BetterBeerBlog

It looks like I’m hosting Hopinions this time around. If you’re a craft beer fan living in the bay area, there’s very little reason why you shouldn’t know about SF Beer Week. In fact, the opening gala starts tomorrow. On this edition of Hopinions, Mario and I talk about SF Beer Week, the events we’ve planned, the events we’d like to be at and the events that we’d like to see next year.

From: Peter at BetterBeerBlog

The SF Bay Area is buzzing. No, there are no swarms of killer bees nor is it an aftershock. San Francisco Beer Week starts in a day and there seems to be a sense of anticipation in the air. With one year’s worth of experience their belt, the SF Beer Week planning committee seems to be more organized this year. They got a spiffy new website, they have sponsors, they have a collaborative beer brewed up and there seems to be more events this year over last year.

Here in the south bay, I have been busy working on putting together events. Just like last year, I’ve worked with Firehouse Brewery to put on a Beer & Cheese Event as well as a Beer & Chocolate Dinner. Instead of working on a Beer & Dessert event like last year, I’m hosting a Beer Appreciation 101 class this time around.

The newest event I’m working on is a Meat the Brewer Beerfest that I am assisting Firehouse and Tied House (at the time of this post, their website is down) breweries with. This beerfest is exciting in the sense that I have always wanted to help put together a beerfest and now I’m getting the chance. I know we’ve had discussions about beerfests in the past. Rereading that post, we had a lot of good ideas that unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to bring to the table, address or implement. Stuff like that happens when you plan in a committee instead of running the show alone. Still, there is strength in numbers.

What events are you planning on attending? Which event(s) are you most looking forward to? Unless I’m mistaken, I noticed that you’re not hosting an event this year. What’s the reason? Are you playing spectator or behind the scenes?

From: Mario at Brewed For Thought

I actually am involved with a few events. Monday will be Smaltz and Hops night at Taps in Petaluma. We’ll be pouring some of the new Lenny on Rye, Jewbellation 13 and Sword Swallower. On thursday we’re bringing in Speakeasy for a cask night along with a few other drafts.

Up in Santa Rosa I’ll be at the Toad in the Hole’s weekly cask night which we’re turning over to Tim Goeppinger of Sonoma Spings. He’s got a new RyePA, a Green Purl Wormwood Ale and a fresh cask of his Little Chief Pale on the cask engine. Last Beer Week this was the first event I threw with Toad in the Hole and we had Tim in, so it’s a bit of an anniversary as well. The Toad in the Hole and I are still very much in love in case you’re wondering.

As for planning other events, I’m working with RateBeer on finding a way to get more North Bay events going. We hope to have a string of events planned for next year where it might be advisable to take a few days off and get a room in Santa Rosa for the fun.

So to answer your question, I guess the answer is sort of yes on both account. There’s some behind the scenes stuff I’m working on, but I also plan on playing spectator.

• Friday - Younger Day at Russian River! Have to get my fresh Pliny the Younger. Then it’s on the road to San Francisco for the Opening Gala.
• Sunday - Hopmonk Luncheon with Fritz Maytag. Although if I weren’t there I’d probably be at Beerunch in the city.
• Monday - Triple dip! Heading to Berkeley for the Triple Rock Sourfest and Bobby G’s Moonlight event. On the way home I will be at Taps.
• Tuesday - Another busy day. First it’s the Tapas at Lagunitas Brewing then to the Toad.
• Wednesday - An off-the-books day. Mark Dredge will be in from London so I’m going to take him around Sonoma County and show him why it’s more beer country than wine country.

At that point I will see if my wife will still have me and plan my attack further. I will not be attending Celebrator’s festival on Sunday, aka Valentine’s Day. I have my sights set farther down the road, specifically May, when Boonville wants to make us choose between beer and family by sharing the weekend with Mother’s Day.

Any special pints you have in mind to try during this week? I’m excited about the Double Common at the Gala and pretty interested in what this Wormwood Ale Sonoma Springs has in store. Anything missing from SF Beer Week for you?

From: Peter at BetterBeerBlog

That’s quite the schedule you have arranged for yourself. Great list of events you have planned out. Unfortunately for me, with regards to SF Beer Week anyway, I still have a day job that I cannot mysteriously disappear from for a glorious, beer-filled week. As such, I will be limited to the events I’m planning/helping to plan. I am going to the Opening Gala event on Friday evening but cannot stay for the entire event. I am seriously contemplating going to Collaboration Dinner by the Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton, featuring Firestone Walker and De Proef. This sounds like an awesome event with two highly respected breweries. While $98/person may seem steep, it is fair when you factor in that you will be getting 8-courses paired with 9 beers. I probably shouldn’t wait too long though as I know this will sell out very quickly.

I was intrigued to see Hopmonk hosting a Brewer’s Lunch featuring Fritz Maytag. As you probably know, I was able to interview him for an article in Beer Connoisseur magazine and I think it would’ve been good to see him again. I was hosting my own event that Sunday but since I pushed this back a week, I might be able to make it after all. There’s just so much going on everywhere that it’s difficult to choose but I think that’s a good problem.

SF Beer Week 2010 hasn’t even started yet and already I’m thinking about what I could’ve done differently in planning this year’s events. I would’ve liked to start planning a little early. I would’ve liked to approach more south bay breweries to see if they’d be interested in doing any events. I would’ve liked to build upon last year’s success and plan other, more creative events. I would’ve like to reach out to businesses other than brewpubs and breweries to try and put on events as well. So many “would’ve”, “could’ve” and “should’ve”’s. I wonder if that’s a sign of poor planning or grand vision?

What are some events you haven’t seen that you’d like to see in the future? As much as enjoy some of these beer geek-centric events, I think we would all benefit from “introductory” events or “beer education” type of things. I know that I’ve moved mine a week back (complete underestimation of the Superbowl) and that Gail from Beer by Bart is hosting one up in San Leandro as well.

Lastly, this question goes out to our readers, what kind of events would you like to see in future SF Beer Weeks? Bringing in the focus, what kind of events would South Bay beer lovers want to see in our neck of the woods? I am open to ideas and the help.

From: Mario at Brewed For Thought

One thing I hope to do for next year is get the restaurants involved. It’s SF Beer Week, why not come up with an easy beer paired menu that you can served any day of the week. I’d love to talk to some more local restaurants about this idea. With the number of specialized events we have going on, it would be great for the excitement to trickle down to the general public.

The question then is how do you accomplish that? I’ve noticed more mass media advertising, or at least presence, and that can get people excited. As we’ve seen with St. Patrick’s day, everyone loves an excuse to drink a beer. Let’s play into that.

On the side of an education event, I held one last year for students at Berkeley and it went really well. At first they seemed a little nervous but at the end they all walked away with a tulip glass and some event took home their own bottles of Chimay, St Bernardus 12, and a few other goodies. Talking to them again they’ve taken what they learned that day and started trying a more diverse selection of beer.

To end this little discussion on SF Beer week I wanted to make sure I took care of my friends. The events coordinated for SF Beer week aren’t governed or subsidized by a central organization. This means we really need everyone to come out and attend the events that interest them. So please, consider buying tickets or attending the events listed below and take part in SF Beer Week yourself.

Super Beerunch - Feb 7th ($40)
Kelly’s Mission Rock
817 Terry a Francois Boulevard
San Francisco, CA 94158

Miss Pearl’s Jam House
Broadway at Water St.
Oakland, CA 94607

A Taste of Rogue Nation Beers, Farmstead Cheeses & Artisan Chocolates - Feb 10th ($40/45)
Rogue Public Alehouse
673 Union St.
San Francisco, CA 94133

Organic Vegan Beer Dinner: Bison Brewing Co. - Feb 4th-7th ($46 to dine, $66 w/paired beers)
Millennium Restaurant
580 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA 94102

Beer & Nosh and Scala’s Beer Dinner - Feb 10th (SOLD OUT)
Scala’s Bistro
432 Powell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Humphry Slocombe Beer Ice Creams - All Week
Humphry Slocombe
2790 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Beer Festivals, Craft Beer, Hopinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.