Category: USA

In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of SF Beer Week.

The previous nine days were pretty much a beer-induced whirlwind. We drank lots of beer, attended our first Pliny the Younger release, first Double IPA Festival, Toronado Barleywine Festival and a host of other events. Of course we can’t forget the sausages, cupcakes, cheese and ice cream that accompanied all that beer. But we still had one more day to go.

Sunday, Valentine’s Day, was going to be a relaxed, low-key affair. In the wake of Barleywine, Sunday was a day for mellow beer drinking and meeting friends to compare Beer Week stories and scars. Merideth and I began our day at 21st Amendment for Sunday Brewers Tea.

We arrived about half past eleven. Sausages were grilling in the side beer garden and a small crowd mingled about. Inside, we grabbed a seat in the bar area and ordered our first beers of the day.

Well, I ordered a beer. Merideth was going it slow and ordered a Mead Mimosa. I, however, went straight for Hop Crisis, 21A’s 10.3% ABV Strong Beer Month hopbomb. Hop Crisis is my favorite 21A brew.

Gone was the hustle and bustle of the previous nine days. It seemed almost like any other Sunday. Merideth and I chatted with friends at the bar and others as they filtered in and out from the beer garden. We reminisced about that wild first night and feeling like crap the next day. We talked about DIPA, Barleywine and beer ice cream. After the constant on-the-go feeling of SF Beer Week, it was all very relaxing. We could have spent all day there. But we needed to get over to the East Bay to be part of the setup crew for the Celebrator party.

Our SF Beer Week concluded at Trumer Brauerei, the site of this year’s Celebrator party. Moved from the Oakland Convention Center, we were happy about the new venue for  a couple of reasons. First, we always felt the Convention Center was really impersonal. We had fond memories of the 1998 Celebrator party at Pyramid and the sprawling Convention Center could never duplicate that feeling.

More important, this was an opportunity to add Trumer to  the “List“. Despite it being easily located in Berkeley, we had never visited, mainly because of inconvenient tour hours. This would be our one and only new brewery during SF Beer Week.

As we are apt to do, we arrived early for our volunteer duties and got right to work. Our setup duties were typical; move a table, get some ice, direct a brewery over there. We were even entrusted with handing out the VIP wrist bands. When the festival started, I helped out at the front gate while Merideth handled the ‘merch’ table. Within 45 minutes of the opening bell, I was free to mingle and try some beers.

The most important beer to have was Trumer Pils so we could add Trumer to the List. While Merideth was still on merch duties, I snuck my sample. For a few minutes I was one brewery ahead of her again. Happy Valentine’s Day Sweetie! But once she discovered what I had done, she abandoned her post to get her own share of Trumer Pils. And just like that, the balance was restored.

Not really in the hunt and seek mode, I wandered around trying beers that caught my fancy. Valley Brewing had their Bill Brandbic, one of my favorite brews of Beer Week. I had to get some of that! Hoppy brews were plentiful and I enjoyed Russian River’s Pliny the Elder and Triple Rock’s IPAX. And in what has become a Valentine’s Day tradition, I had some Russian River Rejection.

The big question of the day was whether Russian River would bring Pliny the Younger. Apparently, this was the query of the first dozen people who walked up to their table. An industrious pair, the Russian River guys made a ‘Sorry no Younger’ sign from one of their “Gone to Pee’ beer mats. The beer geeks had to settle for Pliny the Elder and Rejection. Later big bottles of Consecration and Supplication were opened. Oh, the horror.

By the way, I am now accepting bids for the ‘Sorry No Younger’ beer mat. It is a one of kind beer collectible.

Once Merideth was released from merch duty,we were free to mingle and talk with friends. More Beer Week war stories were exchanged. We reunited with our Alaskan friends one last time for this Beer Week and plotted our return to Anchorage in January 2011.

With an hour to go in the party, it was time to think about wrapping up our day. A few more beers and another walk around to say our good byes was how our 2010 SF Beer Week concluded.

Beer Week was ten days of great beer and hanging out with good friends. We were tired and happy it was over. Time now to start resting up for the 2011 SF Beer Week.

It’s early Saturday morning the first post-SF Beer Week weekend. You’d think I’d be resting and recuperating, which I am, but I also couldn’t wait to report on a great SF Beer Week event I had the good fortune to participate in. I’ve been thinking about writing this post all week, but alas, work got in the way. So, I’m taking a brief moment out of book writing to bring you this.

Gail Williams, one half of the informative www.beerbybart.com, organized the Cheers to Women in Beer event at Beer Revolution in Oakland. Advertised guests included Moylan’s Brewmaster Denise Jones and Grand Master Beer Judge and Zymurgy panelist Beth Zangari. It all came together nicely in our second-half Beer Week schedule, as I wanted to support Gail, show my solidarity with other girl beer geeks, and visit the brand new Beer Revolution.

We ran into Gail earlier that morning while she waited in line for Toronado’s Barleywine Festival. She told me then that she planned on me being a “special surprise guest” at the Cheers to Women in Beer event. I thought she was joking and laughed at the idea. When I realized she was serious, my next thought, and I think I actually said it, was “Oh, couldn’t get anyone else, huh?” I was flattered and liked the idea of taking part, I just wasn’t sure how much of a “surprise guest” I would turn out to be.

Together with our friends J.J. and Scott, we traveled to Downtown Oakland. I took an immediate liking to Beer Revolution. The location, the deck out front, and of course the beer selection. For having only been open for a week, Fraggle and Rebecca seemed to have everything under control.

After a bit of socializing, Gail got the show going. We raised our glasses to women in beer and Denise took the floor. Standing tall on a milk crate, she talked about entering the brewing world at a time when women in the beer industry were few and far between. She is a brewer who has stood the test of time. Not because she happens to be female, but because she is a damn fine brewer. Period.

Beth climbed up on the crate next and talked about beer judging. Again, a woman who entered a facet of the beer universe when few female judges existed. As a Grand Master Beer Judge, she earned her lofty position because her palate and skill are top notch, not because she is female.

As the third speaker and surprise guest, Gail introduced me. I was incredibly humbled by following two highly notable female forerunners in the industry. How, exactly, did I fit into this scene, I wondered. But when I stood atop the crate and started to speak, I realized that the three of us represented the variety of contributions women have made to the beer industry. I may not have the patience of a Brewmaster or the sensitive palate of a Grand Master Beer Judge, but I contributed by encouraging all people, not only hardcore beer geeks, to find their own beer experiences. This realization undoubtedly sprang from being in an establishment called Beer Revolution drinking what Beth called the “drink of the people.”

After me, the average age of the women who shared their own beer herstories dropped by 15 years or more. As they spoke I felt proud to be of the slightly older group. I haven’t always blogged, but my interest in craft beer extends back to the young days of the movement. A time when women certainly weren’t expected to know about beer and in fact it was assumed women didn’t know anything about it.

Today there is a growing number of young women who blog about beer, brew beer at home, and are honing their judging skills. They aspire to be authors, world renown beer travelers, Brewmasters, and Grand Master Beer Judges. While I feel that women have moved beyond needing affirmative action in the beer world, on this day I  honored the women that set the stage for me, recognized my personal contribution to the beer community, and took pride in the next generation of women in beer.

My heartfelt thanks to Gail for organizing the event and including me.

Saturday dawned quite foggy in the City, somewhat apropos for how we were feeling. While Merideth and I were doing much better than the previous Saturday, late night beers at Tommy’s Joynt with the Alaska crew always leaves us a bit ‘weary.’ We needed to buck up as we had another busy day planned. A 3 1/2 mile walk to Magnolia for their Pre-Barleywine Breakfast was just what we needed.

The walk from our hotel to Magnolia conveniently brought us by Toronado. While we weren’t planning on attending one of SF Beer Week’s marquis events, the Barleywine Festival, we wanted to go by to get some footage.

Arriving at Toronado a little before 10am, we found our friends J.J., Scott, Gail and Steve near the front of the line. After chatting with them and a couple of other friends, taking a few pictures and shooting some video, the ‘normal’ people continued on to Magnolia.

The Pre Barleywine Breakfast was a great addition to this year’s SF Beer Week schedule. Magnolia’s convenient proximity to Toronado made it an excellent location for building the beer and food base before tackling the Barleywines. Or in our case, a great place to have breakfast and beers before heading back down to Toronado to giggle at all the drunks.

It was good to be an early bird at Magnolia. Merideth and I arrived around 10:15 and easily found a seat a bar. At the time, there were also plenty of tables available. But around half past, the steady stream of people started to walk through the door and a wait list quickly developed.

If you have made the walk between Toronado and Magnolia, you might have noticed a sign in the window of one of the building along Haight St. A picture of a little pig, the sign says “Please Don’t Eat Babe for Breakfast…” As Merideth and I walked by, we laughed heartily and said to each other that we were totally eating Babe for breakfast. We thought ourselves so funny, we stopped and filmed a little bit for the SF Beer Week One Pint at a Time episode.

Merideth had pancakes with a side of bacon while I went for the Crispy Pork Belly with a Fried Egg over Black Eyed Peas. Talk about building a strong food base for the day. It was an amazing meal.

The main event for me at Magnolia was Strong Beer Month. This would be my one and only chance to try Magnolia’s big beer offerings. Not a huge fan of the high ABV brews, Merideth would stick with their regular beers like the Saison.

First up was Let it Rauch, a 8.8% ABV smoked beer. The ‘right’ level of smoke is subjective, but for me, it had the right amount of smoke. The only disappointment was that I finished it before my pork belly arrived. I thought they would have been a perfect pairing. Let it Rauch was on of my favorite beers of the 2010 SF Beer Week.

The Rauchbier was followed by Promised Land Imperial IPA, a 10.4% ABV hopbomb.  I look forward to drinking this beer each year when Strong Beer Month rolls around. I had a slight scare, however, when we arrived and an “X” covered Promised Land on the board. Dave McLean happened to be behind the bar helping out. I didn’t real whine but explained to Dave my disappointment; how I look forward to it every year… today was my only chance. It was a Beer Week miracle as Promised Land was put back on. Not redolent of a marijuana harvest as in previous years, it still was a wonderful brew. Thanks Dave!

Still feeling strong, I was able to try Four Winds Quadrupel and Smokestack Lightning Imperial Stout before we had to head back down to Toronado. Between beer two and four, I remembered how much I like Magnolia. As we left, I promised myself that I wouldn’t forget again.

We needed to get over to Oakland for a Women in Beer event at Beer Revolution so the plan was to quickly make the loop through Toronado to shoot more photos and video footage. Entering a very crowded Toronado, we eventually made our way through the front bar to the back room. Halfway through the room, we saw our friends and stopped for a chat.

Offered a chance to sit, something we have never done at the Barleywine fest, we ended up staying over an hour. With almost all of the 48 Barleywines laid out in front of us, it was natural to grab a few to try. Barkley’s Sour Horn from Anderson Valley was the most interesting. As the name implies, it was a slightly sour Barleywine, something that I never imagined Anderson Valley creating. I also tried two of the three winners; the repeat winner from Glacier Brewhouse, Big Woody,  and Firestone Walker’s Abacus blend.

In previous years, we looked at the Barleywine fest as a challenge to be overcome; a feat of strength. But this year, we were actually having something approaching what I would characterize as ‘fun.’ Unfortunately, Merideth and I needed to move on to the Women in Beer event. She was the ‘special surprise guest’.

Based on our experience this year, here is my guide for the 2011 Toronado Barleywine Festival:

• Have or make friends with people near the front of the line. They need to be able to get a table
• These friends should have water and snacks
• Enjoy breakfast and a few beers at Magnolia while the above-mentioned friends acquire the Barleywines
• Return to Toronado when above-mentioned friends have a nice buzz on. Join them when they ask
• Enjoy the Barleywine, snacks and water

Before we knew it, the second weekend of SF Beer Week was upon us and we returned to the City with a full schedule of events for the final three days. Friday afternoon, we headed to our first event: the Bill Brand Tribute at Drake’s Brewing in San Leandro. Bill was a Bay Area beer writer who tragically died last year shortly after the inaugural SF Beer Week.

I was hoping there would be a special Beer Week event for Bill because we are forever grateful for his belief in us. He was one of our early fans. At the time, Merideth and I wondered whether chronicling our beer traveling lives mattered to anyone besides ourselves and a few friends. Bill’s plugs for us and his words of encouragement in his columns and in person meant a lot in those early days.

Bill was honored in a number of ways during SF Beer Week. The SF Brewers Guild made a collaborative beer, an Imperial Common, and breweries were encouraged to make a special brew as a tribute to Bill. Spearheaded by Rodger Davis from Triple Rock, approximately a dozen breweries made a memorial beer for a great friend of the Bay Area beer community. Ten of those beers were available at the Drake’s event.

Our last visit to Drake’s was back in the mid 1990s when it was still Lind Brewing. Owned then by the personable and quirky Roger Lind, the brewery was known for making some of the best beer in the Bay Area. A lot has changed at the brewery from those days with one exception: they still brew great beer. While the staff was still getting the memorial beer bar sorted out, I took the opportunity to enjoy a brewery fresh pint of their excellent IPA.

I sampled four of the ten memorial brews. The Hoppy Dark Lager was a nice beer from Iron Springs. Drake’s and Triple Rock each created very interesting blends. Drake’s offering, called Barrel Aged Blend, was a combination of Brett Zommer Blonde and Pine Tar Blend with raspberry. Triple Rock weighed in with the wonderfully hoppy Bill Brand IPA, a blend of IIMAX, IPAX and Moody’s.

Merideth enjoyed the Linden St. Bill’s Amber Glow, a XXXX, and Devil’s Canyon’s Bill’s Brown Ale in addition to the Iron Springs beer.

Valley Brewing provided a consensus favorite of our group with Bill Brandbic, a lambic-style brew. A sour blend that included pomegranate juice, this memorial beer was nothing short of spectacular.

There was one more star of the Drake’s event, the chocolate cupcakes made with Drake’s Imperial Stout. Created by Cupkates, an East Bay mobile cupcakery, the Stout was incorporated into the batter. One just wasn’t enough, so I had a second cupcake and Merideth tried out their red velvet cupcake as her encore.

All in all, we enjoyed a pleasant afternoon and evening of beer, cupcakes and chatting with friends. I imagine that at least one tribute event to Bill will become a permanent feature of SF Beer Week.

After the Drake’s event, we were off to the San Francisco’s City Beer Store for Bay Area debut of Alaska’s Midnight Sun Brewing.

We first tried Midnight Sun two years ago on our Year in Beer trip to Anchorage. Of the many excellent brews we tried on that trip, Midnight Sun made the the biggest impression on us. Merideth, besides liking the brewery’s sun logo, was drawn to the Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter.  I fell in love with their “Seven Deadly Sins”, a one-time series of mostly Belgian-style beers. We were excited to try their beer again.

Meeting us at City Beer were some of our Anchorage friends: Jim Roberts, better known as Dr. Fermento, and Ken Pajak, owner of Cafe Amsterdam. Down for the Toronado Barleywine Festival, they were already hanging out at the crowded City Beer when we arrived.

Over Midnight Sun’s CoHoHo Imperial IPA for myself and Panty Peeler Tripel for Merideth, we got caught up with Ken and Jim.

The night ended with our traditional Tommy’s Joynt visit with our Alaska friends. More beer, more conversation, a great start to the final weekend.