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Next Session Gets Things Cooking

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Our 47th Session will be hosted by David Jensen of Beer 47. His topic is “Cooking With Beer,” or as he describes it:

We all know beer is great for drinking but what about using it as an ingredient in cooking? Wine is used as an ingredient for numerous dishes and recipes yet beer seems to be under utilized in cooking. However, with the rise in popularity of craft beer and advocacy from the likes of The Homebrew Chef, I think this trend is slowly changing. For the month of January, Beer 47 will be hosting The Session #47 and encouraging beer bloggers from all over the internet to discuss Cooking with Beer.

Despite my claim that beer is under-utilized there are definitely some uses of beer in cuisine such as beer-can-chicken, beer bread, beer brats, and beer battered deep-fried foods. What else have you made or tasted made with beer?

Since the topic of Cooking with Beer is broad, I invite you to share any experience that you have had with beer as an ingredient in food or for cooking. I only ask that you be sure to include other dishes besides (or in addition to) dessert, the reason being that we have already discussed Beer Desserts for The Session #30. You don’t need to exclude dessert, just please do not limit your discussion to dessert only. If you need some more inspiration for this topic, here are some more ideas:

  • Find a recipe that includes beer as an ingredient, share the recipe, cook it, and tell us the results.
  • Talk about a meal prepared by somebody else (by a friend or at a restaurant) that used beer as an ingredient.
  • What is the best dish you’ve had made with beer? The worst?What are some of the challenges in cooking with beer whether it be a savory or a sweet dish?
  • What does beer add to a dish?

So get cooking and whip something up for the next Session on Friday, January 7.

Rich Higgins Named One of 3 “Master Cicerones”

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Join me in congratulating our own Rich Higgins on being named a “Master Cicerone.” That makes Rich one of only three people to achieve the designation of “master.” If you don’t know Rich, he’s currently the brewmaster at San Francisco’s Social Kitchen & Brewery, a brewpub at 9th Ave. and Irving St. in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset neighborhood, and is also the President of the San Francisco Brewers Guild and Director of SF Beer Week. He also operates the beer consultancy Rich Higgins Consultant à la Bière.

From the press release:

Rich Higgins is one of two candidates to pass this year’s Master Cicerone exam, becoming one of three individuals to achieve this pinnacle certification of beer expertise. The Master Cicerone exam was offered in the Chicago area in October of this year, occurring over two days and consisting of ten hours of essay questions, two hours of tasting and sensory panels, and two hours of oral examination.

Congratulations Rich!

Rich Higgins at the Social Kitchen Brewery
Rich Higgins in his Social Kitchen brewery.

Mutineer Magazine’s Holiday Comedy Festival In Wine (& Beer) Country

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This should be a fun — and funny — event. Mutineer Magazine is hosting a comedy event to benefit A Child’s Right, an organization with a mission to ensure children have access to safe drinking water. The Mutineer Magazine Holiday Comedy Festival will take place at the Jacuzzi Family Vineyards in Sonoma on December 11, beginning at 7:00 p.m. In addition to Jacuzzi wine, tequila from sponsor Don Roberto and beer from Lagunitas and Firestone Walker will also be served.

The evening of stand-up comedy will include comedians Ben Morrison (host), Bryan Callen (co-headliner), Natasha Leggero (co-headliner), Ben Gleib, Greg Wilson, and Daryl Wright. In addition, the winner of a Laugh Factory contest is scheduled to appear. Also special guest Jonathan Goldsmith will appear. He’s the Dos Equis spokesperson for the “The World’s Most Interesting Man” advertising campaign. You can read more about each performer at the Mutineer event website.

Tickets are only $35 and can be purchased online.

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From the press release:

RARE LAUGHS, SPECTACULAR BEVERAGES

Performing against this fantastical blue backdrop (blue for water relief, naturally!)? An all-star lineup of standup comedians and special guests, no shortage of Hollywood-style glamour (think paparazzi-style photogs on the blue carpet) and outstanding libations from some of the finest names in beverage. It’s all in line with the publication’s rep for pushing boundaries and exceeding expectations where drinks and lifestyle experiences collide, and looks to be one of the wildest nights wine country will see this side of 2011. Los Angeles-based funnyman and festival host Ben Morrison – known as well for being Ashton Kutcher’s right-hand man on the hit MTV show “Punk’d” as for his prolific appetite for Single Malt Scotch – says, “It’s a totally rare opportunity to see this caliber of comedic talent all under one roof, in one night outside of Hollywood.”

Even better: it’s for a good cause.

LAUGHS TO BENEFIT WATER RELIEF

The festival is an ebullient catalyst for Mutineer’s 2011 trek to Nepal, where magazine staff, select “cultural influencers” and beverage industry reps will install five water filtration systems on behalf of relief organization A Child’s Right. The systems will provide clean drinking water to 25,000 children for ten years. To bring the full impact of the outreach home to readers, magazine editors will blog about the trip along the way and report on the endeavor with significant coverage in the May 2011 issue. Kropf sees it this way: “There’s nothing funny about the need for clean water. But bringing top comedic talent – and lots of laughter – to wine country to raise funds for water relief among at-risk kids? Priceless.”

FUNNY, SEXY & BLUE ALL OVER

Officially on the program roster: Cocktails by presenting sponsor Don Roberto Tequila and other select purveyors in the beverage tent, festive surprise guests, base-thumping holiday soul and funk beats, and lots of laughs. As for the show itself, the endlessly funny Natasha Leggero (as seen in NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” Comedy Central’s “Reno 911” and “Ugly Americans”) and Bryan Callen (“MadTV” and “The Hangover”) are set to co-headline an elite group of seven Hollywood humorists, all of whom have pledged to share with guests their most amusing insights into the theme of thirst. One of the comedians for the evening will be a wild-card performer selected at a Mutineer-sponsored search contest at LA’s Laugh Factory November 18, 2010, and a special appearance will be made at the festival by Jonathan Goldsmith, who famously portrays “The Most Interesting Man In the World” in Dos Equis’ advertisements.

A CHARITABLE GIFT EVERY HIP HOLIDAY REVELER CAN EMBRACE!

Best part of all? Festival guests will know that they’re laughing and sipping in the name of charitable water relief. And thanks to the show’s top-shelf talent, delicious drinks, eye-popping blue décor and insanely affordable ticket price — Mutineer tagged entry at a rightly reasonable $35 to make the show as millennial-accessible as possible — it looks as though everyone gets to have the last laugh come December 11. Cheers to that.

Next Session For The Accidental Tourist

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Our 46th Session will be hosted by Mike R. Lynch of Burgers and Brews. His topic is “An Unexpected Discovery: Finding Great Beer in the Last Place You’d Look,” or as he describes it:

I recently drove out to Colorado for a concert, and realized this was a perfect opportunity to stop at as many “beer destinations” as I could. I researched, plotted routes, looked at maps, and generally planned the entire trip around beer. What I was surprised to find was that despite all the amazing stops I planned, one of the best beer experiences of the trip was completely accidental. I found great beer in the last place I thought to look for it.

Has this happened to you? Maybe you stumbled upon a no-name brewpub somewhere and found the perfect pale ale. Maybe, buried in the back of your local beer store, you found a dusty bottle of rare barleywine. Perhaps a friend turned you on to a beer that changed your mind about a brewery or a style. Write about a beer experience that took you by surprise.

So see if you can get off your armchair and make your own unexpected discovery for the next Session on Friday, December 3.

2nd Annual Holiday Beerfest at Fort Mason This Saturday

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The 2nd annual BevMo Holiday Beerfest will be held at Fort Mason this Saturday, November 20, from 5:30 until 9:00 p.m.

More than 100 local and international breweries will be pouring over 150 holiday, seasonal and special beers, including cider. For the designated driver, they’ll also be serving craft soda. You can see a list of the beers being poured at the festival website.

Tickets are $40 and may be purchased online, and include unlimited samplings of the beer. Food will be available for purchase and three bands will be performing throughout the evening: Con Brio (Funk, Jazz & Soul), Sentinel (Indie Pop Alternative) and the Jugtown Pirates (Acoustic Psychedelic Bluegrass).
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This was a fun festival last year and a great opportunity to try a number of different holiday seasonals at one place. See you there.

Anchor To Receive Ralston Award From SF Museum & Historical Society

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Fritz Maytag may have stepped back from his daily duties at Anchor Brewing, the brewery he owned and ran since 1965, but that doesn’t mean he’s slowing down. He’s still running his winery, York Creek Vineyards, and consulting with the new owners of Anchor Brewing & Distilling.

And later this month, on November 18, the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society will present their William C. Ralston Corporate Award to Fritz Maytag and Dave Burkhart on behalf of Anchor Brewing.

From the press release:

Receiving the Ralston Award on behalf of Anchor Brewing will be Fritz Maytag and David Burkhart. Maytag, considered the father of modern microbreweries, had been at the helm of Anchor Brewing for 45 years. Maytag helped spark a revival in the craft of making beer by hand and inspired thousands of entrepreneurs to follow him in creating small, artisan breweries. He won the 2008 James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award. The company was sold this spring but he serves as Chairman Emeritus, Anchor Brewing Company.

Burkhart, a staff member of Anchor Brewing and a California-born historian and honors graduate of Yale, is the author of Earthquake Days: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake & Fire in 3D and the editor of Cocktail Boothby’s American Bartender. He is also a professional trumpeter who teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and performs with the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Symphony. His latest book project is called Cocktails & Punches in Mark Twain’s San Francisco.

Congratulations to both, and to Anchor. Tickets to the Awards Luncheon may be purchased online.

Homebrew Star Jamil Zainasheff To Open Commercial Brewery

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Jamil Zainasheff over the last ten years has become something of a rock star in the homebrewing community, and especially the Bay Area, co-authoring two books on beer and homebrewing: “Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew” (with John Palmer) and “Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation” (with Chris White). He also hosts the Jamil Show on The Brewing Network and has a website online entitled Mr. Malty. I had always heard that Jamil had no plans to turn pro, but that appears to be not the case, after all. [And a tip of the hat back to BeerNews.org].

This Thursday on an episode of Brewing TV, Zainasheff announced that he was starting a 30-bbl brewery in the East Bay. The brewery will be called Heretic Brewing, but the website is just a place holder for now.

Jamil says he’s hoping that his first beers will be available beginning in February or March of next year. Initially, the beer will be available in kegs only, and will then make either 750 ml or 22 oz. bottles once they’re up and running.

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Brew Masters TV Show Trailer Now Showing

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The upcoming Discovery Channel show Brew Masters (Note: this link given on the Discovery channel’s website is not working yet) starring Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery now has a trailer up at their website. They don’t appear to allow embedding, so you’ll have to go to the Discovery channel to see it. The premiere will be on Sunday, November 21 at 10:00 p.m. (presumably that’s both ET & PT).

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BRU/SFO Project Flies Into Town Again

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The BRU/SFO Project is back for a second year. A play on the airport codes BRU (for Brussels, belgium) and our own SFO, the Project is between the 21st Amendment Brewery & Restaurant and Magnolia Gastropub. Each brewpub will be creating six Belgian-inspired beers throughout the month of November, with a new one released each Monday. Here’s the release schedule:

  • November 1
    21st Amendment: Via (Belgian Single), Noir de Blanc (Cocoa Witbier) and Papa Parks Porter
    Magnolia: Deep Ellem (Dubbel), Destiny UnBlonde, Chocolate George Stout
  • November 8
    21st Amendment: Drunken Monk (Dark Abbey Ale)
    Magnolia: Gordo
  • November 15
    21st Amendment: Oaked Baby Horse (Belgian Oak- Aged Quadruple)
    Magnolia: Saison De Lily
  • November 22
    21st Amendment: St. Lupulin (Imperial Belgian IPA)
    Magnolia: Sunbust

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As last year, you can pick up a “boarding pass” at either brewery to get each beer marked off as you try them. “When you’ve enjoyed all 12 you get to take home and keep for your very own the special BRU/SFO commemorative glass” (good while supplies last). According to the breweries, the “Belgian beer project is a unique time to take in and enjoy Belgian-style beers, with interesting styles and tastes all with an American twist. We hope you enjoy your flight.” And Magnolia adds that their “exploration of Belgian-style and Belgian-influenced beers includes both old favorites and brand new beers.”

Magnolia has also “put together a special menu of snacks and smaller dishes to enjoy in the spirit of this Transatlantic project. Be sure to try the duck fat fries, chicory gratin, roasted tomato crevette, mussels (steamed in beer, of course), and a special cheese plate, all of which are available throughout the month. Look for other specials throughout the month, too, most of which will be intended to pair with a specific BRU/SFO beer.” And that the end of the month, they’ll host “One Dinner To End It All,” a “4-course dinner [to be held] on Monday, 11/29 with each course paired with a beer from the Project. More info coming soon, including the menu and price.”