California State Fair Awards! Woo-hoo!

California State Fair results: First Place Gold Medal for the Starry Night Stout, Third Place Silver Medal for the Jubilee! Full results here:

http://www.bigfun.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2012-CCB-Results.pdf

Tropical Lager Released!

You know it's summer when the Tropical Lager gets released. This summer seasonal is perfect for hot summer days at the beach, or, come to think of it, pretty much whenever. Brewed with organic malt: 4.1%ABV, 41 IBU. We've also got bottles and growlers to go. It's got to be good if people are taking pictures of people taking pictures of it! Come find out what all the fuss is about.

It's American Craft Beer Week!

It's American Craft Beer Week, May 14-20. Here's our line up!

Monday: We'll be releasing our limited release Bourbon Barrel Aged IPA bottles. They are sublime!
Tuesday: The Usual Frivolity
Wednesday: A Cask of Chai infused Saison Noir!
Thursday: The Usual Camaraderie
Friday: A Cask of Oaked Night Sail, our American Black Ale.http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/news-and-events/american-craft-beer-week

Island Brewing Company Claims Gold at World Beer Cup

Island Brewing Company Claims Gold at World Beer Cup

Carpinteria -- Every two years the Association of Brewers convenes to hold the World Beer Cup, an international competitIon designed at selecting some of the best craft and artisanal beers from breweries around the world. Some 799 breweries were represented at this year's event in San Diego on May 5th, entering a record 3,921 beers across 95 beer style categories. Island Brewing Company's Starry Night Stout went on to best the field in its category and claim its first Gold at the World Beer Cup in the Foreign-style Stout category.

''Our goal has always been to brew the best beers we can for our community, and to have this kind of international recognition for what we do everyday in our little beach town is humbling,'' says owner and brewer Paul Wright. ''We have a great team that strives for quality each and every day, and it's great to see those efforts translating through in a competition as prestigious as this one.''

Foreign-style stouts were historically brewed with higher alcohol contents, which helped them travel better toward tropical markets. The most commonly known is Guinness' Foreign Extra Stout, which has been brewed since the early 1800s.

"The World Beer Cup brings together great brewers from all corners of the globe and the awards are highly regarded, '' said Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association, the U.S.-based trade association that has put on the competition since 1996. ''A brewer who wins a World Beer Cup gold award knows that their winning beer represents the best of that beer style in the world.''

Island Brewing Company is a family-run craft brewery in Carpinteria where ocean views, flavorful craft beer and camaraderie flow freely among long time locals and visitors. For more information call 805-745-8272 or find us at www.islandbrewingcompany.com and on Facebook and Twitter (@islandbrewingco).

Raiding the Barchives : By the time you read this it will be gone

By the time you read this it will be gone: we'll soldier forth nonetheless. Today we've dug deep into the barchives and tapped an unfiltered Central Coast IPA. This one of a kind West Coast IPA features cascade and columbus hops weighing in at 7.1% ABV and 65 IBU and this post might have been composed with one nearby.

Not a Pair of Swirling Galaxies Hundreds of Light Years Away

It's the next batch of our Zythos-hop fueled Night Sail, coming to a tap near you soon! Stay tuned.

First Friday Cask! Return of the Big Island

And from the cellar comes a Cask Conditioned Ale of Zythos hopped Little Island, which we are going to go out on a limb and highly recommend. The Little Island again is the beer we use the second runnings from the Big Island grain bed once we are done brewing it. This is then supercharged with Zythos hops. Going to be a good one. But wait, there's more.

The Big Island returns to our taps in all its 9.7% ABV 120 IBU glory. Here we go! Hope to see you then if not sooner.