sorry for the lack of updates folks, been getting slammed at work these days.  will be getting back in the saddle soon.

• on saturday AP and I dropped by amsterdam cafe for a status update.  the place definitely has a good beer selection, but I found myself struggling to find anything I was excited about.  I ended up grabbing another pour of oaked arrogant bastard, poured ice cold, the exact same thing I picked up many months ago.
• for a change of pace, we then rolled over to tommy’s joynt, one of my favorite places for comfort food in the city.  we ordered up a ton of grub and got some great beers to match.  AP had a trumer pils on draft fresh from berkeley, and I had the petrus oud bruin from bavik, which wasn’t as tart as I had hoped (not at all actually) but was dangerously sessionable.
• on sunday I stopped by CB’s where he and TB were whipping up a barleywine.  CB brewed a pale, then a double IPA, and then a barleywine and each got pitched on the yeast cake of the former.  some airlocks definitely got blown out on this one.
• instantaneous cooling with in-line oxygenation via the therminator is the shit.  period.  I can’t believe I have been using an immersion cooler for this long without realizing how much time can be saved.
• after finishing up the brew a bottle of jubel 2010 got cracked open and passed around.  although the jubelale series is definitely not one of my favorite beers, this ramped-up version is great, with plenty of complexity that should increase with age.

you know beer culture is nearing its peak of trendiness when:

• there is a line snaking out of city beer store longer than one at a nightclub.
• at 6:30pm.
• on a thursday.
• I mean, sure, it was a special dogfish head night (pouring sah’tea, theobroma, and burton baton), but shit, when I saw that line I started thinking that maybe sam himself was in there on the bar spraying people down with 120-minute or something.
• I was stoked for craig and beth (they always have great beers and prices), but toronado seemed a little more my speed that night.
• after the usual half hour test of my patience over at rosamunde, I screamed out “never again!” and ran over to memphis minnie’s, where they had me fixed up in a heartbeat.
• CB, TB, and DW met up, and we conspired regarding rosamunde’s demise over moonlight’s misspent youth, a pale with great aroma, and some ‘09 temptation.

this last weekend was full of destinations, both old and new.

• AP and I met up with NB and PB over at anchor and hope down in SOMA.  I remember beer and nosh reviewing this place a while back.
• the food was good, and the beers were even better.  the jug shop developed the beer list, which was pretty deep and had some good choices.  the staff was friendly and pretty knowledgeable about their brews, especially one dude who was sent over after we picked up a bottle of allagash’s curieux for the table.
• we hit up a wide variety of beers – I started with drake’s 1500 on the hand pump and finished with a (very generous) pour of valley brewing’s old inventory barleywine.
• the next day AP and I trekked up to santa rosa, where we made an obligatory stop at russian river brewing for overflowing pours of temptation, consecration, and supplication.
• another mandatory destination was the bottle barn, where we scored more than a few good brews at great prices.  why pay $25 for a russian river bomber at the brewpub when you can get em here for $18.99?  I love that place.
• after checking out a lackluster chinese new year parade in chinatown with AF, we all rolled over to rogue for a nightcap – I chose a pint of john john, which was pretty great and will be reviewed in the future once I crack open a bomber of it for a second opinion.

so, after I kegged my steam beer clone I was itching to try it out.  the problem was, I already had 2 kegs on at the house and no upcoming events that needed a keg (sad to say).

• fortunately, when TB and CB had their baby, CB mentioned that his kegerator was currently empty-  it was the perfect excuse to roll a keg over.  who needs a pint more than a new parent after a long day running on fumes?
• luckily, the keg had carbed up nicely and the first few pours resulted in a nice head.
• thankfully, my fermentation temps seem to have been kept low, as the beer is smooth and malty without any noticeable phenols.  the beer has a smooth bitter finish much like the beer it’s modeled after.  there some chill haze that affects clarity, but it’s not too bad.
• overall, I’m pretty happy with how the beer turned out, and will probably whip up another steam beer in the future (this time, however, I will go all-grain, and hopefully use a temp controlled environment).  it was pretty neat making a steam beer using local water and fermenting under ambient temps, similar to how it was done back in the day.

a while back, I was perusing the bevmo shelves (surprise!) when I came across a few offerings from rodenbach that warranted closer inspection.

• I usually pass over brews labeled as a “grand cru” because the designation is vague and seems to be all-encompassing.  when I grab a bottle I usually end up with a strong, spicy tripel-esque beer that I am usually not fond of.
• however, after scanning the label of rodenbach’s grand cru, my eyes lit up – this beer was a flanders red, and was 1/3 “new” and 2/3 “old,” the “old” being matured for a couple years in oak vats.
• since the majority of the beer was old, I figured it would be more dry and tart and less sweet than its counterparts, such as the duchesse, which I personally find a bit too sweet (relatively speaking).
• when I finally got around to popping this guy, I was happy to find that the above was true.  the beer had a slight vinegar note, and was pleasingly sour, with a little sweetness to back it up.  it was still a little too sweet for my tastes – I could go for an 85/15 blend.
• the current blend gave the beer a great drinkability, however, and my glass was empty way too fast.  I definitely plan on grabbing future bottles, since at $11 or $12 a pop it sure beats getting a champagne glass pour for $5-6 at toronado.
• turns out the MJ is a fan of this beer too.

after noticing that many of my weekend brew activities were too brief to merit an entire post, I decided to start a series of “weekends in review” where I comprise a rehash of last weekend’s beer events.

• saturday AP and I headed over to CB’s to check out his latest brew session (and new brew gadgets).
• CB was whipping up an all-grain IPA inspired by none other than my latest IPA.  I had bottled one flip-top of the batch and after getting a whiff of the intense aroma and great balance CB was inspired
• CB also got to show off his new therminator, as alluded to during his last batch I checked out.  last time I checked, he got 10 gallons from a rolling boil to pitching temps in 10 minutes.
• sunday AP and I followed a hot tip to toronado, where DH and AF had scored pours of pliny the younger a day earlier.
• unfortunately, they were out of that grail beer (AP was told they should be tapping another keg of it today).  my consolation prize was a pour of critical hit, a leftover festival barleywine from ninkasi that had a great balance and an intense bitter finish.
• after running some more errands, we stopped by handy deli, where I hooked up a couple bombers of sculpin IPA for $4.99 each.  I told you this place was good!
• afterwards, AP and I scooped up CB and rolled over to the bevmo on geary, where we discovered a full stash of ninkasi beers (talk about coincidence).
• finally, tricerahops in CA!  we grabbed that as well as oatis, their imperial stout, total domination, their IPA, and believer, their double red.  I did a double take when the bombers rang up for $3.99-4.50!

last friday AP and I met up with CB and TB over at the jug shop for their russian river night.

• I had never been to the jug shop before, despite positive reviews from CB.  I had no idea how large it was!
• I also didn’t expect such an eclectic selection of brews on the shelves – there were many I had never seen before, and some that had disappeared from other spots in the city long ago (atlantic IPA anyone?).  I was impressed.
• as for the tasting lineup, favorites such as consecration (batches 1-3), temptation (batch 4×3), and my personal favorite, beatification (batch 2), were poured, along with supplication (batch 4×3), damnation (batch 54)/batch 23, and salvation (batches 5 and 9).  oh yeah, and some blind pig and pliny as well.  it was killer.
• the tasting area was thoroughly packed, so we just ended up tasting the offerings while hanging out in the aisles, where there was plenty of room.  the crowd was jovial and relaxed, and it never took more than a minute to get a pour (thanks AP!).  I liked how the staff announced each new brew as it was popped and made sure everyone had their fill before moving on.
• although the selection wasn’t as thorough as, say, toronado’s russian river night, the small, fun crowd and great price ($25!) made this event a winner.  plus, any more brews in the lineup probably would have buried me for the night.

AP and I were free last thursday, so we searched the ol’ couch cushions and came up with enough scratch to meet up with DH and JQ at sean paxton’s collaboration beer dinner.

• as a homebrewer/beer geek, it was great to see the homebrew chef in action along with his guests – matt brynildson, the brewmaster over at firestone walker, and alan shapiro, founder of sbs imports, which imports de proef brews.
• all dishes incorporated beer to some extent; some unique creations included scallops smoked with firestone walker barrel chips and black xantus caramel.
• the beer accompaniments were well thought out – some standouts were de proef’s les deux brasseurs and FW’s bourbon barrel saucerful o’ secrets 2007 and 13.
• I also got an on-the-sly taster of XII from none other than pete slosberg of pete’s brewing company fame, who also whipped up the chocolate course for the dinner. thanks again pete!

ahh, lagunitas.

• for my birthday, AP and I managed to score some tickets to the inaugural brewer’s tapas dinner at lagunitas brewing.
• I had been to the beer sanctuary and taproom a little while back, but it was AP’s maiden voyage.  after a lunch full of cask ales and british fare at magnolia, we headed out to petaluma for some more debauchery.
• as anyone who knows me is well aware, I am definitely biased towards lagunitas.  I love their beers, packaging, and overall mentality, and I got a healthy dose of all three at their dinner.
• their five-course tapas/small plate style dinner was tasty and well-prepared, and was accompanied by lagunitas’ deep lineup, including their IPA, imperial stout, hop stoopid, pils, and hairy eyeball.
• during the dinner, brewmaster Jeremy Marshal fielded questions from the crowd, while the rest of the brew staff worked the tables and topped off everyone’s glasses.
• after dinner, everyone headed over to their skybox-style bar overlooking the brewery for some aged brews and beer talk.
• the highlight of the night for me was talking to one of the owners and the brewers while they doled out generous pours of ‘06 gnarlywine, ‘06 hairy eyeball, ‘08 brown shugga, and many others.
• topics of conversation ranged from yeast strains to hop extract to the story behind a little sumpin’ sumpin’, and everyone at the brewery was friendly, well-spoken, and informative.
• I was definitely bummed out when I realized it was time for us to take off, but I was grateful to be a part of this awesome event and was already anticipating my next trip over to the beer sanctuary.  thanks for the great time guys!

last friday I was lucky enough to attend the opening gala for sf beer week over at the yerba buena center for the arts.

• the brewer/beer lineup was great, and I was able to try quite a few brews I had been missing out on, like firestone walker’s lil’ opal and anchor’s humming ale.
• however, my favorites of the night came from unlikely sources.  drake’s 1500 dry hopped pale really opened my eyes with its great aroma and bitter bite.
• also, valley brewing’s cuvee d’evil was pretty fantastic.  pomegranate honey and brandy barrels? sign me uuuup.
• in fact, all of valley’s offerings were memorable – I would have to say they were my favorite booth of the night.
• it was also great to meet some big names in the SF beer scene.  jay over at brookstonbeerbulletin, jesse over at beer and nosh, and sean the homebrew chef were all very approachable and friendly in spite of the packed house.
• the gala turned out to be a well-planned (and well-attended) event, and I was glad I had the opportunity to hit it up.  on with beer week!