I thought I’d try something new. I often go to breweries/brew pubs/brewery restaurants but I never get a chance to do any write ups about them. For starters, I’m usually busy drinking and that leaves me very little time to actually jot down some notes. Second, I’m there to have fun. As soon as I whip out the pen and pad to take notes, I start to have less fun and after a few minutes of “trying to be a serious journalist”, I give up and go back to drinking. Thankfully Faultline Brewery is just down the street from where I work and I was able to make a couple of trips in order to get this write up done.
It has been a week since I wrote about Faultline debuting their dunkelweizen. I was able to try that, their Belgian Trippel, and their India Pale Ale (IPA). The day before I was able to try their cask conditioned pale ale and their kölsch during lunch. I was only able to take notes on their cask-conditioned pale ale and dunkelweizen though.
For those of you who haven’t been to Faultline, they’re located in Sunnyvale, CA right off of Lawrence Expressway and Oakmead. They’re tucked in behind an apartment complex and a hotel in the middle of an industrial area. The brewery itself is a bit nondescript from the street. Luckily, they have a grain silo (I think) out front and their corner location makes them easy to find.
Located primarily in an industrial area, the Faultline’s building echos the industrial theme. There’s corrugated steel paneling on the outside of the building near what I believe is the grain silo (not sure if there’s really grain in there). The interior further echos the industrial theme with concrete floors, more corrugated steel paneling, beautifully exposed wood beams and visible duct work. Despite the industrial-ness of it all, the main dining area doesn’t feel cold at all. There’s a fair amount of light coming in from the huge windows and in one area of the dining area, you get a nice view of the artificial pond out back.
The brewery portion is showcased in an area directly behind the bar. It seems cramped but I’ve never been back there so I can’t say for sure. As many times as I’ve been there, I’ve only met the brewmaster once. From what I hear, he mainly works from Monday – Thursday. They make the majority of their money during the lunch hour and they pull in a fair amount during dinner. Being located in an industrial area means that the people who work around you are your biggest clients. As such, the brewery is closed on weekends but you can book them for private parties.
The first beer I tried was their cask conditioned pale ale. Most beers at breweries are forced carbonated, which means that carbonation is added artificially to the beer. Cask conditioning on the other hand is a beer that is allowed to go through a secondary fermentation to develop its carbonation naturally. The “cask” is simply the container the beer is allowed to ferment in a second time, usually a steel keg. Cask conditioned beers generally are less carbonated than their non-cask conditioned counterparts and are usually served slightly warmer as well. Cask conditioning is more of nod toward traditional brewing methods and some would argue that cask conditioned beers tastes much better than their forced carbonated counterparts.
I found this beer to have earthy, rustic hop aromas with a soft malt aroma compliment. I also noticed a little bit of funkiness to the beer reminiscent of cheese. Slight sourness in the aromas as well. The beer pours out a surprisingly clear dark gold-amber color with an off-white head that doesn’t last very long. The beer has a mild hop flavor and smooth hop bitterness, just enough to balance out the subdued malt flavors. Strangely, I am getting what appears to be lactic acid sourness in the flavor profile. As the beer warmed up, the sourness became more prominent. The cask conditioned pale ale was medium bodied with low carbonation. I got a slight puckering sensation from the sourness.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from a cask conditioned beer. Based solely upon the flavor profile, I think the brewer was going for an English style pale ale and when you look at the rest of the beers on tap, it makes sense. I’ve had some decent english pale ales that weren’t cask conditioned and I like the style. English beers tend to be well balanced, subtle and complex all at the same time. I was expecting all of that plus a little bit more character because of the cask conditioning. What I didn’t expect was the sourness, which for the style, is an off-flavor. The beer was served from an authentic beer engine so I’m guessing that the sourness didn’t come from dirty tap lines. The only other reason was the beer could’ve had an infection or may it was on the downhill side of good. Generally, cask conditioned ales have a shelf life of only a few days. I finished my pint but didn’t order another one. Maybe when it’s fresher this beer would’ve tasted much better but I think it was over a week old by the time I was able to try one.
The second beer I was able to take notes on was the dunkelweizen. Almost literally translating into “dark wheat beer”, the dunkelweizen is very similar to a hefeweizen. They have similar aromas and flavors but there are distinct differences. Malt characteristics should be noticeable in the aroma and flavor of the beer. As the name suggests the beer is darker in appearance as well. I enjoy this style of beer for the added complexity the malt brings to the table. After drinking lots and lots of hefeweizens, this is a pleasant, slight change of pace.
I’m not sure if they do this all the time for their beer debuts but when I ordered the dunkelweizen, we got a free pint glass for doing so. It’s nothing special, just a pint glass with the Faultline logo but I admit it was one of the reasons why I went. The beer pours out a hazy brown color with an off-white head. The aromas from this beer are a mix of fruity esters such as bananas and clove coupled with a subdued malt character. Generally speaking, most beers will taste very similar to how they smell and this beer was no exception. The banana and clove flavors are apparent but less so than a traditional hefeweizen. Those flavors are balanced out by a bready, grainy, Munich/Vienna malt character. There is very little (if any) noticeable hop flavor or bitterness. The traditional yeasty flavors round out the rest of the palette. The mouthfeel is medium bodied but could be experienced as thicker because of the proteins and yeasts still in suspension. I found my beer to be fairly well carbonated.
Overall, a very decent beer that is to style. It has a good level of drinkability and if you like hefeweizens I would recommend this beer to you. When compared to the traditional Faultline hefeweizen, the dunkelweizen has less of the fruity aromas and flavors but that is balanced out by the malt characteristics. I must say that I was expecting this beer to have more malt character than it did. I wanted more malt on the nose and in the flavors but that’s the beauty of beer! This beer is to style but it’s interpreted in the way the brewer finds most appealing. When it comes down to it, I’d order another pint.
Here’s a quick list of the other beers I tried with quick notes:
- Kölsch - Entry level beer. Closest thing they have to an American Pale lager. This beer could’ve had more fruity esters and more malt character to it for my liking. It is light, refreshing and easy to drink though. Like I said, it’s their entry-level beer. I don’t think I’d order another one unless it was blistering hot outside.
- Belgian Tripel – I enjoyed this beer. It’s a tripel which means it’s higher alcohol content makes this a sipper. The characteristic Belgian flavors are apparent and the fruit notes are more muted than in other versions I’ve tried. That being said, I found it to be one of their better beers. I’d order another glass.
- IPA - Good hop flavor and bitterness for an English version of the IPA. There’s a good balance between the malt and hops with an obvious favoring of the hop end of the taste spectrum. This beer is very much to style but don’t order it if you’re used to American IPAs because this will feel muted by comparison. I’d order another one.
In addition to the good beers, the restaurant portion of the brewery makes very good food. Having dinner here one time, I shared an entrée with my wife and the staff was kind enough to split it into two plates for us. I thought they had made a mistake as the split portions looked to be plates unto themselves. Generally I find the wait staff to be courteous and prompt and the location as a whole is well kept. They make most of their money during the lunch hour where corporate drones such as myself wander in for a pint before heading back to the grind. Dinner service features a simpler menu but the majority of folks are there for “happy hour” and mingle around the bar. It’s a very professional crowd of people.
If you’re in the area, Faultline is a very good brewery that specializes more in English variations of beer style. The result are beers of deceptive simplicity but restrained complexity and ultimately, easy drinkability. Being located in what is predominantly an industrial area may have had an effect on the beer philosophy of the place that touches all aspects from architecture to appetizers to beer. The beers are appropriately priced but the food ranges in the $11 – $25 range for entrées.
If you’re planning on going, let me know and hopefully I’ll be able to join you!
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