Craft Beer Concierge

The sun is setting on my first week in Oakland 🌇

It’s also setting on my Craft Beer Concierge pages being active as on Saturday i’m shutting them down so I can focus on my new role.

I’d love to stay in touch with any of you who might want to, though! So if you’d like my personal FB or IG page to follow - please leave a comment or message me so we can make that happen.

Much love from Allo, your Craft Beer Concierge 🛎️❤️🍻

Your Craft Beer Concierge starts a new chapter today as Hospitality and Education Manager for Fieldwork Brewing Company, and I couldn’t be more excited!

It has been a long road over 2.5 years of unemployment that ends NOW as I dive in to work across nine currently Fieldwork locations in Northern California to strengthen their internal and external beer focused programs. I am extremely honored that this job came to me in a way that validates all the educational content and work I’ve been doing over the last handful of years.

I can’t wait to dig in and learn the Fieldwork way, get to know the team, and of course the beers that I only started to familiarize myself with after moving back to NorCal last summer.

I may not be as active on here as frequently as I settle into the new position and also move into my new place next weekend - I’ll be an Oakland resident!

But you know I’ll still be sharing some fun beer content and soon you may be able to come out to a Fieldwork location for an event or brewery tour that I’ll be putting together.

Cheers to new chapters!!

Zwanze Day trick?

Sneak in a few hours after the world wide toast. I only got the dregs (cause i kicked the keg 🫢) of one of the Zwanze beers, but no line waiting and all the other Cantillon beers still on draft to be enjoyed!

Small pour of their Zwanze Artemis Blanche botanical beer with a Cuvée Saint Gilloise up next!

You’ve all heard of Monkish Monday…

Welcome to Monkless Monday, part one!

This Abbey inspired brewery was the bucket list brewery that was the impetus for my trip to Bend a few weeks back, and they have two locations that if you’re a fan of Belgian beers - you must get to.

Their beers are steeped in heritage and driven by innovation and that’s been fully clear since their first time I sipped on their Hazy Day in Brussels, a dry hopped hazy Belgian Tripel that came my way via back in COVID times.

I couldn’t wait to get to the Monkless Belgian Ales Brasserie, a beautifully carved out pub that has river views and a killer list of Belgian inspired beers. For those who know me, it was like being a kid in a candy store getting to try my way through their Imperial Peppercorn Wit, Trinity Tripel, and devilishly rich Belgian Dark Strong Ale.

Their food is also a must try. I wish I had friends with me because I would have shared so much more! Their balsamic and goat cheese brussels with crispy bacon lardons hit the spot paired with that peppercorn witbier. Their server helped me battle my options i was weighing before ultimately landing on their fantastic take on a french dip.

Between the beautiful pub and monk chanting music that made the bathroom visit an added (and needed) “must” - this Belgian beer lover soaked in every second and cant wait to share about their other Bend location on a future monday!

It was great to get a dose of Boston beers and friends on a whirlwind trip over last weekend!

When I moved last summer, I’d left my furniture and belongings behind because I was unsure where I’d be landing. With the new job on the horizon it was time to go collect, pack, and deal with cross country moving logistics. But THOSE things wouldn’t be fun to take pictures of 🤣

Just so happens I was able to squeeze in a few solid outings with some of the friends I’d made over 10 years of Boston living and it helped balance the stress of moving out. I was super thrilled that my trip just so happens to coincide with the monthly beer friends meet up put on by and at Untold Brewing Plymouth. It was so fun hanging out with people at a brewery i’d only been to once before and I enjoyed their Seatown Lager and Totem of the Tides American IPA.

When a favorite brewery makes a favorite beer style for the first time in years, you just gotta go, right?! I made sure to get to Idle Hands Craft Ales who had just released their Back to Basics Saison, which speaks to their roots in Belgian beer. Anyone remember Blanche de Grace?! 😍 I was also able to snag a smoky rich pour of their People’s Smoke Rauchbier. A brewery doing classic styles well? Be still my heart!

I of course couldn’t be visiting the area without swinging into Widowmaker Brewing where I got reacquainted with their Logic Gate Helles, silky and flavorful as ever. I also was able to get a freshly tapped pour of their Beer is Not Doomed WC IPA while catching up with

Cheers to a weekend well spent catching up, while packing up, and onto newer adventures!

Unlocking aroma is a key part to building sensory profiles of a beer. Oftentimes between the first impression of your beer in a glass and the first sip that hits your palate, it’s overlooked.

With “May Flowers”, a gorgeous beer from The Bruery which I cracked open last week to celebrate a new position i’ll be starting in two weeks, I took a minute to deliberately stop and smell the rose hips.

And the hibiscus.
And the white pepper.
And the subtle honey notes shining through.

Inhaled twice. Once close, once further away. What differences (if any) do I pick up? A full 30 seconds spent before the beer even hit my lips.

Springtime is a great time for reflection, stopping to see things bloom, to feel warmth radiate on your skin. I encourage you to stop and smell the aromas on your next pint. You may be led on a journey you never knew was going to exist.

Lunchtime beers at Trillium Brewing Company today where I hung with good friends and had pours of their Italian Pils and Spring Ale.

Both were delicious, light, floral beers perfect for a warm day and my last hurrah of a whirlwind last minute trip to the Boston area.

The Mass. Brew Bros. and I realized that Trillium has a beer called Sprang, this Spring Ale, they need to complete the trifecta with one called Sprung!