mad chef would approach brewing. โIโm looking for a way for the spices to contribute, not dominate,โ Stefansky says. We all nod along. 1 p.m. Stefansky gives us a sneak peek of his soon-to-be tap room over on 415 River St., and it is gigantic at 2,400 square feet. The plan is to open later in the year, with food provided by El Salchichero. (Sausage sandwiches! Pho! Ramen!) Right now, all he has is a big open room with giant wooden tables everywhere. It should be a happening spot when it opens. John and Stefansky are really hitting it off. John is already planning to bring his girlfriend down on opening night, whenever that is. I swear, John makes instant friends with everyone. 1:30 p.m. Santa Cruz Ale Works brewmaster Marc Rosenblum explains they donโt do weird, just dependable and consistent. Itโs understandable considering that they began by bottling their product nearly a decade ago, and only opened a tasting room a few years ago. I had a sandwich tooโthe Holy Smokes. Delicious! 3 p.m. Itโs raging at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing. This is one of the oldest breweries in town, open for about 11 years. Inside, the dรฉcor is a little artsyโglasses hanging upside down from the ceiling, weird art on the wall. Owner Emily Thomas isnโt there yet. She sends her partner Chad Brill to meet us. We start with a Lavender IPA. I donโt normally like flowers in my drinks, but this one wins me over. Next, he pours us the Madame Grey, which is even better. Itโs a milk stout with lactose, Earl Grey tea and honey. What a tasty, unusual beer! This would have been perfect for my 10 a.m. drink. 3:35 p.m. Thomas arrives and gives me the tour, while John hangs back and chats with Brill. She tells me that anyone on staff is free to contribute a recipe idea, and itโll end up in the tasting room. โIf we can think of it and brew it, we can definitely sell it,โ she says. Employee Pepe Palacios created their Lavender IPA, as well as a whole series of floral IPAs (hibiscus, jasmine, lavender). One of their most intriguing recipes is the horchata pale ale, made by head brewer Tommy Mills. The beer is a combination of cream ale, rice syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. Thomas describes it as โvery drinkable.โ When I tag John to go, he and Chad are best buds. 4:30 p.m. Seabright Brewery is the oldest-standing brewery in town. They opened back in 1988, when people thought Sierra Nevada was a wacky, experimental beer. It has an โestablishedโ feel to it. Head brewer Jason Chavez, is an absolute delight, a cross between an old hippie and a goofy surfer dude. The three of us sit in a booth. He starts ordering us drinks, and telling us his entire brewing history. [Editorโs Note: Jason Chavez has since left Seabright Brewery, and the head brewer there is now Cat Wiest.] 5 p.m. A common theme with these brewers is that they started out home-brewing. Chavez has them all beat. He started back in 1985, while still in high school. His mother is German, he explains. Yet, Chavez strikes me as a guy without a roadmap. Heโs just tossing ingredients in the pot and seeing what works. When it does, heโs as surprised as anyone. Chavez brews a lot of standard traditional beers for the regulars, but also likes to experiment. My first drink is a prime example: A Cask Ale stout, brewed with chocolate and raspberries. Meanwhile John is drinking the much-less adventurous Sunday Morning Sidewalk, a โhangover beer,โ and a clever reference to the brilliant Kris Kristofferson song. ย 5:30 p.m. We drink I donโt-know-how-many beers, chatting with Chavez. For brave drinkers, I recommend walking in and just ordering whatever Chavez has recently brewed in the cask, because heโs always tossing in his weirder ingredients there. โA lot of the cask I donโt really think about. Kind of the morning of I just go, โoh maybe Iโll do this,โโ Chavez explains. 6 p.m. I learn a new term today: โsession beer.โ Itโs where you take a craft beer style, like IPA, and give it Budweiser-level alcohol. Discretion Brewing Chief Beer Ambassador Dustin Vereker talks about session beers at length. Heโs a young, wholesome-looking whippersnapper. Their goal, he says, is very different from, say, a dive barโs. โWe donโt want people to get totally trashed. Weโre a really family-friendly establishment,โ he says. They even have toys and games for kids to play with. 6:15 p.m. Vereker pours us several drinks, including a session English-style mild ale (Song in Your Heart), an Irish-style red ale (Dublin Sunburn), a rye IPA (Uncle Daveโs), and my personal favorite, the Shimmer Pils, a light, refreshing, summer-style German pilsner. Thereโs nothing strange about Discretionโs beers, but they nail the standard flavors spectacularly. In just three years, theyโve expanded from a 500-barrel-a-year operation to nearly 3,300 barrels a year. The place is busy, and itโs no mystery why. 7 p.m. John and I sit down and enjoy a plate of pork sliders and chicken and waffles, which are insanely delicious. Vereker comes over and hands us three large bottles of Discretion beer. 9 p.m. Weโve been in New Bohemia Brewing Company for a half hour, and it suddenly strikes me that John and I are next-level, totally-out-of-our-minds drunk when I realize we are entertaining ourselves by playing a lively game of โflick the rubber band on the wall so the other person can catch itโ and then screaming our asses off when one of us does (or doesnโt). At one point, John dances backward toward the exit door, then proceeds to dance around the building and back inside the front door. 9:15 p.m. New Bohemia has a wonderful atmosphere with two floors. Downstairs is a bar/stage area. Co-founder Dan Satterthwaite is unable to meet us because his child is sick, so he texts me three beers to check out. Thereโs the Velvet Revolution, a malty pilsner that tasted like a red ale, the Double Agent, a very hoppy, flowery double IPA, and my personal favorite, and the weirdest of the bunch, the Double Duchess, a coffee-infused chocolate porter. Yum! John and I leave without getting kicked out. ย 10 p.m. I canโt recall much at this point. Looking at the photos, I see that we got tortas at Los Pericos, and later I held a large pet snake! I vaguely recall lying down on Pierceโs couch, while one of his roommates watched Seven Samurai. Everything else is a blur.
DAY 2
10 a.m. The fine folks at Elkhorn Slough Brewing Co., whose tasting room is open as of last weekend, tell us to come to their home in Watsonville for brunch. Michael Enos and Julie Rienhardt are the nicest people, and their egg casserole (using eggs from their chickens) is simply wonderful. As for the beer, they have something truly unique. (See this weekโs dining column.) 10:40 a.m. The first glass Rienhardt and Enos pour is called โMothership,โ and everyone should try it. The couple discovered that they had some incredible live yeast right on the apple tree on their property, which they use in the fermenting process of their โwild ale.โ The Mothership is made from 100-percent live yeast. It is one of the oddest flavors Iโve ever tasted in a beer. It has the crispness of cider, but without the sweetness. The rest of the beers they serve us have some percentage of this yeast, but with other ingredients. Rienhardt and Enos are a hilarious, eccentric boomer-aged couple. John and I love talking with them. At one point, Enos explains how yeast is really aliens that are taking over the planet, and Julie says that he โagreed to not talk about aliens.โ 1 p.m. Scotts Valleyโs Steel Bonnet Brewing Company owner Donald Cramb is a soft-spoken man in his 50s. He and his wife are from Scotland, and their accents are subtle. His concept for the brewery is to highlight beers from the British Isles and the American West Coast. Cramb pours us drink after drink and gives an explanation of their heritage. Everything fits within the concept, expect for their Belgian ale, which Cramb says, โgoes against everything I stand for.โ He put it on the menu for his son. 1:20 p.m. We try English IPAs, American IPAs, pale ales, red ales. I lose track at some point. The most interesting drink of the afternoon is Reiver Red Peat smoked red ale. It has a distinct smoky bite to it, very similar to Laphroaig Scotch Whisky. Both are made with peat-smoked grains. Itโs borderline medicinal, but balanced, and that smoky aftertaste is quite pleasant. Before we leave, we check out Crambโs brewing equipment. His wife is busy brewing. There are large pots of wet grains on the ground. The aroma is intoxicating. SECRET BEER STASH Former tequila barrels that now house Humble Sea’s beer. 2:20 p.m. Humble Sea Brewing Company isnโt in Ben Lomondโs downtown, but on some property on the outskirts of town. I feel like weโre staring at a mad scientistโs lab. This garage, in the country, right next to a gushing river, is packed with brewery equipment, and tubes going every which way. Humble Sea is in its early stages. They sell their beers to a few restaurants in town. Later this year they will be opening their own tasting room and a production brewery on Swift Street, and presumably taking over the world. For now, itโs just humble. 2:40 p.m.ย Brewer Nick Pavlina gives us the tour and pours us some beers. He opens with Playa Grande, which is a jalapeรฑo IPL. I donโt expect to like it, but itโs surprisingly refreshing, and only mildly spicy. He also pours us a Maritime Medicine (coriander, lemongrass, pilsner), and a barrel-aged Playa Grande, aged in tequila barrels, with intense vanilla and oak flavors. Pavlina admits that the recipe needs toning down a bit. He pours us some Crusty Sea Dog, an absolutely delicious cherry sour beer, and tells us that he wants to try a version of Playa Grande that has mango in it, like mango salsa. โI donโt want to go over the top with the weirdness. I want to avoid the novelty of it and make drinkable beers,โ Pavlina explains. Both John and I feel excited to see what will become of Humble Sea in the coming year. 4:05 p.m. Iโm immediately struck by the gallery-like ambience of East Cliff Brewing Company. The walls are filled with artwork. Owners James Hrica and Jon Moriconi immediately serve us small-glass flights of beer in muffin tins. Moriconi is wearing a Slow Gherkin shirt, which I immediately point out. Thereโs a third owner, but heโs not here today. East Cliff Brewery is unlike any other brewery in the area. Itโs entirely inspired by traditional English pubs. The beer is made in casks (which is 10-15 degrees warmer) and served from beer engines, which produces a creamier texture. These guys are really committed to recreating the English pub experienceโthey even serve their beer in English pints (19.2 U.S. ounces) for authenticity. A good starter beer is the E.O.B., a session standard bitter. Itโs a very simple, palatable traditional English ale, and has a hint of honey flavor to it. 4:45 p.m. Hrica gives John and me a full tour of their cask ale storage unit, and even shows us how to change a cask, which is fascinating. He tops off the demonstration by showing us how to pump some beer out of a beer engine. What an educational stop! 5:30 p.m. It seems appropriate that John and I finish our beer tour at Shanty Shack Brewing, the brainchild of two young skater-looking guys in their late 20s and early 30s, Nathan Van Zandt and Brandon Padilla, and a recent addition to the local brewery scene. Van Zandt and Padilla have a particular fondness for sours, but hope to master every popular flavor. They donโt have any flagship beers quite yet, but are experienced homebrewers, and even ran a beer delivery operation years earlier for friends and family. All their beers are solid, but I am most interested in a beer they served at Twisted Tasting. They call it Lambโs Wool. Itโs a hot beer, a strong Scottish Ale, with sugar, butter and roasted apples. โItโs like a Christmas drink,โ Padilla explains. Man, I hope they bring that one back. 6:30 p.m. John and I linger at Shanty Shack longer than necessary. Van Zandt and Padilla give us a tour. They have big plans, and are still tweaking their recipes and trying to find their identity. Their excitement is intoxicating, and epitomizes the enthusiasm and outside-of-the-box thinking that defines the entire Santa Cruz brewery scene. ย
Thereโs nothing I like more than opening a chilled bottle of Viognier on a summer night. And when youโre imbibing on a good one such as the Loma Prieta 2013โwith grapes from the Amorosa Vineyard in Lodiโitโs a little bit of heaven in a glass. With its aromatic fragrances of orange blossom, hibiscus, coconut milk, honeydew melon and jasmine, you will be transported to a tropical island from the first swirl and smell. And when you taste it, gorgeous flavors of guava, papaya, lychee and ripe peaches put you further into the tropics, flowing โsmoothly and softly across the palate like a fine silk robe,โ says winery owner Paul Kemp. For $28 this is a luscious white wine. Plus, Viognier is a nice departure from the โusual suspects.โ Loma Prieta Winery is a beautiful place to visit, with stunning panoramic views of the Monterey Bay from their patio. Kemp says his is one of the few wineries worldwide making Pinotageโand is Americaโs largest producer, in fact. So if you love this full-bodied red, then thatโs another good reason to visit Loma Prieta Winery. Rather than rely on a navigation system, the winery suggests that you follow the directions on their website to the tasting room, which is located at an elevation of 2,600 feet, up a bucolic winding roadโwell worth the drive. Loma Prieta Winery, 26985 Loma Prieta Way, Los Gatos. 408-353-2950. Open Saturday and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. and on Fridays in the summer. lomaprietawinery.com.
Mountains to the Bay Wine Tours
If youโre looking for a great wine tour in the Santa Cruz Mountains, then Seth Kinman, owner of Mountains to the Bay Wine Tours, can plan your whole trip for you. Or, Kinman can take you to the wineries of your choice. He offers his service to couples, private parties and corporate events. Kinman has a wealth of experience with local wineries, so your wine-tasting experience is sure to be fun, upbeat and informative. And when youโre enjoying several flights of wine, itโs always better not to drive. Visit mountainstothebay.com or call 275-4445.
A few years ago, City Councilmember Don Lane remembers Robert Norse, a perennial critic of city officials, throwing a pointed question his way: โDo you ever use your private email to talk about City Council issues?โ โI donโt do it very much, and I try to steer away from it, but I wouldnโt say, โNo, I never have done it,โโ recalls Lane, one of a handful of city councilmembers who have used private email addresses in some official capacity, of how the question was a wake-up call. โFrom that moment on, it raised my consciousness.โ Every now and then, someone will email Lane at his personal Cruzio email address about a city issue. And should someone make a public records request on a given topic, he says he will include messages about city-related business from his personal email account if there are any. But just to be safe, he also makes a point of carbon copying his city email address when he replies to such emails. Thatโs exactly how officials everywhere should respond, says government transparency expert Peter Scheerโbut they often donโt. Scheer is the director of the First Amendment Coalition, which is based in San Rafael. He says all local governments should have a policy stating that if someone is going to use a non-government email, like a Gmail account, they need to either cc: their city address or forward their messages to an official account, preserving them for public records. โItโs possible to have it both ways. You can use your personal email. But you have to have a policy that if you use your private email, you have to send your copy to the cityโs server,โ he says. In 2016, our options for communicating with one another via technology continue to expand. And when it comes to the regulations that ensure transparency, most governments across the country are still, at least in some ways, like the Wild, Wild West. The city of Auburn has a policy like the one Scheer calls for, but such policies donโt appear to be very common. In Santa Cruz County, no local government has a protocol regarding emails, personal or otherwise. The topic of emails and government is one that readers will, of course, be familiar with because of Hillary Clintonโs use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State. Transparency and security concerns spurred an FBI investigation, resulting in scathing criticism from both the FBI and the State Departmentโa specter that continues to hang over the presidential candidate during the Democratic National Convention this week. ย ย ย But itโs not just a Clinton issueโarm-wrestling matches over the โprivateโ emails of government officials have been playing out all over the country, and California is no exception. A lawsuit fighting for the non-city emails of former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and other officials there about a city project has been sent to the California Supreme Court after a lower appeals court demanded that Reed and company turn them over. And earlier this month, a court order embattled Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to turn over more than 50 personal emails on city matters to the Sacramento News and Review. Scheer and others have additionally called for the email records of the members of the California Coastal Commission. Activists are seeking a window into the commissionโs backdoor discussions that led to the firing of esteemed director Charles Lesterโand the commissioners, apparently, do not have official Coastal Commission email addresses. Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. ruled that government officials may not use private email accounts to dodge Freedom of Information Act requests. Essentially, the case, which overturns a lower courtโs ruling, states that as long as the employee is corresponding about government business, they are doing so as a government agent. Tony Condotti, the city attorney for both Santa Cruz and Capitola, says itโs a โbest practiceโ for city officials to keep city business on their city email. โIn so doing, they donโt create the problem of intermingling their personal email communications with those that relate to city business. Also, it keeps clear that the communications are a public record,โ Condotti says. A few Santa Cruz city councilmembers have been known to use non-government emails over the yearsโsomething that could create confusion when it comes to public records requests. In 2012, activist Steve Schnaar, a Bike Church mechanic, looked into why the city had ended a popular bike distribution at the Bike Church, and began making public records requests. The cityโs records coordinator told him at first that then-Vice Mayor Hilary Bryant had more records, but she later followed up with Schnaar that โthose emails were under a personal email account and not relevant to any city business.โ Schnaar felt that city officials were hiding something. โWhat are the protocols for public employees using private email addresses?โ he asked me at the time, suggesting I look into it. Bryant, who is no longer on the council, did not return messages seeking comment for this story, but the distribution ended up going to the Bike Dojo after she put in a good word for them, which critics said was inappropriate because of her connections with the owners. (The city ultimately took the distribution away from the Dojo as well, setting up its own distribution because the business was not a nonprofit, like the Bike Church, and was therefore ineligible for the program.) In past years, City Councilmember David Terrazas has used his private email address for city business, although he now asks people to reach him on his city address. City Councilmember Pamela Comstock says she has three email addresses, one for her personal use, one for her day job and a third for her council position. She says when she checks her email remotely, her phone will sometimes reply to the wrong address, and she finds herself constantly forwarding emails to her city email or cc:ing her correct address. Councilmember Micah Posner uses a non-city email address to send out newsletters and updates, although he was on vacation and unavailable for comment as of deadline. (Ironically, his personal email sent back an auto-reply about his schedule, but his city one did not.) In Scotts Valley, the mayor and all of the city councilmembers use their own personal email addresses, which are posted on the cityโs website. Tracy Ferrara, the Scotts Valley city clerk, says their emails are, nonetheless, available when someone files a public records request. Lane notes that even a request for someoneโs city email in Santa Cruz requires a certain degree of trust in public officials. When someone makes a request for his messages, he still has to go through his archives himself, copying and pasting messages one by one. Scheer says that, in general, if someone uses their private email and doesnโt comply with a public records request, itโs often easier for them to hide their messages. It creates extra steps for community members to access them, and they would never be able to do so without filing a lawsuit. As forms of communicating become more advanced, it becomes easier for government officials to avoid public oversight, he adds. Scheer, who has written about this topic for nearly a decade, says that he has never heard of anyone filing suit over Facebook messages, for instance. โThe issue really hasnโt changed that much,โ says Scheer, โalthough certainly technologies do complicate it.โ
