From the Beer Writer: When the Santee brewery and tasting room formerly operated by Finest Made Ales went up for bid earlier this year, a number of brewing companies were interested. In the end, it would seem the most fitting suitors ended up with it. Though Council Brewing is based in Kearny Mesa, its husband-wife owners used to call Santee home and were thrilled to bring an extension of their labor of love to their old stomping grounds. In doing so, they decided to create a beer that would both honor and suit the easterly community. That creation is aptly named East County Ale. Designed as an everyday, every-situation brew, great lengths were taken to make it “crushable.” But don’t mistake it with a session beer. This pale ale comes in at 6.5% alcohol-by-volume and, though easy-drinking, offers plenty in the way of flavor care of evergreen hops, resulting in a nice, cleansing bitterness on the back-end. The beer went on sale on-draft and in canned four-packs yesterday at both of Council’s tasting rooms.
From the Brewer: “East County has a special place in my heart. I lived in Alpine and helped my dad rebuild homes there after the Cedar fires in 2003, and lived there until I met [my husband and Council co-founder] Curtis in 2009. After we got married, we bought a house in Santee and perfected our homebrewing skills. At our house in Santee we dreamt of starting a brewery, developed a business plan and then sold our house to start Council. Now that we have our Santee brewery and tasting room, we wanted to create a beer that paid homage to where Council started. We didn’t follow any style guidelines, just our heart. Meet East County Ale! It is brewed with all-American ingredients. We used American two-row and some flaked corn to lighten the body and create a refreshing mouthfeel. Classic Cascade hops were used throughout and we did a light dry hopping to create a nice aroma. This beer is meant to be enjoyed with friends after a long day at work, outside on the porch, after a ride, at the river or in our taprooms. Four-pack cans just became available at both tasting rooms. Cheers!”–Liz Chism, Co-founder & Head Brewer, Council Brewing