CROSSING THE RUBICON

Nine years ago I was stationed in Folsom, California every Monday & Tuesday for work. It’s only about 2 hours from my San Francisco home, and I whiled away my Monday evenings back then by checking out the Sacramento area’s breweries. One I enjoyed way back then was RUBICON BREWING, then just a locals-only concern, now a full-fledged bottler and frequent beer festival participant. I can’t say that I’ve met anyone who raves about their beers, and truth be told, the only beer of theirs in the past nine years I’ve tried was the IPA, this at the Boonville Beer Fest in 2006. It was, ahem, a “pour-out”.

That didn’t stop me from trying the RUBICON AMBER the other night in Berkeley, and I’m glad I did. I don’t believe this is bottled yet, but if you’re looking for a solid, malty session beer, this might be the one. As good as ANDERSON VALLEY BOONT AMBER is and has always been, I’ve been looking for a couple of new ambers to throw into the mix. This has a nice dry sweetness to it, and a little bit of hop tingling in the aftertaste. The malts are full and rich, and the dryness of this beer makes it a pretty easy one to bring in. Clean and refreshing and well-crafted. Look for the tap handle at your Northern California local. 7/10.