Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Local Craft Brewers Monterey Bay Brewing and Carmel Valley Brewing Find a New Home in The Barnyard in Carmel with the Opening of a Brewpub in early September

After many years of conducting wholesale businesses locally owned and operated, Monterey Bay Brewing and Carmel Valley Brewing Company, have found a home of their own.

Carmel, CA, September 19, 2018 — After many years of conducting wholesale businesses locally owned and operated, Monterey Bay Brewing and Carmel Valley Brewing Company, have found a home of their own.

Before opening the new facility, which has been rebranded as Carmel Craft Brewing Company, Monterey Bay Brewing and Carmel Valley Brewing’s beers were only available at local restaurants, bars and stores.

According to CEO and Co-founder, Mark Fitch, the new brewpub is about 600 square feet, about the size of a small wine-tasting room that will seat 20. The rear portion of the facility will hold a brew house, so craft brews will be able to be made on-site. Plans are quickly in the making to expand into a larger space next door and a patio which will allow them to significantly expand the brew house and their seating.

“We’re really looking forward to it, it’s been a long time in the making,” said Fitch, who co-founded MBBC with Scott Coming in 2012. “We’ve received huge support from the Barnyard, too.”

Fitch said the new pub will start by offering 6-7 beers, beginning with the flagship Mad Otter Ale, plus a few styles from Carmel Valley Brewing Co. These will include Carmel Valley Brewing Co.’s Blonde and their IPA.

Fitch looks to add an American-style Wheat IPA, a Porter and a Cream Ale from MBBC. There will also eventually be guest taps from other local brewers, wines on tap and even kombucha on tap.

Carmel Craft Brewing Company’s offerings will start with fairly classic styles, most of them on the “lighter end of the spectrum.”

“We want to do what people like to drink,” says Fitch about the initial brewpub selections. “We want them to be able to drink what they already like.”

Carmel Craft Brewing Company will not offer food right off the bat, but Fitch hopes that patrons will take advantage of the many eateries in The Barnyard, including their next-door neighbor Allegro Gourmet Pizzaria, Flanagan’s just upstairs from them, plus Sur, From Scratch, Erik’s Deli CafĂ©, Lugano Swiss Bistro, Lafayette Bakery, Aabha Indian Cuisine, and The Noodle Palace. Eventually Fitch said he would like to offer a small pub menu, especially once they expand the brewpub.

A grand opening is planned for later this year.

About Monterey Bay Brewing Company
Monterey Bay Brewing Company began at the Mammoth Mountain Blues and Brews festival. Accountant Mark Fitch camped and went to the two-day event and experienced how everyone was going mad over craft beer. Realtor Scott Coming and Mark went the next year as well and this is when they knew they wanted to bring this kind of energy and excitement for craft beer to Monterey. Scott and Mark started to homebrew out of their kitchens and it was one early evening on the golf course that the name Mad Otter Ale sprang into Mark’s head and from that point on they knew they had something special.

About Carmel Valley Brewing Company
Established in 2007 by Dean Hatfield and Karolyn Stone, Carmel Valley Brewing is a tiny craft brewery on a ranch nestled in the hills of Carmel Valley near The Village. Since its beginning, each of the 3 styles produced has been brewed and bottled on premises using purified ranch water, and almost all wastewater is used to irrigate the 20+ fruit trees in the ranch orchard. Spent grain is composted on-site. All styles are produced under temperature controlled conditions and tightly filtered for long-lived flavor in bottle or keg.

Carmel Craft Brewing Company
http://www.carmelcraft.com
3777 The Barnyard
Carmel, CA 93923
Mark Fitch:(831) 776-3379
Mark Fitch: mfitch@carmelcraft.com

Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
Chatterbox PR
Salinas, CA 93901
(831) 747-7455
http://www.carmelcraft.com

Big Sur Foragers Festival Dates Announced: January 17-20, 2019

Foragers Festival Fungus Face Off to be Held at Big Sur River Inn Saturday, January 19, 2019

Big Sur, CA, September 18, 2018 - The historic Big Sur River Inn serves as the host and backdrop of one of the Big Sur Foragers Festival’s most popular events, the "Fungus Face-Off," set for Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019.

The Face-Off at the River Inn, set under the oaks overlooking the Big Sur River, features celebrated local chefs competing for the best foraged dish, and will include food tastings, fine wines, craft beers, raffles, a silent auction and more.

This event sells out early, and tickets will be on sale at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/big-sur-foragers-festival-2019-tickets-47639320490

The River Inn has a significant presence in Big Sur history and lore. The inn’s history goes back to 1888, when Jay Pheneger acquired a 160-acre parcel from the federal government and gave his name to the creek that bounds the River Inn on the south.

Homesteaders Barbara and Michael Pfeiffer bought the property, and in 1926, Michael, and Barbra’s son John took over the land on which the Big Sur River Inn now stands. The inn was opened in 1934 by his daughter Ellen Brown. She opened her living and dining rooms to the public and began serving hot apple pie, which is still served today and gave the place its first name, Apple Pie Inn. Lodging units were built and Big Sur’s first resort was established.

In 1943, Ellen’s sister, Esther Pfeiffer Ewoldson and her husband, Hans, took over the operation. Esther replaced her mother as Big Sur Postmaster and the Post Office was moved to the River Inn, situated where the front office of the motel is now.

With a lot of help, Hans built the General Store and lodging units 10 through 15. He rebuilt the dining room and “fixed it up fancy.”

The Pfeiffer and the Ewoldson families started a tradition at the Big Sur River Inn of fine food, excellent service, and warm hospitality. In 1988, the Perlmutter family, along with a small group of close friends, formed a partnership to carry on that tradition.

This year, the Big Sur River Inn extends its tradition of hospitality to host the Big Sur Foragers Festival.

The Foragers Festival has traditionally served as a fundraiser for the Big Sur Health Center. The community's non-profit health center will receive the proceeds from the foraging events to continue to support the presence of local health care services in the Big Sur area.

The four-day festival affords Big Sur area restaurants the opportunity to host the culinary expertise of notable chefs, who will be preparing unique fare ranging from rustic to elegant, paired alongside the central coast region's amazing selection of wine and beer.

In addition to the Fungus Face-Off, events will include:

>A Thursday Night Fundraiser at Lugano's Swiss Bistro. Details to come.

>Friday night winemaker's dinners as locations around Monterey County include Il Grillo in Carmel-by-the-Sea

>Saturday Foraging walk led by local experts. "Wild Mushroom Walks and Talk" led by Steve Copeland of Big Sur Guides and his team of expert mushroom foragers.

>Sunday we are finalizing several brunch fundraisers around Monterey County.

Stay tuned for more details coming soon. For event details and venue information, visit www.bigsurforagersfestival.org.

Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
Chatterbox PR
Salinas, CA 93901
(831) 747-7455
http://www.bigsurforagersfestival.org