IBUs in San Diego...

...are like STDs in a college dorm.

As an antidote, when I finally completed my 1,800-mile tour del SoCal last week, I treated myself to a chilled bottle of Anchor Small Beer (it's 95 degrees in my pad) and for dessert, the first bottle of my and Half Pint's Latte Stout! (Though undercarbonated, I think it's ferly successful.)

What was supposed to be a 6-day trip turned into 11. I drove from SF down to the OC, up to LA, then back up to San Luis Obispo, then Santa Barbara (for book-signing events at Creekside Brewing and Hollister Brewing, respectively. Both must-sees/must-drinks if you're cruising through the Central Coast of Cali). In the worst example of poor scheduling ever, instead of attend the LA premier of Beer Wars, I dutifully attended my own book signing Thursday night. Drinking at Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park, what with their stellar bottle selection and some prized taps, helped assuage the hurt. Big thanks to Kyle, and Wes, glad you enjoyed the Old Rasputin XI.

After celebrating my grandma's 90th b-day on Saturday night (respect the gramma!), I woke up early (for me) and headed to the San Diego area. First stop on tap, Stone Brewery, where they kindly let me discuss my beer odyssey in just about the best setting I've done an event. Originally called for the biergarten, we moved our intimate crowd to a shaded area still in the warm outdoor patio. Just like a previous Stone Book & a Beer Club event had actor/blogger Wil Wheaton speaking in front of fellow sci-fi geeks, this one allowed me to congregate with my fellow beer geeks (I doubt I'd play well at a Trekkie convention). Here are some pictures. (Thanks, Matt.)

Purchased: Cali-Belgique, 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, and 2008 Imperial Russian Stout.

The next day, after waking up on Jessica Jellybean's air mattress, she took the day off so we could hit a bunch of local breweries. It was one of those great days that, like the Stone IRS, will only get better with age. Brief run-down:

Port/Lost Abbey: To Jessica's surprise, she lives within stumbling distance of this beauty. Most of all the brewers in town were gone in Boston for the Craft Brewers Conference, so we didn't get to meet Tomme Arthur, but we did sample several Lost Abbey beers while one of the brewers, Mike, and the house cat who I believe was named Centennial or some hop variety.

Purchased: Devotion (and later in the day I found Carnivale)

Ballast Point: They definitely made big fans out of us. We started with a full flight of their regular and limited release beers. While my favorite was the bourbon-barrel aged Sea Monster Stout, we were only to happy to purchase other favorites available in bottles (see below). We then were offered a tour of the small brewery, including some top-secret stuff. If you're interested in finding out what, email me, but realize I'll have to kill you. Cheers to Yusseff.

Purchased: Sculpin IPA, Tongue Buckler Imperial Red. (Oh, and a Black Marlin Porter, which is great, but I quite enjoyed the bourbon aged variety I had at Verdugo in LA and Churchill's in San Marcos)

AleSmith: There's a reason Peter Zien won Small Brewery/Brewer of the Year at last year's GABF. Not only did he show us around and pull samples to our hearts' content, but he allowed for a decadent privilege. 

Purchased: privileged information.

At this point, we opted for a late lunch (Japanese. Replete with a bottle of Kirin). The last brewery we hit was Green Flash. We basically hit up the lone brewer on hand for a sampler flight, I got a bottle of Le Freak (which, when Jessica asked how it compared to her cherished Stone Cali-Belgique, said lone brewer responded "It's like Cali-Belgique. But Awesome.").

From there, we popped into a great liquor store, Holiday Wine, staffed with the kind of knowledgeable beer geeks I've learned run rampant in San Diego metro. They really do put their SoCal brethren to the north to shame.

Purchased: Mission, Coronado, Lightning, Boulevard (all the way from Missouri) and possibly more.

Seriously, great beer sipping, touring, elbow-rubbing, and hunting. I get it.

Drinking in LA

Fortunately, some things in LA never change. See: The Apple Pan, 72-degree weather. Fortunately, some things do change.

On my whirlwind tour visiting friends and drinking with them, my first stop was a new place on E. 3rd St. downtown, past Little Tokyo, called Wurstkuche (with an umlaut over the 2nd U). Evidently, it's not pronounced "worst coochie." I've known Eric my entire life and he suggested this place because it specializes in Belgian beers--20 on tap and bottle--with an impressive German selection to boot. I opted for Houblan Chouffe, an esthery, not-too-bitter Belgian IPA ($8) and Eric's into Belgian wittes, so he tried Blanche du Bruxelles ($7.25). They also have 21 sausages! They range from standard brats to veggie options to nouveau offerings like mango jalapeno...to a selection of "exotics." I got the rattlesnake and rabbit with jalapenos ($7.75). Eric got the Austin Blues: hot & spicy, tri-peppers and hardwood smoked pork ($6.75). For the record, it wasn't the first time I've had rattlesnake, and yes, it tastes like chicken. (And get the while truffle oil glazed pomme frittes.)

The crowd is mostly hip Asian 20-somethings, the setting is chi-chi'ed up industrial, and I dig the communal picnic tables. 

From there, we went about a mile back west to the Bonaventure Hotel in the heart of downtown. On the 4th floor, past a circuitous food court and work out stations(!) is the Bonaventure Brewing Co. Opened in 1998, this very tiny brewpub, sister-pub to Belmont Brewing in Long Beach, offers 4 house beers (Blonde, Strawberry Blonde, Pale Ale, and Belgian White). Nothing to blow your socks off, but at session-able ABVs and $4.50 pints, it'd be easy to knock these back all night on the rooftop patio.* BTW, I opted for the Pale Ale (5.5%, making it the strongest) and Eric had the White (4.2%, the lowest).

*We weren't allowed to drink our beers on the rooftop patio. There was a private party taking place in the bar, yet we were allowed in to drink beers. The small brewing system is right on the patio, encased in a glass shed. I believe it is the only brewery in the City of Los Angeles.

The next day I drove to Silverlake to meet my college roommate Alex and his wife, Emilie. (They met at one of my parties.) We went to Good, which is just that. Not great, but good. The beer menu is fairly huge, but heavy on questionable selections featuring fruit extracts and other novelties. Then again, I selected a 750-ml bottle of The Bruery's Black Orchard for the table (to get them over their fear of dark beers). Brewed in the Belgian wit style but using dark roasted malts, the result is a Black-White ale, employing coriander and chamomile. At $20, it was a hit. The food is definitely conducive to a good meal, too. Alex got an IPA-pan fried chicken sandwich, Emilie got the burger, and b/c it's LA, I got a salad with froo-froo stuff in it.

Afterward, we drove (this is why I moved out of LA) to a place I'd heard about, but had to see to believe. Lamill Coffee, on Silver Lake Blvd, isn't a coffee shop, it's an experience. Forget about waitresses walking around with pots of drip-coffee pouring free refills. Our waitress handed us menus explaining their philosophy about how coffee should be considered and enjoyed like fine wine, and when I saw the table next to us with a fantastic contraption, I ordered one just like it for our table. The contraption, called the siphon, prepares the coffee in a way only a physicist could understand, but I'll try to simplify. Luckily, I have pictures to illustrate:

A Bunsen burner is ignited to heat the 20-oz bulb of water. The heated water goes up through a tube into a chamber containing the grounds. Once the burner is shut off, the coffee runs through a micro filter and returns to the original chamber.

The result? Aside from the cup of authentic Kona coffee I had in Maui, it is the best pot of coffee I've ever had (including the Kopi Luwak "civet shit" coffee I had in Indonesia). The catch? From the menu, I thought it was going to set me back $15! Long story short, it was actually $20!!! Twenty bucks. For coffee. Outrageous? Yeah. But did you flinch as much when I said the bottle of beer was $20? And if you ever saw a bottle of wine for that much/cheap on a restaurant menu, you'd think it was dreck. While I did it for the experience and will never order the siphon-prepared coffee again b/c of the price, I had to know. I will return there, though. I need to find out what jelly donut coffee (with strawberry essence and "donut-infused milk") is. That's a mere five-spot.

Alas, when I DROVE to Culver City to visit Kevin and Michele, who are expecting a new house in about 3 months and a baby in 7 weeks, the BottleRock was closed, either because it was Easter or just Sunday night.

Tom Robbins Is in the Beer Book Game

A high school English teacher, talking about similes and metaphors, once used Tom Robbins as an example. I believe the phrase was, "her expressionless face was as blank as a paraplegic's dance card." Everyone else in the class mirrored the analogy while I fell to the floor cackling. While I should've asked the teacher which book that came from, I just bought one and kept reading his books until I found that line. I started with Still Life with Woodpecker, which probably remains my favorite. The book I found the line in, of course, was his most famous, Skinny Legs and All, and it's worthy of being his most celebrated.

But now Robbins is following in MY footsteps. B Is for Beer. He's written a beer book! And it's an illustrated book for kids, no less.

It comes out April 21 and I intend to go see him and have him sign my copy at Book Passage in Corte Madera on May 15. Here's a Q&A from Amazon to whet your appetites:

Tom: Beer is so universally beloved that 36 billion gallons of it are sold each year worldwide. Moreover, it’s been popular for thousands of years, with origins dating back to ancient Egypt and Sumer. It has deep connections to the earth -- and possibly to outer space, as well (I explain this in the book). Bittersweet, like much of life itself, it’s exceptionally thirst-quenching and enormously refreshing; it’s cheerful, accessible, affordable, lovely in color, and somewhat nourishing, being one of our few neutral foods: perfectly balanced between acidic and alkaline, between yin and yang. Best of all perhaps, beer makes us tipsy. What’s not to ode?

Q: Okay, but what’s the angle with children?

Tom: Children see beer commercials every time they watch a sporting event on TV. In the supermarket, they pass shelves and coolers overflowing with the stuff. Neon beer signs wink at them as they’re driven to school, to church or the mall. And, if their own parents and older siblings aren’t enjoying beer, then the parents and siblings of their friends surely are.

Kids are constantly exposed to beer, it’s everywhere; yet, aside from wagging a warning finger and growling -- true enough as far as it goes -- “Beer is for grownups,” how many parents actually engage their youngsters on the subject? As a topic for detailed family discussion, it’s generally as taboo as sex.

Session #26: Smoke 'Em if Ya Got 'Em

This month's topic for The Session, as ordained by Lew Bryson and his blog Seen Through a Glass, is Smoked beers. What timing! My friend Chris and I recently embarked on our homebrewing odysseys, and this crazy mofo opts to brew a smoked golden ale for his second batch. (I employed lactose and coffee beans in mine, so I can't throw stones.) But he got the idea from a beer he found in my fridge while subletting my pad. It was Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen, my favorite smoked beer, and he enjoyed the smoky goodness, too, clearly. No beer pairs better with a bacon cheeseburger! That was the Rauchbier that got me started on my love of smoked beers, that led to this exchange of comments on Lew's blog:

Brian Yaeger said...

I think it's funny that I don't go gaga over DIPAs or sour beers, but I love 'em smoked. This is the style Session I've been waiting for, and will bust out a veritable parade so smokey, it'll make the Bandit, the Bear, and Cheech & Chong jealous.

Lew Bryson said...

There, you lazy boogers: Brian's going to do multiple smokers!

In honor of this Session and to warm us up for his brew, he invited a bunch of people over for tastings and anything related to bacon. Chris planned for the event a cornucopia of smokers, figuring our local bottle haven, City Beer, prob'ly stocked a ton. Try one. At least at the moment. He found another and I brought over 4. Let's just get to the list and I'll explain.

1. Einenbahn Defumada:  This is a smoked lager from Brazil (defumada means "smoke" in Portugese), which we enjoyed with some freshly made chicarones. I believe Jesse referred to them as "pork-flavored cotton candy," the way the spiced, fried rinds melted on your tongue. What I like about this rauchbier is that the light body provides a good platform for the smoke flavor and aroma.

2. Alaskan Smoked Porter-2008: I actually brought over 3 years worth to conduct a vertical tasting (2006-08)... and was advised to stow them away! What, what? Basically, between all the beers we had (some, gasp, unsmoked) and the fact that one was a DD and the other, who shall remain nameless, just isn't that big a fan OF THE MOST MEDALLED BEER IN ALL OF GABF HISTORY, 18 in all, including this beauty of a 2006 that I've been bogarting and took home Best Aged Beer at last year's GABF. (I was also advised to bring them to a beer dinner later this month.) Though we were still in the appetizer phase, we drank the '08 with Vosges bacon-chocolate bar. Truly the perfect pairing. The creamy porter and milk chocolate go hand in hand with Alaskan's alderwood smoked malts and the chocolate's applewood smoked bacon and alderwood smoked salt.

3. Stone Smoked Porter: We poured this with dinner of pork soup dumplings from Chris's favorite joint in his hood, Shanghai Dumplings. I like this porter, but it's mellower on the smoke and simply presents more roasted coffee than smoked salmon like Alaskan's. Having said that, I'm dying to try their Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans when I'm down in Escondido in a couple weeks!! That's my only problem with porters is that they are too heavy to highlight the added flavors. This is why my favorite bourbon barrel aged beers are paler ales rather than bass-heavy porters. (Because this is a blog post about rauchbiers, I won't get into the Bourbon County Stout we had for dessert.)

4. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock. Our 4th and final rauchbier. I had this in the chiller of my Beeradise. Because I always go for the Bamburger Marzen, I figured I'd try the Urbock. Mistake. I expected the massive bouquet of bacon that I love so much, but received a more reserved peaty, ashy odor and charcoal briquets in the flavor. Oddly, the very thing that makes Defumada work is what holds this smoked Urbock back, but I'm comparing it to a different beer. 

All in all, we were thoroughly smoked out. I can't wait to try Chris's smoky homebrew. I'd give anything for another bottle of O'Fallon Smoke like I found in Chicago. And I'd give double-anything to try New Glarus's Smoke on the Porter. But until then, I still have a small ASP vertical to look forward to. And that will be a blog post in and of itself.

Welcome to 1979, Utah

The Brewers Association issued a press release announcing Utah legalized homebrewing. A mere 30 years after Pres. Jimmy Carter legalized it federally, kick starting the craft brewing craze launched by homebrewers such as Jack McAullife (New Albion), Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada), David Hummer & Stick Ware (Boulder Brewery).

Hopefully this action will catch Utah up with the rest of the gang, especially their neighbors in Colorado. This calls for a toast with the only Utah-brewed beer I've got--Polygamy Porter.

Laissez la bonne biere verser. Beer in New Orleans!

Laissez la bonne biere verser (let the good beer pour) is a fitting motto for the newest brewery in NOLA, whose motto is Laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll).

When I was in N'awlins last October on my book 

tour, I met Kirk Coco, president of NOLA (New Orleans Lagers & Ales) Brewing. They are going to market with two beers, a Blonde and an Brown, and I know they have some tasty-sounding tricks up their sleeves. For Coco's part, he returned home to NOLA after Katrina and saw a need for economic recovery and knew that a brewery was just the thing. His brewmaster is Peter Caddoo, who has enjoyed a long, storied role in Dixieland brewing (including, yes, the Dixie Brewery, which has yet to return to post-K NOLA).

While I will be there for Jazz Fest beginning the end of April, I wish I could be there a month earlier for their launch party including a secondline jazz band and parade. No one makes a party like the Big Easy.

America, F**k Yeah. (Same for SLO)

I know I was one of the first customers at San Luis Obispo's new brewpub, Creekside Brewing, because I'd past through SLO on my drive from Santa Barbara to San Fran in December and saw a new brewery under construction, then, when heading from San Fran to L.A. in January, dined and drank there. Well, I might add. The highlight, beyond the fresh beer and the "plant-ripened jalapeno" poppers, was being given a tour by co-owner John Moule.

The blog I posted about that experience, according to my metrics, was one of the most trafficked.

So I got a kick out of seeing a post on Jay Brooks's blog about their anti-terrorism efforts, itself a response to Colin Rigley's story in the SLO New Times about thwarting those freedom-loving terrorists who train in Afghani camps for the sole purpose of tainting our beloved brews. Liberty Ale, indeed! The gist of the brew-ha-ha is that before Creekside was allowed to open, they had to install protective walls around their brew system, which exists in two parts--upstairs in the dining room and downstairs in the pub.

I, for one, am relieved they undertook these measures even if no bureaucratic governmental agency will cop to being the one that implemented these keep-safe measures levied against no other single breweries in the land of amber (waves of grain). Now, when I do my booksigning event there on April 14, I shall feel much safer.

Shotluck

Here's the deal. I drove 13,000 miles around the United States and into Canada (and back, by the skin of my teeth) last autumn. Along the way, I put myself on a "bomber a day" diet. I was only allowed to pick up one bottle of beer in each town, ideally a 22-oz bomber, and when I got home, I'd crack 'em open all at once. The photos below reflect this mission, which I more or less achieved.

I invited a dozen friends, each required to BYO shot glass, which would serve as their taster for each beer (since some bottles were only 12-oz and I didn't want the samples to look paltry). It was also a potluck dinner. Hence: Shotluck.

Here's a list of what we cracked open, in an attempt to go from light to dark:

Brewery, brand, (style), Alcohol by volume (ABV) - state brewed; (state picked up if different), overall rating on scale of 10.

1. Dixie Beer (Lager), 4.5% - LA/WI (LA), 3

2. Wasatch "The Devastator" (Double Bock) 8% - UT, 5

3. Tommyknocker "Butt Head" (Dopplebock) 8.2% - CO, 6

4. Bell's "Third Coast Beer" (golden beer) 4.8% - MI, 8

5. Goose Island "Harvest Ale" (ESB) 5.7% - IL, 4

6. Jesse's homebrew (Cali-Belgian) ?% - CA (The only non-road beer poured), 9

7. Four Peaks "8th Street" (Pale Ale) 4.5% - AZ, 7

8. Laughing Buddha "Ginger Pale" (spiced ale) 5% - WA, 8

9. Bell's "Oberon" (wheat ale) 5.8% - MI (NC), 10

10. Phillips "Blackberry Hefeweizen" (fruit beer) 5% - BC, 4

11. Sprecher "Mama Mia Pizza Beer" (nutso spiced ale, c/o Tom Seefurth) 4.5% -  WI (PA), ?

12. Renegade "Siletz Spruce" (herbed ale/Gruit) 6.5% - OR, 7

13. Four Peaks "Kiltlifter" (Scotch Ale) 6% - AZ, 7

14. French Broad "Dunkel-Witte" (black'n'wit) 7.5% - NC, 8

15. Real Ale "Brewhouse Brown" (Brown Ale) 5.4% - TX, 7

16. Southern Tier "Pumking" (Imperial Pumpkin Ale) 9% - NY, 9

17. Wasatch "Polygamy Porter" (Porter) 4% - UT, 3

18. Bell's "Porter" (Porter) 5.6% - MI, 8

19. Duck Rabbit "Porter" (Porter) 5.7% - NC, 7

20. O'Fallon "Smoke" (Smoked Porter) 6% - MO (IL), 9

21. Duck Rabbit "Milk Stout" (milk stout) 5.7% - NC, 7

22. Three Floyds "Moloko" (milk stout) 7% - IN, 8

23. America's Brewing Co/Walter Payton's Roundhouse "Imperial Stout" (bourbon-aged imperial stout) ?% - IL, 7

PS. Don't ask about the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout.

Food-wise, there were meat and vegetarian homemade lasagnas, salads, intriguing appetizers, three pies, and more, to help soak up all the interesting flavors (and oh yeah, alcohol). I can't wait 'til I collect a couple dozen more.

D'oh

The morning after putting my second-ever batch in primary. Considering the first one didn't even gurgle, not sure if this is a step in the right or wrong direction.

Beer dinner III: All ESB Dinner? Bob's Your Uncle.

The exploits of my foray into the world of homebrewing were chronicled earlier. Last night was time to enjoy the fruits, or rather, beers, of my labor. Because my Crossroads ESB is quite a British-style ale, Half Pint & I decided it was time for another of our Beer Dinners and we'd basically only feature one style of beer! For our all-ESB dinner ("You can't do an entire pairing dinner only pouring one type of beer!" you say? I'll pick up that gauntlet) we went overboard with the Limey theme. Here's the menu for the 3-course, 7-ESB dinner:

Fuller's Extra Special Bitter (5.9% ABV, England) & AleSmith Anvil ESB (5.5%, San Diego, CA)
With finger or tea sand-wiches. I literally bought a loaf of white bread, cut the crusts off, and made the weirdest sandwiches that seemed English (shredded carrot and mayo, water chestnuts [since I couldn't find watercress] and butter w/ some garlic paste, English(!) cucumber and a sweet'n'sour carrot spread). I had to pour the Fuller's first--the benchmark of this style--to showcase what the brew is all about--a deceptively named middle-of-the-road mild, easy-drinking beer. I bought the Anvil at an AleSmith event during SF Beer Week and the owner, Peter Zien, signed my bottle. I hope it's not heresy to say I like the Yank version much better.

Sierra Nevada Early Spring Beer (5.9%, Chico, CA) and Elysian "The Wise" ESB (5.9%, Seattle, WA)
Cheese and biscuits. OK, crackers. But all the cheeses were imported from England including stilton and a 12-month cave-aged cheddar. Both the beers and cheeses were tip-top.

Anderson Valley Boont Extra Special Beer (6.5%, Boonville, CA) and Grand Teton Bitch Creek XX ESB (7.5%, Victor, ID)
Bangers & mash, shep-herd's pie, "salad," and crumpets. We whipped up a huge pot of mashed potatoes, which Half Pint made using a pale ale (yes, it's British) and it came out great. I grilled up some banger sausages with a bit of grilled onions and a brown gravy (from a packet, for extra authenticity). Our friends Chris and Carson brought the shepherd's pie. The salad consisted of just tomato and cucumber (English cucumber at that!) with olive oil and sea salt. And the crumpets, in lieu of a more traditional bread, were bought at the British import shop, "You Say Tomato."

While the AVBC beer was the strongest ESB I found, and it's a winner, mate, the Grand Teton bottle was the crowd favorite for the night. Bitch Creek is one of my favorite ESBs of all time, but it stopped showing up here, even at BevMo. But a few months ago, one trip there yielded an incredible find. To celebrate Grand Teton's 20th anniversary, they made a series of XX beers including this "Double ESB." It's the same ingredients of the regular ESB, but doubled. To me, doubling a mild beer and calling it a Double ESB is like doubling pink and calling it Double Pink, when it's clearly red. Once I opened the wax-dipped 750-ml bottle, the beer poured a dark brown compared to an ESB's clear coppery color. By kicking up the malt bill, it tasted like a strong, nutty ale with blasts of toffee and rich caramel. It could be paired with any bold, meaty dish. Too bad I'll never see this beer again.

Dessert:
Our friends Joe and Alexia (just engaged!) brought shortbread cookies and some other British sweets that were basically Mallomars (my fave) with a spot of raspberry jam. And, unable to resist, I prepared a tin of spotted dick. Yeah, that's a real thing and it's actually quite nice--a sort of warm and buttery spice cake with currants and raisins, served with homemade whipped cream. And to drink? Why, my homebrewed ESB of course. No clue what the ABV is. I was just plum-relieved, dare I say delighted, that it came out well. Don't just take my word for it; everyone agreed. (Though the color was a bit paler than I'd hoped.) Chris brought over his first homebrew as well, a great Amber Ale. We each bought our kits at the same time and discovered at the same time we have a knack for...following directions.And there we have it. Bob's our uncle.

Open Bar at the Booksmith

The Booksmith is a bookstore, not a bar. So it may have baffled some people who checked out SF-My Open Bar yesterday and saw a book signing event listed there. No wonder the place was packed. More on that in a sec.

During the time between when I finished writing Red, White, and Brew and the time it came out, I realized I'd have to overcome my debilitating fear of public speaking if I was going to carry out the national promo tour I'd put together. So I did two things: I attended a few Toastmasters events (not helpful, but I DID win a chocolate bar for an impromptu speech once), and I went on Booktour.com to find all the local author events just to see what they were like. That was my introduction to the creative, personable, indie bookseller on Haight St.

It really is a treat for me to hold book signings with my local bookstores. But I rarely do events AT the stores themselves. I tend to do them at beer bars and brewpubs. That's how the Magnolia Pub got involved. The proprietor and brewmaster, Dave McLean, generously offered up five growlers of beer. So Half Pint, our friend Jen, and I left the store at 7:15 p.m., made the short three-block walk down to Magnolia, picked up growlers of their Kalifornia Kolsch lager and Blue Bell Bitter ale (like my first batch of homebrewed ESB, but, uh, better), and returned at 7:32 to a packed house.

Though it was a thirsty crowd, everyone graciously stuck around for my presentation--the first time I ever employed a slide show--and had lots of great questions. It was a beer-worthy crowd full of knowledgeable enthusiasts and several homebrewers. Once I was finished, the rest of the beer disappeared.

As did I. After returning the lent growlers to Magnolia, we enjoyed a great meal. A new app on the menu is the buttermilk-fried spring onions. So much more than onion rings! I also took advantage of Thursday Fried Chicken night (until they run out). And since you can't dine there and not drink beer, I baffled my tastebuds with their bourbon-barrel aged gruit. What's a gruit? It's a traditional ale brewed with spices other than hops, since beer sans hops predates hopped beer by at least three millennia. This particular gruit, as Jen pointed out, is reminiscent of Pimm's No. 1 Cup.

The best part of doing a book event near my neighborhood then feasting at the brewpub down the block? Getting to walk home.

Equally brilliant. Yet affordable.

Is it the holidays yet?

BRILLIANT!

Dig it: The fully functional, ridable Electric cruzin' cooler

Session #25: Love Lager

For this month's Beer Blogging Session, the Beer Nut asks us for a labor of lager. I am one of many who avoid watered-down mainstream lagers at all costs, but that's the thing, unless you wanna be a real pain in the ass, there are times when they are unavoidable.

The Beer Nut poses, "I'm sure I'm not the only one whose early drinking career featured pale lager in abundance, so consider this a return to our roots as beer drinkers...leave your doppelbocks and schwarzbiers out of this one...(W)hat's so great about them, and what's awful?"

To begin, it's true. No beer aficionado started on Dogfish Head 90 Minute or Russian River Pliny the Elder. Hell, the most recent beer I bought was Mikkeler's Beer Geek Brunch - Weasel, not just an Imperial Stout, but one brewed with Kopi Luwak, a.k.a. Monkey Poo Coffee or Crappuccino, a coffee bean so rare, farmers have to pluck it from the droppings of tree-dwelling, overly-caffeinated civet cats. At $18, it better be damn rare and delicious.

If my friend Colin knew I dropped as much on a single bomber of beer as he could get OVER a case of any cheap-ass "beer," well, he'd shit himself. And since he's currently crashing on my pull-out, I'm gonna keep quiet about this because I really don't want that to happen. More on Colin in a second.

As I started to say above, it's true. I used to drink "fizzy, yellow beer" by the buttload. In my college, Natty Light was the brand of choice. $9.99/case. One story I always come back to is when I dressed as Papa Smurf for Halloween and in order to keep drinking through my fluffy, white beard, I had to suck it down through a straw. Classy.

Obviously, the cheapo choice of lager beer today is PBR. From the swamps of Florida to Beervana (Portland, OR), it's a staple among, if I may, a less discerning set, especially hipsters. Truth be told, I personally think it's one of the worst mainstream beers out there even next to Budweiser and Coors Banquet, but when you're uber thirsty and strapped for cash, at a typical two-bucks a pop, it does the trick. During a recent dining experience at Patxi's Pizza in San Francisco's Hayes Valley, they had it for $1! While I opted for a $5 Sierra Nevada Celebration, it occurs to me now that next time I'm there, it may behoove me to go for, essentially, the FIVE-FOR-ONE special.

Now back to Colin. He just turned 24 this week and his favorite food is Cheez-Its. No foodie nor ale enthusiast is he. During SF Beer Week, on another night he was calling my sofa home, I dragged him to the Toronado for Ommegang night, to which he responded by escorting me across the street (OK, a 45-degree angle) to his home-away-from-my-pullout, Molotov's. In true dive-bar fashion, they offer $2 PBR. But get this. Unlisted on the beer menu, known to regulars like him, you can score a buck-fitty can of Hamm's. This is the one shite beer offering at City Beer just so they can offer something at the $0.89 range and it's Craig's attempt to replace PBR as the hipster beer of choice. (Keep in mind, if you drink it there, with their corkage fee, it becomes $1.89!) Colin generously bought me one and we enjoyed it as any two people should enjoy beer no matter what's in the glass. Or bottle. Or in this case, can. Like any mass-produced beer--this one hailing from Miller Valley in Milwaukee--it's decent when ice cold. It's dry, crisp, refreshes without the sweetness of soda pop, and it has alcohol in it.

Tell ya what, if I didn't have some bottles of my first batch of homebrew now at the ready, I'd rather stock my friend Mike's cooler with Hamm's than the PBR I know he'll have in it when we go play some disc golf this weekend.

Overnight in Mendocino County.

Half Pint thinks I took her and our pooch Patsy to Fort Bragg just to get out of town, do some hiking, and finally take her to a place aptly named Glass Beach.


After stuffing our pockets with beach glass (shh, that's a no-no), we quenched our thirsts at a local watering hole since 1988, North Coast Brewery. We started with dueling stouts: Old 38 and Old Rasputin (imperial). Yes, mine was the smaller one, but it also packs almost 50% more ABV. Our meal was fantastic (we shared the pork loin and the strip steak), which I washed down w/ some Pranqster. Another pint of Old 38 Stout accompanied--get this--a chocolate Old 38 Stout cake/brownie concoction a la mode with Old 38 Stout ice cream! And since the last time I visited I left with a bottle of Old Rasputin X, aged in bourbon barrels, I followed suit with a stash of Old Rasputin XIs. At over 11% alcohol by volume, these beers will weigh you down more than all that glass.


PS: The next time, nearing the end of our drive home, we stopped in at our favorite, Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol (after Half Pint sweet-talked me into doing some wine tasting). I'll skip to dessert. Old 38 creme brulee.

Stoutstanding.

Memorial for Bill Brand, Mar. 1 @ Trappist

Like many in the beer community, particularly in the Bay Area, I was keeping vigil while What's On Tap blogger Bill Brand was in a coma, and mournful upon learning that he just couldn't hold on. While I cannot imagine the grief and loss being suffered by his wife Daryl and family, it's clear the whole community shares the pain. Jay Brooks has posted info about the memorial taking place this Sunday at the Trappist in Oakland where we can all mourn the passing and celebrate the life of our friend Bill.

Every beer lover gets asked what their favorite beer is, and none of us can give a simple, direct answer. But to be sure, Anchor Porter is one of mine. An aficionado of fine beer, I don't know why I thought Bill leaned toward DIPAs, or Double India Pale Ales. But it turns out Anchor Porter is (one of) his favorites, too.

Bill Brand, 70, R.I.P.

Today Bill Brand passed away after nearly two weeks in a coma. A retired journalist, Bill continued blogging about beer at What's On Tap? Instead of waking up on Monday, Feb 9, to read his blog about the beer dinner I'd attended with him the night before, I heard the tragic news that he'd been hit by a MUNI train on his way home. It was just the third night of SF Beer Week, and the tragedy cast a gloom over the remaining events. Jay Brooks initiated a nightly toast to Bill's recovery. The fact that he held on through the end of the festival makes me think those 7 p.m. toasts were received.

Tonight, one final 7 p.m. hoist. There's a fun, traditional polka song called "In Heaven There is no Beer" about living each day to the fullest. The only thing is, in Bill's case, they got the title wrong. Here's to an eternity of your favorite suds flowing from a bottomless tap.

(Taken from Bill's Facebook page)

Anchor's Our Barrel Ale

Anchor Brewing's "Our Barrel Ale," as I've written about before, is a blend of three Anchor Brewing Co. beers aged in Anchor Distilling barrels--not charred but toasted Oak barrels used to age their phenomenal Old Potrero rye whiskey. The beers, I found out, are Bock, Old Foghorn Barleywine, and mostly Liberty Ale, their hoppiest offering in the lineup.

Starting this morning, only 100 cases went on sale. Seeing as I was first in line, only 99 were available once I left.

At $30 per magnum (1.5 ltr), make that almost $33 after tax and CRV, it's a helluvan-expensive six-pack. Compared to other beers that sell at that price for 22- and sometimes 12-oz bottles, or a halfway decent magnum of wine or champagne would set you back, it's actually a fair price for such a delectable, intriguing beer.

But lest you think I'll crack one open this weekend and lay down the other 5 in my Beeradise for years to come, Anchor's master brewer, Mark Capenter, warned that while it's high enough in alcohol at over 8% ABV, since it's unfiltered and sat in wood barrels, it's best to keep it refrigerated and enjoyed with the occasion calls for it. Now accepting occasion suggestions.

SF Beer Week Wrap-up

Is it over yet? Mein got, man, that was a lot of beer. And so many awesome ways to enjoy it, let me count the ways: with cheese, with dinner, sour, strong, barrel-aged, with chocolate, by bike, by BART, with the brewmaster, and most importantly, with friends. Lots.

I attended the New Orleans Jazz Fest for the first time in 2001 and vowed never to miss it until I die. I will say the same thing for SF Beer Week. Luckily, I live here.

Once overheard at Jazz Fest, while racing from one stage to another to see yet another phenomenal artist, someone said, "Judge not Jazz Fest by who you saw, but by who you had to give up in order to see them." SFBW worked the same way. With around 150 overall events, spread out over 10 days all across the Bay Area, it was impossible to hit everything I wanted.

Before I get to some highlights, I'd like to thank the organizers, Dave McLean, Jay Brooks, Bruce Patton Shaun O'Sullivan, Tom Dalldorf, and the countless others who worked so hard and blasted it out of the park the first time at bat.

I already blogged about events I was able to make it to February 6-12. For brevity sake, I'll just say that on Friday, I started things off at Speakeasy Brewing for lots of great beer and company from brewers to bloggers...to drinkers. And a special shout to Dave (and Devon, below) for letting me try the Mocha Porter after it was tapped out.
Afterward, I caught the tail end of Shmaltz's pub crawl in the Mission at Amnesia, then Elixir. Pictured below: Donny Vomit, the Human Blockhead with all around good guy, Shmaltz's own Zak Davis; the brewing co.'s founder Jeremy Cowan, and Donny at work:


Saturday: Barleywine fest @ Toronado. Two words. Boo. Zy. Plans for a homecooked meal were scrapped when the Siren song of Memphis Minnie's lilted from across the and Half Pint & I shared a BBQ sampler plate.

Sunday: Started with a BJCP (Beer Judging Certification Program) 101 class, which began with samples of Bud Light dosed with artificial butter, then banana extract, then ground cloves, and was topped by the surprising taste-test of a quite hoppy beer and a richly malty one, only to discover they were both Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot (but 2009 and 2004 vintages). That bitterness really does age out.
(Above, Steve from Beer by Bart mans the dump bucket).

From there, I BARTED up to the Oakland Convention Center for Celebrator's beerfest.

How was it?

Firestone-Walker XII & Saucerful of Secrets & Abacus barleywine, North Coast Old Rasputin XI, Russian River Consecration, New Belgium La Folie, Alaskan Smoked Porter '06, Allagash Curieux and Black, Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye aged in Chardonnay barrels.

And that was just for starters. Rarely do I drink the price of admission. In those beers alone, it was worth every penny. Not to mention, it was great seeing many familiar faces--ones from the Bay Area and ones I'd come to recognize this past "week" at the events. While I had a blast, I'm relieved for the 51-week reprieve before we kick off the Second Annual SF Beer Week.

SFBW Day 7: Mad Zymurgists club meeting

Hello Pleasanton!!!

The ball for this event at the Hop Yard started rolling four months ago, when I met the posthumous, er, de facto president, Brian Cooper, at GABF. That seems like ages ago.

I was excited about this event for many reasons (it was my way of being part of an SF Beer Week event, my first East Bay event, my first homebrew club meeting + I'm now a homebrewer) but one that got me jazzed is that I was able to do a new spiel. I LOVE doing author events, truly, but I felt freer to speak off-the-cuff, since there was very little I could tell this room about America's craft brewing industry they didn't already know. Plus it gave me an opportunity to tell the story about hanging out in a VIP lounge in Denver and having my biggest promoter, Half Pint, chatting up dude at our table about how her boyfriend wrote a beer book, only to have me lean over and discreetly whisper, "That's Charlie Papazian."The nearly-all-male audience (there was one wife/club member, Jade, and a girl named Michelle who saw the event listed on the SF Beer Week site) had great questions and afterward told great stories. It's clear they love the community and it's one I'm proud to now, with my first batch still in secondary fermentation, be a part of.

Beforehand, as Brian went through the talking points, I drank a short pour of Pliny the Younger and a Deschutes brown ale. Afterward, the homebrew started flowing. A Belgian dark ale, some mead, and most notably, a Traditional Bock, brewed by the guy pictured below, Alex Drobshoff. Why most notably? This is the beer that will start showing up on shelves as part of Boston Beer/Sam Adam's annual Longshot contest honoring homebrewers. Think Spielberg directing your home movie.Huge thanks to Judy from Towne Center Books for coming out, selling books, and partaking of the homebrews. And of course, danke schön to Brian Cooper, below...


...and this is why I call her Half Pint...