Curt Dale (left) holds the position of primary brewer and Andy Dale handles the daily marketing and sales. Both of these brothers have a taste for beer that has created a buzz across the Inland Empire. / photo by Christopher Guzman

by Nolasco Pesina
photography by Christopher Guzman

“Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it’s so good,” Frank the Tank (Will Ferrell) says in the popular movie “Old School.” Meet Pomona Queen. From the moment a bottle of Dale Bros. Pomona Queen slides in front of you, the smell of balanced malt and hop fills the air. Its smell is not too strong but just enough to entice. Its taste is rich and full; both are smooth enough to appeal to a wide variety of critical tastes. “Typically, the type of people who buy Dale Bros. beer are 21 first off,” jokes Ricky Rossman, an employee of The Corner Butcher Shop, warming to his unexpected role of connoisseur. “It is someone who enjoys the taste of a good beer to go along with their food, someone who isn’t looking to get drunk, someone who appreciates beer.”

Pomona Queen is an American-style amber lager brewed by the Dale Bros. Brewery. It is their flagship beer. Run by brothers Curt and Andy, the business is a small operation brewery with big beer taste. Everything is run out of their 3,000 square foot suite in Upland, where they handcraft and bottle every beer.

How it started

Curt first realized he had something unique when he brewed 10 gallons of his original Pomona Queen for a friend’s wedding. “I had seen strangers with half empty cups heading back to the bar to get refills of my beer,” he says. “Strangers actually liked my beer; granted they were getting it for free, but they liked it.” Not soon after that, Dale Bros. Brewery delivered its first Pomona Queen order to Pizza ’N Such in Claremont. “My original blend of Pomona Queen was based on a California beer called Anchor Steam,” Curt says. “It was heavy in taste, so my goal was to make it more drinkable, and, after trial and error, I believe I perfected the recipe. We try and stick to the West Coast for what goes into our beer, but sometimes we do have to go to different countries because they just produce different types of barley and hops [ingredients] out in England or France.”

Like many local beers from around the world, a sense of pride is associated with brewing location. You drink it, and you feel like the beer and location are all in the bottle; you are in the moment. You drink Natural Ice because you are a college student on a budget; you drink Coors Light because your dad used to drink it after a long day out in the field; you drink Budweiser because that is what you and your friends used to drink on your nights out. And you drink Pomona Queen because you enjoy the great taste of a well crafted beer, with the local taste.

In the United States there are more than 2,500 professional breweries. Locally brewed beers tend to be the freshest beer, and the more likely they will be better tasting. Curt says local beers always taste better than any other beers. “We are a small operation brewery, which is why we would like to keep our distribution as close as possible,” Andy says. “We would like to grow within, then expand.” Andy and Curt plan on moving a few hundred yards down the road to a building twice as large. This will allow them to bring in two fermenters that will double their production capacity. This expansion will allow the brewery to hold events and to offer beer tasting. Just like any good business, Dale Bros. contributes its fair share of work with charitable organizations. “We have a lot of requests to participate in events, but we have to pick and choose which to attend because we are small,” Andy says. “We show up, hand out tasters, and it allows us to meet people one-on-one.” The brothers generally participate in events for disadvantaged youth, education and cancer prevention.

Nearly 99 percent of the Dale Brothers’ beer is distributed within 12 miles of their office, with Pomona Queen being their flagship beer, totaling nearly 70 percent of their sales. Other labels include their seasonals and California Black Beer. All of their beers fall into the lager beer category. Lager beers generally have a lighter, smoother more crisp taste, unlike ales that normally have a fruiter, heavier taste. The difference between the two is the type of yeast used in the brewing process. Ales use warm fermenting yeast that floats to the top in the brewing process. Lagers, on the other hand, use colder fermenting yeast that sinks to the bottom during the brewing process.

Pomona Queen, California Black Beer and the associated seasonal beers are all brewed in 310 gallon batches that start with 600 pounds of barley, which increases to 800 pounds for heavier beer. The barley is then put in the mill to expose the starches in the barley. Next, the mixture is put into the mashtun, where the starches process into fermentable sugars. The resulting extract is boiled in the brew kettle, where hops are added at the beginning of the boiling process to contribute a bitter flavor and added at the end to enhance aroma. Yeast is then inserted in the fermenter to create alcohol. Following, the beer sits in the fermenter an average of 28 days for heavier beers, 17 for regular beers and 14 days for the lighter beers. Next, the beer is moved to bright beer tanks and spends 14-24 hours carbonating before it is kegged and delivered.

Lucky number seven

Dale Bros. Brewery brews two year-round beers, the flagship Pomona Queen and California Black Beer. Pomona Queen is a medium-bodied amber lager that appeals to craft beer drinkers as well as those who generally drink lighter beer. California Black Beer may look like a heavy, dark beer in the glass but is actually an easy drinking lager that finishes with hints of chocolate and coffee.

“We brew the seasonal beer to keep our customers excited and give them something else to taste,” Andy says. The five seasonal beers include Oktober-Fiesta, an autumn seasonal that is a darker amber version of a traditional Okoberfest and a winter seasonal, Winter-Haze, brewed with many of the same ingredients as Pomona Queen but with more of them, allowing for a full-bodied taste. In the spirit of early spring, Shameless McDale is a green beer with a slightly roasted, malty finish and light hop bitterness. Brewed in late spring, Dude of York is a tasty medium bodied beer that features a California take on a classic Yorkshire beer. During the summer months when one is looking for a traditional American-style premium lager with crisp flavor and a light feel, Pacific Daylight hits the mark.

“All of their beer tastes good; their Pomona Queen and California Black Beer are really good, and their seasonal beers are always different from what others do,” Kristin Gallon, assistant store manager for Bevmo Rancho Cucamonga says. “The owners are awesome and business savvy, and they have good beer. To me, that’s No. 1.”

Dale Bros. Brewery has a fair share of multiple awards to back up its saying, “Fresh beer from nearby.” Pomona Queen is a gold medal winner at the Los Angeles County Fair, 2007 and 2008. California Black Beer is a gold medal winner at the California State Fair, 2009, and Pacific Daylight is a silver medalist winner at the Great American Beer Festival for English Summer Ale, 2010.

The brothers have won over a strong local following. For them, the difference between a drink and their drink, is the Dale Bros. taste.

As the best seller of the Dale Bros. Brewery, “Pomona Queen” has a flavor that embodies the spirit of the Inland Valley. / photo by Christopher Guzman

Find Dale Bros. beers

La Verne
The Corner Butcher Shop

Pomona
dba256 Gallery Wine Bar
Joey’s Bar-B-Q
Characters Sports Bar
Aladdin Jr.
Drink Tapas Bar
Fox Sports Bar & Grill
McKinley’s Grille
Super Stop

San Dimas
San Dimas Wine
Big D’s Pizza

Claremont
The Press Restaurant
Pizza ’N Such
Hip Kitty Jazz & Fondue
Espiau’s
Candlelight Pavilion
Eureka Burger
Packing House Wine
Casablanca
Winestyles
Walter’s Restaurant
La Piccoletta
Wolfe’s Market
Euro Café
Eddie’s New York Pizzeria
PianoPiano
The DoubleTree Hotel
The Cheese Cave
Rocky Liquor

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Science Fiction Theatre, a rock band based out of Rancho Cucamonga, was formed in 2004 and performs regularly at The Wire. Matt Jimenez sings and plays lead guitar. / photo by Rhiannon Mim

by Victoria Allende
photography by Rhiannon Mim

The Wire Music and Art Venue in Upland is a dream-come-true for owners Donavan and Rachel Foy. The Wire is a small, well-kept venue that is almost hidden among the row of shops on Second Street, in downtown Upland. When the red double doors are closed, it is unclear what is on the other side. But once the overhead spotlights turn on and shine above the front entrance, the venue comes to life. Behind those secretive double doors, beautiful wood floors pave the path from the entrance to the stage.

While The Wire appears small, it is the perfect setting for an intimate performance. As bands hit the stage, the lights dim and the music fills the all-ages venue. It is the perfect spot for new and local bands to showcase their talents to family and friends.

The Foys wanted to own a place where local bands could play. Rachel recalls driving around looking for the perfect place for their business.

“We found this place and it ended up being the right place for us,” Rachel says.

After a few obstacles, the Foys began construction on the venue in May 2006 and opened the doors to The Wire Music and Art Venue in August 2006. The couple, who work year-round, have yet to take a real vacation since the venue’s opening. “This is our main job, and more,” Rachel explains.

As the drummer for the band, The Ready Aim Fire, Donavan is the perfect person to own The Wire. His experience as a musician allows him to relate to the lifestyle and needs of local bands, which is their priority.

“We are here for the local bands,” Rachel says.

Their hard work is paying off.

Robert Thiel, a member of the band Screaming Remedy, has played at the venue twice.
“It’s very nice,” Thiel says. “It’s very comfortable playing here.”

He also enjoys working with the Foys.

“They’ve been great. They are very nice,” Thiel says.

The Wire is not only a venue for local bands to perform, but also a place to record music as well. Bands who are interested in recording a live performance of their show have the opportunity to receive an edited copy of their performance. The Foys have invested in the necessary editing equipment, such as ProTools LE7, to give bands the best recorded sound and editing quality. The Wire also specializes in providing bands with the opportunity to get in the recording studio. The Foys pride themselves on offering affordable pricing to bands who want to use their recording facilities, unlike many other pricey studios.

The Wire doesn’t stop at just having the best recording equipment and sound system, it also has an experienced staff. The Wire is a musician-friendly environment. All of the employees who work at The Wire are either in their own bands or are musicians.

Tristan Porter has been an employee at The Wire since November 2006. He has performed at the venue a few different times with various bands he has been a part of, including Harrison Ford and Deeragon Attack. He appreciates the atmosphere the Foys have created.
“They are doing a lot of great things for the younger crowd,” Porter says. “A lot of towns don’t have a good place for bands to play at. I grew up playing at coffee shops and warehouses. This blows all the other places I played at out of the water.”

Fellow artist Brian Hess enjoys performing at The Wire with his band Singlefaze.

“We’ve played there three different times,” Hess says. “Our experience has always been wonderful.” He is especially pleased with the venue’s great staff, particularly Donavan.
In addition to their great staff, Hess enjoys the sound quality that the venue provides during performances.

“The stage sound is incredible,” Hess explains. “They have a lot of good things going for them.” Hess and his band plan to return to perform at The Wire in the future.

What does the future hold for the Foys and The Wire? Donavan and his band have been working on their album. “They are going to be releasing their first full-length album in June,” Rachel says. “They recorded it all at the venue.”

Aside from the album release, the couple plan to keep working hard to achieve all their goals. With a devoted, hardworking pair like the Foys, anything seems possible.

photo by Rhiannon Mim

Every month The Wire features art on an empty brick wall in the entrance of the building. The owners decided that they could help local artists while filling up an empty wall. David Ward, an art student at Cal Poly Pomona, hung two of his paintings for the April gallery. / photo by Rhiannon Mim

photo by Rhiannon Mim

photo by Rhiannon Mim

photo by Rhiannon Mim

photo by Rhiannon Mim

Rachel and Donavan Foy, owners of The Wire. / photo by Rhiannon Mim

photo by Rhiannon Mim

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