San Francisco Stars #5:  Bartlett Stygian Wake Coffee Barrel Russian Imperial Stout, a Hell of a good beer from San Francisco, California

Date:  July 2 , 2019  —

The Story—  Bartlett Hall is a restaurant, bar and brewery located a short walk from San Francisco’s Union Square.   From their website, you might think the brewery was something of an afterthought and it does have to compete with a management operating a full scale restaurant and a “laid back” guesthouse next door.  That there were only four beers of theirs on tap and multiple guest beers only added to our skepticism.

The brewer, Nick Mamere, knows what he’s doing, though.   The Blonde Ale was passable, and, as advertised, crushable if you don’t stop to taste it, an IPA was a good commendable example of a West Coast standard, the porter was even a notch better than that, and our beer of the day was nothing short of masterful.

Russian Imperial Stouts originated when British brewers tried to brew a beer that would capture the fancy of the booze sodden Imperial Court of Russia.  It didn’t work. A slow drunk compared to the Vodka of choice, its heaviness got in the way of gorging during long weekends of non-stop bingeing.  It sure was better than much of the stuff the British were swilling, and despite a decline the style hung on through the late 20th century and has surged with the growth of craft brewing on both sides of the Atlantic.

The foundation of the beer is so solid that it makes a tempting base to add on the flavor of the day. Some addititves get silly, but coffee tends to blend with the dark malt and serve as a spice rather than a prime flavor.   Unless it’s aged in a sour barrel, it’s hard to mess up this so-in-your-face exuberance of a beer style.  Nevertheless, only a handful of brewers manage to domesticate the wild animal flavors of wood, whiskey, powerfully dark roast and coffee.

The style can be very close to a gimmick, but Mamere gets it spot-on right and produces an absolute sipping delight.  I know of the Greek mythological river Styx that runs through the darkness of the underworld, but had never heard the adjectival form “Stygian” to refer to something impenetrably black.  Ellie, of course, knew the term right away proving again that you have to be really smart to be a scientific editor… or a brewer.

The Beer–  Very very rich with chocolate, coffee and black patent malt in Stygian waves that stream steadily toward a creamy, long lasting, and so very satisfying aftertaste.  Some toffee and caramel jump on the raft in later sips– and hell or no hell, everyone is enjoying this ride.

it was Ellie’s highest rated beer this year — she pointed out that the fullness of the aroma and the richness of the beer mean that you could happily spend 20 minutes on a five ounce pour.

Value — Excellent.  But a “steal” doesn’t mean it comes cheap.  Barrel aged beers are expensive to make and often go for what the market will bear.  Here, $8.50 for less than a half pint seems like a high price, but we’ve seen beers that were not nearly this good push triple figures in retail liquor stores.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

We just got back from a week in San Francisco.   We hadn’t been there in eleven years and the remarkably vibrant beer scene we experienced then has become, well, even vibranter.   Ellie, poor girl, had to work long hours during the day while I got to roam the streets checking out the best places to find great beers.   At least when Ellie got off work I had places to take her before she crashed for the night.   We’ll post a week or two of Beers of the Day by the Bay before returning to research for our book on Inns and Breweries of the Mid-Atlantic.

Interestingly, the downtown area of San Francisco, while awash with beers from the surrounding areas, has few brewing spots of its own.  In that regard it reminds us of New York, where you have to leave Manhattan and go to Brooklyn to really find a nest of breweries.  Away from downtown, several brewery taps thrive and public transportation gets you almost anywhere.  Beyond the city limits, of breweries ring the city, and many of them produce exceptionally good beers and the myriad of tap houses all over town tend to focus on local beers.  Name the style you like and you can find an excellent version of it, though at a price.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

San Francisco Stars #4: Drake’s Denogginizer Double IPA, San Leandro, California

Date:  July 1, 2019  —

The Story—  Drake’s Brewery, then known as Lind’s Brewery, started in 1989, riding the approaching crest of the West Coast craft beer wave.   Several changes of ownership have ensured, but the brewery continues to produce reliable and sometimes adventurous beer.   Their pilsner is one of the better ones in California, though we’d rather be in Franconia drinking the local there.   Their Denogginizer Double IPA, however is a beer from California, of California and for California.  It’s an exceptionally good example of the style

We found the beer at the Tabletop Taphouse, directly across the street from the Moscone West Convention Center.  Our first visit allowed us a quiet seat at the bar to taste a few beers in relative quiet.  The 20 taps are largely pretty common, but they have some local taps that rotate weekly — such as the hazy IPA from Fieldworks, a very juicy– remember canned Donald Duck grapefruit juice?– very modern IPA.   But one of the staples seems to be this gem from Drake.   They’re now churning out beer on a small regional scale, but they haven’t lost much, if anything, in the growth process.  This double IPA is pretty close to a definitive IPA2/Double IPA/Imperial IPA– or by any other name, a big juicy boozy over the top IPA experience.

Drake has one of the coolest bottling line videos we’ve seen lately — and it’s of the Denogginizer.  Take a look here.

The Beer– Huge fruit, very ripe with tropical and citrus notes.   Some grapefruit emerges in the finish along with Latin American papaya.    What are the odds?  At breakfast at the Park Central Hotel, the fruit bar featured Central American papaya, which we had never experienced.  It’s not as sweet as the more common Hawaiian papaya, but the American version has a richer flavor.  We were happy to find our new-found knowledge so useful in a beer tasting a few hours later.  An enthusiastic bitter brings it back from Central America to a California context.

Value —  Good, maybe even very good.  $9.50 for an American “pint” shaker glass ain’t cheap, but neither is much else at the upscale Tabletop Taphouse nor process that produces a beer like this one.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

We just got back from a week in San Francisco.   We hadn’t been there in eleven years and the remarkably vibrant beer scene we experienced then has become, well, even vibranter.   Ellie, poor girl, had to work long hours during the day while I got to roam the streets checking out the best places to find great beers.   At least when Ellie got off work I had places to take her before she crashed for the night.   We’ll post a week or two of Beers of the Day by the Bay before returning to research for our book on Inns and Breweries of the Mid-Atlantic.

Interestingly, the downtown area of San Francisco, while awash with beers from the surrounding areas, has few brewing spots of its own.  In that regard it reminds us of New York, where you have to leave Manhattan and go to Brooklyn to really find a nest of breweries.  Away from downtown, several brewery taps thrive and public transportation gets you almost anywhere.  Beyond the city limits, of breweries ring the city, and many of them produce exceptionally good beers and the myriad of tap houses all over town tend to focus on local beers.  Name the style you like and you can find an excellent version of it, though at a price.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

San Francisco Stars #3: Black Hammer Brewing Hella Sexy, Munich Helles, San Francisco, California

Date:  June 30 , 2019  —

The Story— New small breweries rarely operate in the center of cities unless they’ve found a huge source of capital or have already established a successful operation elsewhere.   In most cities the new startups operate in industrial parks that stretch into the outer suburbs, but in San Francisco some small breweries survive in relatively low-rent neighborhoods that are not all that far from the center.

Black Hammer is in an area that is seeing its share of declining older businesses and perhaps more than its share of Pollyanna small business ventures.  But it’s a short bus ride from the Union Square area and quite walkable from the Giant’s Oracle Park.  Leans to German style beers and does them well. but not-so-Deutch beers such as a porter and a double IPA turn out nicely as well.

We were most impressed, though, by their Munich Helles.   It’s a style that brings us back to Munich year after year.   The city is captivating for many reasons, but the beer gardens and beer halls that pour helles lagers that leave you unscathed in the morning are unlike the dominant beer style of any other city we have been to.

We didn’t have the time to drink enough of this gem to see if it would treat us well in the morning.   It did, without question, treat us well that night.

The Beer– Malty and bready with a hint of fruit and just a bit of the well-exploited 18 IBUs in a lingering metallic aftertaste.  As it drinks, its’ chewy, slightly malty and so very authentic.   Ellie celebrated the hops and malt going hand in hand into the Ewigkeit (German for eternity).

Value — very good.  Seven bucks for a half liter would not be a bargain for a good Helles in Munich, but drinking this here saves just a bit on airfare.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

We just got back from a week in San Francisco.   We hadn’t been there in eleven years and the remarkably vibrant beer scene we experienced then has become, well, even vibranter.   Ellie, poor girl, had to work long hours during the day while I got to roam the streets checking out the best places to find great beers.   At least when Ellie got off work I had places to take her before she crashed for the night.   We’ll post a week or two of Beers of the Day by the Bay before returning to research for our book on Inns and Breweries of the Mid-Atlantic.

Interestingly, the downtown area of San Francisco, while awash with beers from the surrounding areas, has few brewing spots of its own.  In that regard it reminds us of New York, where you have to leave Manhattan and go to Brooklyn to really find a nest of breweries.  Away from downtown, several brewery taps thrive and public transportation gets you almost anywhere.  Beyond the city limits, of breweries ring the city, and many of them produce exceptionally good beers and the myriad of tap houses all over town tend to focus on local beers.  Name the style you like and you can find an excellent version of it, though at a price.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

San Francisco Stars #2: Old Kan Classic Cali Commons Ale, “Steam Beer” West Oakland, California

Date:  June 29 , 2019  —

The Story—  “Steam Beer” was once a fairly common name in brewing in California.  It was common in other countries too, such as Maisel’s Dampf (steam) Beer in Bayreuth, Bavaria.   A steam beer brewery also operated in the 19th and early 20th century in James River, Virginia.

The term steam has several potential origins.  Beer in San Francisco was produced in the late 29th century by chilling the hot wort in shallow pans on the roofs of the breweries and allowing the cold Pacific air to chill it to fermenting temperature.  The beer “steamed” as it cooled.   Another use on both sides of the Atlantic was to refer to a brewery that was using steam power to create artificial cooling.  The German steam beers were also fermented at high temperatures, though, and therefore although they were ales not lagers, they shared some of the same flavors.   Our favorite explanation is that the warm and quick fermentation led to excessively active fermentation and that when a barrel was tapped “steam” gushed out of the tap.  The last explanation gains credibility when you notice that pictures of steam brewery barrels had 7 rings around the barrel instead of the usual 5 to keep the barrel from bursting.

Anchor is not only the sole survivor of the steam breweries of the 19th century, Fritz Maytag trademarked the term “steam beer” — the current designation for that sort of beer is “California Common”, a term that apparently has historical roots as well.  Steam beers were considered cheap and rough get-drunk beers for workers and other low income consumers, and were generally scorned.   We’ll have much more to say about Fritz Maytag and Anchor Steam Beer in a later post in this series, but for now, we’ll turn out attention to a recent brewery’s take on the style.

Old Kan is an Oakland brewery and kitchen that revels in traditional styles and flavors.  Some day we’ll get there, but we were lucky enough to find their “Classic” at Coin Op, an amazing arcade and bar several blocks south of Union Square.  It’s made from Admiral Malts — a local maltery that is supplying a number of Bay Area craft breweries– and Northern Brewer hops, which probably are as good as any available hop to mimic some of the hop flavors of the 19th century.   The California steam beers relied on home-grown hops and it’s not clear exactly what they tasted like, but it may have been a pretty good reflection of the weeds that hops actually are.

We first encountered Anchor Steam beer in the early 1970s.  It had flavor.  The brewery no longer claims the steam beer they produce tastes very much like the steam beers of the turn of the 20th century — most probably showed a nasty sourness and by modern standards nearly undrinkable (except for sour fanatics).  But it did have a big malt character and some fruit from the high temperatures and open fermentation that Anchor continues to use.

Today, we believe Anchor when they say they haven’t changed ingredients or process since the early days when Fritz was trying to make the beer consistently drinkable, but in a world of Bell’s Hop Slam and even Tuppers’ Hop Pocket, Anchor now seems sweetly caramelized and just a tad dull.   (We still rate it a world classic, partly because every craft enthusiast owes so much to this path-breaker and partly because, for what it is, it’s still darned good.)

As we tasted the Old Kan Classic, though, we were transported back to the 1970s when Anchor shattered beer stereotypes and was one (though not the only) spark that ignited the craft revolution.   This beer now tastes to us the way Anchor Steam did to us then.   We freely admit that we’ve changed far more than Anchor, but we’re still grateful for this tiny brewery across the bay for rekindling the sensation we had in our first years of finding great beers.

The Beer–  Clean but not oppressive caramel; slightly nutty with some clean biscuit and some frisky fruit with a lingering clean bitter balance.  Just a hint of buttery diacetyl is more of an asset than a flaw in a beer like this.  We still respect Anchor — even if it’s owned by Kirin now– and it still defines the style.  However the hop balance makes this beer the beer we’d choose if we were to drink a six-pack in a session.

Value — Very good, maybe better.  We paid seven bucks for an honest pint.  At someone’s happy hour you could probably do better.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

We just got back from a week in San Francisco.   We hadn’t been there in eleven years and the remarkably vibrant beer scene we experienced then has become, well, even vibranter.   Ellie, poor girl, had to work long hours during the day while I got to roam the streets checking out the best places to find great beers.   At least when Ellie got off work I had places to take her before she crashed for the night.   We’ll post a week or two of Beers of the Day by the Bay before returning to research for our book on Inns and Breweries of the Mid-Atlantic.

Interestingly, the downtown area of San Francisco, while awash with beers from the surrounding areas, has few brewing spots of its own.  In that regard it reminds us of New York, where you have to leave Manhattan and go to Brooklyn to really find a nest of breweries.  Away from downtown, several brewery taps thrive and public transportation gets you almost anywhere.  Beyond the city limits, of breweries ring the city, and many of them produce exceptionally good beers and the myriad of tap houses all over town tend to focus on local beers.  Name the style you like and you can find an excellent version of it, though at a price.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

San Francisco Stars #1: Faction Pils, Alameda, California

Date:  June 28 , 2019  —

The Story— Pilsners are one of the most difficult beers to brew well.  If you’ve been doing it for 170 years, you’ve probably got it down by now, but great pilsners take both skill and time, and few new American breweries have the luxury to have the tank space to let the beers lager (age) as long as they should.

The dominant pilsner in the bay area is Trumer Pils — from an Austrian brewery that opened a brewery in Berkeley to produce a single a one hit wonder that has done well for them.   It claims to be a German pils, but we see it more as an Austrian pils (which, in Europe, it clearly is) that’s softer and slightly sweeter than the more crisp and bitter German pilsner and lighter and milder than the Czech originals.

But apparently you don’t need a couple of centuries or a few million to brew a pils well if you’re skilled enough.. and maybe a bit lucky.  Our first beer after landing at SFO blew us away.  Faction is a small mom and pop operation in Alameda, just south of Oakland and across the water to the East of San Francisco.

That first beer was at the B55 beer bar in the dazzling Marriott Marquis near Union Square.  The “View” bar at the top of the hotel offers stunning views after dark, but B55, tucked away on the viewless ground floor, offers a couple of dozen beers that include some local gems.   Faction was an amazing opening round in a week of very good beers.

The Beer–  This is a pilsner that I would almost take for granted in a small town brewery in central or northern Germany.  A clean pils malt sets the stage and leads to a lightly floral with some notes of Juicy Fruit and honeysuckle that are so typical of good German pilsners.  A mild but steady bitter makes it moreish, and a late hint of lemon makes us think that there may be some Lemon Drop hop in it.

Value — Good where we tasted it.  Very good at a less spiffy bar or at the brewery.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

We just got back from a week in San Francisco.   We hadn’t been there in eleven years and the remarkably vibrant beer scene we experienced then has become, well, even vibranter. In seven days we had the chance to taste beers from 28 local breweries.  Ellie, poor girl, had to work long hours during the day while I got to roam the streets checking out the best places to find great beers.   At least when Ellie got off work I had places to take her before she crashed for the night.   We’ll post a week or two of Beers of the Day by the Bay before returning to research for our book on Inns and Breweries of the Mid-Atlantic.

Interestingly, the downtown area of San Francisco, while awash with beers from the surrounding areas, has few brewing spots of its own.  In that regard it reminds us of New York, where you have to leave Manhattan and go to Brooklyn to really find a nest of breweries.  Away from downtown, several brewery taps thrive and public transportation gets you almost anywhere.  Beyond the city limits, of breweries ring the city, and many of them produce exceptionally good beers and the myriad of tap houses all over town tend to focus on local beers.  Name the style you like and you can find an excellent version of it, though at a price.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers, and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”