Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Hobnob and Squab with Rob Tod and Odd Cod

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Okay, perhaps a bit too Suessian with the title here, but I’m excited. Beer Chef Bruce Paton’s next beer dinner will feature Maine’s Allagash owner and brewer Rob Tod. It will be another four-course dinner, though Bruce is still working out the menu so I really don’t know if squab or cod will be served. I’ll get it up as soon as it’s available. It will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Friday, May 25, beginning with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations. Make your reservations soon, because this dinner should fill up fast and you won’t want to miss this one. Rob is making some great Belgian-inspired beers up in the wilds of Portland, Maine that is, Portland, Maine.
 

From left: Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, from Russian River Brewing, Matt Brynildson and a co-worker, from Firestone Walker Brewing, and Rob Tod, from Allagash, taken at last year’s GABF.
 

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Dinner with the Brewmaster: Rob Tod of Allagash

Cathedral Hill Hotel, 1101 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
415.674.3406 [ website ]

Photo Gallery: 14th annual Toronado Barley Wine Festival

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Saturday was Day One of the 14th annual Toronado Barley Wine Festival in San Francisco. The festival will run until the next Saturday, February 24. But the first day is when the crowd descend and the beers are judged. As usual, I was one of the early arriver’s even though my judging round — the finals — wasn’t scheduled until at least noon. It was great to see so many friends and colleagues and just hang out. I spent the day there sipping barley wine and other beers and left around dinner time.

All of the beers at this year’s festival.

Ditto, this time from the side.

Now that judging takes place across the street, the Toronado’s backroom is available for many more customers.

And this year, a few of the beers were available in the back room, too, to help alleviate the crush at the main bar.

Baron Brewing’s Jeff Smiley and Kate Geiser down from Washington.

Judging the final round of nine barley wines. After all seven judges sampled each of the finalists, we were able to eliminate three from pack fairly quickly. Then two more fell after a lot of discussion. The remaining four were all excellent in their own ways, and haggling over the order was quite spirited, though happily there was no bloodshed this year. We had some difficulty deciding whether or not our potential third and fourth place beers should get a tie for third or one third and an honorable mention. Ultimately we chose a tie because they were both excellent beers but quite different expressions of the style. We had pretty good consensus on which beers we felt should be first and second, but not necessarily the order. Eventually, we talked our way to a decision we were all happy with. (Thanks to Gregg Wiggins for taking a few shots with my camera.)

After the winners were announced, a group of homebrewers gave Toronado owner Dave Keene an award to show their appreciation for his hosting such a great event for the past 19 years.

Back on the other side of the street, I caught up with friends at the bar. Here, Judy Ashworth, Matt Salie (with Big Sky Brewing) and Judy’s daughter Laurel.

Justin and Daniela (from the Brewing Network) and Shaun O’Sullivan (from 21st Amendment).

An accordionist serenaded Toronado patrons in the back middle room.

Former Stone brewer Lee Chase with Susan and Greg Koch (co-owner of Stone Brewing).

Trappist Beers & Chocolate Dinner

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Bruce Paton, the Beer Chef’s, 3rd annual Beer & Chocolate Dinner paired ten Trappist beers from six out of the seven monastery breweries authorized to call themselves Trappists by the International Trappist Association (ITA). In addition to hors d’oeuvres accented with chocolate (paired with Orval and Chimay Cinq Cents), there were four courses. The first course was a delicious lobster bisque infused with milk chocolate and crème fraiche and paired with Westmalle Dubbel and Chimay Premiere. When they started bringing the bowls of bisque into the dining room, the air was thick with the aroma of lobster, but when you tasted it the chocolate really came through as the dominant flavor.

The table I sat at was Chef Bruce’s table, too, so we got some great insight on how he chose the pairings, found the ingredients and prepared the dishes. Next up was breast of squab with sweet potato chocolate flan and natural jus paired with Achel and Westmalle Tripel.

The third course was Angus beef short ribs braised in Chimay with parsnip puree dark chocolate port wine reduction served with Chimay Grand Reserve and Rochefort 8. The beef was so tender you didn’t need your knife. Also, the parsnips were all but completely overwhelmed by the chocolate flavors, which complemented the meat perfectly.

Guests at the dinner, from left. Cornelia Corey and Ray McCoy (Beer Drinkers of the Year 2001 and 2003, respectively), Bryan Harrell (the Celebrator’s man in Tokyo) and Portland beer writer Fred Eckhardt (who pioneered the beer and chocolate dinner way back in 1988)

The dessert course billed was an “Exploration of Chocolate Delights” which in this case meant three very different chocoholic desserts. There was a lemony chocolate cheesecake, a chocolate mousse with white chocolate pieces in it and a strawberry wearing a tasty white chocolate tuxedo. These were paired with Rochefort 10 and De Koningshoeven Quadrupel. The De Koningshoeven is only one of the seven Trappist breweries in the Netherlands (the rest are all in Belgium) though it is better known by its European name, La Trappe. The only Trappist beer not represented was, of course, Westvleteren, which no longer distributes its beer outside the monastery.

Beer Chef Bruce Paton with his two great passions, food and beer. Thanks Bruce for another terrific dinner. Look for a Valley Brewing dinner at the end of April and a Allagash beer dinner in late May.

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

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.

Kiss & Urthel: The Beer Dinner

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urthel
Monday evening the beer chef, Bruce Paton, hosted a “Dinner with the Brewmaster” with Urthel’s Hildegard and Bas van Ostaden. It was a small, more intimate dinner than usual, and, as usual, I had a very good time.

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We began the evening with Hop-It, the first Imperial IPA brewed in Belgium. The tap handle featured one of Bas’ gnomes, which appear on all the Urthel labels.

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Hildegard van Ostaden, Urthel’s brewster, one of only two female brewers working in Belgium, and Brian Hunt of Moonlight Brewing.

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Hildegard spoke to the audience before each course and described the beer we were about to enjoy.

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Then her husband and business partner, Bas, entertained the crowd with stories of the Urthels, the bald little gnomes on the beer labels that he created.

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Our beautifully presented dessert, a tartare of figs and Buddha’s hand with chocolate sabayon, vanilla mascarpone and cocoa nib cookie.

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Jen Garris and Brian Hunt.

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Bas van Ostaden, Bruce Paton and Hildegard van Ostaden after the dinner.

Eat Well with Urthel

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Beer Chef Bruce Paton’s first beer dinner next year will feature brewster Hildegard van Ostaden and the Urthel beers of Brouwerij de Leyerth from Belgium. It will be a three-course dinner and well worth the $80 price of admission. It will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Monday, January 8, 2007, beginning with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Call 415.674.3406 for reservations. Make your reservations soon, because the dinner should fill up fast and you don’t want to miss this one. I know I say that every time, but it’s true every time. I’ve met Ms. van Ostaden before and she’s a delightful speaker, not to mention her beers are uniformly fantastic. This will be the first big Bay Area beer event of the new year.
 

The Menu:

 

Reception: 6:30 PM

Beer Chef’s Hors D’Oeuvre
Urthel Hop It

Dinner: 7:30 PM

First Course

Salad of Assorted Fresh Shellfish with Warm Fennel Vichyssoise

Beer: Urthel Hibernus Quentum Tripel

Second Course:

Confit of Lamb with Truffled Potato Gratin, Wilted Bloomsdale Spinach and Black Trumpet Mushrooms

Beer: Urthel Vlaemse Bock

Third Course:

Tartare of Figs and Buddha’s Hand with Chocolate Sabayon, Vanilla Mascarpone and Cocoa Nib Cookie

Beer: Urthel Samaranth Quadrium Ale

Some of the beers that will be served at the Urthel Beer Dinner.

 

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Dinner with the Brewmaster: Urthel

Cathedral Hill Hotel, 1101 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
415.674.3406 [ website ]

Brent on Beer: Moylan’s, Jones & Albion Castle

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My good friend, Brent Ainsworth — who sometimes writes for the Celebrator — is the Lifestyle Editor of the Marin I.J. and also writes a regular beer column, Brent on Beer. This week’s column is about Moylan’s adding fermenters to increase capacity 25% but the main story is the hiring of Denise Jones to help with the brewing while her new project in San Francisco has some legal wrangling and building issues worked out. Jones was the brewer at Third Street Aleworks for many years before leaving last year.

The new venture, Albion Castle Brewery & Caves, will be resurrecting a San Francisco brewery that dates from 1870. The Albion Brewery, also known as the Albion Ale and Porter Brewery, is a historic landmark located at India Basin Shoreline Park at Hunters Point. It closed in 1919 — yet another victim of Prohibition — but the caves underneath were still bottling spring water as last as the 1960s. The property was bought at auction by the Uzza Group on June 11, 2005. I hope the renovation comes together because it would be great to get back a piece of San Francisco brewing history like this.

Denise Jones with Ralph Woodall of HopUnion at this year’s GABF.

The abandoned Albion brewery in Hunter’s Point. There are also additional photos and history at the Albion Castle website.

City Beer Store Holiday Beer Tasting

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Friday evening there was a fun little event at the new City Beer store, San Francisco’s first and only store selling nothing but great beer. Owner Craig Wathen (with a little help from Jen Garris) assembled several bay area holiday beers from Drake’s, Marin Brewing and Schmaltz Brewing. Also several local brewers brought growlers of their beers, such as Triple Rock’s Reindeer and Thirsty Bear’s barleywine from 2004. The store is a small space, but there was a great turnout and the place was packed almost the whole time I was there. And did I mention they have a fantastic selection of some of the yummiest beers around. Please support the store as often as you can. As a beer community, we need to help one another. And we need a store like this.

The City Beer Christmas tree.

Drake’s brewer Melissa Myers, with her father in town for a visit.

City Beer Store owner Craig Wathen at the taps.

Craig with some of the Bay Area beer cognoscenti around the tree.
 

City Beer Store
1168 Folsom Street — at 7th
San Francisco, California
415.503.1033