Ramblings of Beer Travelers
“Where It All Started” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time. For the “Year in Beer”, we returned to our beer roots in February when we visited the San Francisco Bay Area. Back in the late 1980s, this is where is all started for us and it was good seeing old friends… and some new ones too.
For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.
For the last couple of months, when thinking about our trip to San Francisco, I would reminisce about our early beer lives in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the Bay Area.
One of my strongest memories of that era is time spent at Triple Rock, or as it was called in the early days, Roaring Rock. Triple Rock was probably brewery number one and the story I that I have been telling for years about those days is that they had only two beers; Red Rock and Black Rock. You could mix the two and that was called ‘orange’.
Well, on the last day of our San Francisco trip, we began it by visiting Triple Rock. While enjoying an Ipax and then a cask pale ale, we got discussing the early days with a long time employee. Wanting to verify my memories of those days, I told him what I described above. And I was wrong! I have been living a lie all these years.
So for the record, in the early days, there were three beers. Besides Red Rock and Black Rock there was also Pinnacle Pale Ale. Mixing pale and red got you ‘orange’ and mixing red and black got you ‘checkerboard’.
Oh… we also have been saying for years that Triple Rock and their sister brewery Big Time in Seattle have almost the exact same layout except flipped… and that is wrong too.
The main event of the day was the Celebrator Beer News 20th Anniversary party. Before the days of the Internet, the Celebrator was one of the main sources of information about beer and indispensable to the beer traveler.
A who’s who of west coast breweries were in attendance pouring not only beers from their regular lineup, but also some special beers. I spent the evening bouncing between Trumer Pils and big beers like Russian River’s Pliny the Elder and The Abyss from Deschutes.
We hooked up with a bunch of friends… Rowdy was there… our Alaskan friends were there… Chris Devlin was there. Rick from Draft magazine was there… But the highlight of the festival might have been running into Ted.
When Merideth worked at Barclay’s, she had the Sunday day shift. And I would spend most Sunday afternoons hanging out, drinking beer and enjoying the day. Ted and two of his friends were also Sunday regulars so we saw each other regularly. They were probably Merideth’s favorite customers. We hadn’t seen Ted for years and Merideth spied him across the room. It was good seeing Ted again and being called ‘Mr. Merideth’.
And I won my first silent auction. The New Belgium bike was cool… the world’s largest six pack from Triple Rock was awesome but I bid on and won a VIP tour of the Anchor brewery. The money was for a good cause; the California Small Brewers Association.
The beer festival just wasn’t enough beer so we headed around the corner to the Trappist, the new Belgian beer bar in Oakland. The Trappist is a great new addition to the Oakland beer scene. Besides enjoying a few good Belgians, we also got to try the first beer from Oakland’s new brewery; Linden Street. The beer, a California Common, is a wonderful first beer from the Bay Area’s newest brewery.
And much to our luck, we happened to sit next to Adam Lamoreaux, the owner and brewer at Linden Street and got an insight into the brewery’s near term plans. As ten year Oakland residents, Adam’s excitement for his brewery and commitment to Oakland was music to our ears. The beer should be widely available in the Bay Area in the next couple of months and even better, look for 3 new beers to be added to their lineup. Their website is not quite done yet but check lindenbeer.com in the future for information.
So… two months down and many memories to cherish…
Yesterday was the barley wine festival at Toronado and we will be the first to admit that we didn’t really know what to expect. The only pre-festival information we received was that you needed to order the beer by number and size.
We arranged to meet Chris Devlin there at 11am and after a nice 40 minute walk from downtown we arrived to what can only be described as controlled bedlam.
People who are way more into barley wine than ourselves line up starting around 8am and to get in around 10:30am. Toronado had 55 beers available to sample and for the devoted, the first task after securing a table was to get samples of all the beers. One group we spoke to said that it took them about an hour and a half to gather the beer. And they seemed pretty pleased that it only took them that long. It is only after all the beers are purchased and placed in their proper position on the numbered mat -the numbers corresponding to a number on a tasting sheet – can the sampling begin.
The three of us, who I would describe as being of more a sound mind, decided to get a few samples and take in the scene. So, we ordered the eight samples from the back bar which included the eventual third place entry from Firestone Walker. For those interested, it was 1. Lagunitas 2. Stone 3. Firestone Walker
Besides the packed conditions and noise, the other reason we couldn’t understand the appeal of spending hours sampling barley wine was that it was an incredibly sunny and beautiful February day with the mercury pushing 70. We decided instead of spending hours inside, we would get out and walk to Magnolia then on to the new Wunder Brewery and eventually ending up out at Beach Chalet at Ocean Beach.
At Magnolia, Chris had his third of the strong beer month brews Promised Land Imperial IPA. While not as good as 21st Amendment’s Hop Crisis, Promised Land was a hop bomb with strong marijuana flavors. I stuck with Kolsch. Although I appreciated that they served it in real kolsch glasses, I asked to get it in a pint glass. The request was denied.
After Magnolia, we continued our walk and made it to Wunder Beer, a new entry in the San Francisco brewery scene. Nothing too special, but most beers were going to taste a bit weak after all the barley wine and strong beers. They did have a chile beer, made with habaneros. Thin at the front, the burning at the back of your throat at the finish, reminded you that it was, in fact, a chile beer.
On to Beach Chalet where the view was amazing. We had not been there in years and the view definitely did not disappoint. The beers were okay and the service a little slow, but the food was fantastic and did I mention the great view?
We decided to brave going back to Toronado, primarily to see what carnage was left from the morning. Actually, there wasn’t too much because the first wave had left and the second wave, or maybe it was the third, I don’t know, was underway. We learned later that earlier a few people had been kicked out, one for puking before he quite made it to the bathroom. We were all glad to have missed that!
We did taste two more barley wines; the winner from Lagunitas as well as a tasty entry from Mexico.
Our new friend and member of the Alaska contingency, Lisa Urban, had gushed about a place in North Beach called La Trappe, a Belgian bar with outstanding food. We finished our night there, and much to our surprise, the Alaska group was already camped out when we arrived! The decor gives you the feeling of hanging out in a cellar, the beer selection was world class and the food was very yummy. Plus, as we are learning, hanging out with Alaska people is always fun!
We’re helping Chris Devlin with his networking skills and reminded him to hand out cards. And wouldn’t ya know it, he is going to get quoted on Jim Roberts’ blog and Ken from Cafe Amsterdam is going to quote him on his big blackboard. We’re always willing to help out friends…
By the end of the night, we were all pretty proud of our ability to moderate our alcohol consumption. But before you think how well disciplined we are, the real goal was to save ourselves for the Celebrator anniversary party tonight. Lots of beer, lots of friends, and we’re staying at the hotel where the event is taking place. This is a recipe for debauchery! We’ll let you know tomorrow how it was…
Oh… and we rode the cable car last night back from La Trappe.
The Year in Beer has been in San Francisco the last couple of days warming up for the big weekend that starts today with the Toronado Barley Wine Festival.
We arrived Thursday evening and after checking into the hotel and leaving the car, we walked straight to City Beer for a nice relaxing Valentine’s Day evening. After the a glass of Ommegang’s Chocolate Indulgence, which neither of us thought was very chocolately, the serious business of beer tasting began; Lost Abbey Avant Garde, Avery Out of Bounds Stout, and Russian River’s Redemption & Damnation. I was trying to start the weekend slow but as always when I am at City Beer, I am a kid in a candy store.
However, the highlight of the Valentine’s evening had to be the Thai restaurant/Karaoke bar that we ended up at. It always ends up that at 11 o’clock at night after a few beers, I get hungry for Thai food. Usually, I am left unfulfilled, but we actually found a Thai restaurant, quite by accident, I might add. Now that’s a good start to the weekend!
Friday was an absolutely beautiful February day in San Francisco. We spent the day with our friend and beer guru Rowdy…just like old times. We tried to go to a new place called Wunder Beer (the guy’s last name really is “Wunder”), but they were not yet open for the day.
Undeterred, we walked over to the Haight to get some lunch at Magnolia. Though one half of strong beer month, it was going to be a long day so we stuck to their regular line up of beers. Magnolia always has three or four of their beers on cask so I always enjoy going there. The Bitter, Best Bitter and Porter was a nice way to start the day.
21st Amendment is the other half of Strong Beer Month, so we went there next. While there, we hooked up with our friend Chris, the Beer Retard. And lastly, we returned to City Beer for the final liquid appetizer before heading to the Beer-Chef’s chocolate and beer tasting.
The highlight of the day had to be Hop Crisis, an 11.8% hop bomb from 21st Amendment. Hop Crisis is one of those dangerous beers; it went down way too easily for a such a strong beer.
We smoozed with the best of them at the dinner, seeing several people that we met in Alaska, plus old friends and others. The food was out of this world…the beers not so much. We ended our night hanging out at Tommy’s Joynt with Alaska people and decided to call it a night.
So if all that was the warm up, we are in for quite a main course. Today is Toronado’s Barley Wine Festival pretty much all day and then who knows what else. Tomorrow it’s over to the East Bay for the Celebrator’s 20th anniversary party. It’s gonna be a long few days until Monday when we return home.
It is already February and the Year in Beer is gearing up for San Francisco… After the great time we had in Alaska, we are looking forward to the YiB’s second installment.
San Francisco is special for a number of reasons. First of all, a significant event in craft brewing industry history happened in San Francisco in 1965; Fritz Maytag purchased the failing Anchor Brewery.
But on a more personal level, this trip is a homecoming. The Bay Area, specifically Oakland, was home for ten years. It is where we went to University and, more importantly, it is where our craft beer education began. So, it was only natural that the YiB would stop in San Francisco.
We will be joined in San Francisco by a host of people; our friend Rowdy who, as you know from my bio, is yoda in our beer story. Also, our friend Chris Devlin makes his YiB debut… the first of at least three… maybe four appearances. And some of our new friends from Alaska are coming down. Plus, there will be a whole cast of characters from our years living there.
We will be in the City February 14th-18th. The week is collectively known as “Beerapalooza” and this is how our schedule is looking right now:
In between, I want to check out a couple of new breweries… hit some of my old favorites like Triple Rock… check out the 3 new Belgian beer bars… and… and…
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that on top of all I mentioned above, February is Strong Beer Month in San Francisco. Put on by 21st Amendment Brewery and Magnolia Pub and Brewery, each will be pouring 6 different strong beers during the month (or more likely, until the beers run out). Drink all 12 and get a commemorative glass.
With everything else happening, I seriously doubt I will drink all 12 over the four days we are in San Francisco, but there are few a definitely I want to try. So, I’ll have to settle for buying a commemorative shirt instead of earning the commemorative glass.