Better Beer Blog

If all you did was base your perceptions of a place strictly on their website, you’d think Toad in the Hole was going to be some Hole in the Wall kind of English style pub. Their website is horrible. HO-riffic if you will. So imagine my shock when we get there and we find a sophisticated, elegant, and clean beer bar. With burgundy colored walls and dark wood furniture, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch of the imagination to think Toad in the Hole used to be a wine tasting room. The few small televisions in the bar were tuned to football (more commonly known to us Yanks as soccer) and the walls were decorated punk-rock graphic art. We never did find out why there was recording studio audio absorbing foam on some of the walls and on the ceiling.

Beat from all that driving, Sammy and I both order New Belgium’s Mothership Wit. It’s a lighter beer brewing in the Belgian Witbier style. It hit the spot perfectly. Their chalkboard beer menu features western European mainstays such as Guinness Stout, Bass Ale, Stella Artois, and Newcastle Brown Ale. Not surprisingly, local breweries made the list with Anderson Valley, Moonlight, Lagunitas, and Bear Republic representing.

For dinner, I order the roast beef sandwich while Sammy gets the Cornish pasty, both with a side of cauliflower. My roast beef sandwich is decent. The bun is flavorful and the au jus dipping sauce is actually flavorful instead of being a small, bowl of overly salted brown liquid. The beef was a little overdone for my tastes, I like a little bit more pink in my beef.

Sammy’s Cornish pasty is basically a type of pie filled with ground/diced beef, potatoes, peas, carrots and onions coated with what looked like gravy. Historically, this is a simple dish for the working class, easy to make with cheap ingredients. The Cornish pasty at Toad in the Hole is a tasty dish and I could’ve killed two of ‘em as they remind me of the empanadas I used to have as a kid.

Jeremy suggested I talk to Paul, the owner of Toad in the Hole. As someone with aspirations of getting into the industry, I am always eager to speak to business owners about what they’ve done, what advice they’d give and what to look out for. Being the good host, Paul was busy talking to two of his customers. As soon as he was finished talking to them he was out. So much for that.

In addition to the Mothership Wit, I sampled Moonlight Brewing Company’s “Working for Tips”, a cask-conditioned ale made with redwood tips instead of hops. I remember this being an interesting beer as the flavor profile didn’t really fit in with any of the beers from the BJCP style guide. The malt flavors were familiar, falling into the amber ale category but the “hop profile” was all wrong, as it should be seeing as it’s a hopless beer bittered with redwood tips instead. That being said, I found this to be a surprisingly drinkable beer (technically, it’s a gruit) but one that will take some getting used to, especially if you’re a hophead. If no one ever told me this was a beer made with redwood tips, I’d have ordered another just try and figure out why this beer is a little off.

Toad in the Hole is a nice little joint in Santa Rosa that features traditional English cuisine with popular European beers as well as some good local craft beers. I devoted quite some time to this place in this post about Boonville because I like this joint. As much as I advocate buying local beers, it’s just as important to support your local establishments that carry local craft beers. It’s almost too easy and probably more cheaper to carry macro beers. Next time you find yourself in Santa Rosa, stop by Toad in the Hole and grab a pint and a pasty.