More Craft Brewers Conference events open to the public

More Craft Brewers Conference events open to the public:

Thursday

At the Hilton Union Square Urban Tavern on Thursday during happy hour, Oskar Blues Brewery Can Apocalypse Night featuring Head Brewer Dave Chichura pouring cans of
Mama's Little Yella Pils, Dale's Pale Ale, Old Chub Scotch Ale, G'Knight Imperial Red, Ten FIDY Imperial Stout, GUBNA Imperial IPA and the limited run of One Hit Wonder Imperial IPA.

The Hilton: Urban Tavern,

333 O’Farrell St.,

San Franscisco, California, 94102

At The Trappist In Oakland, starting at 8 p.m.: Upright Brewing brewers and representatives Ezra Johnson-Greenough and Ben Edmunds are in town for the Craft Brewers Conference and will be making a stop at the great beer bar The Trappist to pour some of their special brand of Farmhouse ales with a Pacific NW twist and will be bringing along some rare barrel-aged bottled treats.

The Trappist

460 8th Street

Oakland, CA

http://www.thetrappist.com/

Friday

At Rosamunde Sausage Grill on Mission on Friday starting at 7 p.m., The Bruery and Cigar City Brewing will release the fruit of their collaborative efforts during the Craft Brewer's Conference. Join the brewers for the first public tapping of Marrón Acidifié. Over a year in barrels has left this 8.5% ABV "imperial oud bruin" layered with notes of cranberries, tropical fruits, leather and aged balsamic vinegar, balanced by wood tannins and roasted malt.

2832 Mission St

(between 24th St & 25th St)

San Francisco, CA 94110

Neighborhood: Mission

(415) 970-9015

www.rosamundesausagegrill.com

Also on Friday, Speakeasy Ales and Lagers presents Firkin Friday – CBC Edition, from 4-9 p.m.”We have pulled out all the stops for this week’s party - including some new beers, live bands and delicious food.” Pints are $3, live music starting at 6 p.m. With Andrew Blair and Ross Warner, followed by The Easy Leaves. San Francisco’s Good Foods BBQ will serve delicious barbecue. We’ll round that off with tasty Mexican food from local favorite La Laguna Taqueria. “In addition to featuring our regular line of beers, Friday will be the public debut of our new beer brewed special for the CBC called Snatch Racket India Pale Lager. Snatch Racket – named for the surge of kidnappings and ransoms in 1920’s during prohibition – is a unique blend of styles, a 6.5% full bodied lager dry-hopped like an IPA with all German hops. We’ll also be pulling a few rare aged beers from the cellar just for the night.”

Speakeasy Ales and Lagers

1195 Evans Ave

(between Middle Point Rd & Jennings St)

San Francisco, CA 94124

Neighborhood: Bayview/Hunters Point

(415) 642-3371

www.goodbeer.co

Accessible by the T-Third, 44 and 19

More on the CBC beer brewed by Russian River and Sierra Nevada, which will be featured Thursday night at Public House:

The team at Russian River bottled it a couple of weeks ago and it’s now conditioning in large pallet cages in the brewery before labeling.

This sour brown ale was made by Russian River with Sierra Nevada, using the latter’s Keller Weise yeast for the primary fermentation, and barrel aged with Russian River’s house “bugs and critters” in wine barrels from Fritz Maytag’s York Creek Vineyards. Sampling his creation two weeks after bottling, Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo reports: “The bottle I opened had a giant Cabernet Sauvignon characteristic.” Sounds delicious, and we’re anticipating more fun surprises from the other three special beers!

Craft Brewers Conference comes to San Francisco

If you imagine you're catching the heady whiff of beer in the air this week, you will not be mistaken. Around 2,500 craft brewers will descend on San Francisco for the Brewers Association's 28th Craft Brewers Conference from March 23-26. Although registration is closed and the convention itself is sold out, there will be plenty of chances for the public to enjoy craft beer on its own or with food, and to meet the brewers who make it.

On the eve of the convention, for example, Monks Kettle will host a collaboration beer dinner in conjunction withDeschutes Brewery of Oregon, featuring a special menu made for beer. Brewer Robin Johnson will be on hand to discuss how they made the beer.

If you miss the beer dinner at Monk's Kettle, fear not. You'll have plenty of opportunities to sample Deschutes' beers, including Woody, the traveling beer barrel. Deschutes will make stops at The Hopyard in Pleasanton on Tuesday, the Toronado and Beer Revolution on Wednesday, The Republic in the Marina on Thursday, The Englander on Friday, and City Beer and the San Ramon Whole Foods on Saturday. Along with Woody, Deschutes has brought The Abyss 2010, The Abyss 2009, Black Butte XXI, Hop Henge Experimental IPA, Red Chair NWPA, Mirror Mirror, Jubel 2010, Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Green Lakes Organic Ale.

In addition, on Wednesday, Barclays Pub in Rockridge will be pouring beers from East Bay breweries OBC (Oakland Brewing Company), Ale Industries, Drakes, Triple Rock, Linden Street Brewing, High Water Brewing and more. Also on Wednesday, Drakes will feature some of its rare and barrel-aged beers at Porky's Pizza Palace in San Leandro, including the 2009 Jolly Roger Imperial Brown Ale, Bourbon Barrel Aged 2009 Jolly Roger, Bourbon Barrel-aged aged Drakonic Imperial Stout (excellent), Exclusive CBC IPA (just one keg available), 1500 Hoppy Pale, nitro dispensed, Hop Salad Double iPA, Hopocalypse Imperial IPA and its Alpha Sessions American session ale.

In 1989, the last time the Brewers Association held its convention in San Francisco, craft beer was, relatively speaking, just a baby. In those days, we had Anchor Brewing, certainly. Sierra Nevada was still gaining traction and Russian River Brewing was still a glimmer in Vinnie Cilurzo's eye, if that. No one would have guessed back then that craft beer from the Bay Area and elsewhere would grow up to become the enfant terrible of the beer world, shaking the foundations of beer and gastronomy not only in America, but all over the world.