Photo Gallery

Damaged Lagunitas Equipment In Petaluma

by Jay Brooks on January 2, 2012 · 5 comments

When last we looked, the damaged Lagunitas brewing equipment was at the dock, at the Port of Stockton. Earlier today I stopped by the Lagunitas Brewery to pick up some samples for a tasting tomorrow for the Celebrator Beer News and, not surprisingly, the broken lauter tun was around the back of the brewery. Having traveled so far — the equipment, not me — I wanted to see it close up and snapped some photos, too.

At the Lagunitas Brewery.

The damaged brewhouse in Petaluma.

Some of the damage, up close and personal.

Close-up mayhem.

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More From This Year’s Anchor Christmas Party

by Jay Brooks on December 10, 2011 · 1 comment

in Breweries,Events,Just For Fun

If you saw my post from the Anchor Christmas Party a few days ago, my friend Mike Condie — who’s a much better photographer than I am — sent over some of the pictures he took at the party and I thought I’d share those, as well.

The Celebrator crew.

Alec Moss and Tom Dalldorf.

Me with brewer Mike Lee and Bob Brewer.

Bob Brewer showing me Anchor’s new bottling line.

Ron Silberstein, from Thirsty Bear, and Anchor co-owner Keith Greggor.

Thanks for sharing, Mike.

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Toronado Blunch 2011 Recap

by Jay Brooks on April 16, 2011 · 2 comments

in Beers,Events,Food & Beer,Just For Fun

Last Sunday, the annual Toronado Belgian Beer Lunch took place, with the food again being done by Sean Paxton, the Homebrew Chef. The Belgian lunch — or Blunch, as I’ve taken to calling it — began promptly at 11:30 a.m. and went until nearly 5:30 p.m. Now that’s slow food, but really with twelve courses the pacing was just right. I had the pleasure of being seated at a table with Toronado owner Dave Keene, the beer chef Bruce Paton, and my favorite ne’er do well, Dave Suurballe. Here’s a recap of the meal.

2011 Toronado Blunch

Before the Blunch began.

Pre-Lunch Reception:

Handmade Toronado bread.

Beer #1: Van Steenberge Ertveld’s Wit

First Course

Belgian Sushi: Wit-flavored brioche infused with foie gras, roasted eel, Poperings Hommel Bier duck egg green aioli, pea shoots

Paired with DuPont Avril

Second Course

Charcuturie Platter: Duck rillettes braised in Russian River Consecration with a Supplication gelee, duck pistachio apricot infused with Sanctification terrine, pork/duck liver and Orval beer pâté, cornichons, heirloom radishes, house-made Goulden Carolus Noel mustard, currant & Consecration compote

Served with local The Bejkr breads

Paired with Chimay Grand Reserve 3 Liter and Duvel Triple Hop

Third Course

DuPont Avec Les Bons Voeux Poached Sole: On a bed of leek and turnip purée, topped with a lobster crawfish mussel Tripel Karmeliet waterzooi sauce

Paired with De Dolle Arabier and Moinette Blond

Fourth Course

Goat Butter Poached Sea Scallop: Smoked in Mort Subite lambic barrel staves, De Ranke Guldenburg demi glaze, celery root purée infused with Affligem Noel, fennel pollen

Paired with Petrus Aged Pale

Fifth Course

Seared Duck Breast with Sour Cherry Sauce: Sonoma County duck breasts cooked sous vide with shallots, thyme, with a dried sour cherries Hannsen Oude Kriek sauce on a bed of black barley simmer in Delirium Noel and TCHO cocoa nibs

Paired with Bocker Cuvee De Jacobins and Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek

The Homebrew Chef, Sean Paxton.

Sixth Course

Medium Rare Short Ribs: Cooked sous vide for 48 hours in Rochefort 8, caramelized shallots and thyme, served on a bed of Flemish-style mashed potatoes, with a fig, date Petrus Oud Bruin gravy

Paired with Echt Kriekenbier and Rochefort 10

Seventh Course

Crepenette: Westmalle Dubbel infused Spring Sonoma lamb, mixed with creamed leeks, wrapped in caul fat topped with a sirop de Liége (pears, date simmered in a Chimay Red ale syrup) and Belgian endive salad

Paired with Rodenbach Grand Cru 2008 keg

Eighth Course

Foie Gras: Lobes of foie gras poached in Boon Kriek, made into truffles and coated in Cantillon Rosé De Gambrinus gelee, garnished with hibiscus sea salt

Paired with Malheur Brut Reserve 2006

Ninth Course

French Lentil Salad: Lentils simmered in Fantôme Saison, curry-scented green cauliflower, ‘wit’ candied cashews, mâche greens and toasted hemp seeds tossed in a Straus yogurt bergamot orange Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René dressing

Paired with Oud Beersal Oude Geueze Vieille

Tenth Course

Assorted Belgian Cheeses: Grevenbroecker, Wavreumont, “St. Maure,” Charmoix, Meikaas, and Kriek Washed Fromage served with pomegranate Supplication honey, the Bejkr Biologlque bread, hazelnut fig crackers, dried fruit, honey blood orange peel candied pistachios

Cheese Plate #2

Paired with Liefmans Cuvee Brut and Orval, along with the bread and crackers.

Eleventh Course

Crêpe: Boon Oude Geuze Mariage Parfait beer curd, Hanssens Oudbeitje rhubarb jam, Westmalle Tripel chamomile syrup wrapped in a Sara Buckwheat Ale crepe

Paired with De Struise T’sjeeses

Twelfth Course

Chocolate Pot de Crème Deconstructed Pie: Speculoos cookie crust, Belgian dark chocolate infused custard, Chantilly cream

Paired with De Struise Pannepot 2007, Scaldis Noel 1998 Magnums and De Struise Black Albert 2009, beers 18 through 20.

Okay, well that didn’t suck. Another spectacular meal. Thanks Sean and Dave.

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Don Younger Memorial

by Jay Brooks on February 16, 2011 · 0 comments

in Events,News

Sadly, the date chosen for Don Younger’s memorial last Sunday meant I could not attend. There were too many long-standing obligations with SF Beer Week. Happily the Bay Area was well-represented, with several friends in attendance, including Dave Keene and Jennifer Smith from the Toronado, Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing, and Tom Dalldorf, publisher of the Celebrator Beer News. Tom took a lot of photos and was kind enough to write a guest post for me, giving his account of the day. He also has a great piece up on the Celebrator website entitled Don Remembered. Thanks Tom.

Don Younger Memorial, a Guest Post by Tom Dalldorf

A memorial for the late Don Younger, renowned publican and ultimate beer industry character, HAD to be held at his world famous Horse Brass Pub in Portland. The only question was how. Everyone even remotely connected to the beer industry knew him and respected his many contributions to brewing and beer culture and would want to be there.

Tom Dalldorf posing with one of many Don Younger life-size stand-ups at the memorial.

Close family and HB staff decided to hold two gatherings on Sunday, February 13, to celebrate his life and times. One would be by invitation only and held inside the pub starting at 11 am and the other would be open to the public and start at 2 pm under tents erected in the parking lot behind the pub.

Gary Fish (from Deschutes), Kurt Widmer (from Widmer Brothers) and beer writer Fred Eckhardt.

The usual Portland rain seemed to mercifully hold up while the set up and arrivals took place. Beer industry veterans and personal friends from as far away as England arrived to celebrate Don’s many accomplishments and tell outrageous Don stories late into the afternoon. The small but tightly knit PNC (Publican National Committee), of which Don was a founding member, gathered with Tom Peters, Monk’s Café in Philadelphia, having traveled furthest to be there. Others included Matt Bonny, Brouwer’s Café in Seattle; Chris Black, Falling Rock in Denver and David Keene, Toronado in San Francisco.

Lisa Morrison, Chris and Cheryl Black (from the Falling Rock) and Tom Peters (from Monk’s Café).

Around 1 pm a toast to his memory was offered in the pub with an amazing number of shots of his favorite Macallum 12 year old Scotch distributed to the guests. Yet another toast took place inside and in the tent set up in the parking lot packed with Younger fans. This toast was picked up at pubs and beer joints all across the Pacific Coast time zone promptly at 3 pm. Jay Brooks led the toast at the Sour Beer Fest at Triple Rock in Berkeley. Others toasted at 3 pm in their own time zones.

Lisa Morrison — a.k.a. The Beer Goddess — leading one of the many heartfelt toasts to Don.

Brookston Beer Bulletin is offering up some space for selected photos from the gathering in Portland. The beer world has lost a champion but his inspiration and dedication to the beer culture we all love will live on.

— Tom Dalldorf

Below are a few more of Tom’s photos from the memorial. Thanks again, Tom.

Natalie Ciurzo, John Maier (from Rogue) and Vinnie Cilurzo.

Longtime friend Joy Campbell with Dave Keene’s wife Jennifer Smith.

The crowd inside the Horse Brass pub.

A collage of memories for the man of the hour: Don Younger 1941-2011 R.I.P.

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Ken Grossman Presents The Sierra Nevada Story

by Jay Brooks on December 23, 2010 · 0 comments

in Breweries,Food & Beer,Just For Fun

Our last day at Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp last Friday, we were invited to their last quarterly beer dinner at the Big Room at the Brewery. Executive Chef Micheal Iles created an impressive five-course dinner, which each course mimicking one meal of the day, so that in essence we ate a day’s worth in one meal. You can see a photo gallery of the beer dinner below.

And as cool as the dinner was, the real treat was a presentation given by Sierra Nevada co-founder Ken Grossman. Throughout the dinner, in between courses, he told the story of how Sierra Nevada Brewery began, complete with slides. By complete happenstance, I happened to be sitting on a riser directly in front of the presentation, so I set up my Flip camera and taped most of it. The talk is separated into 8 parts, since that’s how the presentation was given. It’s just over an hour, and part one is below.

To see the rest of Ken Grossman’s presentation, I set up a page with all 8 videos embedded, The Sierra Nevada Story. Enjoy.

Sierra Nevada Beer Dinner Photo Galley

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Toronado’s Dave Keene & Jennifer Smith Married Saturday At GABF

by Jay Brooks on September 20, 2010 · 7 comments

in Events,Just For Fun,News,Related Pleasures

Toronado owner Dave Keene and his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Smith tied the knot during the afternoon session at the Great American Beer Festival on Saturday, September 18. The impromptu ceremony took place in front of the Russian River Brewery booth, with Vinnie Cilurzo as best man and Natalie Cilurzo as Jennifer’s maid of honor. Brett Joyce, president of Rogue Ales, officiated the ceremony, Brett being a minister in the Universal Life Church.

The wedding ceremony, with the bride on the left, the reverend Brett Joyce in the middle with the groom Dave Keene on the right, flanked by best man Vinnie Cilurzo.

The wedding came together organically and wasn’t planned. Apparently there had been another wedding at GABF and recently Marty and Lisa Jones renewed their vows in the hall, but as far as I know this is the first impromptu wedding at GABF. Once Dave and Jen made the decision, there was delay while we found where the best man and maid of honor were at. Eventually, Vinnie and Natalie were found behind the Brooklyn Brewery booth with Garrett Oliver. No one could hear in the hall, but inundated with people calling and texting, Natalie came over to find out what was going on. As soon as she realized what was happening, she sped back to grab Vinnie and Garrett so the ceremony could begin.

But the delay had a beneficial side, too. It allowed Gail Williams, from Beer by Bart, to run around the hall and find a suitable bouquet for the bride, a sprig of hops. It allowed Dave and a few of us to have a 5-minute bachelor party behind the booth. I had a Hopfather IPA. As people gathered to wait for the wedding to begin, it took on the look of something about to happen, and more and more people who knew the parties involved stopped to witness the event. Surrounded by dozens of people, perhaps as many as a hundred, Vinnie shut down his booth and the wedding ceremony began. I walked Jennifer down the aisle and gave her away, a great honor, and Brett began the vows.

After Brett declared them husband and wife, the newlyweds embraced for their first kiss as a married couple, as the crowd cheered them on.

The wedding party: Vinnie, Dave, Jennifer, Natalie, minister Brett Joyce and me. I think Garrett Oliver summed it up best, when he said. “I’ve been coming to GABF for nineteen years, and this is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Below is a slideshow of Dave & Jennifer’s wedding. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.

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Vinnie’s 40th Birthday Party

July 27, 2010

This Sunday, Vinnie Cilurzo, founder and brewmaster at Russian River Brewing, turned forty. His wife Natalie pulled out all the stops and made it a two-day celebration, beginning with a barbecue at the production brewery. We arrived a little early, and Vinnie and Terrence Sullivan, assistant brewer at Sierra Nevada Brewing was there with kegs [...]

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Older Bud No Weiser

June 22, 2010

The last event I attended during Philly Beer Week was the Older Bud No Wiser panel discussion at the World Cafe Live. Here’s how the event was promoted: 1996 was an historic year for Craft Brewing. It was in this year that Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head, Bill Covaleski from Victory, Mark Edelson of Iron [...]

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Hammer Time

June 8, 2010

I arrived in Philadelphia on the train yesterday afternoon not sure what to expect. My first event wasn’t until Tuesday so I had a wide open evening. So I called a few people, including the wonderful Jennie Hatton — my agent — and also with the P.R. firm for Philly Beer Week. She was two [...]

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A Visit To Three Floyds

April 24, 2010

Today, of course, is the annual Dark Lord Day at Three Floyds Brewery in Munster, Indiana. Since many people will not have a golden ticket and be waiting in line to buy this year’s Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout, here’s a little tour of the brewery I took the Sunday after CBC a couple of [...]

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Beer In Ads #88: Budvar’s Ten Commandments

April 15, 2010

Thursday’s ads are for Budějovický Budvar — one of two original Budweisers — known in the U.S. as Czechvar for reasons I’m sure you understand. The town of České Budějovice or Budweis inspired Anheuser-Busch to name their beer Budweiser, which essentially means beer from Budweis. It was today in 1895 that Budějovický Budvar was founded, [...]

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The World’s Biggest Beer Dinner

April 13, 2010

Saturday night, the last night of the Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago — it being a World Beer Cup year — there was an awards banquet where the medals are handed out to a packed crowd of brewers and beer industry people. This year’s banquet, with 2,000 people, is believed to be the biggest beer [...]

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The Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Beer Dinner At Anchor Brewery

April 3, 2010

Thursday night, April 1, I attended a five-course beer dinner at the Anchor Brewery in San Francisco celebrating Sierra Nevada Brewing‘s 30th anniversary and the release of their first collaboration of the year, Fritz & Ken’s Ale, which is a stout. The evening was great fun with terrific company, food and, of course, beer. There [...]

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Knowing Your Limits

March 21, 2010

I woke up again in Seattle, my second day here. Yesterday I helped to choose the winners of the Hard Liver Barleywine Fest at Brouwer’s Cafe. It’s the eighth year of the festival and it’s really grown into an impressive event in the several years I’ve been coming up for it. But the weekend has [...]

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Beer Birthday: J (Yes, Embarrasing Myself This Time)

March 3, 2010

Today is my 51st birthday, and I’ve been overwhelmed by an embarrassment of riches from well-wishers sending me notes via e-mail, Twitter and Facebook. Thanks to one and all. Since it’s usually me posting embarrassing photos of my friends and colleagues, last year I posted a bunch encompassing my first 50 years on a page [...]

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The Homebrew Chef’s Beer Dinner At Mercedes

February 14, 2010

Thursday night was the Sean Paxton — a.k.a. The Homebrew Chef — beer dinner at the Mercedes Hair of the Dog Cantina in San Francisco. A modest affair, at least in Homebrew Chef terms, it was a mere eight courses. The dinner was paired with almost all collaboration beers, from De Prouef and Firestone Walker. [...]

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