Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Bistro Double IPA Festival 2007

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The 7th annual Double IPA Festival was held yesterday at the Bistro in Hayward, California. There were 42 beers that we judged, narrowing it down to four. All four were terrific beers and any one of them could have ended up in first place, though ultimately Ballast Point Point Brewing‘s Dorado was the one we picked. Judging when pretty smoothly and we had a great group this time, including three Brits in town working on a CAMRA book on the west coast.

Judging in the cellar, trying to take the final ten beers and pick three winners.

Ben McFarland, this year’s British Beer Writer of the Year, and Tom Sandham. The pair are in town along with my friend Glenn Payne (who helped start Meantime Brewing) to work on a CAMRA guidebook for British and European tourists coming to the west coast.

The other end of the judging table, with me flanked by Pete Slosberg and Dave Keene.

While upstairs it was raining something firece.

Darn, I forget the woman on the left’s name, but the rest are Dave Keene (owner of the Toronado), Melissa Myers (with Drake’s Brewing) and Ed Chainey (with Anderson Valley Brewing).

Vinnie Cilurzo (from Russian River Brewing), Shaun O’Sullivan (from 21st Amendment) and Pete Slosberg share a Falstaff.

Double IPA Festival Winners

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Ballast Point Point Brewing‘s Dorado was chosen best in show at the 7th annual Double IPA Festival today at the Bistro in Hayward, California. The full winner list is below.

 
 

 
 

It’s the Hops, Stoopid

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Lagunitas is introducing a new line of beers in 22 oz. bottles under the name “Sonoma Farmhouse.” The idea according to Lagunitas owner Tony Magee is to be able to do different kinds of beers than the usual Lagunitas fare under the new label.

The Sonoma Farmhouse labels are a little more serious, less playful than the regular ones, too. They also lack Tony’s famous — or infamous — rambling label stories. But for what they’re missing on the outside, inside the bottle is another story. The first release is a Saison Style Ale, and it’s one of the best American versions of the style I’ve had. Like all good saisons, it’s very refreshing, clean and would be great with food. I’m told there are herbs and/or spices in the beer, but Tony’s not saying which one or ones. The beer has a certain zestiness so it’s possible grains of paradise are at least one of the ingredients and there are also herbal notes, but who knows. Since the yeast also imparts spicy elements, it’s always a challenge to identify the exact ingredients in these complex beers. And in the end, it’s pointless, since it’s the synergy of how all the elements work together that really matters. The Sonoma Farmhouse Saison flavors are quite delicate, a quality Lagunitas is not exactly known for, but there’s nothing I don’t like about this new beer.

Saisons were originally made by and for farmers to have in the fields. They were generally brewed late in the season so they’d stand a better of chance of making it through the summer. Saisons also walk a tightrope of strength (to last the summer) and drinkability (they need to quench a summer thirst). At 5.2% abv, this one is quite modest, but happily we have refrigerators, a luxury the French and Belgian farmers who pioneered this style did not.

Next up in the Sonoma Farmhouse line is Hop Stoopid, something on the order of a triple IPA, around 100 IBUs. Meant to be a gentle spoof of the increasingly hoppy west coast beers, bottling should begin on Wednesday and be in stores shortly thereafter. I’m told it’s a huge hop bomb brewed with hop oils and hop extracts to really ramp up the bitterness. I’m going to the brewery on Thursday to try some of the first bottles. Tony has done some hop bombs before over the years, and as someone who has definitely acquired a taste for bitter beers, I suspect this beer will seem like night and day to the delicate flavors of the Saison.

Lagunitas’ flagship is their IPA, itself an excellent example of a west coast IPA and quite hoppy, though still well-balanced.

The next Sonoma Farmhouse beer from Lagunitas, Hop Stoopid.

Reunion Beer to Benefit Bone Cancer Research

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Once upon a time, Pete Slosberg created Pete’s Wicked Ale. And the brown ale was good. He had help spreading the word, of course, and in the early days Alan Shapiro and Virginia MacLean also helped Pete’s become a nationally known microbrewery. Pete, of course, moved on to chocolate and Alan Shapiro worked for a time with Merchant Du Vin and now heads his own import company, SBS Imports. Virginia MacLean, in the meantime, left the beer business but as she approached her fortieth birthday was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, which is a type of bone cancer that currently has no known cure. For more information about the disease, see the MMRF or the Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research.

Recently, Pete Slosberg and Alan Shapiro got together and decided to help their friend by creating a new beer to help raise awareness and money to fund research into this disease. The beer is named “Reunion,” and it’s a big, imperial brown ale and is the first commercial beer Slosberg has done since selling Pete’s Wicked Ale to Gambrinus in 1998. He worked with award-winning brewer Daniel Del Grande at Bison Brewing in creating the organic beer. In the Bay Area, Beverages & more and Whole Foods will be carrying the beer. Please support this worthy cause and buy a bottle or a case.

The press release:

INTRODUCING REUNION
A BEER FOR HOPE UNIQUE COLLABORATION TO BENEFIT
THE INSTITUTE FOR MYELOMA & BONE CANCER RESEARCH

In the early days of the craft brewing business in the U.S. Pete Slosberg brought Alan Shapiro and Virginia MacLean to help lead his emerging namesake company and take his Wicked Ale® to new heights. While these long-time friends ultimately pursued different professional paths, some 18 years later they have reunited to create a beer inspired by Pete’s early recipes.

REUNION – A BEER FOR HOPE is an organic imperial brown ale brewed by Pete and Dan Del Grande at Bison Brewing Company’s organic brewery in Berkeley, CA. It will be sold in 22 ounce screen printed bottles via Shapiro’s SBS Imports distributor network in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Illinois. It has a suggested price of $4.99 per bottle. All profits generated by SBS from the sale of REUNION will benefit The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research in Los Angeles, CA. “Alan informed me that our good friend Virginia had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma — a form of bone cancer,” Pete Slosberg recalled. “He later called with the idea of reuniting to create a beer to celebrate our friendship and bring hope to Virginia and others battling this disease. I am thrilled to be a part of the effort to raise funds for this worthwhile organization.”

“Virginia has been a close friend from the day we met at Pete’s back in 1989,” noted SBS Imports President, Alan Shapiro. “I wish I was a great scientist who could help find a cure — but at least I can make a small contribution by raising both funds and awareness for this disease. I have met Dr. Berenson’s team at IMBCR and have seen their work in progress. I know the funds we raise will help make a difference.”

About Multiple Myeloma & IMBCR:

Multiple Myeloma is a unique cancer of plasma cells that attacks and destroys bone. The term is derived from the multiple areas of bone marrow that are usually affected by the disease. Worldwide, over 1,000 people a day are diagnosed with this currently incurable form of bone cancer. Led by Dr. James Berenson, IMBCR is one of the world’s leading research organizations combating this disease. IMBCR specializes in developing novel chemotherapy drugs and treatments. For further information on multiple myeloma or IMBCR, please visit www.imbcr.org or contact 310-623-1210.

About the Beer:

REUNION is a collaborative beer created by Pete Slosberg & Dan Del Grande and inspired by Pete’s original recipe. It is brewed with 6 different organic malts, 3 different hops and dryhopped. It is 7.5% alcohol by volume. REUNION will be available at leading specialty beer retailers and many Kimpton hotels in the western United States. More information is available at www.reunionbeer.com.

The back label:

 

Half Moon Bay’s Restaurant Reviewed

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Inside Bay Area today has a nice review of the restaurant at Half Moon Bay Brewing by the coast in Princeton-by-the-Sea. The food gets an okay review which is improved overall by the location, atmosphere and the view. The reviewer does like the beer at least, as she writes.

Most people looking to fill their bellies are here for the beer. The brewery employs Alec Moss, a brewer with deep roots concocting beers for breweries in San Francisco and San Mateo. All of the beers, which are brewed on site, are good, but my favorites are the robust amber and the citrus-y Princeton-by-the-Sea IPA.

Alec in the brewhouse at Half Moon Bay Brewing taken about a year ago when several Bay Area brewers got together there to sample one another’s Poor Richard’s Ales brewed for Benjamin Franklin’s 300th birthday anniversary.

And just to annoy the people who believe children and beer don’t mix, here are some photos of my daughter Alice during the same brewery visit, when she was about eighteen months old.

Eager to help out in the brewery.

Proving she’s Daddy’s little girl by trying to steal a taste (no, I didn’t let her).

CSBA Expands Board

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The California Small Brewers Association recently added two new board members, increasing the number from five to seven.

The CSBA Press Release:

The California Small Brewers Association has elected a new and expanded board of Directors. The new Board was elected in December and took their seats on January 1st.

The CSBA Board was expanded from five to seven members.

“The Board was expanded to allow greater representation of the membership,” said Tom McCormick, Executive Director of the association. “It will also allow for more Board involvement as we embark on a new and expanded mission for the future.”

With a new Board at the helm, the association plans to expand and broaden the realm of services for small brewers in 2007.

“For the first time, the CSBA will be conducting work shops to address critical business issues.” McCormick said. “We will also be implementing a new marketing campaign to promote California craft beer in addition to conducting numerous events and meetings to help foster communication and education among our family of brewers.”

The CSBA is a non-profit trade association that as founded in 1989 to protect the political and legislative rights of the small brewers of California.

The new Board of Directors of the CSBA are:

  1. President: Steve Harrison (Sierra Nevada Brewing)
  2. 1st VP: John Martin (Triple Rock Brewery)
  3. 2nd VP: Steve Wagner (Stone Brewing)
  4. Treasurer: John Dannerbeck (Anchor Brewing)
  5. Secretary: Glynn Phillips (Rubicon Brewing)
  6. Board Member: Geno Acevedo (El Toro Brewing)
  7. Board Member: Lee Doxtader (San Diego Brewing)

Strong Beer Month is Here

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Beginning today, 21st Amendment Brewery and Magnolia Pub & Brewery, both in San Francisco, will team up again to host their fifth annual Strong Beer Month. Each brewpub has created six new and different seasonal beers — and if you haven’t figured it out yet, they’ll all be strong — that will be available at the two locations throughout February.

From the press release:

It’s that time of year again. This is our fifth annual Strong Beer Month and it has become quite a tradition. When Dave Mclean, owner and brewmaster at Magnolia Pub and Brewery and Brewer Shaun set out five years ago to put on an interesting array of strong beers to warm the body and soul through the San Francisco winter doldrums, they never really conceived that the month of February would be so popular. Five years ago we had six strong beers and this year we bring present you with twelve winter warmers between both breweries. Quite a feat when you think of it as we set aside valuable brewery tank space and our normal house brews and serve up a collection of higher octane adult beverages in all shapes and flavors.

These strong beers are big beers, big in body, bold in flavor and full of the heady, warming sensations that can only come from beers above 8% in alcohol. They span a wide range of styles, from Barleywines, Imperial IPA’s, several strong Belgian beers, imperial smoked porter and a Russian imperial stout. They are all over the map from light to dark but they share one defining characteristic: their strength.

Best sipped slowly and savored, not quaffed in a hurry, these twelve beers command respect. No need to rush through them all in a day. They will be available throughout February (or until they run out) in commemorative 13.5 ounce glasses. Drink all twelve strong ales (six at each brewery) and the glass is yours. Commemorative 2007 Strong Beer Month T-shirts are also available. We will also have special library strong beers from years past presented throughout the month and special food dishes paired with the strong beers.

The strong beers at both pubs:

At Magnolia:

Tweezer Tripel
Old Thunderpussy Barleywine
Smokestack Lightning Imperial Stout
Promised Land Imperial IPA
Weekapaug Monster
Old Perplexity

At 21st Amendment:

Golden Doom
Double Tripel
Blind Lust
Diesel Imperial Smoked Porter
Double Trouble IPA
Lower de Boom Barleywine

SacBrew Barley Wine Festival Winners

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The results are also in for the 2007 SacBrew Barley Wine Festival. Since I wasn’t able to go north to Alaska, I was fortunate enough to be able to judge in Sacramento last night. Here are the top three Barley Wine winners:
 

Strong Beer Month Coming

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Beginning on February 1, 21st Amendment Brewery and Magnolia Pub & Brewery, both in San Francisco, will team up again to host their fifth annual Strong Beer Month. Each brewpub will create five new and different seasonal beers — and if you haven’t figured it out yet, they’ll all be strong — that will be available at the two locations throughout February. Sample them all, and you’ll receive some sort of prize. I stopped by 21A this morning after waiting in line nearby to get an expedited passport (long story) and sampled a couple of the new brews, one of which was still aging in the brewery.

First, there was St. Martin’s Abbey Ale, a decidedly Chimay-like beer with nice chocolate notes. Second, and perhaps more interesting, was a Belgian strong ale that had been blended with a small amount (around 10 gallons per 300) of Lindemans Framboise which itself had been aged in an oak barrel. At 10% abv, the new beer’s strength is neatly masked by the lambic’s sweetness, which is evident in abundance. The thick malt presence comes through but only a hint of sourness peeks out of the sides. But the lambic sweetness and the Belgian strong combine to create something fairly unique. I’m not quite sure what yet, but more tasting is definitely in order.

Unfortunately, it will be hard to order because, so far, the beer has no name. Given the brewpub’s close proximity to [insert current corporate name here] Stadium, where the San Francisco Giants play, and the fact that the beer reminded me of a framboise on steroids, I suggested “Berry Bonds.” Despite the look brewer Shaun O’Sullivan shot me, I’m going to continue to call it that, though I’m pretty confident that will not end up being its official name. Too bad, I liked it.