Lengthwise The Pub, The Shops at the Promenade, 2900 Calloway Drive, Bakersfield, California
Crusader Brewing Company, 5880 District Boulevard Suite 18, Bakersfield, California
Off the Rails, 1517 18th Street, Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield Beer Company, 6201 Schirra Court, Bakersfield, California
Beer Billy's, 4208 Rosedale Highway, Bakersfield, California
A couple of months ago I flew over to California to spend five weeks visiting friends and family. And of course while I was there I visited lots of new breweries and brewtaps. So I have all kinds of new places to write about, along with several back home in Sheffield. Since I have to start somewhere, I may as well start off with Bakersfield, where my sibling group lives.
Bakersfield is known for having hot summers, along with a lot of hot days throughout the rest of the year. On one of these very hot afternoons, I spent an hour at my American bank sorting out some details, followed by buying some party items for my sister-in-law's upcoming birthday. When we finally emerged out of the ubiquitous air conditioning into the afternoon heat, my adopted brother Kim and I decided we deserved an award; so we went for a pint at Lengthwise The Pub. On last year's trip I had visited Lengthwise's original brewery; but they have two other locations in Bakersfield that I figured needed checking out. This one is located way out on the western edge of Bakersfield, just off Flushing Quail Road, and is surrounded by long endless boulevards and shopping centres.
After we parked the car and took in our surroundings (which didn't include any quail), we entered the pub and sat at the bar, with our view directed toward the window. So not only did we have the blazing sun in our eyes, but the glare made it nearly impossible to read the beer taps and the menu -- so I blindly asked the barman what was good and hoppy. I ended up ordering a pint of Citra Simcoe Centennial (6.5% ABV), which was very, very nice, and I recalled having it last year at the original Lengthwise. Kim went for the regular Centennial Ale (6.5% ABV), which was darker in colour and not as hoppy, but it was also super welcome. As we sat and sipped our pints we chatted with the barman who instantly recognised my Wild Fields t-shirt, so naturally we talked about California breweries.
The bar itself consists of round gear impressions from recycled motorcycle parts set in concrete. As a founding member of the Concrete Appreciation Society, I found this really exciting. Behind us on the back wall, next to a counter that sells dirty fries, burgers, sandwiches, and salads, was an actual motorcycle, which I originally wanted to go check out. But by that time we'd become occupied with enjoying our pints, and we were feeling too burned out from the heat to go investigate. I suppose that's a good reason to stop in again on my next trip.
On another day, Kim and I decided to check out the Crusader Brewing Company. The brewery is situated in a starkly plain business park, hidden in a corner near the Brainy Actz Escape Room and Dreammaker Bath and Kitchen shop, and there is a sign over the door that announces "Trends falter, tradition stands". Again we headed for the bar in front, as I always figure that's the place to sit if one wants to investigate the beers and chat with the bar staff. On this late weekday afternoon, the only customers in the place were several men who were all sitting at the bar. As we seated ourselves the extremely talkative man behind the bar, Richard, was handing out tasters of a new Japanese rice lager that hadn't come on yet, along with a running commentary, and naturally he gave us samples as well. We also had a little taste of the Mercy Ukrainian Golden Ale (6.5% ABV), with Grüngeist hops from Germany as well as Cashmere hops. This is a new style of beer that was originally developed in Donetsk, Ukraine, by a consortium of brewers before the Russian invasion, in order to define a national style. This taster offered a sweet profile with a simultaneous bitterness, and it was quite nice and definitely tasted of solidarity.
Kim and I ended up going for pints of Barberian IPA (8.2% ABV), brewed with a new French hops called Barbe Rouge and also the always wonderful Mosaic hops. It was quite a perfect marriage of hops, so we were happy with our choice, even though it was a bit strong in ABV. For my second pint I cautiously went for the Triumph Lemon Cream Pale (4.1% ABV) which, like the Thornbridge Cortado that I've tasted in Sheffield, is brewed with lactose and is actually a really pleasant, drinkable pale ale with a light citrus hops character. And of course Kim dangerously went for a second pint of Barberian. Because of Richard's constant offering of tasters, accompanied by his rapid-fire comments about the ingredients, my tasting notes ended up sporadic and scattered all over my notebook -- and when I looked at them later on, they appeared to be some sort of code I was unable to break. So I knew we had to make a second visit, which we did a week later.
Crusader Brewing started in 2019. They use reverse osmosis for their water, and hops and malt from around the world, and they make contributions to vets, meaning military veterans as opposed to cat doctors. Customers can also dedicate a beer that they buy to a particular veteran or a military branch.. In a room beyond the front taproom, they stage live music events including 6pm jazz concerts, which seems a very civilised time for some of us older folk to go out and have a few brewskies while listening to music. There is also an outdoor seating area which my friend Rick and I visited on a third visit, specifically to have a pint of the Ukrainian Golden Ale after we'd discussed Black Hammer Brewing's Puck Futin Anti-Imperialist Ukrainian Stout.
In checking out Bakersfield's beer scene online, I discovered there was a craft beer taproom and bottle shop downtown, which is a lot closer to my siblings' house than most of the breweries. So on a late afternoon Kim and I decided to check out Off the Rails. We walked in, sat at the very long bar, and perused the beers on offer. After a brief chat with the owner, we first had a taste of Modern Escape (8.0% ABV, Seek Beer Company, San Diego, California). Hopped with Citra and fruited with guava and passionfruit, this hazy double IPA is a collaboration with Wolf King Brewing in Murrieta, California. It was quite good, with a bit of sweet pine in there, but obviously quite strong.
Ironically keeping with the high ABV, we both ordered pints of La Nebulosa IPA (8.0% ABV, Second Phase Brewing Company, Bakersfield, California). Brewed with Galaxy, Citra, and Motueka hops, this hazy beer is a collaboration with La Brewha in Bakersfield, and it was really yummy, with lightly roasted malt and that lovely zip across the tongue. As Kim commented, it was "Interstellar". I mean, you can't go wrong with Galaxy, at least if you're referring to hops.
As we sat and sipped our pints, we learned that the co-owner, Anthony, used to be a railroad man, meaning that he worked on the railroads, and the lights above the bar are relics from his dad's life on the railroads. His wife Rebecca is in charge of the beers, and we couldn't help noticing there is definitely a Latino theme. In fact, on this relatively quiet afternoon, we were possibly the only two non-Latino people in the place.
Above us the flatscreens were showing the Flyball Dog Championships, and parked outside in the back there was a food truck selling spicy chicken where, as we were warned by Anthony, "mild" is actually "hot". He suggested we try it, but we already had a meal waiting at home.
For our second round, we both had a taste of Ostralada (5.5% ABV, HiDef Brewing, Los Angeles, California). This most interesting beer is a fermented Michelada, with oyster shells added to the boil for the sea salt and minerals, along with spices. It was sour and definitely had an oyster sea taste, with a warm aftertaste. Kim decided to get this for his second pint, but I went for perhaps a slightly less weird pint of Catch 23 (7.5% ABV, Central Coast Brewing Company, San Luis Obispo, California). This is a black IPA with a real coffee presence. So for CoffeeBeer, what's not to like?
The afternoon shift of customers started to dissipate, but the evening shift was still to come. As I went to the beer fridge and bought a couple of cans to take back to the house, Kim finished his Ostralada just as his nose started to run. I have to admit it was quite a challenging beer.
Off the Rails rotate their taps once a week, so I'm looking forward to stopping in again on my next visit. And Kim promised them that he'd be back regularly.
On one of my last days in Bakersfield, Kim and I stopped at the Bakersfield Beer Company for a pint. Located in an industrial park, the place reminded me of other garage-like breweries I've been to in California including Port Brewing/Lost Abbey and Green Flash. Kim, however, hadn't seen one of these and thought we hadn't found the brewery yet. But I coaxed him inside, where a lot of people were sitting at the bar enjoying what could have been after-work pints. On the video beer menu I was happy to see other California brews with which I'm familiar, including an Imperial IPA from Humble Sea, and also Mayberry IPA. As Kim was feeling a bit nervous because it was quite noisy and he was having trouble with his hearing aids, I went ahead and ordered us pints from another brewery familiar to me: CAPS IPA (6.5% ABV, There Does Not Exist, San Luis Obispo, California). In two days my friend Mistah Rick was due to arrive on his birthday, so I was impressed by the big "Happy Birthday!" sign that was on the wall, and of course figured it must have been put up for his arrival.
I have to admit I was thoroughly enjoying myself, especially when some dogs came in, which is always a good sign. There are lots of artefacts on the walls, including banners from Premiership football clubs (including Man U, Man City, Wolverhampton Wolves, Tottenham Hotspurs, Chelsea, and LA Galaxy, but sadly no Sheffield United). And lots of screens were showing different matches as well. So there must be somebody in charge of this place who's a proper football fan.
Other items I spotted on the walls included a Yoda, a cat calendar, soccer balls, and skeletons and skulls. And of course there are fridges with cans to take home, including IPAs, hard seltzers, pilsners, porters and stouts, and sours. And they all seem to be from California breweries, which is really cool.
On the last day of my stay in Bakersfield, my Bay Area friend Mistah Rick showed up to spend the night before the two of us were to take off north on another epic brewery tour. As it happened to be Rick's birthday, we obviously had to celebrate, so a couple of local brewery visits were on the agenda. And the first was the appealingly named Beer Billy's.
Rick and I pulled up four minutes before Beer Billy's was due to open. I suggested we sit in the car, but suddenly the brewery's door opened and we were ushered in by owner and brewer Eric. After being greeted by a scruffy little dog named Scooby, we took a seat at the bar, where we shared a taster of Dagnabit Brown (6.1% ABV), which had a decent malty taste. We both ended up going for pints of Gooder Beer IPA (6.0% ABV), a nice hoppy pale with Centennial and CTZ hops. The CTZ is a mixture of Columbus, Tomahawk, and Zeus, which makes for a very interesting taste.
While we were there, two other couples near our age came in, as well as a younger guy, so it was pretty quiet. But at 5:00 on a Monday afternoon you can't really expect a crowd, and I imagine the place gets much busier in the evenings and on weekends. When I asked Eric why it was called Beer Billy's, he said that his dad's name is Billy, but he wouldn't admit that was the reason. Eric is a former electrician from Taft who lived in San Luis Obispo where he started brewing. He's kind of an odd guy, peering at me when I asked questions as if he were trying to figure me out. It was a fun start to our beer-tasting evening, though.
Aside from being obviously pet friendly, Billy's also features outdoor seating, live music nights, and food, but not on Mondays. And there are some t-shirts for sale as well.
Before we left we had tastes of Lemonale (4.7% ABV), which is an alcoholic lemonade, and My Juicy NEIPA (6.5% ABV), which was a bit too mild in flavour for my tastes. But Eric definitely knows what he's doing, and dagnabbit, he's brewin' some mighty fine brewskis.
Related Links
- The Official Bakersfield (Visit Bakersfield)
- More about Ukrainian Golden Ale (Beer And Brewing)
- All about Flyball (Wikipedia)