SF Beer Week 2010: I survived!

I've been busy. Busy drinking beer. Learning about beer. Eating beer ice cream. Even learning what work and effort goes into custom blending a beer. As you might imagine, ten days of beer events is a lot. I can't even quantify how much beer was consumed because my liver and I are not on speaking terms.

I mean, I like beer (certain kinds of beer--usually the rare expensive stuff), but I am by no means a beer geek--I just learn about beer by hanging out with the real beer geeks. I think the beer community can sometimes be a little intimidating, but once you show you are eager to learn and taste, these incredibly generous people really open up their welcoming arms. It truly is a friendly atmosphere. For example, a friend of mine even has a whole blog, femALEist, dedicated to sharing a female perspective on her beer explorations! I like it.

I thought I might document the events I actually attended so I can remember for planning for next year. Ok, here we go:

Feb. 5: SF Brewers Guild Opening Gala

Feb. 6: New Belgium Brewing Co. at Toronado
I want to share with you that this brewery makes an incredibly amazing-and rare-sour called Love that I had been pining for again since I had first tried it a couple of years ago before learning it isn't bottled and I would likely never see it again. You bet I ordered a couple 4 oz. pours. Or four.
We also trekked out to Humphrey Slocombe to get a flight of 4 beer-flavored ice creams for $4.50 (what a deal!).

Feb. 7: Lost Abbey & Port Brewing at Toronado
I got to try yet another rare beer called Veritas 007, which is a delicious sour ale with cabernet-franc grapes.

Feb. 8: A night with Lost Abbey Head Brewer Tomme Arthur at City Beer Store
I had the two best beers I have ever tasted--Double Cherry Red Poppy (a Flanders Red made with copious amounts of tart cherries) and Framboise de Amarosa (a sour beer just soaking with raspberries). I told Tomme that he could easily rope in the entire female population into beer love with these two gems.
Photo gallery party for Jesse Friedman of Beerandnosh at Humphrey Slocombe. Proceed to consume yet another beer ice cream flight.

Feb. 9: City Beer Store (I shamelessly drag my friend, Eli, back to get my hands on more Framboise de Amarosa).

Feb 10: Mostly Barrel Aged Beer Dinner by Beerandnosh
(Yes, that is a photo of me kissing Jake Godby of Humphrey Slocombe. Think of it as love, from all of us, for the brilliant work he does).

Feb. 11: Collaboration Beer Dinner with Sean Paxton aka The Homebrew Chef

Feb. 12: much needed break

Feb. 13: much needed break

Feb. 14: Valentine's Dinner by The Wild Kitchen (not a beer event, but beer was had nonetheless)


Dear Morgan: Please stop this madness. Love, Your Liver.