St. Stan's Brewing Company - Red Sky Ale

The Red Sky Ale that is before you has quite a stellar track record. The Malt Advocate awarded its highest honors to this ale in 1995 and in 1996, this elixir achieved 89 points out of 100 at the World Beer Championships. No wonder it is before you now so you can enjoy the subtle combination of crisp bitterness and delicate sweetness. Look for a medium body, infused with a dynamic combination of barley and wheat malt. Note the bitterness balanced by aromatic Cascade hops. A fantastic red hue makes one envision the sunsets of summer that are yet to come.

The founders of the St. Stan’s Brewing Company have been concocting marvelous libations since 1973, when Garith Helm and his wife Romy began to explore their newfound passion for homebrewing. They began brewing German-style beers after returning from a visit from Germany. After many experimental brews, numerous trips to Germany, and many a tasty beer consumed, they successfully produced an "Alt" beer, a style that is well known in Dusseldorf, Germany. So keep at it all of you out there that brew your own…there is hope for you yet…or perhaps you would like to keep that sweet homebrewed nectar all to yourself!

Encouraged by the reception given to their beer by friends, Romy and Garith decided to build a modest brewery adjacent to their home in Modesto, California. Ah! The beauty of a handcrafted microbrew can pop up wherever, whenever. Much like your coveted beer shipment and all of our other gourmet clubs!

Construction commenced in 1981 and, three years later, Modesto was home to a new 1,000-barrel brewery. The Helm’s produced their first commercial beer (delivered in kegs) in July of 1984! Not missing a beat they began bottling liter bottles in 1986 and sensed an overpowering urge to expand the brewery. This team was fixed on winning some sort of beer producing record as they began 12-oz. bottling in 1987 and you guessed it…time to build again.

The original brewery adjacent to their home was now running at full capacity. And true to form for being a team not known to waste time, Romy and Garith began the construction for St. Stan’s newest addition in the fall of 1989; do you see a pattern here folks? Completed in September of 1990, the new downtown Modesto brewery offers an annual capacity of 12,000-barrels and sports a state of the art microbiological lab that allows their masterbrewer to closely monitor each batch.

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (209) 524-BEER or check out their web site at www.st-stans.com.