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Written by: ESTHER OERTEL

Published: 01 March 2020

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – When my husband and I moved with our sons to southern Lake County nearly 20 years ago, we were happy to discover Mt. St. Helena Brewery, a family-owned operation in a historic building in downtown Middletown.

It became a favorite place to dine out, both for the elevated pub food and the taste of their craft beer.

Though a restaurant remains on-site (more casual than its former iteration), brewing there ceased quite a few years ago. Since then I’ve found myself chasing the thrill of my first sip of their orange and coriander infused IPA.

At long last, the chase has ended.

Much to my delight (and even more so, to my husband’s), Lake County is home to not one, but two craft beer breweries, Kelsey Creek Brewing on Main Street in Kelseyville and the O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company just a few minutes away in Lakeport.

Both offer a selection of beer spanning a broad spectrum from light ales to dark stouts, many with playful ingredients to tickle the palate.

Craft beers have become more and more popular in recent years, spawning an explosion of microbreweries in the United States.

In 1974, when beer was generally mass-produced and light on flavor, there were a mere 55 breweries in the nation.

Today there are more than 6,000 breweries in operation (1,000 in California alone), and that number continues to grow.

Beer is one of the oldest beverages known to man, as well as one of the most popular worldwide, third in line behind water and tea.

As to beer in antiquity, residue of a 13,000-year-old beer thick as gruel was found in a cave in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa in Israel. This represents the oldest archaeological evidence for fermentation of any kind.

The beer was used for ritual feasting by the Natufians, a semi-nomadic people in the Levant, an area in part of what is now the Middle East.

These days craft brewers practice a unique form of alchemy, turning simple ingredients (grain, water, hops, yeast) into flavorful liquid gold.

Brewing methods, sourcing and processing of ingredients, and the addition of spices, fruit or other flavors give rise to countless combinations, making the possibilities for beverage magic seemingly endless.

Both brewing establishments in Lake County are family-owned, Kelsey Creek Brewing by husband and wife team Jason and Caroline Chavez, and O’Meara Bros. Brewing Co. by the (literal) O’Meara brothers Alex and Tim.

Kelsey Creek Brewing is nestled between the Smiling Dogs Ranch wine tasting room and the A + H General Store on Kelseyville’s picturesque Main Street.

I had a chance to visit there with co-proprietor Jason Chavez on a recent Sunday. He does the brewing on-site in a room tucked behind the bar, where large silver vats preside, ringing the small space with their looming presence. Meanwhile, his Irish-born wife, Caroline, manages the bar as well as the business side of the brewery, appropriate since her parents owned a pub in Ireland for a time while she was growing up.

Chavez began making beer in the 1980s while in high school in San Jose, brewing batches on his mother’s stovetop. Since no alcohol changed hands, buying brew kits and ingredients for beer was legal for a minor, and his mother approved as long as he cleaned up after himself.

And just like that, a lifelong passion was born.

After high school, he helped out at a brewery in Mountain View, where he was encouraged to attend the UC Davis Master Brewers Certificate Program.

He enrolled in the intensive five-month program in 1997, finished it, and came away inspired, armed with the science behind the art of brewing beer.

Chavez has worked in breweries in San Diego and Santa Cruz and even did a four-year stint in our beloved Mt. St. Helena Brewing Co. in Middletown, leaving in 2007 to work again in Santa Cruz.

In 2015 he was offered an opportunity to purchase Kelsey Creek Brewing from its founder, Ron Chips, and in June of 2016 the sale was official.

Chavez’s brewing philosophy is simple: brew beer with a clean taste that’s consistent in quality and remains true to its style.

As to the latter point, sourcing ingredients is a key component for Chavez. For example, malt, hops and yeast are procured from Germany when making a German-style beer, and ingredients are imported from Belgium for Belgian Saison.

Food isn’t available for purchase in the Kelsey Creek taproom, but patrons are welcome to bring their own fare from a variety of nearby establishments. The local pizza joint, Pogo’s, delivers there.

And if you’re not too hungry, the complimentary popcorn may be just the ticket.

With so many intriguingly named brews on tap (Jade Monkey, Storybook Stout, Irish Donkey Red, to name a few), it was hard to choose one to try. I finally settled on the mixed berry sour, chosen in part because I’m not typically a fan of sour beers and wanted to see if this brew could expand my horizons.

I’m glad I tried it. It was only subtly sour (Chavez’s wife, Caroline, helps with taste-testing to be sure it’s not too strong), and it had a delightfully berry forward taste.

My husband tried two – the red ale and the stout – and enjoyed them both.

A local band was getting ready to play as we left. Regular patrons were comfortably settled in, sipping foamy quaffs, and a group of visitors shared lively stories and laughter. I turned for a final glimpse of this neighborhood gathering place and was rewarded with a cozy scene of hosts and patrons truly enjoying one another’s company.

Up the road in nearby Lakeport lies Lake County’s only gastropub, O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company, a place my husband and I are always happy to enjoy.

Located on Bevins Street just off Lakeport Blvd. and housed in a modern steel building, this microbrewery has ample room not only for its brewing operations but for a large and lively restaurant.

Brothers Alex and Tim O’Meara work together to run this successful venture, with Alex functioning as general manager, taking care of business operations and managing the restaurant and Tim doing the brewing. They share some duties, too: Alex helps decide what beers are offered and Tim jumps in a bit with “front of house” responsibilities at the restaurant.

The brothers homebrewed for a number of years prior to opening the brewpub, and like Jason Chavez, Tim O’Meara honed knowledge and skills through the intensive brewing course at UC Davis.

Inspired by the many brewpubs in the Pacific Northwest with a neighborhood feel, the brothers opened O’Meara Bros. in December of 2014 and realized the dream they’ve had since childhood of owning a business together.

The tag line for the O’Meara Bros. brews is “Easy Drinkin’ Ales,” and this is realized by using a light touch with ingredients like citrus, ginger, honey, and coriander to create a subtly flavorful and approachable beer.

While they do dabble in bitter ales from time to time, they tend not to focus too much on hops. Most of the ten or so varieties they brew are on the malty, fruity side.

A number of local restaurants have beer on tap from both Kelsey Creek and O’Meara Bros. To help you locate their brews when you’re out and about, a list is at the end of the article below the recipe.

As to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on March 17, Kelsey Creek will have two stouts on tap in its honor. You’ll also be able to find them at Kelseyville’s downtown “Swig and Jig” on Sunday, March 15.

And in the words of Tim O’Meara, “As always, we’ll be pouring green beer, serving the county’s best corned beef and cabbage and we’ll have music and all kinds of carryin’ on. It’s always a big day for us, being Irish and all.”

Today’s recipe is a classic beer bread with the addition of rosemary and olives, which I recommend serving with a Lake County extra virgin olive oil and a nice aged balsamic vinegar drizzled together on a plate for dipping.

There are endless possibilities for varying the add-ins to this basic recipe. I’ve jotted down some ideas below the recipe to get you started.

Enjoy!

Beer Bread with Rosemary and Olives

3 cups unbleached white flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
½ cup roughly chopped pitted kalamata olives
12 ounces (1 ½ cups) good quality beer
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish with one tablespoon of the olive oil.

Stir together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Stir in the rosemary, then the chopped olives until both are well distributed.

Pour in the beer and stir until just incorporated into the mix. The dough will be sticky and somewhat heavy.

Spoon the dough into the baking pan and spread evenly. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Transfer bread to a trivet or cooling rack.

Cut into rectangles and serve warm.

Variations:

Eliminate olives and add ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Diced apple (from one medium peeled apple) can be added along with the cheese.

Go crazy with the olives and add several different types, up to 1 ½ cup total.

Substitute honey for the sugar.

Substitute half the white flour for whole wheat.

Use melted butter instead of olive oil.

Increase or decrease the sugar or honey. (Anywhere from one to four tablespoons will work.)

Increase or decrease rosemary to taste.

Add an equal amount of fresh thyme along with the rosemary.

Add a couple tablespoons chopped scallions or chives to any of the variations or on their own.

Add ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the olives and rosemary.

Where can I find local beer on tap?

O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company beer is on tap here:

– Park Place, Lakeport;
– The Yard, Lakeport;
– Juicy’s Pizza, Lakeport;
– Stonefire Pizza, Lakeport and Clearlake;
– Blue Wing Saloon, Upper Lake;
– Running Creek Casino, Upper Lake;
– The Boathouse, Nice;
– Romi’s BBQ, Nice;
– The Spot, Clearlake;
– Main Street Bar & Grill, Clearlake;
– DJ’s Pizza, Lower Lake;
– 101 Tap Room, Redwood Valley;
– Slam Dunk Pizza, Ukiah.

Kelsey Creek Brewing beer is on tap here:

– Juicy’s Pizza, Lakeport;
– Blue Wing Saloon, Upper Lake;
– Red’s Sky Room, Lakeport;
– The Saw Shop, Kelseyville (beginning the week of March 1, 2020).

Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa, Calif. She lives in Middletown, Calif.