We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries these past few weeks regarding what’s going on here at the Elizabeth Street Brewery. The short answer is, “not a lot” to be honest. But that would be selling our efforts a bit short.

Since we invested in the 20-gallon tippy dump system and conical fermenter last Summer, we haven’t done much brewing to be frank. In addition to heightened activity at my day job, the system is currently getting a few minor adjustments to help optimize brewing efficiency moving forward so, as a result, I’ve only brewed three times in the past 6 months.

Like most things I’ve tackled in my life, I’ve always said that the growth of the Elizabeth Street Brewery would be a natural progression. Nothing forced. I need to keep reminding myself of this fact when I worry that we’re not as involved in the “beer community” as we were just 12 months ago. I’ve had to make some difficult decisions to start the year with regard to the work around the ESB. I will not be participating in SF Beer Week in 2012. We’re not throwing our annual Super Bowl Extravaganza here at the ESB next month (for the first time in a decade), and I think I’m also going to take a year off from traveling to the Craft Brewer’s Conference. I don’t take any of these decisions lightly.

It’s not all doom and gloom here though and the new brewery wasn’t the only milestone we hit in 2011. We’re an officially licensed business of California and the business plan has undertaken three major adaptations over the past 12 months also. There are a lot of positives ahead for us in 2012 too. When we do have “Molly” back up and running, we are going to brew. We are going to brew some of the best beers we’ve ever brewed. And we’re hoping you’re going to help us. This Spring, I’ve committed to brewing three beers with people that have never brewed before – tackling recipes of their choosing – and really experimenting with styles and advanced brewing. I hope to carry that into the rest of the year; inviting groups of people interested in the brewing process but not sure where to start. We’ve always said we were a “brewery for the people, by the people” – now we’re committed to being exactly that.

The ultimate goal is still the same – and we’ll never waiver in our commitment – to introduce a craft beer establishment to our good friends and neighbors of Noe Valley. Everything we do has that prize in mind… but until then, we’re determined to enjoy every step of the way. This is definitely a case of the journey being just as important and rewarding as the destination.

So, thanks for sticking with us and we can’t wait to get back to brewing and pouring frothy goodness for you over the months ahead. Until then… Cheers!

Richard, Allie, Addison & Quincy.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

STOPS TODAY:
Del Rio, TX
Sanderson, TX
Alpine, TX
El Paso, TX
Deming, NM
Lordsburg, NM
Benson, AZ
Tucson, AZ

Definitely a little slower on the uptick this morning. One or two drinks too many. This will be tough. The sunrise was now coming right into my window through the curtains so getting up was unavoidable. I managed to make it to the breakfast car at 8:55am and met some of the new passengers. One of the ladies had a very interesting accent. Turned out she was American, had lived in Canada, but had been living in London for the past 20 years. Her 12-year old daughter had a full English accent and this was only her second time visiting her mother’s homeland. They had been training from the East coast and were heading to LA to spend time with friends – Universal Studios, Hollywood, etc.

We pulled into our first stop just as I finished breakfast… Del Rio, TX:

They have a service on these trains called Trails & Rails and it is a group of volunteers that will join a journey at a stop and stay with us for a few stops – about 90-120 minutes. They are certified rangers and give overviews and presentations on the local geography, animals, history, etc. I decided to listen to the one this morning as we traversed the very south of Texas along the Mexican border (so far south in fact, that I received unsolicited texts on my phones letting me know that I could get unlimited texting in Mexico for $8.99).

This is where we saw one of the visual highlights of the journey so far – albeit rather brief – The Pecos Canyon. Wow…

Just got done with lunch meeting a lovely older couple from Austin that are doing the loop on the train (also for the first time). Austin to Los Angeles to Seattle to Denver to Chicago to Austin. Stopping in Seattle for a while to visit with relatives. Great people. Chicken curry (rather good) and ice tea… something I’ve had buckets of since being on the train.

Back in my roomette again. This train is considerably busier than the last one – every meal needs to have a reservation. The observation deck is louder too – more kids – so it’s easier for me to slip away to the privacy of my sleeper car and watch the Southern Texas mountains and desert pass me by. The Texas Eagle – running from Chicago to San Antonio – is a daily service. The Sunset Limited runs only on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – I think this is why it’s a lot busier.

This has been the only leg of the journey where we’ve had very little cellphone connection so I’m truly cut off with the world now. Quite pleasant and unnerving at the same time.

I’m going to jump back into the business plan and get a nap in before we roll through El Paso, say goodbye to Texas, skip through New Mexico and arrive in Tucson for a 30-45 minute break later tonight.

El Paso was pretty unreal. The border fence was literally a few feet from the window at times while we left the station. New Mexico didn’t last long and we crossed into Arizona after dark. The desert was experiencing one of it’s more impressive monsoon spells tonight and I got to witness it from my room with no lights on… just the lightning firing down near the train as we continued on.

I graduated from the University of Arizona in 1996. Allie and I had met there back in September of 1993. I had a lot of very fond memories and lot of tough ones too so I knew it was going to be surreal to roll up in the train with a 45 minute break to possibly run over to Hotel Congress to grab a quick pint. Unfortunately, we were behind schedule so I was only able to get a little bit of filming done and snap a couple of pictures before moving on…

I fell asleep as soon as we left Tucson city limits.

To be continued…

Monday, August 23, 2010

STOPS TODAY:
Texarkana, AR
Marshall, TX
Longview, TX
Mineola, TX
Dallas, TX
Fort Worth, TX
Cleburne, TX
McGregor, TX
Temple, TX
Taylor, TX
Austin, TX
San Marcos, TX
San Antonio, TX

Breakfast in the dining car around 8:30. Scrambled eggs, sausage patties and homefries with a fresh, warm biscuit. Mmmmm. Spent the morning working on the business plan and napping. Great combo. Even though we were running an hour behind schedule because of an initial delay in Chicago, the driver managed to make up all the time overnight and we rolled into Dallas 5 minutes ahead of schedule. We had about 25 minutes to stretch our legs.

We arrived in Fort Worth about an hour later and were told it was about 109 degrees. It felt hotter. Because we had 45 minutes before the train was due to depart, I thought I’d go on a quest for a local bar close to the station. After three blocks in the heat, with a black T-shirt on, I gave up and went back to the A/C in the train.

I ordered a $6 Heineken and put my feet up. Lunch consisted of a fresh spinach salad with salmon fillet. By now, a number of my low expectations had been blown out of the water… I’ll talk first about the food. Because I have a “first-class” ticket (any ticket that gets you in the sleeping car is considered a first-class ticket) all my meals are included… and it’s nothing to scoff at. Burgers are around $9. They have a $22 skirt steak with mashed potatoes and green beans (that I had for dinner this evening) and it’s all very, very high quality.

I’ve split my time between my private roomette and the open observation deck during the day. There’s a steady crowd in the observation room but not crazy and every time I look up from typing (like I did just then) I can see Texas all around me. Sun is going to set in about 45 minutes I think. I’m going to stay out here for that and then hit the sack early.

I’ve made a lot of progress on the plan. Just have two key sections to complete tomorrow. I’m going to enjoy the rest of my awake time this evening and watch a movie, read some more of my book and take a nap.

Change of plans. We were delayed about half an hour heading into Austin, TX and they indicated we may be stuck there for a number of hours because of a repair needing to be made to the track on bridge ahead (over the Colorado river). I promptly made plans to go to The Gingerman – an excellent beer pub in Austin akin to The Toronado in SF. I also got in touch with Stacy Libby, an old colleague and friend that has recently relocated to Austin from the Bay Area. No sooner had I put everything together, we were told that the problem was fixed and that we could move on our way after all.

We rolled into San Antonio about 25 minutes late at 10:20pm. I said goodbye to my porter – Cesar – and tipped him for the past 2 days.

This is the stop where the Texas Eagle ends and the sleeper car and one coach car gets added to the Sunset Limited that runs from New Orleans to Los Angeles. That train was due in around 2am and then my sleeper car was going to get added to the back of the train. I asked my new porter – Peggy – if she knew if there were any bars locally that I could check out for a few hours before going to bed. Sure enough, Alibi’s was right around the corner and I enjoyed a couple of shots of tequila, a handful of Shiner Bocks and got friendly with the locals. It was open mic night so I even got to plug in my iPhone and play Mumford & Sons for everyone. Awesome.

Good times. I stumbled back to the train and got into my bed around 2:30am. Sleeping immediately.

To be continued…

I’ve been trying to rewrite the business plan for the Elizabeth Street Brewery for well over a year now (after my last one went with the laptop that killed it – remember to back-up people) but with a consuming and committed day job, family, commute, etc. it had been very difficult to set the time aside to focus and just get it done. I have toyed with the idea of traveling across country for a while now… either by car or by train… but Allie is not the best traveling companion over long distances (she’s definitely more about the destination than the journey). So I thought I’d take advantage and take an Amtrak back from St. Louis and finish the business plan along the way.

I decided to take the Texas Eagle / Sunset Limited route that would see me travel south through Arkansas and the heart of Texas before heading west out of San Antonio, through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and finally into Union Station in Los Angeles. It was scheduled to take 62 hours and 30 minutes. Plenty of time to get it done…

Sunday, August 22, 2010

After the Giants played what I consider to be their most sub-par performance of the season, losing the second consecutive game to the St. Louis Cardinals of a three-game series, it was time to send the guys off to the airport and start the solo leg of my journey.

After bidding farewell to Tim and Ben, I set off on foot through downtown St. Louis to gather supplies for my train journey… the shopping list consisted of, among other things, water, chips, jerky and Bourbon.

It was eerily quiet walking downtown. It was around 5:45pm and after spending 3 days with 10 of my best friends, the silence was deafening as I walked toward Market street. However, after 3 blocks of feeling like the last man on earth, I came across Market street and “downtown in the park”. They shut off a strip of the downtown area on the weekends to traffic and have water features that kids can come and play in. I watched the kids jumping around in the pool, their parents lying around on the grass, and really wished I could have been with my wife and kids right at that moment… Also a little nervous about my solo cross-country journey ahead.

After getting everything on the list and picking my bags back up at the hotel, I set off for the train station. I knew I was going to have to wait a little bit but I was going to be waiting no matter where I was so figured the train station was as good a place as any. After getting the lay of the land at the new Amtrak/Greyhound station I inquired as to the whether or not the train was on time. Unfortunately, the train was currently running an hour behind schedule… something I had already prepared myself for as a certainty so not too disappointed. Because I have a sleeper car ticket, I had access to the first class lounge where I joined a husband and wife – who were heading back south to Longview, Texas after attending the husband’s sister’s funeral – and a woman who was taking her sister back to Tucson, AZ for a 3-week visit. We waited for about 75 minutes in there, watching the nice HD TV and chatting every so often.

I boarded the train around 8:25pm. Quickly found my roomette on the second floor, got settled, and joined the other newly boarded guests in the dining car. I sat with an elderly woman (didn’t catch her name) who was traveling home to El Paso, TX after visiting her daughter in D.C. and was a big fan of eBay. We enjoyed a surprisingly good burger and cheesecake before retiring to our respective rooms for the night. It was now around 10pm, and I decided to grab a beer and check out the observation car while the porter made up my bed.

I got into bed around 10:30pm, poured myself a small glass of bourbon on the rocks, and settled down for Hitchcock’s masterpiece Strangers on a Train. I fell asleep around 11pm and kind of drifted in and out of sleep for 6 hours before opening the curtains and watching the dark world roll by and typing this first entry in the journal. I’m going to sign off now and listen to some music, hopefully catching another hour or two of sleep as the sun comes up.

STOPS OVERNIGHT
Poplar Bluff, MO
Walnut Ridge, AR
Little Rock, AR
Malvern, AR
Arkadelphia, AR

To be continued…

Cheers!
Richard.

Thought I’d share with folks… Cheers!

Richard.

Elizabeth Street Brewery’s Richard Brewer-Hay from Chris Spradley on Vimeo.

Apparently not…

That’s right folks, our little homebrewpub in our basement managed to snag Best Microbrewery of 2010 in SF Weekly. A true honor for us considering we’re not selling any beer yet.

Best Microbrewery – 2010
Elizabeth Street Brewery

Every month or so, Richard and Alyson Brewer-Hay invite friends, neighbors, and beer lovers in general to drop by their Noe Valley home and sample the brews they’ve been cooking up in 5- and 10-gallon batches since 2003. A few years back, their rumpus room was converted into a pub for the reality program. This friendly wood-and-brick nook, decorated with framed photos, armchairs, a dartboard, and many many beer bottles, is the ideal setting to enjoy free samples of Quincy’s Winter Warmer porter; Auntie Ben’s unfiltered, ultrahoppy IPA; Mummy’s Double Honey ale; or Daddy’s Chocolate Milk, a rich and creamy stout crafted from four varieties of malt, including chocolate. Brewing updates and information on the next open house are available via the ESB Web site or Twitter: @ESBale.

2010 has truly been a surreal year for the ESB. The 21st Amendment collaboration brew we made that took gold at World Beer Cup and now this.

My commitment and promise to all the folks that have enjoyed a beer at ESB over the past few years is that this will not be distracting, nor will it take away from the ultimate goal: a true family brewpub in San Francisco.

Thanks for your continued support and we can’t wait to welcome you into our wee homebrewpub over the Summer.

Cheers!
Richard.

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.

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Richard.