Tag: San Francisco

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SF Temp beer garden

Whether you buy into the “broken windows” theory or not, I think we can all agree that if we had a choice between a vacant lot and a beer garden, that us craft beer geeks would choose the latter.

And that is why what is happening in San Francisco is so cool. Read it HERE.

Why vacant lots aren’t being utilized across the country is strange to me. Allowing carts to converge brings people and allows communities to stay vibrant. And who knows, maybe a pub will see that the response is strong and build. Or a restaurant. Or hell, even a tiny park is better than a weed choked blank patch of land.

What other ways can beer help revitalize communities?

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SF Beer Week


Less than a month away now from the big SF Beer Week and it looks like I will miss it yet again! This time I will be in Portland for the first days of the fest that runs from the 10th to the 19th of February. And during the last half, I will be catching up at work.

But there are some cool looking events (and an app too). Magnolia is pulling some rare stuff out of their vaults. Social Kitchen and Brewery is hosting a beer breakfast and many many more.

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San Francisco Beer Week

Continuing the California theme, now is the time to check out the SF Beer Week website to see what you are going to either A) go to / buy tickets for or B) cry about not being able to attend. But you can’t get to every beer festival (or can you?).

Here is a teaser of events for the beer week that starts on February 11th….
-An Opening Gala at Yerba Buena Cultural Center on February 11th
-A Double IPA Festival at The Bistro on February 12th
-Triple Fermented: Cask Beer, Cheese, and Bread at ThirstyBear Brewing Co. on February 13th
-Beerunch with Mateveza and Dogfish Head at Public House re-airing Game 5 of the World Series on February 13th
-A Pig Roast and Barrel-Aged Beer Tasting at Drake’s Brewing Co. with Chop Bar Restaurant on February 16th
-A Barleywine Festival at The Toronado on February 19th
-A Chocolate and Beer Festival at the Craneway Pavilion on February 19th

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XMAS BEER – 21st Amendment Winter Warmer

I talked about Craft Cans now here is a can filled with a winter warmer.

Here is what the fine folks at 21st Amendment have to say about their winter seasonal…”Fireside Chat is a subtle twist on the traditional seasonal brew. We begin with a rich, dark ruby brown, English-style ale and then improvise with spices until we know we have a beer worth sharing with the nation. During Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, Fireside Chat will brighten the faces of those who enjoy it, near the hearth or at the table. Its subtle blend of spices balances the malty ale and will make this a foodie’s favorite, as it pairs perfectly with holiday meals.”

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New 21st Amendment can

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The first Cascadian dark in cans comes from 21st Amendment. Beer history being made yet again. Now you can do an canned San Francisco IPA taste comparison. Pick up Brew Free or Die and Back in Black and invite the beer gang.

And if you are in San Francisco and it is still available, you can try another iteration of 21st Amendment IPA with Bitter American.

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Monk’s Blood

The canned beer movement is picking up more steam (probably because of my canned beer tasting event from last year) and here is another entry from 21st Amendment. Looks delicious! So much so that I added it to my Top 5 Desired beers. Where is that list, you might ask? Click on the About the Search Party tab. Then scroll past my pretty picture.
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My first visit to Toronado

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I did not know what to expect of Toronado SF. I had purposefully not looked at any photos. All I had done was check the beer list and made advance selections (that I didn’t follow). I have been to enough beer sellers to know that this was A) a serious beer place B) a familiar beer hall style.

Toronado is like Horse Brass in Portland or Lucky Baldwin’s in Pasadena or Tied House in Denver. Old taps are attached to the wall everywhere. (They had a great year by year tap progression of the Anchor Christmas beers) Old signed bottles are on shelves and every bar stool is taken. Oh and the lighting was dim.

Don’t take this as a slam against the place. Toronado is authentic. The taps on the wall tell a history. There was a large grouping of historic Full Sail taps. You can’t fake this. Plus, I love that they had a large board that was easy to read of the current rotation. With prices! Why some places eschew that touch is beyond me.

My wife scored us a table by some sort of magic and I settled on a new Anchor Steam. Hey, we were in the home of Anchor. Huming Ale is made with Nelson Sauvin hops, supposedly. It was almost like two different beers fighting each other. A steam beer with layers of hops but I could not locate the grape-y Nelson in there.

I could easily have stayed for hours and tried all new (to me) beers. That is the mark of a great beer bar.

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What I bought at City Beer SF

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Goose Island Holiday 2009
Mikkeller Single Hop IPA – Nugget
Mikkeller Single Hop IPA – Cascade
Russian River Salvation

I also had my first taste of beer from Truckee, California’s Fifty-Fifty Brewing that was on tap!
Rockslide IPA was a big, bold West Coast IPA. If time had permitted, I would have tried more of their beer because City had most of their line-up on their 6 taps. City Beer does it again!

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21st Amendment – New Stuff

From Draft Magazine…
“Exciting news about a new release coming from 21st Amendment this fall.

The brewery will launch its Signature Series line of limited releases with Monksblood, a “dark Belgian with a ton of West Coast hops that’s port-infused with an oak finish and vanilla notes.” The brew, which checks in at 8.5% ABV and will totally alter how you think of beer in cans, required a trip to Belgium to perfect.”