In the middle of reporting the Pyramid takeover story – more details to come – I talked to Adam Lamoreaux at Linden Street Brewing in Oakland, who told me that at The Trappist in downtown Oakland, they’re marking Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day), the big Dutch holliday tomorrow, April 30 with a special on his beer.
For three hours, 4 - 7 p.m. Urban People’s Common Lager, aka Linden Street Common, will be sold for $3 a glass, “Everybody’s also supposed to wear orange,” Adam says.

This is from the Trappist:

Wednesday April 30th Koninginnedag Celebration (Queens Day) $3 Linden Street Common from 4pm to 7pm, Two Dutch Beers on Tap (Jopen), Food (might not be good), Live Band. (might also not be good)

The World Beer Cup results are in. This is the world version of the Great American Beer Festival. Both are sponsored by the Brewers’ Association, the Boulder, CO.-based craft beer trade association. It ended yesterday, Saturday, Aprtil 19, 2008, in San Diego. The cup’s a big deal. Nearly every brewer and beer importer I know was there.

Unlike the similarly named “World Beer Championships,” the World Beer Cup is professionally judged in flights of blind tastings. None of the judges know the names of any of the beers presented and some care is taken to keep judges away from beers in the styles they make themselves. For example, a brewer I know at a big brewery famous for light lagers drew barley wines.

How big is the World Beer Cup: Here’s what the Brewers’ Association says:

Brewers from five continents earned awards from an elite international panel of judges this week in the 2008 Brewers Association World Beer Cup. The seventh bi-annual competition awarded medals to brewers from 21 countries ranging from Australia and Italy to Bolivia and Japan.

This year, 644 breweries from 58 countries and 45 U.S. states vied for awards with 2,864 beers entered in 91 beer style categories. The top three entries in each category won gold, silver and bronze medals.

You can find the entire list here. But if you’re in a rush and live in the Bay Area, here are the local winners and a few from Southern California and Oregon, whose beers are readily available here.

Category 3: American-Style Wheat Beer, 14 entries
Gold: Crystal Wheat Ale, Pyramid Breweries Inc., Seattle, WA and Berkeley, CA.
Silver: Shiner Dunkelweizen, Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX
Bronze: Spanish Peaks Crystal Weiss, Spanish Peaks Brewing Co., Polson, MT

Category 4: American-Style Hefeweizen, 34 entries
Gold: Widmer Hefeweizen, Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: UFO Hefeweizen, Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA
Bronze: La Bianca, Apostel Bräu, Hauzenberg, Germany

Category 9: Specialty Beer, 20 entries
Gold: Morimoto Soba Ale, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
Silver: 1: Orig. Dinkel Bier (Spelt Beer), Apostel Bräu, Hauzenberg, Germany
Bronze: Morimota Black Obi Soba Ale, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR

Category 11: Other Low Strength Ale or Lager, 15 entries
Gold: Firestone Extra Pale Ale, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Silver: Polygamy Porter, Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Provo Girl Pilsner, Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT

Category 13: Experimental Beer (Lager or Ale), 27 entries
Gold: Ichabod, Alpine Beer Co., Alpine, CA
Silver: Iwate Kura Beer Oyster Stout - B, Sekinoichi Shuzo Co. Ltd., Iwate, Japan
Bronze: Veritas 002: Port Brewing Co. and The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CACategory 37: American-Style Dark Lager, 18 entries

Category 17: Wood- and Barrel-aged Sour Beer, 14 entries
Gold: Cuvee de Tomme, Port Brewing Co. and The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Silver: Temptation, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA
Bronze: Stevns CCC, Nørrebro Bryghus, Copenhagen, Denmark

Category 22: German-Style Pilsener, 72 entries
Gold: Trumer Pils, Trumer Brauerei Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Silver: Waldhaus Diplom Pils, Privatbrauerei Waldhaus Joh. Schmid GmbH,
Weilheim/Waldhaus, Germany
Bronze: Troegs Sunshine Pils, Troegs Brewing Co., Harrisburg, PA

Category 30: Traditional German-Style Bock, 21 entries
Gold: Bock Lager, Elk Grove Brewery and Restaurant, Elk Grove, CA
Silver: Lakefront Bock, Lakefront Brewery, Inc., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Troegenator, Troegs Brewing Co., Harrisburg, PA

Category 41: Belgian-Style White (or Wit)/Belgian-Style Wheat, 35 entries
Gold: Hoegaarden, InBev Belgium N.V./S.A., Jupille-sur-Meuse, Belgium
Silver: Ommegang Witte, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY
Bronze: Mill Street Belgian-Style Wit, Mill Street Brewery, Toronto, Canada

Category 42: Belgian- and French-Style Ale, 37 entries
Gold: Brugse Zot Blond, Brouwerij De Halve Maan, Brugge, Belgium
Silver: Matilda, Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL
Bronze: Tiburon Blonde, Marin Brewing Co., Larkspur, CA

Category 43: Belgian-Style Pale Ale, 8 entries
Silver: Belgian Blonde, Black Diamond Brewing Co., Concord, CA
Bronze: Special , Brewery De Ryck, Herzele, Belgium

45: Belgian-Style Flanders/Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ale, 5 entries
Silver: Red Poppy, Port Brewing Co. and The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Bronze: Phat Phlemish Red, Upstream Brewing Co., Omaha, NE

Category 49: Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale, 28 entries
Gold: Salvation, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA
Silver: Malheur 12°, Brewery Malheur, Buggenhout, Belgium
Bronze: Brother David’s Double, Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Boonville, CA Category

Category 52: Classic English-Style Pale Ale, 35 entries
Gold: MacTarnahan’s Amber Ale, Pyramid Breweries Inc., Seattle, WA, Portand, OR, Berkeley, CA.

Silver: Saranac Pale Ale, F.X. Matt Brewing Co., Utica, NY
Bronze: Bass, Samlesbury Brewery, Preston, UK

Category 54: Ordinary Bitter, 10 entries
Gold: Cutthroat, Uinta Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT
Silver: BridgePort Blue Heron Pale Ale, BridgePort Brewery, Portland, OR

Category 56: Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter, 39 entries
Gold: Standing Wave Pale Ale, Kannah Creek Brewing Co., Grand Junction, CO
Silver: The Wise ESB, Elysian Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Bronze: Stone Pale Ale, Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA

Category 59: English-Style Brown Ale, 47 entries
Gold: BridgePort Beertown Brown, BridgePort Brewery, Portland, OR
Silver: Sweet George’s Brown, Dillon DAM Brewery, Dillon, CO
Bronze: Big Ben Brown Ale, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver, CO

Category 63: Oatmeal Stout, 35 entries
Gold: Sless’ Stimulating Stout, Iron Springs Pub & Brewery, Fairfax, CA
Silver: Sleeping Dog Oatmeal Stout, Chama River Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Velvet Merkin, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA

Category 68: Barley Wine-Style Ale, 61 entries
Gold: Old Diablo, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, Antioch, CA
Silver: Hopsquatch ‘07: Four Peaks Brewing Co., Tempe, AZ
Bronze: Alaskan Barley Wine, Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau,

Catergory 76: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout, 20 entries
Gold: Blarney Sisters Dry Irish Stout, Third Street AleWorks, Santa Rosa , CA
Silver: Dark Starr Stout, Starr Hill Brewery, Crozet, VA
Bronze: Irish Stout, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, Antioch, CA

Category 77: Foreign (Export)-Style Stout, 26 entries
Gold: Zonker Stout, Snake River Brewing, Jackson, WY
Silver: San Quentin’s Breakout Stout, Marin Brewing Co., Larkspur, CA
Bronze: Tsunami Stout, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR

Category 79: American-Style Pale Ale, 66 entries
Gold: Widmer Pale Ale, Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: Sharptail Pale Ale, Montana Brewing Co., Billings, MT
Bronze: Maui Pale Ale, Maui Brewing Co., Lahaina, HI

Category 80: American-Style Strong Pale Ale, 52 entries
Gold: Organic IPA, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland, OR
Silver: Nectar IPA, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Bronze: Peg Leg Pale Ale, Ham’s Brewhouse, Greenville, NC

Category 81: American-Style India Pale Ale, 77 entries
Gold: IPA, Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
Silver: Union Jack IPA, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Bronze: India Pelican Ale, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR

Category 88: American-Style Wheat Wine Ale, 4 entries
Gold: Winter Wheatwine, Rubicon Brewing Co., Sacramento, CA
Silver: Wheat Wine, Great Adirondack Brewing Co., Lake Placid, NY
Bronze: Star Brew, Marin Brewing Co., Larkspur, CA

Dogfish Head’s off-centered ales for us off-centered people are truly coming to the Bay Area next week,

Bob Stahl, of DBI Beverage Inc. (used to be Golden Brands), the San Francisco distributor, says DBI has distribution for SF, Santa Clara County, Napa, Solano, Mendicino, Lake, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Yolo, Sutter, Yuba and El Dorado counties.

“We are just beginning distribution as we just received the product. Whole Foods, Bev Mo and other independent retailers will start receiving product deliveries next week,” Stahl says.

In May, Morris Disributing begins distribution in Marin and Sonoma counties.

But what about us over here in the East Bay? I’ll use an old Navy expression: We’re S.O.O.L. Translation: We’re neglected and ignored AGAIN. Damn.

One sure place to sample Dogfish wares will be Monday, April 21, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Toronado, 547 Haight St. in San Francisco.

Here’s an update from DBI on the beers they’re pouring: 90 Minute IPA, Midas Touch, Palo Santo Marron, Olde School, Immort Ale, Chateau Jiahu.

“The last three styles are just being brought in for the kick off party so the initial styles to be distributed will be 90 Minute, Midas touch and Palo Santo Marron.,” Stahl says.

It’s finally happening. Dogfish Head’s beers, well three of them, are officially being distributed in the San Francisco Bay Area, starting now.

The official kickoff is this coming Monday, April 21 at 6 p.m. at the Toronado, 547 Haight St., San Francisco.

Dogfish founder Sam Calagione will be on hand. The official name of the event is “Olde Beer and Moldy Cheese.”

Toronado will be pouring:

• 2007 Olde School Barleywine, served with Fiscalini Bandaged Cheddar (This cheese is a famous, raw, cow’s milk cheese from Modesto (Yes, Modesto).
• 2007 Immort Ale with Isle of Mull Cheddar. (This is a cheddar from the Isle of Mull in Scotland.) Immort Ale, Dogfish says…

Vast in character, luscious & complex. Brewed with peat-smoked barley, this strong ale is brewed with organic juniper berries, vanilla & maple syrup. It’s aged on oak and fermented with a blend of English & Belgian yeasts.
11% abv
40 ibu

• 2006 Chateau Jiahu with Berkswell cheese. (Berkswell is a very famous. sheep’s cheese from Coventry, England.) ….Well let me quote from Dogfish….

Preserved pottery jars found in the Neolithic villiage of Jiahu, in Henan province, Northern China, has revealed that a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey and fruit was being produced that long ago - right around the same time that barley beer and grape wine were beinginning to be made in the Middle East! Read more…

There’s a tiny hitch about all this: Dogfish has a distributor for San Francisco, for Marin and Sonoma, but no one in the East Bay or the Peninsula or the South Bay Damn.For now those of us among the 2.8 million people who live over here who like Dogfish Beers will have to trek to San Francisco.

Oh yes…the Dogfish beers being distributed here initially are…
90 Minute Imperial IPA, Midas Touch, and Palo Santo Marron. Read about them here….

It’s Belgian beer month at the Toronado, 547 Haight St., San Francisco. Somehow, this very important fest escaped my notice.

Basically, Toronadao proprietor David Keene puts every Belgian he has on tap (or almost every Belgian). There are dozens, including Lambics and gueze and many kegs that have some age on them and should be delicious.

See ya’ there.

Late note: adding two more items…meet the brewer at The Trappist, SF Brewer’s Guild monthly sesssion

OK, I lag when it comes to calendar items. Hell, I was nearly late to my own wedding _ I was in San Pablo trying to strike a deal with the Salvadoran proprietor of a damaged goods store for a sports coat. This is truth. Twenty five years ago I was a free-lancer just back from Mexico and had no money. I got a deal and wore the sports coat for many years. And I got to the wedding with two hours to spare.

All right. Here we go. Got additions. Post ‘em here or shoot me an e-mail at whatsontap@sbcglobal.net

Saturday, April 12 Hop Rhizome Festival, Bistro, 1001 B. St. Hayward. 11a.m. until. Proprietor Vic Kralj will have a lengthy list of hoppy beers on tap, plus live music and barbeque all day. He’s also selling hop rhizomes at a nominal cost. Take some home and “grow your own.:” The Bay Area once was a big hop-growing region, but an infection spread through the hop fields and the last commercial hop fields — in Sonoma County — were plowed over in the 1940s. See you there! Info: www.the-bistro.com.

April 12, 2 p.m. Book Passage, San Francisco Ferry Building Store 1 Ferry Building, #42. San Francisco, CA 94111 Book signing, demonstrations, by He Said Beer, She Said Wine authors Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Brewing, Milton DE. and Marnie Old, director of wine studies at the French Culinary Institute in New York City. I caught them at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver last year. It’s quite a demonstration. Check out my interview with the authors and a couple of recipes in the San Jose Mercury News.

The book is absolutely excellent, discusses pairing both wine and beer with all kinds of food. Wine likes fatty food, beer can handle heat. I kind of sort of knew that, but now I really understand the concept.

April 1t, 6 - 9 p.m., Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, 1195A Evans Ave., San Francisco, CA. Meet the Brewers, San Francisco Brewers Guild, Meet the Brewers is a unique opportunity to get to know the local artisans behind the craft beers of San Francisco. These casual gatherings are held once a month (from 6-9pm) and rotate among
SF Brewers Guild breweries as well as a few other good beer establishments in the City. Brewery tours are given at 6pm, followed by an informal gathering of San Francisco brewers and beer lovers. Bring your questions and comments and learn more about San Francisco’s great beer-making tradition. Make it a monthly tradition of your own.

April 16-19 Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America, San Diego, CA,.this ends with announcement of the World Beer Cup winners, beers submitted by brewers around the world in many categories. Like the GABF, this Brewer’s Association event is professionally judgeed in blind tastings.

April 20, - Brewmasters’ Dinner: Five Guys and a Barrel featuring Russian River, Port Brewing, Avery, Allagash and Dogfish Head, Cathedral Hill Hotel, San Francisco, CA. - SOLD OUT.

Darren at bayareabrewing.com points out I’ve missed a couple of important events upcoming, one here in Oakland, one in San Francsaco:

April 21, 6 - 11 p.m. <strong>The Trappist - Meet the Brewer</strong>
The Trappist, 460 8th Street, Oakland CA 94607 Bee and Cold Plate pairing with <a href=”http://www.allagash.com/”>Allagash Brewing Company</a>
Founder & Brewer Rob Tod. This is a “Private” event and only 25
tickets will be sold. MAY BE SOLD OUT.

April 23, 6:30 p.m., Spring Brewmaster’s Dinner, Sacramento Brewing, Town and Country Village, 2713 El Paseo Lane, Sacramento, CA, $50. Five courses. Reservations: 916-485-4677.

April 25-26, 4th Annual Oregon Garden Craft Brewfest, Oregon Garden, Silverton, OR. Friday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.. Saturday from noon to 11 p.m., $10. Includes food and live music. Participating breweries include Rogue Ales, Siletz Brewing Company, Lost Coast Brewery, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Pelican Pub & Brewery, and Ram Restaurant & Brewery, as well as Fox Barrel Cider Company and Vitis Ridge Winery. Live music includes the Joe McMurrian Quartet with Jimmy Bott; Ty Curtis; John Koonce; Lloyd Jones; J.R. Sims & the Texas Special; and Franko and the Stingers. Info: (503) 874-8100.

April 26, Smithsonian, Washington D.C. , Behind the Barley Smithsonian Seminar with Jim Koch, (Boston Beer, Sam Adams), Paul Shipman (Redhook) and Charles Finkel, founder of Merchant du Vin and proprietor Pike Street Brewing. Info: www.residentassociates.org

April 26 25th annual San Francisco International Beer Festival, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. This three-hour-long, (7-10 p.m.), $60 benefit at Fort Mason for a small private nursey school, Telegraph Hill Cooperative Nursery School, is sold out, the Web site says. Oh well. Always another fest, huh.
www.sfbeerfest.com

\

A recent Pleasanton Hotel dinner featuring the beers of Lagunitas.

April 30, 7 p.m., New Belgium Brewmaster’s Dinner, Pleasanton Hotel Restaurant, 855 Main St., Pleasanton, $50. Info: 925.846-8106. The hotel’s talented young chef pairs New Belgium’s eclectic beers with several courses.

Here’s the menu:

Frito Misto of calamari, rock shrimp and tilapia
with banana pepper butter sauce
Paired with Mothership WIT Organic Wheat Beer

Italian Sausage Calzone on balsamic dressed greens
Paired with Blue Paddle Pilsener

Fat Tire Marinated Bistro Filet on boursin whipped potatoes with broccolini and carrot-fat tire reduction
Paired with Fat Tire Amber Ale

Arugula Dressed with Goat Cheese-1554 Vinaigrette,
Herb marinated artichoke hearts and croutons
Paired with 1554 Brussels Style Black Ale

Pear and Apple Crisp ala mode with trippel caramel sauce.
Paired with Trippel Belgium Style Ale
www.pleasantonhotel.com

May 10, Oregon Micro Brew Festival, Corvallis, OR
www.oregonwi.com/events/events.cfm

May 10 Boonville Beer Festival, Boonville, CA 707-895-BEER www.avbc.com. This one is a lot of fun. You can camp out overnight. Beers from many craft brewers, live music. It’s a hoot. More info to come.

May 11, 3-5 p.m., Sonoma Community Center, 276 East Napa St., Sonoma, CA. Conversation With William Brand., and Northern California brewers, $20. Includes cheese and beer tasting, beers, cheese selected by Sheana Davis, The Epicurean Connection. Reservations: 707-938-4626. More about this to come.

Triple Rock’s firkin fest was a benefit for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, based in Burbank, CA. Founder Diane Host’s 8-year-old daughter, Alisa Ann Ruch, died from burns from a barbecue-related fire more than 35 years ago that burned more than 95% of her body. The foundation devotes all its resources to helping children with major burns across the country .

Better late than never in a house with good beer…

UNFORTUNATELY, I got to Triple Rock’s firkin, real ale, fest very late Saturday, because I had to attend a memorial service for a good friend who died. His name was Michael Searle and he was a big beer fan. We’ve shared many a pint over the years. So I figured there was no better place for a goodbye toast to Michael than this festival, which was a few blocks from his house.’By the time I got there some of the beers from better-known breweries were gone, but fortunately, the selection was large — I counted 27, arranged around the main floor of Triple Rock. So I managed to hoist a vew for Mike.I tried about 10 and really liked Blue Frog (Fairfax) Peligroso 8th Anniversary Ale, which had been aged in French oak for five months,. About the color of Bass, a medium, hazy copper with a lively head, unusual for a gravity beer: Big malt taste, dry finish. Just excellent.Also, Rubicon (Sacramento) Maggie Brown’s Alt with Cascade fining. Decent malty taste, naturally lot of hops in the long finish.

The first beer I tried was one of my old standbys, Twist of Fate from Brian Hunt at Moonlight, Windsor. This is about a perfect beer for a handpump: Sweet malt nice, mouth-filling with just enough hops.

Also tried Two Rivers Cider on Oak. It’s a very dry cider with a decent amount of tannin to provide a bit of bite. Two Rivers ciders, Sacramento, founded in 1991 by Vincent Sterne, have vastly improved over time. Would love to see this in bottles to take home.

Moylan’s (Novato) came through as usual with Imperial Stout. I’d already tried this 10 percent dark beauty in the bottle. Without the charge of CO2, the dark malts stood out. For a malt fanicer, there was no better beer at the fest.

I closed out my session with Drake’s Firkinwine, rich copper color and hops, hops and more hops, Excellent.

Tim White, who has provided many a tip for my column and this blog, had kept his list of beers on tap, so I can bring the list to you. Note, many of these beers are one-offs. You’ll mostly like never see many of them in bottles. But that’s what’s fund about a fest like this one, finding new and different beers.

Hats off to Christian Kazakoff, Triple Rock’s head brewer , who conceived this fest.

The list: 21st Amendment, Repeal Rye‘. Anderson Valley, Hop Ottin’; Bear Republic, Rebellion Ale; Bison, BarleywineBlue Frog, Peligroso 8th Anniversary Ale,Drake’s, FirkinwineHalf Moon Bay Brewing, Bootleggers’ BrownIron Springs, IPALagunitas, Maximus DIPALinden Street, Urban People’s Common LagerLodi Brewing, Brown South England AleMarin, IPAMoonlight, Twist of FateMoylan’s, Imperial StoutMagnolia, Blue Bell BitterPyramid, Thunderhead IPAThirsty Bear, Kozlov Organic Stout with VanillaRubicon, Maggie Brown’s AleSan Francisco Brewing, Nicodemus BrownSierra Nevada, TornedoSpeakeasy, Hunter’s Point :PorterBlack Diamond, AmberSchooner’s, Irish Dry StoutBeach Chalet, Hop SaisonTriple Rock, Reindeer AleTwo Rivers Cider, Dry Cider

This is your three-hour warning… The Fifth Annual Firkin Gravity Fest at Triple Rock Brewery, 1920 Shattuck Ave. in downtown Berkeley begins at 11 a.m.

Head brewer Christian Kazakoff and his crew of volunteers are literally buried in beer at the moment. There’s going to be an impressive lineup today of just about every style of beer you can imagine, none of it pasteurized, none of it kegged with CO2 and all of it will be served straight out of the keg.

It’s real ale and the event promises to be impressive in range and scope. See you there!

Tickets are $20, for five tastes, more tastes $1 each. Doors open at 11 a.m., and the festival runs into the early evening.

If you can avoid it, don’t drive. Take BART. Here are the directions from beerbybart.com.

“Walk out of the main Berkeley BART station above the central escalator and go up Shattuck Avenue (north, or toward distant hills) for about three and three quarter blocks. Triple Rock is on your left.” — beerbybart.com

What’s new in beer and brewing…Among other beer blogs I read regularly is Pete Brown’s Blog. He’s English and something of an adventurer. He recently took a cask of India Pale Ale from Burton on Trent to India on a sailboat, replicating the original journey of this now famous beer style.

Today, he’s blogging about an International Real Ale festial at the J.D. Wetherspoon pub chain. Part of what made it an international fest was the presence of Stone head brewer Mitch Steele ( who used to be the head of Anheuser-Busch specialty beer section) and another brewer from Stone. Brewing, Escondido, CA. Together, they made a beer for the fest….Here’s the nut graph of Pete Brown’s post…

I went to the launch of the festival on Thursday and met Mitch Steele and Steve Wagner from Stone, who packed a bag of Centennial and Simcoe hops and came to Kent to brew Stone California Double IPA at the Shepherd Neame brewery.

Mitch said it was a privilege to brew at the brewery, and obviously enjoyed matching North American vision and invention with English brewing tradition.

The resulting beer is utterly beguiling: the hoppy punch that you only really taste in North America, countered by the smoothness and depth exclusive to cask-conditioned ale. READ MORE....

Cask Stone. Now I’d drink that.

The computer meltdown recover continues…Just unearthed Russ Wigglesworth’s spreadsheet on the finalists at the 15th annual Toronado Barleywine fest. Russ was the fest coordinator and did herculean work, There were 50 barleywines entered; it took four panels of judges many hours in three tasting rounds.

I have the spreadsheet in PDF format, If anywould would like a copy, drop me an e-mail at whatsontap@sbcglobal.net or post the request here. Bad news: Toronado says there are no barleywines left. You can see my tasting notes on the winners, here.

Toronado BW Fest 2008 FINAL RESULTS List

Entry Toronado No.

Firestone Walker , Acabus Blend, 50 Third

Stone, Old Guardian 2006 18 Second

Lagunitas Gnarlywine 2006 5 First

Finalists:

Cucapa Barley Wine 6 (Cerveceria de Baja California Mexicali, Mexico)

Triple Rock, Odyssey Ale 2006
Berkeley, CA 25

Real Ale Brewing 28
Sissyphus Barleywine
Blanco, Tx.

Sierra Nevada 49
Bourbon Bigfoot
Chico, CA