Brews brothers

Dan Goodrich coaxes the flames, adding heat via a wood stove to an already warm cherry wood dining facility. I’m sipping beer with my buddy Kevin, marveling over the balance and finesse of the artisan brews of the Chico Brewhouse. Outside, it’s cold, blustery, Chico in late November. Inside, it’s warm, friendly, and I’m enjoying what may be Chico’s best-crafted beers in an architecturally gorgeous eatery.

You see, beer (like wine) is supposed to have its balance, blending in harmony the sweet tendencies of malt against the bitter attitude of hops. Along the way a good brew will also fold in body, flavor and alcohol to help the drinker reach a pinnacle of beer-induced bliss. Mass produced swill? Patooi. Give me that good old boutique brew anytime.

Kevin and I sit nirvana-like, nodding in subtle guy talk. “OK. This is good.”

With the fire now blazing, Goodrich, part owner and restaurant manager of the Chico Brewhouse, joins us at our table. His slender frame carries a slight swagger, a certain bravado. He knows the beer is good, and he knows we know.

“At the Chico Brewhouse,” Dan says coolly, “our beers are stylistic rather than in your face.” What’s also stylistic is the restaurant’s interior, a hardwood-finished Victorian warmth married to stone and art glass. As the beer tasting proceeds, I come to find out that Goodrich designed the place.

“I dabbled in the architectural craft for a while down in the Bay Area,” he explains.

While Goodrich manages the restaurant, John Abbott is the brewmeister. If the name sounds familiar, it should. John brewed at the long-gone Sherwood Forest downtown. Before that he was brewing beer for Kona Brewery in Hawaii.

“When I first started home brewing back in 1982, it was all experimentation,” he says. “That’s what made it fun. And, it’s still fun. I love thinking outside the box.”

Adjoining the restaurant and visible through floor-to-ceiling windows is the microbrew facility. Stainless-steel tanks, pipes and levers seem to roam in a chaotic cubic pattern. This is where Abbott does his “experiments,” among the Hungarian-built, all-grain-using, steam-fired brewing system.

Indeed, Abbott’s Pale Ale is a prime example of his flair for experimental success. While most breweries use American hops to secure the flavor of a pale ale, John turns to Germany. The result is a beer that carries a zingy, citrus-tinged aroma. But unlike most other pales, this Chico Brewhouse Pale Ale has flesh, a sweet finish married to a smooth body, balanced against a slightly rind-like bitter tinge.

Other home runs from the Chico Brewhouse are the Porter, the Spiced Ale and the Scotch Ale. The Porter has that raw meat nose plastered with roasted nuts and cooked clove. Amazingly balanced, the Porter has an 8 percent alcohol content, as definite walnut flavors merge well with roasted hop elements. A true harmonizer!

The Spiced Ale is liquid pumpkin pie. Warm entry, full-bodied, a simple delight—my neighbor Kevin says you can even taste the whipped cream!

But the mega-hit was the Scotch Ale. Super complex from aromatics to aftertaste, this heavy hitter balances full-on roasted caramels and nuts, superb malt body and deep and tannic hops, yet it slides down carrying its warmth to every part of the body.

What The Chico Brewhouse explores is a niche. “As Sierra Nevada grows to meet the demands of a mass market, its beers are on a timeline,” Dan Goodrich points out. “Quick filtered, hop driven—that’s not us. Since day one, whether it’s the beer or the food, we want to be known for artisan quality.

“Sometimes we age beers in bourbon barrels, import smoked grains from Germany or England, play a little outside the norm,” states Abbott. “All non-filtered, of course.”

Chico is lucky. Dan Goodrich and John Abbott make beer as if the palate were the canvas, the hops, grains and malts the colors.

Kevin nods at me. I nod back. "OK. This is good."