New beer from UCD-Sudwerk; new restos on I-80

Alumni affair: Sudwerk Brewing Co. and the UC Davis Brewing Program just released Gunrock Lager, a crisp, tasty beer named for the university’s mustang mascot.

“This is a fairly gently flavored product,” said professor of malting and brewing sciences, Charlie Bamforth. “And the craft brewery business is all about smacking you in the face. Well actually, lots and lots of people don’t want to have their beers smacking them in the face and shaking them up and down. They want something that’s easy to drink.”

For now, Gunrock will be sold at Sudwerk’s dock store (2001 2nd Street) in Davis and at UCD sporting events, starting at the first home game for the men’s basketball team on November 29. Gunrock makes UC Davis one of the few universities nationwide to have its own branded beer. Some proceeds will benefit the athletics department. Later on, the beer may get canned and sold in select supermarkets.

UC Davis alum and retired Anheuser-Busch power-player Doug Muhleman conceived the beer that was realized by Sudwerk’s brewer Thomas Stull, a graduate of UCD’s brewing program.

Stull said the nearly 30-year-old Sudwerk focuses on offering a variety of lagers that recreate the high-quality styles that dominated the American market before brands like Coors, Miller and Budweiser corporatized, and eventually, degraded in taste.

The Gunrock lager tastes a bit like what early German immigrants to this area would have brewed as they sought out the “cheapest sugar,” which was often rice, Stull said. To achieve this effect, Muhleman incorporated rice grown and donated by another UCD alum, Jack DeWit, then rounded things out with North American barley and German hops found in renowned Bavarian styles.

Stull said the light-bodied lagers utilize a “lower and slower fermentation process.” This requires precision to achieve the desired balance as unwanted flavors can’t be obscured by big yeasty, malty or hoppy notes. But amid an explosion of bombastic beer flavors, this less-flashy lager benefits from a gentler touch cultivated in academia.

“Brewing beer is very demanding,” Bamforth said. “It’s a lot of science and a lot of technology. And if you’re going to do it successfully, you really got to know your stuff. And Thomas Stull here knows his stuff—because we taught him.”

Off-80 eats: I-80 just got two new restaurants. Near North Highlands, there’s Manna Thai (4980 Watt Avenue), which boasts a menu containing 97 items, including intriguing dishes like beef organ soup ($8.75) and catfish dressed in Thai chili sauce enhanced by eggplant and kaffir leaves ($14.95).

Further north in Roseville, there’s the Brickyard Kitchen & Bar (1475 Eureka Road) that offers craft beers on 16 taps that rotate daily. To pair with that, they’ve got some thoughtful bar fare such as roasted brussel sprouts ($9.99) and a beet burger with goat cheese ($13.99).