Archives for November 2019

SAN LUIS OBISPO, California — SLO Brewing Co. is celebrating the grand opening of Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills small-batch distillery and craft tasting room with five handcrafted spirits to compliment the latest venture’s striking Central Coast furnishings and timeless ambience.

“Over the past three years we have been experimenting with distilling small batches of rye whiskey,” said co-founder Rodney Cegelski. “Today we have a full distillery and brewery operating under one roof.”

Rod & Hammer’s first spirit, a Reserve Rye Whiskey stands as a bold testament to SLO Brew’s roots as the oldest microbrewery on the Central Coast since prohibition. Paying homage to the kinship between craft beer and brown spirits, the smooth and spicy rye whiskey is derived from in-house beer mash produced at SLO Brew Rock’s 30-barrel brewhouse.

The distillery will also feature a Straight Rye Whiskey, a classic American Straight Bourbon, an uncut Cask Bourbon, California juniper and Valencia orange Dry Gin, alongside a chill haze filtered Vodka.

Aged in 15-gallon New American oak barrels, each SLO Stills whiskey is cut with purified and desalinated Pacific Ocean water to represent the link that united founders Rodney Cegelski and Hamish Marshall. Ten years ago, the Shell Beach surfer Rod met Hammer, an Aussie jackaroo and fostered a friendship grounded in an appreciation for quality spirits and the Central Coast.

“SLO Stills was crafted to reflect our story,” said Marshall. “Now that things are up and running we want to share that personal, elevated experience with our visitors.”

Guests will have the opportunity to become founding members of The Barrel Club, receiving a personal 5-gallon oak barrel to age their own custom SLO Stills whiskey over a year’s span inside the tasting room. Club members can also enjoy early access to special releases, paired with complimentary tastings and roughly 28 (750mL) bottles of personalized bourbon.

Head distiller Paul Quinn will consult members on customizing the depth and flavor of their spirit with varying oak infusions at a range of char levels. On a quarterly basis, participants will be invited to taste their whiskey from the barrel to determine whether the spirit should be bottled or continue to age.

“We’re sharing the craft experience by walking people through the distillation process and teaching them to create a unique spirit that’s completely their own,” said Quinn.

Anchored by a copper horseshoe bar, the tasting room comes embellished with cowhide upholstered seating and leather couches for a relaxed, intimate atmosphere. Wicker lanterns cast a warm glow over the whiskey lounge from an industrial ceiling, featuring functional piping that carries grain from onsite silos into the Rock’s brewery. Adjacent to the active distillery, the room displays enticing scenes of vintage surfboards, a historic direct-fired reflux still deemed Ol’ Woody, and Marshall’s enduring masterpiece, a locked antique Cary Safe.

Upcycled planks from the original Pismo Pier have been transformed into floating shelves supporting the entire range of Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills spirits. An artisanal craft cocktail menu boasts a signature Smokey Old Fashioned, Vaquero Margarita, classic Manhattan, Whiskey Mule and a decadent Whiskey Sour to pair with sweet and savory tapas. The SLO Brewing Co. lineup of Porch Pounder canned wine, Tio Rodrigo craft beer micheladas and select SLO Brew beers will also be available at the bar.

Located to the right of SLO Brew Rock’s renowned kid-friendly restaurant, Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills will be a 21+ venue, open Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 to 7:00 PM, Friday and Saturday from 12:00 to 9:00 PM and Sunday from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM. For information regarding catered events, barrel club memberships or hours of operation at 855 Aerovista Lane, visit slostills.com or call 805-543-1843.

WHO: Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills

WHAT: California craft brewery presents a small-batch distillery and tasting room.

WHERE: 855 Aerovista Ln, San Luis Obispo CA, 93401

About Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills
A California surfer and Aussie jackaroo founded SLO Stills in tribute to a lifelong friendship rooted in an appreciation for quality spirits and the Central Coast lifestyle. Each handcrafted whiskey is cut with purified Pacific Ocean water, uniting Australia and California in a bold, timeless spirit.

About SLO Brewing Company
Since 1988, SLO Brewing Co. has taken great pride in crafting elevated beers and spirits with a commitment to exceptional quality and innovation on the Central Coast of California. Joining our core lineup of SLO Brew craft beers, we welcome Tio Rodrigo authentic micheladas, Porch Pounder premium canned wine and Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills whiskey to our celebrated house of brands. Comprised of four venues, the entire SLO Brewing Co lineup of craft spirits and curated experiences are available at SLO Brew Rock, SLO Stills, SLO Brew Lofts and The Carrisa.

BOULDER, Colorado – The Legion of Ska continues to grow with Ska Street, Boulder’s first “brewstillery” concept. This joint venture by Ska Brewing and Peach Street Distillers is slated to open in the former FATE Brewing space in spring of 2020.

Peach Street Distillers was hatched in 2005 when Ska Brewing’s two co-founders Bill Graham and Dave Thibodeau found the allure of Palisade’s locally grown fruit too much to pass by. Since Peach Street’s opening, the two companies have worked side by side— with a shared sales team, and collaborations such as Modus Whiskey, and the Boomerang Barrel Program.

Backing up even further, Ska Brewing was born on Colorado’s Front Range out of the minds of Graham and Thibodeau, with the influence of Boulder’s burgeoning beer community. This area is where they grew up and learned to homebrew, where Graham attended the University of Colorado, and where many of Ska and Peach Street’s staff got their start in the brewing industry.

After 15 years of partnerships, Ska and Peach Street will finally set up shop under the same roof in spring of 2020. “A number of serendipitous factors have come together to make Boulder the answer to what we’ve been trying to do for a decade,” says Thibodeau. “when the opportunity presented itself, we jumped at this chance to call Boulder home.”

Steve Breezley, Ska’s Chief Operating Officer who formerly worked at Avery Brewing, says, “So many of us at Ska feel attached to the Boulder community— it’s active like our home in Durango, and it’s an epicenter for craft beer.”

Ska Street will integrate Ska and Peach Street’s businesses, with onsite brewing of Ska beers in a 10 barrel brewhouse and distillation of Peach Street spirits in a 450 liter still. The Brewstillery will offer 30 Ska beers on tap and a mixology program that replicates the Palisade distillery experience. Ska Street’s food menu will bring together components of each business, with music-inspired, Caribbean-influenced eats to mirror the food served at Ska’s World Headquarters in Durango, and the thoughtfully sourced farm-to-table approach that guests have come to love at Peach Street.

Ska’s experimental brewery, the Mod Project, has afforded the brewery and many of its retailers the opportunity to do some unique projects together in Durango, and at Ska Street in Boulder they plan to build upon this platform with their spirits, as well as well as their beers.

“We’re excited to get back to the Front Range, and to get more involved in Boulder,” Thibodeau says. “Beyond the new location, this is a great opportunity to pursue collaborations with accounts in the area that have been selling our beer for years.”

About Ska Brewing
Based in Durango, Colorado, Ska Brewing was founded in 1995 and produces more than a dozen award- winning beers fueled with Ska music, and lots of it. Pioneers in the canned craft beer movement, Ska Brewing is known for an array of styles in 12 oz cans that include Mexican Logger, Modus Hoperandi, and Rue B. Soho. For information (a lot of it), more music, and a good time, visit www.skabrewing.com.

About Peach Street Distillers
Peach Street Distillers was founded in 2005 in the heart of Colorado’s Fruit and Wine region, Palisade Colorado, where the high desert meets the mountains. The warm days and cool nights in Palisade make the local fruits and grains unimaginably delicious. Living the very definition of “craft” we do everything the hard way to turn these fermentable raw materials into extraordinary spirits. Because, this is what we consider fun and what makes for a mighty fine drink. Peach Street Distillers is Colorado’s oldest continuously owned and operated distillery. Visit us as www.peachstreetdistillers.com for more about the spirits and the spirits squad.

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