Our much anticipated trip to the booming town of Boonville, CA began bright and early Friday May 1st. After dad and I sampled (read guzzled) a bottle of Broken Halo from Widmer for breakfast, we chased it with a quick selection of baked goods from Yum-Yum donuts and hit the open freeway. Northbound on 99 and hopped up on chocolate milk we raced towards Concord, the home of the E.J. Phair alehouse.
I found our old friend and fellow beer drinker Mike Carr and his wife warming up a table in the middle of a crowded dining room...with a great view of the Belgian beer fridge. Unfortunately the beers were only for on-site consumption and not for take-out. And seeing as how I would end up 45 minutes later with a belly full of Blind Pig from Russian River, half a pint of proprietary hefeweizen, small samples of their brown ale and IPA, and a Ricotta cheese burger...and the prices were a bit high...as enticing as the selection was, I had to move on.
As the rain picked up, we passed by Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and headed northwest towards Sebastopol, outside of Santa Rosa. Wine country appears magical no matter what weather envelopes it.
The exterior of Hopmonk Tavern hints at the perfectly balanced interior setup. Dark wood and a deep orange accent contain just the right amount building so as to attract and invite without being presumptuous. If I were to design a classic tavern, this embodies all of my ideas. Heavy wooden beams, conversation focusing booths and a spacious outdoor beer garden that nearly drew me out into the deluge.
We all crowded into the booth and dad, Nikki and I ordered a pint of each of the house brews. Mike and his wife had ordered a house hefeweizen and what I thought I heard was Stone's Imperial Porter but after checking their web site I don't see it listed. Nikki and I fought over the house Dunkelweizen which presents such amazing notes of banana and cinnamon with just the right amount of sweetness on the mouthfeel. Wonderful beer. Before leaving I was fortunate enough to meet and photograph the manager, owner and chef. Great set of guys.
In the car, soaked from running across the street to take a shot of the location, we steered towards 101 north and our destination...Boonville.
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