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Redding’s Wildcard Brewing has just opened a taproom — its third — on Albany’s Solano Avenue with grand opening festivities planned from 5 to 10 p.m. Nov. 16.
The beer is brewed in Redding, so you won’t find the usual brewing equipment that you see in the many small breweries popping up all over the Bay Area. But the cozy space, just across the street from the Albany movie theater, has a handful of seats around the bar, a few tables and chairs, and a mezzanine space that looks down on the bar.
If you visit anytime soon, I hope you like IPAs: Seven of the 10 beers on tap on the day we visited were IPAs, including three West Coast IPAs, two New England style and two double IPAs. The hops in the West Coast IPAs impart an earthy quality beer drinkers often call “dank.” It’s a bit of an acquired taste. My favorites? Wildcard’s New England IPAs, which are lower in bitterness and full of juicy flavors.
The other three taps offered a German helles lager, a nice, crisp, malty Oktoberfest beer, and an oatmeal porter.
Co-owner Jenny Hansen says upcoming releases will include a Coffee Brown Ale, Coffee Cream Stout and a bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout.
You’ll find a few snacks here, but you’re also welcome to bring in outside food. As for the beer, pint pours are $6, 10-ounce pours are $4 and a sampler set of five 5-ounce pours is $10. Growler fills are available, as well.
Don’t miss: I’m usually not particularly enamored with Double IPAs. Their hop bitterness often overwhelms all other flavors. However, Wildcard’s Bi-Coastal Double IPA was quite good. At 8.2 percent alcohol by volume and 80 IBUs — international bitterness units — it falls within the normal parameters of a double. But the initial sharpness of the hops is followed by a long, smooth finish, a product of both the East Coast yeast and late dry hopping, making for a pleasant experience.
Details: Open from 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays at 1122 Solano Ave. in Albany, www.wildcardbrewingco.com.
