liquid assets
PLUMAS GOLD
Meet newcomers to the craft brew scene.
WRITTEN BY KAREN KUSENER
PHOTOS BY DAVID E. CARMAZZI
When the owners of UnderCover Ale Works of Blairsden, Calif., unveiled their first beer releases in March 2012, Phil Kaznowski of Clio, Calif., was the first person at the door eager to have a taste.
“This is the most exciting thing to happen in Plumas County since gold was discovered!” he says.
Kaznowski is not alone in his enthusiasm for this local brewery. Craft breweries such as this one have been popping up in towns and cities all over the country at an amazing rate. The number of U.S. craft breweries, defined as independent brewers specializing in smaller batches of interestingly flavored beer, has exploded in the past few decades.
| UnderCover Ale Works owners Susan Duniphin and Rich DeLano |
Some explanations for this epic, history-making growth include an evolving American palate, a burgeoning locavore movement, and, recently, an economic climate that necessitates ingenuity.
Personal Reinvention
For Rich DeLano and Susan Duniphin, partners and co-owners of UnderCover Ale Works, opening a brewery has been a bit of a reinvention, but not an improbable one. Work had slowed for DeLano in the construction trades and Duniphin was looking for a new project. And although the Reno-Lake Tahoe area boasts several craft breweries and brewpubs, their home county of Plumas had none.
Duniphin gained knowledge and experience about the craft-brewing industry through a connection with Southern California’s Stone Brewing Co. She also is no stranger to business, having conceived and established the popular Pangaea Pub and Café in Quincy, Calif.
“I’m more of a throw-it-together-and-see-how-it-comes-out kind of a brewer,” says Duniphin, who is an experienced home brewer. “But Rich has a science background. He gathers data and is methodical, careful, rigorous.”
Currently, DeLano is in the role of head brewer at UnderCover. The pair’s recipes were developed and refined through an impressive 72 home brew batches cooked up in the year preceding full-scale production.
Rather than occupy an existing building, the couple decided to build its brewery from the ground up. The two already owned 15 acres on the edge of Blairsden, Calif. That, combined with DeLano’s building and design skills, resulted in a brand-new (apart from the 120-year-old nails used in the grain loft floor), rustic, yet ultra-modern brewing space. Its location, hidden from the view of the road in a forest clearing, along with its address at 67007 Highway 70, led to their choice of the UnderCover name and theme.
Lofty Mission
UnderCover Ale Works has an admirable mission. The owners brew quality beer using the finest ingredients available, source locally whenever possible, and donate beer to good causes. They believe their beer will sell itself once people try it.
If you’d like to try it, you have growing options. Several Quincy, Graeagle, and Blairsden restaurants are pouring UnderCover’s liquid gold. Look for it on tap in Truckee and Lake Tahoe locations soon. You also can tour Duniphin and DeLano’s facility, taste their current selections, and play some disc golf at the brewery if you are so inclined. I think you’ll agree that Plumas County has indeed “struck it rich” with UnderCover Ale Works.
Karen Kusener is a freelance writer living in Quincy, Calif. She loves the quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin that “beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” She also blogs about food and Quincy life at www.Thehungryfarmgirl.blogspot.com.
Resources
UnderCover Ale Works
67007 Highway 70, Blairsden, Calif.
530-394-0940, www.Undercoveraleworks.com
