Built in 1882, the vaunted Calistoga Inn is located along the banks of the Napa River. Offering turn-of-the-century, comfortable rooms at reasonable rates—especially for Napa Valley—the European style of the hotel is reflected in the shared bath accommodations and quaint guestrooms.
By Joel Williams
Published: November, 2008
In 1987, the Calistoga Inn added the Napa Valley Brewing Company, which was the first commercial brewery in Napa Valley since prohibition. The brewery produces the Calistoga line of beers for the patrons of the restaurant and bar, and also offers for purchase 22-ounce bottles of the four Calistoga flagship beers: Wheat Ale, Pilsner, Red Ale and Porter. Also, there are usually two other specialty seasonal beers available at the Brewmaster’s discretion.
When I visited the brewery in charmingly picturesque Calistoga, I sat outside with Brewmaster Brad Smisloff on the restaurant’s popular patio overlooking the Napa River on an uncharacteristically hot afternoon in late October. Smisloff, originally from upstate New York, started as a home brewer and—after helping a friend run a homebrew supply store—began his professional brewing career as an assistant brewer at Cambridge Brewing Company, just outside of Boston. He spent three years at Cambridge honing his brewing skills before he got tired of the New England weather and, as he states, just decided to skip coasts.
Smisloff took a brewer position at Bear Republic Brewing in Healdsburg for two years before the Brewmaster position opened up at Calistoga earlier this year. He is now in charge of maintaining the integrity of the four mainstay beers, two of which have been awarded much-coveted medals from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). He also has the opportunity to show his personal skills through his seasonal offerings.
As for the brewery’s main offerings, Calistoga Wheat Ale is a fine example of an American-style wheat beer without the spicy or clove flavors that you find in the German-style varieties. This light ale won a Gold Medal at the 1994 GABF. The next beer I tried, the Calistoga Pilsner, is one case where Smisloff was allowed to tweak the existing recipe by switching from the previously used ale yeast to a more traditional German Pilsner yeast. The result is a crisp and clean true lager that was very refreshing in the hot afternoon sun. Since the new Pilsner yeast requires more time to ferment properly, Smisloff has to use special care and advanced planning to keep this popular beer on tap. I think the extra effort and time he puts into this beer is well worth the hassle; it shows his commitment to quality even if it takes a little more time.
Calistoga’s Red Ale is also a previous GABF Medal winner, having taken home a bronze back in 1991. This Red has a nice full body with a bit of a sweet malty flavor from the caramelized grain used in the recipe, which gives it more mouthfeel. The Red is also a good addition to the other styles available, providing a nice variety in the four main beers always offered.
One of the two specialty beers that were available when I visited was an English style Best Bitter that Smisloff made with imported English malt and hops. I found this beer to be delightfully smooth and clean, with a delicately balanced body. The other specialty was a unique Blackberry Pale Ale. While many breweries offer fruit-infused beers, most tend to stick to adding raspberry extract to their wheat beers. Smisloff decided to be a little different; he used a more expensive, all-natural blackberry puree and mixed it with a Pale Ale for a much more interesting flavor combination than the ubiquitous raspberry wheat beers available everywhere else. If you like your beer fruity, you shouldn’t miss this one.
But I’ve saved the best for last. The beer that I most enjoyed during my visit to The Calistoga Inn was the Calistoga Porter. This bold beer weighs in at the high end of the alcohol content range for this style at 6.3% ABV. It has a beautiful smoky aroma that is also distinguishable in the flavor, along with some chocolate and roasted malt flavors that I found very pleasing.
So next time you are in Wine Country, consider stopping by the Calistoga Inn to pick up a few bottles of fresh hand-crafted beer to bring back along with some of the famous local wines. The Inn also has a fine-dining restaurant that provides a great way to finish your wine tasting adventures. The restaurant features a nouveau American style menu using fresh local ingredients as well as grass-fed beef and free-range chicken.
Joel Williams
was a professional craft brewer for over seven years at several breweries. He earned a diploma in Brewing Sciences in 1996 from the world-renowned Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago.