Beer Diary #21 - Mike and Gina Visit the San Francisco Bay Area

Prior to our trip to San Francisco, Gina and I did some research. What were the can't miss breweries? What bars should be on our list? What does California offer that Indianapolis doesn't?

Our first taste of San Francisco beer came at Pizza Orgasmica Brewing Company - a place that wasn't on any recommended list, but just so happened to be within walking distance of our hosts' home.

Pizza Orgasmica offers a house lineup of six beers - golden ale, IPA, amber ale, peach pale ale, 4-grain hefeweizen, and porter. On our visit the IPA and amber was sold out, so we settled into a flight of the remaining four. Our favorite was the golden ale, as there were some obvious beer-judge-type flaws in the others. In any case the beer was serviceable (it did contain alcohol, after all), but we weren't off to the best start. Coming off beer and pizza from Thr3e Wise Men the day before, I'm not afraid to say the beer beginnings of our trip weren't off to the most exciting start.

The next day we took a walking tour to Coit Tower (which was closed for maintenance), but eventually found ourselves at Rogue Ales Public House. Although Rogue is based in Newport Oregon, they have set up shop in a few places, San Francisco among them.

I'll be honest in saying that while Rogue makes fine beer, it's a brewery that never really did much for me. In any case, the Public House's 40 choice tap list was impressive, and the Double Mocha Porter was calling my name. I was not disappointed.

As I made my way through the beer, my thoughts turned to Indiana. While most Indiana breweries have their own bar (Mad Anthony and New Albanian have more than one), could there be a time when we'll see an Indiana brewery with an out-of-state public house? My guess is that we're a long way from that point - there aren't many Indiana breweries with the sort of name recognition (or distribution) that Rogue enjoys. In any case, we do have similar bars in Indianapolis - though not exactly the same style as Rogue, Barley Island's Broad Ripple location is not all that different in practice; multiple taps, a full list of house beer, and a nice selection of guest taps thrown in.

Our next stop brought us to the highly recommended Toronado, where we were greeted by a roughshod interior and limited seating. Luckily we were invited to a table by a white-haired gentleman in a leather jacket by the name of Chuck, and our adventure began. Opened in 1987, Toronado is the sort of place where the rarest of guest kegs magically appear (Pliny the Younger, for example), and our visit lived up to the hype. I started the day with Deschutes Abyss (because Russian Imperial Stout is the perfect party starter), and also made my way a chicken and cherry sausage from Rosamunde Sausage Grill, which provides food for pub patrons from its next door location.

What really made the visit great was the company of Chuck, who - despite my initial reservations about sitting next to the weird guy in the pub - talked us through his favorites from the lineup, Toronado etiquette ("Don't go up there not knowing what you want," he said. "They're not friendly to people looking for Budweiser."), his recommendations for the neighborhood and our visit to San Francisco, and told us a little bit about himself along the way. "I'm pimping my city," he said at one point. It's conversations like the one we had at Toronado that can leave a lasting impression on tourists, but it takes both a willing host and an interested guest who's willing to take a chance on conversation with a stranger.

Can we offer all these factors? A gritty bar with a ton of character, an unrivaled lineup, and talkative and friendly patrons that are willing to "pimp our city"? I think so, but it's rare that all those things come together. One of the elements of a great beer bar are the beers you can find that you can't find at home, and we've got plenty of bars that carry the internationally known Three Floyds, with lineups that can awe in their own ways. As far as I know, we don't have any bars that combine all these things with a playlist that includes old Metallica and Slayer. And Toronado put up our sticker, so it was hard not to fall in love.

Our next stop required the use of a rental car, as we made our way out of San Francisco and across the Golden Gate bridge to Healdsburg, where we paid a visit to Bear Republic's Brewpub. Because this was to be a short stop, I only had one beer - Peter Brown Tribute Ale™ - a brown that had me immediately thinking of Oreo cookies dunked in milk. Gina had Racer X (ON DRAFT!) and Hop Rod Rye.

The Bear Republic space - an open room that contained everything from racecar hoods to custom bicycles - was fun and welcoming. Our bartender, Ryan, was a great big teddy bear of a man, and came across as immediately friendly and obviously happy to be there. Another nice touch was the brewhouse just five feet beyond the end of the bar - not the usual wall separating bar patrons from the brewing process - just a half wall to keep folks from wandering into the work.

Can Indiana do what Bear Republic does? Sure. It's all in the tiny details. And the tasty beer. (As a side note, we tried to stop at Lagunitas, but their tasting room was closed for the day.)

We hopped back in our rental and headed back towards San Francisco - Santa Rosa and Russian River Brewing was next on our list.


As this was our first visit to Russian River, and we tried to keep our excitement to a minimum. There is nothing worse than building someplace up in your mind then being let down. Upon our arrival, the bar was full (a little disappointing) so we took a seat at a table by the door. One thing I noticed in our bar experiences so far is that there are no printed lists anywhere. All beer menus are located on boards behind or near the bar, making it somewhat difficult to be informed while not being in the way or weirding out the person sitting in front of where you are standing to look.

But it is what it is, so we decided on a couple beers ending in -ation. Can't really go wrong there. The awesome thing about Russian River beer is that it always somehow exceeds expectations, even when your expectations are already high.

The food was good, the beer was amazing, but it just didn't feel quite right sitting at the table. We asked our server what our chances of getting a spot at the bar if we came back around 8:30 (it was about 6:30). He said he wasn't sure. So we crossed our fingers that later would be better and headed a few blocks away to Third Street Aleworks. Even though the vibe wasn't quite right, the beer was still incredibly impressive. Third Street had an entirely different (younger) vibe, but anyone brewing award-winning beer is ok in our book.

Third Street Aleworks was a recommended to us by Ryan from Bear Republic and I am glad we made the effort to stop. They had quite a few beers on tap, including their GABF medal winning Irish Stout and IPA, which we started with. Another beer on tap that was of interest was their Cherry Springer, a wonderfully surprising beer. It reminded us of New Glarus Belgian Red, but with a lighter mouthfeel.

We decided it was time to visit Russian River again. We got a spot at the bar this time and made our way through more of the menu - Supplication, Consecration, Temptation, not to mention Pliny the Elder. The beer was amazing, and we got to chatting with a few locals, which of course, made the evening better. We often have this much fun here in Indiana, but there is a reason that Russian River beer is held in such high regard. No one is doing this a menu that covers as many bases as well as Russian River - the trip was definitely worth making.

To be continued..

KOTBR #27 In Review - Labor Day, The Breakfast Club, and Keeping the Ship On Course

I've seen it happen again and again - Indianapolis blogs that die the slow death; a post here and there, then once a week, then once a month, some of them dead even though they don't know it yet...

It's not going to happen here, despite Chris' efforts to pull a Joseph Hazelwood. Someone has to be Ferdinand Magellan*.

But before mutiny, let's address Roundtable #27, The Breakfast Club and the beer consumed on Labor Day.

First - the Breakfast Club. Despite Jason's best efforts to use the movie's own poster to prove it's "Chick Flickness", the audience has spoken, the polls are closed, and The Breakfast Club is - by a score of 31 to 16 - definitely not a chick flick. But Jason is welcome to cry while watching it anyway.

And now the beer - Four of the Geeks met at Chris' house on Labor Day for some tasty BBQ and a massive sampling.

Bell's Batch 8000 - Banana nut bread potpourri, a tight, tart-like mouthfeel, and a stuffed-dog humping of your tastebuds. 3.25 Mugs.

Unibroue Seigneuriale - Johnny Appleseed's Ale; caramel apple, the beautiful, sweet aroma of decomposition. 2.66 Mugs.

Goose Island Demolition - Overextended tastebuds knock one knight out, but the other two soldier on. Green beans and sulfur, and a lack of memory. 1.75 Mugs.

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA - The perfect IPA for non-hopheads? Chris thinks so. Jason calls it "best best beer of the night." A mouth-snappin' hoppy taste. Mike drags the score down again. 4.16 Mugs.

Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout - Jason sat this one out too. Deep Hershey's syrup nose - thick, heavy, chocolate, nutty, and caramel. We dug it. 4.5 Mugs.

* * * * *

*I would prefer that from here on out you address me as Captain Ferdinand. And I want a hat with a feather.

KOTBR #27 - Mike makes an offer I can't refuse

Mike is a slavedriver. For real. He don't care that it's football season (he's a soccer fan), and I wasn't in front of the computer at all over the weekend - but only camped out in front of my tv. I had an email from him today that said, and I quote, "Chris, you better post your goddamned review of the beer we drank on Labor Day, or I'm going to come over to your house and kick your fat ass! Hell, I'll even kick your little dog's ass, too!" For real! He's mean.

Don't believe me??? Probably a good thing. I like to make shit up.

Anyway, to save my little dog from Mike's boot, here are my mug ratings from our Labor Day brews:

Bell's Batch 8000 - Wow! This isn't a good beer to drink as your first beer. I think I commented that it would better if it was like my third beer and my taste buds were already a little numb. This just grabs your taste buds and does to you what Humprhey does to Deano's tap. I'll give Larry Bell the benefit of the doubt, because I don't think he makes a bad beer. I'll give him 3.25 mugs, partially for bravado, and partially because it's how many strong beers I would need to drink before I would like this one more.

Unibroue's Seigneuriale - I think this roughly translates as "The Lord's Ale". If that's the case, God has bad taste in beer (is it sacriligious to criticize God's taste in beer?). Typically a very big fan of everything Unibroue, this one falls flat for me. This should be "Johnny Appleseed's Ale" because that was the only thing I could taste - apples. My personal beer mantra is "Don't fruit the beer!", and this just goes against my mantra. Too much. 2 mugs.

Goose Island Demolition - I don't remember much about this beer, which I think says enough. 2 mugs.

Now, I'm going to preference my next two reviews by saying that I have a very strong bias in favor of the brewery and everything they make. But it's only because their worthy of the praise.

Bear Republic is located in Healdsburg, California, a quaint little town in Wine Country about an hour north of San Francisco. On my trip out there in May, I trekked to Bear Republic upon the strong urging of BadaBoomz' Mike DeWeese. I cannot thank him enough. I think very highly of Nick Floyd's and Larry Bell's overall product offering, but brewmaster Richard Norgrove just might have them both beat, at least in my book. I tried everything they were offering, and some of it twice. I spent a lot of time there, obviously, getting to know the bartender and the staff. The following two beers were my favorite's then, and I've got to say, I still love both of them. It's very unfortunate that their beers are not offered in Indiana (World Class & Cavalier, you listening??), but at least we can get them in Chicago, which is where I picked these up on my recent trip with Jason to the Windy City.

Big Bear Black Stout - This ranks up with one of the best stouts I've ever had. It tastes just the way a stout should - thick, heavy, chocolate, nutty, and caramel. Damn, this will be a wonderful beer to drink this fall! 5 mugs.

Racer 5 IPA - This is their most famous beer, and I know why. It's the best IPA I've ever drank. For someone who isn't a huge hophead, but still likes some bitters to your beers, this is perfect. It's mellow, yet forceful. It's just the right mixture of hops (for me), and leaves a very pleasent aftertaste. Can I say it's sumptuous? 5 mugs.

Now, Mike, please leave my little dog alone. She doesn't even like beer!

KOTBR #27 - Labor Day BBQ

It was Labor Day, we had some meat and a grill, so it only made sense to drink. Even though I originally suggested a BBQ, Chris was man enough to step up, host and cook the food for the event, thus saving us all from trichinosis, salmonella, beef tapeworm, hoof and mouth, and possibly myxomatosis.

As an added bonus, we got to watch the Muppet Show. Talk about childhood flashbacks... the opening theme put memories in my head so vivid that I was almost overwhelmed with the bittersweet memories of my lost childhood. Or maybe that was caused by the endless supply of beer Chris kept feeding us.

Bell's Batch 8000 - I suppose a beer that's 9% ABV isn't really the best way to start a night of drinking. Nevertheless we began the evening with Larry Bell's latest and greatest, a beer with a 95 rating on ratebeer - and of course I didn't like it all that much. 8000 is a wheat beer with a cloudy, pumpkin-colored appearance. In fact, pretty much everything we drank Monday had the exact same appearance, which was kind of weird. Anyway. Something about this beer reminded me of Brugge Beer's White, though I'd take the White over this. 8000 has a tight, tart-like mouthfeel and a flavor that sticks with you. The beer hits right on the front of the tongue and then leave you with not much else. I found it hard to get a read on this one, to be honest; but I know I wouldn't want more than one. 3.0 Mugs.

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA - After starting with the 9.0 ABV 8000, we scaled it back a bit with this 7.2 ABV IPA from Bear Republic. This beer had the same pumpkin color as the Bell's, but with a lot of sediment and floaties. The Racer 5 has a sweet, hoppy nose, which is followed by a mouth-snappin' hoppy taste. I prefer my IPAs a little milder, with a little more malt backing. I know Chris really digs this one, but I'm the guy that hates everything. 3.0 Mugs.

Unibroue Seigneuriale - I'd pronounce that as "Senior Ale" - but if you know Unibroue, then you know that this isn't a beer for your grandpop. Another 7.2% ABV beer, this had the pumpkin color, a tiny bubbly head, and a tart, fruity Belgian-style nose - but there was something slightly off. Gina mentioned fermented apple, Jason agreed - I'd say that's the closest description I could come up with. The beer had an apple taste, but also a hint of caramel - caramel apple is probably a fair description. The other thing I noticed was that the beer had a very "flat" taste. Although I'm a fan of the caramel apple, I'm not so much a fan of Seigneuriale. Interesting, but not necessarily good. 2.5 Mugs.

Goose Island Demolition - Well, I like the bottle for this beer, but other than that I don't have a lot good to say about it. The bottle explained that the original Goose Island brewery was located in some sort of mini-mall that was being torn down, but through the magic of beer, the brewery stayed. This beer was created in tribute to those folks who stuck with the brewery through the demolition.

Look, that's great and all, but why does this beer taste like dirt? Earthly tones - I actually thought of green beans with my first drink. Then a bit of a sulfury taste, similar to what I got from Fat Tire. I guess this was 8% ABV... I dumped it in the sink. You can probably see where this review is going. 1.5 Mugs.

Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout - Because we're gluttons and I can never pass up a stout - we also had a slight tasting of another Bear Republic offering. This beer had a dark, dark body (think Darth Vader), with heavy lacing. A deep Hershey's syrup nose was followed with a thick, chewy taste that found a fine middle ground between chocolate and smoked meat. 8.1% ABV. Small sample. This was good stuff. 4.0 Mugs.

A Labor Day Libations review, but first a movie preview...

They only met once, but it changed their lives forever.

They were five total strangers, with nothing in common, meeting for the first time. A brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse.

Before the day was over, they broke the rules. Bared their souls. And touched each other in a way they never dreamed possible.

So take the phone off the hook, put on your pajamas, hop onto the couch, grab a box of tissues, not to mention a bottle of Midol, because if you watch this movie often enough, you will ovulate. I, of course, am speaking of...

The Breakfast Club, the Zima of 80's movies.

Don't agree with me? Read the movie poster again.

But I'm not here to talk about chick flicks. Labor Day has come and gone. Summer is over. And there is no better way to mark the occasion than to cook some meats over an open flame and chug down some cold brews. And that's exactly what I did on Monday with some of my fellow HBG Knights.

Let us begin with Bell's Batch 8000. This limited edition Witbier is about as good as Witbier's come, though Witbier is one of my least favorite varieties. Something about the combination of flavors like citrus, banana, clove, coriander, etc. just doesn't sit well with me. Kinda like eating potpourri. The Batch 8000 looks like a solid Witbier with a cloudy orange appearance. The smell was pleasant; a nice blend of banana and clove. Almost like banana nut bread. The taste was surprising. Initial hit of spices, including coriander. But the beer left a sugary sweet mouthfeel. Not unpleasant. I enjoyed this beer more than others in the same category. Maybe it is because I'm ready for all things fall. At 9% ABV, it has a bit more strength than most Witbiers. So be careful. 3.5 mugs.

Next up, Bear Republic's Racer 5. Not yet available in Indiana, this IPA came courtesy of Chris and myself. We picked up eight 750 mL bottles in Chicago during a recent road trip. And we felt the need to share with the others. I've been enjoying IPA's a lot over the last 6 or 9 months and this is a good one to share with others who are not hop heads. In smell and in taste, you find hops all over the place, but not with the bitterness that you'd expect. It has a hint of citrus, but I think the hops flavor comes out more. This is an easy drinking beer, and a good place for non-IPA drinkers to start. It is not my favorite IPA. But it is very good. And the best beer of the night. 4.5 mugs.

Unibroue's La Seigneuriale. I have no idea how to even begin pronouncing it. This is another beer from the Chicago road trip. It is another in a long line of Belgian style beers from this Canadian brewer. Let me begin with a story first. My wife's grandfather is a farmer man in northern Indiana. Every fall, he enters the best of his harvest in the fall fair and comes home with many, many blue ribbons. He also has a home made cider press (as in the press is home made) that makes home made cider. Best apple cider in the world. After he is done making cider, he takes the apple remains and piles them around a tree to decompose. Bees always swarm to it. The best way to describe the smell: the beautiful, sweet aroma of decomposition. That is also how I will describe La Seigneuriale. It has been my favorite Unibroue beer to date. It is not a beer that I would regularly drink, but it is one that fascinates me. 3.5 mugs.

The last beer of the night was Goose Island's Demolition Ale. Let me say that after drinking this beer, I figured that my taste buds were shot. Because I found the beer to be lacking in taste and aroma. A quick look at Beer Advocate and I quickly discover that I'm not alone. One reviewer wrote how he is a big fan of GI but was very disappointed by this beer. But others at BA wrote about how much they liked it. So I'm going to be responsible and say that I am withholding my review until I can conduct another review. I will review it on another day.

Random summary of beer

I recognize that I'm not so good about posting much anymore. When work and school doesn't have my attention, it goes to my family. And rightfully so. But I still love beer, and bringing you news about good beer. I have to apologize to my fellow Knights for not being so prompt on stuff these days.

So this is my summary of what should be several different posts.

1. Muncie rocked. We had a great time hanging out with our friends on the Good Beer Show. We're show #128, which I'm guessing will go up sometime this week. We drank a lot of high ABV beers, none of which I thought were bad. Mike told you what they are in his post. The Fickle Peach and the Heorot are both cool, and you have to check em out. Thanks Jeffrey T., Traci and the Gang! And thanks Mike for driving home!

2. I'm not too sad that I didn't get to participate in the Retro Beer Challenge Round 1. Although, Rolling Rock was the very first beer that I liked enough to finish. 11 years ago - how's that for retro? How sad is that? Dos Equis was the 2nd. Thanks Old Latrobe, PA!

3. BadaBoomz has almost free valet parking now. It's free if your bill is $30 or more. Otherwise, it's only $2. Thanks Mike!

4. Deano's is hosting Brat-toberfest on Saturday, September 15th. Music, beer, brats. What more could you ask for? Oh, yeah, we'll be there, too. On a side note, I've now hung out a Deano's the last two Friday nights, and I've just come to re-appreciate what good shits they are there. Thanks Deano, Jody, Nick, Laura, and Michelle!!

5. The Hop Shop has Bell's Batch 8000 in six packs for $13.49, Two Brothers Heliocentric Bragot in a 22oz. for $6.49, and Upland Lambics in 750 mLs for $14.99. If you don't know, The Hop Shop also has free beer tastings every Saturday until 8pm. Thanks Courtney!

6. When Jason and I were in Chicago on Monday for a Cubs vs. Cardinals, White Sox vs. Royals double header, we first stopped at this fantastic beer store in Wrigleyville. It was awesome! My favorite purchase was something I can't get in Indiana, but is one my new top three favorite beers in the whole world - Racer 5 IPA by Bear Republic in Healdsburg, CA. I bought a lot of beer. So did Jason. We now have a lot of beer. Thanks Binny's and Bear Republic!

7. My very favorite beer of all-time is the Optimator. Thanks Spaten!

I think that's all for now.

Tubby Bastards Eat Pretty People in BARcelona

See, this is what happens when you're the last one to the dance - or in this case, to post your review. All the other Geeks have already said anything of any importance. But since I've been absolutely abhorent about posting my reviews lately (Have you seen the one about the Racer 5 IPA from The Bear Republic from my May trip to California? No, you haven't because I have posted it yet!), I'm going to spew forth some yada, yada, yada for your entertainment.

As you know, we went to the new BARcelona Tappas in downtown Indy. Not that we wouldn't have checked it out, but we put it higher on the list since our buddy Deano is the managing consultant here. And we've grown to love that tubby bastard (I can say that because I'm a tubby bastard, too), so we wanted to check out his new project.

It was awesome to show up and have 4 unexpected guests. I mean, we always send out an invite, but nobody really ever takes us up on it. So we had given up on you. But we've been given new hope, and we expect to see more of you coming out now that we're cool enough to be resident beer geek experts for INtake. We really dig having other beer geeks join in.

The restaurant itself appears to be quickly becoming an "it" place. Bunches of pretty people who didn't look like they were ever geeks in their lives. LOSERS! So depending on your opinion, that's either good or bad. But that was really about the only questionable aspect of the restaurant for me. Chris, the manager, was extremely helpful. They had a side room booked for us, and was as prepared as they could be with having no idea what we were going to do. I take that back - one more questionable aspect - the beer list was given to us on a folded sheet of paper for all to share, meaning they didn't have a seperate beer menu. But hey, live and let live. Hopefully, they'll fix that. But the selection on that paper was pretty decent. They had six beers on tap - Stella Artois, Paulanor Wheat, Moretti Lager, O. B. Amber, Oberon, and, well, Bud Light. They also had 20 bottles, ranging from Coors Lite to Delirium Tremens, so one hell of a range.

The food was fantastic! Since I'm on a diet anyway, the portions were perfect, and I didn't feel like I was cheating. The chicken wings that Kelly ordered may be the best I've ever had - or at least real close. And I am a chicken wing expert. In fact, I'm putting together Hoosier Chicken Wing Geek as we speak! But everything we ordered and sampled was really great stuff. I've been here for lunch once before, and both mine and my wife's dish were very tasty, too. So I can say after trying at least 7 items from the menu, that nothing has been below very good!

You know we warmed up on the Delirium. I love Delirium. My good friend Traci - of Good Beer Show fame - introduced it to me, as she did the concept of drinking good beers, when we had less gray hairs. It's nose is fruity, giving off heavy plums, similar to Unibroue beers, which I think Jason mentioned. It's very blonde, and is obviously unfiltered. Lots of sediment floating around. The taste is one of the most complex of any beer I've ever tried, and it has a light mouthfeel. The bottle is best known for being white & opaque, with pink elephants and dancing aligators. It's got a real high ABV - 8.5% - so this is a good sipping beer. Don't drink too fast, unless you're a tubby bastard like me, then you can probably handle it. I don't know if it's the taste I like so much, or the memories of some good times up in Muncie that are associated with it, but I give it 5 mugs. It's really one of my top 10 favorite beers.

If you haven't gotten the chance yet, check this place out. It's definitely worth your time.

Now let me step up on my soapbox for a second. Don't be afraid of the homeless folks the next block down at Wheeler. They may just hit you up for some change. Tell them no, and send them on, preferrably to Horizon House if you're there during the day. They have to put up with a lot of shit at Wheeler - ie, go to church service or you get kicked out for the night, even if it's winter - and they're in a bad situation. But for the most part, when you get to know them (and I did working at Horizon House for three years), they're good people who have taken some wrong roads in life.