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Dem Bones & Beer Again

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Earlier this week, both the UK Guardian and Reuters had stories about a study which confirmed that beer is a very rich source of silicon. It was done by Charlie Bamforth, among others, at the Department of Food Science & Technology at U.C. Davis, and the study, Silicon in Beer and Brewing, “found beer is a rich source of silicon and may help prevent osteoporosis, as dietary silicon is a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density.”

From the Reuters article:

“We have examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon content and have also studied the impact of raw materials and the brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter wort and beer,” researcher Charles Bamforth said in a statement.

The study, [to be] published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, found the beers’ silicon content ranged from 6.4 milligrams per liter to 56.5 mg per liter. The average person’s silicon intake each day is between 20 and 50 mgs.

They found pale ales showed the highest silicon content while non-alcoholic beers, light lagers and wheat beers had the least silicon.

“Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon,” said Bamforth.

Add silicon to the long list of ways in which the moderate consumption of beer is good for you.

Beer In Ads #40: Coors’ Rocky Mountain Spring Water

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Tuesday’s ad is for Coors because it’s the anniversary of their merger with Molson five years ago. This ad is from 1977, the year I graduated from high school, and Coors was still considered a “cool” brand because we couldn’t get it on the east coast. It looks so amateurish now, and I love the tagline suggestion “refrigerate to retain brewery fresh flavor.” Was keeping beer in the refrigerator still uncommon enough that suggesting it was a prominent part of their advertising. It’s interesting that Coors’ obsession with cold is at least three decades old.

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The First 4 Days Of SF Beer Week

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With four days under my belt for SF Beer Week, I’m now behind in everything except having a great time. I thought before I get even more behind that I’d share some of photos from the first few days, which in order to get up quicker are just below in their individual slideshows from Flickr. Below are individual slideshows from several events during SF Beer Week. They’re 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.

Day 1: Friday, February 5

Russian River’s Release of Pliny the Younger

The Opening Gala

Day 2: Saturday, February 6

The Bistro Double IPA Festival

Day 3: Sunday, February 7

Matevaza’s Beerunch at Kelly’s Mission Rock

Beer Ice Cream from Humphry Slocombe

Meet the Brewer: The Lost Abbey at The Toronado
Dave Keene & Tomme Arthur after a night of Washoes
After the Super Bowl, I went into San Francisco to the Toronado where Tomme Arthur was pouring his Lost Abbey beers. Tomme and I ruled the Washoe boards for the better part of the night.

Day 4: Monday, February 8

Triple Rock Sour Monday Sour Fest

Meet the Brewer: Moonlight Brewing at Bobby G’s Pizzeria
Brian Hunt pouring his beer at Bobby G's
Brian Hunt of Moonlight Brewing at an event with some of his rarer beers at Bobby G’s in Berkeley.

Meet the Brewer: Valley Brewing at Barclay’s
Stave Altimari at an event at Barclay's
Stave Altimari from Valley Brewing at Barclay’s for a Meet the Brewer event.

Meet the Brewer: Rob Tod of Allagash at The Toronado
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Rob Tod from Allagash trying to stay awake at the Toronado, where he was pouring his beers Monday night.

Next Session To Open The Good Stuff

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Our next Session will be hosed by The Ferm and his theme is The Display Shelf: When to Drink the Good Stuff, a dilemma many of us face. We’ve all accumulated “numerous bottles of beers that [were] subsequently cellared and designated as ‘to be opened on a special occasion.’ [The] dilemma, however, is matching an occasion with opening a particular bottle in [the] collection.”

The Ferm continues to elucidate their topic:

Finding a drinking occasion that lives up to the reputation of the bottle and the story of its acquisition is not a dreadful struggle to have, but it is a struggle nonetheless. When my good friends are over and we have had a few other beverages, will we still be able to enjoy my cave aged Hennepin that I bought after my tour of the brewery and have cellared for ten years? Will I miss it like I miss that four year old Golden Monkey?

The topic is open ended and the rules of The Session are close to nil. You can use your post to be persuasive or therapeutic. You may choose to tell a story of a great bottle you once opened or boast of your own beer collection.

Whatever approach you take, post it by March 5, 2010. And if you open one of your prized bottles, be sure to invite me over.

Beer In Ads #39: Hurra! Bier!

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This Monday we’re still celebrating beer in the Bay Area during SF Beer Week. That’s nothing new of course, as evidenced by this last century beer poster entitled Hurra! Bier!. That translates as “hooray beer,” and that’s our sentiment for this week, as well.

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One Chef, 8 Courses, 2 Breweries, 9 Beers and You?

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This Thursday, the Homebrew Chef, Sean Paxton, will host another of his legendary beer dinners at Mercedes in San Francisco. It’s an eight-course dinner. The cost is $98, and that includes all food, beer and gratuity. There’s limited seating, so snap up your tickets now. This should be a good one. It will feature the collaboration beers of Belgium’s De Proef Brouwerij and our own Firestone Walker Brewing. Tickets can be purchased online. See you there.

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Collaboration: A Beer Dinner

Thursday, February 11th, 6:30 pm

Aspall Cuvee Chevallier Double Fermented Cyder

First Course

Local Fromage
cowgirl creamery Mt. Tam, Humboldt fog goat cheese, dried apricots, cinnamon smoked almonds,
malt crackers, Saison Imperiale beer jelly, white pepper infused 30 year old aged honey

De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Signature Ale with Tomme Arthur

Second Course

Union Barrel Smoked Day Boat Scallops
atop Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale braised Belgian red endive, Les Deux Brasseurs Ale biere blanc and micro herb salsa

De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Les Deux Brasseurs Ale with Jason Perkins

Third Course

IPA Ceviche Margarita
fresh halibut cured in citrus juices, Union Jack IPA, mangos, red onions, peppers and chilies, topped with an IPA foam

Firestone Walker Union Jack

Fourth Course

House-Made Sausage
Sonoma pork, infused with Sauserful of Secrets, thyme, dried fruit and caramelized shallots
on a bed of lentils, drizzled with a chorizo amarillo hop oil

Firestone Walker Bourbon Barrel Aged Saucerful of Secrets 2007

Fifth Course

Local Pork Belly
braised in Zoetzuur Flemish Ale on a bed of parsnip purée, Flemish ale reduction, raddish pickle

De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Van Twee Ale with John Mallet

Sixth Course

Belgian Tamale
bison short ribs cooked “canronade style” in Van Twee, onions, shallots and thyme
stuffed into a sweet potato masa pillow, Black Xantus TCHO mole, beet foam

Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin

Seventh Course

French Flan
DBA beer caramel topped with dark chocolate Lozen Boer Abt pot de crème
pork fat shortbread cookies, malted mascarpone chantilly cream

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale, 100% Oak Aged on Cask

Eighth Course

My Sweet Valentine

(chocolate truffles made with Pete Slosberg)

Van Twee Ale Caramel in a Dark TCHO Chocolate Shell
Black Xantus Caramel with TCHO Cocoa Nibs in a Dark TCHO Chocolate Shell
La Grande Blanche Brittle Infused with Blood Orange and Milk Chocolate in a Dark TCHO Chocolate Shell

Firestone Walker XIII Anniversary Ale

Beer In Art #64: Sam Yeates’ The Returnable

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Today’s works of art is cleverly called The Returnable, and is by a contemporary Texas poster artist named Sam Yeates.

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This poster was done for Lone Star beer in 1978, when the idea of the Space Shuttle being reusable was still novel concept. So the play on words for returnable bottles and spaceships is pretty clever, I’d say. According to his Past Works/Prints Available page, prints of the The Returnable are available for sale.

Here’s a short biography of Yeates from his website:

Born and raised in the Stephenville, Texas area, Yeates graduated from North Texas State University with a BFA in Drawing and Painting in 1974. After teaching at a private school in Dallas for about a year, Yeates moved to Austin and soon began working at the Armadillo World Headquarters, a music concert hall. Posters promoting shows followed and led to promotional art for Lone Star Beer during the 80’s. Through this medium, Yeates’ art traveled around the world. Through the years, he has continued to paint and show his work in the San Francisco, Dallas, Austin and Taos areas.

You can see more of Yeates’ work at his own website, along with the Cohen Rese Gallery and the Wilder Nightingale Fine Art Gallery.

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2010

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Pizza Port‘s Welcome Back Wipeout IPA was chosen best in show at the 10th annual Double IPA Festival today at the Bistro in Hayward, California. That’s the second year in a row that a Pizza Port beer has won. The full winner’s list is below.

Below is a video of Vic and Cynthia announcing the winners.

SF Beer Week Begins!

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Last night, SF Beer Week officially kicked-off at the Opening Gala held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. It was a great event, with big kudos to Meg Gill, Rich Higgins and Dave McLean (among many others) for pulling it off in such grand fashion. It was a fun time seeing so many friends, drinking so many great beers and I was honored again to deliver the opening toast. Only nine more days to go!

I’ll post more photos from the event as time permits, but now it’s off to Hayward for the Bistro’s Double IPA Festival. Perhaps I’ll see you there.

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Me and Rich Higgins toasting the opening of SF Beer Week. (photo by Mike Condie)