With just a little over three months until their second anniversary, Mad Pursuit Brewery Company has already made an indelible mark on the Hollister downtown food and drink scene. Caught in the transition between the mulling spice-tinged winter warmers and tropical fruit-enhanced springtime hazy IPAs, it is a particularly great time to visit Mad Pursuit, where six brewed-in-house beers are now featured.
Two of those beers, “Just a Trip” and “Before the Storm,” were made as collaborations with one of 10 people in Mosaic, the highest tier of Mad Pursuit’s annual membership club.
“We sit down with them and talk about what style they’d like,” said co-owner Alex DeLeon. “What the ABV [alcohol by volume] was going to be and what kind of hops they’d like to use. And they come in, learn the process, make a beer, and then they get to name it. They love it so far.”
With the addition of Crave Wine Company to a block they already shared with Pour Decisions Taproom, the area has become a notable wine and beer destination spot, which means business has been pretty good all around.
“We have bigger crowds and much more visibility because of those places,” he said. “We get a steady influx of people as people jump around from one to the other. It is something we all appreciate.”
As an additional draw, De Leon said that karaoke and open mic nights may join the already popular Thursday night trivia matches, and they are looking to expand their parklet and perhaps start hosting live music as well.
The success comes at a cost: they can’t brew their own beers fast enough to keep them in stock for very long.
“We need more fermenters,” he said. “We only have a two-barrel system here, which is 60 gallons, so we go through each brew in three or four weeks. We have been reaching out to other local breweries, like Brewery 25 in San Juan and Steel Bonnet in Scotts Valley. Steel Bonnet has a 15-barrel system, which would allow us to start distributing rather than just selling it out of our place.”
Still, Mad Pursuit keeps moving forward, rarely duplicating a brew, and is always up for creating something special, as it will be doing as one of five breweries making special beers for the Poppy Jasper Festival in April.
I had a chance to sit down with De Leon and try the six house beers on tap. Quantities are limited on all of these, and all are worth a try.
The Beers of Mad Pursuit
“Hazy Until Proven Otherwise” Hazy DIPA (8.8%) – “We got an extra shipment of yeast from Berkeley East Lab,” said De Leon, who created this beer. “They weren’t going to take it back, so we just needed to make a big beer with it.” Using Nectaron hops for the first time, Mad Pursuit produced this lovely beer that sports a gorgeous aroma of peach, orange peel, and vanilla, a malty mouthfeel with citrus notes of guava and grapefruit and an earthy finish that carries an Earl Grey Tea astringency in the back of the throat.
“Just the Trip” Belgian Tripel Ale (9.2%) – “We collaborated on this one with Logan Jackson,” De Leon said. “Even though he’s been in the beer scene since around 2010, he’s never had the chance to brew one before. He wanted to do a Belgian because it was the first beer he had ever tried, and he hated it. But since then, he has come to love them.” The beer’s delicate aroma comes from the Belgian yeasts used in the process, and it comes across as bananas and bubble gum with a thread of spiciness. Very light in flavor, it begins with a sweetness that gives way to faint hints of cloves and allspice that blossom somewhere in the middle then drifts into a nuttiness in the finish. My favorite of the ones we tasted.
“Dude, Where’s My Sled?” Winter Warmer (8.5) – The aroma is Juicy Fruit gum mixed with dark chocolate from the Ghanan cacao nibs used in brewing, but the flavor is more akin to mulled cider with sweet orange peel, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon and it has a somewhat bitter coffee-like finish. The combination of spices makes this one kind of adventure ride for your palate—an easy-to-drink and fun beer that might remind you of eating a chocolate-covered fruit bar.
“Brut Pursuit” IPA – Brut (8.2%) – Similar to brut champagne, with more density and less carbonation, this is a very dry IPA. “We use amyloglucosidase enzyme to break down the long sugars,” he said. “That makes it easier for the yeast to consume it.” With a light, floral aroma resembling jasmine mingling with orange blossoms, the florals lead the strawberry flavors on the tip of the tongue which recede behind a malt taste that drifts off in the finish. An exceptional beer and a close second to the Belgian ale.
“Before the Storm” West Coast Black IPA (6.5%) – A collaboration with Mosaic member Kyle Roderick, roasted barley gives this beer its deep color, which leads to a notable burnt caramel and coffee aroma that carries into the taste, though there is a layer of sweetness as well. This is a very weighty and portentous beer, not for the weak-hearted.
“Tropicali Love” Hazy IPA (7.7%) – The tropics come through with mango and guava from the first sensing of the aroma to the last drop in the glass. Made for a Valentine’s Day release, you can tell the brewers had fun planning this one. There is more than a hint of Hawaiian Punch concentrate here, just exploding with flavor and cheer—a beer made up of nothing but high notes from the Motueka hops and Phantasm powder, which is derived from sauvignon blanc grapes. It is an absolute pleasure to drink, and I think it is a must-try.
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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