This post is a little late, so I apologize to both my sister and Jester King Craft  Brewery. But regardless, better late than never. Right?

I’m really excited to have a “guest” writer on my site for this post. And I am particularly excited because this writer is also my younger (only) sister. The most ironic part about the whole thing is that my sister doesn’t actually drink beer… and rarely, if ever, drinks alcohol.

Now I know what you are thinking, how on earth are we related? Let’s just say, it happens…

Anyways, my sister and her best friend from high school have a long distance baking blog called, The Daily Bread. And although she doesn’t actually drink beer, my sister likes to bake bread with it.

In January, she wrote me an email saying, “It’s also sad that I was planning on going to a brewery opening just because I want to use one of their beers to make bread with…” Which is cute, yet depressing. Not looking to pass up an opportunity I responded to her, “Haha… well you should go to the brewery opening and take pics and scope out the scene for me. You could be a field reporter for my blog. Don’t worry about tasting notes, just provide photos. And I can write up a little doo-da.”

Well, she ended up writing the doo-da as well. And here it is, the “scoop” on Jester King Craft Brewery in Austin, TX (according to the Wench’s non-drinking sister):

Went to the Jester King Brewery Opening today with Patrick and Matt.  There were probably around 2000 people there, what a zoo! Live bands, a beard contest, brewery tours etc.

There should be info about all the beer we tasted on the site.

Patrick liked the Boxers Revenge (A Farmhouse Provision Ale described on the website as being: Full-flavored, dry, champagne-like farmhouse ale, dry-hopped with floral, citrusy, Cascade and Centennial hops and re-fermented in French oak wine barrel with wild yeast. One to keep around!) best. It was citrusy, bright and very highly carbonated (sort of like Champagne). He said it was very delicious.

We also tasted Commercial Suicide which neither one of us was a huge fan of, and not Matt either. It tasted smokey and like coffee. (Described on the website as a Oaked English Mild — A true “session beer”, Commercial Suicide is an authentic English dark mild with notes of caramel, coffee and chocolate. A portion of each batch is aged in medium toast American oak barrels, lending very subtle toasted, oaky notes to the finished beer.)

We also tried the Wytchmaker Rye IPA which was very bitter, reddish in color and very hoppy.

There was a classic car show and way many more people than they had expected. I would say you should get in touch with the brew master because Matt and Patrick both agreed that this beer was far superior to what we had the other night at the North by Northwest Brewery in ATX and also the Draught House now has a few of their beers on tap… seems like it will be an Austin Craft Brew Favorite.

Special thanks to my little field reporter, Becca Routson, for her awesome photography and insight into Jester King Craft Brewery. I look forward to visiting both her and the brewery in Austin, hopefully very soon!

CHEERS!

ABOUT JESTER KING CRAFT BREWERY

Located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country,Located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, Jester King Craft Brewery is an authentic farmhouse brewery committed to brewing artisan ales of great depth and character. At times drawing influences from the world beyond traditional brewers’ yeast, Jester King’s beer is not rushed to market but allowed to mature – often in oak barrels – to create the most enjoyable, interesting and exciting beer we can make. An additional layer of complexity is added to Jester King’s bottled beers by allowing a second fermentation to take place in the bottle. As part of its commitment to sustainability, the slow food movement and Texas, Jester King beer uses as many organic and local ingredients as possible and will soon be brewed with harvested rainwater.

Follow @jesterkingbeer on Twitter!

Fan Jester King Craft Brewery on Facebook!

Wow. I am super lame. It only took me like a month to edit film I took during the Black Star Beer Barter in Whitefish, Montana. Now granted, I did recently start a new job. And then there was the insanity known as SF Beer Week. And I’m sure I can come up with a million other excuses of WHY it took me so long, but that is neither here nor there since I finally put it together.

I must throw out a little disclaimer, though. I am not a videographer. Not at all. So it is what it is. But, I can say that I had a blast at the barter (even though I did get in trouble by the fire department for hanging off the roof). The contestants were super creative, funny and the whole show was entertaining. The people who won were just over the top amazing… and I wish I had footage (or the recording) so that y’all could here the radio commercials that they created. Seriously, hil-f*ing-larious.

So without any further ado…

Black Star Beer Barter Recap from The Beer Wench on Vimeo.

San Francisco Beer Week 2011 happens to be extremely exciting for me this year, for several reasons. I recently brewed a collaboration beer called Ryedentity Crisis with Knee Deep Brewing Company and Devil’s Canyon Brewing Co. that will be exclusively available to at select accounts in the Bay Area this week. Also, I am now gainfully employed with a local brewery, which means I will be supporting them at several events. Lots of great beer will be poured all over the bay over the next few days, and I intend on drinking as much of it as physically possible. Here is a breakdown of where you can find me this week:

MONDAY — February 14th

What: “De Proef” Night.
Place: Beer Revolution (3rd st and Broadway, downtown Oakland)
Time: 6PM
Description: Largest selection of De Proef, Terrapin, and Allagash beers to have ever been poured in one location.

WEDNESDAY — February 16th

What: Bison Organic Beer Dinner
Place: Gracias Madre (2211 Mission St, San Francisco)
Time: 7-11pm
Description: Four course farm fresh organic Mexican dinner with beer pairings by Berkeley brewmaster Dan Del Grande. $60, call ahead for reservations.

THURSDAY — February 17th

What: Meet the Brewers: East Bay Brewer’s Night
Place: Barclay’s Restaurant and Pub (Oakland)
Time: 6-10pm
Description: Join for the best of the East Bay. Brewers and beers from the East Bay. Come by to meet, greet and toast.

FRIDAY — February 18th

What: Meet the Brewer Nights
Place: Beer Revolution (Oakland)
Who: Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker
When: 6-10pm
Who: Brian Hunt of Moonlight Brewing Company
When: 8-11pm

SATURDAY — February 19th

What: WHOLE Pig Beer Dinner
Place: Cafe Biere (Emeryville)
Time: 6-10pm
Description: Ivan is going to cook two organically raised pigs in various ways, using Bison Organic Beer as an ingredient for some dishes. 4 different styles of Bison Beers will be available, including Bison’s highly anticipate Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Brown Ale. Cost: $100 per person, call to RSVP.

This past weekend, Black Star Beer played gracious host to its staff, partners (graphic designers, clients, distributors etc.) and myself. Upon arriving on Friday night, Black Star beer surprised all of us with a beer dinner.

I have attended and even hosted several beer dinners and beer pairings events, with each and every one being unique and special in its own regard. But I must admit that this particular dinner was one of the most unique and intimate I’ve experienced to date. Black Star lined up a super long banquet table right on the brewery floor next to the fermenters. The normal lights were turned off and the brewery was lit by candles and soft spotlights that illuminated the fermenters.

Aside from myself, the owner, brewmasters and maybe a few others — most of the group had never attended a beer dinner before. And many of them weren’t even familiar with the concept. Observing everyone’s reactions and expressions during the dinner was probably my highlight. Don’t get me wrong, the food and beer experience was amazing. But what was even more amazing was watching people experience the perfect synergy between beer and food for the first time. And I guarantee it will not be the last.

As with most food and beer related events that I attend, I often find myself too preoccupied with taking pictures of my food, taking notes on the pairings, as well as instantly posting my pictures and descriptions to Facebook and Twitter. One would assume that I would know better by now that half of the beer dinner experience is living in the moment and engaging with others and not living virtually on electronics and mobile devices.

I was once told at a really fancy beer dinner, “Funny how ANTI-social social media makes you, huh Ashley?” Touche my friend, touche.

Not familiar with my addiction to social media and incessant need to post everything I eat and drink, my surrounding neighbors were slightly confused by my obsessive-compulsive picture taking behaviors and lack of social engagement with the group. But this all changed once they realized who I was, why I was there, and what I was actually doing. However, the group was too lively and engaging for me to bury my head down in my laptop and phone and so, even before the first course was finished, I retired my mobile devices and virtual realm and joined the real life excitement.

The dinner itself was extremely impressive. It consisted of 5 courses, each paired with a different Great Northern Brewing Company beer. My notes are as follows….

FIRST COURSE
Ancho seared flank steak with an espresso mole sauce served on a sweet potato fritter paired with FRED’S BLACK LAGER.

Paring notes: The chocolate and coffee malt notes in Fred’s Black Lager complimented the espresso and cacao of the mole sauce while the light dry body of the lager helped to cut the spice from the ancho and balanced the heaviness of the dish. The sweetness of the fried sweet potato enhanced the malt character of the beer, but the light dry body of the beer cut the fat and oil. The overall earthiness of the dish paired really well with the roasted flavors in the beer. This was definitely a hit in my book.

SECOND COURSE
Spinach salad with goat cheese, orange supremes and candied pecans tossed with a honey-lemon poppyseed dressing paired with WHEATFISH WHEAT LAGER

Pairing notes: To start, I must admit that this was my first experience with a wheat lager. The texture and flavor of the beer was similar to wheat beers brewed with ale yeast, but the esters were not the same (actually, there were no esters). The beer was uniquely clean. As for the pairing, this was definitely a slam dunk. The salad, like the beer, was light, fruity and slight tart. This was an extremely refreshing pairing — one that I wouldn’t mind enjoying on a daily basis!

THIRD COURSE
Coconut-red curried shrimp soup garnished with fresh cilantro and peanuts paired with GOING TO THE SUN IPA.

Pairing notes: OMFG (really, it was that good). The soup was creamy and rich, without being too heavy. The heat from the curry was softened by hints of coconut milk and cooled by the cilantro. The crunch of the peanuts added a nice texture. The IPA was beautifully balanced, mostly pale malt base with a bit of crystal for coloring with Cascade and Centennial hops used for flavor and aroma. I’m a big advocate of pairing IPAs with spicy food. The pairing could not have been any more on spot.

Side note: As a student of beer, my latest preoccupation and obsession has been learning about hops and how they affect the flavor and aroma of beer. My favorite game to play is “name that hop.” And more and more these days, I also have been playing “guess the malt bill.” After tasting Going To The Sun for the first time, I wanted to take a shot at both games. (I think I scared the brewmasters a bit by bombarding them with questions.) I missed one of the hops (I said Chinook instead of Centennial), but other than that I wasn’t too far off.

FOURTH COURSE
Jerk chicken breast over black beans and rice with jicama slaw and pineapple salsa paired with BLACK STAR DOUBLE HOPPED GOLDEN LAGER

Pairing notes: This pairing was a fiesta on the tongue. The acidity from the pineapple salsa and the earthiness from the rice and beans were nice compliments to the heat from the jerk chicken. The beer was light-bodied, but extremely flavorful for a pale lager. Overall, the Black Star lager was definitely the star of the pairing, bringing a nice malty sweetness that complimented all the flavors of the dish.

FIFTH COURSE

Chocolate and cheese platter with smoked sea salt chocolate, bacon chocolate, aged swiss cheese, and manchengo paired with SNOWGHOST WINTER LAGER.

(Pardon the picture, I totally missed the ball on taking a pic of the last dish. This is a pic of the Yeti “Beer Wench” who snuck into the brewery during our dinner and was gracious enough to refill our glasses…)

Pairing notes: Can one really go wrong when pairing chocolate, cheese and beer? The bacon chocolate was absolutely amazing, but then, we all know that the Wench is obsessed with bacon. The SnowGhost winter lager was one of my favorite beers of the night, rich roasted malt flavors and slight hints of coffee — an excellent beer to pair with chocolate.

Whereas the food and the beers were great, it was the energy of the guests that really made the dinner special. Speeches were made, and lots of cheering, hooting and hollering happened all night long. Every single person at the event was happy to be there and extremely proud to work for or with Black Star.

Needless to say, I was a little blown away by the experience. And I was more than blown away with the rockstar treatment I received. The Black Star crew treated me as one of their own, always making sure I had a beer in my hand and constantly checking in to make sure I was doing okay.

Good people. Good food. Good beer. What more could a girl want in life?

CHEERS!

One of the great perks to writing a blog is having the complete creative freedom to write about whatever you want, however you want. By now, most of you are probably aware of my rather opinionated approach to beer writing. And when I get excited about something, it is hard for me not to express it or share it with the world.

Before I get into my story, there are a few things I need to disclose. This past weekend I was flown by Black Star Beer to Whitefish, Montana. The company paid for my flight, my 2-night stay at the lodge, dinner on Friday night, and (copious amounts of) beers all weekend long. I also received a fun little gift package that included a tin beer mug, a six pack of beer, coffee, and a t-shirt. Okay, now that I’ve followed the “blogging rules” of disclosure, we can move on…

Although I did attend its “relaunch” party last spring, I must admit that,
prior to this trip, I did not know that Black Star Beer was the flagship brand of the McKenzie River Corporation, a beverage marketing firm based in San Francisco, CA. I’ve since learned that the company is also responsible for launching other beverage brands such as Sparks, Steel Reserve (oh how proud this would make my friends at Bistro Sabor), and even an absinthe called Le Torment.

Now for all of you craft beer snobs that have speculations and assumptions about Black Star Beer, put down the boxing gloves and step away from the hater-ade. Although it is associated with a marketing corporation responsible for more mass-produced products, Great Northern Brewing Company is a legitimate craft brewery in every sense of the word, dedicated to producing delicious beer from high quality ingredients.

And y’all know by now that I would never stand behind a corporate brand, so have faith in me on this one.

The McKensie River Corporation was founded by Minott Wessinger, whose family tradition of brewing dates back to 1856. In 1995, Minott founded the Great Northern Brewery, a three story brewhouse with a 20 barrel system that utilizes a traditional “gravity flow” brewing process. Great Northern Brewing Co. currently produces approximately 8000 barrels per year. At this time, the brewery produces all of its smaller production beers as well as Black Star on draft. Black Star bottles are brewed at a separate production facility.

By now, I’ve toured and brewed in several different breweries of all sizes. I must admit that Great Northern was one of the coolest breweries I’ve ever visited. Although small, the three-tiered brewing system was really impressive and, apparently, very efficient. It was also very clean, which is crucial — especially with breweries that mainly brew lagers.

Typically viewed as the “gateway” to craft beer, the craft lager family is often under-appreciated, if not completely ignored. Personally, I find the category completely liberating and refreshing, especially with the recent flood of high-octane, extreme beers in the market.

Minott developed the Black Star lager because he saw a need in the market for a well-made, flavorful, craft lager. He recognized that the average everyday corporate beer drinking consumer needed an approachable, full-flavored beer to help them make the transition into craft beer. And that is preciously what Black Star is — an easy to drink, light-bodied beer brewed with quality ingredients and lots of flavor.

Although I did enjoy probably what equates to the volume of one keg of Black Star beer over the duration of the weekend, it was Fred’s Black Lager that really stole the show. It had balanced notes of chocolate and roasted malts, no esters, a light and smooth body, and I found it to be a perfect breakfast beer.

Another excellent beer was the “Going to the Sun IPA” — a nicely balanced, crisp IPA around 55 IBUs and 6% abv. The hops were floral and slightly citrusy with notes of pine and complimented the very light malt bill (mostly two-row with some munich and a hint of crystal for color).

When I learned I would be attending the Black Star Barter and the Whitefish Winter Carnival, I was excited but really didn’t know exactly what to expect. What ever expectations I might have had were completely exceeded by the Black Star beer crew.

I flew in Friday evening, and was taken immediately to the Lodge at Whitefish Lake. Words cannot give justice to the hospitality of the lodge staff. From the moment our car pulled up, till the moment I was dropped at the airport, the staff was unbelievably friendly and accommodating.

Black Star hooked me up with a PIMP suite in the main building of the lodge. I had a balcony, fireplace, kitchen, enormous king size bed, and a bathroom that any female would envy. Naturally, all the travel made me extremely parched, and I was very excited to find a mixed six-pack of Great Northern beers. I popped a Black Star open, freshened up, and then headed to the lobby to meet the rest of the Black Star team.

I would like to interrupt this post now to make the following announcement: I AM IN LOVE WITH THE ENTIRE BLACK STAR CREW (and Great Northern and all of their partners). Each and everyone of them had a great personality, sincere passion for Black Star and commitment to each other and the company. The group dynamic was bewitching and I was helpless against their charm. I had only one option this weekend, fall under the Black Star spell.

The weekend, in a word, was EPIC. I know the word is overused, but I really cannot find a better term to describe my experience. Friday night consisted of one of the most unique and extraordinary beer dinners I’ve ever attended. Great Northern Brewery set up a huge banquet table on the floor of its brewery, lined up against the fermenters. Lights were turned down low and the brewery was illuminated by candle light.

The dinner deserves an entirely separate editorial, as does the Black Star Beer Barter. So I will close my first post by thanking the entire Black Star crew for their amazing hospitality and all of the really goods times I had this past weekend.

CHEERS! (And stay tuned for more on my weekend in Whitefish…)

Back in November I had the opportunity and honor to attend as well as give a presentation at the Great Lakes and Craft Brewers Water Conservation Conference in Milwaukee, WI. The conference has resulted in a tremendous momentum towards water conservation and sustainability in the craft beer industry. I’m very pleased and excited to announce that a second water conservation event has been organized by the one and only Lucy Saunders.

The official press release is below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –Milwaukee, WI – The Great Lakes Water
Conservation Workshop is proud to announce that Alfa Laval USA will be the
Silver Sponsor for the one-day event, to be held at the Rochester Museum &
Science Center in downtown Rochester, NY.

The one-day workshop will be held on Friday, March 26, 2010, 8:30-4:30 at
the Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Avenue in Rochester, NY,
and focuses on best practices in water conservation for small and
medium-sized craft brewers and cheese companies. This is the first
independent workshop designed to bring together craft brewers,
cheesemakers, policy makers and nonprofit organizations for education and
discussion about water conservation. Registration is $55 for the full day
of sessions, including a buffet lunch, until March 1, and $75 per person
thereafter; details available online at [http://conserve-greatlakes.com/]
conserve-greatlakes.com.

“We are thrilled to have the support of Alfa Laval USA,” says Lucy
Saunders, workshop organizer. John Berardino, Brewery Manager, and Linda A.
Rastani, Tank Equipment Manager, Alfa Laval USA, will share their expertise
in cleaning-in-place (CIP) solutions for water savings and safety, with
case histories drawn from both the brewing and cheesemaking industries.

Participating brewers include Patrick Conway, president of the Great
Lakes Brewing Co. of Cleveland, OH, who will speak on the sustainable use
of water in brewery and brewpub operations; and Jason Fox, brewmaster of
Custom BrewCrafters, Honeoye Falls, NY, who will discuss wastewater
treatment systems.

A panel discussion on the true cost of water, and pricing, includes G.
William Page, PhD., AICP, is a Professor in the Department of Urban &
Regional Planning, University of Buffalo, SUNY; Michael Wolkoff, deputy
chair of Economics at the University of Rochester, and  Sammis White,
Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM)
and an active participant in the Milwaukee Water Council, an
industry/university partnership to solve water problems and create jobs.

Special to this workshop is a discussion of hydrofracturing and risks to
water quality, featuring Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting, Inc.,
an environmental database firm in Ithaca, NY. He has worked for more than
30 years as an advocate for environmental health protection. Mr. Hang will
be joined by Andrew Byers, a botanist and member of the Shaleshock Action
Alliance, and Ron Bishop, a lecturer in chemistry and biochemistry at SUNY
Oneonta, who will discuss hydrofracturing practices and how water
contamination can occur during the gas drilling process.

Workshop details and registration are available online, at:
[http://www.conserve-greatlakes.com/] http://www.conserve- greatlakes.com

Schedule (speakers and times subject to change)
Friday, March 26, 2010

Morning Sessions:
Introduction by Lucy Saunders

Patrick Conway, president and co-founder, Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH, presents sustainable water use in brewery and brewpub operations.

Jason Fox, Brewmaster, Custom BrewCrafters, discusses design and ROI of wastewater treatment for small to medium-sized brewhouses.

Session on water auditing

12:00 LUNCH

Afternoon Sessions:

John Berardino, Brewery Manager, and Linda A. Rastani, Tank Equipment Manager, Alfa Laval USA, Panel discussion with brewer and cheesemaker on CIP processes

Walter Hang, president, Toxics Targeting, Andrew Byers, botanist and member, Shaleshock Action Alliance, Ron Bishop, lecturer in chemistry, SUNY Oneonta Panel presentation on hydrofracturing and other risks to water quality in the Great Lakes

Sammis White, professor of Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Michael Wolkoff, research economist, University of Rochester, G. William Page, professor of Urban Planning, University of Buffalo, Panel presentation on water pricing and public policy in the Great Lakes

A craft beer and cheese tasting, limited number of tickets available to the public, will be offered from 5-7pm.

Although San Diego was able to severely kick my a$$ on my first day of beer week, I was able to regain momentum and score a win for The Wench on the second day.

Morning came fast on Day 3. Unfortunately, our party of 4 (Pj, Alex, Tay & myself) dropped down to a party of 3 (we lost Alex to Law school — damn those smart kids). In order to sustain ourselves for the long day of beer consumption ahead, we chowed down on some whole wheat bagels with red onions, tomatoes, capers, cream cheese & lox — hey, we were just trying to be good Jews (and Jew wannabes).

Sometime before noon, the 3 Musketeers dragged our slightly disoriented butts up to San Diego Brewing Co. to meet up with head brewer, Dean Rouleau, for open house brew day with guest brewer Scott Jennings from the Sierra Nevada “Beer Camp” pilot brewery. We were greeted at the door and within seconds of being inside the bar, we had beers in our hands. Not a bad way to start a day, eh? I was pleasantly surprised by the scene inside San Diego Brewing Company’s brewpub. A bunch of homebrewers turned out for the event with several interesting brews in tow. But more importantly, almost every TV in the bar featured a Big Ten game. And if you have not learned by now, I’m obsessed with college … err … Big Ten … err Ohio State football. Dean was awesome enough to provide us with a tour of the SDBC facility. Just as the tour finished, it was time for the boys (Dean & Scott) to add the hops to the boil. The Cascade hops for the collaboration brew came from Star B Ranch Bison & Hops Farm in Pamona, CA.

Time quickly caught up to us and, before we could order another beer, we found ourselves running out the door to pick up our good friends Renee & Jordan Rounds for the 7th Anniversary Green Flash Charity Beer Festival. All proceeds from ticket sales to the 7th Anniversary Green Flash Charity Beer were donated to the FIGHT ALD ORG.

Adrenoleukodystropy (ALD) is a genetic disease that affects 1 in 15,000 boys in childhood but is most often diagnosed or goes undetected until it is too far progressed for treatment. A inexpensive blood test can easily identify boys at risk and it is treatable if caught before there is cerebral involvement.

Fight ALD educates medical professionals and the community about the early onset symptoms and diagnostic test with the hope that every affected boy will have a chance to win their fight with Adrenoleukodystrophy. On an interesting yet related side note, the President of Fight ALD, Bill Sherwood, is also the facilities manager for Stone Brewing Co. His wife Janis founded Fight ALD after loosing their son Sawyer back in 2003. Janis has visited at least 600 medical facilities in 22 states educating medical professionals on recognizing early symptoms of ALD. I had the honor of meeting Janis during the festival and I have tremendous respect for her amazing “one woman” fight against ALD. I’m just sorry that it was inspired by a loss. RIP Sawyer Benjamin Sherwood.

Upon arriving at the festival, we were distributed neon green wristbands with 10 tasting tokens, a meal ticket & a 7th Anniversary tasting glass. Being the clever professional photographer that she is, Renee Rounds shot a cool pic of the Green Flash Anniversary beer with the shadow from the glass.

Despite the large crowd, it was extremely easy to navigate the festival. In addition to Green Flash, other featured breweries included: AleSmith Brewery, Backstreet Brewery, Ballas Point, Coronado Brewing Co., FireHouse Brewery, Karl Strauss, La Jolla Brewhouse, Lightning Brewery, The Lost Abbey, Mission Brewery, OGGI’s, Pizza Port Brewing, Port Brewing Co., San Diego Brewer’s Guild, San Diego Brewing Co., San Marcos Brewery and Stone Brewing Co.

In need of a super refreshing “Pacific Northwest” hopped brew, I made a bee-line to Ballast Point for a sample of one of my favorite IPAs — Sculpin. After being refreshed by Sculpin, I found myself hitting up the Green Flash tent for samples of the Anniversary Ale, Hop Head Red Ale & Summer Saison. Somewhere along the way, around sample 4 or 5, we ran into our good pal Dr. Bill.

Dr. Bill convince us that we needed to go inside Green Flash’s tasting room where they were pouring tastes of a few limited special release beers. Not ones to turn down the opportunity to taste rare barrel-aged beers, the crew assembled and obediently marched to the tasting room where we ran into our new buddy Gordon, a brewer for Lost Abbey. Gordon poured us samples of Green Flash Little Freak — a barrel-aged Saison inoculated with Brett– as well as Green Flash Super Freak — the Green Flash LeFreak (Belgian-style IIPA) aged in San Pasqual Grenache wine barrels with brettanomyces. Little Freak was light and refreshing with hints of barnyard, while the Super Freak was more full-bodied and more complex. Gordon surprised us by whipping out a bottle of Lost Abbey Carnevale from underneath the table. Pj and Jordan got really really excited about that … as you can see.

For those of you unfamiliar with Lost Abbey Carnevale, it is a dry hopped saison ale sporting a hazy yellow color and moderately spicy nose with hints of oranges and tangerines from Amarillo and Simcoe hops. The yeast phenols add layers of clove and allspice. Weighs in around 6.5% with a medium-to-light body. It is seasonal and released around Lent.

After a few hours of quality beer drinking, it became apparent that the group needed to seek out some substance — in the form of meat products. The two food vendors for the day were Pizza Port & Kansas City Barbeque. On the way to the food tables, I ran into Greg Koch and got distracted by beer.

Before we knew it, the festival was wrapping up and it was time to embark upon yet another beer drinking mission. Dr. Bill invited the crew up to Stone Brewing Co. for a tasting of some rare beers from his collection. Once again, we are not ones to turn down opportunities to taste rare and interesting beers. Traffic was utterly unbearable and … sobering.

After what seemed like a year and a day, we arrived at Stone World Bistro & Gardens where Dr. Bill secured us the VIP section for our private tasting. Among many beers, Bill brought us Avery Dugana, De Dolle Special Reserva Ourbiera, the super exclusive (club membership only) Lost Abbey Sinners blend 09′, Hansens Oude Geuze, Hansens Oude Kriek and various vintages of Stone Double Bastard Ale.

Being that I had been distracted from obtaining food at the Green Flash Festival, Dr. Bill was also kind enough to provide us with a plentiful helping of Wild Boar Baby Back Ribs & Artisan sausages — which I devoured like it was my job. Earlier in the day, Stone hosted the Brewdog bahash bash where they tapped bashah, the latest collaboration brew by Scottish brewers BrewDog and Stone.

Bashah is the world’s first ever Black Belgian Double IPA. According to the BrewDog blog, there are five hops used in the beer: Hercules, Magnum, Warrior, Centennial and Amarillo. It is currently available in bottles. Dr. Bill couldn’t resist showing up the “disposable” keg in which bashah was distributed. Personally, I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks more like something you’d find at a NASA than a bar …

After getting our fill of meat products and amazing rare beers, it was once again time to hit the road in search of more beer week escapades. By the time we got to Taylors house, the crew was exhausted from hours of day drinking. We loaded up on a few cups of espresso while we debated our next stop. One of our friends, Beverly Bancroft, had charted a limo for the entire day and offered to send the limo to pick us up and bring us out on the town.

The limo took us to Toronado in South Park, San Diego — where we met up our new Twitter beer geek buddies Tab Brewer and Beverly & Mark Bancroft. My heart stopped when Tab ordered a bottle of (the rare) 2003 Boon Mariage Parfait. Some of you may not be aware (bad stalkers!) of my obsession with the gueuze. Long story short, the gueze is one of my all-time favorite styles of beer and I’ve put myself on a mission to taste as many variations of the style from as many brewers possible.

When Tab handed me the glass of Mariage I felt like a giddy little school girl who just got passed a love note from her biggest crush. It was bright golden in color with a, what is in my opinion, pleasant earthy, hay & barnyard aroma typical of Brett Bruxellensis. Overall, I found Boon Mariage Parfait to be light-bodied, highly carbonated & tart with a crisp, dry finish. That beer definitely had it going on. And I was really digging the funk … until of course I reached the bottom of the glass. Which was a very, very sad moment. But I quickly cheered up when the server delivered my beer brat smoothers in peppers and onions in a toasted pun with housemade potato salad on the side.

Now, I know what you are probably thinking. And yes, I have a bottomless pit for a stomach. Especially, when drinking beer in vast quantities. And especially when it comes to pork products.

I have a weakness for the pig.

You see, I was deprived of most pork products as a child. This is because my mother has been a vegetarian for 30+ years as well as a health & fitness fanatic. I’m oddly grateful that she never introduced me to the beautiful world of bacon, sausage, brats, pulled pork, BBQ ribs and so on and so forth — for I think I may have been an obese child if she had.

In Autumn of 2008, I tried bacon for the FIRST time — EVER. (FYI: I was 25 years old). And then I had my first bratwurst, first pulled pork sandwich, first rack of ribs etc… Food was never the same. And to come to think of it, either was my waistline. (Bacon belly anyone?)

Being both a beer connoisseur & pork fiend, it was pertinent that I try Toronado’s beer sausage — even if I had just previously pigged out (no pun intended) on sausage at Stone Brewing Co.  Toronado’s houesmade sausage was very juicy with a perfect blend of spices. It was so tasty, in fact, that it made me extremely thirsty for more beer. Hamilton’s must have been the go-to spot that evening because by the time I was ready for another beer, the entire bar was packed. It took some elbow swinging, but eventually I was able to make it to the bar.

If you’ve never been to Toronado (in either San Francisco or San Diego), than you probably are not familiar with the amazingness that is its beer menu. Toronado boasts and extremely impressive and slightly overwhelming tap and bottle list. Being surrounded by hardcore beer geeks, the pressue was on. One poor decision, and I was going to be fed to the wolves. After the gueze, I was on a Belgian beer kick. I decided to order a bottle of Fantome Printemps — a bottle-conditioned Spring seasonal Saison from Belgium. Fantome exclusively produces the Saison style and releases a different twist to the style every season. I’ve been lucky enough several of Fantome’s Saison variations as well as have a few older vintages in my cellar.

Feeling confident with my decision, I presented the bottle of Fantome Printemps to the group. Unfortunately, the beer did not win the hearts of my fellow beer geeks, who were quick to reject it. I blame it on palate exhaustion. To be fairl, it is really hard to expect people who’ve been quaffing high gravity, super intense & extreme beers all day to drink a Saison. It would be like asking someone whose been drinking Bordeaux & Barolo to sip on a rose. Seems like water in comparison.

So being the sulky face hurt puppy dog that I was after being rejected, I took the whole bottle of Fantome Printemps and sat in my own little corner where I enjoyed every last drop of it.

As the crowd started to dwindle, it became apparent that our time was up and the bar was getting ready to close. But instead of throwing the towel in, a small contingent of loyal party-goers headed back to Taylor’s place for a nightcap and some Kill Bill Volume 1 action. Yet, just as I was thinking that I had won the third round, San Diego beer week snuck up on me fast. Halfway through my beer and even less through Kill Bill, I was out like a light.

However, this round was not a complete loss. For the first time during the trip, I was the first person to be awake and productive the next morning. I even made breakfast for everyone. And so San Diego, although you wore me down and put me to bed before everyone else, you did not win right out. Instead, we will call this a tie.

THE WENCH = 1.5 & SAN DIEGO = 1.5

Stay tuned for the 4th Round and last installment of: The Wench vs. San Diego Beer Week! Cheers!

I must apologize for leaving you all hanging on the San Diego beer week updates. I’ve recently been plagued with a series of unfortunate events and have fallen off of the Internet map.

So where were we?

I last left off with the score: San Diego = 1. The Wench = 0. Truth be told, San Diego kicked my butt on my first day of beer week. The combination of going to sleep at 7:30AM and drinking high-gravity beer for 16 hours straight did me in.

After about 4 hours of sleep, I was awakened by the smell of bacon and sound of voices coming from the kitchen. Never one to to down bacon (or pork products for that matter), I dragged my tired, hungry & dehydrated body into the kitchen. Much to my delight, another Twitter obsessed beer geek friend of ours had just arrived from the L.A. area. Unfortunate for him, his first real life impression of The Wench was a bit ugly.

But, even a massive hangover could not hold me back from San Diego beer week. And so we rounded up our ever-growing crew of Twitter beer geeks for some more beer adventures. After filling myself up on bacon, eggs and buttery biscuits from my big sis Taylor and chugging down some Duck Duck Gooze compliments of Alex, The Wench was almost ready to put the “game face” back on.

This time, we were smart about it and chartered a shuttle van. Which was actually relatively cheap and easy to do. The Beer Van’s first stop was, yes you guessed it, Stone Brewing Co. Although Firestone Walker was set to “officially” launch their latest cult beer — the 13th Anniversary Ale — on November 14th, the magical Dr. Bill used his Don Juan skills to persuade them to tap it a night early at Stone. It made more sense anyways tapping the Firestone Walker 13th on Friday the 13th.

Word of the special release spread like wild fire and Stone had a tremendous beer geek turnout for the event. Firestone Walker stepped up to the challenge and not only tapped its 13th Anniversary, but also tapped its 12th Anniversary side by side. A lucky few also got to sample the bottle conditioned 11th.

Before anyone was allowed to taste the 12th and 13th, we were first primed with the original beers that were blended to create the 13th. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. In order to understand the beer, you need to know more about Firestone first.

Since its birth in 1996, Firestone Walker has been specializing in the “rare” art of brewing beer in oak barrels. On it’s 10th birthday, Firestone Walker created the first of its Anniversary series — The 10. For the special release they created a Barrel Aging and Blending Program, which they refer to as “Quercus Alba” (which means White Oak, FYI).

THE VISION BEHIND QUERCUS ALBA

• The GOAL: To create complexity centering on oak, in a multitude of forms, by brewing high gravity beers in complementary styles, aging them in different barrel formats and then blending them together to achieve harmonious new flavors.
• The PUZZLE: To blend these various components (or lots) to create a synergistic whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is done with the help of a few neighboring Paso Robles winemakers who are practicing experts in the art of blending.
• The INSPIRATION: Firestone Walker’s oak brewing tradition and connection to winemaking. Of course until the advent of stainless steel, brewing was intimately linked to wood barrels and vessels. Brewing has a deeply rooted history in the alchemy of blending.
• The BARRELS: The individual lots were aged in oak barrels, many of which were hand selected from premium Kentucky spirits producers by Tom Griffin, who is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about bourbon barrels and beer. Each barrel lents its own influence to the final blend.

So shall we talk about the beer?

THE COMPONENTS OF FIRESTONE 13th:

• 39% of final blend = PARABOLA (13% abv) — Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout aged in bourbon barrels
• 15% of final blend = VELVET MERKIN (6% abv) — Traditional Oatmeal Stout aged in bourbon barrels
• 6% of final blend = RUFUS (11% abv) — Continental Imperial Amber Ale aged in rye barrels
• 4% of final blend = SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS (9%abv) — Belgian Strong Ale aged in bourbon barrels
• 24% of final blend = BRAVO (11% abv) — Imperial Brown Ale aged in 50% bourbon barrels and 50% in brandy barrels
• 6 % of final blend = OPAL (11% abv) Wheat Wine aged in rye barrels
• 6 % of the final blend = DOUBLE DOUBLE BARREL ALE (10.9%) — Double English Pale Ale aged in 100% in retired FW union barrels

Most of us started the night out with Parabola, which made it hard to move onto anything else. After all, it was definitely the biggest and boldest of all the beers on tap that night. Parabola was thick, rich & viscous with lots of hints of vanilla, oak, toast & bourbon. It was a very warming beer, without the alcohol being too potent.

While we waited for the special tapping of the 13th Anniversary, the group of us chowed down on several of the items from the Stone World Bistro & Gardens menu. The highlight was, hands down, the beer mac & cheese — tender macaroni, Stone Porter Cheese, sun dried tomatoes, basil, Stone Smoked Porter Sausage  topped off with some baked bread crumbs. In one word -orgasmic.

As I mentioned earlier, the event had a tremendous turnout. There were many “celebrity” beer and twitter personalities in the “house” that night. These included: Greg Koch (CEO of Stone), Dr. Bill of Stone Brewing Co., several members of the Firestone Walker team, Stephen Johnson of New Brew Thursday (and his wife), my big sister Taylor Shaw, PJ Hoberman of Starting a Brewery, Kristen & Marin Emde of GoBeering.com, adorable homebrewers Renee & Jordan Rounds, beer connoisseur Alex P. Davis, talented photographer Declan, JJ Bagley of Mutineer Magazine, Chris Richards of Six Palms Entertainment and many others I cannot recall at this moment.

Photo of Renee Rounds & Taylor Shaw -- By: Declan

Declan did an excellent job of capturing the party on his camera. According to Greg Koch, I totally rocked the camera in this pic:

Photo of The Beer Wench -- By: Declan

However, I think that the best photo in the bunch is the one of Alex P. Davis and I rocking the “too cool for school” Top Gun look. Rock. Stars.

Photo of Alex Davis & The Wench -- By: Declan

I also had the honor of meeting more of of my Twitter friends at the Firestone Walker 13th event at Stone Brewing Company — including (but not limited to) @BrewBud, @IPABev and @BeerMark.

Ultimately, the Firestone 13th and 12th were tapped. A line of beer lovers desiring to be among the first to taste the 13th wrapped around the bar area. Being the lazy line hater that I am, I procrastinated getting on line. But when I realized that the line was not going to die down anytime soon, I bit the bullet and joined PJ in line — with some “line” beers in hand, of course.

The verdict? Both the 13th and 12th are extremely complex beers with multiple levels of flavor. At the time, I preferred the 12th. But this does not mean the 13th was bad, by any means. In fact, it rocked. With a little bit age, the 13th can only get better. By the looks of it, I think Stephen (New Brew Thursday) enjoyed both of his Firestone Anniversary beers …

Photo of Stephen Johnson -- By: Declan

The original plan was to follow the Firestone Walker 13th event up with a Stone Brewing Co. dinner at Kitchen 1540 at the L’Auberge resort in Del Mar. Unfortunately, unforeseeable and very understandable circumstances (including sickness) prevented Chef Paul McCabe from being available for the dinner — and the event was cancelled. I was bummed that I did not have the chance to meet Chef McCabe, but then I completely understand his situation and agree whole heartedly with the decision. And who knows, maybe Chef McCabe was lucky not to have met me — as I have a reputation for being a predator and “groupie” of extremely talented chefs.

Chef Paul McCabe (adorable, no?)

A big group of us were planning on attending the Kitchen 1540 dinner and, in lieu of completely forfeiting the event, I approached Greg Koch about organizing a substitution dinner. Greg was able to track down a substitute option — a 3 course Stone pairing menu at Suite & Tender in downtown San Diego. Lucky for us, Suite & Tender was willing to accommodate a last minute reservation for 17.

After a fantastic time at the FireStone Walker event. The Beer Van headed back downtown for a private beer dinner with Greg Koch. The pairing menu was pretty impressive. We were given two choices on three of the pairings. Being that both choices sounded amazing, it was hard to chose. So instead of choosing, Alex & I decided to order one of each course and split them.

The Menu was as follows:

FIRST COURSE

• Fish Tacos w/ Stone IPA
• Crispy Lump Crab Cakes w/ Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale

SECOND COURSE

• Baby Spinach Salad (BACON, pine nut butter, crispy shallots, crab apple & caramel vinaigrette) w/ Stone Levitation Ale
• Hearts of Romain Salad (parmesan cheese, garlic croutons, anchovies & caesar dressing) w/ Stone Pale Ale

THIRD COURSE

• Filet Mignon (garlic mashed potatoes, seasonal mushrooms) w/ 2009 Stone Old Guardian Barleywine
• Grilled King Salmon (warm potato salad, sweet onion, herb creme) w/ Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

There was one other option, but Alex and I passed on it:

• Pan-roasted Chicken Breast (cornbread stuffing, oyster mushrooms, pan sauce) w/ Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

FOURTH COURSE

• Stone Smoked Porter Pecan Pie & Smoked Porter Fudge swirled ice cream w/ Stone Smoked Porter

The service and presentation of the dinner was slightly unusual yet, despite the last minute notice, it was executed pretty well. The food was extremely tasty — although, it was a group consensus that the beer pairings were a bit off. Not really sure what the method in the madness behind the beer — food pairings was, but at the end of the day I left the dinner stuffed to the brim with great beers and food. So, can’t really complain!

After the dinner, the group dissipated. A few people went back to Taylor’s place for a few beers. I joined Greg for a nightcap before returning to Tay’s pad. By the time I returned, everyone was asleep. Which was probably for the better since we had a big day of beer ahead of us starting the next morning. And so to bed The Wench went, with visions of Green Flash and rare beers in her head.

San Diego = 1 … The Wench = 1

Stay tuned for ROUND 3 of San Diego Beer Week! CHEERS!

For those of you who are lucky enough to follow me on twitter, you are probably acutely aware of my recent voyage to San Diego for beer week. In fact, I’m almost positive that many of you may hate me for the events I attended and the beers I tasted. Heck, I would hate me too

But for those of you who might not have been following my San Diego Beer Week adventures, have no fear, I’ve decided to write up a recap of the whole experience so that you too can hate me. Hey, they don’t call me Wench for no reason.

My SDBW story actually starts pre-arrival. This was the first time that I had ever flown Virgin Airways and I had no idea what to expect. And let me tell you, my experience was more AMAZING than I can possibly describe. The purple and red themed interior of the plan was extremely calming. The plane itself was very clean, spacious, comfortable and impressively high-tech. But the real kicker was the chain of events that occurred in flight.

The stars must have been aligned for me that morning because 1. Virgin Airways provided 21st Amendment IPA (my favorite craft beer IPA in a can) on flight 2. Virgin Airways provided FREE internet access on flight (hello, The Wench is a known Internet addict) and 3. Virgin Airways provided free satellite cable on flight …

The sequence of events went as follows: I order a delicious and frosty 21st Amendment IPA. Then I open up my laptop and immediately sign into my Tweetdeck. And then — get this — I turned on ESPN classic and, what do you know, the game on TV is the 1990 Ohio State vs. IOWA showdown. Let’s recap: awesome craft beer + free Internet + Ohio State football … throw in some bacon and I would never have gotten off that plane!

I had never been to San Diego prior to this trip. Needless to say, I was super excited to check out one of the top ranked beer cities in the U.S. And let me tell you one thing, San Diego not only lives up to its reputation — its beer scene completely blows all other cities out of the water. (This from someone who travels extensively in the name of beer). DISCLAIMER: I was in San Diego during beer week, which may or may not have biased my previous statement.

The San Diego airport was easy to move through and I was able to get in a cab to downtown in no time flat. My hostess for the weekend was my brilliantly talented and beautiful big sister, Taylor Shaw. (Technically, we were not “born” into sisterhood. Blood or not, she is family and I love her unconditionally as if she was blood.)

Tay has several years of beer connoisseurship on me and I was completely blown away by her collection of craft beers. Her normal refrigerator was loaded to the brim with beers, as were her cupboards, her wine fridge, her storage room etc. And on top of it all, she has more beer stored in a beer locker. I can only aspire to be as kick-ass as Tay one day.

The first stop on our SDBW agenda was the famous Stone World Bistro & Gardens. To come to think of it, I never did get a tour of the Stone Brewery. Oh well, just another excuse to return.

When it comes to describing the Stone World Bistro & Gardens, I cannot even being to start. I’ve never been to Disney World or Land (despite living in Orlando for 8 months). But I’m almost positive Stone World Bistro & Gardens to me is the equivalent of Cinderella’s castle to a young Disney princess obsessed girl.

The big event that we went for was the 10 year vertical tasting of Double Bastard Ale. For those of you unfamiliar with the beer, weighing in at around 10.50% ABV, Double Bastard is considered an American Strong Ale (a catch all category for “uncategorizeable” ales with high alcohol content). Double Bastard boasts a huge malt bill and a belligerent hoppiness. Both it’s hop varietals and IBU level are classified. It is not recommended for the weak of heart.

Double Bastard is most definitely an arrogant son-of-a-wench. The earlier vintages had a savage-like level of hops and insulting level of alcohol, while the older vintages were more smooth and balanced. All vintages attacked my palate with a malty vengeance. The 10 year flight of Double Bastard had me constantly questioning if I was, indeed, worthy.

Lucky for me, I’m The Wench. Double Bastard has nothing on me. I grabbed it by the balls and showed it who was boss.

In addition to tasting an epic vertical of Stone beers and seeing Stone World Bistro & Gardens for the first time, I had the extreme honor of meeting THE ONE, THE ONLY, THE FAMOUSLY  SPECTACULAR & AMAZING Dr. Bill.

Bill Sysak is one of my greatest heroes in the beer industry. I aspire to one day be as knowledgeable as him. He doesn’t know it yet, but we may get married someday.

I have an open invite to come raid Dr. Bill’s collection at his home. Which I plan on doing some time in the VERY very near future. It is sooooo worth the flight down, trust me.

Dr. Bill was not the only beer celebrity I met that day. As fate would have it, the adorable studs of New Brew Thursday filmed an episode with Dr. Bill in the Stone Gardens.

The mayhem at Stone Brewing Co. did not end with the flight of Double Bastard. While there, we ran into the husband and wife team from Kern River Brewing Company – Eric & Rebecca Giddens.

Upon discovering our beer geekness, they offered us some samples the Kern River Brewing Company JUST OUTSTANDING IPA. And naturally, being the mischievous and impatient “Being of Pure ID” that I’m become known to be, I opened up the bottle in the parking lot. Verdict? The name says it all, Kern produces an outstanding IPA!

The first day at Stone was extremely exciting. Not only did I get to rub elbows with Dr. Bill, the boys from New Brew Thursday (Stephen Johnson, Brad Kohlenburg & John Holzer) and the Giddens, I also got to meet SEVERAL of my fellow beer geek twitter buddies: Jordan Rounds, Renee Rounds, Martin Emde, Kristin Emde & Laura Johnson.

And I must admit, we are one fine looking group of geeks.

The excitement of day one did not end at Stone Brewing. Oh no, it did not not. The insanity had only just begun …

After drinking some pretty intense high gravity ales at Stone Brewing, it was pertinent that my big sister and I scavenger for food. Our grumbling pork-product craving tummies brought us to the Blind Lady Ale House, where we had the pleasure of sitting down at the bar with two of its owners, Lee and Jenniffer Chase. The pair provided lots of great insight into the local San Diego beer industry. It was interesting to here things from and insiders perspective.

That particular evening, BLAH was featuring a special beer/food pairing menu with Green Flash Brewing Co beers. Taylor and I decided to order both of the courses and share them. While we waited for the food to come out, each of us enjoyed a “aperitif” beer.

The first was bacon-wrapped Char stuffed with homemade stuffing on top a bed of micro greens in a creamy dill sauce paired with Green Flash Little Freak.

The second dish was melt in your mouth, fall straight of the bone, lamb shank in a rich gravy served over a bed of root vegetables and new potatoes paired with Green Flash Belgian Brown Ale.

After satisfying our cravings for top notch beer, food & conversation … Taylor and I found ourselves back on the road in search of more beer adventures. It wasn’t long before we found ourselves down in San Diego’s vibrant Gaslamp Quarter at JSix Restaurant, where Lost Abbey hosted a dinner & art show in conjunction with its artist, Sean Dominguez. Sean was there with his adorable son. Usually, I don’t like children. But this kid, this kid was a winner.

For a mere $20 admission, guests enjoyed passed-around hors d’oeuvres and were able to taste all of the following beers while viewing their original label artwork:

• Inferno – Oil on Canvas
• Carnevale – Chalk and Pencil
• Deliverance – Oil on Canvas Beer not yet released
• Devotion – Chalk and Pencil
• Duck Duck Gooze – Oil on Canvas

• Gift of the Magi – Chalk and Pencil
• Cuvee de Tomme – Chalk and Pencil
• Judgment Day – Oil and Canvas
• Lost and Found – Chalk and Pencil
• Angel’s Share – Oil on Canvas

• Red Barn – Oil on Canvas
• Serpent’s Stout – Oil on Canvas
• Avant Garde – Oil on Canvas
• Ten Commandments – Chalk and Pencil
• Witch’s Wit – Oil on Canvas

True to Wench form, I found myself in good company at JSix. My victim? Gordon Gerski, Brewer & Bottling Line Wrangler at Lost Abbey.

Much to Gordie’s dismay, I latched myself onto to him for the majority of the evening. As a result, I received endless pours of my favorite Lost Abbey beer — Duck Duck Gooze — as well as had the opportunity to meet the man behind the magic of Lost Abbey — Mr. Tomme Arthur.

Also present that evening was the illustrious Mr. Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing Co.

The evening took a turn for the more awesome when my good friend and fellow beer blogger, Pj Hoberman, showed up at JSix. Unfortunately, PJ arrived towards the end of the event. Nonetheless, Taylor and I did our damnedest to catch him up.

Like all good times, the Lost Abbey art show had to come to an end. But this did not hinder our goals to create mayhem and reek havoc on the city of San Diego. And so the Three Stooges of Debauchery trekked onward to our last stop of the evening: Hamilton’s Tavern for the Liar’s Club Redux event.

By this point, The Wench was feeling good. A little too good because I cannot for the life of me remember what I drank. I do, however, remember eating some kick-ass chicken wings and fries. Nothing like fried food to cap an evening of amazing beer drinking, am I right?

After practically closing down Hamilton’s, it was a group consensus to take the party back to Taylor’s swank pad downtown. Being quite a few beers deep, I decided (like the mature adult that I am) that the bed sounded more lucrative than continuing with the beer drinking festivities. Unfortunately, my lovely friends did not agree with that move. And after 2 attempts to pass out, the crew was able to resurrect my half-dead body.

The night took yet another turn for the awesome when I decided to make nachos. People really need to learn not to feed me past midnight. Think Gremlins, kids. You don’t feed the Gremlins past midnight. You don’t feed the Wench past midnight. Because once you spike my blood sugar, I cannot be responsible for any of my actions.

Needless to say, the blood sugar rush from the nachos sent me into a manic state which then enabled me to drink more beer. Drinking more beer ultimately led to 2 back-to-back screenings of … wait for it … wait for it … The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

What can I say? I’m a freak for Dr. Frankenfurter. Usually, my crazed requests to watch the Rocky Horror Picture show get over-turned by my peers. But not this night. As fate would have it, another member of the twitter beer geek crew, The Mr. Martin Emde, is also a RHPS fiend.

As much as I would love to share the details of the rest of the evening with you all, there are just some things that are meant to be kept private. All I can say is that there was lots of “Time Warp” dancing action combined with shouting out various phrases at the movie. But then, if you’ve ever seen Rocky Horror live, you can probably imagine the madness that ensued.

The sun ended up coming sooner than one would expect. The “night” officially ended at 7:30AM.

The first day, San Diego Beer Week kicked my ass.

San Diego = 1 — Wench = 0

Stay tuned for ROUND 2 … Cheers!

]]> http://drinkwiththewench.com/2009/11/the-wench-vs-sdbw-round-1/feed/ 4 http://drinkwiththewench.com/2009/09/waterstreet-cafe-mdv-beer-dinner/ http://drinkwiththewench.com/2009/09/waterstreet-cafe-mdv-beer-dinner/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:34:28 +0000 Wenchie http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=1778

During my visit to the Midwest, I took a little road trip from Milwaukee to the city of Peoria, IL for a beer dinner at Waterstreet Wines & Cafe. The dinner showcased several beers from the portfolio of  Merchant Du Vin — a specialty beer importer based in the U.S.

Waterstreet Wines & Cafe is a relatively new sidewalk cafe at the end of the waterfront area in Peoria.  They feature a menu of sandwiches, salads and lots of fondue as well as very well-thought out artisan wine and craft beer lists.

The owners of Waterstreet Wines & Cafe, Paul & Diane Hahn, also own Mackinaw Valley Vineyard. Paul Hahn has been awarded “Winemaker of the Year” several times by the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association. All of the Mackinaw Valley Vineyard wines are available in the cafe — and many of them are available to drink by the glass.

The beer dinner featured a 5 course menu designed by the head chef at Waterstreet Cafe to pair with 5 different beers from the portfolio of Merchant du Vin. The beer tasting presentation was led by Brian Van Zandbergen from MdV.

And without any further ado, allow me to present my food & beer pairing notes from the evening…

THE WELCOME BEER

BEER: Pinkus Organic Altbier – Munster, Germany
Notes: 20 IBU, Organic Hallertau hops

• Appearance: bright, pale golden color
• Aroma: floral, earthy hops & slight biscuity malt
• Flavor: clean, dry and crisp with notes of biscuit malt and noble hops. Moderately bitter and slightly metallic with a clean, dry finish.
• Mouthfeel: light body, moderate carbonation, smooth body
• Overal Impression: I found this beer to be extremely refreshing after being outside in the hot sun. The bitterness and dryness was well balanced by the malts. Extremely easy to drink.

THE FIRST PAIRING

BEER: Ayinger Oktoberfest-Märzen – Aying, Germany
NOTES: 21 IBUs, Hallertau hops

• Appearance: Bright, rich golden-orange (marigold) color with a thick, foamy head.
• Aroma: Earthy with notes of rich Vienna malt and subtle hints of toasted malts.
• Taste: Initial taste is sweet, followed by a slightly bitter finish. Hops profile is moderate and the Vienna malt character dominates the palate. Fully attenuated and dry.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, highly carbonated and smooth.
• Overal Impression: This is probably my favorite Oktoberfest on the market. The color is stunning in the glass and the rich Vienna malt is well-balanced with a bitter dry crispness. This beer reminds me of autumn — the color is similar to the bright orange sun and the leaves changing color. The crispness reminds me of cool autumn winds and the earthiness of the flavor reminds me of harvest and fallen leaves.

FOOD: Ayinger Oktoberfest-Märzen Braised Alligator
NOTES: The alligator was extremely juicy as a result of the braising process. The flavors were very subtle, which allowed the almost gamey taste of the gator to show through. The meat was reminiscent of dark meat chicken and was easy to shred. Although the alligator was extremely chewy (as is its nature), the flavor was rather enjoyable.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The salt and slight spice from the beer-braised alligator paired well the earthy, sweetness from the Ayinger Oktoberfest-Märzen.

THE SECOND PAIRING

BEER: Lindeman’s Cuvee-Rene — Vlezenbeek, Belgium
NOTES: Lambic Gueze, 16 IBUs, aged Aged Kent, Brewers Gold & Coigneau hops

• Appearance: Hazy, golden color with a thick, frothy white head and excellent lacing.
• Aroma: Funky barnyard, horse blanket, earthy aroma typical of Brettanomyces and other wild yeast strands. Aroma has noticeably sour and acidic fruity esters — reminiscent of grapefruit rind.
• Taste: Moderately sour and acidic taste is balanced out by the unmalted wheat, pils malt and the weird funky/barnyard/horse blanket flavors from the wild yeast. No noticeable hop flavor (which makes sense since this style of beer uses aged hops). Finish is very dry.
• Mouthfeel: Light bodied, highly carbonated, slightly astringent.
• Overal Impression: It is not secret that The Wench is obsessed and preoccupied with the gueuze style of beer. Lindeman’s Cuvee Rene was the first gueuze I ever tasted and, to this day, it is still one of my favorites.

FOOD: Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
NOTES: For a traditionally cream based soup, this version was relatively light in body (may have been thickened with both cream and potatoes). The wild mushrooms were completely pureed, which left the soup having an earthy and complex wild mushroom flavor with relatively no mushroom texture. There was bits of crunch here and there from small pieces of celery & onions. Great wild mushroom flavor.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This was both a complimentary and contrasting pairing. The acidity of the gueze helped to balance out the heaviness of the cream while the barnyard, funky yeast characteristics complimented the earthy characteristics of the wild mushrooms in the soup very well.

THE THIRD PAIRING

BEER: Samuel Smith’s Organic Cherry Ale — Tadcaster, England
NOTES: 16 IBUs, Organic Hollertau hops

• Appearance: Brilliant, deep red
• Aroma: Fresh cherries dominate the nose.
• Taste: Cherry explosion. The tart, acidity of the fruit balances the natural sweetness of the cherries. Dry finish.
• Mouthfeel: Light bodied, medium carbonation.
• Overal Impression: Well-balanced fruit beer. The cherry aroma and flavor is extremely dominant, but not in an overwhelming way.

FOOD: Compound Cherry Salad
NOTES: Light, fluffy cream-based mousse loaded with both sour and dark cherries, canned pineapple chunks, celery and slivers of raw, shelled almonds. The salad was delightfully sweet and loaded with lots of interesting textures. I loved the use of the two different types of cherry — one very sour and one very sweet. The almonds and celery added a much desired crunch.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This was very much a complimentary pairing. The cherries in the beer matched the flavor profile of the cherries in the salad. Both were fairly light in body and rather enjoyable. The use of a fruit compote as the third course seemed odd at first, but in the end I did enjoy it.

THE FOURTH COURSE

BEER: Lindeman’s Cassis Lambic — Vlezenbeek, Belgium
NOTES: 10 IBUs, Aged Kent, Brewers Gold & Coigneau, Black Currants

• Appearance: Hazy, deep reddish-purple
• Aroma: Fantastic black currant aroma with very subtle hints of wild yeast.
• Taste: Rich, sweet black currant flavor with a pleasant tartness and slightly detectable wild yeast funk.
• Mouthfeel: Mediume-bodied, highly carbonated and soft.
• Overal Impression: Out of all of Lindeman’s fruit lambics, the cassis is by far my favorite. The sweetness of the black currants is not overpowering and allows the tart funk of the wild yeast to show through.

FOOD: Spareribs with a Currant Reduction
NOTES: The spareribs were slow cooked for roughly 7 hours and, as a result, they were ridiculously tender. The ribs shredded with extreme ease and contained a relatively high fat content. The currant reduction was extremely sweet and, in my opinion, could have benefited by the addition of a dark liquor (such as bourbon or rum). The spareribs were paired with two very simple sides — fresh steamed broccoli and roasted new potatoes. The simplicity and lightness of the side dishes helped to balance out the complexity and fat of the spareribs.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall, the spareribs were outstanding. Very well cooked. The sweetness of the black currant reduction complimented the cassis lambic beer very nicely and both helped to break down the heavy fat of the spareribs.

THE FIFTH PAIRING

BEER: Traquair Jacobite Ale — Peeblesshire, Scotland
NOTES: Spiced Scotch Ale, 23 IBUs, Coriander

• Appearance: Relatively clear, deep ruby-brown color
• Aroma: Rich, malty & caramel aroma with hints of coriander, peat and earth.
• Taste: Rich, malty sweetness dominates the palate with hints of spice, roasted malts and earth. The finish is moderately sweet.
• Mouthfeel: Moderately-full bodied, medium carbonation, slightly vicious with warming attributes from the alcohol.
• Overal Impression: This beer in itself could easily suffice as dessert. It is warm, smooth and rich. The sweetness is nicely balanced by the roasted malt and smoky flavors.

FOOD: Berry Cobbler
NOTES: The berry cobbler consisted of at least 4 detectable types of berries — blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. The crust was rich and very buttery with lots of brown sugar and oats. The whip cream was noticeably homemade and added a delightful creaminess to the dish. Overall, the cobbler was rich, tart, buttery, sweet and extremely creamy.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Individually, both the beer and the cobbler were rich, flavorful and delicious. The tartness of the dessert worked nicely with the malty sweetness of the beer. Both were very rich, which made it hard to finish them.

SPECIAL THANKS TO WATERSTREET WINES & CAFE AND MERCHANT DU VIN FOR INVITING ME TO JOIN THEM IN THIS FANTASTIC BEER DINNER!

CHEERS!