We’re back up and running here at The ESB and kicked off the year with our first #ESBrew2012 on March 3, 2012 with a brand new recipe that I hope will be a nice addition to our selection of beers. We’re calling it Bluesbreaker’s Black.

#ESBrew2012
This will be our brewday hashtag on Twitter for the duration of the year. I am committed to chronicling each of our brew days this year here on the blog and on Twitter @ESBAle. We’ll also maintain a photo journal on our ESB Flickr page and, from time to time, we’ll also upload videos to our ESB YouTube channel.

Bluesbreaker’s Black IPA
Bluesbreaker’s Black is our latest brew here at The ESB. It was inspired by 21st Amendment’s Back in Black IPA and Sierra Nevada’s Ruthless Rye IPA. It is definitely a work in progress but an exciting one to be sure. It’s a 27 lb grain bill for a 12-gallon yield. 3 lbs of rye are included and we use a combo of Warrior and Cascade hops during the boil. More info on the beer as we dial it in.

The name of the beer – Bluesbreaker’s Black – comes from the music played during the brew. Throughout the brew day, all that was played was blues music performed by British artists like Eric Clapton and John Mayall. Primarily the beer was brewed to John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. One of my favorite bands. Music plays an integral part of the process with every beer we brew. Every beer has it’s own soundtrack.

The Famous Podcast
We’re huge fans of The Famous here at The ESB and have been following their musical escapades for as long as we’ve been brewing. They play regular shows at The Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa (the next show is on April 7 at the home of Pliny The Elder). They started their own podcast last week and in addition to playing all manner of traditional country music – and highlighting NASCAR so far – they also want to chat about beer so I sent an update to the show talking about Bluesbreaker’s Black… something I hope to do on a regular basis over the coming months.

We look forward to keeping you up to speed on developments here at The ESB. More importantly, we look forward to sharing and brewing the beers with you all.

Cheers!
RBH

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, November 29, 2011
St. Philip’s Catholic Church, 725 Diamond (at 24th St.), Noe Valley, S.F.
Doors open at 7 p.m. / meeting begins at 7:30pm

A cable car at Castro and 26th streets in 1940. Photo courtesy of Bill Yenne and the Noe Valley Archives.

Bill Yenne is a 37-year resident of Noe Valley and the author of “San Francisco’s Noe Valley” and “San Francisco: Then and Now,” as well as more than six dozen nonfiction books and novels on a variety of topics, including history, popular culture, and transportation. You may know him best for his book “Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint”. He is also an acclaimed photographer and illustrator.

Bill is presenting a slideshow and talk that will include a host of previously unseen historical images. He will take people on a stroll through Noe Valley, from the site of the Gray Brothers quarry to 24th Street as it was, asking the provocative question “Who’s buried in Noe’s Tomb?” and helping us relive the great snowstorm of February 1976.

Doors open at 7 p.m. with refreshments and a S.F. historical book sale, while the meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. sharp. There is a $5 admission for nonmembers. Limited parking in schoolyard (entrance on Elizabeth St.), but additional parking is available on surrounding streets. Muni: 24-Divisadero and 48-Quintara stop at Castro and 24th streets; 35-Eureka stops at Diamond and 24th streets.

I’ll be getting there around 7:20pm and we may have to nip down to the Tavern for a pint of Guinness afterwards with the author himself.

Cheers!
Richard.

In addition to being the Brewmaster of Social Kitchen & Brewery, organizing the San Francisco Brewer’s Guild, and living just a few short blocks from the Elizabeth Street Brewery, Rich Higgins is also a certified Master Cicerone.

He is bringing his knowledge and expertise to the good people of San Francisco starting this month and running through February 13, 2012. You’ve already missed the UK Beer Tradition course but feel free to come over to the ESB for a private session on that in the near future. In the meantime, check out all the other classes and dates below:

World Beer Traditions (http://beertraditions.eventbrite.com)
November 6: UK Beer Tradition
November 13: German Beer Tradition
December 4: Belgian Beer Tradition
January 8: US Beer Tradition

Beer & Food Pairing (http://beerandfood.eventbrite.com)
November 20: Beer & Thanksgiving Food
December 18: Beer & Italian Cuisine from Delarosa Restaurant
January 29: Beer & Superbowl Eats
February 13: Beer & Valentine’s Chocolate & Candy

You can use promotion code “weissbier” to receive a $10 discount for each ticket purchased. Also, discounted 4-class packages are available for a limited time. Tickets cost $55-$65 and are a fundraiser for the non-profit Barbary Coast Conservancy for the American Cocktail.

Classes are on Sundays from 5-7 PM (except the Valentine’s class is on a Monday). I definitely plan on attending a few of these over the next couple of months so maybe I’ll see you there.

Cheers!
Richard.

As some of you already know, a fire broke out at the Radio Shack building on 24th Street in Noe Valley on Saturday, September 10. As a result, 7 residents of that building have been displaced and they need our help. Noe Valley resident (and ESBAle-fan) Catherine Bergstrom is organizing a raffle fund-raiser for the victims to take place on October 6 at the Valley Tavern.

Allie and I want to help in anyway we can so we’ve decided to raffle off a full brew-day at the Elizabeth Street Brewery.

This will include:
- Picking out a recipe of your choice
- A trip to the brewery supply store to get all the ingredients (all paid for by Elizabeth Street Brewery)
- Full brew-day on the new 20-gallon tippy dump ESBAle sculpture – “MOLLY”
- 4 cases of the beer brewed on that day
- 2 brand-new ESBAle T-Shirts
- Special beer-tastings throughout the brewday

We’ll work with the raffle winner on a date that works for all involved.

Raffle tickets will be sold at The Valley Tavern beginning Saturday, September 17th. You can find out all the information about how to help the victims, by clicking on the flyer below.

Cheers!
RBH

We’ve been hard at work brewing up some special batches of Daddy’s Chocolate Milk and this coming weekend we’ll be pouring our beer somewhere other than “just some f&*king room is some guy’s f&*king house.”

First up is the “Small Batch / Big Thirst” event on Saturday, February 12.

Event: SMALL BATCH / BIG THIRST
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 12th 2pm – 6pm
Location: Truc Stop, 246 Ritch Street, SF
Breweries (beers):
Pac Brew Lab (Hibiscus Saison, TBD);
Elizabeth Street Brewery (Daddy’s Chocolate Milk);
Mill Valley Beerworks (Botanical, TBD);
SFBG (Imperial Common);
Speakeasy (Imperial Coffee Porter);
Lagunitas (Hop High);
Muddy Puddle (Squirrel’s Blood, Belgique RyePA, TBD), more brewers to come!
Admission: 21 and over only; drink tickets for sale with all proceeds going to charity. Donations encouraged!

We’re really excited to see new folks out and about all celebrating craft beer!

7×7 Magazine has even made it one of their “top picks” for SF Beer Week.

See you Saturday afternoon!

Cheers!
Richard.

The Imperial Jack, named after my Grandfather (pictured above) and collaboratively brewed with the good folks at 21st Amendment Brewery (pictured below), is back in San Francisco for Strong Beer Month in February. As you may remember, Imperial Jack took home the gold from last year’s World Beer Cup in Chicago in the “Other Strong Ale” category.

Come join us to raise a glass of the award-winning brew in honor of my late Grandpa Jack and his Great Grandson and namesake, Jack Wilson. Baby Jack was born on January 8, 2010 – the same day we brewed this latest batch of Imperial Jack so it’s a celebration of life both new and old. Can’t wait to see you all then so we can kick off strong beer month in style!

What: A TOAST OF JACKS
Where: 21st Amendment Brewery, 563 2nd Street, San Francisco
When: 6 – 9pm, Tuesday, February 1.

Cheers!
Richard.

I’m doing this because:

· 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in his lifetime

· 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime

This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to support the great work of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG.

Added incentive
Here is where the FREE BEER comes in. My pledge to folks (in addition to making myself look like a dodgy Seventies porn star) is as follows:

1. If you join TeamSFO (of which I am captain) and donate your face for Movember too, raising at least $100 in the process, you will be hosted at a private Movember TeamSFO event at the ESB complete with never-before-tasted beers and celebratory ales.

2. If you donate $50 or more to my specific cause at http://us.movember.com/mospace/986462/ you will be hosted at a private Movember Donators Dinner at the ESB complete with an exclusive pouring of the World Beer Cup Gold Medal-award winning Imperial Jack.

To help, you can either:

- Click this link http://us.movember.com/mospace/986462/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account
- Write a check payable to Movember, referencing my name or Registration Number 986462 and mailing it to: Movember, PO Box 2726, Venice, CA 90294-2726

To join my Movember team go to http://us.movember.com/register/166820 and follow the steps. Once registered you’ll be sent all the information you need to raise funds and start growing as part of my Movember team.

The money raised will help make a tangible difference to the lives of others, through the world’s most promising prostate cancer research and LIVESTRONG’s programs that support young adults and their families battling and surviving cancer.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit
http://us.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs/.

We’re getting started a bit late here in SF – but we’ve had a World Series to contend with. Please share this information with as many people as you can.

Cheers!
Richard.

Let’s see if I can look even creepier than this…

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…