Brew It Up! is shutting down

Sacramento’s Brew It Up! personal brewery is closing after almost eight years.

More sad news. My friend Mike Costello informed me that this will be the last weekend for Brew It Up! Almost 15 years ago, BIU! started helping the public make beer in their tiny Davis location, moving to Sacramento in 2004 to their present location. Costello cites the economic downturn, including furlough Fridays, as being too much for his operation.

Head down to Brew It Up! this weekend and help them drain the tanks. All beers are $5, and you can take the logo glass home as a souvenir of good times. Doors close Sunday at 8pm.

Peter Frampton can save your business

Office Space - The Two Bobs
Tell us what it is that you *do* here at Jackson Rancheria

Interesting stories today in the Bee about the status of local casinos. In “Jackson Rancheria Casino cuts 150 jobs“, we learn that Jackson Rancheria Casino laid off 150 workers after consultants determined it was overstaffed. The layoffs eliminated a little more than 10 percent of the casino’s workforce, leaving 1,250 employees.

As part of a recent $100 million remodel of the Jackson complex, a consulting team examined staffing levels and concluded “there were just too many employees for our size operation,” Elmets said. “The number of employees was just too high, in good times or bad.”

We then learn that Thunder Valley in Lincoln is hiring 100 workers to cope with improvements in business. And that Red Hawk Casino in Shingle Springs is doing so poorly that it has halted payments on a $66 million loan from its outside management company. I wonder why one casino is hiring while another is defaulting on a loan? Continue reading “Peter Frampton can save your business”

L Wine Lounge closes

Sacramento’s L Wine Lounge & Urban Kitchen has closed.

Due to ongoing disputes between landlords and contractors, the popular and delicious L Wine Lounge & Urban Kitchen closed after brunch on Sunday. The Bee reports that the owners hope to reopen in two months. The small family of Sacramento restauranteurs is helping the staff out with some shifts, but the future of the business and their employees may depend on the expediency of Superior Court to straighten out the mess.

Slam! Crash! Plow! Summer 2011

In September of 2009, I wrote a post about the types of headlines the media agencies use to report cars crashing into buildings. Two years later, this method of journalism continues with this story about an automobile accident a Roseville DMV office.

The Roseville field office of the Department of Motor Vehicles is expected to be closed for repairs the rest of this week – after a driving school student crashed into the building and put a 5-foot hole in the wall.

What I found interesting was the Google News results for this accident. This wasn’t a case of the same story being spread across the wire.

“Student driver crashes into DMV office” – “Student driver plows into DMV” – “Hit-And-Run Driver Swipes Calif. DMV”

The hit-and-run angle was not widely reported. Adds quite a twist, I’d say. Most of the information gaps are due to the “get it up as soon as possible” aspect of today’s journalism.

Authorities in Roseville learned of the accident from a local news channel following a viewer tip sent by email. By the time police showed up the vehicle was gone. DMV officials believe the car belonged to a driving school and that a student was likely operating the vehicle.

Late last night, a news10.net story even had a little punch line at the end of the story (I didn’t get a chance to screen grab it!) that went something like “…no word on whether the student passed the test or not.”

They’ll be here all week.

It’s not that bad, it’s just fights

Here’s another one of those news stories where the headline is meant more to get people fired up than to summarize what the story is about.

Authorities are discussing the possibility of permanently banning alcohol along the river every day of the year.

And yet I’ve watched the video and read the article and I am not sure I know that “authorities” are really discussing banning alcohol along the river.

“I don’t know that we’ve reached the point where we have to ruin it for everyone” Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna said. “It would require a joint effort between the state of California – who governs the actual water – and the adjacent acreage is under the oversight of the county.”

At any rate, I get it, it’s a law enforcement nightmare to have to keep the drunken yahoos in check.

I wonder if this dude knew his interview would be used heavily in the piece.

“It’s not that bad, it’s just fights” rafter Will Schulze said. “We’re adults. If we want to drink on the river, we should drink on the river.”

Oh, boy, time cue up the Colonel Jessep scene from A Few Good Men.

Two New Joints on J

Yesterday, I embarked on a brief fact-finding mission (basically I drove down J St from 16th to Alhambra) and spied two newish establishments. The first, The Garlic Shack, has taken over where the always inadequate Sugar Plum used to be on J and 19th. I’m assuming the menu will feature garlic fries, garlic chicken, and garlic cake. It will also, thankfully, be light on vampires and people looking for vampires, both of which fail to amuse.

The other joint that stood out to me, River Rock Tap House, apparently does not open until happy hour, so I wasn’t able to sample their tap lineup at 2 in the afternoon. Basically a remodel of the Tex Mex establishment formerly there, it’s on J and 23rd/24th. From 2nd hand reports I’ve heard that they’re planning on 80 or so taps, but only about 40 are filled, featuring a nice range of mid to upscale brews from all over the world .

If anyone has any first-hand experience with either joint, drop a note.

Sacramento Book Review publishers moving to Midtown

Meredith Greene tipped me that 1776 Productions, publishers of the San Francisco Book Review and the Sacramento Book Review (and one in Portland as well) are moving their headquarters to Midtown. According to co-publisher Ross Rojek, the move could start as early as next week.

“We’re looking forward to living and working in Sacramento,” Rojek told me. “Particularly having an office in Midtown near so many good restaurants and things to do after work.”

1776 also created GoLocalApps, a framework that helps small businesses roll out apps for iDevices. It’s good to hear about a business actually moving to Sacramento in this economic climate!

Junior DIPA at Pangaea

Sutter Buttes Brewing Company’s Peter Hoey talks to the Sac Rag about his hoppy new masterpiece.

Peter Hoey loves to chat about beer! (Photo courtesy of Rick Sellers)

To celebrate the third anniversary of Pangaea Two Brews Cafe, Sutter Buttes Brewing Company made an intensified version of their popular Franklin Double IPA. Franklin Junior is a limited-time engagement for the summer months, so if you are a self-styled hophead, you should hop down to Pangaea and try this marvelously complex beer while it lasts. I was most struck by its smooth drinkability, a quality I find lacking in many DIPAs brewed in the ongoing “arms race” to create hoppier and stronger beers. The hop character is incredible without being aggressive, and at approximately 10% alcohol by volume (ABV), this beer is deceptively strong. Of course, I wanted to know how brewer Peter Hoey created it, and he took a few minutes from pouring it last Saturday to fill me in on the details.
Continue reading “Junior DIPA at Pangaea”

Corn dog eating contest

Size has nothing to do with it
Nothing says State Fair like eating corn dogs ’til you puke. This did not occur during the first preliminary round yesterday, but maybe visitors will be lucky during the next two rounds today and tomorrow.

Milo’s Corn Dog, operated by Milo Frank, has been selling corn dogs for four decades. This year, he has staked $2000 (plus a lot of corn dogs) in hopes of finding the area’s best eater. If you want a shot at the crown, the second preliminary round is today at 4pm. Complete contest details, including the liability waiver from a gruesome corn dog related death, can be found here. FYI, the top eaters from yesterday consumed between 6 and 8 corn dogs in 4 minutes. The final round will be 8 minutes long.

A few more pics after the jump…
Continue reading “Corn dog eating contest”

Winning white wines at the State Fair

Stickie reviews some white wines at the 2011 California State Fair.

Your friend Poppy with Bargetto Winery's Michael Sones
Year after year, the State Fair’s Wine Garden is my place of comfort and luxury. Most recently, the cool misters overhead, soothing Save Mart employees, and a cold glass of California bubbly provided me shelter from the easily-pleased crowd at the Hammer show.

More than 140 wines are available for purchase by the glass and/or bottle. The commemorative glass is now $7, a bargain considering it is twice as big as the alternative plastic wine cup. Swanky glass in hand, it was time for my annual review.

The Best of Show White, V. Sattui Muscat, is an seductive bomb of sweet richness that lingers on your tongue with layers of summer stone fruit. Great for indulgent summer sipping, but at a hefty $15 a glass, I will leave that one the ladies in the red hats, they are certainly enjoying it. I also recommended that they try the Double Gold winning Korbel Sweet Rose, which is only $20 a bottle. For the white zin crowd, this is the perfect choice for something sparkly and sweet to keep them dancing. They loved it.
Continue reading “Winning white wines at the State Fair”