Cascadia Beer Odyssey: Humboldt County

I think it’s important to clarify that this trip hasn’t been entirely centered on breweries and beer. We have stopped many places and seen many amazing things. As “Driver of the Day” (we have been rotating that responsibility wisely) I consulted with my CPD (Co-Pilot of the day), Mac, to navigate us to some walks to see more of the beach and more of Northern California’s natural beauty. He did not disappoint.

Mac first took us to a place called Glass beach. Evidently in the 1940’s and 1950’s when some people didn’t understand the need to be responsible with our natural resources and environment, this beach was a dumping zone. Through concentrated clean-up efforts the beach has been mostly restored but what remained were particles of glass, worn over time to green and brown and white rock, mixed in with the sand. It’s now a tourist stop where we found amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.

From Glass Beach we headed up the Pacific Coast Highway (US1). The drive along the coastline was breathtaking. Eventually we turned away from the beach onto HW 101 where my co-pilot directed us into the Avenue of the Giants, an incredible drive through the giant redwoods. We took another walk through the giant canopy and felt dwarfed by these 300 foot tall trees.

After getting in touch with our naturalist sides we got back into the brewery tour with a stop at Eel River for lunch. The beer was great and the food was fantastic. We were greeted in the parking lot by the smell of a smoker slow cooking chicken, beef and pork. Heath and Mac split a huge order of Pork Ribs and Beer Brisket while Steeny and I devoured brisket sandwiches. The house made BBQ sauce was tasty too.

From Eel River we moved on to Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka. There may be a story about how we almost got in a car accident from Steeny, but according to my co-pilot and now attorney (I retained Mac as legal counsel for $10 which was actually paid by Steeny and rightly so) we were never in any danger. Under advisement of counsel I should write no more about this incident as I may have a case which includes intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The real treat of the day came from brewer and friend Eli LaRue at Redwood Curtain in Arcata. Eli not only treated us to truly wonderful beer but also a home cooked meal consisting of a Dungeness Crab Louie salad and Salmon both freshly and locally caught. Eli is making primarily Belgian-Style ales with a couple different yeast strains. My favorite was the Flaming Sombrero, a smoked ale using the smoke malt from Weyermann in Bamberg. It was very balanced and the flavors went on and on. For the full Humboldt County experience, Eli took us next door to a glass blowing studio where they were manufacturing glass that is not the kind of art done by Chihuly. After dinner Eli took us to Mad River Brewery to end our day. We appreciate his generosity, it was great fun getting to hang out in his brewery and tell stories about our mutual great friend John Maier.

The California part of our adventure has ended. Next stop, PDX!

p.s. A quick note, my cousin Nels and Sayuri who you met via this blog on the 4th of July became parents TODAY!!!! Congratulations to them and welcome to the world Lyle!!!!