Mountain Fermenter

By Greg Roe and Mike DeSmidt

We’d like to kick off the Mountain Fermenter by taking a look at what brewing during the COVID-19 crisis has been like for our local breweries. We were able to chat with Donald Cramb (via email of course), co-owner of Steel Bonnet Brewing Co. in Scotts Valley.

What inspired you to open Steel Bonnet, and why did you decide on the theme and beer styles the brewery features?

SB: Our son was considering his career options when the idea of starting a brewery came up. We had brewed together for a number of years, so it seemed to make sense to invest in something we knew. The roots of the name are in the area of Scotland where Sue, my wife, and I grew up. It is an area on the border between Scotland and England. In the 1600s and 1700s it was used as a buffer zone between the constantly warring nations. It was basically run by a band of horseback raiders called the Border Reivers. Their nickname, Steel Bonnets, came from the steel helmets they wore while out raiding and pillaging local farmers and peasants.

How have COVID-19 and the SIP orders impacted your business?

SB: In terms of numbers we are pretty much half of where we were for the same period last year. This is actually not too bad mainly due to the fact that deliveries, and now pickup, have been more popular than we expected.

I think you were the first brewery to offer free doorstep delivery of your beer, as opposed to pick-up like the others in the area. What led you to the decision to offer this?

SB: When SIP started we did consider both delivery and pickup. In the end we chose only delivery because we wanted to do our part and encourage people to stay home, or at least remove one reason for them not to do so.

Have you changed your beer lineup as a result of any supply issues?

SB: We have been fortunate in that we have not seen any ingredient supply issues. We get our yeast from a company in San Jose, and most of our grains from a craft maltster in Alameda. Despite being relatively small there have been no issues.

Do you think the Santa Cruz County brewing community has become closer as a result of this experience?

SB: The brewing community here has always been very close and supportive, at least as long as we have been in business. In fact we consider most of them to be friends rather than business associates, or worse, competitors. One example: we were in danger of running out of Crowler cans a few weeks ago, which has been pretty much our only supply issue. Of course, it did not take long to find a brewery that was willing to loan us some to tide us over.

Have you had any strange or out of the ordinary experiences delivering beer to people’s door steps?

SB: As you can imagine, delivering in SLV has meant there have been some pretty hairy delivery routes. We have bottomed out the van a number of times, and navigating around the edge of a cliff in a 2-wheel drive Ford Transit is never a fun thing to do. Despite this, our guys have always managed to get the beer to its final destination, or at least close enough that we could meet the recipients. The main thing that struck us doing this is the warmth and sense of community we’ve experienced while driving the van around, both from regulars we recognized and other people we didn’t.

We’re glad that Steel Bonnet, and most of the other local breweries, are open for business!

Steel Bonnet Brewing is open for curbside pickup, 12:00 to 6:00 pm daily. Free delivery within a 10 mile radius, 3:00 to 6:00 pm daily. Order online: steel-bonnet.square.site

Ben Lomond local, Mike De Smidt has been home brewing for 12 years and is a BJCP Certified Beer Judge.

Greg Roe is a Felton local who has been a home brewer for 20 years and is a self-proclaimed Fermentation Geek.