Festivals

Bay Area Brewfest 2007

June 14, 2007

Last Saturday the second annual Bay Area Brewfest took place in San Mateo. It was another beautiful day in the Bay Area. While there plenty of local and domestic craft beer pouring at this festival, I think what will ultimately set it apart is that there are several good Belgian and German import beers in [...]

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Sasquatch Brew Fest in Eugene

June 6, 2007

Last Saturday, while I was attending the Santa Rosa Beerfest, 550 miles to the north in Eugene, Oregon, another beer festival was taking place. The fifth annual Sasquatch Brew Fest is a benefit for the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation, a charity set up after the untimely death of the well-known Eugene brewer in 2002. The [...]

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Beerfest in Santa Rosa

June 6, 2007

This was the 16th annual Santa Rosa Beerfest, which is a benefit for Face to Face, a Sonoma County AIDS charity. What’s fun about this festival and what sets it apart is two things. First there’s the emphasis on local beer and food producers. Second, and most importantly in my opinion, is the way they [...]

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Raley Field Brewfest

May 13, 2007

The first Raley Field Brewfest was put on by the Northern California Brewer’s Guild in an effort to raise funds for the fledgling organization. It was a good first fest at a great setting with perfect weather, especially for Sacramento. Because it was a festival by brewers for their own benefit, attendance was better than [...]

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Boonville Beer Festival

May 8, 2007

Saturday was the 11th annual Boonville Beer Festival, held as usual at the Mendocino Fair Grounds in Boonville, California. Over the last few years, this festival has really become one of the “must attend” fests of the year, and this time was no exception. I didn’t hear the final attendance figures, but it must have [...]

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Fantastic Fourth Firkin Fest

April 7, 2007

Today one of the most fun festivals in the Bay Area took place, the Firkin Gravity Festival at the Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse in Berkeley. This is the fourth year for this event and it’s great to have an event like this that spreads awareness of these beers. There were two dozen firkin beers [...]

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The Celebrator’s 19th Anniversary Party

February 20, 2007

Sunday was the 19th Anniversary Party for the Celebrator Beer News. It was held at Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, California from 4 to 8 p.m. There was a really good turnout for the party and a lot of friends and colleagues were there, which was great fun. Also, there was some terrific beer from twenty [...]

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Photo Gallery: 14th annual Toronado Barley Wine Festival

February 18, 2007

Saturday was Day One of the 14th annual Toronado Barley Wine Festival in San Francisco. The festival will run until the next Saturday, February 24. But the first day is when the crowd descend and the beers are judged. As usual, I was one of the early arriver’s even though my judging round — the [...]

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Toronado Barley Wine Festival Results 2007

February 17, 2007

Here are the results from the 2007 Toronado Barley Wine Festival in San Francisco:   1st Place: Big Nugget, Alaskan Brewing 2nd Place: Angel’s Share, Lost Abbey 3rd Place (tie): Doggie Claws, Hair of the Dog 3rd Place (tie): XI, Uinta Brewing   Congratulations to all the winners.  

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Bistro Double IPA Festival 2007

February 11, 2007

The 7th annual Double IPA Festival was held yesterday at the Bistro in Hayward, California. There were 42 beers that we judged, narrowing it down to four. All four were terrific beers and any one of them could have ended up in first place, though ultimately Ballast Point Point Brewing‘s Dorado was the one we [...]

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Double IPA Festival Winners

February 10, 2007

Ballast Point Point Brewing‘s Dorado was chosen best in show at the 7th annual Double IPA Festival today at the Bistro in Hayward, California. The full winner list is below.     1st Place: Dorado, Ballast Point Point Brewing 2nd Place: Pliny the Elder, Russian River Brewing 3rd Place: Hop Stoopid, Lagunitas Brewing Honorable Mention: [...]

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Photos from Abroad

February 3, 2007

In case you missed it, I went to London and Brussels last week with a couple of Bay Area brewers, Shaun O’Sullivam from 21st Amendment and Christian Kazakoff from Triple Rock. Photos from the trip were posted back to the date when we were there so, unless you were looking for them, you probably missed [...]

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The Old Ale Festival at the White Horse

January 27, 2007

Our primary reason for the trip to London was to attend the 24th annual Old Ale Festival at the White Horse on Parson’s Green, which is located in southwest London. Landlord and cellerman Mark Dorber, who’s been at the pub for decades, is leaving this year and we wanted to visit him at the bar [...]

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SacBrew Barley Wine Festival Winners

January 20, 2007

The results are also in for the 2007 SacBrew Barley Wine Festival. Since I wasn’t able to go north to Alaska, I was fortunate enough to be able to judge in Sacramento last night. Here are the top three Barley Wine winners:   1st Place: Sky Diver, Brew It Up! 2nd Place: Beermann’s Bourbon Barrel [...]

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Great Alaskan Beer & Barley Wine Festival Winners

January 20, 2007

The results are in for the 2007 Great Alaskan Beer & Barley Wine Festival. Here are the top three Barley Wine winners:   1st Place: Arctic Devil, Midnight Sun, Alaska 2nd Place: Stormwatcher’s Winterfest 2005, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Oregon 3rd Place: Cyclops, Elysian Brewery, Washington   Results courtesy of Tom Dalldorf, publisher of the [...]

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From the Field: Lisa Morrison at the Portland Holiday Ale Fest

December 18, 2006

A couple of weeks ago the Portland Holiday Ale festival was held in the Rose City and award-winning beer writer — and Portland resident — Lisa Morrison was on hand to sample the holiday beers. Lisa filed this report along with a few pictures from the festival. Thanks, Lisa, for sharing the festival with us! [...]

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