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Santa Rosa Brewing

(Brewpub - Closed)

Last updated: October 23, 1998

458 B Street
Santa Rosa CA 95401

Opened April 15, 1993.
Closed March 29, 1998.
Brewer: Tim O'Day.
1,500 bbl annual capacity.

Before April 1993 they were known as Kelmer's, and they were the eighth stop on my nine-brewery Beer Odyssey in 1992. Tons of different styles of beers, mostly seasonal, mostly drinkable.

Directions: Tucked into the southwest corner of Seventh and B Streets in downtown Santa Rosa.

My Opinion Of The Beers That I've Tried:
14.5 points overall

• Amber Ale
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 14 points - Beer #6-313, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, April 25, 1994
    Basically same color as Anderson Valley Centennial (6-0312). Dark. Thick white head. Transparent. Faintly soapy smell. Some fruity hops. Good body, nice bite. Good malt flavors, but not real assertive. Finish slightly bitter, sweet.

  • 13 points - Beer #2-139, at the brewery, July 11, 1993
    Much darker than previous two (Wammer and Golden Pale). Faint crystal malt aroma, fainter hops. (Cat crawled up my allergic nose last night, so I'm probably picking up even fewer aromas than usual.) Almost smooth, but just too fizzy. Not as heavy as it looks. 4.5% alcohol.

• Amber Weizen
  Style 23 - Specialty Beer
  • 14 points - Beer #7-494, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, November 5, 1994
    Light amber, good carbonation. Faint caramel nose. Fruity/caramel flavors. OK but unremarkable. Wheat character isn't very prominent.

• Belgian Blonde
  Style 2 - Belgian / French Ale
  • 14 points - Beer #12-858, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, April 9, 1995
    Yellow, clear. Low carbonation and head. Spicy aroma, some sour notes. Sweet-sour...very reminiscent of Celis Grand Cru. Reasonably thick in body. Some astringency.

• Bit o'Black Stout
  Style 11 - Stout
  • 18 points - Beer #11-831, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, March 26, 1995
    Quite black. Great head. Very burnt aroma indeed. Clean, yet burnt mouthfeel. This is very Guinness-like. Served from the nitro-tap.

• Black Sheep Porter
  Style 9 - Porter
  • 16 points - Beer #15-1141, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, August 21, 1995
    Deep red, good brown head. Fresh black malt aroma. Black flavors, good body, smooth finish. Good Porter.

  • 16 points - Beer #14-997, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, June 5, 1995
    Dark red, clear. No head. Coffee aroma and flavor. Tastes like one of my old homebrewed Porters...one of the good ones.

  • 14 points - Beer #11-758, The Depot, Concord CA, February 6, 1995
    Extremely dark red, not black. Good brown head. Lots of chocolate! Sweet, not burnt aroma. Very thick, big chocolate flavor. Finishes pretty quick, some lingering hop flavor.

• Bohemian Ale
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 12 points - Beer #16-1217, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, October 1, 1995
    Bright gold, good carbonation, low head. Smells like Redhook. Malty...kinda chewy, but with a Tettnang note. Malty finish.

• Cascade IPA
  Style 5 - English-style Pale Ale
  • 14 points - Beer #1-102, Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA, June 27, 1993
    Amber and very clear. Fair head, but no bubbles in the glass. Lots of (typical West Coast) hop aroma. Almost very good. Carbonation lacking. Good crystal malt, but again it's masked by the hops. My first Santa Rosa beer since they changed ownership.

• Chinooky Nook
  Style 5 - English-style Pale Ale
  • 15 points - Beer #9-604, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, November 13, 1994
    Dark red. Great brown head. Dry hops...smells like brown pot?!? DRY HOP FLAVOR. Not overwhelming, though. Goes to a reasonably-balanced beer with a long spicy finish. Chinook hop grenade.

• Chocolate Stout
  Style 11 - Stout
  • 13.5 points - Beer #6-393, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, April 1, 1994
    BLACK. So black, there's a dark halo around the glass. Burnt aroma, but subtle. I think it could be stronger. Body OK, touch thin. Some chocolate and coffee flavors. Very astringent. Short finish...bitter and burnt. Not big enough. Tastes like a dry stout, but feels like a sweet stout.

• Cotati Stout
  Style 11 - Stout
  • 16 points - Beer #10-717, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, January 15, 1995
    Extremely dark red. Gigantic brown head. Nice roasty coffee character. Surprisingly thin for a Stout. Pacific Coast keeps the stout keg under the bar, where it's WAY too warm. Takes five minutes to pour this beer because of the head it throws.

• Cream Stout
  Style 11 - Stout
  • 18.5 points - Beer #7-409, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, August 10, 1994
    Black. Big brown head. Some chocolate aroma, lots of burnt grain. Excellent flavors. Smooth, burnt. Nice bite from hops and black grain.

• Golden Pale
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 17 points - Beer #2-137, at the brewery, July 11, 1993
    Golden/deep yellow. Tiny bubbles. Rich crystal aroma for a beer so pale. Lots of hops. Tastes as heavy as it looks. Nice bite. Very well-balanced. Good beer from the former Kelmer's brewery. 4.7% alcohol.

• Harvest Wheat
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 14 points - Beer #6-345, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, May 30, 1994
    Certainly amber. Pretty clear. Thick white head. Some diacetyl. Caramel malt aroma fairly prominent. Wheat character is very understated in start...does show up in finish. In between it's a typical amber beer.

• Holiday Ale
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 10.5 points - Beer #9-615, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, November 26, 1994
    RED. Flat. Clear. Brown smell...kinda musty. Brown flavor, same musty flavor. Chlorophenolic.

• Hoppy Red Ale
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 15.5 points - Beer #10-726, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, January 21, 1995
    Red-brown. Hoppy-caramel nose. Hop flavor. Good body, then more hops with a hoppy finish.

• Hops!
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 12 points - Beer #6-308, Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA, February 12, 1994
    Red, white head, sparse bubbles. Aroma is WAY too hoppy, even considering the name. Tastes like eating hop cones. Sorry, I'm not a hophead.

• IPA (beer engine)
  Style 5 - English-style Pale Ale
  • 16 points - Beer #9-690, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, January 4, 1995
    Nice red, some haze. Huge dense head, of course. Fresh hop aroma. Creamy and big...big hop flavor too. Pretty quick finish is unexpected.

• IPA
  Style 5 - English-style Pale Ale
  • 13 points - Beer #7-487, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, October 31, 1994
    Light amber, good carbonation and head. Citrus nose. Exceedingly fruity. Small bitter finish.

• Maple Ale
  Style 23 - Specialty Beer
  • 15 points - Beer #6-324, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, May 7, 1994
    Brown-amber, hazy. Alcohol aroma. Some sweet notes, but nothing obviously "maple". Sweet maple flavor. Probably OK if you like maple beers. 8% alcohol.

• Mild Ale
  Style 4 - Mild / Brown Ale
  • 16 points - Beer #11-790, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, February 25, 1995
    Nice amber, good head. Moderate carbonation. Fresh hops prominent. Tastes like fresh-baked bread! Tasty, but rather sweet, even in finish.

• Oatmeal Stout
  Style 11 - Stout
  • 15 points - Beer #2-140, at the brewery, July 11, 1993
    Opaque black. Good brown head. Plasticky aroma? Very good taste...also very typical. Very good beer except for that weird aroma! 4.9% alcohol.

• Organic Amber
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 12 points - Beer #7-424, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, August 17, 1994
    Red. Lots of haze, but you can see through it. Thick white head. Some malt aroma...faint. Also some fruit. Smooth body. Flavors very subdued; typical amber flavors, but not much of them.

• Pale Ale
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 16.5 points - Beer #11-782, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, February 18, 1995
    Red-amber, thick head. Dark. Caramel-spicy nose. Good caramel/hop balance, good body.

• Raspberry Wheat
  Style 21 - Fruit / Vegetable Beer
  • 12 points - Beer #11-834, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, March 28, 1995
    Yellow, very hazy, good head, OK carbonation. Smells like Hi-C. Lots of raspberry flavor. Not much else. Finishes surprisingly clean.

• Red
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 14.5 points - Beer #11-833, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, March 28, 1995
    Amber-golden. Some carbonation, good head. Malty clean aroma. Spicy hop flavor. Long smooth bitter finish.

• Spring Wheat
  Style 19 - German-style Wheat Beer
  • 13.5 points - Beer #2-122, Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA, July 3, 1993
    Gold, tending to amber. Not much head, might be the glass. Sorta clove aroma...some crystal malt too. Sweet, clove, caramel, bitter, alcohol flavors, in that order. Unique. I've never tasted a beer that "separated" so obviously. Would have rated higher, but it's just too sweet. 7% alcohol.

• Strong Ale
  Style 10 - English / Scottish Strong Ale
  • 16 points - Beer #11-763, The Depot, Concord CA, February 6, 1995
    Pale-amber. Fresh hop aroma. Bitter. Great body. Well-balanced. Had my first taste of this earlier today at Pacific Coast.

• Wammer Wheat
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 15 points - Beer #2-138, at the brewery, July 11, 1993
    Just a shade darker than Golden Pale. Slightly smoky. Tastes of alcohol. Fortunately, body is heavy enough to carry it. Smooth and sweet finish. Served with lemon, which I promptly removed. 7.25% alcohol.

• Wee Heavy
  Style 8 - Scottish Ale
  • Beer #31-2530, Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA, December 18, 1993
    Bright red. WHEEEE heavy! Beautiful smoke flavor. Rocket fuel.

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