Craft beer history?

“I’ve been a fan of craft beer for a long time.  I’ve even tried my hand at brewing my own beer — we called it ‘SmidtFaced.’ That didn’t really turn out that well, but I would love to give it another shot.”

Favorite part of working in craft beer?

“I am really interested in this amazing beer culture we live in. There are few industries where competitors are as interested in each other. There’s something very special about it.

“As for how I came to Valiant… well, there’s a little story there. My brother-in-law went to college with Brian and Kelly, and was actually Brian’s roommate for a while. So through my bro-in-law I’ve been enjoying Brian’s beer for years, and was really looking forward to Valiant’s opening. Kelly and I met for the first time at my niece’s birthday party and hit it off really well, and my involvement with Valiant took off from there!”

Most interesting part of your job?

“I love finding out how people heard about Valiant and seeing new faces all the time. I’m a pretty social person, so getting to meet lots of new people is exciting. Another interesting side note: My first time ever changing a keg by myself I drenched myself in beer. Oops. Learning experience for sure.”

How important is taste-testing?

“Taste-testing is pretty important! I need to make sure all the beer is being served at the right levels, to make sure the consumer gets the best possible experience. Right?”

 Valiant’s secret weapon?

“I think the thing I’m most proud to tell people is how well balanced Valiant’s beer is. Yes, we have big beers and since Brian’s forte is balancing his beers so well, Valiant has a unique, delicious, and smooth product. This is really exciting, and a true art form.”

Besides pouring…

“I love baseball. It’s a life goal of mine to go to all MLB stadiums. I have been to 22, and have 11 to go.  I also enjoy traveling, and have been to 49 out of the 50 states. I welcome people to come into the tasting room and ask me what the remaining state and stadiums are.”

Famous last words?  

“Go team go!”

Previous job?

Harvest Intern at Owen Roe, a winery in St Paul, Ore.

“I worked on the sorting line for the grapes. Punch-down crew. I took wine samples almost every morning to determine sugar levels and if any byproducts like EA or oxidation were occurring. I pitched yeast into new fermenters, and basically helped to take care of all fermenting red wines.”

Beer or wine?

“I like brewing better than I like wine-making, but both sciences are very wonderful and I loved every minute up at the winery.”

Favorite part of brewing?

“The ability to make a product however you want. You can make the beer to whatever specification you like, super hoppy, really strong, very delicate, or extremely strange. You can make something very different or very traditional. If you do a good job, people will love your beer. This is one of the few arenas where you can let your mind and artistry shine through in your creation. It’s very personal.

“The other great thing about beer is that there is a quick turnaround and this allows you to quickly find out what the people love or dislike. Very few industries can get such quick feedback.”

Most interesting part of working at Valiant?

“The most interesting is whatever I am doing that day, but I always have a great time picking names and writing stories for the beers we make.”

How important is taste-testing?

“Taste testing is VERY important. If you don’t know what sort of flavors or aromas your beer has, you won’t know if something goes wrong or if you have made a mistake. Also beer tastes great, and why not taste-test what is good? You are allowing your taste buds some exercise.”

Valiant’s secret weapon?

“All of our beers have three layers that work together. I find that most beers lack in balance and instead focus on gimmicks or one outstanding feature. Our beers have a fantastic aroma, a strong flavor, and a delightful finish. All three of these levels lead you from one to the other, none trying to outperform the other.”

Besides brewing…

“I play soccer, take pictures, read lots of science fiction, fantasy, and classics.  I love camping and long walks on the beach.”

Famous last words?

“Try as many beers as you can, support the locals, and puns are a valid form of humor.”

Our line up of food and beer pairings! May 17th at the Brewery

Friday May 17th

6pm at the Tasting room.

Includes a flight of samples including a pre-taste of our Strong Ale.  Finger Foods and one pour of your choice.

Tickets Available Online and At the Door

 http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/376853

Celebrate American Craft Beer Week!

Malty highlights hint at graham cracker sweetness, spiced with dark sweet cherry and raisin, all swirled within rich caramel. We admit it: just writing about Axiom, our new Trappist ale, makes our mouths water!

Our friends at St. Michael’s Norbertine Abbey in Silverado Canyon inspired us to brew this beer, and it was quite an undertaking. With seven different malts, Axiom hits the profile of many different grains—plus flaked oats (5% of the grain mix), which give the brew a silky texture.

Dextrose thinned out the body to perfect drinkability, plus gave it a push on the ABV (10.5%).  We added golding hops for just 60 minutes to balance out that rich malty profile (Axiom has an IBU of 28). But the thing that ties it all together is the yeast, blending all those different ingredients into one exceptional beer. The flavors hit you first, leading you right into the warm, cozy sensation you can expect from a higher ABV beer, and concluding with a mildly dry, slightly sweet finish.

We’re pouring half our first batch of Axiom in the tasting room right now, while the other half is safe in our bourbon barrels. When we tap the aged Axiom in a few months, we expect it’ll be up around 12% ABV.

Don’t let the name fool you: while Mighty Maximus has a robust mouthfeel and a flavor as big as its name leads you to expect, it also has a rich toffee and roasty malt character. At 3.6% ABV it’s definitely a sessionable beer, but true to Valiant’s roots, it makes a big beer impression. And though the beer style is called bitter, bitterness is not its strongest characteristic.

Like all Valiant beers, the key to Mighty Maximus’s drinkability is balance.

The grain bill is rather simple, with classic British pale ale and a unique selection of roasted malts combining to give Mighty Maximus a little more character than beers that rely on the classic 2-row malt. Noble hops are added at different points on the late side of the boil, imparting the flavor—but with only 56 IBUs, the bitterness level is at a level even the biggest malt fan can appreciate!

With a bready-roasty-toasty aroma and just a hint of chocolate, Mighty Maximus is a totally approachable, totally drinkable beer. Watch for MM on nitro to go on tap in the tasting room soon.

The tasting room is open Saturday noon-9 PM

We’ve got our newest beer on Tap – Axiom a Trappist Ale at 10.5%abv.

AND Jericho Imperial IPA is OUT. We do have a new batch fermenting we’ll keep you posted on it.

We are getting ready for our Beer and Cheese Pairing event at the tasting room on May 17th. Tickets can be purchased here.

We have new Women’s and Toddler T-shirts available. $15.00 ea, plus tax. We’ve also restocked our Men’s Dickies.

Traditionally brewed during the cooler months in the French-speaking region of Belgium, Saisons were stored for drinking during the summer months. In SoCal you never know when summery weather will hit, so just to stay ahead of the curve, Valiant released Fields Ablaze (6.8% ABV), a refreshing summer Saison, in the super early spring.

This light beer is perfect for people who enjoy classic American lagers; yeast provides a classic spiciness, but there’s no malt complexity weighing down the resulting brew.

What it does have is a tangy kick from a lemongrass-speckled pear “tea” that was added in the brite tank. A series of tests quickly showed which was the ideal beer-tea ratio to create a light, clean-tasting beer. For this Saison, that’s where the balance lies: it’s beer, after all, not lemongrass beer!

Relying on classic noble hops, pilsner malt and wheat, Fields Ablaze will be a comfortable fit for many beer drinkers—but the surprise addition of opal hops adds a flowery aroma, and a unique fermentation process adds more complex characteristics to the classic Saison yeast.

A big hit in the Valiant tasting room, it’s also the top-selling Valiant keg… something to keep in mind as the round of warm-weather holidays approaches (Cinco de Mayo, anyone?).

This American Strong Ale has been brewing (ha!) in Brian’s mind for a very long time, but on Feb. 19 that recipe became reality. At 13.7% ABV, it’s Valiant’s first really big beer—a beer that says what we’re all about.

First Flight (American Strong Ale, 13.7% ABV) is Valiant’s first really big beer.

But it’s not only awesome symbolically.

First Flight is the result of a different approach: it’s an ale designed to be aged in oak. The first batch—which we’ll be tapping at our Release Party May 18, during Celebrate Craft Beer Week—benefited from the addition of medium roast American oak chips to the brite tank. That oak gives First Flight a hint of coconut and vanilla, a perfect complement to the complex caramel flavors that resulted from the five-hour boil of the 2-row and pilsner malts.

Mild carbonation gives it a low mouth feel, allowing drinkers to get the full impact of the flavor profile.

Though it’s highly hopped (78 IBU), First Flight isn’t over-bitter. The Goldings and Hallertau noble hops simply balance out the sweetness of the pale malts, creating a well-balanced beer that allows the complexity of the caramel flavor to come through—without overwhelming the palate.

As for the name, well—it’s a tribute to Brian’s colleagues in the aerospace industry, where the team was always working toward the goal of getting the plane off the ground: first flight. Once off the ground, the project was set. (And, of course, this is the first of Valiant’s signature big beers to be released.)

Only half the first batch will be tapped on May 18 (and preview tastes will be available in the tasting room May 17 and at the April 27 Kickoff Party) . The other half is snug in our bourbon barrels, aging away. Watch for the release of that amazing stuff sometime in the autumn.

“The first hour or two there were lots of questions about what made the beers unique, how long the brewery had been operating, and location questions,” Steve says.

“The last hour and a half or so was people returning for more beer and telling us how good the beer tasted!”

Our beer flavors stood out from the crowd, Steve heard over and over again (music to his ears—and ours too!). Jericho was a monster hit among the hopheads, and Fields Ablaze poured steadily all day. They guys drained the last of Valiant’s 30 gallons of beer about 30 minutes before the festival ended.

It was nonstop action–poor Steve didn’t even have a chance to eat!–but a true blue Valiant fan, he says the high point of the event was just hearing the buzz our beers generated.

“Many guests came over to Valiant because other guests told them they just had to try their beers,” he says. “That was the most fun aspect for me.”