Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Gordon Biersch Releases Hefeweizen in Bottles

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Gordon Biersch has just released their German-style hefeweizen in 12-oz. bottles. Currently, they are available throughout northern California and parts of southern.

From the press release:

“Natural fermentation imparts distinctive notes of citrus and a magnificent effervescence, making our Hefeweizen the perfect beer for spring and summer,” said Dan Gordon, Gordon Biersch co-founder and director of brewing operations. “Hefeweizen has been one of our most popular seasonal draft brews for years. Crafted using traditional Bavarian brewing techniques and ingredients, it has a crisp taste and aromatic character that captures the essence of Bavarian-style unfiltered wheat beer unlike any other Hefeweizen on the market.”

Translated from German, Hefeweizen means “yeast and wheat.” Gordon Biersch uses a unique Bavarian yeast strain, 67% malted wheat and 100% Bavarian Hallertauer hops to achieve a fresh, effervescent beer with a distinctive flavor profile that includes hints of banana, bubble gum and clove. Naturally carbonated to a level 20% higher than most beers, it is a refreshing beer, perfect for warm weather.

Dan Gordon was the first American in more than 30 years to graduate from the prestigious five-year brewing engineering program at the world-renowned Technical University of Munich. Under his watchful eye, Gordon Biersch adheres to the strictest brewing standards in the world, using only the highest quality two-row malted barley, Hallertauer hops, and German yeast from Weihenstephan to brew its celebrated beers. In 1997, Gordon Biersch began bottling and distributing its famed brews with the opening of its 114,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art brewing and bottling facility in San Jose, California. The Gordon Biersch Brewing Company is now largest brewery in the Bay Area.

Lagunitas in Egg & Butter Parade

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Today I took my kids, Porter and Alice, to the Butter & Eggs Day Parade in Petaluma, California. My son has been going through a farm animal phase and we though he would get to see a lot of horses and other animals in the parade. What we didn’t count on seeing was a float from Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma, though I suppose we should have. They had a flatbed truck with a band playing and all sorts of merriment going on. When the parade ended they kept on driving down the street, not stopping until they reached the Buckhorn Saloon, where I finally caught up with them for a drink.

The Lagunitas Float.

Pat Mace, a salesman for Lagunitas at the Buckhorn Saloon after the parade.

Russian River Wins Triple Gold

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Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, the owners of Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa, California were beaming Friday night at the Gala Awards Dinner for the 2006 World Beer Cup. And with good reason, they’d won not only three gold medals but also World Beer Cup Champion Brewmaster and Brewery of the Year for Large Brewpub.

The three gold medals were for Temptation (in Category 48: Other Belgian-Style Ale), Blind Pig IPA (in Category 79: American-Style India Pale Ale), and Pliny the Elder (in Category 80: Imperial or Double India Pale Ale).

Vinnie and Natalie, with BA President Charlie Papazian, accepting one of their three golds.

Back on stage for the big award.

Natalie leans in for a celebratory kiss. Congratulations to Vinnie and Natalie and Russian River Brewing.

Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale

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I was fortunate enough today to have a preview taste — from the tank — of the newest beer from Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma, California. Bottling will likely begin next week and should be in stores shorty thereafter. The new beer is called Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale, a homage to the troubles Lagunitas has recently faced with the state ABC. And yes, they have already received label approval, believe it or not. As is common wth many beers from Lagunitas, it is quite singular and defies easy style classification. After discussing it with owner Tony Magee and trying a sample directly from the tank, the best way I can describe it is a well-hopped imperial mild! It’s around 10.2% abv and the alcohol presence is definitely felt as is the big hop character. But it has the light body of an English mild that’s easy drinking with a clean, refreshing finish. These seeming contradictions, however, work and the beer has great potential. It will be interesting to taste the finished product.

The label for Lagunitas’ newest beer.

Eye on the Bay Beer Program Airdate Moved to April 24

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Mark your calendars again and reset your Tivos. After last night’s debacle where the pinheads at KPIX decided to bump Eye on the Bay last night when the NCAA final went long so we could endure the full hour of mindless talking about a basketball game over and over again. Then instead of showing Eye on the Bay after that, a show which KPIX paid to produce, they instead showed a repeat of the pathetic sitcom Two and a Half Men. But I learned today that the program has been rescheduled for April 24 at 7:00 p.m. So let’s try this again:

On Monday, April 24, CBS’s affiliate in the Bay Area, KPIX Channel 5, will be featuring Bay Area Beer on its show Eye on the Bay. The show will feature home brewing with Homer Smith at the Oak Barrel in Berkeley, beer news with Tom Dalldorf at the Celebrator Beer News office in Hayward, segments from Buffalo Bill’s, The Bistro, Drake’s Brewing, and Beer Chef Bruce Paton. The website listing indicates a start time of 7:00 p.m. but it’s still after a basketball game, so you never now.

Bay Area Beer to Be Featured on KPIX Channel 5

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Mark your calendars and set your Tivos. On Monday April 3, CBS’s affiliate in the Bay Area, KPIX Channel 5, will be featuring Bay Area Beer on its show Eye on the Bay. The show will feature home brewing with Homer Smith at the Oak Barrel in Berkeley, beer news with Tom Dalldorf at the Celebrator Beer News office in Hayward, segments from Buffalo Bill’s, The Bistro, Drake’s Brewing, and Beer Chef Bruce Paton. The program will come on immediately following the NCAA Final Four Championship Game so consult your local listings. The website listing indicates a start time of 9:30 p.m. but because of the game it could be slightly later.

UPDATE (Apr. 3): It appears the pinheads at KPIX decided to bump Eye on the Bay last night when the NCAA final went long so we could endure the full hour of talking about the game over and over again. Then instead of showing Eye on the Bay after that, a show which KPIX paid to produce, they instead showed a repeat of the pathetic sitcom Two and a Half Men. I imagine it had something to do with advertising commitments, but it was very frustrating. Eye on the Bay is also shown every morning at 9:30 a.m. so it’s still possible it wll be shown then.

UPDATE (Apr. 4): They did finally air the show this morning at 9:30 a.m.

SF Chronicle Weighs in on Organic Bud

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Today’s San Francisco Chronicle, in the Thursday Wine Section, features an article entitled Brewing Behemoth Sneaks into Organics by staff writer Carol Ness. She begins by musing. “Organic Budweiser. What’s next, the hybrid Hummer?” Overall the article is pretty fair, although is does lean slightly on the side of the organic community. There’s a great quote in it by Ted Vivatson, co-owner of Eel River Brewing in Fortuna, where Ted doesn’t mince words.

In addition to the article, the Chronicle convened a tasting panel which tasted Wild Hop Lager blind against five other beers, three of which were also organic. Wild Hop Lager came in last. I had previously reported hearing rumors of authorization of Wild Hop Lager in Whole Foods, among others, but one of the people on the Chronicle’s tasting panel was Cyrus Kayvan, beer buyer for Whole Foods. After the tasting, Kayvan commented about Wild Hop’s future by saying. “Not in my store.“

Watermelon Funk: A Collaboration

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21st-amend russian-river
The fruit beer craze is definitely over, not that that’s a bad thing. Most of the remaining fruit beers are very worthwhile and quite tasty. Beers such as New Glarus’ Raspberry Tart, Unibroue’s Quelque Chose or Great Divide’s Wild Raspberry Ale spring to mind. But a local favorite has to be Shaun O’Sullivan’s Watermelon Wheat, that has become as much a sign of summer as the first robin is of spring. A ubiquitous sight at 21st Amendment during the warm weather, Watermelon Wheat is very refreshing with strong watermelon aromas and flavor from the many pounds of watermelon added to each batch.

Shaun has now given several barrels to Vinnie Cilurzo at Russian River Brewing and he’s put them in oak barrels and sparked them with the Belgian yeast Brettanomyces. Nobody knows what this experiment will taste like, but I for one hope to be around when we find out. It should, at the very least, be quite interesting.

Photo Gallery: Celebrator 18th Anniversary Party

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The Celebrator Beer News held it’s 18th Anniversary Party Sunday evening at Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, California. In addition to being a fun event, it was also for a worthy cause this year. A portion of the proceeds will reportedly be donated to Louisiana breweries through Abita and the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. The entire evening featured mardi gras touches from the green and purple decor to the ubiquitous beads to the evening’s opening act, a local cajun band. The second band was the Hysters, the crowd-pleasing big band of Anchor Brewery workers, and the final act was the Rolling Boil Blues Band. There were 50 beers from 15 breweries and food was prepared on site by Jeremy Sowers’ Emergency BBQ. Jeremy is also a local brewer, with gigs at Jack’s in Fremont along with Devil’s Canyon. Many of the Bay Area’s beer cognoscenti was on hand to enjoy the revelry, and we had a number of surprise guests from out of town, too. The Trumer folks were gracious hosts, providing a shuttle to and from the Shattuck BART station, along with much else. This was the second year this event was held at Trumer and it’s felling like home already for future anniversary parties.

Host for the evening Tom Dalldorf, publisher of the Celebrator.

Tim Blasquez and the gang from Sierra Nevada Brewing.

Bob Brewer from Anchor Brewery serves up the new Anchor Bock to Portland beer sage Fred Eckhardt.

Ed Chainey from Anderson Valley Brewing.

Kenny Gross with Ommegang.

Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing.

Jeremy Sowers from Emergency BBQ, who prepared the food for the event.

Kendra belts out a tune with the Hyster’s, the band made up of Anchor Brewery employees.

Some party-goers sat and enjoyed the beers.

While others danced to the music.

While still others talked with old friends. Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing with Chris Black, co-owner of the Falling Rock in Denver. Plus, it was Chris’ birthday.

Melissa Myers and Rodger Davis from Drake’s Brewing sandwich Cynthia Kralj, co-owner of the Bistro.

Jamie Jurado, Director of Brewing Operations for Gambrinus (and who own Trumer Brauerei) and Lars Larson, brewmaster of Trumer Brauerei.

Judy Ashworth, Fred Eckhardt and Lori Ashworth.

Beer chef Bruce Paton from Cathedral Hill Hotel and Pat Mace, from Lagunitas Brewing.

Roger Lind, the original Jolly Roger from Lind’s Brewing which is now Drake’s and Steve Altimari, brewmaster from Valley Brewing in Stockton.

Jen Garris, from Magnolia, and Matt Salie, from Big Sky Brewing.

L.A. Celebrator correspondent Don Erickson finds a quiet place to enjoy his barbecue and pulled pork.

The Rolling Boil Blues Band.

Boil front man Tom Dalldorf.

In true Mardi Gras fashion, the band throw beads to the audience.

Who shout for attention and for beads to thrown in their direction.

At the end of the evening, from left: Shaun O’Sullivan, from 21st Amendment, Fred Eckhardt, a woman who wanted this picture taken, me, Tom Dalldorf and a brewer from Brewmasters, whose name is now sadly lost to me.