Drinking Locally?

Spent this Easter weekend back home with the family in Monterey.  While out to dinner Saturday, I noticed the restaurant had Carmel Wheat in the bottle.  While I wasn’t having a beer at the time, it reminded me of all the times I told my friends to drink locally, support local brewers, etc.  So I decided, for the BBQ the next day, I would buy a 6-pack of Carmel Wheat. 

The next morning, we went to the grocery store, bought some supplies and the previously mentioned Carmel Wheat.  I also found a bottle of their Pale Ale on the shelf and figured I would try both of their available beers.

Drinking locally inspired me, even before I opened the bottle.  I had already written about a local brewery on the Monterey Penninsula and I should make a visit to the brewery some time.  I searched the box, and while I found a well marketed 6-pack, I didn’t find one mention of the brewery’s address.  I tossed the beers into the cooler in the name of saving time.  Upon arriving at the park, I went to work searching the bottle.  That’s when I found it: “Brewed and bottled in Ukiah, Ca.”

Ukiah is by no means local to Monterey.  It is more local to my current residence in Santa Rosa and in the opposite direction of Monterey.  Ukiah is also the home of large regional and contract brewery, Mendocino Brewing Co.  I did a little research after getting home and found that Carmel Brewing Co. had been purchased by Mendocino Brewing in 1998.  I couldn’t be sure, but it appears Carmel Brewing morphed into currently so-so brewpub Peter B’s located in the Portola Plaza by the wharf.

Back to the beers, I started with the Pale Ale.  Nothing special.  So I move to the Wheat, which is easily the more visible of the two beers around the Bay Area.  Again, this was nothing special.  I felt very disappointed in these two brews.  Drinking locally is a good thing, but when the beer isn’t up to par, and isn’t actually local, you feel cheated.

I still have 3 of the Wheats in my fridge and have no idea when I will open those.  Typically I would have my wife drink these but I really don’t think she would want to, and I couldn’t ask her to do that either.  These really aren’t good beers.