Gold Hill Vineyard Brewery

This is a delayed posting from a visit to northern California over this last Christmas.  One day Kiki and I decided to explore and we found ourselves somewhere in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains between Auburn and Placerville.  Tucked into the hills are several vineyards, and Gold Hill Vineyard also brews its own beer.  For $5.50 you can get a sampler of six beers.

The photo was taken by Kiki's Blackberry so its not the best quality, but you get the idea.  The varieties I sampled were: Gold Trail Pale Ale, 49er Red, Old Miner's Scotch Ale, Gold Strike Light, Hank's Porter, and Axe Pic n Stout.  I have to say that these beers are pretty good considering their main effort is wine.  The pale ale and red were good, but a little stereotypical.  I think they were trying to copy Sierra Nevada with the pale ale.  The Scotch Ale was different and was fuller body and more of a darker copper color.  Gold Strike Light was obviously something they brewed to satisfy the crowds of weddings they host.  Their porter and stout were great dark beers.  I particularly liked the stout.

If you're ever wandering around through California's gold country this is a good sampler tray to check out.  The location is beautiful, but its not really near anything so don't expect Gold Hill Brewery expand its operations or its market.