Plan your weekend for great live music!

Thursday Night: Open Mic Night, Progressive Happy Hour and Cigar Social. 4pm til close. Bring your gig and sit in with the "Free Beer Tomorrow Band". Progressive Happy: starts at 4:00 pm with $1.50 pints.

Friday Night: Live Blue Grass: Wild Bill and The Mud Whompers are back! 8pm until close. Live, local bluegrass from some incredible local pickers! Wild Bill and The MudWhompers don't surface too often, but they are playing twice this month at North Star: this Friday and the Friday after Thanksgiving. Pints: $3.50. Jerk tacos: $2.50. Cover: $4.00

Saturday: The Fabulous Blackwell Brothers. Harry Blackwell, one of the hottest blues guitar players in the North State, is back with his incredible blues band for an evening of great blues!. 8pm - Pints $3.50. - $4.00 cover

Check the North Star Calendar to see who is playing next. Live music: Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

See you at the brewery or out on the town!
Cheers,
Shawn A. Sease
North Star Craft Brewery
President/Head Brewer
http://www.northstarcraftbrew.com/

The Winter : A great time for great beer!

A great opportunity for great beer is when Summer turns to Fall and Fall turns to Winter; the high gravity winter warmers start pouring and so begins the season for great, heavy and stronger than normal beer. A few breweries have already started releasing their winter stock and I admit I have not tried any of them yet...

I have been too busy sampling North Star Bright Beer our blonde/extra pale ale. The North Star Bright Beer is simply outstanding and it is remarkable to me how so many perceive our "Bright" beer as a simple beer when it is Soooooo complex. Who knows, maybe I'm partial...

Anyway, if you are looking for a "Local Winter Warmer" North Star offers you the following:

Horizons Amber Ale - 6.2% abv, dark red/ruby color. Brewed a little bit stronger, richer for the winter with an earthy, herbal aroma and subtle notes of malt, caramel and chocolate. Horizons is very complex and requires a discerning palate. Horizons always presents something new to me: caramel, malty, chocolate, dark fruit, bruised fruit, cherry cake... It goes on and on. Drinkers that claim to "like amber ale" LOVE Horizons Amber Ale.

Horizons Amber Ale on tap in town:
Bubba Thrasher's Landlocked Tavern - Hartnell just passed The Hen House on the left.

North Star IPA (India Pale Ale) - 6.5% abv, copper/orange/gold hue. Slight haze as none of our beers are filtered. This current IPA as well as all other IPA's from North Star is a unique first time recipe. A mild hop collaboration with an emphasis on balance and drinkability. A unique blend of 4 different hops, dry hopped, but with a mild bitterness balanced by a slightly sweet malt backbone. Not our strongest offering of HOPS as far as the IPA goes, but it is an outstanding beverage for anyone that enjoys a nice hop/malt balanced IPA.

IPA on tap in town:
Pio Local - Downtown Redding - You know where it is!
Bubba Thrasher's Landlocked Tavern - Hartnell just passed the Hen House on the left.
Redding Alehouse Pub - Hilltop Dr
Johnny's Cathouse - Downtown Redding

BLACKHOLE Oatmeal Stout - A whopping 7.2% abv and Opaque, black and rich. Our signature blend of base malts balanced by a hearty dose of 90L & 120L crystal malts, plus a 50/50 blend of British chocolate malt and roasted barley, and finally 100 pounds of Oatmeal. Roast, chocolate, bread, smoke, currants, cake. No finishing hops, just the simple pure aroma of caramel, chocolate malts and roasted barley polished by the bready/biscuity character or fresh hot oatmeal. The Blackhole Oatmeal Stout is brewed true-to-style and surpasses the expectation of a perfectly brewed oatmeal stout.

Oatmeal Stout on tap in town:
Vintage Wine Bar - Downtown Redding
Redding Alehouse Pub - Hilltop Dr.
Bubba Thrasher's Landlocked Tavern - Hartnell just passed The Hen House on the left.
Mary's Place - Beltline & Caterpillar

North Star for the holidays:
1. Pick up a keg for a holiday party
2. Pick up some six packs for a holiday party
3. Purchase your beer loving friends, mates and partners some North Star Beer Gear
4. Take some beer with you when you head out of town. Tell your friends
and family that when they come and visit they can still get fresh local beer!
5. Have a company or private party at the brewery. Call to reserve the brewery:
530.275.2739

Through the end of the year North Star should be about $6.99 a six pack wherever you go. Six packs are always $6.00 at the brewery and $5.99 at Tenor's Fine Spirits on Market St. at the bottom of the hill (Miracle mile).

Kegs 1/2 bbl: $120 (120 pints)
5 gallon kegs: $55 (40 pints)

Ask for North Star wherever you. Lately, it seems like you can North Star anywhere you go... Thank you so much for supporting your local brewery.

See at the brewery or out on the town...

Cheers!
Shawn A. Sease
Head Brewer/President
530.275.2739
www.northstarbrew.com

SOLD OUT + THE TRAIL DIGGERS + NEW HORIZONS AMBER ALE

SOLD OUT
Where did all the beer go? I rolled a couple of pallets of kegs and bottles into the walkin on Saturday only to find an empty walkin cooler. It seems that many of you have been drinking a whole lot of the North Star! WOW - THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

TRAIL DIGGERS
It was great to see a handful of the folks that turned out for the Whiskeytown work party this weekend show up at the brewery with their "Free Pint for Digging" tickets (North Star tried to help by offering free pints to anyone that showed up for the Whiskeytown work party this weekend). Great job ladies and gentleman on making the North State a beautiful place to hike, ride, jog and explore. These are the "selfless" people that are the spirit of our great community. We would buy them a beer anytime... Cheers, great job!

Speaking of this last weekend Saturday was a great night at the brewery! A handful of regulars, some newbies, Weety jam'n the acoustic guitar "One Man Alone Style", brats on the grill, it is Oktoberfest season you know... A great evening of beer, music, art, attitude and laughs! BTW, nice job on the impromptu jam by Bill and Kehoe "Late night jam session style".

AMBER - She is fine!
We kegged and finished bottling a new batch of North Star Horizons Amber Ale early Saturday afternoon. With the seasons changing we decided to beef up our Amber Ale a little for the Fall and Winter.

So here it is:

North Star - Horizons - Amber Ale - "A Perfect Amber Ale". The "Beer drinkers" know Horizons Amber Ale is a local treasure. We added a little extra British Caramel and Chocolate malt this time around to make Horizons even richer than before. This rich, malty and beatiful ruby-red palate pleaser is balanced perfectly by the late kettle addition of British East Kent Goldings hops... Look, just find it at where to buy. Find it, buy it, pour it in a glass, drink it!

Fresh amber ale will be heading out of the brewery Monday morning to Tenor's fine spirits, Liquor Barn, Tobacco 'n Brew, "The Beer Cave" (J & S on Hartnell).

THIS WEEK
Big Week this week at the Brewery - Montessori fund raiser, open mic, Thursday is now a Progressive Happy Hour, Live music Friday, Live Music Saturday! Check out the calendar of events

See you at the brewery or out on the town!
Cheers,
Shawn A. Sease
North Star Craft Brewery

Downtown Eatery and Libations: "A great soft opening is hard to beat!"

Saturday evening I stopped by "Downtown Eatery and Libations" to wish them well on their planned grand opening. Earlier in the week I had delivered a couple of kegs of Pango in preperation of their grand opening scheduled for Monday, September 29, 2008. They invited me to their friend and family soft opening on Saturday, so I stopped by to check 'em out...

I sat down at the end of the bar and was greeted by a very attentive, young and courteous bartender that was pouring ales, ciders, wine and other crafty concoctions. I was offered a drink so I went for the Drake's Expedition Ale - "Hey, I like 'em all - give me a break!"

Before I knew it I was greeted by the Executive Chef, Ryan Klemek, who happened to be holding a plate of "Kalbi", Korean style short ribs. What service, I had only been there for about 10 minutes, was just finishing my review of the menu, settling into my Drake's Expedition Ale, when a piping hot plate of Korean Short Ribs over fresh Napa Cabbage Kimchi was hand delivered by the Executive Chef - are you kidding me - that was great!

The aroma of fresh grilled beef, soy sauce and blend of spices was outstanding. The portion was perfect; it was hot and each bite of beef was complemented perfectly by a nice dress of the fresh napa Kimchi, which by the way had a perfect amount of spice (heat) to add some complexity to this great grilled dish. The other good news is that Drake's Expedition ale is a pretty robust amber ale that compliments grilled foods just perfectly! I requested a "small side" of the fried stuff: onion rings, sweet potato fries. The delivery was just what I asked for plus a little extra: a sample of onion rings, sweet potato fries, and a little calamari. What a treat!

The short ribs are excellent and so is the fresh, made in-house, napa cabbage Kimchi.

Needless to say, I walked out happy as can be. The energy at Downtown Eatery and libations is great. It is very refreshing and inspiring to see some young locals delivering great service and great food with a generous portion of courtesy and maturity. With a grip on freshness, and an eclectic edge, Downtown Eatery and Libations is great!

For me, probably a nice little spot to check into late at night for a snack and a beer. I am sort of a night owl and have been looking forward to a local place that would stay open late, have great (and local) beer, offer outstanding eclectic food and great service.

I won't spoil you with the rest of the menu, you need to learn a thing or two about this new downtown eatery on your own. Get down there and check this place out you will have a great time.

Like all things new there will be some adjusting and unforeseen issues during their first couple weeks, so give them a smile, pat 'em the back, and wish them the best...

Some notable beer offerings at this place: "Old Rasputin - Imperial Stout (Mendocino)", a Cider from "Fox Cider Company", "Expedition Ale from Drake's brewing (bay area), and a couple of others, including our favorite and local brewery: North Star Craft Brewery. A great selection of bottled beers, wines and some other crafty libations are also available.

By the way, it seems that the Downtown Eatery's attitude is "Why wouldn't you carry the local beer."...

Gotta love it, Cheers!

Downtown Eatery and Libations
1344 Market St
Redding, CA 96001
530.209.5447
General Manager: Paul David
Executive Chef: Ryan Klemek

Cheers,
Shawn A. Sease
President/Head Brewer
North Star Craft Brewery

Fresh Pango Means: PangoMania

Ask for it by name, don't be shy, just blurt it out "PANGO"

The bottling line will be making some noise today at North Star Craft Brewery with a fresh bottling of North Star's Pango - Peach Mango Wheat Beer.

Pango is an exceptionally well crafted wheat beer with just a subtle peach and mango aroma and flavor. We went to great lengths to find a balance between the "beer" and the "fruit" and we got it just right when we tilted the balance towards "beer".

Pango is NEVER a sweet/soda-popish interpratation of a beer it is an outstanding wheat beer with a wonderful, subtle kiss of peach and mango.

We have several kegs of Pango available, so expect to see it popping up at at bars and restaurants around Redding. Ask your favorite server and bartenders if they plan to carry PANGO... We will bring it by today, we have PLENY OF PANGO TO GO AROUND.

Cases will be available later today and early tomorrow at: North Star, Tenor's Fine Spirits, Liquor Barn, "The Beer Cave" and Tobacco and Brew.

Always ask for North Star and join the "Pangomania" - ask for Pango by name, come on, say it "PANGO"!

See you at the brewery or out on the town!

Cheers,
Shawn A. Sease
North Star Craft Brewery

Why be bitter about Johnny's Cathouse downtown Redding?

Okay, Johnny opens up a great looking, upbeat, fresh new bar in Downtown Redding. I stop by to ask him "Where is the local beer, man"...

Johnny says "Bring it in".

So, there is a reason to be bitter about Johnny's Cathouse Downtown... Johnny is now offering you North Star IPA... North Star's IPA is a "Hop Head" delight. The current batch of IPA is very well balanced, light malt character, perfect amount of bitterness, but the aroma WHOA - hop oil fantasy! Johnny's has it on tap get downtown and drink it!

Johnny has 18 other beers as well. A great selection of micros and domestic standards. If you are a HOPHEAD order the North Star IPA.

Get down there and show Johnny that we support local beer! Time will tell if Johnny's will carry a range of North Star beers. It would be great to see something light from North Star like the Pango - Peach Mango Wheat. Maybe even a nice porter, or go out on a limb, North Star -BLACKHOLE- Oatmeal Stout at 8.7% abv???

Anyway, a HUGE thanks to Johnny for taking some time during the first few weeks of his start up to give the local brewery a little play. Johnny is pretty busy, but not to busy to do some business with a local business.

Johnny's has a FULL bar, not just beers, so order a shot with your IPA. Get down there and help Johnny make this a great opening month.

Cheers Johnny! best of luck with your new business and thank you for putting on the North Star!

Shawn A. Sease
North Star Craft Brewery

Paint By Numbers

The things that are uttered across the table from a cerevisaphile can blow my mind.

You know who I am talking about those people who have a couple of beers and then the gift of extemporaneous verbal bantering radiates from their soul. Sometimes it just hurts to listen - you can't stop laughing!

Recently the term "Paint By Numbers" was floated, by a North Star cerevisaphile regular, as the universal name for all cover bands and anyone that would simply copy someones hard work and call it their own.

The term "Paint by numbers" as defined by Wikipedia - a style of art performed by filling numbered areas with specific colors . You get the idea you simply fill in the blanks with a predetermined set of parameters that somehow work together. You don't know any better it just works and people are somehow impressed.

The folks that visit the North Star Craft Brewery seem to be exclusively "Non paint by numbers" people. It is exciting to attract so many "like minded-original people" (now there's any oxymoron for you); people with a thirst for great beer, great art, great culture, great conversation and a relaxing atmosphere to share great thoughts.

We are not here to change anything... The art, the culture, the dreams and the thoughts are already in each one us... Simply let it out!

I say we raise our glass and make a toast to each other: "To all of us that are dedicated to the advancement of original thoughts and ideas, culture, art and "live and let live", ---insert your brain/thoughts to complete the toast--- <-- I would hate for you to have to copy me!

See on the town or up at the brewery.

Cheers,
Shawn A. Sease
President/Head Brewer
North Star Craft Brewery