Sunset Magazine – December 2011
“Comprehension came with a sip. Golden color, velvety texture, dry crisp flavor—it tasted like summer in a bottle, and that was exactly the point. Almanac’s model is unique: Create a one-off beer each season featuring locally grown ingredients.”
December, 2011
Good Food Awards 2012 Finalist
“The Good Food Awards celebrate the kind of food we all want to eat: tasty, authentic and responsibly produced. We grant awards to outstanding American food producers and the farmers who provide their ingredients. We honor the Good Food Award recipients who push their industries towards craftsmanship and sustainability while enhancing our agricultural landscape and building strong communities.”
November, 2011
DRAFT Magazine – Top 25 International Beers of 2011
“In the middle of wine country, NorCal newcomer Almanac brews beers with a vintner’s ethos. Its first release of 2011 is Summer 2010, named for the time it went in the barrel. Designed to pair with the lighter, fruitier flavors of summer fare, this extraordinary brew is a vibrant Belgian-style golden ale aged in red wine barrels with four varieties of Sonoma County blackberries. It gracefully breathes and transforms like wine, showcasing blackberry, pineapple and apricot with each sip.”
November, 2011
San Francisco Magazine
“When it comes to brewing, Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan have borrowed a page from their chef friends: Keep it local and follow the seasons. The light, tangy flavor is announced by a fragrance that hits your nose as soon as you pop the cap, promising a last taste of the summer as autumn settles in.”
October, 2011
WHERE San Francisco | ep•i•cure
“A new craft beer, in fact, that so closely resembles wine in design, process, and flavor, it could lead even the most adamant proponent of tannins and terroir astray.”
2011-2012 issue
K&L Wine Merchant Newsletter
“Every now and again a brewery really comes out of nowhere to surprise me, to rejuvenate my excitement about beer, and usually if the brewery has that effect on me then it has that effect on many people.”
September, 2011
DRAFT Magazine
“Almanac Beer Co. sources local agriculture for its once-a-season, “farm-to-barrel” releases: Its first, Summer 2010 Blackberry Ale, was fermented with four types of Sonoma County berries and aged in red wine barrels.”
September, 2011
7×7 Magazine
“Last July, Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan started brewing what would become time capsules of a summer in Sonoma.”
June 21, 2011
Food & Wine Magazine
“Liquid Locavorism: San Francisco’s Almanac Beer Co. buys local fruit for seasonal brews like Almanac Summer 2010, made with four kinds of Sonoma blackberries.”
May 16, 2011
Tasting Table
“The resulting brew is a vibrant, refreshing blast of fresh fruit that finishes savory and complex, with a naturally bright acidity and vinous character that makes Almanac one of the most food-friendly beers around. You just might rethink drinking that bottle of Pinot Noir.”
June 22, 2011
Bay Area Bites
“The beer that Almanac has produced is dry, crisp and complex and should appeal to those who would normally avoid beers made with fruit.”
June 17, 2011
Thrillist
“Find a more unique beer, we dare you. Every Almanac release’ll feature a locally sourced fruit accent, plus they’ll all be carbonated like a good Champagne…”
June 28, 2011
ƒ=equals Blog
“Some of the best design work on a beer label around, full-stop.”
July 6th, 2011
