The people have spoken, and they are saying: more beer ice cream.

Jake, Sean and the rest of the team at Humphry Slocombe have made some great ice cream, but they didn’t do it alone.  The local brewing community really got behind this experiment in frozen goodness, and provided the base beers for all of the flavors.

Kicking in the good stuff are: Dogfish Head, Speakeasy, Bison, Fifty Fifty, Valley Brew, Triple Rock, Drakes, Shmaltz, 21A,  Firestone Walker, Beach Chalet, Thirsty Bear, Lagunitas, Uncommon Brewers, Blue Frog, Trumer, Shiner, Bridgeport, Moonlight, Iron Springs, Eel River, Bear Republic, Sierra Nevada, and Magnolia.

Umm, yea.  It’s a lot of beer.

I am also very proud to be presenting my first show of beer photography!

All of the prints are available for a limited printing run for $40 each.  They’re 11 by 14 inches, and printed on matte photostock.  The perfect valentine’s day gift for your hop head lover.  They’ll be available for pickup at Humphry Slocombe after ordering – so no shipping.  Peruse the photos and purchase here.

Some of my favorite flavors to pass through the cold case have been: 21A Monk’s Blood with Figs, FiftyFity Eclipse Bourbon Stout, Magnolia Old Thunder Pussy and most recently, Lagunitas Hop Stoopid with Bacon (really.)

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Notes & Observations from MeteVeza’s Beerunch (Part of SF Beerweek 2010):

• I’m a fan of their Yerba Mate IPA.  Nice IPA with a delicate hand for a clean herbal finish.  Combined with the new attractive packaging, it’s a nice local spiced beer for the hop lover.
• The perfect weather continues to hold out.
• As Jeremy of Shmaltz pointed out: great biscotti, paired with Moonlight’s Burnt Toast and Magnolia’s Smokestack Lightning.
• Another topic of discussion that broke out at the table: pairing beers with vegetable-driven dishes.  Discuss.
• Fried crunchy things are always delicious.
• The add the correct amount of capers to smoked salmon, cover the salmon in capers till you can barely see it’s pink flesh.  Bravo on getting it right.   Also the Dogfish Pangea pairing was a natural choice.
• I’m seeing a lot of beer industry people at lots of events – not because they’re involved, but because they want to be there.  That’s the kind of attitude that makes this week such a pleasure.

Pictures from the Beerunch on the bay:

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Notes & Observations from the Bistro IPA Fest:

• Pliny the Younger is the Apple iPad of beers – with all the hype, it can’t possibly live up to your expectations. Yes, it’s a very, very good “triple IPA” (if there is such a thing, but that’s a sacred cow for another time.)  Could I pick it out of a line-up from other beers at the festival, or even guarantee that it’d be my favorite?  No way.
• Some of my favorites were offerings from: Fat Head, Sierra Nevada, Triple Rock and Lagunitas.
• Lagunitas: “Hop Porno” is a great name for a beer.
• It was supposed to rain all day, but it was gorgeous out. No umbrella needed.
• Hayward turns out to have a really tasty Vietnamese restaurant.
• Some people in the beer industry have some strange looking beards.  You know who you are.
• All DIPAs look pretty much the same in pictures:

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Aaaaaaand we’re finally here. Welcome to 2010 SF Beer Week. The opening gala got of to a great start.  Given the number of events this week, I’ll be giving thoughts and observations in bullet point, line cook format.  Be sure to keep an eye on Humphry Slocombe and my twitter feeds all week to see what’s being scooped.

Notes & Observations:

• Don Barkley is the man, and his Napa Smith Organic IPA is something else.  Killer floral hop aroma and old school malt balance. Check it out, preferably with food.
• Ryan Farr makes every event better.
• Important details for beer festivals: dump buckets.  Also related:
• Yes, I know where the fill line is. But if it’s a big beer above ten percent please only pour me a 1-2 oz sample.  If I want more, I’ll gladly ask for it. Otherwise we’re just wasting beer.   That said, great choice on the classy glassware.
• Nice to see the SF food blogger elite checking out the beer week festivities.
• Hand down favorite beer of the night: Black Diamond Imperial Porter.  Tastes just like an egg cream.
• I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve been recognized by readers of this blog three times this week.  It’s unbelievably flattering, and it still surprises me that anyone but my dad is actually reading and cares about what I write. Thanks! (also: Hi Dad!)
• Congrats to Meg, who built a beer festival out of nothing with her bare hands – not an easy feat.
• I like the Imperial Common.
• There are still tickets available for Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton’s Collaboration Beer Dinner.  If you want to jump into the deep end of the beer dinner pool, this would be a good time.

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Ramen seems to be the dish of the moment, and is getting a lot of ink spilled over its joys. And why not?  It’s the perfect “this economy sucks” dish, featuring a blend of the unfamiliar and comforting, handmade ingredients. It just begs for every chef to put his or her personal spin on it, and “improve” on the original.

Of course, I’m a ramen neophyte, but that won’t stop me from trying a great bowl of food put in front of me.  So when Richie “Linecook” Nakano included me in an ad-hoc tasting panel for his ramen recipe development plan, I jumped at the chance. Richie is currently a sous chef at NOPA, but is working on striking out on his own, and opening a ramen joint.  This was his second test batch. (Warning – serious food porn lies ahead)

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Incanto’s “Leg of the Beast” dinner is like a tribal dinner, with a community coming together to enjoy the spoils of the hunt. It helps that rather than gather around a fire, we sat sit in Incanto’s newly redone dining room.  Still, the sense of community and fun that comes from eating family-style is great, and the presentation of this meal really brings it out.

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One of the highlights of putting together a big beer dinner is getting to work closely with local breweries to select a special beer to pair. In this case, I was welcomed back at Drakes Brewing in San Leandro. Host by Brewmaster Brian, we had the rare opportunity to taste from their barrels, and put together a custom blend just for the dinner.  Last year’s blend went on to be known as “It’s Fity” and was poured at a huge range of beer events all year.  This year we were looking for something darker and richer to pair with a cheese course late in the meal (see the full menu, and get your tickets, right here.)

This year Brian and I were joined by Elianna, Jason and Morgan.  First step: move those barrels.

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Below is our menu for the Scala’s “Mostly Barrel Aged Beer Dinner” for San Francisco Beer Week.  We’re excited about this combination of local food and local beers.  The beers represent a wide selection of “mostly” barrel aged beers.  We’ll be exploring beers that have spent time inside a barrel, and the flavors they imparts.  Barrels of all sorts are included, ranging from bourbon to wine to port.   The effects of these barrels offers a huge variety of flavors, from the farmhouse funk of brettanomyces to the silken vanilla flavors from a bourbon barrel.  Alongside is an indulgent meal designed specifically to pair with these beers from Chef Jen Biesty and her kitchen.

Brewmasters from many of the breweries will be joining us to talk about their creations, and the process that lead them to your glass. Many of these beers are rare or limited releases, and some, such as the blend from Drakes, are specially blended just for this event.   It’s going a night not to be missed, for beer and food lovers alike.

MENU

When: Wednesday, February 10th, 6:30pm

Cost: $100 including all tax and service (plus $3 ticketing charge. Sorry.)

Where: Scala’s Bistro Renaissance Room at 432 Powell Street.

Tickets required, as space is limited.  Purchase your tickets here.

Beer & Nosh is proud to be a part of this year’s SF Beer Week, and it is going to be a doozy. We’re collaborating with some of our favorite breweries, restaurants and ice cream makers to make sure it’s something special.

Tickets are onsale now.  Click here for all of the details.

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