unfortunately for myself and AP, we couldn’t make it up to guerneville for the russian river beer revival for the first time in three years.  however, some beer events last weekend definitely made up for it.

• on friday JF and I headed out to cal state san marcos for stone brewing’s 14th anniversary VIP/brewer’s reception.  basically, stone has their open anniversary event on saturday, but holds a smaller ticketed reception the night before.  the event had a small crowd and great beers, which was right up our alley.
• there was definitely an all-star crowd at the event – right off the bat I ran into greg koch and spotted patrick rue in line for a pour behind me.  the beer geek in me would have preferred a more traditional booth/name tag setup where guests could more easily interact with brewery representatives as they got a beer, but the single tap lineup and high school reunion social setup made sense here, since it was a brewer’s reception…
• oh yeah, they had great beers too – standouts included a double dry-hopped version of stone’s 14th anniversary empirial IPA (outstanding aroma balanced out the high abv, much better than the bottle release), lost abbey’s red poppy (a very well balanced oud bruin), an great divide’s chocolate oak aged yeti.

on sunday I managed to crank out my first batch, a kolsch, using the new brew setup.

• my recipe was based off of edwort’s bee cave brewery kolsch recipe off of homebrewtalk (although I mashed a little higher at 155F):
  • 0.50 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 2.56 %
    14.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 71.79 %
    5.00 lb Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 25.64 %
    2.00 oz Pearle [8.00 %] (60 min) Hops 25.8 IBU
    1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 3.6 IBU
    1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.4 IBU
• the brew went smoothly, although I lost a little wort during cooling when I switched quick disconnects on my plate chiller so the outflow lined up with my in-line thermometer…
• also, it turns out that natural gas, although much more convenient for me, doesn’t have the oomph propane does – I found myself looking at my watch more than a couple times while waiting for the wort to boil.  therefore, I invested in a heat stick to hopefully help things along more quickly.
• I managed an OG of 1.05, and calculated my efficiency at 78% – not bad for a first run!
• the best part of the new brew process was using the plate chiller – after recirculating for a minute or two, I got my wort down to pitchable temps and transferred 10 gals. to my fermentation barrel in a matter of minutes!  I’m definitely not missing my immersion chiller.
• I tossed the fermentation barrel in my fermentation chamber at around 80F and set the chamber for 65F to cool it down a little, and after a day or so I ramped it up to 68F.  hopefully all goes well…

naja’s place just had their second annual IPA festival, and it was pretty epic.

• I was impressed not only by the beer selection, but also by the organization of the event and the friendliness of everyone involved.
• AP and I rolled up early (4:15ish) to find a line to the door about 15 people long.  I think we hit the wait apex, however, since the line dissolved in about five minutes (thank god) and never reappeared from what I could see.
• in general, the whole LA beer scene feels pretty relaxed when compared to the capacity crowd events happening in SF these days.  case in point – my buddy ML stopped by a few hours into the event and was still able to snag a pour of coveted pliny the younger.  in fact, I don’t think any keg kicked before I left at around 7.
• this keg longevity was facilitated by the fact that festival glasses held only a few ounces.  this turned out to be a great idea, as it allowed for tastings of a wide variety of beers, instead of getting burned out on a full pour of some 10% hop bomb.
• between AP, AP, ML, and myself, we managed to try a pretty wide variety of beers: avery’s maharaja ’08, ballast point’s tongue buckler and dry-hopped sculpin cask, bootlegger’s knuckle sandwich, firestone walker’s double jack, flying dog’s double dog and raging bitch, marin’s brass knuckle, russian river’s pliny the younger, tustin’s death by hops, and strand brewing’s double dry hopped 24th st. pale.  phew!
• standouts for me were the cask sculpin, which had a great aroma and finish, even after half a dozen pours; and marin’s brass knuckle, which had a unique finish that I can only compare to instant iced tea.  weird, but good.  bootlegger’s knuckle sandwich was pretty intense, with a strong malt back that was refreshingly different.
• yeah, younger was good too, and was well-balanced, but I expected a little less alcohol heat on the finish.  maybe a fresher sample would have enough hop aroma to tackle that.
• overall, this was one of the best beer events I have been to.  I don’t think I waited longer than a minute to get any of my pours, there was plenty of water available, and the bathroom line was nonexistent.  we got a table with zero effort, and had pretzels and other snacks on constant refill.  I felt like I had won the beer lottery.

the coming of spring called for some celebration, so this last weekend AP and I rallied the troops for a homebrew-based cookout down at baker beach.

• aside from some soda and water, all beverages present were homebrewed.  I brought down kegs of my IPA, kolsch, steam beer, and quad, as well as some bottles of my imperial espresso stout, belgian date barleywine, and a couple bombers of cider i threw together a while back.
• I also grabbed a bomber of TB’s kolsch as well as his saison (which turned out to be one of the crowd favorites), and CB’s ’09 xmas ale and belgian strong.  JVG also brought out a growler of his red.  12 styles of homebrew in one location? it was definitely quite the lineup.
• to top it off, AP and CB threw together some awesome eats.  AP manned the BBQ and CB fired up a great low-country boil in his turkey fryer.
• it was a great event with a great turnout.  hopefully we can organize another one soon!

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.

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!

it’s about that time again.

• SF beer week starts a little over a week from now (friday 02/05) and runs through sunday 02/14.
• there are a ton of events at a wide variety of venues this year.  some lineup favorites include the double IPA festival at the bistro, a fritz maytag brewer’s lunch at hopmonk tavern, sour fest at triple rock, a dinner featuring magnolia and dogfish head at bar tartine, a rare moonlight beer night with brian hunt at bobby g’s (looks like he’ll also be over at monk’s kettle), and about a dozen more.  damn, I couldn’t even make it down the list.
• also, if you have the coin, be sure to check out fellow BABB blog beer and nosh’s mostly barrel aged beer dinner, where the food looks to be as impressive as the brews.  more info can be found here. edit – this event is sold out! hope you got tickets!
• another BABB member, wet your whistles, will be doing a caltrain pub crawl.
• I also just found out from DH about fellow BABBer sean paxton’s beer dinner on the 11th.  AP and I will be there!
• personally, my definitive beer week schedule has yet to be finalized.  anyone have any recommendations?  anyone up for tapping the overcarbed steam beer keg at a little SF potluck get-together?  let me know!

work and the holidays has been cramping my blogging style as of late, so my apologies for the less-than-daily postings.  hopefully this week we’ll get back on track!

last friday the overcarbed.com team (me and AP) hosted our first strong beer session, inspired by the holiday season.

• we focused on barleywine, one of my personal favorite styles and a great way to warm up during these cold months.
• after procuring barleywine-centric foods such as stilton cheese, savory sausages, and some sweet desserts, bottles began to get cracked and the taps started pouring.
• the lineup was pretty varied, with many states (and a few countries) being represented.  the brews included:
  • 2009 flying dog double dog
  • 2008 hair of the dog doggie claws
  • 2008 avery old jubilation
  • 2008 rogue double dead guy
  • 2008 mikkeller big worse
  • 2008 flying dog horn dog
  • 2008 full sail old boardhead
  • 2008 dogfish head 120 minute IPA
  • 2008 beer valley highway to ale
  • 2008 moylan’s old blarney
• the session peaked with a three year flight (2007-2009) of lagunitas’ brown shugga, and was followed by a bomber of my own 2006 homebrew barleywine and CB’s 2008 homebrew barleywine.
• I also had my 8-month belgian date barleywine on draft for people to sip between tastings.
• crowd favorites included the doggie claws, the ’07 brown shugga, and my ’06 homebrew (yes!).  an honorable mention went out to the 120 minute, which drank like a liqueur and had everybody talking (at 20% abv it was easy to see why).  I wish I had another one to put down for about 5 years…
• overall, there was great company, beers, and food.  look for individual reviews of standout brews from the above list in the future.