If you went to the SF Beer Week Gala at Pier 35 on January 22 there’s a good chance I scanned your ticket or directed you toward the glasses. It was a great experience learning EventBrite’s scanning system and (briefly) talking with over 1,000 beer fans. My feet were sore from standing for three hours before wandering the event floor for two hours.
But I got to talk with some great volunteers and brewery reps. Since I volunteered and got in for free, I was on a mission to chat with industry folks, not to get crunk. I started with the offerings of Petaluma Hill Brewing Company, which was right new to Russian River’s long line. JJ Jay, the owner and brewer, explained how Maris Otter differentiates his Line and Twine IPA from other IPAs in both mouthfeel and perceived bitterness. It was a great way to start the evening. His Dated 1858 was great, especially when warmed up. Brewed with local dates throughout the brewing process for a beautiful color and sweetness, I wanted to go back and get more of this. Who else brews with local dates? Next time I’m in North Bay I will definitely visit JJ.
I tried to avoid lines if possible, but figured I needed to try the NOMA vs. SOMA SF Beer Guild beers (and the Dated was still warming up nicely). The North of Market breweries collaborated on Spring Training, a saison with wheat, yuzu peel, and sea salt. It was refreshing and very lightly spiced, but I think it was a bit light when paired with the proffered duck fat popcorn. The South of Market group made 100 Vara, a coffee porter that nicely cut through the paired pickle and sausage snack. I think the saison kicked before the porter, but that meant I was able to sneak one more taste of 100 Vara at the end of the night.
Barri Altimari may be the sweetest brewery maven around. The flavor creator of the food-focused beers of High Water Brewing, she and her partner Steve create fantastic beers. Their new Central Valley Breakfast Sour is a “California Lambic” barrel-aged with grapefruit, pear, and lychee. It should replace mimosas at everyone’s brunch as it would pair well with bacon and eggs and french toast. The brand-new Tranquil Eyes is a cherry wood smoked scotch ale that is kissed by the sweet cherry-juice covered lips of a wood nymph. It’s delicate flavors are matched by a thinner-than-some scotch ales mouthfeel, making it far too easy to drink. Tranquil Eyes also features High Water’s new logo, so be on the lookout for this. Although it is one of their earliest offering, I never had Hop Riot IPA, but that was quickly remedied. It was a very nice IPA, and a good break before the next two beers. Old and in the Way is High Water’s big boozy balanced barlywine. I think the ABV is a bit high for English-style, but it’s more malt-focused than American-style. While boozy and toffee-like, it was not syrupy as some American-made English-style barleywines can get. Finally, the Campfire Stout: it tastes like a s’mores: smokey marshmallow, roasty chocolate, hint of graham, a true dessert in a glass without being cloying or boozy. For my mother’s 60th birthday party we got a pony keg of this beer to go with the taco guy’s finest grilled goods because a) s’mores are her favorite dessert, b) the smoke, roast, and sweetness pairs great with asada and salsa, and c) most of the attendees do not drink craft beer. Campfire Stout was a great showcase that dark color=/=heavy or chewey, and that beer pairs better with food than wine. We killed the keg and tapped out the taco guy that night. Barri and I chatted for quite awhile while I ran through their lineup. I’ll be sure to watch for future High Water events, especially as they release their new barrel-aged series including BA Campfire Stout!
While at High Water I ran into some volunteers from earlier in the evening, who I had talked up Campfire Stout to, and they were very impressed. They also told me to check out Epidemic Ales around the corner. At this point I was sore and tired and talked Barri’s ear off, so I was not paying as much attention to the fine gentleman at Epidemic. They had the release of a new beer at the festival, but I was directed to opt for their Nightshade Bourbon Barrel-Aged Vanilla Stout. That was a BBA vanilla beast that needed time to warm up. If they bottle it I’ll have to pick up one to cellar for awhile.
As I wandered the hall I saw that the distant end, furthest from the entrance, was not as well lit nor as busy as the rest of the space. Tahoe Mountain Brewing Co.‘s staff welcomed the dark and that The Rare Barrel next to them was tapped out earlier in the evening. TMBC obviously had spill-over as they only had Party Boy left, a 100% Brett IPA that tasted like mangoes and brett dancing across my face. This and Tranquil Eyes were the most memorable beers of the evening for me. It was haunting. I had a great conversation about changes to brewing techniques at altitudes over 6,000 feet. The gentleman said they had to boil longer and use more hops to get the same isomerization as at sea level. I think a beercation along I-80 is called for.
Next door to TMBC was Ruhstaller, a company who’s distinctive burlap on its bottles always stood out in Whole Foods’ cooler. I had tried a few of their beers on draft before, and was not disappointed with The Captain, a nice black IPA, nor Test IPA, a very mangoey hoppy finish to my night. I learned that Ruhstaller contract brews and bottles at Hermitage in San José, and that the burlap is all hand-glued to the bottles, which sounds like a pain but visually pops. Most interesting to me, though, was the long conversation with the gentleman who’s name I cannot remember for the life of me. We started talking because I mentioned tried some of their beer at Whole Foods’ Mission Creek Brewery in San José, and it turned out he worked there before coming to Ruhstaller. He works at the farm, their R&D brewery and hop farm. Ruhstaller’s 7.5 acre hop field in Dixon is the third-largest in California. They are looking to be self-sufficient in their hop needs, creating true local beer. Most interesting is the discovery of feral Yolo Gold, a local varietal grown for Hamm’s that all but disappeared once hop production stopped in the area. Again, that I-80 trip is shaping itself, and I am excited to visit California grown farm beer like Ruhstaller.
As the evening was winding down and last call was called, the gent from Ruhstaller and I meandered back to the guild booth to squeeze in one more tasting when we ran into a friend of his, Wesley Miller, the Whole Foods Northern California beer coordinator. He said he oversees the tap rooms going into WFMs around the bay, and that many are on the horizon. It was especially interesting seeing the networking of these events in action. An organizer brought a gentleman from Alameda Island Brewing Company over to introduce Wesley so WFMs can start carrying their products. Both parties knew exactly what they needed to get into business, and hopefully an email was sent this week in the midst of SFBeerWeek madness, because I want more beer at Mission Creek. Business deals made after being on their feet for hours on end, pouring beer for thousands of people, shows dedication to their craft.
Before the evening even began I ran into Jake and Peter from Santa Clara Valley Brewing. Like many people in San José, I knew Jake of old at Kelly’s Liquors, Market Beer Co., and ISO:Beer. He was in front-of-house at SCVB and recently moved to back-of-house, where he helps brew some great beer. Peter is the sales guy who gets pulled into bottling duty. It’s great running into familiar faces at events like the Opening Gala.
Although his face wasn’t necessarily familiar, I recognized Jay Brooks’ website‘s logo from a distance and presumed it was the man himself. I introduced myself and told him about my Master of History thesis project, of which more will be posted here in the future. This site is my scratchpad for stories and ideas about building communities of food, drink, and culture, especially stories that do not fit into the thesis or other longer works. When my thesis is done, I will share the final product here, along with future plans for Mural Brewing.
I also shared with Jay that his 2016 Typology Tuesday project is the final push for me to start this site. Each month a different style will be presented and discussed from different angles. He invites other beer writers to join in, and the last Tuesday of the month is a free-for-all discussion. January was about barleywines, and though the deadline for submission has passed, I will still write up my barleywine post before reading through everyone’s contributions and moving on to February. It was great meeting him and talking for a few minutes, and I look forward to more events like SFBeerWeek where my focus is less on the amount of alcohol in my blood and more on flavor, business, and community of craft beer.
Mural Brewing 
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