Bottoms Up

The brewers in and around Sacramento got together last week to begin planning their own Sacramento Craft Beer Week. Tentative dates are February 24-28 of next year, a few weeks after SF Beer Week. Watch their website as new developments unfold.

ALL MONTH

November 1-30

All November, the BRU/SFO Project will be going on at both 21st Amendment Brewery & Restaurant and Magnolia Pub & Brewery.

What is it? “It’s an excursion of Belgian-style and Belgian-influenced beers, six from each brewery. Grab a boarding pass and take a trip to Belgium via Magnolia and the 21st Amendment. The first three beers at each brewery hit the taps on Monday, 11/2 and then both breweries will release a new beer every Monday for the rest of the month. Try all 12 and get the special commemorative glass.”

The beers will be released throughout the month by the following schedule:

21st Amendment

1. Via - Belgian Single 11/2
2. St. Martin’s Abbey 11/2
3. Noir de Blanc- Chocolate Wit 11/2
4. Brew Libre! Ou Mourir - Belgian IPA 11/9
5. Monk’s Blood - Belgian Dark Strong 11/16
6. Baby Horse - Quadruple 11/23

Magnolia

1. Deep Ellum Dubbel 11/2
2. Tweezer Tripel 11/2
3. Gris-Gris - Belgian Grisette 11/2
4. Gordo - Pumpkin Wit 11/9
5. Destiny Unblonde - Belgian Pale 11/16
6. Paint it Black - Belgian Dark 11/23

THIS WEEKEND

Sunday, November 8

Dean Biersch’s Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol is hosting a benefit event Sunday afternoon from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to benefit the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR). Guitarists Ottmar Liebert and Roy Rogers will play the 2 Guitars 4 The Cure event. Reunion Beer will also be served. Tickets are $75 and include brunch.

IN THE COMING WEEKS

Saturday, November 14

The Bistro in Hayward will be hosting their annual Barrel Aged Festival, which will feature beers aged in various types of barrels, whether new or having previously held wine or spirits.

Sunday, November 15

The first BevMo! Holiday Beer Fest will be held at Fort Mason’s Herbst Pavilion in downtown San Francisco on Sunday November 15th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The event will feature 50+ Holiday, Seasonal & Special, “soon-to-be-released beers. Tickets are $35 in advance, and can be purchased online, or $45 at the door the day of the event.

Monday, November 16

21st Amendment Brewery & Restaurant in San Francisco will host a beer dinner by Sean Paxton, the Homebrew Chef, and will debut the collaboration beer, Monk’s Blood. From the press release:

Sean and 21A’s Shaun (that’s two Shawns folks) and Nico collaborated on Monk’s Blood Beer this past February for Strong Beer Month, then took the recipe to Belgium  where they further collaborated with the West Flander’s brewery De Struisse Brouwers, the makers of old world style Belgian beers with a new world approach. They then brought the recipe back to San Francisco this past summer  brewing and refining it further before heading out to the 21A production brewery in Minnesota for wider release.

The cost for the five-course beer dinner is $95, including tax and tip. Call 415-369-0900 for reservations.

ON THE HORIZON

November 18: New Belgium beer dinner at the Hopmonk Tavern.

December 2: Dogfish Head beer dinner at the Hopmonk Tavern.

December 12: From Noon to 4:00 p.m., Pacific Coast Brewing in downtown Oakland will host their 21st annual Holiday Beer Tasting.

If you know of an upcoming beer event, please let me know about it so I can share it here. Let me know at BrooksOnBeer@gmail.com.

I was confused by Keith Wallace’s Daily Beast article, “How Wine Become Like Fast Food.” It’s about the fact that there aren’t as many actual wineries with physical addresses in the country as some wine consumers may have thought.

The headline reads like there will be some scandalous exposure of the wine industry, like jug merlot is the next pawn in our national war on obesity. In reality, we all know that big brands and cheap conglomerates make up the majority of wines purchased and consumed by average Americans.

Big deal. They’re drinkable and affordable, and unlike French fries or double decker hamburgers, fermented grape juice doesn’t clog your arteries and isn’t any better or worst for you if it’s made in the old Sutter Home facility (now known as The Ranch) or a Pomerol chateau.

The author goes on to “out” custom crush facilities like they’re something evil too. In reality, places like Napa Valley Custom Micro Crush at Judd’s Hill, Crushpad, Bin to Bottle, and The Ranch function more like cooperatives giving ordinary people the opportunity to smash grapes and make some freaking nectar.

What confuses me the most is that after exposing the ills of mass produced wine, the author ends by saying that there are actually plenty of wineries out there, and that there’s no need to despair. Even worst, he says you have to choose between authenticity and value. I do not agree.

The next time you visit your wine merchant, tell him or her you have $10 to spend on a bottle and want it to come from a “real” winery. You shouldn’t have a problem.

Times are tough. Presents are expensive. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that the gift-giving holidays are next month, and we gotta pony up for our loved ones.

With that, here’s the first annual Corkheads Holiday Wish List. Cast your vote for the best wine gift, or better yet, post your own ideas. Whoever has the most creative idea wins a bottle of wintery petit sirah.

1. A copy of Robert Parker Jr’s new book, “Parker’s Wine Bargains: The World’s Best Wine Values under $25.” At $17.99, the book fits the bill.

2. A bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the person’s birthday vintage. Oh, romantic-o.

3. A gift certificate to one of the Bay Area’s temperature-controlled wine storage unit companies, such as Subterraneum. The cellar for the rest of us.

4. A mixed wine case of 12 varietals the person has never tried. Can you say mencia?

5. A wine class at the Culinary Institute of America. Foie gras on a stick for lunch, anyone?

6. A road trip to a California wine region (Lodi!) you’ve been meaning to visit, complete with average accommodations, cheese picnic, and gas money.

7. A gift certificate to Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant. It’s time to finally learn why the French rule.

8. Coupons for a week’s worth of meals cooked for you by your roommate, partner or slave, er, loved one.

9. Dinner at Spruce in San Francisco. Have you seen the wine list?

10. One-year wine club membership of your choice.

We did dinner at Pizza Antica last night, where thin, Naples style pizzas are decorated with light fare, such as arugula, goat cheese and olive oil drizzles.

With this kind of pie, as opposed to the deep dish stuff at Zachary’s, I really like drinking pinot noir, like this  Rossi-Wallace from the Antinori Vineyard in Napa Valley.

The wine ($35) is just pretty. It sparkles like a jewel and because it is aged in spicy Burgundian oak (only 30 percent of the oak is new), the fruit - wild and full of cherries - dances on top of the wood. It’s integrated, but subtle enough as to not interfere with the crisp, cracker-like delicate pizza.

While I love cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel with pizza, I think those wines would soak this “bread.” Rather, a wine like the 2007 Rossi-Wallace, with its earthy aromas and acidity, paired beautifully with the earthiness of the goat cheese and mushrooms and the acidity of the sundried tomatoes.

Can you dig it? Rossi-Wallace is mailing-list and online only, so you can find their low production, boutique wines on the Rossi-Wallace web site.

Halloween weekend is now the biggest keg sales time of the entire year, so most people will having their own beer events this weekend.

THIS WEEKEND

Saturday, October 31-Sunday, November 1

Rubicon, in Sacramento, will hold their 4th annual Hoptoberfest. Rubicon has been collecting their favorite hoppy IPAs and Double IPAs. At the fest they’ll be pouring 21 IPAs on tap.

IN THE COMING WEEKS

Saturday, November 14

The Bistro in Hayward will be hosting their annual Barrel Aged Festival, which will feature beers aged in various types of barrels, whether new or having previously held wine or spirits.

Sunday, November 15

November 15: The first BevMo! Holiday Beer Fest will be held at Fort Mason’s Herbst Pavilion in downtown San Francisco on Sunday November 15th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The event will feature 50+ Holiday, Seasonal & Special, “soon-to-be-released beers. Tickets are $35 in advance, and can be purchased online, or $45 at the door the day of the event.

ON THE HORIZON

November 18: New Belgium beer dinner at the Hopmonk Tavern.

December 2: Dogfish Head beer dinner at the Hopmonk Tavern.

December 12: From Noon to 4:00 p.m., Pacific Coast Brewing in downtown Oakland will host their 21st annual Holiday Beer Tasting.

If you know of an upcoming beer event, please let me know about it so I can share it here. Let me know at BrooksOnBeer@gmail.com.

Can’t believe it’s already been a year since this wine tasting event in Monterey. While there are an infinite number of worthy wine events from Monterey to Mendocino, I like this one because it features 35 wineries - the sweet spot to not getting overwhelmed.

Also, what I like about this event is that there’s truly something for everyone. If you have the dough, you can spend $1,265 on the getaway of your dreams, or $95 on a winemaker’s dinner. For my money, I recommend the $25 Saturday self-guided wine tour, which gives you tasting admission to 11 Carmel wineries, including Ventana, a favorite of mine for their Syrah, and another 12 in Salinas (Chardonnay lovers should not miss Chalone).

On your own, be sure to check out Line Shack, a winery that’s making some gorgeous and very affordable Rhone varietals out of southern Monterey’s San Antonio Valley, a relatively new AVA and mountain valley in the Santa Lucia Range that is gaining a reputation for developing full-bodied, intense red and white wines.

Get tickets at the Monterey County vintners and growers website.

My co-worker wants to know what the best deal in the $10-$15 range is at the BevMo 5 cent sale. Well, here you go, Ari:

I poked my head in there yesterday, but the BevMo web site is a much easier way to navigate the sale. There, you’ll see 253 wines. I can’t be sure if they’re available at all stores, or if certain locations have different wines (I bet they do), but for my money, here are three must-purchases:

- if you like grenache and syrah, I’d splurge three more dollars and get the 2007 Auguste Bessac Cotes du Rhone for $17.99. It’s meaty, perfect for the increasingly chilly weather, and is even worthy of 2-3 years of age. A great deal.

- gnarly zinfandel lovers will be really pleased with this recommendation: make up for the Rhone splurge with a 2007 Challis Lane Old Vine Zinfandel. It’s a powerhouse in the fruit and tannin department, perfect for a weeknight hamburger or barbecue. And old vine zinfandel at $7.99 is simply a steal.

- Honestly, for my money, I can never have too much dry riesling in my house. That’s why I’d grab a couple of bottles of the 2007 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Riesling. It’s only $10.99 and pairs beautifully with all kinds of food. Seriously, the residual sugar, acidity, and fruit on this beauty are pretty much in perfect balance. Can you say YUMMY?

I really like The Pour Fool’s installment on negociants, the mad scientist folks who buy vinified wines from producers and then blend them to make them go from good to fantastic.

The role of the negociant was grossly under recognized in the United States, until folks like Joel Gott and his fellow thieves and of course Cameron Hughes became pseudo household (make that Costco) names.

When you find a negociant you like - Haystack Needle is the Fool’s recession fave - follow him or her to the ends of the earth; buy up their stashes, because they will run out; and remember that blends can change quickly in order to keep a popular wine in demand. Judging from his post, I can see that the Tempranillo and Bordeaux blend, both to be released on Nov. 1, will sell out.

If you long for France the way I do and crave an entertaining read, check out my friend Danielle’s blog, No Sour Grapes. I know, I know, there are a lot of wine blogs out there - some 700, to be exact.

But Danielle’s blog stands out because she’s A GOOD WRITER and because she is at a place in her wine journey where she’s soaking it all up. She makes sense of every food pairing, every new appellation. And she’s not just waxing poetic. lAfter graduating from UC Berkeley, she worked as a cellar rat for Jared and Tracy Brandt of A Donkey and  Goat winery, where she learned everything about truth in terroir and naturally made wine - including crushing grapes with her feet.

The Brandts hooked Danielle up with a summer gig in Chateauneuf-Du-Pape with famed Rhone producer Eric Texier (see the September posts for her day-by-days of harvest) and now she’s tasting through Beaujolais. I love her brief Charnay reverie about Mattin Noblia of Top Chef.

Check it out.