Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Bistro Barrel Aged Fest Serves Over 70 Beers

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bistro
Today in Hayward, California, the Bistro held their 4th annual Barrel Aged Beer Fest, serving a record number of beers for any festival they’ve thrown, with over 70 beers. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for drinking extreme beers and there were some wonderful examples there. While I wasn’t able to try them all, here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order:

  • Bear Republic Blackberry Grizz: Slightly sour nose but the tart blackberries really come through wonderfully to pair with rich malt.
  • Lagunitas Crusin’ with Ruben & the Bretts on Cherries: An oh-so-smooth imperial stout finished off with cherries the final three months. Chocolately with tart cherry flavors. Just delicious.
  • Marin Old Dipsea Barleywine Arne Johnson’s barleywine tasting as good as ever.
  • Fifty Fifty Imperial Eclipse Stout 2008 on Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Barrel: One of the best imperial stouts I’ve tasted on a long time, the barrel flavors are pitch perfect.
  • Avery Voltron: A blend of five different barrel aged beers, so good they probably could defend the universe like its cartoon namesake, Voltron.
  • Black Diamond Imperial Porter: This may be brewer Derrick Smith’s best beer to date. Brewed with cocoa nibs and vanilla beans, the nose is all milk chocolate. With complex spicy flavors that mix well with the overall chocolateyness (not a real word) of the flavor profile, this is a terrific beer for sipping by a warming fire. It reminds so much of hot chocolate for adults, that now I’m curious if you could mull it like Unibroue’s Quelque Chose.
  • Sierra Nevada Scotch on Scotch: Sierra Nevada continues to impress with their range of different experimental and special beers. This Scotch “wee heavy” was aged in a Glengoyne Scotch barrel to give it amazing complexity. A true sipping beer.
  • Moylan’s Wet Hopsickle 2009: A fresh hop beer aged in a Chardonnay barrel. The oak and Chardonnay notes work really nicely with the strong hop character to create some very unique flavors.
  • Russian River Consecration: One of my favorites of the newer Russian River beers, though Supplication was tasting pretty good, too.
  • Valley Brewing Bourbon Barrel Old Inventory Barley Wine: Steve’s award-winning barley wine, still tasting great.

Craig Cauwels, from Schooner's, with Vic Krajl
Craig Cauwels, from Schooner’s, with Vic Krajl, co-owner of the Bistro.

Below is a slideshow of the Bistro Barrel Aged Beer Fest. 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.

Drinking Life & Limb

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sierra-nevada dogfish
You probably remember the big news back in August when Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada announced they’d be doing not one, but two collaboration beers. The main one is called Life & Limb, while the second is Limb & Life, a small beer made from the second runnings of Life & Limb.

To launch the new collaboration, a beer dinner was held last Sunday at Ana Mandara in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Both Sam Calagione, from Dogfish Head and Ken Grossman, from Sierra Nevada were on hand for the dinner.

Hosts Ken Grossman & Sam Calagione
Ken Grossman and Sam Calagione

Limb & Life, the draft-only “Imperial small beer,” was served with hors d’oeuvres while Ken and Sam talked about their collaboration together.

The five-course meal had two beers paired with each dish, one from each brewery. We started with Limb & Life and then Life & Limb was served as the last beer of the evening, with dessert. In addition, at the end of the night we finagled a bottle of Life & Limb to compare with the draft version. Personally, I preferred the bottle. Bottle-conditioning gave it a richer mouthfeel and added complexity.

I was fortunate to sit with Sam and Ken for the dinner, as they discussed the project. While Sam has done many collaborations with both domestic and foreign breweries over the years, this was Sierra Nevada’s first one. If you can find a copy of All About Beer magazine from around this time last year, you can read my feature story on collaboration beers. I love the growing trend of collaboration beers, especially when, like this one, some thought is put into it. This makes the results more meaningful, and not simply a marketing effort. Everything about it was well done, especially the artwork for the label, done by a children’s book illustrator.

Life & Limb label artwork

Below is a slideshow of the Life & Limb beer dinner. 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.

All Hopped Up For The Cure

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ribbon-pink
Before I left for my Asheville vacation I stopped by Russian River Brewing to pick up some Pliny the Elder bottles to take with me to North Carolina as gifts — giving the gift of hops. All of which reminded me that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a cause Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo feel quite deeply about. It’s a big one for me, too. I lost my mother to breast cancer when I was only 21, when she was 42.

The Russian River brewpub is all decked out to remind people about breast cancer this month.
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With a big pink ribbon on the beer list board.

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The brewpub is decorated for Breast Cancer Awareness Month with all employees sporting this year’s “All Hopped Up For The Cure” t-shirts and baseball caps!

From their website: “Once again, we are donating 100% of the proceeds from t-shirt and cap sales, 5% of the proceeds of sales of Aud Blonde, and accepting donations on behalf of the “Sutter Breast Care Center.”

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If that wasn’t enough, we are partnering for a second time with Revolution Moto (RevMoto) and raffling off an adorable Pink Vespa 50cc! Raffle tickets are only $10, 3 for $25. If you live outside of the area and want to participate in the raffle, you may send me a check made out to the “Sutter Breast Care Center” and I will fill out raffle tickets for you. However, if you should be the lucky winner, you will responsible for picking up your scooter and any expenses related to getting it home. Russian River Brewing Co. and RevMoto are not responsible for shipping, handling, delivery, or anything else pertaining to you picking up your prize! We donated it, you pick it up! Raffle tickets available at RRBC and RevMoto, and the raffle will be held at our Halloween Party on October 31st! You need not be present to win, but we will call you on your cell phone no matter how late it is!

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What else? Oh, don’t forget the ”Scooters For Hooters” ride on October 25th from 2-4pm. The entrance fee is one of our “All Hopped Up For The Cure” t-shirts, and the ride begins at RevMoto by the pub. More info available at RevMoto! For a complete run-down of all the shows/activities this month, check out the music calendar on our website. Each band is helping us raise money and awareness all month long!

More from the website: “You can also drink Aud Blonde at the pub, or just make a donation to the “Sutter Breast Care Center”. There is a wine barrel located by the juke box which I will open on November 1st.”

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There were colorful bras hanging throughout the brewpub.

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Apparently the bras can be bought and the proceeds donated to the Sutter Breast Care Center.

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Surprisingly, this fetching polka dot bra is still available.

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Order your own “All Hopped Up For The Cure” t-shirt online.

“All Hopped Up For The Cure” t-shirts and baseball caps are available on our website for our distant friends and family! The back of this year’s shirt is another cool design by my Mom, who also does many of our logos. Tony at Seacliff Designs did a beautiful job with the shirts and gave us a screaming deal so we can donate even more money to the cause! Shirts and hats are in limited supply, so don’t delay!

Beer In Art #47: UC Berkeley’s Historical Beer Exhibition

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art-beer
This past Saturday, October 10, the Heart Museum at UC Berkeley held a special beer fair and symposium for their latest exhibit, 99 Bottles of Beer: Global Brewing Traditions 2500 BC – Present.

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I’m fascinated by the history of beer and especially the notion that beer just might possibly be responsible for civilization itself. The Berkeley exhibit was also the subject of one of my recent newspaper columns. I was able to meet with the curator, Ira Jacknis, and preview the collection as he spoke about the exhibition.

The artistry of many of the pieces is obvious, but instead of choosing just one or two, here is the entire collection and a summary of the Beer Fair and Symposium that kicked off the beer exhibition, which will be on display at the Hearst Museum at UC Berkeley for at least one year. Stop by and see it in person when you have a chance.

Cat. No. 6-19811
The oldest piece in the collection was from the Old Kingdom in Egypt from the 5-6 Dynasty (2465-2150 BCE). It’s the figurine of a servant woman “straining mash for beer” in painted limestone.

Cat. No. 4-5255
A corn beer tumbler in gold from the Ica Valley of Peru. It dates from the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1476). According to the museum, “Incans graduated their drinking vessels, according to material. The lowest-ranked used gourd bowls, the better-off had finer ceramic and wooden cups, while gold and silver cups were reserved for the elite. The cups were often used in pairs, especially the ornate ones of the emperor.”

Cat. No. 16-14917
Another corn beer cup from Peru, this one made of polychromed lacquered wood. It was found in Cuzco and is believed to be from the late 16th-17th century. “Like the ancient Incan cups, these wooden cups were made and used in matched pairs. While the shape was conservative, the decoration was innovative, the figures and flowers showing a Spanish influenced. Apparently, they ceased being made after the 1820s. The beer was sprinkled or poured on the ground as a divine offering.”

Cat. No. 7-6408
An English mug from the early 1800s, probably from the first quarter of the 19th century. It’s made of lead-glazed pearlware and was found in Staffordshire.”

Below is a slideshow of the day’s events, the collection itself (including press shots) and some photos from my preview of the collection. 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.

Final Beer Dinner At Cathedral Hill Coming October 23

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beer-chef
The final beer dinner to be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco is scheduled for Friday, October 23. For the past eight years, the Beer Chef, Bruce Paton, has done over 60 beer dinners featuring beers from around the corner and across the world. But what you probably didn’t know is that many of the recent dinners have been done on borrowed time. A medical corporation owns the land that the hotel is situated on, and for many years has been planning on building a new hospital there. It’s been postponed several times already and the hotel’s been able to keep renting rooms and doing beer dinners. But that’s finally coming to a close as a date is now set and the Cathedral Hill Hotel will be closing. A week after the dinner, on Halloween, October 31, the hotel will be torn down.

The final beer dinner will feature the beers of Allagash Brewing and brewer/owner Rob Tod will be on hand to talk about his beers. It will be a four-course dinner, and well worth the $100 price of admission. It will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations before it’s sold out. Don’t delay, it will likely sell out quickly. I’ll see you there.

The Menu:

Reception: 6:30 PM

Beer Chef’s Hors D’Oeuvre
Beer: Allagash White

Dinner: 7:30 PM

First Course

Cannelloni of Dungeness Crab Legs with Citrus Lobster Sauce
Beer: Fluxus

Second Course:

Hobbs Applewood Bacon Fat Poached Duck Breast with Artichoke Fingerling Potato Hash
Beer: Hugh Malone

Third Course:

The Best of the Barnyard with Yam Crème Brule and Bloomsdale Spinach with Duck Ham
Beer: Odyssey

Fourth Course:

Sweet Trick or Treat
Beer: Vagabond

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Bruce Paton, the Beer Chef, with Rob Tod, from Allgash, at an earlier beer dinner.

10.23
Dinner with the Brewmaster: Allagash
Cathedral Hill Hotel, 1101 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
415.674.3406 [ website ]

Firestone Walker Beer Dinner: The 2nd Last At Cathedral Hill

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beer-chef
Last night was the second to last beer dinner that will take place at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco. The hotel is scheduled to be torn down on Halloween to make way for a new hospital. The Beer Chef, Bruce Paton, put on four wonderful courses paired with the beers of Firestone Walker Brewing in Paso Robles, California. Brewer Matt Brynildson was on hand to talk about his beers.

Bruce & Matt Brynildson
The Beer Chef, Bruce Paton, with Firestone Walker brewer Matt Brynildson.

Below is a slideshow of the beer dinner. After clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, you can also 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 who and what’s in the photos.

The final beer dinner at the Cathedral Hill Hotel will take place on October 23. Keep an eye on the Beer Chef website for details.

Jeff “Lucky Pants” Babgy Wins Big

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pizza-port
Jeff Bagby, the head brewer at Pizza Port in Carlsbad, won big this year at the Great American Beer Festival. He picked up a whopping seven medals; four gold, one silver and two bronze. In addition, Pizza Port Carlsbad was awarded the Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year.

Below is a photo of Jeff, with Yiga Miyashira, up on stage picking up just one of his eight awards last Saturday. Notice the eyesore inducing polyester plaid pants? If you’re a regular to the GABF Award Ceremony, you may already remember that Jeff always seems to have on a pair of plaid pants. At first, I thought it was the same pair every year. But looking back over the last few reveals that it’s actually been a different pair of polyester plaid pants each year.

Given that Jeff and Pizza Port Carlsbad have won 19 medals in the last four years, I’d say his plaid pants are pretty darn lucky. Of course, being a great brewer helps, and I don’t want to take anything away from his mad skills. But I’d put even money on the pants making even the most mediocre brewer better. Below is a retrospective of Jeff’s “Lucky Pants” for the past four years.

2009 Lucky Pants
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2008 Lucky Pants
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2007 Lucky Pants
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2006 Lucky Pants
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If you, too, want or need a little luck — and let’s face it, who doesn’t? — I took a close up of the pattern on Jeff’s lucky pants and created some downloadable wallpaper in three different sizes. So now in addition to the Bulletin logo wallpaper page, you can also get Mr. Bagby’s wallpaper, too.

Jeff Bagby’s Lucky Pants 2009 Wallpaper

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The 21A Jinx Is Broken

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There’s been a running gag at Shaun O’Sullivan’s expense that’s been going now for something like ten years. While Shaun has won medals at GABF with previous breweries he’s worked at and with the brewpub he co-owns, 21st Amendment, he’s never won a medal with 21A when he was attending GABF. Up until Saturday, every medal 21st Amendment has won happened when Shaun was not there to collect the award and bask in the glory of winning.

But this year, with Shaun in the audience, the jinx was finally broken when 21st Amendment won a bronze medal for their Diesel Imperial Smoked Porter in the Smoked Beer category.

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Afterward, I caught up with Shaun and asked him about finally breaking the curse.

Later, with co-owner Nico Freccia, and 21A bartender Claudia Davis, I coaxed out a rendition of the Watermelon Wheat song, GABF edition.

If you noticed the girl with rabbit ears walk through the shot during the Watermelon Wheat song, I happened upon “bunny girl” later in the afternoon session and snapped a photo so we could all get a better look.

Bunny Girl

GABF 2009

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gabf_logo
This year’s Great American Beer Festival was another terrific event and the week flew by faster even than in previous years. Between judging, media events, the festival itself, beer dinners and other side events it was a very full week. I tasted an enormous amount of great beer, ate some terrific food with that beer. I saw many old friends and made plenty of new ones. What more could one ask for from a GABF week?

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George Wendt, Nancy Johnson, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper at the GABF Awards Ceremony.

Jeff Bearer, Stan Hieronymus, Stephen Beaumont, me and Rick Lyke @ Great Divide
Jeff Bearer, from Craft Beer Radio, Stan Hieronymus, Stephen Beaumont, me and Rick Lyke @ Great Divide’s annual Media Reception.

Vinnie & Natalie Cilurzo, from Russian River, with Ron & Laurie Jeffrie, from Jolly Pumpkin
Vinnie & Natalie Cilurzo, from Russian River, with Ron & Laurie Jeffrie, from Jolly Pumpkin.

Nicole Erny & Matt Brynildson Toasting the End of GABF Week
Nicole Erny & Matt Brynildson Toasting the End of GABF Week at The Falling Rock

Below is a slideshow of my time at GABF this year. After clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, you can also 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 who’s in the photos.

For pictures of the GABF awards ceremony, see the GABF Awards 2009 gallery.