Who's Ready for Some Local Craft Beer?

Get ready Tehachapi! We are embarking on a new venture in our small community. Honey Wagon Brewing will be Tehachapi's first craft brewery (nanobrewery to be precise) and is expected to be open to the public in early September. It's been an exciting and exhausting past few months and will be worth the wait. I know what some of you are already thinking (or saying on Facebook...wink, wink) so let me first address the elephant in the room. Our name. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting my husband, Steve Roemer, he has been the owner/operator of Roemer's Septic Service in town for the past 16 years. Now are you with me? No? You may need to be familiar with our sense of humor. Okay, so a honey wagon is a moniker for a septic truck. So while we thought it a fitting homage to his years servicing your septic systems, we've heard the grumbling. So here's our disclaimer, just in case it needs to be said: NO SEPTIC MATERIAL IS USED IN THE BREWING OF OUR BEER. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk beer! The craft beer industry certainly isn't new to us in California; however, for those of you more partial to other libations, here are some reasons to give hand-crafted, small batch brew a try:

1. Craft beer is synonymous with "microbrew" which means that it is crafted by a small, independent and traditional brewer, instead of manufactured in large quantities. We are not suggesting that big brewers can't and don't make good beer or that all craft beer is excellent, but who doesn't prefer a gourmet meal prepared with fresh ingredients over mass produced and processed food?

2. Craft beer consists of only four ingredients: barley, hops, yeast and water. Because of the laundry list of vitamins and nutrients in these raw ingredients, there are several recent studies citing a 20-30% increase in mortality by imbibing in moderation (2 pints/day). Bottoms up!

3. If you are a craft beer connoisseur, you already know that one of the coolest benefits of enjoying craft beer is the ability to visit the brewery, meet the brewer and get a close up view of the brewing process. What's not to like about being able to see first hand the process that ends in your glass? Honey Wagon Brewing will be inviting the many local talented home brewers to collaborate in our brewing process...you may just see your brew on tap!

4. There are over 23 different basic styles of beer using dozens of variations of malt, hops and yeast, resulting in craft beer surpassing wine sales in the US as the adult beverage of choice. Because of this variety, the food pairings are out of this world. If you think wine and food pairings are the ultimate gastronomic experience, think again. While you have your smoker out, try a pleasantly bitter IPA (India Pale Ale; one of the most popular styles out there) with a smoked brisket smothered in spicy BBQ sauce. Yum! Better yet, buy a variety of the same style and sip each one with your chosen course. Variety is the spice of life!

Speaking of food, Honey Wagon Brewing is not a brew pub, because beer is our specialty, not food. However, we have hopes of finding some food trucks to park at our place and we have some great restaurants in town. Pick something up on your way, or call for delivery while you are visiting. All outside food is welcomed and encouraged. We specialize in all things ALE. Unlike lagers (think Corona, Coors, Budweiser, etc.), ales come in several varieties, differing in color, flavor and alcohol content. While we are most interested in hearing from you, our consumers, as to what you would like to see on tap, we will be starting out by having some of our favorites available by the pint, beer sample flight, 1liter and 2liter growlers, including:

Wicked Wahini- A coconut flavored Brown Ale. Amazing with chocolate.

S&M Blonde- Get your mind out of the gutter. This is a light, refreshing Blonde Ale named after two great friends of ours.

El Hefe-Weizen- One of the first ales brewed by the "boss man". A citrusy, wheat beer great for the hot days.

Snob's IPA- Need we say more? We love our beer snobs!

Ruthless Red- A daring Red Ale named after our local Survivor contestant, "Chaos Kass".

CA Chrome- This is a Pale Ale first brewed while its namesake was making a run for the Triple Crown. We still think he's a winner and so is this beer.

Slam Dunkelweizen- A slam dunk in our book. Malty, smooth, dark wheat beer.

And last but by no means least...

No. 2 Brown Ale, our flagship beer that can't be missed if you prefer a sweeter, full-flavored ale. Did you expect anything less from Honey Wagon Brewing?

Honey Wagon Brewing is located in the industrial buildings behind Home Depot. Those of you who have traveled near and far to your favorite microbreweries know the routine...it's not the location, it's the beer!

We want to thank several people that have helped us in this endeavor.

The City of Tehachapi has been gracious in assisting us in this process and we are grateful for their enthusiasm in wanting our local brewery to be successful. We would be negligent not to mention the numerous family members and friends that have supported us and the literally hundreds of community members that have expressed their excitement and encouragement on our facebook page. In addition, the owners/operators of Bravery Brewing in Lancaster, CA have gone above and beyond to mentor us and lead us through this maze. Check them out!

You can find us on facebook @ Honey Wagon Brewing and honeywagonbrewing.com is under construction. Check back for news on our grand opening party. You won't want to miss it. If you can't wait that long to have a fresh, cold one, we will be serving at the following events this summer. Cheers to Charity on August 9, benefiting several local charities and An Evening for Life Dinner and Auction benefiting the Family Life Pregnancy Center, held at Dorner Family Vineyard August 22.

Thank you to all and...CHEERS!