Saturday, April 4th, was the 6th annual Bay Area Firkin Gravity Fest at Triple Rock in Berkeley. But it was the first time new brewmaster Rodger Davis was at the helm, after five years of Christian Kazakof, who moved to Iron Springs Pub & Brewery last year. Rodger, however, did, help Christian with set-up in the early years, so was quite familiar with the process. From what I could see the festival went off without a hitch, beyond the typical fussiness of firkins.

Brewmaster Rodger Davis looking surprisingly spry after being at the brewpub until 4 in the morning setting up for the festival.

The weather was beautiful, making the deck upstairs at Triple Rock the place to be.

For more photos from this year’s Bay Area Firkin Gravity Fest, visit the photo gallery.
 

The annual Belgian Beer Lunch put on by the Toronado took place on Sunday, April 5, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The “lunch” ran to 12 courses, paired with 20 beers (and countless mores used in cooking) and finished up at dinner time, a little after 5:30 p.m. The food was done, for the second year, by the Homebrew Chef, Sean Z. Paxton. Though highly anticipated, it nonetheless did not disappoint. It was another startlingly original and delicious meal.

The Toronado was transformed into a fine dining establishment, with place setting at the bar, the back tables and each four-person table running along the wall.

After the meal, a table in the back room raises a toast to Sean, the beer and a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

For many, many more photos from this year’s Belgian Beer Lunch at the Toronado, including each course, visit the photo gallery, or each individual gallery, as the photos are separated into three galleries, as follows:

1. The Preparations
2. The first six courses
3. The last six courses

Maureen Ogle, author of Ambitious Brew, sent me the following update on New Albion Brewery founder Jack McAuliffe, which she received from Jack’s sister Cathy earlier today:

Jack is still in the trauma ICU. He’s much more alert, so he can communicate by nodding or shaking his head. He’s still on the ventilator, so he can’t talk…warning to all of you smokers! Smokers have to spend more time on a ventilator in a situation like this than non-smokers!!!

The brewpub chain BJs Restaurant Brewhouse is planning to put their newest location in Marin County, their first in the county and their 14th in Northern California. It’s a rumor I’ve been hearing for several months now, but a well-placed inside source has all but confirmed that it’s going to take place. The new location will be at the Northgate Mall in San Rafael, occupying the corner space that was formerly a Blockbuster Video store. It’s actually a good location, on a prominent corner that’s part of the main building but with no entrance from inside the mall. No word on whether the location will brew or be fed beer from a hub location. But since it’s not too close to another brewing location it’s entirely possible they will brew at the new Northgate location.
 

 
BJs operates 85 restaurants and brewpubs in fourteen states, with at least three more planned, not including the San Rafael location.

April brings our 26th monthly Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday, courtesy of my favorite big galoot, Lew Bryson, whose smokin’ hot topic this month is rauchbiers, smoked beers of all stripes, though I’ll let him tell you what he was thinking.

Before we get carried away with this health craze [after last month’s lagers], I’d like to invite everyone to join me out back of the barn, where we’re going light up some smoked beers.

There may be more smoked beers than are dreamed of in your philosophy, Horatio; it’s not just rauchbier lagers from Franconia. Within the last year, I’ve had a strange smoked wheat beer, light and tart, that local brewers insisted was a re-creation of a Polish grodziski beer; a lichtenhainer, another light smoked wheat beer; several smoked porters; the odd Schlenkerla unsmoked helles that tastes pretty damned smokey; and, yeah, several types of smoked lagers. You’ve got three weeks, is what I’m saying: go find a smoked beer.

Because I’m not going to tell you that you have to like them, how you have to drink them, or whether you can have an expensive one or where it has to be from. But I do insist that if you blog on this Session, that you drink a smoked beer that day.

They’re not the ideal choice in a variety of settings. They don’t go with a lot of different meals. They’re just not all-purpose beers by any stretch of the imagination. Unless ….

So back in California, it’s a relatively cool, but sunny, spring day. No German Rauchbier, but Alaskan Smoked Porter is as good an American substitute as I can imagine. Though technically a porter, it’s deep black color and thick tan head could make anyone mistake if for a stout, at least in appearance. The nose, of course, is another matter. The smokey aromas are unmistakable, and the Alderwood Alskan uses gives it different aromas than the typical rauchbier, in fact different from most other smoked beers entirely, giving it a singular nose. It has a silky smooth mouthfeel and a dominating smoke quality, naturally. A few times before I’ve had it with smoked salmon that Alaskan Brewing owner Geoff Larson has hand-carried from Anchorage. The salmon is smoked using the same Alderwood used for the beer and as you’d expect, it’s a match made in heaven. They compliment one another perfectly. I’ve never been to Alaska, but I wonder if the Smoked Porter tastes even better there under the glare of the Aurora Borealis? Again, it’s a really wonderfully well-made beer, with just the right amount of smokey character with rich malt notes and a creamy, dry finish. But I don’t think I’ll be able to finish the 22 oz. bottle by myself, not without it turning suddenly into a more frigid day or without some thick, meaty stew to have with it. C’est la vie. I think maybe it’s time to go back to Bamberg … or Alaska.