As SF Beer Week is into full swing, Drink Me Magazine has asked me for my recommendations on the best ways to spend each of the remaining nights…

Monday February 8^th – Monday is a GREAT NIGHT to be a BEER LOVER to be in BERKELEY. Bobby G’s Pizzeria will be hosting Brian Hunt of Moonlight Brewing Company. Jupiter and Triple Rock will be holding their annual “Sour Fest,” an event celebrating the lip-smacking cheek-puckering styles that are the latest fetish/frontier/focus/fascination for risk-taking craft-brewers throughout the West Coast.   All three of these locations are within about a quarter-mile of one another, and all in close proximity to the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

MAP – A is Jupiter, B is Bobby G’s Pizzeria, C is Triple Rock Brewery
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Tuesday February 9^th Of all the nights of Beer Week, TUESDAY IS THE NIGHT I AM MOST EXCITED ABOUT.  I will be participating in the last (and most ambitious) of my three Beer Vs. Wine Events, a 5-course sustainable seafood menu at Bar Crudo in SF.  Bar Crudo’s Chef Mike Selvera and Sommelier Alex Fox are legitimate culinary all-stars.  (I am boxing well out of my weight class on this one, but beer always has a punchers chance.)  If you have been waiting to attend one of my dinners, this is the one to jump on.  Reservations can be made by calling Bar Crudo – 415-409-0679 – or via their website.

If you find yourself feeling more like a pub crawl than a sit down menu, Tuesday offers you the opportunity to meet two of the better brewers on earth, Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Co. and Brian Hunt of Moonlight Brewing Company.  Vinnie will be bouncing between, the newly opened Pi Bar, and The Toronado where there will be no fewer than 18 RRBC Beers on tap.  The Monk’s Kettle will be hosting Mr. Hunt for a night focused on his unhopped, gruit-styled beers, including my personal favorite, the incomparable, Uncle Fudd.

Wednesday February 10^th SF Brewer’s Guild Dinner at The Monk’s Kettle.  One beer from each of the participating brewers as well as the special Brewer’s Guild collaborative “Imperial Common” all squeezed into one six-course menu.

*Dinner has sold out – BUT… Monk’s will be re-opening to the public at about 11pm, all of the special Brewer’s Guild Beers should still be available.

Thursday February 11^th My Sour Valentine at City Beer Store will showcase some of the best sour ales being brewed in the US.  Native to the Flanders region of Belgium sour beers are ales fermented using wild yeast strains (many of the same bacteria that can “spoil” wines).  Last year this event was so popular many had to be turned away.  This year Craig and Beth have wisely decided to move things across the street to Triptych to accommodate the throngs of us sour-seeking sippers.

Double Bastard Vertical at The Monk’s Kettle – As a whole, the West Coast of the US makes the biggest, baddest, hoppiest, and highest-gravity ales anywhere in the world.  Perhaps the brewery that embodies this bigger is better ethos more than any other is Stone Brewing Co. in San Diego County.  Stone’s flagship beer is a burly Strong Ale called “Arrogant Bastard.”  Once a year the Bastard gets bigger, as Stone brews up batches of “Double Bastard Ale.”  This absurdly strong beer, both in terms of flavor and alcohol, has proving to be ideal for cellar aging.  Thursday Night we are pulling three vintages of this beastly beer up from our cellar to offer a one-time-only vertical flight I like to refer to as Generations of Bastards.

2006 Oaked Double Bastard

2007 Double Bastard

2008 Double Bastard

*$16 beer only, $20 with cheese pairing

Friday February 12^th Another Night when it is not necessary to leave the Mission.  I would use this relatively quiet night on the Beer Week Schedule to hit up two of the events that are going to be running all week; Beer flavored ice creams Humphrey Slocombe and small plates with Japanese Microbrew at Nombe

Saturday February 13^th The 17^th Annual Barleywine Festival is everything you’d expect with huge alcohol content beers at The Toronado.  It is always an absolute zoo, and always worth it. Try not to get arrested.

Sunday February 14^th A Porcine Valentine at La Trappe in North Beach – Two whole pigs, two butchers (one Italian, one American) and Belgian beer pairings with each course.  Tickets available here.

Each Tuesday the Monk’s Kettle Staff will get together and taste some beer. Getting a group of seasoned beer palettes on a beer at the same time is a very worthwhile practice. I always learn something.

 

HOPFIX IPA – BEER HERE Brewed @ BREWDOG in Scotland: Beer Here is a contract brewery.  Something I am often skeptical of.  However, up until tracking down this little dandy all of the beer I had been lucky enough to taste from Beer Here had been brewed on the Nogne-O (Naked Island) premises in Norway, and as far as I can tell any beer leaving that facility appears to be a winner.  Needless to say I was intrigued by the change of facility and the new relationship with Scotland’s most adventurous brewery.  

Even after making the long trip over from Europe, and waiting around for weeks before being opened, the nose on Hopfix still leaps out of the glass with aromas of pine, alfalfa, dry citrus and even some rock candy and honey. In terms of flavor we all got more herbs and spices than the pineapple or guava tart-fruitiness that inspire the West Coast IPAs one would think are the inspiration of this beer. Perhaps indended, perhaps do to its less than fresh condition, we did pick up resiny/oily textures in the body of the beer. I would be very eager to taste this beast fresh and local.

 

JUST OUTSTANDING IPA – KERN RIVER BREWING COMPANY: I had never heard of Kern River Brewing Co. until doing a dinner with Denise Jones, Brewmaster at Moylan’s Brewpub. Denise loading me up with a bunch of cool beers she had gathered including two bottles each of Just Outstanding IPA and Class 5 Stout. From what I can tell these beers are not available very far beyond the bounds of the brew-pub, but both of these brews blow away your typical brew-pub pint.

The IPA is thinner in body than the high-gravity behemoths that characterize this style nowadays.  As a result this beer features a pleasant dry graininess and finishes quite clean while still showcasing a the required amount of hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. The nose is reminiscent of a livestock feed store, (Penngrove Hay and Grain if you are “comin’ from where I’m from”) flavor is herbaceous with pickling spices and bright citrus.  

 

CLASS V STOUT – KERN RIVER BREWING COMPANY: This beer was the big pleasant surprise of the week. Interesting that the bottle came from Denise Jones, who has Moylan’s turning out many of the best Porters and Stouts currently pouring in the Bay Area, because this bad-boy has the potential to be a rival.

Class 5 Stout hides its 8.5% ABV very well. The body is dry, but the mouthfeel is rich enough. Bittersweet chocolate is the dominant flavor profile but even with all that malt, Cascade (or a closely related hop) flavor reveals itself. This is a big stout that is round and balanced in every way. I will seek it out again.