Craft Beer Festival A Hit Once Again

Second festival draws a large and enthusiastic crowd, more brewers.

By Joe Alfieri? April 11, 2011

… Inside the warehouse-size building, four rows of booths beckoned with offerings ranging from the larger and more well known pioneers of the craft such as San Francisco?s Anchor Steam or Chico?s Sierra Nevada, to the home-brewed styles on tap at the Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE) home brewing tent. …

At the DOZE tent, 10 homebrews were available for sampling. First on the list was the Double Chocolate, which seemed to me a fine starting point. The dark brown mix is a creation of DOZE member Patrick Baxley, who plans to take his blends from home-brewing to commercially available under the banner Pirate Brewing Co. ?I?m putting together a business plan now,? he said, and explained the rich heady mixture that includes one-half pound of chocolate added to the 10-gallon brew. The taste was smooth and creamy, like a malt or a shake, and a satisfying first sample. …