Elite Event: Boos & Brews @Hermitage Brewery

A Halloween themed Elite event in a brewery. I’m in.
I apologize for the super late review. I’m so behind in writing my reviews. So the atmosphere was for sure set as this place is located in the back of an industrial area, way off the main road. I heard some people had a hard time finding the place and it was dark too. But I just used my GPS and just slowed down when it told me I was there and saw the huge Unilocal banner. So I knew I was in the right place. And you drive all the way back till you see the bright lights and huge beer barrels are a giveaway too. Haha, arrived to be greeted by Jon S and Candice G. We were handed two drink tickets. And they had a spread of pizza and chicken out. I had the sour pumpernickel rye beer as my first drink. So good. I’m fast becoming a fan of sour beers. And speaking to one of the bartenders/​staff, they said this sour beer was made by accident and they only made a certain amount so when they run out, they’re out. No way to re-​make it because it was a mistake. So cool but sad they only have a limited supply. Also we tried to buy a growler of it to take home but they weren’t selling it as it’s a limited quantity. I also tried the pumpkin ale but it was too like rich for me so I ended up with the Golden Ale. It was ok but I preferred the pumpernickel. They also had plenty of IPAs, which weren’t my speed but to each their own.
I think the pizza was from Pizza Express and it went great with our beers. A costume contest was going on and there was a good turnout of dressed up Unilocalers. There was a table full of mini pumpkins for decorating. And the Sweet dragon lady was there passing out her brittle and cookies too. I’d seen her at a bunch of Unilocal events so she’s a regular. There happened to also be a food truck parked in the parking lot. They weren’t associated with the event but Candice surprised us and bought a bunch of food from the Japanese food truck (Hoshi on the Go) for us to share. I had the sushi, takoyaki, and curly fries. They were all really good so I might need to find this truck in the future. There was a build your own candy bag so I came back with a good haul of candy. All in all a fun time. Met some new Unilocalers, saw some familiar faces. And all the costumes were really cute and inventive. I didn’t have a chance to dress up but I do love themed events. Thanks for the invite, Unilocal elite team and thank you to Hermitage Brewery. I will definitely try to come back. Make more sour beers!

Had a great time meeting new people and trying out some new beer! Staff were extremely friendly (and patient) when explaining the beer to me and it was definitely a welcoming environment. Finding the place was a slight struggle, but I’ll definitely be bringing friends back to check it out!

Although I was tired after a long day of jury selection, I was looking forward to dressing up like a pirate (with my new golden hook) and having myself a brew with my fellow Unilocal Elites. Of course, when I arrived and met CM Candice G. at the door, I forgot all about being tired. There was beer, food, Unilocal Elites, a pumpkin coloring contest, and a costume contest. What’s not to like?
According to Unilocal’s RSVP instructions, you should eat before attending because there will only be light snacks at the event. Much to my surprise there was a ton of food. Initially, there was pizza, wings, and excellent cookies and caramels by Sweet Dragon, but the Hoshi On The Go food truck selling food outside decided to hop on the band wagon and serve complimentary food. YES! Not only was the food fresh and hot, but the Japanese food went well with the beer. Check out my photos to see the Japanese food.
In regards to the beer, Hermitage Brewery was quite generous with the samples and then let you pick which beer you wanted. At the door, you get two drink tickets, but I can only get through 1. For my samples I tried the Sour Pumpernickel at 11% and the 405 at 4.5%. Surprisingly, I ended up with a glass of Villa Street American Red Ale & Ale of the 2 Tun Imperial Stout blended together. I didn’t even know you could do that!
Winning the costume contest was the cherry on top of the evening. Was it my talking parrot accessory or my new golden hook (made from a red solo cup and bicycle hook and spray painted gold) that boosted me into the winner’s circle? My fun prize package had a heavy bottle of Rum Chata (horchata with rum), a coveted Unilocal insulated traveler, Pepperidge Farm Milano Pumpkin Spice cookies, and a Unilocal bag to carry all my booty. Where does Candice find these items?
With persistence, the hidden Hermitage Brewery can be found and once found, not forgotten. When I figure out when the Hoshi On The Go food truck is in front of Hermitage Brewery, «Shiver me timbers. Avast! Pull Me Mast!»

I’m not usually one for dressing up, but I was not about to miss this shindig!
Hermitage is of course located «off the beaten path» so to speak, but once you find it it’s in an unsurprising area considering it is such a large brewery.
The event was so much fun and there were plenty of libations and nibbles to keep us Elites busy.
I fancied the Sour Pumpernickel Rye which was exceptionally well balanced for a sour beer!
Hermitage is full of surprises and they are definitely starting to come out with a whole bunch of beers that appeal to a whole bunch of different drinkers.
Hoshi-​On-​The-​Go also deserves an honorable mention for that absolutely INCREDIBLE Japanese food! I can’t wait to try his truck again ASAP, the chicken karaage was the bomb and the tako-​yaki was another hit!
Thanks again to Hermitage, Candice & Jon for throwing together such a boo-​tiful bash!

Ah, our fiery CM Candice and her #squad kill it yet again!
No one turns down a brewery event after a long day of work and when the Halloween vibes are in full force. I loved that Hermitage was the event location – there are so many microbreweries in the South Bay that no one knows about! It’s about time the Unilocal Elites got to experience the greatness of quality beer from the source.
This was my second elite event, but my first time at Hermitage. I’ve been to other breweries in the South Bay, and Hermitage is definitely a quality spot. As a dark beer drinker, I loved their Ale of the 2 Tun Stout (NOM) and their seasonal Pumpkin Ale. Both were sensational! The brewery isn’t too big, but there are enough table tops for a fun elite event.
Besides the beer, the star of the night were the delicious beer-​infused cookies courtesy of Sweet Dragon! Hway-​Ling was a sweet and generous gal who was totally okay with me eating more than 5 of her home-​made goods. Everybody loved the cookies – she even had caramels. Candice and crew also prepared pizzas and tons of candy, along with a pumpkin-​decorating contest and a costume contest too! There was also a food truck that made Asian fusion small bites, but because I got to the event a little later, the owner was about to close up. This was one of my favorite elite events because nothing beats beer, pizza, and people dressed up in different get-​ups! Hats off to another fantastic event.

Trick or Treat!
Smell my feet!
Give me something good to eat and drink!
If you don’t, I don’t care.
I still will have fun
At this Unilocal Affair.
Trick or treat!
Beer and peeps
Pizza, edamame, and even more candy
Decorate pumpkins and costume contest
Let’s find out, which was the best?
Either way, it doesn’t matter
Thank you to Candice, John, and the Unilocalers With the fun and the Fest!

I got a bit frustrated with the location, as it took me an hour and a half to reach there (traffic and getting lost) driving from Sunnyvale. When I was almost giving up I saw some people in costume and decided to follow them. Then is when I saw the Unilocal sign, it was not as big as I was expecting considering it was an industrial area, and most of us have never been there. Since I planned to be there just for a short period of time my time got shortened even more, so I had to leave by 8 pm and missed the contest and the pumpkin decorating, but I had the opportunity to try the drinks and get a nice glimpse of this Hermitage Brewery atmosphere. Very nice beers, I liked the sour one, it was different. I barely drank as I was driving and didnt want to get lost and tipsy on my way back home but surely had a good time catching up with fellow Unilocalers and tasting some beer. As for the food, we got tons of different types of pizza and different appetizers. It was my first time trying the takoyaki and is not something to dream about, but I guess it goes well with beer. No time to wear costume as I came directly from work, but next time for sure. Thanks for putting this nice event together Unilocal team and Hermitage!

Boos? Brews? Booze? YEE @ Hermitage has it all!
For a girl who doesn’t like sours, I tasted the Sour Pumpernickel Rye and was pleasantly delighted and enjoyed a glass. I also had the ever popular Alpine Gold, a refreshing and easy drinker.
There was food aplenty! Pizza, cheesy bread, and later on surprise Japanese food including takoyaki, takoyaki-​style curly fries, edamame, and fried chicken kept me full and happy.
There was never a dull moment at the event. Eat food, talk to friends, have candy, taste beer, meet new people, decorate pumpkins! I ran into old Unilocal friends, new Unilocal friends, and old friends that were on Unilocal that I hadn’t seen in a long long long time! It was a great, friendly event.
Looking forward to showing my friends where this brewery is and coming in again in the future for some more brews. Cheers Candice, Unilocal team, fellow Unilocalers, and Hermitage!

Spookalicious YEE at Hermitage Brewery!
I have to say this 3 times while tapping my heels together… I wish they would make more Pumpernickel Rye, I wish they would make more Pumpernickel Rye, I wish they would make more Pumpernickel Rye! It was that good; really. Our amazing beer hostess explained that it was kind of a Frankenstein’s child (pun intended) and probably a one off but I have to say it was one of the best beers I have ever had (trust me when I say I’ve sampled a lot of beer in my time).
Hermitage Brewery was an outstanding host, the folks that took care of us really LOVED what they were doing and you could tell. Chatting with them about how they made their beers was so cool and informative. The site surrounding the brewery is hard core industrial but that just makes entering the tasting room even nicer. THE BEER was awesome (see above) I also got to sample the Golden Ale which was medium bodied, a little crisp and not hoppy. I would love to see a dart board or two onsite… beer and darts go together like birds and feathers!
Thank you Hermitage, Candice, Jon and of course Unilocal for putting together a winner!
Cheers!

What a delightful treat to sample Hermitage’s brews on spooktacular Wed evening. Quite the sight to see so many folks dressed up and in good spirits.
Had the fortune to try the Sour Pumppernickel Ale and Alpine Gold Blonde Ale, with the latter being my favorite as it was light and easy drinking. Small bites were provided and helpful to provide that stomach buffer.
Candice and John did a wonderful job organizing and hosting (as always). Kudos to another tasty YEE.

Halloween is absolutely one of my favorite holidays because I get to dress up, so I was ecstatic to hear there was a YEE encouraging everyone to dress up. I have never been to Hermitage but I was impressed by the cool open space to hang out and the staff were cheerful and friendly.
Light bites were provided and they even brought in treats from the food truck right outside. As part of the festivities, there was a pumpkin decorating contest which supercharged my creative juices (such a great idea). I’m happy to report I placed 3^rd in the contest and received some really cool Unilocal swag (Yes! I finally have a Unilocal tumbler).
It was great to see so many enthusiastic new Unilocalers and to catch up with my old Unilocal buddies also. Candice and John did a wonderful job putting this together and thank you to the hosts from Hermitage. I’m sure I will be back with friends soon enough!

Great event! The location was a somewhat obscure taproom in the middle of an industrial neighborhood, but the food and drinks were on point! My favorite beer was the Alpine Gold Blonde Ale and the Sweet Dragon cookies and caramels. The pumpkin decorating table was also a lot of fun.
Thanks Candice + team for bringing joy on a Wednesday night!
–L.

This event was really fun. It was my first official event as a Unilocal Elite and I was super impressed! Not only was I thrilled to finally meet some of the people who write these great reviews (that I rely on almost daily) but I was also really excited to talk with like minded folks about my favorite thing, eating and drinking while I’m eating and drinking.
Hermitage Brewery has good strong beers, 404 session, and the pumpkin ale were noteably good, and Unilocal provided pizza and candy. It was also catered by a Japanese food truck that provided snacks like edamame and takoyaki. I think everyone was pleased with the eats, and a bit tipsy from the drinks.
Unilocal also hosted had a pumpkin decorating contest and a Halloween costume contest with legitimately enviable prizes, including some Unilocal swag, booze, and other thingies, which unfortunately I didn’t win. There was an Ariel (mermaid), and Blackbeard (pirate) that stole the show. It was a nice way to keep the energy and vibe bumping.
Overall, greatly enjoyed meeting more of the the Unilocaling community. Hopefully I get to attend another event before the year is over. Very thankful I got to attend this one though.

I had such a great time at Boos & Brews from sampling delicious beers to devouring various slices of pizza to seeing Unilocal Elites walk into the room in awesome and creative Halloween costumes!
The place was a bit difficult to find at first, but there was a Unilocal poster near the wired gate that told us we were heading in the right direction. Walking past the gate, we eventually found ourselves in a gigantic room with gorgeous wall paintings, a bar, and a few «barrel» tables with stools. I loved how the event was tied in with Halloween, so there was a «Best Costume» contest as well as a «Best Pumpkin Decorating» contest. Regarding the food, there were a lot of pizza slices, cheesy bread, and wings and to choose from. I loved the garlic cheesy bread and the freshly made curly fries with takoyaki sauce and bonito flakes. As for the drinks, I had to resist sampling too many since I had dance practice right after the event. I ended trying the Alpine Gold, which was a delicious and satisfying drink to sip on throughout the night. Later throughout the event, I also tried the cookies, which were so delicious that I shamelessly walked back to the cookie stand two more times to get another cookie, heh.
Thank you Candice, Hermitage Brewery, and Unilocal for another awesome event! Pictures to be uploaded soon!

What a fun and fantastic way to celebrate Halloween with my fellow Unilocal Elites! Although I did not dress up since I was coming straight from work, I felt like I was in the spirit with everyone else who were dressed up from head to toe as pumpkins, as rosies, as batman and robin!
In true Elite spirit, YE’s enjoyed pizza and delicious bites from the regularly stationed food truck outside of Hermitage but not without incredibly fresh on-​the-​tap brews from Hermitage. Although I had been here before, I was able to try three new brews I had never had prior to last night.
There was costume contest, which was great fun and pumpkin decorating allowing Unilocal Elites to foster their creativity over super cute miniature pumpkins. Candice did an amazing job! Cheers to Halloween!

Unfortunately for you guys, I’m not very creative when it comes to dressing up despite hanging out with people who make it a hobby to dress up.
Big shout out to the Hermitage Brewery for welcoming us to their location even though it was super hard to find. They had a good assortment of beers to try and I’m proud to say that everything I tried was new! First of all, I don’t even like pumpkin, so when I sipped on a few of my friends’ drinks, I was surprised how good it was. On top of that, I ended up trying my first sour beer here — in my opinion, not bad.
It was great seeing a lot of old and new faces. Hopefully I’ll be able to recognize you guys without the costumes.
By the way, pictures are up, sorry I didn’t take too many so I may have missed you :[

Boos and Booze and Booze and Boos! Man these guys know how to set up an event.
Beer + Pizza + Japanese food truck? That’s like a Netflix and chill (like literally) kind of material right there. But forreal though… there was pizza, garlic cheese bread, chicken wings, takoyaki, edamame, takoyaki fries and chicken karaage. Finally, there were tons of candy and fresh baked goods for desserts. The cookies were on point!
There were many delicious beer to be had. I personally liked the Sour and Pumpkin ale, but the 408 and Alpine were pretty tasty too! Most of their beers are stronger than normal, so for those planning on coming back, beware!
A lot of people came dressed up; I felt so out of place wearing regular clothes. From pumpkins to Batman to Princess Mononoke to 50 shades of grey, people really wanted to win the costume contest!
Overall, great event! Thank you to Candice and her Unilocal intern squad and of course thank you to Hermitage for hosting! I’m definitely looking forward to the next one! (:

I already know it was going to be a quest to locate Hermitage Brewery but since I was purposely driving like a total grandma 0.5 miles away from the destination, BAM! Found the place! The Unilocal banner/​sign was such a life saver!
Unilocal Elites enjoyed great beer, pizzas, delicious bites from the food truck outside of Hermitage brewery and some pastries from the Sweet Dragon Baking Company! Oh, the lady had this Salty Chocolate Stout Caramels that was sooooooooooooooooooooo delicious! I took a couple with me to have my co-​worker taste it the next day at work and he liked it.
Shirley, Tina and I seemed to be first in line before the line formed behind us — we sampled a few beers such as Villa Street Red Ale, Sour Pumppernickel Ale, Alpine Gold Blonde Ale and the Ale of the 2 Tun Imperial Stout. I got the Ale of the 2 Tun Imperial Stout since I’m a huge dark beer lover. I believe the girls got the Blonde Ale and the Sour.
A good amount of Unilocal Elites showed up in their costumes too! Deep S. aka Mr. Fifty Shades of Grey was probably my favorite. Lol. So simple yet creative. There was also a pumpkin decorating contest where the candy table was at for Unilocalers who wants to get artsy fartsy :)
Huge thank you to the staff of Hermitage Brewery for letting us into their establishment and thank you to Candice and Jon for such a great event!

Food, Alcohol, and Friends, what else do you need to have a good time? I came in to the event without knowing anyone and had a great time. I got to meet a lot of cool cats and had good beer and food along with it. My favorite was the imperial stout from Hermitage, I think they called it the 2 tun.
Thanks Candice for the fun costume contest and pumpkin decorating contests. I can’t wait for more elite events!

—-400TH REVIEW — -
Finding this place was a mission, to be honest. To find this place, you have to turn into this gated area and head over to the farthest right part of the building. Michelle and I parked on the other side and thankfully some guards gave us directions.
I came in as Hugh Hefner and Michelle came in as a playboy bunny so we came in a package.
There were candies for everyone laid out in a table. Bags were provided to put them in.
There were so much food! I got the chicken pesto pizza, cheese bread, and boneless wings. I would say my favorite would’ve been the cheese bread dipped with ranch.
We also received two drink tickets each. I tried a couple but the Alpine Gold stole my heart. Definitely not bitter, but good enough to drink and eat with.