SFBW Days 3-6: Catch-up

Man oh man. It's easy to fall behind on blogging when all you're doing is drinking beer. Drinking great beer at that. How 'bout just some pictures and captions, since I'm already running late to tonight's event, and it features me.

Day 3 pics I hadn't posted on behalf of the tragic news about Bill Brand, who is now listed in stable condition in the ICU.

Day 3
Beer2Brakers! 1 pubcrawl, 140 riders:

Symbolic ride around Anchor:

Showing up at Gordon-Biersch en masse:

Schwarzbier (black lager) & garlic fries. Who needs a ballgame?:

At 21st Amendment, riders received one can of beer and could buy a sausage from Fatted Calf. That's a ten-dolla knockwurst I'm eating (w/ saurkraut and sauteed apples):

1 free beer? Let's blow this popsicle stand:

This is Eric; he made a lot of the homebrew enjoyed at the picnic in Golden Gate Park:

This is Kachusha "Chuey;" he made this ride possible:

We all really enjoyed the homebrews:

Popped into the Alembic to say hi to Sam Calagione (and finally try Dogfish Head "Red and White"):

Sean Z. Paxton is the Homebrew Chef (and that's his cuter-than-you daughter, Olivia). Yes, this was a test:

Not only did his Monk's Blood pass the beer test, but food-wise, check out the slow cooked, beer-braised Colorado lamb shanks with carrots, celery and thyme, dried figs and coriander served on a puree' of parsnips. Dude passed with flying colors. (And the other courses and beers were aces, too):

Growler & Half Pint sated (photo by Jesse Friedman):

Another brilliant shot by Jesse, this time of Bill Brand. Worth repeating:


Skipped Day 4.

Day 5 (Tue):
Started with lunch with an old friend in town, Ann. She's vegan. I'm not. Phat Philly cheesesteak with house-made cheddar-beer sause (Newcastle):

Barrel-aged Beer Night at both Jupiter & Triple Rock. Starting at the former:

First sample of the night, Oskar Blues' Old Chuboubon (yep, Old Chub Scottish strong ale aged in bourbon barrel):

Next stop, T-Rock (much better selection of barrels):

This bloke knows/lives, his beer. Cheers, Phil (Yes, his iPhone's wallpaper is hops).

Seriously. 16 amazing beers, ameliorated by barrel aging. My winner of the night--The Bruery's Melange #3 (a blend of 3 bourbon-barrel aged beers--imperial stout, Old Ale, wheat wine--then fermented with special Belgian yeast strain). KU-DOS:


Day 6 (Wed)
Chilled at the Page for a Sierra Nevada tasting. My first Torpedo Extra IPA in a bottle. Yeah for free sausage with all 3 Sierra Nevada mustards:

Walked down to Toronado for cheese-pairing with Brewery Ommegang. We tried to take the pairing suggestions seriously, and I know the Rouge avec brie and dried fig was our collective fave:

Dunno what these guys preferred:


Not shown: The can of Hamm's my friend Colin, 23, bought me after because I bought him some $4 6-oz samples, which he enjoyed, but couldn't wrap his head around the price. I drank his beer across the street at his favorite dive, Molotov's. Call it a cultural exchange.

SFBW Day 3: Scary plot twist

I'm not sure how to handle this in light of the news I just received. "What's On Tap?" columnist and the Bay Area's preeminent beer scribe Bill Brand is in a coma after being hit on the tracks by the N-Judah at 9:10 last night. Adding to this tragedy for me is that I was having the best time with him at 9 p.m.

Briefly, I started day 3 of Beer Week on the Bike 2 Brakers ride, which was great. I then stopped in at Alembic to see Sam Calagione and try Dogfish Head's Red & White. Which was great. Then Half Pint & I hopped on the N-Judah down to 2nd & King, before getting drenched in the rain to 21st Amendment (for my 2nd time. I had a beer & knockwurst earlier on the ride) for the Sean Paxton the Homebrew Chef's beer dinner. Which was beyond great. But on the ride there, our friend Jesse boarded and he started talking to a man sitting directly beside us. I'd never met him, but he looked familiar, only something was missing. The mustache from his picture online. Like I said, I'd never met him in person, but I've read him a lot, including when he gave me my first local coverage.

He was instantly affable. We all sat at the same table, Bill, Jesse and his girlfriend Elianna, Sean's wife Arlene and adorable little girl Olivia, Bryan Kolesar from BrewLounge.com who flew out from Philly and his friend Chaz who flew down from Juneau. We enjoyed a lot of great beers, yet I'll add that they were poured in moderation. We actually used the dump bucket instead of drinking everything just because it was there. Sean's featured creation, Monk's Blood, 21A's 3xIPA, an homage to Michael Jackson called The Beer Hunter, "Diesel"-a smoked imperial porter, a "funkified" version of the house Watermelon Wheat aged for 3 years, and some more Monk's Blood. All I want to do is write about the phenomenal food, which is why we were there, but in truth, that's not why we were there. You can get food by driving up to a window, then you eat it alone in your car. We were there for the company you enjoy during a fine dining experience like this. And as I was sitting across from Bill, he kept me amused with his stories about growing up in Nebraska and the times he'd visit Austin and Boulder ("oases" we called them). He recalled the early days of beer-drinking in the Bay. This coming from a man who didn't need to drink SFBW's official brew, "Original Albion," for he had the original New Albion over years ago. Though he'd written about it, it was great hearing it from him. He also knew from Anchor Steam, pre-Maytag.

He didn't just tell good stories, he was a great listener and enjoyed various stories floating around the table, from carnivorous tales about the difference between Alaskan deer and contiguous US deer, to beer celebrations outside California, to our general adoration of the little handful at the end, Olivia.

The impression I walked away with about him is, here's a guy who wholeheartedly appreciates everything about beer; he kept diligent notes in his omnipresent notepad about each beer's profile, how it played with the food including how its preparation IN the food, and most importantly, how we all came together on this night to celebrate it, and each other. It was clear that both Sean and Shaun (co-owner of 21A) were honored to have him at the dinner.

It was an honor for me to enjoy it with him and I pray to God he makes a full recovery so we all get to enjoy many more with him. Please join us in raising a toast to Bill tonight at 7 p.m.

Jesse took this great shot last night:

SFBW Day 2: From Sea to Shining Sea

Other than my first beer of the day, which I'll get to in a sec, I spent the day celebrating breweries in San Diego, Calif. and Portland, Maine. And I did so on both sides of the Bay.

Not sure why I thought the AleSmith event @ City Beer started at noon, but it didn't start til 3. Oh well, three hours to kill surrounded by SF's most amazing bottle selection. In walked Jesse of Beer & Nosh fame, scooping up some Russian River Consecration and graciously sharing a glass of the official beer of SF Beer Week, Original Albion Ale. An easy drinking Pale Ale that tastes like history.

My friend Scott showed up and took Jesse's place at the bar (4 stools). Spying a Hitachino Nest beer new to me, Commemorative Ale (a.k.a. New Year Ale), brewed with a delicious sounding laundry list of vanilla bean, coriander, orange peel, nutmeg and cinnamon, this witbier-meets-Christmas ale didn't measure up, IMHO, to their line of beers. Luckily, the other bottle I shared with Scott--Hair of the Dog's Ruth, did. (I should note, it's named in honor of Alan Sprints's grandmother, Ruth. My grandmother Ruth has a bottle that I drank for her on her shelf.)

Three O'Clock High. $12 got us 5 AleSmith tasters--X (Pale Ale), YuleSmith, IPA, Wee Heavy, and the pappy of 'em all Speedway Stout. Sorry, traders, one-bottle limit.
It was my first time trying it, and regardless of the high ratings, I knew I'd love an imperial stout brewed with coffee then aged in bourbon barrels. I bought my one bottle as well as the Anvil ESB to commemorate my foray into homebrewing. AleSmith's owner/brewmaster, Peter Zien, was on hand to sign bottles. Cool guy.Afterward, I left while others were still in line to get in. I rendezvoused with Half Pint back at home base and she drove us to Oakland. At the Trappist, they had plenty of Allagash on tap including their collaboration with Belgium's De Struise Brewery, Fedelta. As with all Allagash beers I've ever had on tap, the lines are too cold so the beer improves immensely once it warms up. Half Pint and I shared Fedelta, our mutual favorite Curieux (see our post for The Session below), and one that I like to believe was named in my honor, Odyssey.

Allagash founder Rob Tod was on hand, as had a keg been on his hand (see below).
Sated and semi-schnockered, we hit Cato's Ale House in Oakland for some grub, capped by a half pint of Iron Springs Black Lager. There's no place like home.

SF Beer Week Day 1: ODE to O.B.A.

Kicking off SF Beer Week at a private event at the Anchor brewery in the Portero Hill neighborhood (it's sixth location in its 113 year history) got me in the spirit in a hurry. Many local brewers represented as did various beer-world flotsam and jetsam (ahem). Not only were we treated to Anchor brews fresh on tap and an undying plate of Maytag Blue cheese, the reception ended and guests were invited to gather around the mash tuns and brew kettles for a toast. The debut of Anchor's newest, and very limited release, Our Barrel Ale.
(Left to right are SF Beer Week's creators: Celebrator's Tom Dalldorf, Magnolia's Dave McLean, Beer Chef Bruce Patton, Fritz, 21st Amendment's Shaun O'Sullivan, and beer scribe extraordinaire Jay Brooks.)

Introduced by owner Fritz Maytag and his longtime brewmaster (since '71) Mark Carpenter, this beauty clocks in around 8-9% ABV. It's a blend of other Anchor beers (notably Porter and Bock, and I'd guess no Small Beer) aged around six months in their proprietary barrels--those of Old Potrero
Straight Rye Whiskey. Take some of my favorite beers, blend, aged in barrels of one of my favorite whiskeys, and you've got yourself the "ideal social interchange beverage," if I may borrow a quote Fritz told me.
On a scale of one to ten, I unwaveringly give it a 10.

Just don't start licking your lips. This uber-ltd release goes on sale SOON but with no official release date, and there are barely over 100 cases--bottled only in magnums (would that be "magna"?) like Our Special Ale (a.k.a. Anchor X-mas)--and they'll only be available at the brewery. Thank goodness I live in San Francisco.

Afterward, Half Pint & I headed for our favorite "cheap'n'cheerful" grub stop, Tommy's Joynt, which knows a thing or two about old school Anchor tradition.
Can't wait to see what the next nine days have in store.

Crossroads ESB

I'm the world's newest homebrewer.
Don't get into homebrewing to save money on beer. Longterm? Yeah. But if my arms fall off and I never brew again, I spent as much on these instruments and ingredients as I would've on 25 great six-packs of beer (and my batch will only yield as much as almost 9 six-packs).

But I didn't worry. I relaxed. And had a homebrew. (Thanks, Greg, for the Belgian Noir)

Steeping the grains (obviously my first batch was only partial-grain, the rest LME).

Prepping primary fermentation.

Which requires pitching the yeast. Look, Ma, I'm a zymurgist.

So what'd I make? An ESB. Though I'm all about American craft beers, I wanted to brew an easy-going British bitter. Since I'll have a ton, I needed to brew a session beer. And what was my soundtrack for homebrewing? It had to rock. I wanted it to be British. And I wanted it to reflect early steps. Disc 1 from Clapton's box set rocks his pre-classic stuff: Yardbirds, Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and of course Cream. So, as I switch paths from the freeway of commercial brew drinker to the road less traveled toward homebrewing..."Crossroads ESB."

And now we wait...

Session #24 - A Tripel for Two

I’d been remiss about participating in The Session, but love that this monthly meeting-of-the-beerminds is a great topic: drink your favorite Tripel ale with someone you love. So not only is this an excuse to shell out the dough for one of my all-time favorite beers, but it’s the perfect way to get the oft-mentioned yet never-heard-from Half Pint involved.

For starters, though a confirmed “malt-head,” I’m not one for Tripels. Too malty. Go figure. A Tripel is essentially a Belgian-style barleywine with once, twice, three times a malt bill. In a word: sweet. (No tell-tale hoppy bitterness whatsoever.) So at first, I thought I’d have a hard time with this Session, until I remembered that Allagash Curieux is a Tripel base aged in bourbon barrels. Anything + bourbon barrels = awesome.

I picked up a 750 ml of BevMo for $15.99 (along with an Affligem Tripel for Half Pint’s comparison sake) for this assignment. Not being ones for that V-Day crapola, we uncorked our bottle tonight to accompany steak, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, and some sautéed veggie medley I made up, and sprinkled some cinnamon on it ‘cause I thought that would make it more trip-friendly.

In a word, Curieux is delightful. It’s scrumptious. It’s rich and smooth with a finish that glows with maple, vanilla bean gelato, and warmth. Much better than stouts aged in bourbon barrels because it provides a golden foundation for the “angel’s share” to bask in.

And that’s what I wanted to share with Half Pint. Not to mention, it clocks in at 11% ABV. So, after finishing nearly half the bottle herself, here are her thoughts to steal the show:
My nickname is Half Pint. My boyfriend calls me that and it seems to be catching on. It is because I am a beer fan and also because I am short (a whopping 4'11 3/4"). One of the advantages to dating a beer author is that you get to try good beer. Lots of them. So when he served me steak, potatoes and Allagash Curieux for dinner tonight, I knew I was in for a treat. First sip - yum. Second sip - double yum. Third sip - triple yum. It's like the best qualities from every beer I've ever had (and yes, I've had A LOT of good beers) mixed into one. If you like pecan pie, it was like that but in beer. Different textures and flavors, smooth and crumbly, all mixed into one. In each bite. Refreshing. Comforting. Rich. Somehow, light. Sweet but not syrupy. Again, YUM. Definitely one of my new favorites... It's funny, a lot of girls need flowers or diamonds to know a guy really likes them but I don't need those things. The fact that my guy shared this beer with me shows me how much he really loves me. Okay, I am off to finish the rest of the bottle before my better half beats me to it.

Fat, drunk, and broke. SF Beer Week is almost here.

Behold, the inaugural SF Beer Week. I've been eagerly anticipating this 10-day "week" for months.

Foreward. There are nearly 100 events scattered over all neighborhoods throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, from Carmel (a stretch even for the South Bay) to Petaluma in the North Bay, from Beach Chalet by the Pacific to Richmond out in the East Bay. It would be impossible to BART to hit them all.

The events range from "free"--you only pay for the beers and other incidentals like nibbles--to more than one $100 beer-pairing dinner. It would be impossible to afford to hit them all.

And let's not forget, though some Pilseners and lighter lagers will be poured, many barleywines, higher alcohol barrel-aged beers and other strong ales will be featured. It would be impossible to let your liver filter them all.

It is from this mind frame that, in my attempt to go, see, drink, eat, learn, and meet my full share of places, beers, foods, and people, respectively, that I devised this schedule. (Huge [p]regret: I'll be missing all the great-sounding events in Santa Cruz since it'd be impossible to return home safely.) I reserve the right to change any events based on opportunity, greatness, affordability, and downright whimsy.

Key:
SF=San Francisco
EB=East Bay
NB=North Bay

FRIDAY, FEB 6:
Day one eases me in, celebrating two of NorCal's biggest, best, and oldest breweries.
SF 11 a.m.-10 p.m. All things Anchor (beer, wine, whiskey, cheese) @ Murphy's Pub in SF's Union Square.
SF 6-8 p.m. Sierra Nevada tasting, including the new Torpedo Extra IPA @ The Jug Shop (in Russian Hill).

SATURDAY, FEB 7:
SF Noon+. AleSmith @ City Beer (in SOMA).
EB 6-8 p.m. Possibly heading out to the Trappist in Oakland for Allagash's Rob Tod. (Only problem is, he'll be in the City on Mon.)

SUNDAY, FEB 8
Woah. HUGE day. Like Hansel in Zoolander, "I'm going monk."
SF 11 a.m.-3ish. Beer2Brakers bike ride around the entire city. We don't need no stinkin' Gatorade. $10
SF 3-7 p.m. Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione holds court @ The Alembic (in Upper Haight).
SF 6-9 p.m. Beer dinner with the Homebrew Chef, Sean Paxton @ 21st Amendment Brewing. $50.
SF 10-midnight. Unless I'm in a food-and-beer coma, I'd like to head over to the Toronado(in Lower Haight) to meet Lost Abbey/Port's Tomme Arthur... and buy a bottle of Cable Car.

MONDAY, FEB 9
NB 1-5 p.m. Moylan's Brewing event @ Noonan's. What's this beer event about? Whisky, cheese, and chocolate. You know I've never taken the ferry up to Marin? I will this night. $29.
SF: 6-midnight. In case I didn't catch him @ Trappist, here's my 2nd chance. Allagash's Rob Tod hits the Toronado. (Stay tuned for my upcoming Beer Session #24 post on their "Curieux.")

TUESDAY, FEB 10
All day across the Bay.
EB 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Local beer and slow food pairings from Ground Zero. Not to mention, gotta try "Original Albion" beer @ Chez Panisse. A la carte (in the Gourmet Ghetto). This is going on the 9th-12th, lunch and dinner seatings.
EB 4 p.m. Barrel-aged beer tastings @ both Triple Rock & Jupiter brewpubs (in Berkeley). $10.
EB 6:30-9:30 p.m. "North County Cheese Off." Flights of North Bay brews @ The Bistro (in Hayward). $45

WEDNESDAY, FEB 11
If I wasn't allergic to 2 dishes that contain seafood, my C-note could be no better spent than at Scala's for Beer + Nosh's beer-pairing dinner. Think 7 courses prepared by a local celebrity chef paired with 7 beers including some you're not likely to try again. I look forward to the pictures!
SF 6-8 p.m. Chillax with Sierra Nevada's ass't brewmaster Terry Sullivan @ The Page (in Duboce Park).
scheduled February 11, 2009 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
SF 8-midnight. Nightcap for the beer+cheese night featuring Ommegang, in hopes of finding some more "Obamagang," er, I mean "Inauguration Ale" as well as their anniversary Chocolate Indulgence. Where else? @ the Toronado.

THURSDAY, FEB 12
To be sure, there are several awesome-sounding beer dinners in the City tonight, but I'll be heading over the Bay Bridge. Dig it:
EB 2-3 p.m. I'll probably pop back into Chez Panisse for another round of a la carte slow-grub and beer.
EB 6-8 p.m. Me. Yep, The Mad Zymurgists, the Tri-Valley's homebrew club and advocates of all manners of fermentation science, asked me to speak and sign books at the Hop Yard (in Pleasanton). Thanks to Brian of the Mad Zymurgists and Towne Center Books, the local indie bookstore for handling sales. (I'm not-so-secretly looking forward to trying some homebrew, too.)

FRIDAY, FEB 13
SF noon-2 p.m. Bavarian Beer Brunch @ Gordon-Biersch (in SOMA). Mit oompa band! $30.
SF 4-8 p.m. (or, as their other site says, 6-9 p.m.) "Meet the Brewers" @ Speakeasy Brewing (in Bayview/Hunter's Point). They hold these every month, but Speakeasy is the one SF brewery I haven't been to yet.

SATURDAY, FEB 14
SF Noon+. The only game in town! Barleywine Fest @ the Toronado.

SUNDAY, FEB 15
Oh no. Last day.
EB 1-2:30 p.m. Beer judging 101 in San Leandro. $25.
EB 3-8 p.m. Celebrator shindig @ the Oakland Convention Center. $35.

Should be one helluva week.

Creekside Brewing, San Luis Obispo

Driving home up the 101 after Thanksgiving, I stopped in San Luis Obispo for gas. And a sandwich. And another bottle of Central Coast Brewing's Chai Cream Ale. (I swear they have improved it since those '07 ratings.) But what I found was much more exciting.

I parked in front of a space with construction going on. The sign hanging in front caught my eye: Creekside Brewing. I asked if it was going to be a brewery or, more likely, a brewpub and the guys didn't know. Mental note: check back in next time I pass through SLO. And that's just what I did when, after returning to LA. yet again (5 times in 4 months--ridiculous) for one of my oldest friend's wedding. (Best open bar selection ever including several single malts including my fave, Laphroaig. Yet typical crappy LA beer: Amstel Light, Corona, Bud.)

Half Pint has long told me about these great friends of hers, Jeanine and Johnnie, who live near SLO, and could we stop there to meet them for a drink? Cue lightbulb.

It turns out the brewpub just opened this week! Our waiter ran down all the things that delayed the opening, from a held-up brewing license to orders from the NSA to put the equipment behind special glass in case terrorists try to taint the brew. Because Al Qaida is more interested in a 10-bbl brewing system in SLO, pop. 44,147, than a large city's municipal water supply that has a chain link fence around it.

Anyhoo, the sad part about the pitfalls that befell Creekside Brewing is that they needed to open in a hurry yet only had enough time to offer one house beer on: Creekside Opening Pale Ale. It was perfectly good (think Cascade and Crystal). There's an IPA and an imperial stout in the fermenters as I blog. The selling point on this place is its namesake. It is situated above SLO Creek and if you get patio seating like we did, it makes for one of best vistas of any brewpub.The menu offers appetizers and small plates (the difference?) so it's great for sharing amongst friends. The sampler plate had bites of smoked brisket, brie, a goat cheese and fig concoction, cherry tomatoes with mozzarella, etc. No sooner had I commented that this was no jalapeno poppers place, they pointed out the menu offers "plant-ripened jalapenos" stuffed with cream cheese. I guess poppers are ripened off the vine. Anyway, that's what Johnnie ordered and they were amazing.

Lastly, as we were wrapping up our time together so Half Pint and I could return to the road for the remaining 3 1/2 hour drive, the owner, John Moule, came by our table to check in on us and ended up offering us a tour (unless you know there's a downstairs, touring the main floor doesn't take long). Downstairs is where the beer gets sent to ferment. It's also where the cellar-cum-bar is and when business picks up (fingers crossed) and you can't find a seat on the patio, head downstairs.

John poured us a taste of the IPA that wasn't nearly ready. Give 'em time. And there will be seasonals, too. But I suspect by the time I make it back, the four of us will have more good time and good beers to look forward to.

Brewing Network: PFC in the BN Army

A lot of the things I've been able to do by exploiting my status as a Beer Author were things I did as an ale enthusiast, only from the flipside. Listening to the Brewing Network is no different, meaning this time I did so from inside the "rat pad," and with headphones on, and a mic in front of my face (which is getting off easy compared to Schuman, star of the new feature, "What's in Schuman's mouth?" Let's just say it wasn't always beer.) Cheers to Jason, Chad, JP, Doc, Tasty, Bevo, and the whole gang.


Here is the recent podcast of the Sunday Show on the Brewing Network. Note that it's a full four hours long and I don't appear until roughly a pinky-fingernail's-length into the downloadable mp3, but if you hang in there, you'll hear me do some Journey and Sister Christian karaoke.

Test. look at that dogg.

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Beeradise

Behold: the Beeradise.

Every so often, I encounter fellow beer geeks who sadly have but one complaint about their significant others. "She just doesn't get it." These women, who are wonderful in countless ways, I'm sure, simply do not understand or share in their boyfriends' or husbands' ale enthusiasm. Not mine. Not Half Pint.

One perk of shacking up with someone who does interior design by trade is that she has a keen sense of space. Add to that she loves beer and I was given not simply the go-ahead, but some help in making our new love shack a place where any beer would happily call home.

The "cellar" armoir on the left contains beers worthy of aging (New Belgium's La Folie, Full Sail's bourbon-barrel aged Top Sail, Harviestoun's Ola Dubh 16, Hitachino's sake-barrel aged XH, Goose Island's bourbon-barrel aged Imperial Brown Goose, Upstream's oak-aged IPA, some Alaskan Smoked Porters...) and the chiller on the right is now set to exactly 41 degrees, where a bottle of Geary's Porter is calling my name.


Cheers to a happy 2009

Santas Cruz & Claus

One last blog post to cap '08 and to wish you all a merry Christmas, happy Hanukah, wonderful winter solstice or festive festivus.

Having been preoccupied with a big move and the holidays, I'm 10 days delayed in writing about a killer event down in Santa Cruz. Huge thanks to Janet at Capitola Book Cafe for inviting me, for hooking up some great press and radio and best of all, beer-love from the local brewpub, Seabright Brewery!

So Half Pint and I hopped in my ride and headed down the 101 to the 85 to the 17 to Hwy 1. Since we were there, we got in a little air hockey at the Boardwalk and some of my hands-down favorite ice cream c/o Marianne's. 72 flavors from Irish coffee chip and Mexican chocolate to Horchata and Cardamom. Alas, I was too full to take up Janet on her offer of a Bavarian feast (brats, red cabbage...) at the cafe portion of Capitola Book Cafe, served in honor of a beer book reading! I did, however, quaff a pint of Seabright's Pale Ale, c/o Jason the brewmaster and Charlie, the owner. It wasn't my first time drinking their beer, as I found my way to the brewpub back in April after running the Santa Cruz half marathon, since I only run so that I can drink more beer.

Over 50 chairs had been set up for the reading and each one was occupied when Janet announced me after some upcoming author events including Nicolette Hahn Niman (as in, Niman Ranch) in support of her forthcoming, Righteous Porkchop. All I know is, everyone who bought my book at the store got free beer. If attendees at Niman's event get porkchops, I'm there!

So I took the stage, offered a toast to all who raised and didn't raise their cups, and generally enjoyed one of my best events yet. The terrific audience included everyone from college kids just starting their own beer odysseys (including Banana Slugs from UCSC and a pair of fellow Gauchos from UCSB) to homebrewers in the Central Coast Zymurgeeks club to Charlie Meehan, the who went from young homebrewer to seasoned brewery owner, as he's the guy who founded Seabright 20 years ago.

The Central Coast is vying to become a formidble player in the California brewing scene. There were already a few breweries in Santa Cruz County, and in the past couple of years, I know of a couple more than sprang up including Uncommon Brewers (whose Siamese Twin Ale--the first beer I know of to employ lemongrass--was going to be paired with Thai food, but its still in my beer-chiller for some reason) and Santa Cruz Ale Works.* The latter only has a few beers out (I remember picking up the Hefe last time I was in town) but has a couple more on the way. I know because the brewer, Marc, who started the brewery back in '07, offered me a bottle of his new Oatmeal Stout. Paired with my mom's chocolate chip pumpkin bread, it's an exceptional stout--creamy and rich--and makes me look forward to his next beer, which is currently aging in bourbon barrels!

Thanks again to Janet & everyone at Capitola Book Cafe and all the many cool beer people who came out.

*That asterisk above? Consider this a trailer or coming attraction for an upcoming post about the aforementioned beer chiller (thanks to Santa in the form of my aunt Terri) and my overall new living situation. Prepare for Beeradise.

Imported Beer (devising a way to blog about a crazy night of dancing)

Beer Odyssey is 99.9% about domestic craft breweries: their beers and my experiences with them. This is that other .1%.

Intro: Half Pint's birthday falls right around Christmas. As such, most people are out of town or too busy with family to help celebrate. Months ago, when she took me to my orthopedist for a broken ankle I suffered before my book tour, she spotted a Chinese restaurant next to the medical center, which is what happens when your cheapo health care provider puts you in the Chinese Community Health Care system. Anyhoo, there's a sign that's all in Chinese except for a few words in English:

"Dancing Night. $13 per person (including dinner). Live Bands with Top Singers."

Figuring people would be around 2 weeks before her b-day when she wouldn't expect it, and I've never thrown a surprise party before, I surreptitiously emailed a few of her friends. I basically said it'll either be great or it'll be so awful, it'll be great.

Skipping over the part how I finagled Half Pint to the restaurant, she was definitely surprised. I begged the host to let her do some karaoke before they cut it off since it was her b-day. We ordered way too much food. And as for how much Tsing Tao we drank? Let's just say our new friend at the table next to us, Mabel, looked at our bill and stormed into the kitchen to demand that the manager charge us the Chinese people price, not the other price, since it came to over $100. When she came back and realized they didn't gouge us--that we really had ordered that many beers, she said, "No wonder you guys are so fun."

I'll tell you what's so fun.

Line-dancing to the Pussycat Doll's "Don'tchya Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot LIke Me" with 50 Chinese seniors.

Unrelated, just to squeeze this in a post about imported beers, I stopped by the Toronado today to check out their bottle sale. Hardly a treasure trove of rare and aged beers, and none were at bargain prices (even the cashier kept announcing that some bottles could be found cheaper @ City Beer), but she did pour me a great taste of last year's Abyss (see previous post), and I did get a $12 bottle of a Belgian micro I'd never heard of, Serafijn, a golden ale called Celtic Angel. Read about the brewery and you'll see why it appealed to me.

Kong chien & Op uw gezondheid.

Twelve Beers of Christmas, c/o the Jug Shop

When it comes to living in San Francisco, one of the many things I’m grateful for is the abundance of specialty liquor stores, not that I buy all that many bottles of booze or vino. This may come as a shock, but mostly I scan the beer coolers. Such was the case when I popped into the Jug Shop at Pacific and Polk St, just around the corner from Half Pint’s apartment. Incidentally, despite living there for four years, she’d never scoped out the joint. Since we’re shacking up and it’ll no longer be the neighborhood beer store, I wanted to buy a bottle for the first time for old time’s sake. The proprietor sensed I was there for no mere sixer of Heinie and disappeared into the backroom only to emerge with a bottle of Deschutes’s Abyss.

Sold.

As I paid, the fellow (his name is Eric) let me know they were going to hold a winter beer tasting over the course of two nights. Yep, a tasting too big to be contained in one session. Not only would he be opening up winter warmers, he’d be be opening up TWELVE winter warmers. Not altogether, but EACH NIGHT, which is to say the 12 Beers of Christmas. Friday: Mostly Belgians. Saturday: Mostly domestic beers. Hooray for having a place to crash within stumbling distance!

I feel like I’m always apologizing to the Beer Geek Community, but while I am always down for trying everything, I’m no huge fan of certain styles of beer, from the uber bitter double IPAs to the pucker-inducing Belgian sours. So while I greatly appreciated the first session, I didn’t love most of them. Surprisingly, most of the samples were overtly malty with nary a trace of hoppiness. Pancake beers, because they were so syrupy sweet. What follows is the complete list of beers, the Jug Shop’s retail prices for 750 ml unless noted, notes and my personal rating on a 5-stein scale.

1. Scaldis, Prestige. $49.99. (Yep, fiddy bucks for 750 ml. Initial impression was all sugar, but nice piney finish, certainly spices up as it warms up.) 4 steins.
2. Brasserie Dupont, Avec Les Bons Voeux. $10.99. “With Best Wishes” from the brewery that brings us a stellar Saison, this guy was only lightly fruity. 3 steins.
3. Canaster, Winter Scotch ale. $15.99. I love Scotch ales. Having said this, this was too tart to be what I consider a Scotch ale. 2 steins.
4. Scaldis, Noel Premium. $?. Unfiltered, bottle-conditioned amber that put Mrs. Butterworth to shame. 2 steins.
5. St. Bernardus, Christmas Ale. $11.99. Ah yes, this is what I was hoping to find. This “living ale” can be aged for 15 years. I don’t often go for Abbeys, but this one begs for a fireplace and s’mores. 4 steins.
6. La Chouffe, N’ice Chouffe, dark winter beer. $11.99. At 10% ABV, the purported thyme and Curacao didn’t really come through over the Wall of Malt. 2 steins.
7. Goudon Carolus, Christmas. $11.99. Three hops and six spices and herbs. Just shy of the Colonel’s secret blend, but way tastier. If it was brewed in August and tastes this good already, would love to see how it tastes next winter solstice. My only 5 stein beer of the night.
8. Delirium, Noel. $11.99. One of the most popular Belgians of the season, the banana and pineapple notes jumps the gun. Crazy Belgians. 3 steins.
9. Affligem, Noel. $?. Why is this not a barleywine? Where are the hops, spices, fruits? Drowned in all that alcohol. 1 stein.
10. Samichlaus, Helles. $5.99 (for 12 or 11.2 oz). This is a Helles?? Tastes like malt syrup, honey, molasses, treacle, and finishes with some sap. Bring on the triple-crème brie. 1 stein.
11. Samichlaus, Bier. $5.99 (12 or 11.2 oz.) OK, so they age these for almost a year. My maple syrup in my fridge is that old and it doesn’t get any more complex either. This liquefied brown sugar is over the top, but would go with a Nutella crepe. 1 stein.
12. St. Feullien, Cuvee de Noel. $10.99. OK, at this point I was just pleasantly intoxicated and making friends with my fellow tasters. I gave it 3 ½ steins.

The next night was more my cup o’ tea. Or beer. And cider…since Eric saw fit to start the show with three ciders from Oregon, on top of the 12 beers of Christmas. Again, he supplied a print-out with info about the beers, but somehow I misplaced mine, but I think I can recall them all. Most were poured from 12-oz bottles out of six-packs, which I recall were mostly in the $8-11 range.

1. Wandering Aengus Ciderworks, Dry. No joke about the dry. Reminds me of New Belgium’s La Folie brewed with Brett. 3 steins.
2. Wandering Aengus Ciderworks, Semi-dry. Niiiice. 4 steins.
3. Wandering Aengus Ciderworks, Heirloom Blend. The sweetest of the three but with an interesting tang. 3 steins.
4. Sam Adams, Winter. Yeah, that’s right. Sammy. Nothing mind-blowing our crazy out-there, but it’s been forever since I’ve tried this and it’s straightforward that works for holiday beer novices. 2 ½ steins.
5. Moylan’s, White Christmas. On top of standard Belgian witbier spices like orange peel and coriander, they kept going, but possibly went overboard with the white pepper. Yes, it has a kick. 2 ½ steins.
6. Marin Brewing, Hoppy Holidays. I usually want my holiday beers to just pack the spice, but this offers up both spice and hops. Delectable. 4 steins.
7. Shipyard, Prelude Special Ale. Sort of a nutty red ale. For a hit-or-miss brewery, chalk one up for the Ringwood yeast. 3 steins.
8. New Belgium, Frambozen. It’s not that I can’t like a fruit beer. It’s that I don’t like this one. Tastes like a basket of raspberries that was left to ferment in your fridge plus hops. 1 stein.
9. New Belgium, 2 Below. Nicely balanced like if they were to turn an ESB into an ice beer. 3 steins.
10. Sierra Nevada, Celebration. Yep, lots of Cascade hops. 3 steins.
11. AleSmith, Yulesmith. What do San Diegans know about winter let alone winter beers? Quite a lot. 4 steins.
12. Anchor, Our Special Ale 2007. I’m a latecomer to Anchor vertical tastings of their Chrismas and New Year special ale, but I’ve been squirreling away a few bottles at home. I remember last year that the 2007 rendition didn’t do it for me as much as the ’06. Having said that, it has aged tremendously in just one year. Dare I say… 5 steins.
13. Anchor, Our Special Ale 2008. I was planning on cracking open the ’07 and ’08 at home soon. Jug Shop did it for me. I’ve already had the ’08 this year and loved the dark roasted malts and ginger kick. Having said that, the aged ’07 is now better. Silver lining: how good the ’08 will be down the road.* 4 steins.
14. Deschutes, Abyss. No, this isn’t technically a Christmas beer, but certainly holds up against any winter warmer. It’s an imperial stout, aged in French oak and bourbon barrels. Hells yeah. Remember how I started by saying I bought a bottle of this here last week? Upon tasting it, Half Pint made me buy one to keep for down the road. 5 steins.
15. He’Brew, Jewbelation. Again, I was too toasted at this point. But I’ve had this, uh, Chanukah Beer before and it does the trick. 4 steins.

*While there, I got a call from Jesse who was attending a beer club meeting hosting a phenomenal-sounding vertical tasting of Anchor X-mases, 1993-2008!!! Woe that I did not make it over.

Overall, both nights were excellent endeavors and drew a great crowd of experienced and newbie beer fans who all found great was to stave off Jack Frost from nipping at our noses, and livers.
Cheers.

Sideways (viva la Hopmonk)

Think Sideways and you're apt to think of that movie with Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. From now on, I'll think of the Dungeness crab dinner (the crustacean's lateral movement is a bit of a stretch, I know) at Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol, which, like the movie, is in wine country.
Because I had to head down to SoCal for Thanksgiving and a few book events, I've been remiss about updates, hence Jesse at Beer & Nosh beat me to this post. And all the photos below are his. Lastly, his beer dinner tasting notes are more on topic, since he loves crab and I can't touch the stuff, a point which bummed out our host, Dean Biersch, but didn't bother me because I love ordering off the menu there. (Yet somehow, I missed out on going up to the buffet table for the steamed artichokes, garlic buttered corn on the cob, and something involving sweet potato puree.)

What began as Dean's splendid idea to do a book signing there turned into another in their series of beer pairing dinners. For example, Half Pint and I spent election night at Hopmonk with fellow revelers all donning "I voted" stickers and enjoying beers brewed by Dean's long-time partner, Dan Gordon. As he says, "Never trust a skinny brewer." Pairings that night included their Hefeweizen + pork tenderloin medallions, Marzen + roasted duck & parsnip puree, and concluded with the deceptively strong Winterbock + gingerbread crepes. So really, I kid you not when I say that I love the increasingly popular beer dinners and that it's impossible to go wrong by partaking of one at Hopmonk.

As for the crabby one, guests were welcomed with a pilsener glass filled with my favorite house brew, the Kellerbier, an unfiltered pils. To accompany the potato gratin app, we were poured Anchor Liberty Ale. It may not knock the socks of Double IPA fans today, but Fritz Maytag debuted this beer back in 1975. Good luck finding anything remotely this hoppy back then, cowboy. That was pretty much the discussion Dean and I had as we all ate and the night turned into an exercise in face-stuffing, peppered with commentary on the beers by myself and Dean.
It didn't hurt that the next beer poured was New Belgium's Mothership Wit, another beer from the pages of Red, White, and Brew. New Belgium is renowned for eco-friendly brewing and to complement both the beer and the idea of sustainable cuisine, the meyer lemons appeared courtesy of Dean's backyard! My grandfather the citrus farmer would've been proud.

Speaking of citrus, the meal concluded with Brewery Rodenbach's Grand Cru, a sour belgian from the same brewery that New Belgium's brewmaster Peter Bouckaert hailed from before he hopped the pond. It washed down what I seem to recall was angel food cake drizzled in a citrusy reduction and kicked up by lemon flan. (Like I said, this was a beer dinner. All you need to remember is how much fun it was, not the specifics of what was served)