The San Francisco bay to breakers pub crawl I devised – with the help of a number of readers of my weekly column has gone live on the KQED, Channel 9, San Francisco web site. You can find it here. It’s only been up three hours and so far there have been six bids. Find someone with bucks or bid on it yourself. All the craft brewers in the tour have donated their beer and food. Not going to name them, ’cause that would give away the tour.

A Craft Beer Pub Crawl in San Francisco

Climb aboard Mr. Toad’s Tours with Oakland Tribune/Contra Costa Times beer columnist William Brand for a close-up pub crawl to some of San Francisco’s most interesting craft breweries and pubs.

The crawl begins in late afternoon with a glass of a rare, barrel-aged California craft beer and Point Reyes oysters at a spot beside San Francisco Bay, continues to one of America’s finest beer bars, where you’ll get a chance to sample some of the best beers from America and abroad.

Then we visit two of San Francisco’s most acclaimed brewpubs and ends at a brew-restaurant on the Pacific in time for the sunset.

Tour includes all beer and snacks.

Limit six people.

Russian River DamnationBill, Subject: Russian River Damnation Ale: Have you tried this one yet? It’s one of the Russian River Belgian line of beers and it’s sensational.
Stu
Yes. Love it. Here’s a column I wrote about it last year. Long live Russian River Brewing. b

By William Brand
Remember the old saying: If March comes in blustery, like a lion - it will go out like a lamb. I can’t predict the weather, but one thing’s certain in this column, the beer of the week today, March 1 looks like a lamb, but roars like a lion.
It’s Damnation**** from Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa. On the surface, this is a mellow, Belgian-style strong, golden ale, 7 percent alcohol by volume. But there are enticing subtleties beneath the surface. It’s won many prizes and beer geeks in Europe compare it to Duvel, the famous Belgian ale.
Russian River’s owned by Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo. Vinnie’s the brewer ; he’s the son of a Temeculah winemaker, and he’s known as one of America’s best craft brewers: famous for his extreme beers, aged in wine barrels, brewed using wild yeast.
Damnation’s on the edge of the extreme beer precipice.
It’s made with a Belgian yeast strain; American pilsner barley malt and dextrose sugar, which contributes more alcohol and an a teasing lightness. Hops are Styrian Goldings for bittering, which Vinnie says, lend an orange-citrus note that blends well with the yeast fruitiness. Also U.S. Sterling hops, adding herbal notes.
After a warm fermentation, Damnation’s bottled in 750 ml bottles, sealed with a cork. And, like Champagne, a differerent yeast’s added to each bottle so fermentation continues slowly.
Vinnie uses a wine yeast, actually a wild yeast strain found by a Sonoma County winemaker in a Zinfandel vineyard. It adds a layer of complexity, herbal notes, more of a tropical fruit flavor, instead of just banana and pear present in a standard ale, he says. There are details on each bottling at www.russianriverbrewing.com.
OK here’s the down side. You can buy bottles for $5.99 at Russian River, 725 4th St., Santa Rosa, (707) 545-2339. Damnation’s also sold at Whole Foods and Ledger’s Liquors in Berkeley; at Beer & More Beer and Monument Wine & Spirits, Concord, Jackson Wine & Spirits, Lafayette. In San Francisco: Plumpjack and Beverages & More, Geary Boulevard store and Blackwell’s Wine & Spirits. Can’t find these stores, call or e-mail us for our Retail Beer List.
Vinnie, meanwhile’s headed to Belgium this week with a couple of bottles of Damnation under his arm, accompanied by four other increasingly famous brewers of Belgian-style beer, Tomme Arthur, Pizza Port, Solano Beach; Adam Avery, Avery Brewing, Ft. Collins, CO., Rob Todd, Allagash, Portland, ME. Expedition’s led by Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head, Milton, DE.

Russian River DamnationBill, Subject: Russian River Damnation Ale: Have you tried this one yet? It’s one of the Russian River Belgian line of beers and it’s sensational.
Stu
Yes. Love it. Here’s a column I wrote about it last year. Long live Russian River Brewing. b

By William Brand
Remember the old saying: If March comes in blustery, like a lion - it will go out like a lamb. I can’t predict the weather, but one thing’s certain in this column, the beer of the week today, March 1 looks like a lamb, but roars like a lion.
It’s Damnation**** from Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa. On the surface, this is a mellow, Belgian-style strong, golden ale, 7 percent alcohol by volume. But there are enticing subtleties beneath the surface. It’s won many prizes and beer geeks in Europe compare it to Duvel, the famous Belgian ale.
Russian River’s owned by Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo. Vinnie’s the brewer ; he’s the son of a Temeculah winemaker, and he’s known as one of America’s best craft brewers: famous for his extreme beers, aged in wine barrels, brewed using wild yeast.
Damnation’s on the edge of the extreme beer precipice.
It’s made with a Belgian yeast strain; American pilsner barley malt and dextrose sugar, which contributes more alcohol and an a teasing lightness. Hops are Styrian Goldings for bittering, which Vinnie says, lend an orange-citrus note that blends well with the yeast fruitiness. Also U.S. Sterling hops, adding herbal notes.
After a warm fermentation, Damnation’s bottled in 750 ml bottles, sealed with a cork. And, like Champagne, a differerent yeast’s added to each bottle so fermentation continues slowly.
Vinnie uses a wine yeast, actually a wild yeast strain found by a Sonoma County winemaker in a Zinfandel vineyard. It adds a layer of complexity, herbal notes, more of a tropical fruit flavor, instead of just banana and pear present in a standard ale, he says. There are details on each bottling at www.russianriverbrewing.com.
OK here’s the down side. You can buy bottles for $5.99 at Russian River, 725 4th St., Santa Rosa, (707) 545-2339. Damnation’s also sold at Whole Foods and Ledger’s Liquors in Berkeley; at Beer & More Beer and Monument Wine & Spirits, Concord, Jackson Wine & Spirits, Lafayette. In San Francisco: Plumpjack and Beverages & More, Geary Boulevard store and Blackwell’s Wine & Spirits. Can’t find these stores, call or e-mail us for our Retail Beer List.
Vinnie, meanwhile’s headed to Belgium this week with a couple of bottles of Damnation under his arm, accompanied by four other increasingly famous brewers of Belgian-style beer, Tomme Arthur, Pizza Port, Solano Beach; Adam Avery, Avery Brewing, Ft. Collins, CO., Rob Todd, Allagash, Portland, ME. Expedition’s led by Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head, Milton, DE.

David Keene’s hosting Stone Brewing, Escondido, CA. tomorrow night, Wednesday, May 23,2007 at the Toronado, 547 Haight St., San Francisco. No charge, just buy the beers you want.They’ll start pouring at 6 p.m. Here’s the linuep – tasting notes from the brewer and the Toronado.

((NOTE: To see this site wih graphics and links please go to www.beernewsletter.com/blog

1. Stone Pale Ale- Deep amber in color, Stone Pale Ale is
robust and full flavored. A delicate hop aroma is
complemented by a rich maltiness.

2. Stone IPA- Look up “hops” in the dictionary and you’ll
see a picture of Stone IPA! “Dry-hopped” for an extra two
weeks, this unique process gives our IPA its bountiful hop
aroma and rich hop flavor. A full 70+ IBUs (International
Bitterness Units) creates this beer’s crisp and refreshing
bitter character.

3. Stone Arrogant Bastard- Stone Brewing Co’s Arrogant
Bastard Ale is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is a
whole mouthfull of beer that will not let you forget what
you are drinking through the very last drop. Tons of malts
stepped on by tons of hops, this beer is in a class of its
own.

4. Ruination IPA- So called because of the immediate
ruinous effect on your palate. 100+ IBUs. Bracingly bitter.
Thick, pungent hop aroma. We would say that no hops
were injured in the brewing of this beer, but that would be
a massive lie. In fact, the words “Stone Ruination IPA” are
what older hop vines use to cause little hop vines to
quiver with fright and lose sleep at night . We at Stone
honor the brutal massacre of countless hops with this
“Liquid poem to the glory of the hop!” Paganism at its
best!

5. Stone Russian Imperial Stout- The Stone Imperial Stout
label describes the brew as being “intensely aromatic
(notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness and
alcohol) and heavy on the palate…expect this mysterious
brew to pour like used motor oil and taste even heavier!

NOTE: FOR LINKS, PHOTOS, GO TO MY OTHER SITE: http://www.beernewsletter.com/blog.

There’s a very fine article about German beer in the Sunday New York Times Travel Section by freelancer Evan Rail. If you aren’t a Times subscriber you can access the link free all this week, I believe. It’s worth a read.

Rail checked out three German beer styles that some (not I) feel are vanishing or just now being revived. He starts with Berliner Weisse, the sparkling wheat beer from Berlin with the sour, lactic edge, usually served with fruit syrup.

Kolsch glass in Koln, GermanNext stop Koln or, as we in the English-speaking world call it, Cologne, for a taste of Kolsch, the malty, delicious ale that has been brewed in Cologne for centuries. Personally, Kolsch ranks among the finest beers I’ve ever tasted. Lots of malt with a drying finish, layers of faint malt sweetness lingering.

Then Rail moves on to Leipzig for a taste of a beer that I’ve never tasted: Gose. He describes it as a deep orange color, spiced with salt and coriander. The style lapsed when Leipzig was inside the Iron Curtain, but has been revived. I checked a little further and found this article from the Campaign for Real Ale’s What’s Brewing by Michael Jackson, the English beer guru.

Michael points out that like Kolsch, it’s an ale with its fruity, warming notes, not a traditional German lager. He also traces Gose’s origins to a village not far from Leipzig a thousand years earlier and compares it to the Lambic beers of Belgium. Anyway, sounds like a beer to try.

Finally, Rail, the New York Times journalist, travels on to Bamberg to taste the wonders of rauchbier, a beer made from malt smoked over a wood fire. The style varies from lightly smoked to dark beers with a barbecue intensity.

In my humble opinion – to use a Net cliche – Alaskan Smoked Porter**** equals an German rauchbier I’ve ever tasted. You can find out more about rauchbier here and here.

About the photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org

OK, this is way late. If you’re around Berkeley today, looking for something to do, check out Pyramid Brewery, 901 Gilman St., 510-528-9880.
Pyramid Crystal Weizen
There’s a buffet “brewers’ dinner” today from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. A variety of dishes matched with Pyramid’s hoppiest beers. $20 at the door.

Price includes gifts and door prizes, Pyramid says. Can’t make it to this one – check out our Beer Events Calendar.

align=”left” />One of my ace beer scouts, Tim White, called me with a blockbuster last night. He heard that Brauerei Trumer, the Berkeley brewery that makes the stellar Trumer Pils****, has been sold to Anheuser-Busch.

Blew me away. Thank God, the rumor’s not true. There’s been no sale. Tim’s info was solid: His source said someone known to the source had gotten laid off two weeks ago along with the entire staff.

He did get laid off and so did several others – the people who drive Trumer Pils distribution trucks. Trumer’s ended self-distribution, Trumer’s sales manager Jim Crudo said Sunday.

I know A-B’s hungry for craft beer acquisitions; they own minority interests in Redhook Ale co.Red Hook Ale Co. (Seattle), Widmer Brothers (Portland) and they have a distribution agreement with Goose Island (Chicago). Meanwhile, sales of Bud and company, although in the hundreds of millions of barrels category, are flat.

According to Crudo, Brauerei Trumer Berkeley, which is a joint venture of Carlos Alvarez, the Corona importer, and Josef Sigel, the Austrian brewer of Trumer Pils, has cut a deal with Horizon Beverages Co., the A-B distributor in Oakland, to distribute Trumer Pils in the East Bay. Trumer’s also made a deal with Markstein Sales, Pittsburg, the Contra Costa A-B distributor and with Matagrano, South San Francisco, the SF distributor.

But a Coors distributor handles Trumer in San Jose, Crudo said.

“We’ve been brewing at capacity,” Crudo said. The brewery produced about 18,000 barrels last year and just added new fermenters that will double capacity. “Trumer Pils is a winner. We make a really quality product and people get behind it.

He said emphatically that as far as he knows there’s no under the table deal with Anheuser-Busch. “Quite frankly, we had become more of a delivery service than a sales service,” he said. Trumer needed to do more selling and less delivering as distribution widens to all of Northern California.

What about a secret, under-the-table deal with Anheuser-Busch for eventual sale of the company. “No,” Crudo said. “I cannot envision Mr. Alvarez (Carlos Alvarez, the company owner) selling it. He big ambitions for this brand.”

Curious about Trumer Pils. Check out the article I wrote for Northwest Brew News and another I wrote for the Oakland Tribune/MediaNews Group. They’re posted here.