USA, CA: Outpost Brewing Co. already pouring its beers in South Lake Tahoe

This December, Outpost Brewing Co., South Shore's newest brewery, poured its first beer, the Horchata Stout — a chocolatey dark brew with a hint of cinnamon, the Tahoe Daily Tribune reported on January 29.

The new brewery opened up in the space formerly known as the Basecamp Beer Garden connected to the namesake hotel.

"We emptied out room 140 of the hotel and put the brewery in there," explained Jimmy Davis, kitchen manager at Outpost Brewing Co. — which some may remember was initially expected to open as Desolation Brewing then Room 140 Brewing.

Since its first pour, Outpost now has four more beers on tap: Pale King Pale Ale, Explorer Cream Ale, Rowdy Rudy's IPA, and Buried Hatchet Amber, all of which are available to take home in crowlers (32-ounce cans).

And with the expanded beer offering — which includes a handful of guest taps — came a beefed up food menu.

"We started out with the beer garden German theme with bratwursts, but I wanted to move away from that," said Davis.

Though the menu still features a selection of themed "wursts" like the Southwest —a spicy jalapeño cheddar elk sausage topped with avocado, feta cheese and sriracha and served on a pretzel bun — diners can now choose from other specialty items, like a bowl of Goat Mac & Cheese doused in a creamy goat/cheddar cheese sauce spiced with curry and paprika and topped with bread crumbs. Sliders made with pulled pork smoked at nearby BBQ joint Ten Crows are topped with a tangy red cabbage slaw.

"Ten Crows does a great job with that," said Davis. "I have my own slider bun recipe for them that's made fresh every day. It's why they are a limited availability item."

Food and beer pairings are the next step for Outpost Brewing Co.

"As we dial in all of the beer recipes we are going to change out a few here and there, and we are going to start trying to have more food pairings that go specifically with the beers that you might order," explained Davis.

Outpost Brewing Co. hosts a line-up of weekly events, including Open Mic Night on Mondays, Trivia on Wednesdays, and live music every day of the week starting at 2 p.m.

The brewery is now the seventh open on the South Shore, with a majority opening in the last few years.

Outpost Brewing Co. is located at 932 Stateline Ave. in South Lake Tahoe.

29 January, 2018