BetterBeerBlog

I am getting around to catching up with all my SF Beer Week posts. Bear with me. I am unexpected going through some family issues and finding time to write is… a challenge. That being said, let’s finish recapping this event.

This is the second year I’ve helped to put on the Beer & Cheese Event at Firehouse Brewery in Sunnyvale and the second time we’ve partnered up with Steve Rasmussen from the Milk Pail Market in Mountain View. Admittedly an absentee owner the past several years, Rasmussen has found his cheese muse again and is working his way back into the world of fine cheese. In fact, for this event, Rasmussen came through with over 28 different cheeses. Many of the cheeses were listed and briefly described in a handout he brought along just for this event while a small handful were surprises. Even to him.

Not to be outdone, Steve Donohue came through on the beer side of things providing approximately 14 different, bottled beers in addition to the pitchers of Firehouse beers available at the event. During the set-up portion of the event, I took inventory of the beers we had and organized the room accordingly. Just like last year, we held the event in the upstairs area of the brewpub although, in a most unusual move, a private company dinner was held in the banquet room in the rear. Luckily there were no conflicts but I found it to be an odd arrangement.

We did our best to arrange the space in a logical way. Once I knew what beers we had, I divided the room accordingly. Here’s how the space broke down and the beers that were poured, as I remember them.

• Hop Side
  These beers included: Allagash Hugh Malone, Bear Republic Racer 5, Green Flash Imperial IPA, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (yes, I know it’s a barleywine but it’s a hoppy barleywine).
• Belgian Strong Ales
  On this table we poured Chimay Grand Reserve, St. Bernardus Abt. 12, and Affligem Tripel. I ended the evening at this station.
• Funky Belgian Ales
  At this station we poured Orval and an Imperial Saison De Proef Brouwerij. This was the station I initially started out on.
• Sour Ales
  I was surprised to find that Steve Donohue had a sour ale table. Surprised and happy. At this station, we poured New Belgium’s La Folie and Rodenbach Grand Cru. While both sour ales, they were distinct in their sourness.

I wish I could give you a detailed breakdown of how the cheeses were and which cheeses paired with what beer but I was busy working the event as pouring beers for guests as well as being the “volunteer coordinator”. I have that word in quotes as I don’t think I did much coordinating. More on this later.

Planning an event, especially one on this scale, can be a nerve racking event. I was running around all over the place trying to get things in order up until we “opened the doors” to the event. By then, whatever wasn’t done, wasn’t done and I wasn’t going to worry about it. Fortunately, nothing huge (noticeable) went awry and the event went off much better than I anticipated. Credit this to the volunteers we had, both scheduled and plucked from the line. Without their help, this event would’ve been a train wreck. So, thank you to everyone who volunteered and for those who ended up volunteering. Y’all saved my ass!

Despite how well the event went, there were a some issues “behind the scenes” that needed to be addressed. Much of these issues have to do with communication between invested parties, volunteers and organizers. Other issues dealt with expectations while other concerns arose from lack of proper planning. You’d think we’d have run much more smoothly this second year, and in many aspects it was, but we weren’t as organized. Needless to say, all these issues have been well documented and will be addressed well ahead of time for next year.

By most accounts, the Beer & Cheese Event at Firehouse was a success on many levels. I would, once again, like to thank all the volunteers who made this event possible. I can’t thank you all enough, really. I thank everyone who came out to support the South Bay brew scene by attending this event. While I’ve said this many times before, I’ll say it again: the local craft beer scene is only as good as the people supporting it. If you enjoyed this event, let us know. Visit Firehouse brewery in Sunnyvale and let brewmaster Steve Donohue know; visit Milk Pail Market in Mountain View and let them know. Write an email to let me know. As crazy as it was to help plan and execute this event, I would happily go through it all over again if I knew there was interest for it.

In any case, I look forward to helping plan this event again next year! Until then, enjoy the rest of the photos below. All these shots were taken by Arie Litman. You can visit his website here.

Continuing the SF Beer Week goodness, Rose & Crown hosted a brewery night for Palo Alto Brewing Company and Firehouse Brewery. Firehouse Brewery is no stranger to BetterBeerBlog. If you’ve been here long enough, you know that I spend a fair amount of time there and it’s only natural that I’d be out to support Steve.

Palo Alto Brewing Company (PABC) is the relatively new kid on the block. Kasim, the owner of Rose & Crown, is also the man behind PABC. I had the chance to interview Kasim a while back regarding the Rose & Crown and PABC that I am, unfortunately, still transcribing. As soon as I get that done, you’ll be the first to know.

Why combine PABC and Firehouse into a single Brewery Night? The answer is simple: PABC brews their beers at Firehouse. Steve has the capacity to spare and Kasim has the desire to brew beer. To clarify, Kasim does brew PABC beers, he just happens to do so on the Firehouse system.

It’s a Monday night and by the time I arrive at Rose & Crown, I see a lot of familiar faces. I pull up a seat at the end of the bar next to the firkin, order a pint and start to enjoy my evening.

Firehouse Pale Ale, cask-conditioned and dry-hopped with Citra hops

This beer was served out of the firkin. The beer is a hazy, gold color with an off-white head. There is a pungent hop aroma with citrus and piney notes. The flavor of the beer is chock full of hops; fresh, pungent, citrus and slight pine. The mouthfeel is medium-low/medium with medium-low carbonation as is common for cask-conditioned ales. There is also a slight astringent quality.

I like the Firehouse pale ale already but I really love this cask-conditioned, dry-hopped version. The carbonation is not as prickly as the normal pale ale and I love how there’s much more hop flavor and character but not necessarily more hop bitterness. I’m gonna have to get on Steve’s ass to do more firkin/cask-conditioned beers.

Palo Alto Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Aged Coconut Porter

Very dark brown beer with a tan/brown head. The beer smells like an Almond Joy; coconut with a dark chocolate character and light roast. The beer’s flavor echos the aroma. It’s like liquid Almond Joy without the cloying coconut sweetness but retaining coconut flavor supported by dark chocolate, and deep roast flavors without being astringent. There is enough hops for balance. This is a full-bodied beer with medium-high carbonation. The bourbon character comes through when the beer warms up.

What I find interesting with bourbon barrel aged beers is that sometimes coconut flavors and aromas come through via the barrel. In a beer like this that’s made with coconut, it’s difficult to tell if the coconut flavors are from the actual coconut or if they’re from the barrel. In any case, I really enjoyed this beer and wished I could’ve had more.

Palo Alto Brewing Company Cask-conditioned Straight Porter

Very dark brown beer, nearly opaque with a tan head. Pleasant roasted malt aroma with cocoa powder character. Flavor is similar with hints of dark chocolate as well. This is a medium-low/medium bodied beer with low/medium-low carbonaton.

The straight porter would make a great session beer; seemingly light while retaining a lot of flavor without being overbearing. While I found this to be a very good example of a real ale, I kick myself in the ass for having drunk the bourbon barrel aged coconut version first. The bourbon barrel aged coconut porter is such a bigger, more complex beer that it makes the straight porter seem bland by comparison. Still, it was a good beer.

Palo Alto Brewing Company Chocopeño

Hazy, caramel colored beer with an off-white head. Lots of Jalapeño pepper in the aroma that is reminiscent of the Jalapeño flavored Lays potato chips. It is the dominant aroma. Chocopeño is surprisingly sweet with noticeable Jalapeño flavor and enough heat to let you know it’s a pepper beer. Body is medium/medium-high with medium carbonation.

As you could’ve probably guessed, this was a beer brewed with both chocolate and Jalapeño peppers. People either loved or hated this beer. I fall more in the “didn’t like” category as opposed to straight hating. I didn’t really pick up on the chocolate aspect of the beer and felt like the Jalapeño character was a little too dominant. The resulting beer was a little unbalanced for my tastes. I think it’s interesting enough to buy a pint to share but I’d have a little trouble finishing the beer entirely.

Altogether, PABC and Firehouse Brewing was a great success. The turnout was pretty good for a Monday night and I felt both breweries had some really interesting things on tap. I’m looking forward to trying more PABC beers. I think Kasim’s doing a great job.

As part of the SF Beer Week events, Rose & Crown in Palo Alto is having a brewery night featuring  the beers from Mayfield Brewing Company (MBC). This is an especially rare treat in that MBC does not sell their beer in draught format, only in bottles. So if you’ve never had the opportunity to try MBC beers before, I hope you were able to make it and give them a shot.

Owner/brewmaster John Alderete is the “man” behind the one-man show that is MBC. His beers differ from many other breweries in that all his beers have been aged at least 12 months in wine barrels. If you’d like to pick them up, they are available in many Whole Foods but you can also purchase them from him directly. Currently there are 3 award-winning beers in the MBC Iconoclast series: Aurora, Eclat and Nocturna. Here are my notes.

Aurora – Altbier aged in American Oak California Zinfandel and Cabernet wine barrels

Aurora pours out a light caramel in color with amber highlights. The beer is primarily malty with some roasted notes. Hop flavor and bitterness are low. The aroma echos that of the flavor. Aurora is a medium bodied beer with medium carbonation. Surprisingly, there’s a slight tartness in the finish.

When I first had this beer in the bottle, I wasn’t very impressed with this beer. I found it to be a little underwhelming. I can tell this beer has changed slightly since that very first vintage I’ve tried and it’s for the better. It’s been sometime since I’ve had this beer in the bottle so I can’t really make any comparisons to the draft version.

Nocturna – Imperial Stout aged in French Oak Port Wine barrels

This beer is very dark, nearly black and opaque. The aroma exhibits some oxidation that comes across in the form of soy sauce. The aroma is also sweet. The flavor of the beer is primarily sweet with coffee, chocolate, molasses and syrup notes. Low to no hop character at all. Nocturna is full bodied with medium-low carbonation.

Of all the MBC beers, Nocturna remains my favorite. Darker, higher alcohol beers tend to hold up to barrel again well and Nocturna is no exception. Normally oxidation is considered a flaw in many beers but the type of oxidation exhibited, soy sauce, some sherry, I consider pleasant. The big caveat, of course, is that those oxidized notes are balanced with respect to the beer.

Eclat – India Pale Ale aged in American Oak California Zinfandel and Cabernet wine barrels

Despite being an IPA, the beer’s overall flavor profile is malty. The malt flavor his slightly on the caramel side. The hop flavor and bitterness is lacking for what one would expect for an IPA. The aroma has a slight grassy hop aroma and a low level of fruity esters. Eclat is a medium-low/medium bodied beer with medium low carbonation.

Out of the entire Iconoclast series of MBC beers, Eclat is the most controversial of beers. The main reason for this is because of the lack of expected hop character. Whenever you come across an IPA, you expect the beer to be a showcase for the hops. The aroma should be bursting with hops while the flavor should have a tongue-numbing bitterness. This is distinctly not the case for  Eclat. In the true sense of an IPA, this is where an Eclat fails to meet expectations. Despite this, the resulting beer is interesting on its own merits.

What I can say though is that Eclat’s bitterness is improved from the initial vintage. In speaking with John Alderete, he has told me the hop character of the beer drops off significantly during the barrel aging process. I am a big fan of enjoying a beer in the original manner the brewmaster intends. In the case of Eclat, that includes aging an IPA until the hops have nearly dropped off. What I am curious about though, is trying Eclat before it enters the barrel. I’m interested in seeing just how much the hops drop off while in the barrels.

One thing I will note is that I didn’t pick up the woodsy/oaky notes in these beers that I normally am able to pick up from bottled versions. John did mention that these beers were racked right from the barrels to the keg but maybe some of those woodsy notes were lost in the carbonation process.

Imperial Common Collaboration Beer, San Francisco Brewers Guild

In addition to the MBC beers, I had the opportunity to try the Imperial Common Collaboration beer brewed by the SF Brewers Guild just for SF Beer Week. The Imperial Common pours our a dark brown with amber highlights and a beige head. The aroma has pungent and piney hop notes with the malt character in the background. The flavor is similar, tasting like a more alcoholic Anchor Steam, only slightly less bitter. This is a medium/medium-full bodied beer with medium-high carbonation.

Collaborative beers are the latest thing with breweries. In this instance, the members of the SF Brewers Guild appropriate have teamed up to brew an Imperial Common. Thanks to the efforts of Anchor Steam, the California Common is the indigenous beer of San Francisco and it only made sense that the first collaborative beer would be a California Common.

It was great to see Rose & Crown organizing events for SF Beer Week. There was a lot more participation this year from the south bay breweries Rose & Crown did a fantastic job lining up Brewery nights for almost the entire run of SF Beer Week. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have lined up in the near future and for next year.

It was about two weeks ago that the 2010 iteration of San Francisco Beer Week was kicked off by its inaugural Opening Gala. Yes, this may have been year two of the festival but this was the maiden voyage of the Opening Gala.

Last year, SF Beer Week was kicked off by an appropriately named Kick Off Party held at the venerable Anchor Steam Brewing Company. Far from being an impromptu affair, last year’s Kick Off Party had a very informal air to it. Many of the local brewers who’s beers I have since come to love were in attendance. In fact, the Kick Off Party at Anchor seemed to be a “who’s who” of the craft beer world. In addition to the brewers and their assistants, many of the SF Bay Area Beer Bloggers were in house as well. At the time, I didn’t really know them but by SF Beer Week’s end, I would become friends with many of them. Last but not least, the grandfather of American Craft Brewing Fritz Maytag himself, was on hand to debut Anchor’s first ever barrel aged beer, predictably named Our Barrel Ale.

This year’s Opening Gala had a decidedly different tone. Unlike last year’s casual celebration, the Opening Gala was much more organized and structured. Instead of being a party for those of us who had a hand in getting SF Beer Week 2009 off the ground, the Opening Gala was pretty much a beer festival of breweries participating in SF Beer Week on one level or another. Many of us who helped promote or plan events for SF Beer Week 2010, were allowed in an hour early during media hour. Everyone else was able to enter at 5pm. Unlike last year’s “invitation only” event, the Opening Gala was open to the public but I do believe tickets were limited.

Whereas my time at last year’s Kick Off Party was more of an eye-opening “I can’t believe we’re hobnobbing with all the local brewers at Anchor Brewing” sort of thing, this year’s Opening Gala was more of a jaw-dropping “Wow, they’ve really outdone themselves this year” event. While many will argue that Anchor Brewing is a much more beautiful location to have a beer-related party in, the Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts served as an excellent backdrop for the Opening Gala. While not cavernous by any means, the room the Gala was held in was large enough to accommodate all the brewers and guests. Like any other beer festival, the crowd was “shoulder-to-shoulder” at times with pockets of open space peppered within.

The majority of breweries that were pouring were arranged around the perimeter of the room with their names hanging on the walls above them. The center of the room was reserved for those breweries who supported SF Beer Week 2010 as sponsors. Off the top of my head, those breweries were Gordon Biersch, 21^st Amendment, Magnolia and Speakeasy. I’m sure there were more but I just can’t recall them at the moment. On the side of the room with the windows was a stage where a 3-piece band was playing. About halfway through the night, Rich, of SF Brewers Guild, took to the stage to thank everyone for coming while Jay Brooks closed with a toast.

In addition to all the beer being poured, select food venders were in attendance as well. Typical beer festival foods such as sausages were being served but unexpected treats such as sushi were represented as well. Food was not included in the price of admission; you needed to pay the vendors individually. Really the only thing that went poorly the entire evening was a lack of water. It wasn’t until a little past the halfway point were water-filled kegs finally rolled out.

There were a lot of good beer being poured. I had the chance to try a variety of beers of which I took no notes of at all. Despite this there were a few memorable beers. The Imperial Common collaboration beer brewed by SF Beer Guild breweries specifically for the brewfest was debuted that evening. I found the beer to be good, reminded me of a stronger Anchor Steam, just a touch more malty. I also had the Bill Brand commemorative beer from Steve Altimari of Valley Brewing. Available only in bottles, and only if you knew to ask, it was a delightfully sour ale; mouthwateringly tart, aromatic and estery. Gordon Biersch brewed up a dampfbier, explained to me as a “German Steam beer”, I found to be balanced, not too malty or bitter, but I remember it having a “chewy” character.

The remainder of the evening was spent catching up with old friends I hadn’t seen in weeks, months even. In this respect, the Opening Gala felt a lot like a school reunion. My wife and I ran into people we knew just about everywhere. Whereas most beer festival conversation tend to be centered around beer, many of the conversations we had that night were more about how our friends were doing, what they were up to and what they had in store. Beer may have been the reason we all came out that night but the opportunity to see each other is the reason we keep coming out. I hate to say it but I think I spent more time catching up with old friends than I did trying some of the fantastic beers that were there.

Unfortunately, Sammy and I had to leave the Opening Gala hours before its end. My close friend’s mother passed away earlier in the week and that night was the viewing so we cut out early to attend and support him and his family. If that wasn’t enough, Sammy’s grandfather experienced some health issues that resulted in a trip to the emergency room. By the time I picked Sammy up and brought her home, it was 7am Saturday morning and we opted to stay in instead of taking a power nap before heading out to the Double IPA festival.

Overall, the SF Beer Week 2010 Opening Gala was a successful event to launch this year’s festivities. There were many breweries in attendance and lots of good, in some cases even rare, beers being poured. The theme presented on the SF Beer Week 2010 website was carried out in many aspects of the signage and collateral and really set a unified tone to the entire thing. I am looking forward to seeing what next year brings about!

*EXHALE*

As fun as SF Beer Week was, I’m feeling pretty good that it’s over. There were a variety of events held, lots of good beer had and I’m sure SF Beer Week 2011 will be around the corner before I know it. I have a lot of writing to do recapping the SF Beer Week events I went to, helped plan and participated in. That’s not even mentioning all the photography I still need to run through production. Ah, the joys of being a one-man show.

I have a new schedule I’m being forced to keep. Unfortunately this cuts into my blog-time hours. It sucks, I’m not really enjoying it but it’s all self-inflicted nonetheless. Does that mean I forfeit my right to complain? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It just means that my blog posts may not be as frequent as I would like.

In any event, bear with me through this transitional period as I get back to my regularly scheduled programming.

All this week my posts have been pretty much on the promotional side talking about the Beer & Cheese Event this past Wednesday or the Meat the Brewers beerfest we had yesterday. Well, today is my turn to promote my own event and truth be told, I am a lousy self-promoter. I am more than happy to be a cheerleader for collaborative events or events for friends of mine but I get a bout of the shyness when it comes to my own.

As part of a fictional 12-step program to get over this, I am taking the time to promote my own event. Today is the final day of SF Beer Week and I’m closing the festivities with an event I wanted to open up with (stupid Super Bowl!).

I will be hosting a Beer Appreciation 101 class where I talk about the brewing process and the ingredients used in brewing and how they effect brewing as well as tasting a few beers that exemplify these ingredients. I’ve already written about the event in greater detail prior, complete with details. Click here for more information.

In any event, I hope to see some of my readers there!

Just a friendly reminder that our Meat the Brewers beerfest is today at 1pm - 5pm. The weather couldn’t be more perfect! You can find all the event details here. This event has the chance to sell out so arrive early!

Just wanted to remind everyone that the Beer & Cheese Event at Firehouse Brewery in Sunnyvale featuring cheeses from the Milk Pail is tonight! The party starts at 7pm and will run through 10pm, approximately.

Here is a link to all the pertinent information. See you there!

BetterBeerBlog friend Sean Paxton, aka the Homebrew Chef, has asked me to pimp this event out for him. He is a talented, innovative and passionate man and his beer & food events never fail to impress. You can check out his website for full details or just read a little further.

I will add that $98 seems a lot of money for a dinner but 8-courses is a lot of food, especially when specifically paired with 9 can’t-really-find-em-at-your-local-corner-market-liquor-store beers.

Who: Sean Paxton, Firestone Walker Brewing and De Proef Brewing
What: Collaboration: A Beer Dinner featuring Once Chef, Eight Courses, Two Breweries, Nine Beers and You.
Where: Mercedes, 653 Commercial Street, San Francisco, CA map
When: Thursday, February 11, 2010 @ 6:30pm
Why: It’s SF Beer Week… and why the hell not?!
Cost: $98 (inclusive of food, beer and gratuity)

Menu:

Aspall Cuvee Chevallier Double Fermented Cyder

First Course
Local Fromage - Cowgirl creamery Mt. Tam, Humboldt fog goat cheese, dried apricots, cinnamon smoked almonds, malt crackers, Saison Imperiale beer jelly, white pepper infused 30 year old aged honey

De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Signature Ale with Tomme Arthur

Second Course
Union Barrel Smoked  Day Boat Scallops - atop Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale braised Belgian red endive, Les Deux Brasseurs Ale biere blanc and micro herb salsa

De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Les Deux Brasseurs Ale with Jason Perkins

Third Course
IPA Ceviche Margarita - Fresh halibut cured in citrus juices, Union Jack IPA, mangos, red onions, peppers and chilies, topped with an IPA foam

Firestone Walker Union Jack

Forth Course
House-Made Sausage - Sonoma pork, infused with Sauserful of Secrets, thyme, dried fruit and caramelized shallotson a bed of lentils, drizzled with a chorizo amarillo hop oil

Firestone Walker Bourbon Barrel Aged Saucerful of Secrets 2007

Fifth Course
Local Pork Belly - Braised in Zoetzuur Flemish Ale on a bed of parsnip purée, Flemish ale reduction, raddish pickle

De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Van Twee Ale with John Mallet

Sixth Course
Belgian Tamale - Bison short ribs cooked “canronade style” in Van Twee, onions, shallots and thyme
stuffed into a sweet potato masa pillow, Black Xantus TCHO mole, beet foam

Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin

Seventh Course
French Flan - DBA beer caramel topped with dark chocolate Lozen Boer Abt pot de crèmepork fat shortbread cookies, malted mascarpone chantilly cream

Firestone Walker - Double Barrel Ale, 100% Oak Aged on Cask

Eighth Course
My Sweet Valentine - Chocolate truffles made with Pete Slosberg

• Van Twee Ale Caramel in a Dark TCHO Chocolate Shell
• Black Xantus Caramel with TCHO Cocoa Nibs in a Dark TCHO Chocolate Shell
• La Grande Blanche Brittle Infused with Blood Orange and Milk Chocolate in a Dark TCHO Chocolate Shell

Firestone Walker XIII Anniversary Ale

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