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The scale of Outside Lands can be a little daunting. Festival maps are crucial to find your way around, but even more so is defining a boomerang spot — a location everyone returns to when you loose people in your group. My advice: Pick somewhere you like and that isn’t a stage and that you’ll want to hang out, like Beer Lands.
The outdoor beer garden is an impressive spot featuring over 30 different brewers pouring a grand total of 64 different beers. Organized by
Magnolia Brewery’s Dave McLean, the tented area features something for everyone, with a strong focus on sessionable beers (lighter beers you can drink all day) all brewed in California.
To help us navigate the large number of beers, we called up McLean (the beer organizer for the event) himself all little guidance, organized by scenarios you’re likely to encounter into on the festival grounds.
When the Sun is Out
When its warm you want lighter beers, something that refreshes with a lighter body, yet still plenty of flavor. McLean suggests lagers and pilsner beers, which also make great introductions to those newer to the craft beer experience.
McLean mentioned a few new additions this year are delivering some notable warm weather suds.
Faction Brewing from Alameda, brings their Defcon series with the latest release:
Defcon V. It’s a beer that McLean describes as a lighter Belgian session ale modeled after the house beer (aka everyday drinking beer) at monastery breweries.
Golden Road Brewing from Los Angeles will have their
329 Lager, a beer specifically designed for the 329 average sunny days a year that Los Angeles gets. Coming from Paso Robles is
Firestone Walker Brewing who will be serving their
Pivo Hoppy Pils beer, a German style pilsner with a triple blast of hops (Magnum, Spalter, and Saphir).
I’d be remissif I didn’t mention one of my seasonal warm weather go-to brews: 21st Amendment Brewery's light, flavorful, and crisp
Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer made here in the city proper, or
Magnolia’s Kalifornia Kolsch that make’s an easy go to beer with anything served by the food vendors. Also the custom
Outside Lands Saison made by
Sierra Nevada Brewing is worth a trip to Hellman’s Hollow.
When the Fog Rolls In
McLean recommends heartier beers when the cool weather arrives, boasting a heavier feel in grain and alcohol content.
High Water Brewing’s Campfire Stout is a beer that the crew in Chico made to resemble the essence of s’mores in a dry and balanced beverage. If your jam is more coffee, McLean recommends the
Coffee Porter from Fairfax based
Iron Springs Pub & Brewery that gets a shot of cold brewed joe. From San Leandro’s
Drake’s Brewing will have the
Black Robusto Porter on tap, a hefty beer that goes down like a warm blanket. McLean also suggests picking beers with higher abv to warm the bones, like the light (yet with a punch)
Pranqster from
North Coast Brewing in Fort Bragg, or the
Rapscallion, a strong Belgian pale ale from
Social Kitchen & Brewery.
When You End Up in Bacon Land
There’s no doubt we’ll end up in Bacon Land at least once and McLean says that choosing the right beer has the benefit of not only quenching your thirst, but also can counteract the richness of the food. For that he thinks the
Burning Oak Black Lager from Oakland’s
Linden Street Brewery, with lots of dark roasty flavors and medium body does well with bacon. The malty
Westfalia from
Fort Point Brewing in the Presidio also does well with fatty pork according to McLean. Brewed in the style of German rotbeir, the medium weight pairs well with slice after salty slice of swine.
When You Know Your Beer
Asked if there were any rare beers in the mix we should make sure and try, McLean mentioned that there will be two
Gose beers being poured at the event, the
Golden Gate Gose from S.F.-based
Almanac Beer, and
The Kimmie, the Yink and the Holy Gose from Boonville’s
Anderson Valley Brewing. McLean described the German style beer as lower in alcohol, a little herbal, wheat based beers with bright lemony flavors. “Historically, Goses often have coriander and salt added… not so much that it makes it salty, though it kind of behaves in that way that accents the flavors,” says McLean.
McLean’s work at creating an interesting collecting of breweries and beers will find appeal to most everyone’s taste. “The word of the year is variety — there’s a lot to choose from,” says McLean.
Clearly we’ll be spending a lot time here.
