The needle on the compass of the local beer scene has been pointing East over the last couple of years. Breweries like Knee Deep (Lincoln), Loomis Basin and Auburn Alehouse, as well as craft beer joints like Samuel Horne’s (Folsom) and Boneshaker’s (Rocklin) have been hogging headlines when it comes to new spots. It’s about time to start looking West. “(West Sacramento) has a pretty good reputation of being proactive, it’s just the right size where they can get stuff done,” said A.J. Tendick, a home brewer for the last five years and co-owner of the soon-to-open Bike Dog Brewing Company in West Sacramento. Tendick indicated that the city had proactively zoned industrial real estate spec

Yep. Launch just went “next level.” Does it really surprise anyone? It shouldn’t, if you’ve followed the progression of the Launch Festival over the last couple of years, as it moved from a one day fashion, music and art shindig at the Greens Hotel on Del Paso in 2011, to a weeklong series of individual events around town, culminating in a blowout festival at Cesar Chavez Plaza in 2012. And now, this. Launch and Radio 94.7 dished up the lineup for the 2013 installment of the Launch Festival on Facebook earlier today, and it is a doozie! Those top two spots are going to get the most attention when Launch fires up on September 7 and 8, again at Cesar Chavez Plaza, with hot-charting arena

This is a story that I felt needed to be written – about a story that I feel never should have been. Anyone who was born and raised in Sacramento, or has spent a considerable amount of time living here, is forced to recognize one unfortunate yet immutable truth: Sacramento has long had, or has at least been perceived to have, an inferiority complex to larger cities. In particular, to San Francisco. I’m not saying everyone in Sacramento has it – but if you don’t crack a laugh while trying to tell me that you don’t know anyone in Sacramento that does have it, then I will certainly crack one before you finish your sentence. It’s the age-old mid-size city paradox, often one that’s entirely

It’s hard to avoid this thought from creeping into your head while waiting in line for the elusive and supremely heralded Pliny the Younger: It’s Beer Week in Sactown. There are beer events all over the place. Why the hell are we waiting in line just for six ounces of one beer? Because you can’t unstick it from the roof of your mouth for hours, that’s why. Such is one of many allures of Russian River Brewing’s bellcow triple IPA, annually available only in February at the Santa Rosa brewpub for the first two weeks of the month, and thereafter as one-and-done kegs at select locations in what has become an annual triple hop treasure hunt for beer aficionados – or anyone that just wants to

There were two pieces of evidence that pointed to New Helvetia's Friday night opening shindig being a pretty big deal. One, 297 people told Facebook they were going, and another 91 said maybe - which is the second worst answer in the world when someone says "new place to drink beer on a Friday night," with the first of course being "no." Pretty big numbers even when you factor out those who clicked Yes just for the heck of it. Two, I had been there thrice during their "soft opening" of three hour windows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights the last six weeks or so. Each time, more and more people were in there, and the beer was getting better and better. So, fast forward to Friday n