• Home
  • News
    • Entertainment
    • Brewers
    • Beer Reviews
    • By Region
      • North Bay
      • San Francisco
      • East Bay
      • Peninsula
      • South Bay
      • Outer Bay
  • Brewery Map
  • Advertise
  • Jobs
  • About
  • Contact
reed rye ipa scv santa clara valley brewing
(Photo: Santa Clara Valley Brewing)
Brewers, News, South Bay 0

Santa Clara Valley Brewing’s beer lineup pays homage to San Jose history

By Sam Molmud @smolmud · On June 20, 2016

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Right outside of downtown San Jose, around the corner of Monterey Road and East Alma Avenue, a business park strip is situated across the street from where the 110-year old Southern Lumber used to stand. On the heels of that century-plus of business history, Santa Clara Valley Brewing Company‘s (SCV) taproom is creating a new tale, while also celebrating the rich history of San Jose.

A brewery that recently observed the one year anniversary of its taproom and brewery, SCV didn’t push for a huge anniversary celebration like many breweries jump at the chance of doing. Rather, in the tradition of how their taproom opened — subtly — the brewery has continued to expand its eclectic offerings of beers that pay homage to Silicon Valley.

Beers like their Reed Rye IPA, which was named after Reed Elementary School in San Jose and served as a reward for a school fundraiser, pushes tropical, fruity and pine IPA flavors into new territories, with the rye providing a biscuity seasoning underneath that deliciously hides its 7.9 percent alcohol rating.

“After we fired up the brewhouse we did a soft opening in June of last year,” said Tom Clark, CEO of SCV. “We kind of just rolled slowly into an opening, didn’t do a big splash, but it’s been growing ever since.”

Clark, an Apple veteran and long-time South Bay resident, said a large emphasis of SCV is on keeping things local: from the beer names (Umunhum Pale Ale), the ambiance of the bar, and the causes they support.

A beer like their iOS fits perfectly for a Silicon Valley-based brewery. The name is an abbreviation for Imperial Oatmeal Stout. Decadent, deep and dark-blackish-brown, the iOS has flavors of caramel, chocolate and creamy stout texture at 10 percent alcohol.

(Photo: Santa Clara Valley Brewing)

(Photo: Santa Clara Valley Brewing)

Establishing a place for beer drinkers to enjoy the sentiments of San Jose’s culture, while also giving the opportunity for people to learn about San Jose’s history, was a major aim of the taproom’s ambiance, according to Clark.

“We wanted to make the taproom feel like people might be in a cannery with an agricultural element. This is all reclaimed wood from San Martin,” said Clark, referring to the wood of the walls and tables in the taproom. The taproom itself is decorated with concert posters from the ’60s and ’70s, and a huge wall painting of San Jose’s famous Electric Light Tower is noticeable when you first walk in.

“We’ve talked to people who grew up in San Jose who had no clue what Electric Tower was,” said Clark. “That enlightenment is cool to see and they come in here and learn what it was like to grow up here.”

bay area breweriesdowntown san jose beerelectric tower ipaios stoutreed rye ipasan jose beersanta clara valley brewingscvsouth bay breweriestom clarkumunhum pale ale
Share Tweet

Sam Molmud

A Bay Area native with a self-taught appreciation for craft beer, Sam serves as editor of Liquid Bread. A web strategist by trade, Sam has over a decade of experience in digital marketing, content strategy and web management. Contact him at [email protected]

You Might Also Like

  • fieldwork coronavirus brewery pickup takeout
    (Photo: Fieldwork Brewing)
    News

    Coronavirus causes Bay Area breweries to pivot sharply as impact widens

  • (Photo: Suni Sudhi)
    News

    Editors’ Picks: 9 Unique SF Beer Week Events

  • (Photo: AleSmith Brewing Company)
    Brewers

    AleSmith’s Order of the Anvil Beer Club Secures Rare Releases

No Comments

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • Coronavirus causes Bay Area breweries to pivot sharply as impact widens
  • Editors’ Picks: 9 Unique SF Beer Week Events
  • AleSmith’s Order of the Anvil Beer Club Secures Rare Releases
  • SF Craft Beer Shuffle: City Beer Store, Cellarmaker, Fort Point, Black Sands
  • A Brewery of Epic Proportions

Tags

bay area bay area beer bay area breweries cellarmaker east bay ales east bay brews east bay pubs east bay taverns IPA san francisco San Francisco ales San Francisco brews San Francisco Pubs south bay
  • News
  • Events
  • Brewers
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • About
  • Contact

Recent Posts

  • Coronavirus causes Bay Area breweries to pivot sharply as impact widens
  • Editors’ Picks: 9 Unique SF Beer Week Events
  • AleSmith’s Order of the Anvil Beer Club Secures Rare Releases
  • SF Craft Beer Shuffle: City Beer Store, Cellarmaker, Fort Point, Black Sands
  • A Brewery of Epic Proportions

Bay Area Beer News

Liquid Bread Magazine is a free online trade publication dedicated to covering the Bay Area beer industry.

With an ever-evolving and comprehensive map of all Bay Area breweries, feature brewery highlights, and new beer roundups about from local breweries, Liquid Bread is the Bay Area's premiere and only dedicated news outlet for information about the local beer industry.

Comments? Send a note to sam@liqbrd.net.

Beer Reviews

  • Beer Flight With Pumpkin Pie

    9 Bay Area beers to pair with holiday desserts

    November 25, 2015
  • The Rare Barrel, New Belgium debut new sour beer blend collaboration

    September 17, 2015
  • Hermitage experiments with big, bold flavors at downtown San Jose brewery

    August 13, 2015

Categories

  • Announcements
  • Beer Reviews
  • Brewer Profile
  • Brewers
  • Business
  • Culture
  • East Bay
  • Editorial
  • Events
  • Food
  • News
  • North Bay
  • Outer Bay
  • Peninsula
  • San Francisco
  • South Bay

© 2019 Liquid Bread Magazine. All rights reserved.