Caesar Cervisia: Up in the High Desert, 29 Palms Beer Co. Is Producing Fantastic Craft Beer

Anyone who regularly reads this column knows that I struggle to keep it locally focused. If every column was entirely focused on the Coachella Valley, you’d get tired of my griping, and I’d get tired writing it—but today, I’m excited to write about something positive and local.

When I got an email from Ed Heethuis inviting me to Twentynine Palms to experience 29 Palms Beer Co., I jumped at the chance. If his name is familiar, you may have read my column about 29 Brews (not to be confused with 29 Palms Beer Co.) at Spotlight 29, where he was the founding brewer. He told me the people who own GRND SQRL, a gastropub in Twentynine Palms, opened 29 Palms Beer Co. after being entrenched in the craft beer scene in San Diego. I was cautiously optimistic; could this be a craft beer oasis in the high desert?

I snaked through the retreating festival-goers to Highway 62 and made my way up to the brewery, parking in the back parking lot, shared with the Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center. The taproom is cozy, but not cramped, with a few tables between the back wall (where the kitchen hides) and the bar.

Heethuis greeted me and suggested the first flight I should have. My expectations were that the beer would be at least as good as they were at 29 Brews at Spotlight 29—and I detected some beers on the board that indicated he has more freedom here than he did at the casino, such as a fruited sour ale which is part of a series called Delly Jonut (likely a play on the Jelly Donut shop across the street).

There were also some familiar-sounding brews. The Highway 62 Blonde tastes like and has the mouthfeel of an American blonde ale; the version he served at Spotlight resembled a pilsner more than a blonde. This is essentially the type of beer you have to make for customers who want nothing more than an American lager, except a blonde doesn’t take the same time to ferment, meaning it has a quicker turnover. I’ve said many times how uninspired I think it is as a style, but it’s here to stay, and this is a good example of this beer.

The Roadrunner Red was a straight-up American red ale—and I’m here for it. It’s a style I miss, and when it’s done well, it combines bold American hop flavor with a biscuity, cracker-y malt base; I hope it makes a comeback. The Two Mile Rd. IPA was a very drinkable beer with a dank hop presence and a little bit of that aforementioned biscuit/malt note to round it out, but with a very subtle bitterness. I tried two hazy beers: the Ocotillo Hazy Pale Ale, which was very tropical (I got notes of pineapple, mango and passionfruit), but it didn’t drink like a milky haze bomb; and the This Wind Blows Hazy IPA, which was also fruity, but surprisingly floral, which I love in a hoppy beer.

I had arrived at the taproom hungry, because I had eyed the menu on their website and saw some incredible breakfast items, as well as smash burgers and hot dogs, all dreamt up by the chef at their GRND SQRL location, Joel Pettersson, whose Scandinavian name makes The Skaagen Dog on their menu make much more sense. But breakfast time had passed, so I chose the turkey smashburger and thoroughly enjoyed it with the beer samples I had before me.

This is when I met owner Mike Usher. He moved to the area when he was 5, eventually moved away, and played a part in some important San Diego tap rooms such as Ballast Point and North Park Beer Co. It was at the former that he met his wife; he then moved back to the high desert, and they opened GRND SQRL and eventually 29 Beer Co. He wants it to be a place where locals (and visitors, of course) are able to enjoy proper craft beer—and not the stuff that is owned by the big boys that the distributors heavily suggest you keep on tap. I saw, for the first time, a North Park Beer Co. tap, and this is one of the still-rare places locally where you can get Pliny the Younger at the right time of the year.

Usher and I chatted about the San Diego glory days (so long to the golden days of Alpine Beer Company, Green Flash and a few others that are sadly nowhere close to the way they used to be) while I sipped on Ed Heethuis’ Batch 29 Russian Imperial Stout. This was my favorite of the day: Rich chocolate, raisin and almond flavors jump out and grab you. I hope there will eventually be a barrel-aged version.

I am always glad to get an invite because of this column, but I’m very pleased when it’s local and good. Is “good” too much to ask for? I don’t think so—but 29 Palms Beer Co. exceeds that, and seemingly has what they need in order to improve on what they’ve already done.

Heethuis took me over to the small brewhouse—looking out toward the patio, the visitor center and the surrounding hills—and showed me his latest piece of equipment, which he plans on using to add more of whatever adjunct or hop he chooses to a beer. I also met one of his assistant brewers, Dave McLellan, whom Ed plucked from the legendary 3 Floyds Brewing in Indiana.

I have very high hopes for the brewery, and I insist you go support them, because when someone does something right in craft beer here, they deserve to thrive—and that is not always a given in this industry. Take an afternoon; drive up; and enjoy.

29 Palms Beer Co. is located at 73565 Twentynine Palms Highway, in Twentynine Palms. Learn more at www.29beercompany.com.