Bottoms Up

The 29th annual San Francisco International Wine Competition proved to be as comprehensive as ever. Check out the complete list of winners on the  SF Wine Competition web site.

Of particular interest for me is that a Riesling from Australia won Best Riesling, a Clos Du Bois Chardonnay won Best Chardonnay and an Edna Valley Pinot Noir beat out Sonoma and Napa for Best Pinot Noir.

In total, the judges tasted, scored and ranked 4,274 wines from 1,195 wineries. They awarded 248 gold medals, 1,150 silver medals and 1,514 bronze metals.

It’s Backyard Beer & Barbecue Days this weekend, as summer beer season kicks into high gear.

THIS WEEKEND

Friday, July 3

On Friday, July 3rd from 5-6:30pm in the Tasting Bar at the Redwood City K&L Wines (3005 El Camino Real) will be holding their 3rd Beer tasting of the year. The cost of the tasting will be a bit more expensive somewhere between $8-10, as they’re still putting together the list of new beers they’ll be opening at the tasting, though it’s likely there may be new releases from the Lost Abbey, Port Brewing, Avery, Allagash, Victory and The Bruery. They may also include some old faves from De Glazen Toren, Cantillon, De Ranke and Corsendonk.

IN THE COMING WEEKS

Friday, July 10

The Rate Beer Invitational beer dinner by the Beer Chef, Bruce Paton, at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco.

Saturday, July 18

In mid-July it will be time once more for the 9th annual Fermenting Change: Microbreweries Battling Breast Cancer at Marin Brewing in Larkspur, a great opportunity to take the ferry over from San Francisco. 25 breweries will be pouring their beer from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door.

Monday, July 20

The Beer Chef, Bruce Paton, will host a beer dinner featuring the beers of Lagunitas Brewing and The Chefs Association of the Pacific Coast at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco. The price of the beer dinner is $75. Reservations can be made online.

ON THE HORIZON

July 25: The Sierra Brewfest, a.k.a. Music in the Mountains will be held at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley.

July 31-August 2: The 14th annual Mammoth Festival of Beers & Beerapalooza. It’s a bit of a trek to Mammoth Lakes, but worth it.

August 8: The 12th annual Bistro IPA Festival at The Bistro in Hayward.

August 28: Brewfest at the California State Fair in Sacramento.

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.

If you haven’t been, you should check out this annual party at JC Cellars’  urban winery in Oakland from 1 to 4 p.m. on July 19. I checked it out last summer and it was packed. I even met some of the growers that JC Cellars works with.

For the $20 price ($25 at the door), you get 12 wines from Jeff Cohn’s Rhone-driven porfolio, light bites provided by what is probably a highly Twittered taco truck, cheese, and Tucker’s Syrah and chocolate chip ice cream served fresh in cones.

Who needs sand?

Don your flip flops and take the Lake Merritt exit off Bart. Let me know what you think of the 2006 Broken Compass, Jeff’s new blend of Syrah and Petit Sirah. I’m curious. For more information, visit JC Cellars.

Here’s another summer seasonal on the horizon, a nice spicy ale that’s ideal with summer’s heat. Bison Brewing has been releasing this one each year since 1994. According to the press release. “The brewers infused this unique ale with organic honey and organic basil. Honey lends a hint of sweetness and rich aroma, while fresh organic basil, in lieu of finishing hops, infuses a slight herbal note and basil aftertaste—a perfectly refreshing brew for the dog days of summer.”

Bison also recently moved their production to Ukiah. All their beer is now brewed at the Mendocino Brewing facility there, after the brewery went through the process of being certified organic.

Here’s what owner Daniel Del Grande has to say about his summer seasonal:

“Like my other specialty brews, this year’s Honey Basil Ale uses specialty ingredients judiciously – we don’t hit you over the head with the ingredients, but rather hint at it,” says Brewmaster Daniel Del Grande. “All our beers focus on drinkability and balance, so after finishing the bottle I leave you wanting another! Some beers out there fatigue my palate; I like to enjoy a couple beers with food and friends.”

It’s brewed with three malts (2-row, munich, and crystal), organic honey, and organic basil. One suggested pairing: “pasta and marinara sauce, maybe some sautéed shrimp and the basil in the beer leaps forward on your palate.”

This year’s Honey Basil Ale is available in 12 ounce bottles, which retail for $7.99 per 4 pack. The company produced its first 2500 case batch. It’s now available in 4 of Bison’s 12 state distribution networks; it will be available most of the summer.

Dark beers aren’t necessarily heavy beers and in fact some famous dark beers are downright light. Guinness, for example, is only 4% a.b.v. Budweiser, by comparison is 5%. Dark color comes from the use of roasted malt, that is barley or wheat that’s been slowly heated until it gets darker. This also imparts different flavors, especially as it gets darker. Brewers use a variety of different malts in most beers, the combination of which (along with the hops, water and yeast) help to give each beer its distinctive flavor.

Next month, Full Sail Brewing, from Oregon, will be launching the newest beer in the Session line of beers, Session Black Premium Dark Lager.

While there’s more than a little hyperbole here, this is what Full Sail’s press release has to say about their Black Lager:

Session is more than just another beer brand. It’s a breath of fresh air. Sporting a stubby old-school bottle, distinctive name and retro-cool logo, Session has rewritten the rules of creating a new beer brand. Session is neither a micro, a macro, nor an import. It’s a little of each. And yet, none of the above. In other words, Session is a true original. It has an authenticity all its own and that is something to be proud of.

“Session Black is short, dark and totally drinkable. The initial tastes are a subtle pairing of caramel and chocolate malt flavors with precise hopping to provide an elegant citrus background to the delicate finish of dark cocoa,” said Jamie Emmerson, Full Sail’s Executive Brewmaster.

But I’ll withhold judgment until I get to try it. The original Session Beer is pretty good, though I generally prefer my beer with a bit more flavor. But I can also see how it makes a good alternative to macro lagers, and is especially good for, as intended, “sessions” where you’ll be having more than one. But the black lager is promising because it will undoubtedly be more flavorful and yet retain its thinner, drinkable mouthfeel. That’s the same reason I love dunkelweiss beers, dark versions of wheat beer, because they’re as light as hefeweizens but with richer flavors. I’m certainly willing to devote a session to find out.

Unless you’re in Reno, it’s a quiet weekend, beer-wise, I’m sorry to say. But there’s certainly some fun events on the horizon.

THIS WEEKEND

Saturday, June 27

The 13th annual A’s Beer Festival will take place during a game against the Colorado Rockies, with the BeerFest from 4:05 p.m. to 6:05 p.m. For those two hours, enjoy over 30 different breweries, live music from Wonderbread 5, and other festivities at the Oakland Coliseum. The Oakland A’s Beer Fest will take place in the East Side Club. Tickets will be $10, which includes a special acrylic souvenir beer mugs and and 2 tastings, with additional tastings available for purchase. “Mugs and tasting sales end at 5:30 p.m., last pour is at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free with a game ticket.”

Saturday, June 27-Sunday June 28

If you ever needed or wanted an excuse to visit Reno, Nev., this is probably the best reason I know of. The Eldorado Hotel & Casino will again be hosting the 14th annual Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews and Blues Festival. With world-class blues musicians, tasty barbecue and great beer, what more do you want? Oh, and you can gamble, too, if you like that sort of thing.

IN THE COMING WEEKS

Tuesday, June 30

The last June Meet the Brewer event at Rogue Ales Public House in San Francisco, on June 30th will feature Daniel Del Grande from Black Bison Brewery, who now brews at Mendocino in Ukiah.

Friday, July 3

On Friday, July 3rd from 5-6:30pm in the Tasting Bar at the Redwood City K&L Wines (3005 El Camino Real) will be holding their 3rd Beer tasting of the year. The cost of the tasting will be a bit more expensive somewhere between $8-10, as they’re still putting together the list of new beers they’ll be opening at the tasting, though it’s likely there may be new releases from the Lost Abbey, Port Brewing, Avery, Allagash, Victory and The Bruery. They may also include some old faves from De Glazen Toren, Cantillon, De Ranke and Corsendonk.

Friday, July 10

The Rate Beer Invitational beer dinner by the Beer Chef, Bruce Paton, at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco.

Saturday, July 18

In mid-July it will be time once more for the 9th annual Fermenting Change: Microbreweries Battling Breast Cancer at Marin Brewing in Larkspur, a great opportunity to take the ferry over from San Francisco. 25 breweries will be pouring their beer from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door.

ON THE HORIZON

July 20: The Beer Chef, Bruce Paton, will host a beer dinner featuring the beers of Lagunitas Brewing and The Chefs Association of the Pacific Coast at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco.

July 25: The Sierra Brewfest, a.k.a. Music in the Mountains will be held at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley.

July 31-August 2: The 14th annual Mammoth Festival of Beers & Beerapalooza. It’s a bit of a trek to Mammoth Lakes, but worth it.

August 8: The 12th annual Bistro IPA Festival at The Bistro in Hayward.

August 28: Brewfest at the California State Fair in Sacramento.

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’m really not sure how I’m supposed to blog about wine when the Basij are beating old men into bloody pulps and throwing young women over bridges throughout my parents’ homeland of Iran.  God is watching you and there is a hell. Yes there is.

This is no longer about a rigged election. This is about 30 years of suppression and corruption and taking a beautiful country with a rich history and a cultured people and trying to kill their souls.

You can blame the West and say that we are encouraging your people but you are wrong, you backwards and savage and worthless excuse for a government. Your own people have brains and hearts and know the difference between right and wrong and they will die martyrs so the rest of the world knows the difference between them and you.

Finally, they know the difference.

Iran is not Korea. Thanks to Cyrus the Great, these people knew human rights one millenia before the Magna Carta. They have dignity and passion and pride and you can not beat those things out of people with a club or tear gas or water cannons.

Despite the  Brain Drain that occurred when Ah-magh-dinejad (for you non farsi speakers, ahmagh means ‘idiot’) first took office and the one that took place after the Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s- that one was the largest in the world - Iranians are still among the highest population of post-secondary educated people in the world and the majority are under the age of 30 and not afraid of mullahs.

I feel better now.

El Toro Brewing Co.

Location: Morgan Hill, Calif.
Founded: 1994
Website: http://www.eltorobrewing.com/

El Toro Brewing first opened fifteen years ago, in 1994, after two years of “planning, research and construction.” Geno and Cindy Acevedo built a modest 17-bbl brewing system on their rural property in Morgan Hill. They’ve been at it ever since. Geno and Cindy are two of the nicest people in brewing I know.

El Toro brews five year-round packaged beers, each in 12-oz. 6-packs.

1. Poppy Jasper Amber Ale
2. El Toro Oro Golden Ale
3. El Toro Negro Oatmeal Stout
4. El Toro India Pale Ale
5. El Toro Deuce Imperial IPA

In addition to those, several other seasonal and specialty beers are packaged throughout the year, including William Jones Wheat Beer, El Toro 500 Barleywine and occasional anniversary beers. Many more beers are available only at the brewpub in downtown Morgan Hill.

Years in the planning stages. three years ago El Toro opened a brewpub in downtown Morgan Hill, on Monterey Road just a few minutes from Highway 101.

Outside, there’s a separate bar with a pizza oven.

The oven is made out of an old brewing fermenter.

The bar inside features “the world’s only Poppy Jasper Bar. Featuring over 45 feet of gorgeously inlaid and polished Poppy Jasper rock into its surface.” There are 25 taps, featuring, in addition to all the El Toro regular beers, many one-off beers and even homemade sodas.

Many of these are made on the brewpub’s tiny 3-bbl brewhouse.

The brewpub building used to be a bank, and inside the former vault is a private room with seating for 17.

The menu consists of pub fare, sandwiches, wood-fired pizza (from the outside fermenter oven). The food I had there was quite tasty and the fries were excellent. And check out their beer list.

Ever want to know what red wine goes with Chinese food and don’t have time to tweet your friends about it? You might want to try Natalie MacLean’s new Drinks Matcher.

The sommelier and wine writer just launched the mobile application for food and beverage pairings that gives users access to 380,000 matches.

It’s only $2.99 and does not require Internet access. So you can use it when you’re going camping with the family this summer and need to hit the liquore store for the perfect s’mores wine.

You can also search under type of cuisine, grape varietal, wine or cheese.

Blackberry users can get more information on the Blackberry Web site, and iPhone users can go to www.nataliemaclean.com/iphone. This page took a while to load for me, fyi.

For more information in general, visit MacLean’s site.