3rd Street Aleworks and a couple of pints at Toad in the Hole

During my latest trip to Santa Rosa, I finally got a chance to visit 3rd Street Aleworks (3AW) in downtown Santa Rosa. I have often forgone visiting 3AW in the past because of all your other choices for beer in the area. Russian River Brewing Company is but a block away. Flavor Bistro, a restaurant that serves as an unofficial tasting room for Moonlight Brewing, is right across the street (fantastic food, absolutely awesome). If you’re looking for the local bar to hangout at, Sweet Spot Pub & Grill is also within walking distance and serves all the latest Lagunitas beers on tap.

As I said, downtown Santa Rosa is not lacking for good beers. It’s definitely not too difficult to see how I keep leaving out 3AW on my Santa Rosa excursions. This time though, I decided to hit 3AW and see what I’ve been missing.

3rd Street Aleworks, 601 3rd Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 map

3AW is located in a kinda dated but industrial looking building. Brick makes up the street facing wall of the building while corrugated steel makes up other portions of the exterior that are interior facing. Inside 3AW has the feel of many other brew pubs. There’s a hustle and bustle in the atmosphere that is expected on a Friday night. While brew pub looks full, Sammy and I manage to grab a spot near the bar. The interior of 3AW leaves you to believe someone with multiple-personality disorder decoreated the place. There are old, kitchy marketing materials on the wall from other breweries, there’s a very stylized mural up on one of the walls and throughout the place, you’ll see various modes of transportation all emblazoned with the 3AW logo or something brewery related. There’s a bike, one of those long-ass skateboards, a kayak (?), a surfboard and a snowboard. Most places tend to focus in on a singular aspect and run with it. Nuh-uh for 3AW, they’ve taken everything. Having already had dinner, Sammy and I are fine with just ordering two beers, one each.

Sleeperwave Wee Heavy, 7.9% ABV

I order the Sleeperwave Wee Heavy. A wee heavy is a Strong Scotch Ale. This will be a very malty beer, low in hops, with an ABV ranging from 6.5% – 10%. Historically speaking, Scottish beers tended to be low in hops because Scotland was a crap place for growing hops. Scottish brewers, by necessity, had to import all of their hops from continental Europe. Unfortunately for them, hops were taxed heavily. Rather than throw in the towel, Scotch breweries instead developed their own style of beers to compensate.

Sleeperwave pours out a very dark brown with brownish-red hues and a thin, off-white head. The aroma is sweet and has a caramel-ish malt character. The flavor echos that of the aroma with the addition of a medium-low roasted malt component to the flavor. Hops bitterness is low, this is definitely a showcase for the malt. The beer is full bodied with medium carbonation. It really toes the line when it comes to being cloying, it’s almost there.

Stonefly Oatmeal Stout, 6.5% ABV

Sammy orders the Stonefly Oatmeal Stout. Well, she started off with this beer but ended up drinking the rest of mine. Nothing particularly wrong with the Stonefly, Sammy’s just more of a malt girl.

Stonefly Oatmeal Stout pours out nearly black with a thin, beige head. The beer is slightly sweet with a deep roasted/burnt malt aroma and flavor with black coffee undertones. Hop flavor is low but the hop bitterness is enough to match the level of malt sweetness of the beer. You don’t think it’s all that hoppy because some of the other flavors mask the bitterness but it’s there. This is a full bodied beer with medium carbonation that has a smooth mouthfeel from the oats used in brewing.

I am neither overwhelmed or underwhelmed by either beer. The Sleeperwave Wee Heavy seemed to get sweeter as it warmed up but also lacked a depth of malt character I’ve had in other Strong Scotch Ales. The Stonefly Oatmeal Stout, like the Sleeperwave, is a solid beer with no major faults but it’s not that interesting either.

So far the jury is out on 3AW. The two beers Sammy and I had are both solid ales but I wish I could’ve tried more beers. I don’t order the sampler because it’s never enough beer for me to get an accurate sense of the beverage. I’ll opt instead to get a full pint or a half-pint if they’re offered. We didn’t order any food either so it’s hard to say what the quality of their kitchen is like as well. Our waitress, while very visible, didn’t really attend to us all that much, then again, it didn’t seem like she was really attending to her other tables with any more zest either.

Toad in the Hole

For dinner, Sammy and I decided to stop by Toad in the Hole. I’m not really going to write a full review of the place or our experience there this time as it was similar to the first time we were there minus the two African guys. I would say the main difference between this trip and the last trip was that we actually met the owner, Paul, while we were camping out in Boonville this year.

When we first walked in, Sammy and I noticed Toad in the Hole cook Jamie hard at work in the kitchen. It’s a busy night at the Toad and he definitely has his hands full. While Sammy is having a short chat with him, I find us two seats at the bar. Paul greets us with a big smile and makes room for us at the bar. In all honesty, it’s great that he remembers what we looked like but I don’t think he remembered our names. It’s all good though as I’m horrible with names myself.

We order two beers to have with our dinner. Despite my love of beer and food pairings, I order the most interesting thing on the board knowing full well it will probably obliterate my dinner while Sammy has an old familiar.

Drunken Horn Bourbon Barrel English Barleywine, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, 10% ABV

To me, the most interesting thing on the board is AVBC’s Drunken Horn Bourbon Barrel. This is a pretty big beer at 10% ABV and I already know this is going to smother my cornish pasty but I order it anyway. I talk to Paul about this beer and he tells me it’s been aging in the barrel for about 2 years now.

Drunken Horn pours out a cloudy, reddish-brown color with a thin, off-white head. There’s a sweet, malt aroma that has a noticeable bourbon/wood note and is low in hop aroma. the flavor is similar to the aroma. The beer is sweet and malty with wood flavors and a mellow bourbon character. There are also signs of “good” oxidation that have materialized themselves into hints of soy sauce and sherri. It’s not unusual for stronger, maltier beers to oxidize and while considered a flaw, there’s a fine line between good oxidation and horrible oxidation. Good to taste this beer is on the side of the angels. Drunken Horn is medium-bodied with medium-low carbonation. After the beer warms up, the alcohol qualities make themselves more readily apparent. Pretty good beer that seems to be hitting its stride.

Sammy orders Mothership Wit from New Belgium Brewing Company. I’ve reviewed this beer in the past so I won’t revisit it again on this post. Paul instantly recognizes the New Belgium connection.

It was great to have gotten out and visited someplace new this time around. Yes, I’ll readily admit that we’ve already been to Toad in the Hole but that’s what you do with businesses people you know and like own. You patronize them, spend your hard-earned money there, and hope they’re still around when you come back.

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