A Tall, Cold Pint of NightLife
All about how beer is brewed with music by DJ Kramer and Tamo
July 15th, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

There’s nothing better on a summer night than a tall, cold glass of beer. Have you ever wondered how beer is brewed? What ‘hops’ are? What the difference between a lager and a pilsner is? Join some of the San Francisco Bay Area’s best microbreweries and beer experts, including San Francisco Brewcraft, MateVeza, Bison Brewing, Social Kitchen and Brewery, Elizabeth Street Brewery and others, to learn all about the art of brewing beer. All of these great beers will be available for sale tonight at NightLife.

Full details regarding the event can be found HERE. Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Richard.

I’ve decided to brew a wide collection of beers behind closed doors over the coming weeks so we can have some cool and interesting ales to enjoy at upcoming open-houses for friends, family and neighbors. I’ve received quite a few emails over the past 3 weeks from new people wondering what exactly goes on here at our homebrew pub (apologies to those I have yet to respond to) so it would be nice to have beers for them when they get here.

Saturday was interesting because we were technically not open but managed to get a crowd of about 30 people over the course of the day. Good to see old friends and make new ones but again, I found myself distracted from the task at hand. What started out as 10-gallons of American amber ale, in honor of the late Bill Brand (the second time I’ve tried to replicate the B3 Bomber Ale of last year) turned into 5 gallons of extremely strong, hoppy brew. Not sure how to categorize it yet but I have a feeling it’s going to knock my socks off. It was the first time using the PACMAN yeast (Rogue Dead Guy Ale yeast) and because I had two starters (for two 5-gallon fermenters) I decided to throw them both in one 5-gallon batch. My wife – and our dining room for that matter – is not pleased with that decision so far. Extremely active. Again, can’t wait to try this one.

Saturday also marked the first time in 7 years that I had to discard an entire batch of beer. It had been contaminated somewhere between the primary and the secondary and leaving it in the carboys for an excessive amount of time didn’t help. The beer is, quite simply, undrinkable. Therefore, I have the painful task of pouring it away. I’ve only poured 5 gallons so far… it was like crying in the sink. Not ready to do the same with the second keg. To make matters worse, it was a batch of our Daddy’s Chocolate Milk – a real crowd favorite – so I’ll have to get back to brewing another batch of it sooner rather than later.

We’ve been focusing a lot on the behind-the-scenes aspects of the ESB for a few weeks now. Saturday’s brew was, in all honesty, the first batch brewed on site since we welcomed in 2010. With the exception of brewing Imperial Jack at 21st Amendment it was the only beer I’ve made this year. That is all about to change. I need to play with recipes, tweak and challenge ideas of existing beers we’ve been making. We have a whole new group of “customers” coming to the pub and I don’t want their first impressions to be of sub-par ale.

So… look for more brew-day updates in the future – and a lot of them too. Which is good news for you. After all, someone has to drink it.

For now, I say cheers! Can’t wait to welcome you into the Elizabeth Street Brewery in the near future.

-Richard.

Yesterday marked the first day of Strong Beer Month in San Francisco. Hosted by Magnolia Brewpub and 21st Amendment Brewery, Strong Beer Month features 12 unique and special beers available. You can see a full list of the beers here…

Strong Beer Month Menu

I was extremely fortunate to be invited back to brew at the 21st Amendment. Two weeks ago we brewed a strong version of our Grandpa Jack ESB and have named it Imperial Jack. You can read about the brew day HERE.

John Foster of Beer School fame, was invited to brew a beer too. Together, he and I joined the enthusiastic crowd at 21st Amendment last night to officially open Strong Beer Month. Addison helped get things going by ringing the bell. Here is the event, caught on film. Enjoy!

You can read John’s account of last night HERE and check out his pictures HERE.

Cheers,
Richard.

Introducing Imperial Jack
Getting to brew on such a large system twice in just a matter of months was a true honor and amazing opportunity. Brewers Jesse and Shaun had the idea of doubling our ESB recipe from the GABF last year to create an “Imperial ESB”. A bitter that will boast an A.B.V. of around 8.5%, the beer had almost double the grain bill of our last batch (went from 550lbs of malt to 1,036 lbs). We knew we were onto something special from the very beginning.

Richard & Shaun get ready to brew Imperial Jack at the 21st Amendment

Shaun and I mashed in and the sparge went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, I had to take part in a conference call for my day job during the boil so Shaun handled the majority of the hop additions before I rejoined him for the end of the boil and the grain clean-up. Jesse tagged in for Shaun for the end of the brew when we added the yeast and transferred the wort to the fermenter. All-in-all it was a great day and I can’t wait to brew on that scale again sooner rather than later. Here are some highlights from the day:

Imperial Jack recipe snapshot

Shaun adds hops to Imperial Jack

Imperial Jack Transfers to Fermenter

Yeast blow-off after 1 day in fermenter – we’ve got a wild one here!

VIDEO: Adding yeast to the fermenter

VIDEO: Transferring Imperial Jack to the fermenter

Imperial Jack will be on tap beginning February 1 at 21st Amendment Brewery. See you there!

Cheers!
Richard.

Feel free to stop by for a taste or two during the 4-hour window this coming Saturday. Can’t wait to see you.

Cheers!
Richard.

You already saw what happened on the first day.

DAY 2
We took Friday off from the Great American Beer Festival but that pretty much meant that we just drank beer in other places. Namely the Denver Chophouse & Brewery and Falling Rock Tap House. I had already seen the Chophouse and Brewery in Washington D.C. earlier this year and they are pretty similar. However, I’m always a fan of a brewery that puts its serving tanks right behind the bar in full-view. Here is a quick tour of Denver Chophouse & Brewery:

I didn’t want to be the dork who got the video camera out at Falling Rock so you’ll have to forgive me. Just know that the beers there are superb. It gives Toronado in SF and Gingerman down in Austin a good run for their money. I enjoyed a Russian River Brewing Sanctificaton, an unbranded cask milk stout and an Elysian Jasmine IPA. We then met with up Allie’s Uncle Mike and headed over to see the Colorado Rockies v St. Louis Cardinals. Even though we’re die-hard San Francisco Giants’ fans, even I couldn’t deny that the Rockies played a great, tight game that was ultimately won in the bottom of the 9th, in part by some pretty clutch pinch-hitting by Jason Giambi. Final score was 2-1. Followed by some pretty cool fireworks:

DAY 3
This was the moment of truth. Our first ever beer brewed on a professional system, entered into our first GABF. We were excited. We were going to get there early and get in line so we could try as many beers as possible on our last session in Denver before leaving for the airport. For those unfamiliar, there are two separate sessions on Saturday – a members only afternoon session from 12:30 – 4:30pm and then another evening session starting an hour later. We were signed up for the afternoon session because that is also when they announce the GABF award winning brews of the year. We showed up to the convention center at 11:50am. I decided to take a video from the front of the line to the rear. It took over 5 minutes…

The same goosebump-inducing entrance greeted us as we ascended the escalator. This time, the pipers were out in full force. Both here…

And inside the GABF, here…

Allie and I were determined to try some Dogfish Head beer before the awards were handed out (I’m so dorky I was fired up that Sam Calagione himself poured our samples for us) so by the time we got over to the ceremony, we had missed the announcement of the first 4 categories. What we didn’t realize for another 25 minutes is that we had already missed the announcement of the winners of the Pro-Am category – in which our Elizabeth Street Bitter had been entered. The build up was all washed away rather flatly to be honest. Allie had gone to the loo, and I recognized another homebrewer who had a beer in the Pro-Am. “We’ll get them next year, eh?” he said… “Oh, did they already announce? Who won?” I asked, non-chalantly. “No one I knew, but I hear the beers are great.” They were. Two were incredibly hoppy IPAs (so much so that I had to drink Allie’s for her) and the bronze went to a very well rounded Belgian.

So that was it. We spent the rest of the afternoon consuming as many rare beers as we could get our hands on and trying to find Shaun O’Sullivan and the 21st Amendment crew who had wonderfully won a bronze medal for the smoked porter… I had to stand on tip-toes to see he and Nico accept the medal but I think I must have been the loudest cheerleader in the crowd. It was great to see other local, favorite brewers win medals – golds to Magnolia, Marin and Bear Republic to name just three! The full list of winners can be found HERE. Interesting stat… of the 3,308 beers entered at the GABF this year, 234 of them were awarded medals. Meaning 93% of entries didn’t receive an award. Stiff competition indeed.

All in all, it was an experience I’ll never forget – and one that I want to be a part of again and again. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… I can’t thank you enough for the support you’ve all given us over the past 6 years. One day we hope to be serving you our ales on a daily basis and entering our own beers into the GABF… encouraging other homebrewers to brew on our system and enter beers into the Pro-Am tournament.

2009 has been another step in the right direction for the Elizabeth Street Brewery and I like to think that there are much bigger ones to come in the very near future. Watch this space.

Cheers!
Richard.

Cheers,
Richard

I must be honest, and I’m not just saying this, all the beers were fantastic in their own right. Although, I must have had a special place in my belly for the Hazy Frog Robust Porter because I was inspired to start tackling the Quincy’s Winter Warmer porter recipe this weekend – I brewed 10 gallons of it yesterday. Michael Frenn inspired me!

Anyway, I can’t wait for Allie and I to get to Denver to try all of these beers again – along with the other entries… Exciting stuff indeed.

The 6 Beers…

Beer Name: Across The Pond
Beer Style: English IPA
Pro: Peter Hoey, Sacramento Brewing Co.
Am: Mike Mraz
ABV: 6.2%
IBUs: 75
OG: 1.065
FG: 1.015
Background: Won 1st place in 2009 CA State Fair Competition; 2nd in 2008 State Homebrew Competition
Description: This copper colored English IPA is brewed with exclusively English hop varieties – no American hops were harmed in the making of this beer.

Beer Name: Janet’s Brown Ale
Beer Style: Imperial American Brown
Pro: Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing
Am: Mike “Tasty” McDole
ABV: 7.9%
IBUs: 60
OG: 1.075
FG: 1.015
Background: 2004 & 2009 AHA National Homebrew Competition Gold Medal
Description: A dark, double IPA strength ale featuring Northern Brewer hops balanced against a rich, malt backbone. Minty hop flavor and chocolate malt combine for a “Thin Mints” effect. Named after Mike’s late wife.

Beer Name: Kyle’s Nightmare
Beer Style: Rye IPA
Pro: Todd Ashman, Fifty-Fifty Brewing
Am: Alex Drobshoff
ABV: 7.3%
IBUs: 72
OG: 1.067
FG: 1.016
Background: Came 1st in a club-only competition.
Description: Taste this IPA and “Find your Balance.” A full-bodied American IPA with a touch of Rye.

Beer Name: Elizabeth Street Bitter
Beer Style: English Extra Special Bitter
Pro: Shaun O’Sullivan & Jesse Houck, 21st Amendment
Am: Richard Brewer-Hay
ABV: 5.2%
IBUs: 25
OG: 1.055
FG: 1.013
Background: Beer of the Year 2003-2008 in Allie’s Secret Taste Test.
Description: The Elizabeth Street Bitter is brewed with 8 different malts and an equal balance of US and UK hops. It features a mellow hop finish but complex malt flavor. This was batch number 20 of the ESB. An evolution of the first beer ever made back in 2003.

Beer Name: Hazy Frog
Beer Style: Robust Porter
Pro: Nick Campbell, Blue Frog Brewery
Am: Michael Frenn
ABV: 7.2%
IBUs: 42
OG: 1.070
FG: 1.015
Background: Best of Show at Beer World Cup, 1st at Sam Adams’ Longshot, 2nd at CA State Fair and 3rd at CA Brewer’s Commercial Competition
Description: A substantial malty dark ale with a complex and flavorful roasty character. This clone of Anchor Porter includes chocolate, crystal, black and roasted barley malts.

Beer Name: Five and Dime 510 Tripel
Beer Style: Belgian Style Tripel
Pro: Rodger Davis & George Kumparak, Triple Rock Brewery
Am: Nathan Smith
ABV: 8.2%
IBUs: 40
OG: 1.077
FG: 1.015
Background: 3rd at 2009 World Cup and MoreBeer Forum Competitions
Description: Flavors and ingredients based around Gregory Verhelst’s Tripel from the La Rulles brewery in Belgium. Nathan grew the yeast at home with 25 gallons of starter to produce a commercial-sized yeast pitch.