Better Beer Blog

I’ve been making it a point to search out breweries or brew pubs that I’ve never been too. It’s always interesting to see how each one is run, how they’re put together and, most importantly, how good their beers are. Seeing that I was going to be in San Francisco for the week at a conference, I decided to hit Thirsty Bear Brewing Company since it was within walking distance from Moscone West.

Thirst Bear Brewing Company (Thirsty Bear) is pretty non-descript from the outside. They have a sign that’s easily read from the road but their façade isn’t that wide. The most memorable thing about their location is that they’re often referred to as being “across the street from the Gold Club”.

I walked in and got a seat at the bar. Thirsty Bear has a well designed interior that is modern, spacious, industrial and warm all at the same time. In many ways, it reminds me of Gordon Biersch in downtown San Jose. Behind the long bar is the brewery portion separated from the restaurant by what looks like Plexiglas. All of their beers are written above the bar on individual chalkboards. Some of their beer carry are thematically named to match the name of the brewery as well as allude to what style of beer you’d be having. For instance, they have Polar Bear Lager and Brown Bear Ale. Not all of them are named in such a manner but it works out well.

Surprisingly, it’s a 50/50 chance that I’ll know more about beer and the brewing process than most of the people who work at brew pubs. For most people, it’s just a job, something that pays the bills. After some time, I’ve stopped expecting the people who work at a brew pub to know about their products in any great detail. So you can imagine my surprise when Patrick, the bartender, ends up knowing as much if not more about beer than me. Really, that’s how it’s supposed to be. I enjoy going to brew pubs where the people know more than me. It gives me an opportunity to learn.

Patrick, who used to work as the head sous chef at a brewery in Arizona, mentions they have a “Black Bear” schwartzbier on tap as their seasonal. Seasonal beers are great in the sense that they are usually fresh and tend to be more interesting than the regular beers on tap.

Thirsty Bear’s Black Bear schwartzbier pours an opaque black. The head is tan, not long lasting but leaves some nice lacing on the glass. The aroma is roasty and clean. As the beer warms up, sweet malt aromas start to show up in the bouquet. How a beer smells is a very good precursor to how it will taste and this was no exception. Roasty, grainy notes hit my palette first followed by coffee-like flavors characteristics. Hop flavor and bitterness is low, just enough to remind me this is still a beer. Black Bear is medium bodied with medium-low carbonation and a dry, clean finish. I found the beer to be good tasting, refreshing for a roasty beer with characteristic lager finish.

Based upon Patrick’s recommendation, I order the hangar steak burger. When my sandwich arrives, I find the steak to be on the pink side but that’s just how I like it. While I didn’t take much notes on the steak, I did try it with the Black Bear schwartzbier and found the flavor combination to be a pleasant one. The char on the steak was echoed more prominently by the roastiness of the beer. The only thing that threw me off was the inclusion of the blue cheese in the burger. As you may (or may not) know, blue cheese has a very distinct flavor, it’s strong and rustic yet tasty. I found the blue cheese overwhelmed the burger a little and overpowered the beer. Had I known, I’d have ordered the burger with the blue cheese on the side. On the plus side, the garlic fries were extra crispy but not overwhelmingly garlicy.

When I first got to the bar, one of the chalkboard signs above mentioned “cask-conditioned beers $3” on Tuesday. Lucky for me, it was Tuesday. The guy who set up the firkin was the same guy who poured Thirsty Bear’s offering at the Firkin Festival in Berkeley a few weeks back. Similar to then, the cask-conditioned beer was their Kozlov Vanilla Stout.

The Kozlov Vanilla Stout poured out black, with a long lasting tan head. Good lacing was left behind as it slowly dissipated. I was getting roasty notes from the aroma, not unlike the schwartzbier, only more so. The vanilla, placed directly into the firkin to soak for about two weeks, played a more subtle role and was in the background of the beer’s aroma. I was picking up roasty flavors as well as a strong chocolaty character. The vanilla, once again, played a supporting role. I’d like to think that the vanilla actually reinforced the chocolate notes I was getting in the flavor. As the beer warmed up, I started to pick up some wood flavors and aroma but to Patrick’s knowledge, no wood was used in the maturing of this beer. Despite being low in carbonation, the vanilla stout had a creamy, smooth mouthfeel with a moderately low level of roasted grain sharpness. Although I did notice a slight tartness in this beer, a characteristic that is both uncommon and usually unwanted. Overall, I found this beer to have good flavor and subtlety while remaining drinkable.

Thirsty Bear is a good brew pub with good food and knowledgeable staff. I was only able to try three of their beers, two of which I took tasting notes on. If those three are any indication of the rest of their beers, then I can safely say Thirsty Bear Brewing Company makes good beer. With the exception of the vanilla stout, there was nothing exceptional about their beers, which could be a double edged sword. On hand, I doubt anyone would be disappointed with any of their offerings. On the other hand, there was nothing ultra-memorable about them. I would attribute this to the type of crowd they service. Like me, most are corporate types or convention goers out on lunch. We corporate types aren’t necessarily the most demanding of beer aficionados so these well crafted beers are easy drinking hoping to appeal to a wide audience. I can respect that. Given Thirsty Bear’s geography and proximity to many business it would be bad business to brew aggressive beers that appeal only to “hardcore” beer lovers and not the casual beer drinker.

One thing I forgot to mention was that Thirsty Bear’s beers are certified organic. This means all their beers’ raw ingredients have come from producers who practice sustainable farming and who don’t use any chemicals in the farming of their crops. So, if you find yourself over in San Francisco attending a convention at the Moscone Center, I would recommend Thirsty Bear Brewing Company for some finely crafted, certified organic beers and food.