Single Minded Pale Ale

Yep, I've gone and done it. Months ago I decided to start homebrewing, mainly to further appreciate how good the pros are. That's still the case, but the first time I had a single-hopped beer--Bear Republic's IPA brewed with Simcoe--it got me thinking about hop varieties.

While it's only my 3rd batch, I'm committed to doing a series of American Pale Ales; same grain bill, but altering the hops each time. I started with a moderately aggressive hop: Centennial. Gimme a month to let y'all know how it turns out.

I also heard somewhere along the way that instead of just composting my spent grains, I could bake them into bread. So I did. The result? I'll be composting it in the morning.

Lastly, if you're in the Bay Area and interested in single hop beers, there just so happens to be a tasting of Mikkeller single-hopped IPAs. The tasting is this Friday and here's the info.

The coldest beer I ever drank was a Summer Ale in San Francisco

It's seriously in the chilly-50s and cloudy and doesn't feel like the holiday in which we usher in summer. But if we drink like we're Irish on St. Patty's Day, let's drink like it's summer in The City.

Don't forget to subscribe to this blog, and equally if not more important, my SF Craft Beer Examiner page.

Happy Memorial Day.

SF Craft Beer Examiner's 1st post

Whether is boiling or freezing this summer in San Francisco, it's the perfect weather for a beer fest. Or several. Check out a list I compiled here.

If you or anyone you know is putting on beer-related events in the Bay Area or have an idea for something beery and local, email me and I'll see if it's Examiner-appropriate.

Update: Thanks to hamachi for bringing this to my attn. Moylan's Breast Fest on 7/18 in Novato.

This Bud's for 15M of You

I just read this CNN story about pot. I learned many interesting things beyond the fact that there's a government weed lab akin to the Ft. Knox of dope or, since that was used in the story, I'll come up with my own: The Garden of Weed'n. Take this:

Although street marijuana in the early 1980s had an average strength of 4 percent tetrahydrocannabinol -- the drug's primary psychoactive ingredient -- the average was 10.1 percent last year, the government announced.

That sounds a lot like beer. When Prohibition was repealed, beer was mandated to be 3.2% alcohol by weight. Some states still restrict sales to "three-two beer." But 3.2% alc. by weight equals 4% alc. by volume (ABV). In the early '80s, when there were fewer than 4 dozen brewing companies in the US, beer had very little flavor, so it's no wonder Americans started drinking beer with fewer calories and less flavor, ie: Lite beer.

So whereas Bud Light is 4% ABV, it's increasingly popular to find beers brewed to 10% ABV or over such as Pliny the Younger, an uber-hoppy Imperial IPA. It is perhaps no small coincidence that cannabis (pot) and humulus (hop) are cousins within the cannabaceae family.

The article also mentioned that the DEA believes almost 15 million Americans toke up. Frankly, I think that's a low-ball number, but maybe because I walk around in San Francisco. It also stated that some confiscated weed clocked in at over 30% THC, (that tetrahydrocannib-something-or-other). Sam Adams Utopias boasts an impressive 25% ABV. Coincidence?

Well, Well, Well

I finally figured out the URL that I can share that doesn't require membership. Starting last Wednesday, I've been participating in a 2-week long online discussion about Red, White, and Brew. It's hosted by The Well and it's fun, informative, and I'm enjoying the reader participation. Not that you can't ask me any old question about beer, or otherwise, any old time, but why not chime in here.

**Update: here's an easy short URL to send around: http://tinyurl.com/inkwell-yaegar/ 

(nevermind Yaeger is misspelled.)

Beer2Breakers

Today is Bay 2 Breakers, akin to Halloween in San Francisco, minus the trick-or-treating, kids, and bouts of sobriety. It's basically a 12k "race" across town in costume, if wearing anything at all. Half Pint and I live right across the street from the route through Golden Gate Park, so we played some Backgammon and took in the spectacle. While open containers are allowed, bottles are not, so I refreshed myself with the only canned beer I had--someone's remnants from a recent bbq--Tecate. One young man derided me for drinking Mexican beer and thereby not helping the American economy.

Forget for a moment that said whippersnapper was carrying a Hannah Montana ball made in China and wore a T-shirt for a German bong manufacturer touting its outlet stores in Amsterdam, Tokyo, etc. When I informed this patriotic beer-o-phile that the Coors Light he was drinking is, in fact, Canadian, I think I figuratively pissed on his parade.

Sam Adams Headache

During the interim phase of my beer drinking career between finding the cheapest way to get drunk and finding the best tasting beers regardless of cost, I occasionally ordered Sam Adams. There may have been more than one beer from the Boston Beer Co. out there, but all I knew was Boston Lager. But I'd more often than not opt for Grolsch (fun latch-top) or Moosehead (everything from Canada is fun). I found myself telling people "Sam Adams gives me an expensive headache."

I rarely imbibe Grolsch or Mooshead anymore. No Scarcely a good beer pours forth from green bottles. But I rarely drink Sammy either, mostly because while I respect what Jim's doing, I think there are always better examples of his styles.

So when I popped into BevMo (what? it's right next to the post office and I needed to buy Mother's Day cards in a hurry! Yes, they even had ones for my grandmas!) I walked out with the Sam Adams Long Shot mixed pack to try Tasty's DIPA, Alex's Bock, and the Cranberry Wit. I also got the Imperial Series' White and Stout since I've never had an imperial white and I love imperial stouts.

With dinner, Half Pint & I shared one bottle of the Cranberry Wit then a bottle of the Imperial White. Altogether, I had one full bottle.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a raging headache as if I'd consumed my entire haul.

After several Google searches for things like "Sam Adams, headache" and "whenever I drink Sam Adams I get a headache" I discovered I'm not the only one in this boat.

Is there some secret ingredient I'm allergic to even though I don't have any known allergies? Is it merely psychological? Does Jim Koch have a vendetta against me (even though I nominated him for the Mt. Rushmore of Beer in my book)? If anyone has any answers or theories, I'd love to hear 'em.

The Session #28: Think/Drink Globally

No doubt we're all big advocates of supporting your local brewery. It's the right thing to do and a tasty way to do it. Since it is my pleasure to host this month's Session, I nearly had us blog about our local breweries, but after doing my homework by going through all the past topics of The Session, I noticed that Gastronomic Fight Club covered that exactly 2 years ago.

American Craft Beer Week is May 11-17. But us beer bloggers know that craft beer is to be supported year-round, and that it doesn't just come from America. So, in honor of Global Craft Beer Forever, I pose everyone writes about the farthest brewery (including brewpubs) you have visited and specifically the best beer you had there. Again, not your favorite or any old brewery you've been to, but the one that is the longest haul away, be it by airplane, car, ferry, rickshaw, whatever. (If you blog about beer but have never been to a House of Brewing, get on it!)

Then, the last part, since this exercise gives us an excuse to drink beer, do one of the following:

• if you brought home a bottle while visiting the brewery and have it secreted away, crack it open.
• if you don't have any left from that visit but the particular beer is available where you live (or if not your fave from said brewery, another brand from it), go get one.
• otherwise, find a local beer of the same style and do a little compare and contrast.
  

Blogs go up on Friday, June 5. Post your link on this post, or the blog I'll be posting, or just email it to brian@beerodyssey.com.

Cheers!

Session #27: Beer Cocktails

Joe & Jasmine of Beer at Joe' s ask us for this month's Session to pontificate on beer cocktails. Considering I am about to head to the great American cocktail city, New Orleans, this may be an apt topic. Having said that, aside from the one Joe pointed out, Black'n'Tan (Guinness floating on Harp or some such combo), I'm not a beer cocktail person. I don't even care for Snakebites (Guinness floating on hard cider). Hell, when drinking spirits, I usually opt for single-malt scotch or bourbon with a splash of water over something with fruity vodka mixed with fruit juice and/or soda and/or bitters. 

But there IS one beer concoction I can get into. Beer floats.

The funny thing is, I don't really go for root beer or vanilla ice cream, but gimme a root beer float and I'm in heaven. So since I like stout more than root beer, it only makes sense that a stout float is a thing of beauty. Someone once made me a float with Young's Double Chocolate Stout, a dash of raspberry liqueur, and vanilla bean ice cream, and it was tasty and refreshing. But I'm not in the habit of buying Young's. And while I do have a Beeradise full of various stouts--regular, coffee, imperial...all the way to Founder's Breakfast Stout (double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout) and Mikkeller's Beer Geek Brunch-Weasel (made with the world's most expensive coffee, kopi luwak).

I chose none of those. Instead, I opted to use my homebrewed Latte Stout (made with lactose and coffee). Tasty stuff, but believe me, it's not that carbonated, so it's not like I'm ruining the brew. I didn't have any straight up vanilla ice cream in the freezer, but Half Pint did kindly bring me a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Macadamia Nut, which is half choc/half vanilla, and I just ate all the chocolate-covered Macadamias before floating it.

The result? Not too shabby! I mean, it's no Bobby Flay, but as Half Pint said of it, "What's better than coffee, ice cream, and beer all rolled into one?"

So is it a beer cocktail or really just beer dessert? It's both! Drink up.

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.