Last autumn, I took a quick ride up to Murrieta to see what’s brewing. While I wasn’t able to get to some breweries I would’ve liked (namely, 8 Bit Brewing and Oscar’s Brewing), it was a fun overnight trip whose zenith was reached at Solaris Beer and Blending.
Chad Marshman and Skyler Irish are partners in brewing at Solaris and graciously took time out of their day recently to host me at the taproom. It is at times like these when I am very grateful for the access I get due to the Independent, because—and I don’t think this will come as a shock to Chad and Skyler—I was honestly just looking for another excuse to go to Solaris and have some more of their excellent beer.
I arrived in the early afternoon after a lovely drive over the mountain, and Chad greeted me at the brewhouse entrance. We chatted and walked into the taproom before it was open for business. As we got started, he asked my favorite question: “What do you want to drink?” My answer was to ask what lagers are on tap. He recommended their Mexican-style pale lager made with masa (corn dough), called Masa o Menos. Mexican lagers are something I always like when done well, but I’ve sipped a few too many bad examples and have become a bit leery of them. But since I’ve tried many of Solaris’ beers, I knew I was in good hands. It was delicious—crisp and slightly fruity, which Chad said was a property of brewing with the masa.
As we settled in, I asked Chad where he grew up. The answer delighted and surprised me: Chad was born and raised in Murrieta. Skyler joined us, and I asked him the same question. His answer: a little further up the road in Menifee. In other words, Solaris is a product of the Temecula Valley.
My next question came from my background in homebrewing with the Coachella Valley Homebrew Club and going to events where the Temecula Valley Homebrewers Association would usually be right next to us: Where they members of the club?
“No,” Chad said. “We had a small, tight-knit group of friends that we brewed and learned with.”
Some of those friends went on to success in the industry, at places including the aforementioned Oscar’s Brewing, and Brujos Brewing in Portland, Ore. It is clear that something special was going on with that group.
Some of the secret of the sauce is that they are just following their bliss. (Yes, that’s a reference the great Joseph Campbell, randomly in a beer column.) On my first visit, I noticed some screens tuned to disc golf, and a small stage with a hi-fi system and cabinets of vinyl records. Chad and I chatted about music, as he is a singer and fellow guitar player, which compels them to host live music as well; Black Flag has played a show there! They do an open-mic comedy night, a trivia night, a disc-golf-putting league night, and a bring-your-own-vinyl night. Hell, they even hosted a wrestling event by the Westcoast Wrestling Company in November. (Have any of our local breweries ever hosted wrestling? I think not.)
Then I was asked a question: “Do you like smoked beers?” I had already seen Glass Mountain on the taplist and was hoping to try their Polish-style smoked lager with oak- and cherrywood-smoked wheat. If you’ve never had a smoked lager (or have only had bad ones), you should know that a truly great version is an incredibly drinkable and intensely flavorful experience, and Solaris’ beer was indeed truly great. A collaboration with Brujos, this 3.2% alcohol by volume lager went down very easily and would make a delightful pairing with an extra-sharp cheddar. To make something so light but pack such a punch flavor-wise is no small feat, and I hope to see more beers like this (even unsmoked ones) in the future.
Chad later handed me a sample of Dawn of Man. We were discussing pastry stouts, and I mentioned that I’ve pretty much had enough of them for a lifetime, and would like big, interesting, unladen-with-adjunct-barrel-aged beers to make a little comeback (along with the saison, of course). Well, Dawn of Man is an imperial rye wine (an ale with a significant amount of rye in its grain bill), aged for 32 months in Weller Reserve barrels, in collaboration with Horus Aged Ales out of Oceanside. My notes: “This rye wine is a complete flavor experience: caramel, toffee, butterscotch, bourbon and vanilla from the wood.” The beer had it all without having to add extra ingredients, while the carbonation balanced things out so that it was never cloying.
As the interview was wrapping up, the boys started going back to the tanks to get samples of upcoming beers. First was a tiki-inspired ale with pineapple, lime and homemade amaro bitters. The lime supported the pineapple; there was a little tartness, but the amaro and the carbonation helped lift everything off the palate. Then came a Czech pale lager that was light, clean, crisp and flavorful, which finished with a firm bitterness.
Chad and Skyler had mentioned to me earlier that one of the keys to their success so far is that they endeavor to stay humble and learn.
“Honesty is never a bad idea. We’re honest about beer to a fault,” Skyler said.
They have become what they are through high standards and not settling. Folks, Solaris Beer and Blending might be my new favorite brewery in Southern California.
Learn more at solarisbeer.com.
