BetterBeerBlog

Last Friday night, I had the pleasure of attending the Beer vs. Wine Dinner featuring Stone Brewing Company and Joel Gott Winery, respectively, held at the Duck Club Restaurant. I have never been to an event like this. I support all things craft beer, I’m a craft beer guy, this is what I do. I have never been to a wine pairing dinner before, nor do I present myself as being knowledgeable about wines. I like the occasional glass of vino every so often but then it comes to my liquor, it’s all about craft beer.

Part of being a proponent of craft beer, at least for me, is the interplay that occurs between craft beer and food. Sometimes it’s fine dining, sometimes it’s not. The range of flavors that craft beer has is wide, much wider than wine. It is because of this versatility that I think craft beer has it’s place on the dinner table, and not just as an accompaniment of burgers, hot dogs or pizza.

So, as soon as I learned that this dinner was going down, I immediately made plans to attend. Part of me was curious to see how wine would stack up to food, especially the challenging menu that Duck Club Executive Chef Chuck Courtney put together. A bigger part of me though, was interested in seeing craft beer put the beat down on wine. This was my chance to have all of my culinary beliefs vindicated… or not.

Normally when planning a pairing dinner, wine or beer (or anything really), the culinary staff will do their best to really dial in their dishes with either the beer or wine. After all, you want to put your best foot forward. Also, once they’re done, they’re done - there is no additional tweaking of the beer or wine - so the food is fine tuned.

That being said, there was no “fine-tuning” of the dishes. Chef Courtney basically said this is what we’re making, go back and choose wisely. Neither Stone Brewing or Joel Gott had any feedback into the dishes whatsoever. In addition, the beers and wine to be chosen were limited to products each company produced. While this may sound obvious, they’ve opened up these dinners to the “world of craft beer” or “world of wine” in the past, and if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time this limitation has been put into place. To say this was “exciting” to me would be an understatement.

In the past I would painstakingly review both the food and the beer and relay everything back to this blog. My notes from this dinner are decent, regarding beer and food, but they are downright novice for wine. As knowledgeable as I (like to think I) am about beer, I am inversely so with wine. That being said, I’ll just list my tasting notes regarding the food, my vote on which went “better” with the dish and why, and how the crowd voted (as I was provided with the statistical breakdown). With the stage set, here we go.

Oh, did I mention Greg Koch, CEO and Co-motherf*cking-Founder of Stone Brewing, was in the house? I didn’t? WELL HE WUZ, oh snap!

Appetizers

Food: Chef’s Selection of “Spice Route” Appetizers
Beverage: Stone Pale Ale vs. Joel Gott (JG) Sauvignon Blanc, (California 2009)

Tasting Notes: There were several appetizers out and about. I tried this miniature baked potato as well as a breaded eggplant appetizer but missed out on the bit-sized sandwich. There was no real “winner” for appetizers; some things went better with the wine (sandwich, I hear) and others with the beer (baked potato) while others were a draw (eggplant).

First Course

Food: Crispy Striped Bass and Fresh Scallops, Scallion and Ginger Sauce, Shaanxi Province, China
Beverage: Stone Cali-Belgique vs. JG Riesling (Colombia Valley, Washington, 2009)

Tasting Notes: There is a light bitterness from the greens on the dish that is balanced with the slightly sweet soy sauce-based sauce. Ginger and green onion flavors are prominent without being overbearing. The fish “nuggets” were moist and flavorful although slightly “fishy” while the rice had a neutral character.

• Peter’s Vote: I gave this course to Cali-Belgique all the way. The Cali-Belgique’s yeast-driven flavors echoed many of the flavors in the dish, like the ginger, while the hop bitterness kept the sweetness of the sauce in check. The wine paired well - more complimentary in my opinion - but I felt everything worked better with the beer.
• Crowd Vote: 32-22, overwhelmingly in favor of… the wine! I didn’t see that coming but I can see how a complimentary pairing would add more depth and complexity to the overall experience of the dish.

Second Course

Food: Paneer Samosa, Spiced Cheese and Potato Turnover, Mint-Cilantro Chutney, Northern India
Beverage: Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale vs. JG Chardonnay (Monterey, 2008)

Tasting Notes: Despite the prominent Indian-spice character in the aroma they were well balanced in the flavor. The chutney had a decidedly tart flavor that brightened up the dish. The turnovers themselves were buttery, starchy while the herbed cheese provided another subtle layer of flavor.

• Peter’s Vote: I felt this dish went a lot better with the wine. When consumed all together, the turnover, chutney and wine, seemed to be a better mix of flavors. I would not have thought to pair this dish with a Black IPA but the chutney, with it’s bright acidity, made for a good compliment with the light burnt malt and deep roasty character of the beer. Still, that was just a singular aspect. Mrs. BetterBeerBlog disagreed with me and voted beer.
• Crowd Vote: 26-27 in favor of… beer! Once again, did not see that coming. I’m just zigging while everyone else is zagging. This proved to be the most contested dish of the evening, though not by much.

Third Course

Food: Izgara Kofte, Grilled Lamb Kebabs, Tomato Curry, Istanbul, Turkey
Beverage: Stone Arrogant Bastard vs. JG Zinfandel (Mohr Fry Ranches, Lodi, 2006)

Tasting Notes: The lamb was moist and flavorful, full of intermingled herb and spice flavors while the tomato curry showed a lot of finesse in how it was prepared. From what Chef Courtney told us, the ingredient list for this dish was quite expansive yet nothing is overpowering or dominant; it’s all in balance. The grains seemed to have a neutral character to them that I felt helped balance out the richness of the lamb. It’s interesting for me to note that as the kofte cooled down, it’s “weight” became more apparent and its mouthfeel seemed to thicken up.

• Peter’s Vote: I gave this dish, by the slimmest of margins, to the wine. I really spend a lot of time going back and forth with this dish eating in different combinations. Sip beer first then food. Eat first, sip beer. Sip beer and immediately eat food. Eat food, immediately drink beer. Same thing for wine. At the end, I felt the wine’s acidity, tannic bitterness and higher alcohol helped to ease the richness of the lamb much better than the carbonation and hop bitterness of the beer. Mrs. BetterBeerBlog voted wine as well.
• Crowd Vote: 40-13 in favor of… wine! Apparently the crowd didn’t feel this was as contentious as I did.

Fourth Course

Food: Green Tea Gelato, Pistachio Biscotti, Venice Italy
Beverage: Stone Russian Imperial Stout vs. Terra d’Oro Moscato (Amador County, 2009)

Tasting Notes: The green tea gelato had a lot of green tea flavor (Duh!) without any green tea tannic bitterness; it was also very nutty from the pistachios it was also made with. The pistachio flavors were also carried through in the biscotti as you could see bits of them within while have a bittersweet, dark chocolate component on one side. Both were mildly sweet and, when eaten together, ended up being a layered and complex mix of complimentary flavors and contrasting textures.

• Peter’s Vote: I felt the Russian Imperial Stout was a better pairing with this dish. I had my doubts though as I felt the RIS would’ve been too big, too bold for the mild green tea but I was wrong. I though the RIS provided just enough roasty punch to compliment the green tea and pistachios while echoing the chocolate aspect of the dish. As sweet and syrupy as the Moscato was, I thought it cancelled out the green tea but faded against the chocolate and pistachio flavors of the biscotti. Mrs. BetterBeerBlog also chose beer.
• Crowd Vote: 24-26 in favor of… beer! I was pleasantly surprised by this result.

It’s a tie! Or is it?

I would’ve been happy to have walked a way from this dinner with beer and wine coming to a draw. Even though this dinner was a far cry from the “wine smackdown” I had initially anticipated, it was a lot of fun to have participated and proved to be one of the more memorable dinners I’ve ever been to. In many ways, my feelings about craft beer and food were vindicated; beer’s wide variety of flavors and intensity allow it to be a versatile component in any culinarian’s toolbox.

I learned a lot about wine by going to this dinner as well. I still can’t tell you what the difference between a zinfandel and a pinot noir is but I know that wine’s acidity and tannic bitterness plays a big part in actually cooking with it. Especially the acidity, beer can’t compete on that level, and the beers that do have any measure of acidity must be used wisely as the other flavor components in sour/tart ales are complex and can pose a dilemma when trying to pair or cook with. This dinner almost makes me want to go to a wine pairing dinner. Almost.

But at the end of the day, there must be a winner and a not-so-winner. Seeing as how each beverage tied, each winning 2 courses apiece, the powers that be used total votes counted as the tie-breaker and wine goes home with it’s hand raised high.

Odds and Ends

This section is a bit of “catch all”. Just things I noticed throughout the evening that don’t really fit in anywhere else in the post.

Greg vs. Chris

So I mentioned earlier that Greg Koch of Stone was in the house. I fully expected Dave Hopwood, the green-bearded Stone rep for the greater SF Bay Area, to be representing Stone at this event. Apparently this dinner was just one of several dinners featuring beer vs. wine (wine currently has the edge) and Greg’s been involved in all of them. In case you didn’t already know, Greg is very comfortable with a microphone in hand and I found him to be a witty and charming speaker #NoHomo. Chris (I forgot his hard to pronounce last name) represented Joel Gott Winery. By comparison, Chris looked he could manhandle Greg in a fist fight, clearly outweighing him by at least 30 pounds of grape-crushing muscle #NoHomo. Despite this, he wasn’t nearly as quick as Greg on the microphone. If it makes Greg feel a little better, I give him the inaugural Chael Sonnen Award for smack talk. In all honesty, there was a lot of friendly banter back and forth that helped to set the tone for the evening and helped make a dinner into an event.

Seating

I don’t think this event sold out. With it’s high price point, that doesn’t surprise me. Mrs. BetterBeerBlog and I had to save up our pennies for this dinner, whoo! That being said, we’ve been to several dinners at the Duck Club and we’re starting to see some “regulars” we’re acquainted, if not outright friends, with. I should make it a point to see if we can all get seated at the same table next time.

Execution

I can’t say enough good things about the Duck Club staff. The wait staff was as attentive as ever, without hovering while wines and beers were served in close conjunction with their paired courses. Pouring sizes were appropriate and enough to satisfy.

Chef Courtney and his staff did an excellent job with the food. They had an idea, a concept, that they executed perfectly. Each course represented their countries of origin well yet I think I could see Chef’s influence on each dish as he made them his own. Because this dinner was beer vs. wine, let the best “suggeston” win, the food was allowed to stand on it’s own and was actually “belle of the ball” with two suitors vying for “her” attention. Many people, who I’ve seen at these dinners repeatedly, echoed this same sentiment and went even further to suggest this was some of the best dishes put out by Chef Courtney. Kudos to Chef and his staff!

Looking Forward to the Future

While I know that the Duck Club will be hosting more of these types of events, I wanted to note that Woodside Hotels, the group that owns the Lafayette Park Hotel and the Duck Club by extension, have started renovations at their Stanford Park Hotel location. In speaking with Josh, a Woodside Hotel executive, he says that once renovations are complete, they plan to bring these types of events to the Peninsula/South Bay. I am all over this and I can’t wait.

I have a growing appreciation for Chef Courtney, and everyone affiliated with the Duck Club and the Lafayette Park Hotel, but Lafayette is quite the drive for us. Having their Stanford Park Hotel location hosting these same type of events would help in further establishing a craft beer culture on the Peninsula/South Bay that I already support. Not only that, but Mrs. BetterBeerBlog and I wouldn’t have to leave work early in order to arrive on time for dinner. Josh, who happens to be a South Bay resident himself, agrees as well. As soon as I hear something, you’ll be hearing something. You never know, I just might have a hand in planning one of these things *HintHintWinkWinkNudgeNudge*

Below is a slideshow of some pictures we took that night. There’s no audio or musical score so don’t be surprised if you don’t hear anything. Also, I’d like to thank Mike C. for providing some of the photos featured in the slideshow and in the blog. You can definitely tell which shots are his: they’re super clear and crisp, unlike my camera phone.

Author: The Rabid Brewer

I’ve mentioned the Northern California Homebrewers Festival (NCHF) in a previous post.

Just a quick note to let you know that if you’re thinking about attending, now is the time to buy your tickets. Advance sale ends today and the price goes from $45  to $55 tomorrow. You can sign up online at www.nchfinfo.org

A note from Paul Keefer, NCHF Officer of Registration:

It is always a great time……. sampling beer from other clubs, hanging out with fellow homebrewers and sampling a variety of tasty food, great speakers and a phenomenal raffle (a chance to win a MoreBeer! 14 gallon conical fermenter.) You can find more info at the NCHF website. Hope to see you there.

Cheers!
Brian

Author: The Rabid Brewer

One of the year’s largest gatherings of homebrewers is happening this September in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada when the Northern California Homebrewers Festival (NCHF) celebrates its 13th year.

The Festival takes place at Lake Francis Resort in Dobbins (near Marysville) where the entire campground is reserved for festival goers. (The resort also has a limited number of cabins available.) This year promises a packed event with less than 100 sites still available out of 350 total. It’s expected the event will sell out by the end of the month.

A full schedule of activities is planned including live music, raffles, nationally recognized speakers, a club only homebrew competition, and a Friday Night Brewers Dinner.  And, what kind of beer festival would it be without beer? Rest assured that the festival will be literally overflowing with homebrew from clubs and individuals alike.

Every year the Festival follows a theme and this year it is Eastern Europe. Expect many clubs to have booths following the theme, but as with past festivals, anything goes!

Clubs often spend months planning to make a good showing at the festival and will pull out all the stops to have a creative display and plenty of homebrew on tap. Clubs also compete in the club-only competition and this year the featured styles are Baltic Porter and Bohemian Pilsner.

The only downside of this year’s festival is that it occurs on the same dates as this year’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF). Unfortunately that means no NCHF for me. These two events don’t always overlap and organizers try hard so that they wont. But, due to having to make firm commits on reservations for the festival before the GABF dates are announced, there is always the possibility of a conflict such as happened this year.

The other minor effect of this overlap is that Sean Paxton the Homebrew Chef (who in the past has prepared the Friday Night Beer Dinner) will instead be off at GABF. I doubt that will prevent NCHF from having tons of excellent food though. Check out the menu on their site.

If you’re a homebrewer looking for an amazing event to be a part of, you can’t go wrong with NCHF. Check out their website for complete information and to see more photos of past events (from which all photos in this post were gleaned.)

Update - Received this via email this morning regarding the inventory at the Hop Yard.

The 2010 hops harvest is almost at an end!  We had a small harvest of Centennial this year and most of that went to a few brewers wanting wet hops – it’s gone!   We had a GREAT harvest of Cascade – we have 51ounces that is dried and vacuum packed, and more being dried.  Same for Chinook and Nugget – about 30 ounces of each already dried and vacuum packed.  We are still harvesting and expect to be doing that thru this weekend, so if anyone is interested in wet hops (Chinook and Nugget still on the bines), you can come for a visit and pick some up.

A little over a week ago, I arranged to visit a small, organic hop yard in Gilroy owned and operated by the father and son team of Dennis and Jared, respectively. I received the tip from a fellow BJCP judge and homebrewer via email and immediately followed up. A hop yard? In Gilroy? Consider my interest piqued.

Now, I’m not really one to get all that excited about hops. I’ve been growing hops of my own for the past 3 years so I’m pretty familiar with the plants. Every day when I wake up, I look out the window and this is what I see.

Regardless, as soon as I pull into the driveway of Dennis’ home, I feel goosebumps race down my neck as I see the hop yard in the distance. Part of me is in awe of hops being grown in a much larger scale. Another part is just beaming with pride. San Jose, and south (Santa Clara) county has never been accused of being a craft beer mecca, so to see something so “craft beer” in my neck of the woods is empowering in a way.

Dennis and Jared’s hop yard contains approximately 60 plants made up of Cascade, Chinook, Centennial and Nugget varietals. Dennis gives us the grand tour as his son Jared is up on the tall ladder harvesting Chinook cones. Many of the bines are bare as Dennis and Jared had already harvested many of the hops. The remaining Chinook would be completely harvested in a few more days while the Cascades are still developing. I ask Dennis how he knows when to harvest the hops. Dennis pulls off a few cones that are ready to be harvested and gives them to us for inspection. “Feel how papery they are? That’s when they’re ready,” says Dennis. Jared, having come down from his ladder, shows us a few cones that aren’t yet ready. “See how solid these still feel?” asks Jared. The cones he gives me, by comparison, are denser, more moist and slightly heavier than the cones Dennis showed me.”These should be ready in about a week,” predicts Jared.

The trellis system, researched and designed by Dennis, is comprised of 15 foot tall poles from which airplane wire was strung across. Pullys, attached via electrical ties, were strategically placed every few feet or so to allow the bines to be easily lowered or raised during harvest time. Unfortunately, the ropes derail from the pulley wheel easily. The actual pulleys themselves don’t stay put, the slightest breeze can pull, or push, them along the lines, further complicating the functionality.

“I thought I was the first person to think of using pulleys to raise and lower the bines for harvesting,” explains Dennis. “Then my wife comes home and shows me a photo of someone already using the system.”

Dennis limits a single bine per vertical line. It’s a never ending battle to keep trimming the new growth back as well as de-weeding the immediate area of the hop yard. At home, we use twine as a support for the hop bines to grow on. It’s not really the strongest material to use but our bines don’t grow any taller than about 8 feet before they start to fall back to earth. I am surprised to find Dennis using the same twine, although he’s not exactly thrilled by it. “The weight of the bines, sometimes, is just too much,” explains Dennis. “The twine snaps and the bines fall”.

I pull a hop cone off a nearby bine. Gently pulling it apart, I see the yellow lupulin within the interior of the cone. It is fresh and fragrant; the resin makes my fingertips sticky. Jared does the same only to start only to put the hop cone in his mouth to eat. I am slightly surprised as I have never seen anyone eat a hop cone before. I follow suit and find the raw hop to be as bitter as new, evergreen tips. The aroma and hop flavor are intense. My burps for the rest of the evening smell of hops.

“So why hops?” asks Mrs. BetterBeerBlog. She takes the question right out of my mouth. I notice on the drive to the hop yard that many of the nearby homes have personal vineyards. It seems to be the “in” thing to do for people with a lot of land. “Hunting,” comes the unexpected reply. Both father and son are avid hunters. Growing and selling hops is just a way for them to help finance their out of state hunting trips. “The original idea was to sell hops to the local microbreweries,” says Dennis. “But selling to the homebrewers has been a lot of fun. I think we’re just going to stick to that”.

Surprisingly, neither Dennis or Jared homebrew, at least for the time being. Roger St. Denis, the homebrewer who initially emailed me the information about the Dennis and Jared hop yard, has all but convinced Dennis to take on homebrewing. “I just gotta make some room in the garage,” says Dennis.

I ask Dennis if he dries the hops before selling and he does. There is no sophisticated hop drying machine, just several screens arranged in the sun-facing bedrooms. The finished hops are packed in 1-ounce packages and vacuum sealed before being stored in a freezer. Prices are range from $4.25 - $4.50 $5.10 an ounce dry, plus shipping. If they’re able to completely sell out of their harvest this year, Dennis and Jared will have pocketed a very modest profit. Very modest.

Despite this, Dennis has plans to try and double the size of his hop yard. “Any bigger than that?” I ask. “Nope. We’ll just add in a second trellis system and leave it at that,” replies Dennis. Continually awed by the plants, Dennis hopes to add in Amarillo and Simcoe varietals to his hop yard next season. It’s a move I might duplicate myself.

Mrs. BetterBeerBlog and I leave impressed and optimistic. In the span of just 2 years, Dennis and his son Jared have shown that hops can be grown in this area to a large degree of success. While it is a lot of work, I get the feeling the rewards Dennis is reaping go beyond the monetary. I have found the homebrewing community to be friendly, open and welcoming and I think Dennis has too.

Speaking of homebrewing, at the time of our visit a week ago, Dennis said that there is about a 2-3 week window, at the most, where fresh hops will still be available for homebrewers looking to make a wet hop beer. If you’re interested, you can contact Dennis to make arrangements to pick up the hops. I’ve listed their contact information at the end of this post.

Contact Information:

Email: dandjhops[at]gmail[dot]com
Phone: (408) 847 4682

The venerable yet divey Toronado, arguably the epicenter of craft beer in San Francisco, is having their 23rd Anniversary Party this Saturday. Many businesses are nowadays are happy to make it to their 3rd anniversary let alone a 23rd. In honor of the occasion, they’re throwing a party with drink specials all day. I’ve only seen a few tweets here and there but it sounds like they’re going to have a lot of special beers pouring that day. Too bad we can’t make it. Here are the details:

Who: Toronado
What: 23rd Anniversary Party
Where: 547 Haight, San Francisco, CA, 94117 map
When: Saturday, August 14, 2010 (all day)
Cost: Free to get in, just pay for your beers

K&L Wine Merchants Special Tasting - Saisons & Sours

In case Toronado was out of the question for you, K&L Wine Merchants in Redwood City is having a special tasting of their own. Brought to my attention by The Rabid Brewer himself, this event promises to be pretty special in it’s own right. Here are the details:

Who: K&L Wine Merchants
What: Special Saturday Tasting
Where: 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA, 94061 map
When: Saturday, August 14, 2010 @ 1pm - 4pm
Cost: $10 (Holy crap that’s a good deal!)

Beer list (subject to change if the sell out of one thing or another):

• Brouwerij De Ranke “Saison De Dottignies” Saison, Belgium 330ml $4.49
• Green Flash Brewing Company “Summer Saison” Saison, California 22oz $7.99
• Nøgne-Ø Saison, Norway 500ml $8.49
• Odonata Beer Company Saison, California 22oz $5.99
• Valley Brewing Company “Decadence” Pomegranate Saison, California 22oz $6.49
• Brasserie Trois Dames Oud Bruin, Switzerland 750ml $19.99
• Hanssens “Experimental Raspberry” Lambic, Belgium 12.7oz $15.99
• Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek, Belgium 375ml $11.99
• Haandbryggeriet “Haandbakk” Wild Ale, Norway 500ml $10.99
• Brasserie Cantillon Classic Gueuze, Belgium 750ml $17.99
• Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales “La Roja” Wild Ale, Michigan 750ml $12.99
• Telegraph Brewing Company “Reserve Wheat Ale” Ale Brewed With Lemon Verbena, California 750ml $10.99

While I would love to make it to either/both of these events, I can’t. I have a little shindig I’m throwing on Saturday that I may have to cancel because of some health issues I’m currently going through. Here’s to hoping the whole weekend doesn’t go down in one, vertigo induced faceplant.

The title says it all, beer vs. wine; Stone Brewing Company vs. Joel Gott Wines. If there’s one beer dinner that you simple must go to, it’s this one. A bit of hyperbole? Possibly, but you can’t deny the premise of the dinner is extraordinary. I have argued for some time now of beer’s rightful place at the dinner table. When compared to wine, beer is automatically the more complex of the two beverages because it take more ingredients to make beer. Beer also has a wider variety of flavors and intensities when compared to wine. In my humble opinion, beer is the superior beverage.

That being said, this dinner is the perfect opportunity to see if everything I’ve been preaching is true, or at least close. To wet your whistles even further, this dinner will be a contest, literally pitting beer versus wine. Here’s an excerpt from the eBlast I received:

Stone Brewing Company and its co-founder Greg Koch will represent the beer side of the debate against Joel Gott of Joel Gott Winery, to determine which beverage pairs best with a specially prepared “Marco Polo Spice Route” menu.

During the four-course meal, each dish will be paired with a Joel Gott wine selection and a Greg Koch-chosen beer. Once the diners try both the beer and wine, they’ll fill out a scorecard, and results will be tabulated and announced at the end of the dinner.

Fun, fun, fun! Here are the details:

Who: The Duck Club Restaurant
What: Wine (Joel Gott Winery) vs. Beer (Stone Brewing Company) Dinner at the Duck Club Restaurant
Where: 3287 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette, CA 94549 map
When: Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 6:30pm (hors d’oeuvres), 7:00pm (dinner)
Cost: $99/person (exclusive of tax & gratuity). Call 925-283-7108 to make your reservations.

Menu - Marco Polo Spiced Route

Appetizers

Chef’s Selection of “Spice Route” Appetizers

First Course

Crispy Striped Bass and Fresh Scallops, Scallion and Ginger Sauce, Shaanxi Province, China

Second Course

Paneer Samosa, Spiced Cheese and Potato Turnover, Mint-Cilantro Chutney, Northern India

Third Course

Izgara Kofte, Grilled Lamb Kebabs, Tomato Curry, Istanbul, Turkey

Fourth Course

Green Tea Gelato, Pistachio Biscotti, Venice Italy

Cafe & Exotic Teas to round out the evening.

I am excited by the fact that this seems to be a “concept” menu. Chef Chuck Courtney seemed to have been inspired by the spice routes of antiquity and it’s always interesting to see how the execution compares to the idea. You’ll also notice that there are no listed beer or wine pairings, so everyone in attendance will have no preconceptions coming into the dinner about what will work and what won’t. Whooo… exciting!

Mrs. BetterBeerBlog and I will be making our reservations for this event soon and we hope that more people will be joining us as I think this will be a memorable event.

This weekend is shaping up to be epic with regards to craft beer and mead. Here’s a brief list of things happening this weekend:

Friday

First Fridays at Drakes Brewing Company

Drakes Brewing Company has reintroduced First Fridays. Here are the details:

Who: Drakes Brewing Company
What: First Friday Tastings
Where: 1933 Davis Street, Building 177, San Leandro, CA 94577 (their tucked away behind Walmart) map
When: Friday, August 6, 2010 @ 4pm - 8pm
Cost:

• $5 per person voluntary donation, to the non-profit organization we are supporting, at the gate. (Children with their parents free)
• $15 for a Drake’s tasting glass and 3 tokens for 3 full pours. Additional tokens can be purchased separately ($3.50 each, with net proceeds going to the non-profit)
• Great food available for purchase

Notes: Drakes will be pouring their Aroma Prieta IPA, Bass Akwards IPA & Hopocalypse IPA.

Growler Fills at Devils Canyon Brewing

Not really a special event, per se, but another option for craft beer starved people

Who: Devil’s Canyon Brewing
What: Growler Fills
Where: 111 Industrial Way, Belmont, CA 94002 map
When: Friday, August 6, 2010 @ 4pm - 6pm
Cost: No cost to go, just pay for the beer you want.

Firkin Fridays at Tied House Brewing Company

Tied House has been tapping firkins on Fridays for several months now.

Who: Tied House Brewing Company
What: Firkin Fridays
Where: 954 Villa Street, Mountain View, CA 94041 map
When: Friday, August 6, 2010 @ 5pm
Cost: No cost to go, just pay for the beer you want.

Notes: These firkins are usually tapped by a special guest. Sometimes they get it right in one shot, sometimes they don’t. Fun either way.

Saturday

The Bistro 13th Annual IPA Festival

I wrote a post about this event a little earlier in the week. You can view full details here.

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Anniversary Party

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers is having their 13th Anniversary party at their brewery this weekend as well.

Who: Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
What: 13th Anniversary Celebration
Where: 1195 Evans Avenue San Francisco, CA 94124 map
When: Saturday, August 7, 2010 @ 2pm - 7pm
Cost: No admission but I think you’ll have to pay for drink tokens.

Notes: They will be releasing their special Anniversary beer, Midnight Run India Black Ale (IBA).

Mead-making Demonstration with Micah Dubinko

Saturday is also Mead Day. Mead Day was started in 2002 and is a way to foster community, camaraderie between mead-makers while growing awareness for mead. What is mead? Well go to this event and find out!

Who: More Beer! (Flavor) homebrew shop
What: Mead-making Demonstration & Tasting featuring Micah Dubinko
Where: 991 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA 94022 map
When: Saturday, August 7, 2010 @ 2pm - 4pm
Cost: $10 donation to cover the costs of honey, yeast and light snacks. Seating is limited so please RSVP to this event by sending an email to Micah Dubinko at mdubinko@yahoo.com.

Sunday

As if there wasn’t enough beer and mead going around on Friday and Saturday, I will be hosting a Sunday Beer School, featuring American Craft Beer, at Wine Affairs. Details below:

Who: Wine Affairs
What: Sunday Beer School - A hosted tasting of 6 American Craft Beers
Where: 1435 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126 map
When: Sunday, August 8, 2010 @5pm - 6pm
Cost: $20/pp, call 408-977-0111 to make your reservation today! Walk-ins also welcome.

In case I forgot to mention any other events, feel free to add the details in the comments section. I hope to see some of you at a few of these events. Have fun!

Just a quick post to announce an upcoming beer festival, one of the region’s stalwarts, actually. If you’re a hop head, you’re definitely going to want to come to this one. Details below:

Who: The Bistro
What: 13th Annual IPA Festival
Where: 1001 B Street, Hayward, CA 94541 map
When: Saturday, August 7, 2010, all day
Cost: $30/pp - Commemorative tasting glass and 5 tasting tickets included

Notes: There will be 50+ IPAs on tap!

I hope to see some of you there!

This is going to be a relatively short post. I just wanted to thank everyone who came on through for the Sunday Beer School - Beer Basics class. There are a lot of options on how you could spend your Sunday afternoon, especially with the gorgeous weather we had yesterday, and I appreciate you took the time to spend it with us at Wine Affairs. I wish I had photos to post but I completely forgot to take some until after the session was over! Next time!

If you happened to remember my blog URL and are reading this, I would appreciate any feedback you can give me. I am open to constructive criticism and will to my best to learn from, and improve upon, based from the feedback I get. You can email me at betterbeerblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Click here to view all the upcoming Sunday Beer School Classes. Next week we’ll be going over American Craft Beer! I look forward to seeing many of you again.

It’s very late notice, I know, but Faultline Brewing Company is having a fundraiser today. I wanted to post this up a little earlier but I didn’t receive the information until a few minutes ago.

Who: Faultline Brewing Company & Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics
What: Tip-A-Cop® Fundraising Event
Where: Faultline Brewing Company, 1235 Oakmead Parkway, Sunnyvale, CA 94085 map
When: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 @11:30am - 2pm
Why: Fundraiser for Special Olympics. It’s beer for a good cause, people.