Here are the results from the 2010 Toronado Barley Wine Festival in San Francisco:
The other beers that reached the final round were AleSmith Old Numbskull, Alpine Brewing Great, Anchor Old Foghorn, and Big Sky Old Blue Hair.
Congratulations to all the winners.
Wednesday was hump day for SF Beer Week, falling smack dab in the middle of the ten days. Here’s some more photos from Day 6. Below are individual slideshows from several Wednesday 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.
The Bistro Cheese-Off
Barclay’s Bill Brand Tribute
Cobb’s SF Beer Week “Beer-In”
Toronado Nightcap
After Cobb’s, I went over to the Toronado for a nightcap and to see if any of the Lagunitas folks we re still there. They’re weren’t, but Gabbi Chan and Phil Lowry were still there, though about to leave. I made do with a Russian River Mortification, Vinnie’s quadrupel.
Gabbi Chan & Phil Lowry.
Having my last beer on Wednesday night at the Toronado.
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.
Russian River’s Release of Pliny the Younger
The Opening Gala
The Bistro Double IPA Festival
Matevaza’s Beerunch at Kelly’s Mission Rock
Beer Ice Cream from Humphry Slocombe
Meet the Brewer: The Lost Abbey at The Toronado
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.
Triple Rock Sour Monday Sour Fest
Meet the Brewer: Moonlight Brewing at Bobby G’s Pizzeria
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 from Valley Brewing at Barclay’s for a Meet the Brewer event.
Meet the Brewer: Rob Tod of Allagash at The Toronado
Rob Tod from Allagash trying to stay awake at the Toronado, where he was pouring his beers Monday night.
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.
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
In case you’ve been living under a rock, SF Beer Week starts tomorrow. It feels like we’ve been working around the clock — and in the case of a few that’s literally true — to get this party started. I can hardly believe it myself. We’re past 200 events at this point, and all of them are great-looking, not a dog in the bunch. That’s roughly a one-third increase in events. I’ll be doing my best to get to two or three events each day. If see me out and about, please say hello.
Today begins the 8th annual Strong Beer Month once more, with six new extreme beers each at 21st Amendment and Magnolia throughout February. Try them all, and you get to keep the commemorative glass. To see a list of the twelve beers, check out the Strong Beer Month website. This year’s theme is the wild west and specifically High Noon.
Today is the 46th birthday of Pat Hagerman, co-founder of ReelBeer.com, one of the first beer portals to establish a presence on the internet. I’ve known Pat for a lot of years in a variety of enterprises. Pat also has a son, Jack, who’s a little older than Porter so we’ve seen him at birthday parties from time to time, though it’s been a little while. These days, I usually run into Pat at beer events, though I suppose technically he’s also my boss since for a while I’d been filling in for Stan writing the Real Beer Blog, though happily now Stan’s back. Join me in wishing Pat a very Happy birthday.
Pat (at right) with Tom Dalldorf in New Orleans for the Craft Brewers Conference in 2003.
A self-portrait of me and Pat at Falling Rock in Denver at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival.
Beginning with the bold pronouncement, “Fact — Geologists Love Beer,” Wired magazine explains Why Geologists Love Beer.
This week in San Francisco, the American Geophysical Union is having their annual convention at Moscone Convention Center. According to Wired:
“Every other convention assumes that if you have a beer, your brain goes soft,” said Kathy Sullivan, who has been serving beer at the AGU meeting for 26 years. ”But not the geophysicists. They think if you have a beer, you can still learn things. So they do.”
At the Thirsty Bear, the closest brewpub to the Moscone Convention Center where the annual meeting is held every December, the waitstaff claims this is the busiest week of the year for them. I heard from the Borehole Research Group at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory that one server at the Thirsty Bear said the staff can’t take vacation days during the AGU meeting ”because the geologists are coming.”
Betsy Mason, the author of the article — and a geologist and beer lover herself — polled the 16,00 convention attendees to try to figure why a love of rocks translates to a love of beer. Her results make entertaining reading. And, this insight is personally good news, because it explains yet another one of my own peculiar obsessions. I, too, love rocks. From childhood, I’ve been fascinated by them and to this day always pick up interesting rocks during vacations to bring back home as souvenirs. Throughout my house, I have jars and plates displaying the rocks I’ve found all over the world. Before now, I just thought it was another one of my odd obsessions, but I’m happy to learn it’s just part and parcel of my love of beer, the two apparently go hand in hand.
Watch the video below, bartender Kathy Sullivan is my new favorite person. Listen to what she has to say about the geologists drinking beer at their convention.
“It’s the only convention that thinks adults know whether they can drink and pay attention or not. Every other convention assumes that if you have a beer your brain goes soft, but not the geophysicists, they think if you have a beer you can still learn things … It’s treating people like adults as opposed to children.”
The lovely missus and I attended the annual Christmas party at Anchor Brewery, one of our favorite events of the year, and one of the few my wife regularly attends. Good friends, good food and great beer. I always start with a Liberty Ale — a perennial favorite — and also finally had a chance to try their new Humming Ale. The Humming Ale is brewed with an “unusual hop variety called Nelson Sauvin” and was brewed to commemorate the 30th anniversary at the brewery’s present location on Mariposa Street in San Francisco.
Me and Mrs. Brookston Beer Bulletin all dressed up and somewhere to go.
Though there was some terrific food this year, as always, I can never get enough Maytag Blue Cheese. There was also a tasty brisket with sage mashed potatoes, and a veggie table that included some wonderful au gratin potatoes. But my favorite was Pumpkin Soup Shooters with toasted mini-turkey and cranberry Panini.
The annual tree made from Christmas Ale mother cartons and decorated with bottles and bows.
The dessert was Spiced Gingerbread with dried fruit compote and Anchor Porter ice cream. The ice cream was so good I had seconds of just that, which I found paired really well with the Christmas Ale.
Below is a slideshow of this year’s Anchor Christmas Party. This Flickr gallery is 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.
On Thursday of last week, Boston Beer brewer Bert Boyce was in town o the last leg of a three-city tour of California to introduce the 2009 edition of Samuel Adams‘ Utopias. Boyce is originally from California, and I first met him while he was working at Drakes in San Leandro a several years ago. The beer dinner was held at Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco, and they did a great job both with the food generally and also pairing the beer with the dishes served.
Bert Boyce, Boston Beer brewmaster, addressing the crowd and talking about his beer.
But the pièce de résistance was, naturally, the Utopias. I confess I’d already tasted this year’s version, both from the barrel in Boston and also from the sample bottle that I was sent, but this beer is so good and so different from any other beer that I know that it’s hard to pass up an opportunity for some more, especially with a great meal to boot.
Below is a slideshow of the Topias beer dinner. This Flickr gallery is 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.