Visit to S.F., Part Three - Anchor Brewing

I hate how some of the best beer places are at airports. Boston-Logan has a Sam Adams bar, a Harpoon bar (way out of the way, in the terminal A annex - you have to use the under-tarmac tunnel to get to it), and a Cisco (of Nantucket) brewery bar. Why so many great beer places, in a place where no one wants to be? (I know - travelers drink a lot, so that's where the money is.)

With a little time to kill at SFO prior to my return trip, I ducked into the Anchor Brewing Company bar at the domestic terminal. Liberty Ale is Anchor's hoppy, pale ale offering, and it is excellent. A great way to say goodbye to the city by the bay.

The best part about this visit, though, was what transpired with another customer. A sixty-ish business woman sat a couple of seats down from me and asked the bartender what was on tap. OK, this is good. Quality beer is achieving demographic reach that would have been unimaginable only a short time ago. So the barkeep ran down the list, and when he got to "a Pilsner, with a touch of wheat", the woman said, "Yes, I'll have that. And could I have a lemon wedge, also?". "Oh, no", the bartender replied, "You'll want to try it first." So now we have bartenders, who are knowledgeable about the nuanced flavors of particular beers, to the point of knowing that a lemon wedge would overpower this particular pilsner. The woman tried the beer and agreed. I was very impressed.

On the other hand, this is San Francisco. Maybe that's just how they roll.

Study hard and do your homework...

... little boys and girls, and you too might someday get to write about(and more importantly, research) craft beer for a major newspaper/website.

Better Beer - The Boston Globe

(My way of saying, "I enjoyed this article.")

Visit to S.F., Part Two - Gordon Biersch

This twenty-year-old brew-and-gastro pub is located along the Embarcadero, San Francisco's very chic waterfront boulevard. It's in the old Hills Brothers Coffee building, and sits in the shadows of the Oakland Bay bridge (pictured above) (no, I didn't take that picture).

One big downside to this pub, for me at least, is their website. It features a little bit of information about the history of the pub and its founders, and just about nothing else. No detailed beer descriptions, and no menu. I can't understand that. Isn't browsing the menu online a must activity for like 95% of first-time diners?

The lack of a menu did force me to look at reviews, and I found plenty of opinions. Here's a summary:

"You must have the garlic fries"

"The Marzen is legendary"

"Frat-boy crowd"

"Try the garlic fries"

"I love the eclectic, un-pub-food-like menu"

"I hate the eclectic, un-pub-food-like menu"

"Did I mention, garlic fries?"

The Embarcadero truly is a great place for a walk in the early evening. The bridge is quite striking, and the waterfront is beautifully developed, with palm trees and curved walkways.

I sat at the bar (World Series in high-def - I was happy), and tried... wait for it... the garlic fries.

Now, I love garlic, and I usually can't get enough of it. But I don't think garlic fries are my thing. You take some nice fries, and you toss them in moist, oily garlic and some chopped parsley. This makes the fries a little less hot, and a little more soggy. The garlic was fresh - really fresh. And to my surprise, I found it a bit overwhelming. They were just OK for me. I don't think I'll have them again.

The beers at Gordon Biersch are decidedly European in style. Although I'm an American IPA guy at heart, I was more than open to trying hand-crafted European brews as a change of pace.

I was not disapointed. I had the Czech Pilsner, and it was great. It crisp and refreshing, with the right amount of bitterness. Great for watching baseball.

The Martzen is their most popular beer, and I tried a sample, but I didn't care for it. With Americian beers, I go for IPAs, bitters and porters. But when it's European, I find I like lagers and pilsners more. Darker European beers are not my cup of tea.

Some of the reviewers were down on the crowd at G.B., saying it is too uptight. Well, it is very close to the financial district, and the crowd is a bit older, and more formally dressed than at, say, the 21st Amendment. But I didn't feel that it detracted from the atmosphere.

I would visit George Birch again. I'd particulary like to sit on their patio on a warm evening, and enjoy the view.

Update: Regarding the website, somehow the Google search result I clicked on was the one for the Brewery (http://www.gordonbiersch.com/brewery/). There is a separate, very complete site for the Resturants (http://www.gordonbiersch.com/restaurants/). Oh, well.

Visit to S.F., Part One - 21st Amendment Brewery

I recently paid a visit to my company's San Francisco office, which located in the city's SOMA (South of Market) neighborhood. Not far from the office, toward AT&T Park (home of the Giants), is the Twenty First Amendment. As happy as I was to be in San Francisco, I was even happier to find a friendly, relaxed brew pub so close by. I visited two of the three nights that I was there. If trips to the West coast ever become a habit (and that's not very likely), the 21A will undoubtedly become my home away from home.

The beer I had the most of there was the "Brew Free or Die" IPA. Sounds more like the name of a New Hampshire brew, than a bay area one, if you ask me. It is a perfectly serviceable beer with medium color, a light head, and lots of citrus aroma.

I wanted to try Humming Ale, the new Anchor Brewing beer they were featuring the second night of my stay. I had a sample, which was just OK for me. As it turned out, they had just tapped the keg, and were having trouble drawing from it. So I stuck with the IPA.

I also had the good fortune to run into an acquaintance from another division of my company, also located in S.F. He, his wife and another co-worker did have the Humming Ale, and they said it was pretty good. It was nice to run into friendly folks - not hard to do in laid-back, friendly California. Thanks to Kieran, Trisha and Justin for making me feel welcome.

The twenty-first amendment is a very homey place with a very welcoming atmosphere. I can't wait for my next visit.