Today was the last day that the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness in San Francisco was open. All guests must check out by noon tomorrow. The hotel will then be closed until it’s knocked down to make way for a new hospital.

The Beer Chef, Bruce Paton, held his last beer dinner there last Friday, October 23. It featured the beers of Portland, Maine’s Allagash and owner Rob Tod. Over 120 people were on hand for the dinner, the second-largest turnout for one of the beer dinners at the hotel.

Below is a slideshow of the Allagash beer dinner last Friday. 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.

As for Bruce Paton, I got the following note from him today.

I will be continuing to do Beer and Food projects until I find another position. If you have questions, require some Beer and Food expertise or know someone who is seeking a Chef please feel free to contact me at bruce@beer-chef.com.

I know for sure that his annual beer and chocolate dinner is still being planned for early February during SF Beer Week and will most likely take place Friday, February 12, so keep an eye out on his website for more details.