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.

I had recently heard about a new place called amsterdam cafe in the tenderloin, so last night CB and I rolled by to check it out.

• I like the layout of this place – there is a covered outdoor patio area up front and a bar immediately behind it, with a few tables opposite the bar.
• the owners and bartenders were very friendly, as was everyone else in the bar.  the place has an honest, neighborhood feel to it.  prices are a little steep though.
• there were 14 or so beers on tap and quite a few bottles available – mostly the usual suspects, but there was a solid dogfish head showing and they carried quite a few belgians.
• I started the night off with stone’s oaked arrogant bastard on draft.  this beer had a great creamy mouthfeel and seemed to be much more drinkable than other oaked bastards I have had in the past.
• I them moved on to ommegang’s three philosophers.  the mouthfeel/body seemed a little light for a quad (probably due to the kriek addition), but it hides its alcohol very well, clocking in at close to 10% abv.
• I closed the night out with a bruegel amber ale from brouwerij van steenberge.  it was very drinkable, and I definitely liked the yeast profile, but it has to be the lightest amber I have ever seen and at 7 or 8 bucks a bottle here, there are plenty of other options available.
• CB picked up an oaked bastard as well as a gulden draak, again from brouwerij van steenberge.  gulden draak is a belgian strong that seemed a little too sweet to me – take away some sweetness (and toss in a little brett) and I would order this up in a heartbeat.
• note: I had grabbed a burger from pearl’s to take over there, but when I arrived I discovered that they had started cooking up sausages themselves, so keep that in mind if you want to grab a bite as well.
• overall, amsterdam cafe is a breath of fresh air in the area.  swapping out a couple of the usual taps and bottles for some more niche brews (e.g., a geuze, lambic, some russian river, or better yet, dutch beers to run with the namesake, etc.) would make this place exceptional.