Brewery Rowe: Fox Point Brewing growing its own organic ingredients

Farmhouse-style ales? Oodles of San Diego County breweries make them.

But beers made in a farmhouse? Fox Point Brewing, a year-old venture in Encinitas, stands alone.

Plopped within an “agrihood” of townhomes, restaurant, bakery, coffee roastery, farmer’s market, greenhouses and 5.5 acres of arable land, the brewery is a one-man project dedicated to organic beers.

“Everything behind you is organic,” said Carl, nodding toward the crops outside his brewery. “Everything I make beer with is organic.”

Carl uses Fox Point Farms-raised ingredients when possible, and those possibilities are growing. While he buys organic hops from outside vendors, hop vines are creeping up the trellises at Fox Point.

“Maybe,” he said, “I’ll have enough to brew a wet hop beer in the fall.”

Fair thee well

Local breweries ended July wreathed in ribbons, scoring wins at the San Diego County Fair and the California State Fair.

So many county breweries won medals at the San Diego County Fair Craft Brew Competition, there’s no room here to list them all. Suffice to say Pizza Port was named champion brewery and champion San Diego brewery, taking 11 medals.

A complete list is at sdfair.com.

While also triumphant in Sacramento, Pizza Port was overshadowed by the strong showing of San Diego’s Barley & Sword. That brewery took two first prizes, for Beoir Dearg, an Irish red ale, and a Czech pale lager, Liberation!, plus a third place for Wheeler’s Patent, an Irish-style dry stout.

Pizza Port? Well, the Ocean Beach Port won first place with Junk in Da Trunk Dunkel, a dunkelweizen, and second for Paloma, a fruit beer; the Imperial Beach Port second for Snow White, a Belgian pale strong ale; and the Carlsbad Village Port third for Irish Hello, an Irish red ale.

Other local winners: Carlsbad’s Burgeon, first place for Party of One, an American pale ale; Vista’s Battlemage, second for Hooded Assassin, an old ale, and third for White Wolf, an American-style IPA; Hodad’s of San Diego, third for Surf Punk, an international lager; and Taproom of San Diego, third for A Usual Brown, a British-style brown ale.

Dark, strong and friendly

Magnetic Ribbons, Final Cut Edition, is Kyle Fjalstad’s new pastry stout for North Park’s Original 40. It’s dark, sweet, strong – 13.3 percent ABV – and, Fjalstad insisted, easy to love, even for the stout-phobic.

“If they actually give it a shot,” he said, “they’ll find the style is very approachable.”

I thought it was delicious, laced with coffee, coconut, cocoa nibs, almonds and Ugandan vanilla, then aged 45 months in Elijah Craig bourbon barrels. But don’t believe me: sample this Magnetic brew at the brewery’s Aug. 8 release party, beginning at 6 p.m. Aug. 8 at Original 40, 3117 University Ave., San Diego. original40brewing.com

The next round

Tuesday: Miracosta College’s San Elijo campus will host Craft Beer Con, a professional conference covering trends, tips and techniques. The day starts with seminars at 11 a.m. and concludes with a 4 p.m. happy hour. 3333 Manchester Ave., Cardiff by the Sea. Tickets, which include lunch, are $70 or $60 for San Diego Brewers Guild members at sdbeer.com/events.

Aug. 10: Bay City Brewing will celebrate its 10th anniversary from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Point Loma tasting room. Among the brews will be a commemorative triple IPA with a staggering 10 percent ABV. 3760 Hancock St., Suite 102, San Diego. baycitybrewingco.com

Quick Sips, Big in Japan Edition

San Diego County breweries are embracing a foreign beer style that’s ideal for hot weather.

Beer: Konnichiwager

From: Fox Point Brewing, Encinitas

Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.3 percent

Style: Japanese-style Rice Lager

Drink or Dump: Drink. Konnichiwager has a sunny, lemon-flecked personality with rice flavors emerging in the mid-palate. Many low-ABV beers fade away before the last drop, but this lager — neither loud nor pushy — persists and pleases in cheerful fashion.

Hakosuka

From: North Park Beer, San Diego

ABV: 5 percent

Style: Japanese-style Rice Lager

Drink or Dump: Drink. Named for a boxy yet swift Nissan coupe, Hakosuka was the subtlest Japanese rice lager I sampled. Faded yellow in color with a faint perfumed aroma, it’s a crisp and refreshing summer cooler.

Japanese Lager

From: Harland Brewing, San Diego

ABV: 5 percent

Style: Japanese-style Rice Lager

Drink or Dump: Drink. Listed ingredients include puffed Jasmine rice and toasted rice flakes, but there’s nothing puffed-up or toasty about it. There’s a dash of lemon zest and a wispy umami base to this beer, which is smooth and clean from start to dry finish.