Memories, Pressed Between the Pages of My Mind

I love when a beer takes you back to a certain place. While living in Oregon, I was surrounded by great beer but a few brews brought me home to California. Now that I am back in my home state, these beers still find a place close to my heart.

The beer that inspired this little bit of reminiscing about reminiscing was Red Nectar from Humboldt Brewing. An amber ale, Red Nectar is now actually brewed down in Paso Robles by Firestone Walker, who acquired Humboldt Brewing in 2005. This brew is one of my favorite session beers, especially on a hot day, think late summer tailgating at the Coliseum in Oakland. It’s a nice and balanced amber, easy to drink with a very mild hop finish.

But more than the beer, I’m inspired to write about those cold rainy days in Oregon, when I wanted to be transported back to the Bay Area. There was one place I could go and always find my favorite California brews, Cornucopia on the corner of 17th and Lincoln in Eugene.

Cornucopia is a place many people might not know about. It looks like a corner market but has a small restaurant inside with a little 4 seat bar with a half dozen taps. Next to the bar is the bottled beer selection. Out back is a very nice garden seating area for those warm sunny days. I always left with a mixed six if not more. The staff was always very nice and the menu was simple and comforting. If in Eugene, make sure to stop by and enjoy a nice meal and a beer (of course).

In case you were wondering, the list of beers that brought me home were Red Nectar, Racer 5, anything from Anderson valley, especially Boont Amber, and Anchor Steam on draft. What hooked me the first time I went to Cornucopia was I found Racer 5 on tap. For me, this was reason enough to keep coming back. Of course, when I needed a bottle of Red Nectar, one was always in the cooler.

Just writing this post, I can see myself at the bar, staring at the wine selection, beer in hand, chuckling at the communism-inspired bottle of red wine. Next time in Eugene I will have to stop in .