The Craft Beer Market
Enegren Brewing Company is a Moorpark, California based craft brewery that brews Valkyrie beer. The craft beer market has grown rapidly over the last 40 years after Congress legalized homebrewing in 1978. As a result, this inspired many beer enthusiasts to start their own small breweries. However, today the overall beer market is flat and possibly in slight decline. Even the craft beer market has become oversaturated. The number of breweries in the United States continues to rise, albeit at a much slower rate. There are daily reports of breweries closing. Many are predicting a “beerpocalypse” as once popular breweries, brewpubs and tasting rooms close.
Enegren Brewing
Enegren Brewing Company is a unique brewery. Chris & Matt Enegren and Joe Nascenzi founded the company in 2010 in a Loyola Marymount dorm room before growing enough to move into a real brewery. The company focuses on German-inspired beers, with a heavy emphasis on lager-style beers. They produce six beers year round and several rotating seasonal brews, special release and one-off brews that push the boundaries of lager craft beer. They have a tasting room in Moorpark, California with 12 taps.
Enegren Brewing Valkyrie Beer
Valkyrie was one of Enegren’s first beers and is available all year round. Enegren describes Valkyrie as a German-Style Amber (Altbier) “crafted with 60% Munich Dark Malt, this Alt-style amber ale presents a distinctive, smooth malty flavor, harmoniously counterbalanced by a subtle bitterness derived from the interplay of German Herkules and American Mt. Hood hops. Our meticulous fermentation process leans toward the cooler end, ensuring a clean finish that allows the rich malt character to shine through.”
Valkyrie has a 6.2% ABV, 0g protein, 14g carbs, 0g fat, a 35 IBU and 184 calories. It has a “Very Good” rating on Beer Advocate.
Our Review of Enegren Brewing Valkyrie Beer
I was in Woodstock’s Pizza in Isla Vista, near the campus of University of California Santa Barbara, for dinner on a Friday evening. Woodstock’s has excellent pizza and a rotating list of local craft beers on tap. I had never heard of Enegren Brewing, but I looked at the list and chose Valkyrie. My choice was due solely to its category as a German-style amber ale, my favorite style of beer.
I immediately loved it, ordered a second pint and even considered a third, but I decided to pass even though I wasn’t driving and had no early plans the next day. The beer was surprisingly not filling despite its heavier style and 6.2% ABV. I don’t think that Enegren has much distribution outside of Southern California, but I always try to find it (sometimes successfully) when I am Santa Barbara. I strongly recommend Valkyrie if you like amber ales and/or German beers. My only caveat is that I have only had it on tap and cannot vouch for how it is in cans.
For another beer recommendation, see our review of Franzikaner Weissbier.
For beer nutritional information of all beers we have reviewed see Beer Nutritional Information.
