Author Archives: Gregory Nagel

About Gregory Nagel

Greg Nagel is a beer, food and travel writer based in North Orange County, California.

CHAAK Mexican Food & Wine Festival Features Local Chefs & Mexican Winemakers

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20+ Wineries and 7 SoCal restaurants come together in O.C. for inaugural event

photo credit Max Milla

CHAAK Kitchen will host its inaugural Mexican Food & Wine Festival on Saturday, October 19 from 2—6 p.m., seven local restaurants and 29 wineries will come together to celebrate Mexico’s rich culinary and winemaking culture. Restaurateurs Ed & Gabbi Patrick, owners of CHAAK and Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen, have partnered with La Competencia Imports’ Founder Tom Bracamontes to present this unique event. Guests will be able to taste exclusive Mexican wines from Baja California, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, and San Luis Potosí.

“This event is a first, with so many talented chefs and wineries representing the rich culinary culture of Mexico… truly a feast for the senses,” explains Gabbi Patrick, who serves as Executive Chef of CHAAK Kitchen and Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen, both recognized by the prestigious Michelin Guide. “Whether you’re a wine enthusiast or just curious about Mexico’s wines, this is an opportunity to embark on an adventure and meet the winemakers whose passion goes into every bottle.”

Guests will be able to experience the rich culinary traditions of Mexico, from the vibrant Yucatán to the hearty northern regions, as local chefs come together for an afternoon. Participating restaurants include Alta Baja Market, CHAAK Kitchen, Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen, Gema, Maizano, SOCALO, and Tres Muchachos Wine Bar & Kitchen.

The CHAAK Mexican Food & Wine Festival takes place at CHAAK Kitchen on Saturday, October 19 from 2-6 p.m.  Tickets must be purchased in advance for $125 per guest (excluding tax & Eventbrite fees) online HERE (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chaak-mexican-food-wine-festival-tickets-919683507127).  All attendees must be over 21 years of age.

ABOUT CHAAK KITCHEN
Inspired by Executive Chef Gabbi Patrick’s Yucatecan Roots, CHAAK features Mayan staples of pibil, recados, seafood, smoke, and exotic spices combined with her signature modern flare. Located in Southeastern Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula differs from other regional Mexican cuisine with Spanish, Caribbean, and Mediterranean influences, dense tropical climate, and deep roots of the native Mayan culture.

CHAAK Kitchen is located at 215 El Camino Real in Tustin. For more information, please visit https://chaakkitchen.com/.

Darkroom Exposes the Negative Space in OC Dining

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DARKROOM – photo by Greg Nagel

As a teenage camera nerd, I grew up in darkrooms. Nothing was cooler than hanging out with old-school stinky chemicals, a red light, and a budget enlarger and then coming out with crazy experimental art photos. My love for all things analog lives on to this day, where there’s tangible romance behind drinking a local beer while listening to a crackly vinyl record you bought when you were thirteen.

Walking into Darkoom, Santa Ana’s newest restaurant that opens September 12th, many of those same vibes came rushing back.

Darkroom’s chef partner Drew Adams and executive chef/owner Zack Sherer – photo by Greg Nagel

“It was just a code name for a while, and it just stuck,” notes executive chef/owner Zach Sherer, talking about the restaurant’s name “Darkroom.” The space quickly gives off Euro-Brooklyn vibes, having dined at places in Williamsburg or Copenhagen, where records are spinning next to a small lounge, and the bar is serving up obscure wines, vermouths, and bitter liqueurs some of which are mixed into stunning lower-ABV vin-tails.

Inner thought: It’s all quite cozy and shocking at the same time…it’s nice to step into a place and not feel like you’re in another try-hard OC spot where everything has an egg on it and the menu feels like an adult kid’s menu. Did I say that out loud?

Journeyman chef Drew Adams, who worked with Zack at Bello in Newport, joins in the Darkroom fun, adding his own personal artwork to the walls and the plates. “We’re bringing a new concept to Orange County: everyday fine dining…with a side of vinyl,” says Drew.

As their Numark CC-1 record needle drops on a neon-yellow record, a trout drops and sizzles on the grill and later plated with farm-fresh cucumber, chowder, and lovage oil, which adds a slight celery note and is super good for digestion. Am I in Denmark by the Øresund? Everything is so delicate, fermented, textured, and thought out. I don’t even miss that there’s no burger on the menu.

I’m totally in for whatever this everyday fine dining schtick is.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love going to fine dining restaurants – I’m a chef, I love to eat that kind of food,” said Chef Zach. “The problem is that I don’t always want to sit in a formal setting and have to whisper to my wife all night.”

DARK CHOCOLATE, maple, soy, caviar. I’m not sure how chocolate works with caviar, but it does. Photo – Greg Nagel

The menu is broken down into shareable small plates and large dinner items. Since Darkroom is considered a wine bar,  the wine list features small-production artisanal wines and a few local beers from Everywhere Beer Co. and Radiant in nearby Orange County. “We’re basically trying to do with the wine what we’re trying to do with the food,” said Chef Drew.  “We want to feature incredibly talented artisanal winemakers and brewers who are just as committed to their work as we are to making great food,” he continued.

No.5 sbagliato, negroni insorti, prosecco. Photo by Greg Nagel

“Music is an incredibly important part of my life,” said Scherer.  “I wanted to have a large collection of vinyl and to have incredibly cool music playing.  We’ve got a terrific sound system, with two turntables and will have a live DJ on weekends.” On my visit, the playlist swayed from Run the Jewels to crunchy metal to the Stones, and everything in between.

photo by Greg Nagel

“We’re really lucky to live in one of the most abundantly diverse states.  Our farmer’s markets have any produce you could ask for from a season, and that is truly special. Being a Californian chef is being able to celebrate those things, but understanding when they are best. It is our job to turn those jewels of bounty into something truly memorable,” Scherer says

Darkroom opens September 12th. Sort of by IKEA/Observatory. // wearedarkroom.com

I’m looking for a new home for my boozy-bites articles, if your publication is looking for writers or photographers, please reach out.

https://www.exploretock.com/darkroom/event/501471/chrysalis

What Dad Wants: Puesto’s New Canned Beer (and Tacos)

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Puesto Clara Canned Beer Six-Packs Half-Off on Father’s Day

photo – Puesto

Just in time for Father’s Day, Puesto Mexican Artisan Kitchen & Bar has introduced its first canned beer, Puesto Clara, now available for retail purchase at all locations. On Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16, Puesto will offer six-packs of the SoCal-brewed beer for half off to celebrate Dad’s big day (only $6.50, while supplies last).

As its first canned beer offering, Puesto Clara is a traditional Mexican lager – well-balanced with a crisp, cracker-like malt flavor, subtle sweetness, and clean finish. It adds depth to lighter dishes, while serving as a perfect contrast to bold spices, making it the ideal companion beverage for all Mexican cuisine – and most importantly, for Puesto’s trophy tacos.

The new canned Puesto Clara, which is also available on draught and featured in the restaurants’ micheladas, is brewed at the Puesto Cervecería in Mission Valley, San Diego by veteran Brewmaster Doug Hasker.

Puesto Clara Canned Beer
4.6% ABV, 19 IBU
Ingredients: pale malted barley, pilsner malt, flaked corn, German Hallertau magnum hops
Tasting Notes: a traditional, well-balanced bright golden lager beer with a crispy flavor from malted barley; hints of corn; medium bitterness from noble German hops; and clean aftertaste.

Puesto Clara canned beer is available at all Puesto’s locations. For more information, visit www.eatpuesto.com.

photo – Greg Nagel

PUESTO WEEKLY SPECIALS
THE ULTIMATE TACO TUESDAY
Puesto highlights the “taco” in “Taco Tuesday” with half off all tacos for dine-in service from 3 p.m. to close every Tuesday. Among the things that make Puesto’s tacos so craveable are handmade, non-GMO, organic blue corn stone-ground tortillas; Wayne Farms chicken and other sustainable meats; Baja and local line caught seafood; and local produce and scratch salsas. Guests are encouraged to mix and match from a selection of nearly a dozen unique tacos, including Filet Mignon, Chicken al Pastor, Carnitas, and Shrimp Tamarindo; as well as vegetarian options, such as Verduras and Mushroom.

THE HAPPIEST HAPPY HOUR
Puesto offers a weekday Happy Hour from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. every Monday through Friday with killer dine-in specials, including $10 Puesto Perfect margaritas; $9 wines by the glass; and half off all Snacks & Shares. Guests can enjoy Puesto draft beers for $6 during Happy Hour. All brewed at the Puesto Cervecería in Mission Valley, San Diego, the beer selections include a rotating Puseto IPA, Mexican Lager, Mexican Amber, and Mexican Negra Lager, which was awarded a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival. Pro tip: on Tuesdays, guests can stack these specials with Taco Tuesday!

ABOUT PUESTO
Born in Mexico City and built in Southern California, Puesto provides a contemporary and approachable take on authentic Mexican cuisine. Sourcing its ingredients from in and around the Southern California area, Puesto has reached national acclaims for its Mexico City-style tacos made with house-made blue corn tortillas, crispy melted cheese and scratch salsas. Since opening its first location in La Jolla in 2012, Puesto has become a dining institution throughout California.

Don’t Miss This Bucket List Bourbon Dinner

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Sipping some small batch at the source. Photo by Greg Nagel

After all these years, there’s one bourbon that has yet to be checked off of my whiskey bucket list. It’s cask strength, uncut at 140ish proof, and is blended from all of master distiller Donnis Todd’s best “honey barrels.” When it’s released, people fly into Central Texas and wait overnight in a long line of cars on a rural road just to snag a bottle.

That sought-after whiskey is Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon, and all you have to do to get a taste is to buy a ticket and head up the elevator to the Basque country-inspired rooftop restaurant The Top of the V, where it’s on the menu for a course at their bourbon dinner this June.

The single Cowboy Bourbon course at the dinner alone is worthy of a ticket, with executive chef Nathaniel McCoy sending your taste buds on a culinary cowboy standoff between food and spirit. McCoy chose a flavor-packed Iberico skirt steak punctuated with sweet and intense Pedro Ximenez sherry glaze, and winter figs to go up against the Cowboy.

Five courses in total include pours of Garrison Brothers Small Batch, a custom VIV Hotel Single Barrel pick, Balmorhea (twice barreled at 115 proof), Cowboy Bourbon, and a Honeydew espresso martini paired with orange flan drizzled in caramel.

The Top of the V celebrates Spanish Basque country cuisine with newly appointed executive chef Nate McCoy after having worked in the restaurant under chef Edgar Beas over the last three years. In the past, chef Nate has worked alongside Top Chef winners Michael Voltaggio of Ink and Mei Lin, owner of Daybird, as well as Michelin-star chefs Tony Esault, owner of nearby Knife Pleat, and Jacob Kear, owner of LURRA in Kyoto, Japan.

Tickets are available at Eventbrite. Top of the V is located at 1601 S Anaheim Blvd, Anaheim.

Watching the 2024 World Beer Cup in 1886

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1886 Nachos, aka a Matterhorn of crispy chips. photo – Greg Nagel

Why do some people call it “the Orange Circle,” when it’s actually called “the Plaza Square,” I ponder, while sipping a rare brown porter in the brick-walled 1886 Brewing, just north of the newly rebuilt central fountain. I pick at my heaping plate of nachos, looking for the perfect bite, then gasp as I see the countdown to the 2024 World Beer Cup awards ceremony amongst the various brewpub TV sports.

(World Beer Cup Winners are listed below)

“They make beer here?” asks my niece, who attends college nearby. I point out the grist case and malt mill next to the front window and antique door. “Poor bastard has to walk up those rickety steps carrying bags of grain to get it done,” I reply, hoping she’s cool with us watching the World Beer Cup awards.

1886’s Chili Verde poutine, fresh fries, gooey curds, flavorful pork.

Next to 1886’s tap list are various ribbons and awards they’ve won over the years, including one for the brown porter I’m sipping now. Record Beer, as it’s called, is a luscious ale that lays on the malt pretty thick, yet reverberates some fruity esters on the finish. “If they win an award this year, they’ll probably put it up right there,” I mention.

And just like that, Orange County breweries start getting called up and the place lights up.

“California’s good with some hoppy lagers,” notes Chris Williams of the Brewers Association as he calls out the Hoppy Lager category, with two of the winning breweries within five miles of where we’re at.

The place erupts when 1886 gets called for their ESB, a silver for Ellieigh’s. Man, the World Beer Cup awards are so much more fun to watch at a brewery. 1886’s service is fast, attentive, and super friendly, which matches perfectly with their brunch to happy hour and beyond menu. The malty beers shine here, and you won’t find a hazy IPA…what did you expect? It’s 1886.

 

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2024’s World Beer Cup competition saw 9300 beers from 2060 breweries from 50 countries in 110 categories judged by 280 judges from 27 countries.

Winners

Gold

  • Green Cheek Beer Co – Chance Favors the Prepared Mind, DIPA
  • Riip Beer Co. Wannabe Wallaby, NZ-style IPA
  • Docent Brewing – Double Nickles, Pale Ale
  • Noble Ale Works – Harry Porter, Strong Porter.

Silver

  • Green Cheek Beer Co. – False Memories, WC IPA
  • Chapman Crafted – Cabin Season, Strong Porter.
  • Everywhere Beer Co. – Branching Out, Hoppy Lager
  • 1886 Brewing – Ellieigh’s ESB
  • Docent Brewing – Rabbit Habit, DIPA

Bronze

  • Golden Road Anaheim – Ride-On Tropical, Experimental IPA
  • Green Cheek Beer Co. – It Just Works, Hoppy Lager
  • Green Cheek Beer Co. – Guava in Berlin, Gose
  • Tustin Brewing Co. – Blimp Hangar Robust Porter

Orange County Wins a Dozen at GABF 2023

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Villains Brewing won their first GABF medal at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival Awards. Photo Greg Nagel

250 judges took nine days to judge 9300 entries from 2,033 breweries at the 2023 GABF. Orange County brewers took home a dozen medals overall, up one from last year. At this year’s Alpha King hoppy beer challenge, BreweryX kept the coveted Yakima Chief hop-helmet in OC, last year won by Radiant and 3rd place Santa Ana River Brewing Co.

Here are the 2023 Great American Beer Festival Winners:

Gold

  • Lost Winds – Huckleberry Phin Sour fruited American sour ale (1st GABF medal)
  • Golden Road HB – Guava Cart fruit wheat beer

Silver

  • Docent Brewing – Super Tonic coffee stout (3rd-time GABF winner for this beer)
  • Unsung Brewing – Chaos Erupts American-style strong pale ale
  • Stereo Brewing – Wall of Sound oatmeal stout (3rd-time GABF winner for this beer)

Bronze

  • Laguna Beach Beer Co. – Tuava Guava RSM fruit wheat beer (1st GABF medal)
  • The Bruery – Because You’re Mine chocolate beer
  • Villains Brewing – Saca La Bolsita American-style lager (1st GABF medal)
  • Beachwood Brewing – Glenlongbeach Scottish-style ale (made in HB)
  • Docent Brewing – Trabuco American-style brown
  • Tustin Brewing – Midnight Oil American black ale or stout 
  • Docent Brewing – Double Nickles American style pale ale

OC Brewers Take Home 21 Medals at the CA Brewers Cup 2023

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riip beer co took home four medals in 2023. Photo by Greg Nagel

It’s a cold and rainy night up in the state’s Capitol, and the California Brewer’s Cup is making it rain INDOORS, with medals for our Orange County brewers. Winners were announced at the historic Crest Theater during the California Craft Beer Summit, which is running from March 20-22. Big congrats to all the winners!

Gold (10)

Brewery X Stein Me Up Münchner (Munich)-Style Helles
Stereo Brewing Company Robot Imperial Red Ale
Riip Beer Company Strategic Arrangement American-Style Stout
Artifex Brewing Company Artifexican Australasian, Latin American or…
1886 Brewing Company Record Beer Brown Porter
Delahunt Brewery Sunbather German-Style Kölsch / Köln-Style…
Bottle Logic Brewing Arcane Rituals Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
Chapman Crafted Beer Beer of the Dark Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dark Beer
Lost Winds Brewing Company Beach Hoppin’ Pale Ale Australian-Style Pale Ale
Artifex Brewing Company Trigger Finger American-Style Strong Pale Ale

Silver (6)

Chapman Crafted Beer Still the One English-Style Brown Ale
Brewery X Shhhwheat Fruit Wheat Ale or Lager with or…
Riip Beer Company Wannabe Wallaby Australian-Style Pale Ale
Riip Beer Company Dan K American-Style India Pale Ale
Stereo Brewing Company Summer Sun American-Style Sour Ale
Bearded Tang Brewery Llc T Minus 10° Session Beer

Bronze (5)

Flashpoint Brewing Company Churchill Browns Historical Beer
The Dog Pawrk Brewing Company El Hefe – Dognito Light American Wheat Ale or Lager…
Docent Brewing The Rube Imperial Red Ale
Bottle Logic Brewing Fundamental Observation Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dark Beer
Riip Beer Company Chain Out American-Style Strong Pale Ale

 

Out With St. Paddy’s, In With Fruhlingsfest

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The only snakes in Ireland are the roads. Photo by Greg Nagel

I haven’t written a lot about St. Patricks Day, as it’s more of a “drinking” day than it is a “beer” day, and we, as in, you and I, have made the day less of celebrating Irish heritage, and more about:

  1. Putting green dye in gross beer
  2. Eating the world’s saddest corned beef “tacos” 
  3. Flogging some poor gal named Molly
  4. Creepy-ass Leprechauns! 

I’ve been to Ireland, and the beer they drink is BLACK. Corned beef? Turns out it was invented by the BRITISH. The lore behind it is also completely fake, as St. Patrick never drove SNAKES out of Ireland because THE COUNTRY IS TOO FUCKING COLD FOR SNAKES AND NEVER HAD THEM TO BEGIN WITH.  

On St. Patrick’s day, we decorate the house with Irish trinkets, wear green, and cook up a mean Irish meal complete with some beer brewed at St. James Gate, but I’ve seen a trend pop up recently and hope it sticks: Frühlingsfest, aka the German celebration of spring.

Frühlingsfest is sort of like Oktoberfest, but smaller, bringing in around 1.2 million guests as opposed to 6 million in October. Although Germans usually kick their fests off in April (probably due to weather), our first day of spring is March 20th, so why not dust off that old stein, leather pants (lederhosen), and dirndl to get in the mood? Here are a couple events worth checking out:

Maybe more? I’ll update this if anyone else is jumping on the spring festival train!

OCBeerBLAB is Back!

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I feel like every blog needs to have some sort of stupid, “I’M BACK” post, or some fucking lame apology for lack of updates. Truth is, I’ve been busy pushing content on other sites, getting paid the “big bucks.”

In case you missed it, I wrote over 250 articles at OCWeekly. I just crossed 300 on OrangeCoast! I wrote a bunch of words for The Full Pint! I’m still on the FourBrewers Podcast! 

My good friend Kris from High School, recently reminded me of the importance of blogging. There’s a difference between what I write for publications and what I write here. In beer terms, this blog is like an unfiltered IPA, complete with mysterious chunks in the bottom. Writing for publications is filtered, triple distilled, stuck at 300ish words because of your weak attention spans, and listicle heavy. Nothing wrong with that, but sometimes I just want to blab about beer. OC Beer BLAB style.

 

TOP TEN REASONS YOU HAVE A WEAK ATTENTION SPAN:

  1. WHO CARES
  2. THIS IS A BEER BLOG
  3. AND I’M BACK
  4. BITCHES

My goal is to blog about Orange County Beer and also get the backend of this site up to date, post a new banner, and maybe a new theme if I can figure that out. Will it have event photos? You bet your ass. Will it have beer reviews? 100% Will it have brewery news and other stuff? Yes’m.

I’m still going to continue writing for OrangeCoast and other freelance projects, but will keep it mostly wine and cocktail related, as this is OC BEER BLOG. Will I still write some stuff for The Full Pint? Hell yes, if it’s newsworthy for a larger audience. Will Firkfest ever come back? Yes, if I find a location that has grass, electricity, parking, bathrooms, shade, and isn’t $10,000. Will it have memes? Nah.

With that said, welcome back! Hope you like floaties and chunks.

GABF 2021 OCBeer Winners

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image courtesy Brewers Association

GABF snuck up on us this year, with no real festival, but a combo wombo GABF/CBC trade show, except with super metal-GABF medals to sling around your beard so that people will declare you the winner of beers. Here are the Orange County winners for the magical year that is 2021. (9,680 entries, 2,192 breweries, 9 medals)

Brewer of the Year:

Radiant Brewing, 1-250 Barrels Brewery and Brewer of the Year

Gold

  • Bearded Tang Brewing Vlad the Barista Coffee Stout (first GABF win)
  • The Bruery Mischief (3rd GABF medal for this beer)
  • Radiant Brewing Second That Emotion – Hazy Pale Ale (first GABF win)
  • Stereo Brewing Robot Imperial Red Ale (second GABF medal for this beer)

Silver

  • Unsung Brewing Co. Let it Out NZ IPA
  • riip beer co. Black the Ripper (3rd GABF medal for this beer)

Bronze

  • Karl Strauss Anaheim Golden Stout (Won as well in 2020)
  • SouthNorte Beer Co. Agavamente (first GABF win)
  • 1886 Elleigh’s ESB (first brewery GABF medal)