Welcome
Welcome to the New Almaden Brewing Company web site. We are a nanobrewery located in San Jose, California. Here you can learn about our company and follow us as we explore the history of the New Almaden mines through our beers. Browse our site to discover the latest beers that are being enjoyed by family and friends in San Jose.
Check back for updates or feel free to contact us at info@newalmadenbrewing.com
Latest Update 7/17/2014
Check out our "What's Drinking" page for the latest update on our current offerings. New Almaden Brewing Company beers have garnered awards at several brewing competitions. This an other topics will be updated shortly.
Update 11/17/2014
Following our win last month at Oaktoberfest, Walking Dead Trail Ale took a silver at the California State Home Brew Competition in San Francisco. Our most popular beer to date, Walking Dead Trail has been snapped up within weeks of being ready. We're planning to brew another batch soon.
Our winter lagers are currently fermenting away. These include new batches of Quicksilver and Mine Shaft Lagers, along with the first small batch of a Pre-Prohibition style lager (yet to be named). We have modified some of our brewing techniques based on feedback from our first two competitions and are anxious to taste the fruits of our labors. Sadly, though, we will have to wait until January, when they should be ready to drink.
With the coming of the Autumn season, our thoughts turn to rain for our drought-stricken state. Weather forecasters are predicting a "normal" season for us, which will only make a dent in erasing the deficit that's occurred over the last 3 years. At New Almaden Brewing Company, we remain committed to conserving water throughout operations, bringing on line a recirculating chill system for cooling boiled wort. Additionally, we have switched to an all-natural, enzyme-active detergent for nearly all of our equipment cleaning activities. The new detergent allows us to recycle waste water from cleaning directly into (non-edible) landscaping. With each of these changes, we edge closer to effluent-free brewing.
Update 10/9/2014
The biggest news of the last month is that Mine Shaft Lager has won the Dark Lager category at the annual Oaktoberfest (German Style) Brewing Competition in Oakland. The winners were announced live on stage during the Oaktoberfest in the Dimond festival on October 4th. This was the first competition that we entered, so winning was a big surprise. Spurred by this result, we are rushing to enter upcoming competitions and will post as the results become available. We also entered Quicksilver Lager in the light lager category--it did not place in the top three. Our assumption is that the judges felt it might have been not representative of a German light lager.
Late last month, the brewery organized the neighborhood Oktoberfest party. Our biggest supporters joined us, bringing German style appetizers, salads, cabbage dishes, pretzels and dessert to share with everyone while downing dozens of bratwurst. The party was a great success but it has left our current stocks somewhat depleted. Look for us to replenish those during the Fall season, with the next batch of lagers drinking around the end of the year.
Our first batch of Glutenous Maximus is set to be bottled in the coming days. This was a special request from a brewery supporter that enjoys Belgian Wit style beers. Our tasting samples along the way demonstrated true Wit character and we are excited to taste the fully conditioned beer when it is ready by the end of October.
Our most popular beer recently has been Walking Dead Trail Ale. It's jumping out of the cases and finding its way into the hearts of close friends and brewery supporters. It's also featured in a silent auction and those batches are set for delivery within the next few weeks. As a result of this success, we are creating a new collection of beers called the Resurrection Series. Look for it on the Our Beers page.
Update 9/16/14: Phase 1 Retooling Completed
With the brewing of our Oktoberfest beers completed back in June, we undertook a project of retooling the brewery over the summer. This was completed just within the last two weeks. We now have an expanded facility that can accommodate much larger batches. These new facilities were inaugurated on September 9th, with the brewing of Walking Dead Trail Ale. Most of the first batch is slated for delivery to the winners of a silent auction that was held in conjunction with a charitable fund-raising event. We are also opening up the brewery to a tour for the winners.
As we have expanded the brewery, we continue to add equipment and techniques that improve beer quality while reducing water consumption. Our latest example is a water recirculation system for rapidly chilling the boiled wort. Rapid chilling is essential to developing a robust "cold break" that eventually results in a clearer, more palatable brew. Because all of the chilling water is contained, none is wasted. We recycle it for initial equipment cleaning without soaps, then use it for landscape irrigation. This helps us keep the brewery in operation while complying with the reductions requested by our local water supplier.
Our headliner promotes the upcoming Oktoberfest block party. We're excited to share the three beers with our friends and family. They were lagered for six weeks during the hottest part this year's summer, and turned out to be crystal clear. Quicksilver Lager has already been previewed and is receiving good reviews.
Our on-site garden has been busy this summer, providing vegetables, herbs, and even a few limes. We will be devoting time this Fall to exploring ways to incorporate this bounty into our beers. Our first effort will be a variation of Mountain Lion Ale that is spiced up with Habanero chiles.
As always, we continue to experiment and expand our range of beers. Look for updates on the "Our Beers" and "What's Drinking" pages.
Update 8/7/14
Well it certainly has been a while since our last update. We've worked on many things in the months since our last update in March. In particular, we have brought the entire brewing process in house, the last step of which was to obtain a grain mill for crushing our own barley. We've also developed our own system for predicting mash yield. The batches we have done since making these two changes have been right on target for the most part (our last stout came out a tad high on alcohol content, but who is going to argue with that?). We have also brewed three beers in preparation for Oktoberfest: Quicksilver and Mine Shaft Lagers, and an experimental beer called "Oaxacatoberfest." The latter is a tribute to our brewing friends down South, who kept European traditions alive as they migrated there in the 19th century. All three beers are lagering and will be ready to bottle in 2-3 weeks. We'll be serving them along with authentic German sausages at the party.
The water situation has gotten more dire since our last update, with nearly 70% of California in extreme drought. The State has issued mandates of fines for residences and businesses that waste water. As well, the prognosis going forward is not good--scientists are projecting a very weak El Nino system to hit this winter. The chances of having a wet or dry winter are fairly equal, they say. If we do not receive sufficient rain or snow fall, rationing will certainly be implemented. We have taken care to recycle nearly all of our process water from brewing operations, and continue to reduce consumption where we can. To that end, we are building a water recirculation system that will reduce consumption even more and should also help in the overall clarity of our beers (by chilling the unfermented wort quickly).
For previous updates, visit our Beer Blog page.
Check back for updates or feel free to contact us at info@newalmadenbrewing.com
Latest Update 7/17/2014
Check out our "What's Drinking" page for the latest update on our current offerings. New Almaden Brewing Company beers have garnered awards at several brewing competitions. This an other topics will be updated shortly.
Update 11/17/2014
Following our win last month at Oaktoberfest, Walking Dead Trail Ale took a silver at the California State Home Brew Competition in San Francisco. Our most popular beer to date, Walking Dead Trail has been snapped up within weeks of being ready. We're planning to brew another batch soon.
Our winter lagers are currently fermenting away. These include new batches of Quicksilver and Mine Shaft Lagers, along with the first small batch of a Pre-Prohibition style lager (yet to be named). We have modified some of our brewing techniques based on feedback from our first two competitions and are anxious to taste the fruits of our labors. Sadly, though, we will have to wait until January, when they should be ready to drink.
With the coming of the Autumn season, our thoughts turn to rain for our drought-stricken state. Weather forecasters are predicting a "normal" season for us, which will only make a dent in erasing the deficit that's occurred over the last 3 years. At New Almaden Brewing Company, we remain committed to conserving water throughout operations, bringing on line a recirculating chill system for cooling boiled wort. Additionally, we have switched to an all-natural, enzyme-active detergent for nearly all of our equipment cleaning activities. The new detergent allows us to recycle waste water from cleaning directly into (non-edible) landscaping. With each of these changes, we edge closer to effluent-free brewing.
Update 10/9/2014
The biggest news of the last month is that Mine Shaft Lager has won the Dark Lager category at the annual Oaktoberfest (German Style) Brewing Competition in Oakland. The winners were announced live on stage during the Oaktoberfest in the Dimond festival on October 4th. This was the first competition that we entered, so winning was a big surprise. Spurred by this result, we are rushing to enter upcoming competitions and will post as the results become available. We also entered Quicksilver Lager in the light lager category--it did not place in the top three. Our assumption is that the judges felt it might have been not representative of a German light lager.
Late last month, the brewery organized the neighborhood Oktoberfest party. Our biggest supporters joined us, bringing German style appetizers, salads, cabbage dishes, pretzels and dessert to share with everyone while downing dozens of bratwurst. The party was a great success but it has left our current stocks somewhat depleted. Look for us to replenish those during the Fall season, with the next batch of lagers drinking around the end of the year.
Our first batch of Glutenous Maximus is set to be bottled in the coming days. This was a special request from a brewery supporter that enjoys Belgian Wit style beers. Our tasting samples along the way demonstrated true Wit character and we are excited to taste the fully conditioned beer when it is ready by the end of October.
Our most popular beer recently has been Walking Dead Trail Ale. It's jumping out of the cases and finding its way into the hearts of close friends and brewery supporters. It's also featured in a silent auction and those batches are set for delivery within the next few weeks. As a result of this success, we are creating a new collection of beers called the Resurrection Series. Look for it on the Our Beers page.
Update 9/16/14: Phase 1 Retooling Completed
With the brewing of our Oktoberfest beers completed back in June, we undertook a project of retooling the brewery over the summer. This was completed just within the last two weeks. We now have an expanded facility that can accommodate much larger batches. These new facilities were inaugurated on September 9th, with the brewing of Walking Dead Trail Ale. Most of the first batch is slated for delivery to the winners of a silent auction that was held in conjunction with a charitable fund-raising event. We are also opening up the brewery to a tour for the winners.
As we have expanded the brewery, we continue to add equipment and techniques that improve beer quality while reducing water consumption. Our latest example is a water recirculation system for rapidly chilling the boiled wort. Rapid chilling is essential to developing a robust "cold break" that eventually results in a clearer, more palatable brew. Because all of the chilling water is contained, none is wasted. We recycle it for initial equipment cleaning without soaps, then use it for landscape irrigation. This helps us keep the brewery in operation while complying with the reductions requested by our local water supplier.
Our headliner promotes the upcoming Oktoberfest block party. We're excited to share the three beers with our friends and family. They were lagered for six weeks during the hottest part this year's summer, and turned out to be crystal clear. Quicksilver Lager has already been previewed and is receiving good reviews.
Our on-site garden has been busy this summer, providing vegetables, herbs, and even a few limes. We will be devoting time this Fall to exploring ways to incorporate this bounty into our beers. Our first effort will be a variation of Mountain Lion Ale that is spiced up with Habanero chiles.
As always, we continue to experiment and expand our range of beers. Look for updates on the "Our Beers" and "What's Drinking" pages.
Update 8/7/14
Well it certainly has been a while since our last update. We've worked on many things in the months since our last update in March. In particular, we have brought the entire brewing process in house, the last step of which was to obtain a grain mill for crushing our own barley. We've also developed our own system for predicting mash yield. The batches we have done since making these two changes have been right on target for the most part (our last stout came out a tad high on alcohol content, but who is going to argue with that?). We have also brewed three beers in preparation for Oktoberfest: Quicksilver and Mine Shaft Lagers, and an experimental beer called "Oaxacatoberfest." The latter is a tribute to our brewing friends down South, who kept European traditions alive as they migrated there in the 19th century. All three beers are lagering and will be ready to bottle in 2-3 weeks. We'll be serving them along with authentic German sausages at the party.
The water situation has gotten more dire since our last update, with nearly 70% of California in extreme drought. The State has issued mandates of fines for residences and businesses that waste water. As well, the prognosis going forward is not good--scientists are projecting a very weak El Nino system to hit this winter. The chances of having a wet or dry winter are fairly equal, they say. If we do not receive sufficient rain or snow fall, rationing will certainly be implemented. We have taken care to recycle nearly all of our process water from brewing operations, and continue to reduce consumption where we can. To that end, we are building a water recirculation system that will reduce consumption even more and should also help in the overall clarity of our beers (by chilling the unfermented wort quickly).
For previous updates, visit our Beer Blog page.
