Peace, Love, Beer and Barbecue in Haight-Asbury

I must admit to being a bit of a tourist whenever I go up to San Francisco, having moved to San Jose from Detroit nine years ago. Linda and I try to take a day off from work once a month for a little exploring, and often we spend it in San Francisco. We've been talking about going to the Haight-Asbury neighborhood for sometime now, and yesterday we finally went. I had never been there, and was eager to see the neighborhood, a focal point of the 60's counter-culture revolution, that gave the world Janis Joplin's powerful soul, as well as The Grateful Dead's tedious banality.

As I suspected, Haight-Asbury is a good place to buy stuff like Tibetan crafts, Buddha statues, Jerry Garcia t-shirts, and ornate glass bongs. But I wasn't there for that. I was there for the beer at Magnolia Pub & Brewery.

We walk in and they're playing what seemed to be a 60's-era recording of Bob Dylan in concert, a promising sign. We take our seat at one of the large, black booths, and as it is our first time here, order a couple of their tasting flights. The menu looked interesting, but besides a couple of luscious cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, we didn't order any of the food. Here's a brief run-down on the notes we took of the beers.


Kalifornia Kolsch
One of our favorite beers of the afternoon led off the flight. It's hazy yellow brew, with a strong peppery flavor and we also noted some notes of lemon. Despite the strong flavors, has a feathery lightness to it. Really nice.

Half Step Hefeweizen
Strong, rich bread dough like flavor, without the fruity esters one normally associates with the style. Maybe we picked up a little banana in there, but there was also a little underlying sourness. Still a good beer, but a reminder that California brewers seem to struggle with this style.

Blue Bell Bitter
A toast bomb? Lot's a toasty malt here, with some nuttiness to the overall flavor. Couldn't detect much hops here, but with all that toasty goodness, who needs them?

In the New IPA
This was a more restrained, balance IPA than one usually found in West Coast brewpubs, much more like the East Coast style. Had a citrus-like aroma, a grassy bitterness, and a decent amount of malt to balance the hops. Well crafted and balanced IPA's like this one are way underrated.

Proving Ground IPA
We're back on the West Coast with this one, and in a good way. Lot's a bitterness, at 100 ibu's, but there's more going on than just the brewer punching us in the face with a bunch of hops. We detected some aromatic spice notes and a little sweetness in the malt. Linda's is a big hop-head, so when we were done with the tasting flight, she had a half-pint of this.

Gallows Hill Porter
Part of Magnolia's summer long project to brew various beer styles using artesional Maris Otter malt, in collaboration with Teddy Maufe of Branthill Farms from Norfolk, England. Lot's of bitter roasted coffee bitterness in this one, with a really sturdy mouth feel to it. Sorry to miss the earlier releases of this project.

Afterwards, we walked down the street into the Lower Haight for an early dinner at Memphis Minnie's barbecue. I like the fact that they don't use any sauce in the preparation of the meats, but leave a few bottles of traditional barbecue sauce styles at each table for each person to add to their liking. Way too much barbecue is buried in sauce, but Memphis Minnie's puts their expertly smoked meats front and center. Inspired by San Francisco's multi-culturalism, Memphis Minnie's serves sake to pair with their barbecue, which we didn't try having been a bit beered out by the time we got there. Sure, Memphis Minnie's is located in barbecue Siberia, but having been to national barbecue shrines Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, and Angelo's in Fort Worth, I assure those dismissing it as "hippie-cue", it's the real deal.

Linda likes taking photographs of flowers, so this shot taken as we walked back to the car seemed like the appropriate way to end this post.

Carbo Loading with Mirror, Mirror from Deschutes Brewery

A lot of big, bold runners and beers have come from Oregon.

The state has a long, powerful distance running tradition. In the 50's, University of Oregon coach Bill Bowerman trained Bill Dillenger to set American records in the 50's, before Dillenger retired from racing and became Bowermen's assistant, finally taking over as head coach in 1973. Both revolutionized distance running training, and produced numerous All Americans. Such as the brash, iconic Steve Prefontaine who held the American records from the 2,000 meters through 10,000 meters the day he died in a car accident in 1975, at the prime of his running career. And the obsessive Alberto Salazar, a strong 5 and 10 kilometer runner on the track, who moved up to the marathon and in the first marathon he ever ran, the 1980 New York Marathon, defeated a strong field that included Boston Marathon champ Bill Rodgers in his first marathon he ever entered. Salazar went on to a number of New York and Boston marathon victories in the early 80's, before it is widely believed that his high, 180+ weekly training mileages finally took a toll on his body. Then there's Phil Knight, who co-founded Nike with Bowerman by selling shoes at Oregon track meets in the early 70's, and became one of the world's most powerful businessmen before retiring in 2004.

Oregon has a great brewing tradition, too. One of my favorite breweries is the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon, and I've long enjoyed their Mirror Pond Pale Ale. So when I discovered they've amped up the Mirror Pond Pale Ale into an oak-aged barleywine called Mirror Mirror, I knoew it was something I had to try. Deschutes Brewmaster Larry Sidor had this to say on the Deschutes Brewing website page descrbing this brew. “I’m really looking forward to this version of Mirror Mirror because it is not only an advancement for this beer, but it also shows the evolution of our knowledge related to barrel aging and how the whole Reserve Series has developed.”'

I've enjoyed Sidor's creation a couple times now. Pouring it into my tulip glass creates a foamy light tan head floating on the dark tan brew, with an citrus aroma. It has a rich, creamy malty flavor with an orange-dominated citrus character, and a little pine-like bitterness which becomes more pronounced as it warms. I can taste a little oak from the barrel aging, and at 11% abv, the alcohol is a detectable. It's complex, yet easy drinking barleywine.

Remembering "The Postman"

I was thinking the other day about a runner I used to know. We called him "The Postman", since his job was delivering the mail. For a while in his life, he was losing his battle with alcoholism. He hid beers in his mail sack, and would drink them on his routes. I heard rumors that he'd disappear for a few days without warning, and then call his wife in Ohio to tell her he was in a hotel in someplace like Phoenix, totally out of money, and plead with her to pick him up.

He stopped drinking and started running. On training runs, he was always smiling, always talking, and always pushing the pace. When everyone was done, he'd still put in a few more miles. He started doing ultra marathons, races over distances of 30 to 100 miles, and he'd do them almost monthly, sometimes weekly. It often takes over a month to recover from these events.

I suppose being addicted to running beats being addicted to alcohol. I don't know if he saved his marriage, or ever had a relapse, and have lost track of him.

Where ever you are "Postman", hope you've still made it.

John Urlaub: Brewery Owner, Beer Runner, Beer Cyclist

John Urlaub, the owner of Rohrbach Brewing Company in Rochester, NY, is a beer runner and beer cyclist. I stumbled upon this fact while seeking permission to use his company logo for a Session Post I wrote a little over a month ago, about a trip to his great brewpub and the beer enjoyed there. This was an embryonic time for this blog, and I wasn't sure if the concept of "beer running" made any sense to anyone besides myself. But wouldn't you know, John reassured me that he thought it was a good idea, since he's a beer runner, too.

He's also a beer cyclist, biking more than running in the summer, when the weather is more favorable for cycling. He completed a century ride a couple years ago, which he considers his best running or cycling experience, and recently rode in the Tour de Cure. Despite the fact that he runs a few times a week, John modestly asked "to please keep in mind that I am not a real long distance runner".

If there is anything differentiating John from the "real long distance runners" I know, it's that he talks little about his accomplishments and activities, preferring the facts to speak for themselves. He seems to have little interest to toot his own horn, or at least toot his own horn with some guy writing a blog way out in California he has only met by e-mail. I can only speculate it's this modest, no-nonsense attitude has made him a successful brewer and business owner. And it probably helped him complete that century ride.

Get Ready Sacramento Beer Runners: Blood, Sweat and Beers is On!

On August 16th, Fleet Feet Sacramento is putting on Blood, Sweat and Beers. It's a trail race starting and finishing at Railhead Park in Auburn, CA along the picturesque American Canyon trails. There are two courses for this race, the short course measuring 5.5 miles, while the long course consists of 9.3 trail miles. Finisher of either race course over the age of 21 earn two complimentary beers, courtesy of Sierra Nevada Brewing. The field is limited to 750 entries, which the organizers expect to fill before race day. More information and online registration can be found on the race website.

Carbo Loading with Napa Smith Lost Dog Red Ale

I've been to Napa Valley a couple times, and actually enjoyed the time spent there. The whole place does seem like a giant foodie amusement park full of elitist snob appeal. But believe it or not, you can actually find some places among all the glitzy wineries that aren't about extracting lots of money from free spending tourists, but are about the wine. You can even find wine in Napa Valley which is actually worth what you pay for. The place does have some redeeming qualities.

More good news about Napa Valley is that a brewery recently opened up at the south end of the valley, in Napa. Since it's own by the Smith family, they decided to call it Napa Smith. Who is this mysterious Smith family? Their website doesn't say. But whoever they are, they hired legendary Don Barkley as their brew master, who has 30 years craft brewing experience, which is a long time considering many craft breweries haven't even been in business half as long.

Last fall when in Napa, I picked up a bottle of their Pale Ale. Sorry to say, it was rather underwhelming. It seemed rather weak and watery, and just not that interesting. I was surprised, and after seeing some positive reviews of their beers, figured maybe I got a bad batch or a bad bottle. Seemed like Napa Smith was worth giving another try.

I'm glad I did. I opened up a bottle of Napa Smith Lost Dog Ale that hit me right away with a strong fruity aroma dominated by grapefruit. The flavor with more of the same, rather fruity dominated by grapefruit, although I was picking up a little apricot. It's rather malty, but for all the malt and fruitiness, very little sweetness. There's a little hop bitterness and a slight astringency at the end. I found this one rather smooth and fresh tasting.

I also tried Napa Smith Amber Ale, which seemed very rich and malty for the style. The malt had a slightly roasted character, without any real sweetness, and the brew had a dry finish, with very little hop presence.

Maybe I need to get to Napa more often. And they do have this nifty little marathon

The Session #29: Beer in a Land where the Gun has Long Ruled

(In this month's Session, Will Travel for Beer, hosted by BeerByBART, we're asked to either write about beer trip we've taken, or beer related things we do when travelling.)

Last March, I went with Linda to visit her home town of Las Cruces, New Mexico for a few days. Las Cruces is not far from the border towns of El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. It lies at the northern end of the large Chihuahuan Desert, which extends far south across the border deep into Mexico, and westward into Texas. I had never been to this part of the country before, but was well acquainted with recent news stories about violent drug wars, and gruesome discoveries of mass graves full of victims of these wars.

This is nothing new for this region of the country, which has a rich history of outlaws, marauding bandits, and violent clashes for well over a century. The reason for this perpetual state of violent struggle becomes apparent simply looking over the landscape. There's almost nothing to fight for. Food, water, and good land are in precious little supply in the high desert. With the vast distances between towns and historically high levels of government corruption, guns were often used to settle disputes and keep order. Dying of natural causes was no small accomplishment in this region, where many died trying to protect what little they had, or were killed in an unsuccessful attempt to steal from someone else. Perhaps the most infamous person in these struggles was Henry McCarty.

Henry McCarty is better known as William Bonney, and even better known as Billy the Kid. He was born in an Irish slum on Manhattan Island, and his somewhat dysfunctional family continued to move westward across the country looking for better places to live until they arrived in New Mexico in 1874 when he was in his early teens. Like many young men in this time and place, he turned to a life of crime, and later joined a gang of horse thieves. Around the age of 20, he was recruited into an armed conflict between rival ranching interests, known as the Lincoln County War. Since McCarty's side lost, the winners vilified him in sensationalistic stories, describing him as sadistic killer of over twenty innocent victims. From all personal accounts, he was actually quite literate, articulate, highly sociable, and a good dancer, who most historians believe was only responsible for a more modest number of about five killings. To the local Mexican population, he was a folk hero who fought a ranching syndicate which actively kept Mexicans near the bottom of the pecking order, and one of few whites in the region who adapted the language, customs, and dress of the local Mexican population. Eventually captured, Billy the Kid was tried and convicted of murder in a small courthouse in the New Mexico town of Mesilla, which is adjacent to Las Cruces. The court house still stands today, but is now a souvenir shop, where you can buy a postcard, T-shirt, or other trinkets with Billy the Kid's picture on it.

About a half mile from this courthouse turned souvenir shop is the High Desert Brewery, which Linda and I visited one afternoon. Pulling into the dusty parking lot, full of beat up pick-up trucks parked on the hot asphalt, I was a little leery of what sort of clientele we might find inside. The whole low-slung adobe building looked a bit worse for wear, with the small High Desert Brewing sign a bit faded. Most small brewpubs like this one are full of locals, and I was not sure how well two out-of-towners would be received moseying into some strange brew pub.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Like most brewpubs all over the country, everyone was there to relax and have a good time over a good pint of beer. The bartender and a customer were chatting about the news story CNN was reporting on the small TV near the bar. Linda and I took a seat and soon our waitress appeared, who looked and acted more like a librarian than a bar waitress. She told us they don't offer a tasting flight when we asked for one, so we opted for a "super-sized" tasting flight by sharing a few eight-once glasses of the various house beers.

As one might expect from a desert brewpub, the strongest offerings were of the lighter, thirst quenching beer styles. My favorites were their crisp Bohemian Pilsner, and an excellent Amber Lager, which had a slightly nutty and sweet malt taste and crisp grassy hops finish. All of the beers were on the light tasting side of each particular style, and the hop level was dialed down compared to typical breweries in the western United States. But despite this, the beer seemed flavorful and vibrant, not thin and watery, and I never found any of their offerings worse than "good". As for the food, let's just say if you like New Mexico Green Chile's sprinkled liberally into your bar food, you're going to be pretty happy here.

One cannot discuss High Desert Brewing without mentioning all the postcards, beer paraphernalia, and other artifacts covering the walls and ceiling. It's all sent in and donated by various visitors and patrons, and creates a unique and organic connection between the brewpub and its customers. So many places try to manufacture this type of environment, but when you see it here, it's very genuine. Back by the restrooms is one of the finest collections of Elvis paintings on black velvet you can find West of the Mississippi. It makes waiting your turn a great cultural experience.

The last day, Linda and I went with her parents to White Sands National Monument. On the way there, we drove past White Sands National Missile Range, a US Army base full of people who specialize and train in the art of blowing up things. White Sands National Monument is basically a vast series of white sand dunes composed of powdered gypsum. We took a couple snow disks with us, and sledded down the dunes as if they were hills covered with snow.

Travel gives me the opportunity to discover the history and geography of a place, which is often reflected in its local beer. It's why I seek out local breweries and brewpubs wherever I travel.