To go with these (mostly) porcine offerings, the SF Brewer’s Guild brought out summer beers aplenty – offering up kolsch, belgian goldens and even a Double IPA.  A good time.  The best pairings balanced the beer’s crispness against the fat of the sausage – and since it was a textural contrast, nearly all of these summer brews made a great companion for the sausages.  Which was good, because in this crowded space, it was impossible to line up and check each sausage with each pairing.  Sometimes you have to just relax, and enjoy the weather, people, food and beer.  Welcome to Summer.

Participating Chefs: Taylor Boetticher, Fatted Calf; Chris Cosentino, Boccalone; Antelmo Faria, Tacolicious; Ryan Farr, 4505 Meats; Matt Kerley, Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery; Dennis Lee, Namu; Pierre Mange, The Plant Café Organic.

Participating Breweries: Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery, Social Kitchen and Brewery, Thirsty Bear Brewing Co., Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Gordon Biersch, 21st Amendment Brewery, Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant.

Black Star is a classic American Pilsner, with a light dry hopping touch.  It’s crisp, clean, and great for a summer day.  It’s interesting to see a craft take on a style so thoroughly consumed by corporate beer behemoths.   Chad Newton’s Parcel BBQ is exactly what it claims to be – classic american BBQ, served sans silverware.  Great pickles too.  More pictures:

My bowl was rich and flavorful, with well textured fresh noodles and a perfectly cooked sous vide egg that clung to the noodles after the yolk streamed out into the broth.   My informal survey of ramen slurppers revealed a happy crowd.   Checking every batch of noodles individually for doneness is time well spent.

Why is Ritchie smiling?  Because it’s his last batch of noodles.

And while he’s the muscle in  the kitchen, it’s a team effort. Congrats to Ritchie, Kitty, Sky and the whole Hapa Ramen team on their first ferry building service!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Ferry Building…

Since opening, Contigo has quickly gone into heavy rotation.  Chef Brett Emerson delivers Spanish style meals, fully embracing the local farm to table ethos that is virtually required of San Francisco restaurants.  Plus, his well-sized, well-priced plates always allow for a wide variety of dishes  - perfect for the adventurous eater.  And with a Moonlight seasonal offering reliably on tap, you know there will always be something to drink.  And then there’s the ham… oh, the hams.

Here is a what a meal at the bar adjacent to the open kitchen looks like:

Beer Revolution is a new craft beer bar in Oakland.  Started by husband and wife team Fraggle and Rebecca, they aim to create a fun space for craft beer aficionados and newbies alike.  Like City Beer Store in SF, Beer Revolution which takes advantage of a “tavern license,” which means they can sell you bottles to go, as well as to drink onsite for a very reasonable $1 corkage.   You’ll hardly need it though – they have an expansive tap list, with great choices from both local and not-so-local breweries.

Plus, if you get hungry, there is vegan soul food available next door.

Other highlights include the porch for warm days, and hop accented lighting fixtures.

More pictures:

In between courses at the Anchor & Sierra Nevada Dinner, I was able to sneak off and take a few pictures amongst the copper brew kettles. I’ve never seen a brewery as immaculately maintained as Anchor.  Enjoy this private photo tour:

My first underground farmers market, both as a vendor and attendee was great fun.  We sold pickled grapes and green garlic, and sold out of baked mochi and two kegs of ginger beer (the nonalcoholic variety.)   It was crowded, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits.  The door was well regulated, leading to one hell of a line around the block, and just barely enough space to move around inside.

As the event wound down, we took stock of what was left of our refrigerator pickles (about 25% of what we brought!) and decided there was only one thing to do: barter.   Which was great – we got cakes, truffles, bbq pork sandwiches, cupcakes, granola, bacon bbq sauce, macaroons, kombucha, homegrown beets and more, all in exchange for a few pickles.  This is the sort of participation and attitude that makes this event such a success, and such a pleasure to be a part of.

Thanks to everyone who bought our wares, and don’t forget to refrigerate your pickles!

More pictures:

It’s just like latkes and dreidel, only porkier.

After weeks of planning, hours of tasting, and an unknowable number of phone calls to brewers confirming their beer would be there, the “Mostly Barrel Aged Beer Dinner” went off without a hitch.  As usual, Scala’s Bistro and The Sir Francis Drake pulled of this huge feat without breaking a sweat.

“Enough preamble, get to the food porn!” you’re saying.  I hear ya.  I’ve got a lot of pictures, so pour yourself a big beer, get comfy, and let’s jump right into the good stuff, shall we?

I poked my head into the kitchen before things got going.  Pastry Chef Tim Nugent‘s team was getting the housemade pretzels ready, and topping them with volcanic salt.  These were then paired up with a beer mustard, made from Sierra Nevada’s Old Ale (more on that beer later.)

You know you’ve got a good dinner on your hands, when the staff is taking pictures of their own handiwork.

Meanwhile, the savory team was scooping out canelles of a chicken liver mouse  - which Eli later declared, tastes like grandma’s recipe.

Beers were chilling.  We started with the beers pretty cold to make service easier.  By time they reached the table, most beers were being served only “cool” – so that all of the delicate nuances of the barrels came through.  Cold beer tastes like nothing. If you want it to stay that way, serve it cold.  Otherwise, bring it up a few degrees to reveal all the hard work the brewer has put into their brew.

Vina, our rockstar private dining coordinator reviewed our menu with the wait staff.

Upstairs, it turns out people were ready to go.  By time we “opened” the doors at 6:30, most everyone was already there.

We kicked off the night with some exceptionally good and rare beers. Shmaltz Brewing offered up a taste of their Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner.  In their typical style, it was slightly twisted and amped up by the addition of rye and extra hops for aroma. Valley Brewing poured a spectator sour, made with pomegranates and lots of lacto with a bretty, farmhouse finish.  The “Bill Brandbic” was made in honor of Bill Brand – who is sorely missed, and surly would have loved his namesake “Calambic.”

Besides the pretzels, we also enjoyed some additional passed apps:

White bean puree with white anchovies.

Goat cheese crustinis.

Chicken Liver Mousse.

One of the real highlights of collaborating with local brewers is having them on hand to talk about the process of making their beer.  Here’s Steve, explaining his love of fermenting pomegranate juice.

First up at the table was an amuse bouche: Ggolden beet & malt soup with hoppy creme fresh.

Next up were pours of Firestone Walker’s Lil Opal aged in Viognier Barrels. A light, crisp beer, the barrels added a hint of tobacco and a nice touch of oak.  To go with it: Yellow Tail King Fish: Fresno Chilies, Ginger, Basil, Rice Crackling.

Having such a delicate beer allowed us to present a equally delicate course.  In this case, it highlighted amazingly fresh and buttery fish.

Next up Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu.  This sweet, sake influenced beer  was an ideal pairing for crab, which really benefitted from the boost in sweetness.  Plus, in the right light, this is one pretty beer.

The pairing: Crab Toast: Miso Beer Dressing, Celery Root Remoulade, Meyer Lemon, Chervil.  The carmel notes of the toast were a great match for the beer.  Plus the miso brought out the association with sake in the beer.

Next: Lamb Merguez Crepinette: Harissa, Preserved Lemon, Sun Choke, Star Route Farms Winter Greens, Brewer’s Malt Blend Crackers.  We paired this with Speakeasy Brewer’s Reserve Old Godfather Barleywine.  This special barleywine has a amazing nose on it, with lots of apricot and fruit. To stand up to this beer, we used lamb with a pungent harissa sauce to cut through the beer.

We also served the dish with a malt cracker.  The malt was sourced at Speakeasy, and was special blended by their brewer to mimic the malt of the pairing beer.  I love having a full bakery at our disposal.

Our last savor course of the eventing: Housemade Duck Liver Ravioli with 15 yr Old Balsamic, Duck Chicharrones, Brown Butter, Beer Braised Carrots.

To pair, we offered Sierra Nevada Brewing’s Old Ale.  This Scotch Ale and Russian Imperial Stout blend spent some time in a Bourbon Barrel.  The addition of the stout gave it a great mouth feel, and a nice, long chocolate finish.

People seemed to be having a good time.  These barrel aged beers have a bit of a kick.

Everybody loves Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream:

Ah, Cheese.  What’s the point of doing a beer dinner, if you aren’t going to have a cheese course?  We started with the beer – I worked with Brian (below) and my team of beer palates to built a great, pinot noir inspired stout blend.  We used a base of Pinot Barrel Stout, them added Bretty Blond for some edge, and a touch of port barrel with blueberries stout for a nice vinous finish.

To pair, Chef Jen selected Tomme de Montagne, a beer washed cow milk cheese with enough funk to stand up to the beer. For an extra savory edge, the cheese with served with a bit of olive tapenade.

Finally, we had reached the first of two desserts.  We started with Triple Rock IMAX Double IPA, served brilliantly fresh.

Rodger joking introduced it as the “light” beer of the evening. We served this hop bomb with crepes with blood oranges and kumquats.  The two citrus fruit provided a foil for the DIPA, and brought out the citrus aroma and bitterness of the blood orange.  A malt syrup provided the much needed balance.

Finally, we had arrived at the big finish for the night: Fifty Fifty Brewing’s 2009 Eclipse Stout Barrel Flight.  Todd explained how they aged in a variety of barrels - Jack Daniels Barrel, Elijah Craig Barrel, Heaven Hill Rye Barrel – and that they normally blend at this point.  However, this year, the beers we so distinctive, they decided to offer them as different versions.

To pair, a flight of chocolates – with chocolate marshmallow, salted carmel, and a piece of bitter dark chocolate.

Finally, five hours later, we were done, and very very full.

I want to give a huge thanks to the staff of Scala’s – who both in the kitchen and on the floor, delivered a great meal to the brewers and lovers of fine food and beer.

And to those who attended: how was your meal?  Leave feedback in the comments below!