A nanobrewery has been defined as a brewery that produces less than 100 bbl per year. Jim Jamison is most definitely a nanobrewer, with his 1/2 barrel system working in his garage in the leafy suburb of Bothell.
Jim produces four ales in an English style, using, among other techniques, less carbonation into his kegs than most other micros. His naming pattern is a celebration of Pac-10 football, starting with his Bit O' Beaver English bitter. Yes, he is an OSU alum and fan and has the posters on the wall to prove it. Christmas Duck porter is his second, for that other institution in Eugene. How do they served duck in England at Christmas time? Roasted and basted? Oh, how about that university just about fifteen miles south of Bothell at the other end of Lake Washington? Jim will brew a seasonal ale called Kastrated Dawg for them. His third standard brew is Oski Wow-Wow (the Cal yell), a scotch ale which should invoke the feeling of Saturday afternoons in Berkeley's Strawberry Canyon. This is on the excellent
website, where Jim also talks about his technique of caramelizing the first ten percent of the mash runnings to create a unique flavor. The last of the four mainstays is Chief Lightfoot Irish Red ale. Back in the day, before Stanford's teams became the Cardinal, they were known as the Indians and Chief Lightfoot was a fixture on Saturday afternoons in Palo Alto. No citation is necessary, your blogger was there and can testify to this fact from personal knowledge.
Foggy Noggin is open for tasting just one Saturday afternoon a month, dates announced on the website and perhaps chosen in the fall with an eye on which games are being televised, I tasted all four and ended up having my growler filled with Chief Lightfoot. It was nicely malty with a tinge of bitterness at the end.
(Visited 9/25/10)
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