This past weekend, Chris and I attended the 3rd annual BevMo! Holiday Beer Fest at Fort Mason in San Francisco. I was supposed to write a blog about the fest, but as Thanksgiving Day approached, I became more introspective and thankful. The fest and giving thanks may seem like two completely different subjects. However, as I started thinking about what I was most thankful for, I realized what made the Holiday Beer Fest so special to me this year.
The 2011 Bevmo! Holiday Beer Fest
I could say that I am thankful for the mothers of brewers or for the brewers who make good craft beer. Heck, I could even say I am just plain thankful for having craft beer in my life. But what I am really thankful for is the wonderful craft beer people I know. Starting my craft beer life in the Bay Area, events up there are often like old home week. This year’s Holiday Beer Fest was no exception.
At the fest I clunked plastic cups of Almanac’s latest offering, Autumn 2011 Farmhouse Pale, with friends like Bruce “the Beer Chef” Paton. We first met Bruce close to 20 years ago when Barclay’s was our local and he has been a special person in our life ever since. I also received a big hug and a kiss from Betsey Hensley, beer woman extraordinaire and the wife of Marin Brewing Company brewer, Arne Johnson. She also gave me a bottle of Underberg, something I was especially thankful to have at the end of the festival!
Monterey Bay represents at the Holiday Beer Fest
Running my beer crafts table I didn’t have a whole lot of opportunity to walk around the fest and taste beers, so I was grateful to be next to our friend Kevin Clark, brewer at Peter B’s in Monterey. Kevin has done an amazing job revamping Peter B’s line-up and I was all too happy to drink his Sundown Hazelnut Brown for most of the night. I appreciate counting Kevin and his wife Corrie as good friends, as well as Kevin’s contribution to boosting our local beer scene down on the Monterey Peninsula. So I guess, I actually am thanking a brewer for making great craft beer. I’ll stop short of thanking his mother for giving birth to him.
I can think of numerous others who I saw during the fest that helped me realize how grateful I am to be part of the craft beer community, but I don’t want to bore you all with an endless list of thanks reminiscent of an Academy Award acceptance speech.
At the risk of being totally mushy, Chris and I would like to say how much we appreciate all our friends with whom we have shared some very special times and beers with, as well as all thebeergeek.com supporters that we may not know personally. You have all enriched our (beer) life in some way and for that, we thank you. We hope you have a very Hoppy Thanksgiving!
View all the images from the 2011 Holiday Beer Fest…
It has become a November tradition for us to travel down to the southern part of the Central Coast to explore what is new in their beer scene. This year, we took the opportunity of Merideth being off work on Veteran’s Day to make the journey to San Luis Obispo County to visit two new breweries.
Porter and Stout in Pismo Beach
On a rainy morning, we piled Porter and Stout into the car and headed south. Wanting to make the day a family outing, our first stop was a park in Pismo Beach to walk the dogs. Unfortunately, my research turned out to be faulty. What I thought was an off-leash park, turned out to be a leash-only park. My mistake was compounded by a light rain beginning to fall. After a short on-leash walk, Porter and Stout looked very disappointed as we bundled them back into the car.
Pismo Brewing in downtown Pismo Beach
It was a short ride from the park to downtown Pismo Beach. This was our first time in the city center of this well-visited tourist community. Pismo Beach Brewing is conveniently located on a side street a block from the main drag.
Taster set at Pismo Brewing
The cozy tasting room was sparsely populated. Merideth and I grabbed a seat at the granite-topped bar in front of the TV so I could watch the USA v France soccer match.
There were six beers to sample in their taster set. From several sources, we had heard Pismo was having brewing “issues” and this came out as a distinct “house”flavor in the beers. Both Merideth and I found this flavor to be a bit odd, especially in the lighter-bodied beers. For me, the IPA was the most drinkable, as the nice hop bite overtook the house flavor.
I certainly hope Pismo works out their brewing issues because I took a liking to the place. We’ll give them more time and make another visit in the future.
Tap It Brewing
Tap It Brewing, located next to the San Luis Obispo airport, was the second stop on our outing. Walking into the small tasting room, we were greeted by the friendly bartender. Explaining that we wanted to watch the soccer match, she led us from the front room to a much larger orange-colored space that included the brewery and a bevy of orange-colored tables. Merideth and I found a seat in front of the big TV and set down to watch the second half of the USA v France match.
Tap It had two beers on, a Pale Ale and an IPA. They were very enjoyable with a similar citrus hop character. Of course, the IPA was my beer of choice.
Hope Porter and Stout don't see this picture
The star of our Tap It visit was the very friendly brewery cat. As soon as we sat down, the cat jumped up on our table to check out our beers. Within a minute, the cat was purring on my lap. I felt bad for Porter and Stout, who were sitting out in the cold car.
At the end of the match, we finished our beers and bade farewell to our new kitty friend. It was time to begin the journey home. Our trip to San Luis Obispo County was short but it is always a fun experience seeing what our Central Coast brethren are up to.
View all the images from our Central Coast outing…
When we were up in Seattle in July, our friends Chris and Dave told of us of their November plans to visit the Bay Area. These plans included an East Bay Urban Beer Hike. As proud former East Bay-ers, the opportunity to spend a beer day in our old stomping grounds was a chance we couldn’t turn down.
Berkeley's beer landmark...
The planned hike consisted of six stops and covered seven miles, from downtown Berkeley to downtown Oakland. The stops included one brewery and five beer bars, with two of the stops being new to us.
On a chilly, yet sunny Sunday morning, we got a jump on the hike by walking the little over a mile from our Oakland waterfront hotel to the Lake Merritt BART station. Our destination was downtown Berkeley and one of the landmarks of the East Bay beer scene: Triple Rock Brewery.
Single Hop Experience Pacific
Our group gathered at “America’s Oldest Original Brewpub” and prepared for the day’s hike by getting some food in our bellies.
There was collective disappointment that IPAX Ale, Triple Rock’s West Coast IPA, wasn’t on that day. But this disappointment was quickly tempered by the Single Hop Experience Pacific Gem. A 5.2% ABV Pale Ale, S.H.E. was a citrusy, easy-drinking beer to start the Urban Beer Hike.
Crossing the Berkeley campus
The longest leg of the day’s hike, approximately two and a half miles, took us from downtown Berkeley to the Rockridge neighbor just across the border in Oakland. Being familiar with this ground, Merideth and I took the group on the scenic route across the Berkeley campus. We regaled our fellow urban beer hikers with stories about our wonderful university and our own college years. From the Berkeley campus, we hiked straight down College Ave, reaching Barclay’s Pub in approximately an hour.
Enjoying a Moonlight Bony Fingers at Barclay's
Barclay’s was packed with regulars watching the hometown Raiders play the hated Broncos. As always, it was great chatting with old friends.
After ordering a round of beers, our group crowded around the side bar. One of the joys of Barclay’s is that they consistently have Moonlight’s brews on tap. My first beer was the wonderful dark lager, Death and Taxes followed up with the equally wonderful Bony Fingers Black Lager. Our Seattle pair got to enjoy the CME IPA from Oakland’s newest brewery, Oakland Brewing Company.
Auto racing, not bowling
It was a short walk from Barclay’s down to Telegraph Avenue and our next stop, Lanesplitter Pizza and Pub. I assume most people make the same mistake our group did and think the name refers to bowling. Walking into Lanesplitter and seeing the Racing 5 decoration, we quickly realized that our association was mistaken. The theme was auto racing, not bowling.
An unexpected surprise!
Slices of pizza were ordered, as well as a pitcher of Sierra Nevada Celebration. Confusion ensued as the beer delivered was a golden/amber color as opposed to the deep amber color of Sierra’s holiday staple.Tasting the beer, it clearly wasn’t Celebration. Dave took the reigns and went to talk our waitress. After a minute or so, he came back with the keg cap. Much to Merideth’s and my surprise, the beer was our Sierra Nevada California Common!
Six months on, our Beer Camp beer was still drinkable but it did lack the brightness it had when it was fresh. Even so, it was special to have what was most likely some of the last draft pints (we still have some bottles).
The Trappist in downtown Oakland
Once on Telegraph Avenue, it was a straight shot to downtown Oakland. The perfect stop half way on this jaunt was Commonwealth Cafe and Public House. Unfortunately, we arrived an hour after their mid-afternoon Sunday closing time. Disappointed, we proceeded on for the 20 blocks left to our next destination.
Just around dusk, we reached the main artery of downtown Oakland: Broadway. It was only a few more blocks before our group was walking through the front door of The Trappist.
Oakland's own Urban People's Common Lager
Although The Trappist is a Belgian-themed establishment, it was a hometown brew that we came to drink. Our group ordered a round of Linden Street Brewery’s flagship beer Urban People’s Common Lager, a delicious California Common. Unfortunately, the beer didn’t pair so well with the 4505 Meats’ chicharrones.
I followed up my Linden Street brew with another lager from Moonlight, the light-bodied Lunatic Lager.
Beer Rev has a few hoppy beers on...
From The Trappist, it was only a short five block walk down Broadway to our final stop of the Urban Beer Hike: Beer Revolution. I have to admit, for Merideth and I it was our third stop at Beer Rev during our two day trip to the Bay Area.
The previous day was “Hopslosion” at Beer Revolution, where over 40 hoppy brews were on tap. Sunday, the hoppy choices were down to a paltry 30-something beers.
The happy hikers at the finish line
At the finish line, our group drank probably the consensus beer of the day, Drake’s Alpha Sessions. Light-bodied and hopped like their Double IPAs with Citra, Simcoe and German Magnum, Alpha Sessions is a delicious 3.8% ABV session beer. The perfect beer to end a long day of hiking and drinking.
Missing one stop was a disappointment, but our Urban Beer Hike reminded us what a worthy beer destination the East Bay is. Next time, a Berkeley or Oakland only hike is a definite possibility.
View all the images from our East Bay Urban Beer Hike
“Scarves Up” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.
Since our last visit during the Year in Beer in 2008, we’ve been meaning to get back to Seattle. The chance to see the Seattle Sounders play one of the world’s great soccer clubs, Manchester United, was the push we needed to make the return journey to the Pacific Northwest. Getting to experience the Seattle beer scene again was an added bonus.
So enjoy our latest adventures in the Pacific Northwest…
For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.
Since our last visit during the Year in Beer in 2008, we have been meaning to get back to Seattle. The chance to see the Seattle Sounders playing one of the world’s great soccer clubs, Manchester United was the push we needed to make the trip. Getting to experience the Seattle beer scene again was an added bonus.
In three days on our short North Carolina visit, we visited almost a dozen breweries. But we still had a few more to go to complete our journey. On our last day with our fellow beer travelers, Matt and Michelle, we tackled the last remaining targets in Asheville and just beyond.
French Broad
Since none of the breweries opened until the afternoon, we had a relaxing start to the day in downtown Asheville. After a leisurely lunch, we were ready to finish our important work.
French Broad Brewing was located across the street and around a corner from the Asheville’s famous tourist landmark, the Biltmore Estate. It seemed like a nice day to sit outside in their beer garden but the blazing sun forced us to retreat into the tiny but cool tasting room. To the sounds of Appalachian music, we went through the French Broad lineup.
The beers at French Broad
There were six beers in the French Broad sampler including another excellent IPA. But instead of talking about another West Coast-style hop bomb that I really liked, I’ll mention two of their other brews.
Much to Merideth’s pleasure (and mine as well) French Broad had a Kölsch-style beer. Gateway Kölsch was an excellent American example of the style, light-bodied and refreshing.
French Broad Zepptemberfest was a Zeppelin-style Märzen brewed with a Kölsch yeast. Merideth and I argued about whether or not “Zeppelin” was a style of beer. I kept insisting there wasn’t, but apparently I was wrong. Zeppelin-style, from what I can gather is another way of saying Kellerbier. Despite the confusion, Zepptemberfest was a nice brew with the caramel maltiness that I enjoy in the style.
Members only at Southern Appalachian Brewery
Merideth and I don’t have the opportunity for too many “firsts” these days in our beer travels. But our next stop, Southern Appalachian Brewery in quiet Hendersonville thirty minutes south of Asheville, was a first for us. Due to a local ordinance, one had to be a member to drink the beer. We have never encountered this before, especially since we haven’t beer traveled in Utah.
Actually, only one of us needed to fill out the application form – the other one could be their guest. Since I’m a liberated guy, I had Merideth fill out the membership form and pay the $1 fee. Luckily, I was approved as her guest. We found this quirk to be quite entertaining and great fodder for video. In chatting with owner/brewer Andy Cubbin, the membership requirement, unfortunately, has also been a hindrance to business. They’re working on it and hopefully, the law will get changed.
Membership and guest issues taken care of, we settled in to try the beer at what was my favorite brewery of the trip. Served in a really cute, had-to-be hand-made wooden tray, the four beer sampler was comprised of an Amber, IPA, Stout and Belgian-style Blonde Ale.
I loved the beers, especially the Belgian-style Blonde Ale and the IPA, both 6.5% ABV. The IPA, a 95 IBU hop bomb. was triple hopped in the kettle and dry-hopped with five varieties. My kind of beer!
Yes, we were...
Southern Applachachian appeared to be a really locals hangout. While we enjoyed our beers, a group of parents were having a few beers before the Friday night football game (at least that was the story I created in my head). Meanwhile, an older gentleman, who I gathered was the local sand bag toss champion, drank a beer and practiced his sport, waiting for someone to challenge him to a game. Great atmosphere, great beer and nice people, Southern Appalachian had the winning formula.
Highland Brewing
The last brewery stop of the day and trip, Highland Brewing was only a few minutes from French Broad, but seemed worlds away. Nestled in the woods, the brewery’s tasting room was already bustling when we arrived in the early evening. It was quite an eclectic crowd ranging from the young hipsters that we had seen all over town to parents with their kids. While Mom and Dad had a beer or two, the kids used the large outdoor seating area as a giant playground.
Highland's tasting "room"
The massive scale of the tasting room was something I hadn’t expected. Not only was there was the huge deck, but the interior was equally massive, looking like the live music venue that it was. Slowly spinning on the ceiling was the largest fan I think I have ever seen. Quite the contrast,the bar was tucked along the side wall, dwarfed by it’s surroundings.
Merideth at Highland Brewing
It was too crazy to order a taster set so I ordered pints for Merideth and myself. While Merideth started off with their Gaelic Ale, I began with the 60 IBU Kashmir IPA. Both beers were well-made, but lacked the “Wow” factor that we got from beer at some of the other North Carolina breweries.
Beer travel is best done with friends...
We finished up our North Carolina brewery tour sharing a pint of Areola Ale, a beer that Merideth was too embarrassed to order. Made for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the pinkish hue was achieved with beet juice.
We visited fifteen breweries, learned about a new beer style and joined our first beer club during our abbreviated trip to Asheville. We also took a hike on a Cherokee reservation, visited our 650th brewery and ate loads of hummus. Asheville was good to us and we had a great time. Hopefully, we’ll have the opportunity to return someday.
