Brewery of the Month: Uncommon Brewers (From www.thebusinessofbeer.com)

[John Bidwell]

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Uncommon Brewers is based out of Santa Cruz; a city known for it’s progressive activism, social tolerance, and environmental awareness. These elements, plus its reputation as a surf mecca and college town have combined to impart a unique flavor on the city. Since Uncommon Brewers got their start in 2007, they have been creating some of the most innovative and uniquely flavored (and entirely organic) beers, indicative of the community they were conceived in. And with a name like Uncommon Brewers, would you expect anything less? They haven’t been around for long, but they are certainly making their mark on craft brewing. I caught up with Alec Stefansky, co-founder of Uncommon Brewers. The topics of discussion ranged from unique brewing styles to community involvement and the slow food movement.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Slow Food movement, it’s defined on its website as ‘a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member supported organization to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions, and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes, and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.’ Alec works with the local slow food chapter and his stated goal is “to source as many of our ingredients as possible from local farms.” In doing so, Uncommon Brewers not only supports local farmers but they’re also getting their ingredients in the freshest and healthiest condition possible.

Uncommon is also one of the only organic breweries in the country. There are many organic beers out there, but according to Alec, what makes Uncommon unique is that every one of their beers is made solely from organic ingredients. “We are an entirely organic brewery, even down to the hops. There are many organic breweries that are not using organic hops because they’re not required to…as part of the process. Right now, just because beer says organic on it, it doesn’t necessarily mean all those ingredients are organic.”

Creating an all-organic beer line isn’t just beneficial from an environmental standpoint – it also makes sense given the market that Uncommon was founded in. According to Alec, “Santa Cruz county is one of these nexuses in the country and in the world where organic farming is really a way of life. We’re surrounded by internationally distributed organic farms that got their start in Santa Cruz.” People in and around Santa Cruz are acutely aware of organic products, and this is often a huge selling point for consumer products in the area. “From the business side of it… especially in those first sales meetings, it made it so I could go into a place and say ‘well you’ve never heard of us before, but I’ve got this great beer and by the way it’s organic.’ It was one more feather in the hat when we were first getting going. Now it’s an advantage against some of the other similar beers in the marketplace because people do care.”

As of now, Uncommon has four primary beers. Their flagship, Siamese Twin (a Thai spiced beer including lemongrass, kaffir lime, and coriander), Golden State Ale (a Golden Ale that features toasted poppy seeds), Baltic Porter (made with a blend of whole licorice root and star anise) and Rubidus Red. At the Great American Beer Festival I had a chance to try the Rubidus Red, and it’s one of the most interesting beers I’ve ever had. It’s brewed with candy cap mushrooms which impart a sweet, maple syrup like flavor to the beer, and I promise you, it’s unlike anything you’ve tried. Continuing in their tradition of bold-flavored beers, the newest beer coming out of Uncommon involves pork. Yes, you read that correctly, P-O-R-K. “We actually brewed the first commercial batch of our bacon brown ale. It’s a nut brown brewed with bacon”. May bacon lovers rejoice.

By creating innovative flavors and brewing entirely organic beer in a manner befitting of the slow food movement, Uncommon Brewers have created a product that translates well to their market in Santa Cruz and the greater Bay Area. Currently, you can only find their beer in select California markets, so if you live in or are visiting California, definitely pick some up. Uncommon Brewers was built on a heritage of commitment to quality, organic ingredients, and bold flavors. If they can stay true to this heritage as they grow, I could see this becoming a very successful brewery in time.