Turleen hoists a few
Photo by Jeffery Cross
It all started with Stella.
I'd made my weekly (OK, sometimes twice or thrice-weekly) stop at Amnesia and ordered a pint of the Belgian lager not-so-affectionately known among beer snobs as "British Budweiser." Why Stella? It's light, easy to drink a lot of, and feels classier than PBR. So when I'm not on a $2-a-beer budget, Stella Artois is often what I order.
This time, however, the mustachioed bartender Matthew Harman didn't simply poor me a glass. It was earlier than usual. He had some time. And he knew me well enough to guess I might be open to the speech he was about to give.
"Do you really want a Stella?" he asked. "Because there are better beers that aren't shipped halfway across the world and owned by InBev." I consented to let him give me tastes of alternatives and eventually settled on a slightly more hoppy but equally drinkable lager from Sudwerk brewery in Davis.
I enjoyed the beer. But better yet, I enjoyed the wake-up call. Though I've become accustomed to buying groceries, clothing, gifts, coffee, and even liquor from local, independent manufacturers and retailers, when it comes to beer, I've been lazy. I don't think before I drink.
What's worse? I live in the land of craft brews. Though there are now 1,500 craft breweries nationwide, the movement started in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington — with flagship brands like Anchor, Pyramid, and Anderson Valley within driving distance (or, in the case of Anchor, a stone's throw) from my office. And as the industry has grown and changed, there are ever more options for a range of palates — and purses. In short: there's little excuse for thoughtless imbibing.
So why drink local? First, there's the environmental reason: it requires a lot of energy to ship all those heavy bottles and kegs full of liquid across the country and around the world. Then there's wanting to support the local economy: money spent on Bay Area businesses stays in the Bay Area. There's the more intangible concept of local pride. "We support our lousy local sports teams," says Lars Larson, master brewer at Berkeley's Trumer Brauerei. "Why not support our local brewing excellence?" And perhaps most important is taste: beer, like produce and dairy products, is best when fresh.
But the world of beer-making is complex. When it comes to assessing a brewery's greenness, for example, the question often becomes: how green? If you grow your own hops but send them to Wisconsin for brewing, is that still environmentally sound? Or if a brewery is based in Seattle but makes beer in Berkeley, does it still support the local economy? The answers vary and can be subjective. But the good news is that whatever the reason for wanting to choose brews more thoughtfully, there's a nearby option — or 12 — to satisfy it.
If you still just love the taste of Stella, or want an import that has no local substitute (like Guinness), or appreciate that the Budweiser you're sipping was probably made in a brewery 60 miles away, well, more power to you. Even Harman won't argue (though he'll happily give tastings of alternatives to anyone ...
Thanks for this informative article. I hope this will be the beginning of more coverage of craft beers and the people who make and enjoy them. These are small businesses that provide great vibrancy to any community they serve.
There are many such establishments in the Bay Area. Most are easily accessible by transit. For a good list you can use our website, [link] (This is a non-commercial site. Simply a service to our community). We list almost 40 places to get great beer in the Bay Area that are within a 1 mile walk from some form of transit.
Hope to run into you at one of these places soon.
Steve and Gail
Holiday, Seasonal & Special Beers-Ciders from
100+ of the best Breweries in the World –
at one time, in one place?
BevMo! Holiday Beer Fest
November 15th, 2009 - 1pm to 4pm
Fort Mason - Herbst Pavilion in San Francisco
[link]
Event Location- Fort Mason, Herbst Pavilion, downtown San Francisco
[link]
Kick off your Holidays with this very special San Francisco event, just a snowballs’ throw from the Golden Gate Bridge. Taste the greatest assortment of Holiday, Seasonal, Specialty Beers & Hard Ciders ever assembled under one festive roof.
See below for list of beers & cider attending the event.
BevMo! Holiday Beer Fest
List for Tasting:
Abita Brewing Christmas Ale - Pecan Harvest - Jockamo IPA - Abbey Ale
Alaskan Brewing Alaskan Amber - Alaskan White Ale -
Alaskan Winter Ale
Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale - Liberty Ale
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
Anheuser-Busch Pumpkin Spice - Winter Bourbon
Allagash Allagash Curieux (bourbon barrel aged) -
Black Belgian Style Stout
Asahi Super Dry - Brewmasters Select
Asphall Dry English Cider
Bards Tale Gluten Free
Batemans English Ale
Wells Banana Bread Beer
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout
Malheur Brut
Belhaven Scottish Ale
Big Sky Powder Hound - Big Sky IPA - Moose Drool - Trout Slayer
Bison Brewing (Organic) Ginger Bread Ale- Chocolate Stout
Black Diamond Winter Ale(Belgian Abbey Style)
Blue Frog Big Dippa 3 IPA - McPhrog Scottish
Boston Beer Winter Lager, Coastal Wheat, Camberry Lambic-
Old Fezziwig - Holiday Porter
Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale
Chimay Grand Reserve
Chang Premium
Coastal Fog IPA
Widmer Brrr Ale
Kona Pipeine Porter
Redhook Winterhook
Deschutes Jubelale
De Proef Belgian Ale
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA - Midas Touch - Palo Santo Marron -
Festina Peche - Chicory Stout
Castelian St Amand French Country Ale
Brasserie Dubuisson Scaldis Noel
Brasserie Dupont Foret Organic Saison - Saison Farmhouse Ale -
Bons Voeux X-Mas Ale
Hopf Dunkle Weisse
Elysian Bifrost Winter Ale
Firestone Walker's Reserve Porter
Nectar Ales Red Nectar - Nectar IPA
Firehouse Belgian Double - Scotch Ale
Fox Barrel Mulling Cider
Full Sail Wassail Winter Ale -Session Black Lager -
Brewmaster Reserve
Vesuvius & Wreck the Halls
Hornsby Hard Apple Cider
BridgePort Hop Czar - Ebenezer
Shiner Cheers Ale
Gordon Biersch Winter Bock
Grand Teton Brewing Black Cauldron Imperial Stout, Cellar Reserve -
Double Vision Dopplebock, Howling Wolf Weizenbock
XX Bitch Creek Double ESB/20th Anniversary -
Pursuit of Hoppiness Double Red Ale
Woodchuck Vermont Hard Cider
Guinness Irish Stout
He'brew Jewbelation
Heineken Premium & Dark Lager
Lagunitas Brown Shugga'
Lost Coast Winterbraun - Downtown Brown - Tangerine Wheat
Mad River John Barleycorn Barleywine Style Ale
Magners Cider Hard Irish Cider
Marin/Moylans White Christmas Winter Lager -
Hoppy Holidaze Spiced Ale
Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale
Napa Smith Bonfire Winter Ale - Lost Dog
Oskar Blues Gordon Red Ale - Old Chub Scotch Ale
Green Flash Imperial IPA
Saint Landelin French Speciale Noel
Triple Karmeliet Belgian Tripple
North Coast Old Stock Ale - Old Rasputin Stout
Meantime Coffee Porter
Dues Brut Des Flanders
St Feuillien Cuvee De Noel
Paulaner Salvator
Brouwerij Huyghe Fruli Strawberry Belgian Ale
Fullers 1845 Ale - Vintage Ale
Carlow Brewery O'Hara's Irish Stout
Menage a Singe Black IPA
Pyramid Snow Cap Winter Ale
Rogue Ales Santa's Private Reserve Ale - Yellow Snow IPA -
Juniper Pale Ale
Santa Cruz Ale Works Oatmeal Stout - IPA - Barrel Aged Porter
Schneider Aventinus Weizen Eisbock - Aventinus Doppelbock
Shipyard Pugsley Signature XXXX IPA - Imperial Sout
Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale - Celebration Ale - Pale Ale
Spaten Spaten Optimator - Double Bock - Munich Dunkel
Franziskaner Franziskaner Dunkelweiss
Speakeasy Black IPA - Double Daddy IPA
Smithwicks Irish Ale
Stone Double Bastard draft
Tied House Holiday Ale
Trumer Brauerei Premium Pils
Boxer CruiserWeight Ale
21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon Wheat
Blackthorn English Hard Cider
Babycham Sparkling Hard Pear Cider
Sir Perry’s Hard Pear Cider
Clausthaler German Classic - Amber Alcohol Free
Krusovice Imperial Czech Pilsner
Cerne Polish Lager
Radeberger German Pilsener
Tucher Heff Helles Hefeweizen
Wyder's Hard Pear Cider
Strongbow English Hard Cider
Affligem Belgian Noel
Moretti La Rosa
Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier - Hefeweissbier Dunkel
Mendocino Winter Imperial IPA
John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale
Karl Strauss Red Trolley - Tower 10 IPA - Amber Lager
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