Dates for the 2010 San Diego International Beer Festival have been set. Mark your calendar, over 300 beers from around the world, beer/food pairing, and roller derby (yes, you read that right, Roller Derby!!) will be featured:

June 25th - noon-4p
June 26th - 11a-3p and 4p-8p
June 27th - 1p-5p

That’s right, 4 drinking sessions for your drinking pleasure. But wait, there’s more! For the first time ever, the San Diego County Fair Homebrew Competition will become part of the International Beer Festival. Homebrew judging will be Sunday the 27th in the Chevy Arena starting at 12:30p and will continue throughout the day. Awards will be announced throughout the festival.

See you at the Fair!

Chad
www.sdfair.com/beer

The San Diego International Beer Festival Best of Show was announced Friday June 26th at the festival. Jeff Bagby of Pizza Port – Carlsbad took BOS with Good Grief Brown Ale. Congratulations to Jeff and the entire staff at Pizza Port.

With a free festival photo booth, food-pairing classes with various local chefs’ and our own bistro, festivalgoers had plenty to do between beers. I’m still not sure what the attendance numbers were, but this pic says it all. Good crowd, but never over crowded…it was a wonderful festival.

Hope you enjoyed it, and hope to see you next year!

Chad

20 States
20 Countries
117 Breweries
311 Beers, Meads, & Ciders!

Abita Brewing Co. –
Andygator
Turbodog
Jockamo IPA
Purple Haze

Airdale Brewing –
Dark & Stormy
Horizon
Altitude
Afterburner

Alaskan Brewing Co. –
Summer
Amber
IPA

AleSmith –
Wee Heavy
IPA
Horny Devil
Old Numbskull

Allagash Brewing Co. –
White
Black
Tripel Reserve
Curieux

Amager Bryghus –
Sundby Stout
Batch One

Angel City Brewing –
Che Lager
Rahsaan Roland Kirk Stritch Stout
Vitzen
Belgian IPA

Anheuser Busch InBev –
Michelob Light
Hoergaarden Wit
Budweiser American Ale
Leffe

Baird Brewing –
Red Rose Amber
Kurofone Porter
Rising Sun Pale Ale

Ballast Point –
Abandon Ship Smoked Lager
Yellowtail Ale
Big Eye IPA
Calico Amber Ale

Bear Republic Brewing Co. –
XP Pale Ale
Red Rocket Ale
Racer 5 IPA
Hop Rod Rye Ale

Belhaven Brewery –
Scottish Ale
Wee Heavy
Scottish Stout
Twisted Thistle

Big Sky Brewing –
Moose Drool Brown Ale
IPA

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery –
Piranha Pale Ale

Boston Beer Co. –
Boston Lager
Sam Adams Light
Summer Ale
Imperial Stout

Boulevard Brewing Co –
Saison - Brett

Brasserie De Landtsheer –
Malheur Dark Brut
Malheur 10
Malheur Brut
Malheur 12

Brasserie De La Senne –
Zinnebir
Stouterik

Brasserie Duyck –
Jenlain Ambree
Jenlain Blonde

Brasserie Lefebvre –
Blanche De Bruxelles
Saison 1900
Barbar Honey Ale

Brewdog –
Punk IPA
Paradox Isle Of Arran
Dogma

Brouwerij Christoffel –
Robertus
Bok
Bier

Brouwerij De Molen –
Pek & Veren

Brouwerij De Ranke –
XX Bitter
Guldenberg

Buckbean Beer –
Black Noddy Lager
Original Orange Blossom Ale

Castle Brewery –
St. Louis Framboise
Kasteel Triple
Kasteel Donker (Quadruple)
Kasteel Rouge

Cervejaria Sudbrack –
Eisenbahn Escura
Eisenbahn Dourada Golden Ale
Eisenbahn Vigorosa

Cold Springs –
Moonlight Ale
John Henry
Honey Almond Weiss
Pale Ale

Coopers –
Sparkling Ale

Coronado Brewing Co. –
Islander IPA
Orange Avenue

Deans Brothers Brewing Co. –
Nectar Of The Gods ESB 6
Nectar Of The Gods IPA 7

De Graal –
Gember
Tripel

De Konick Brewery –
De Koninck

Deschutes Brewing –
Mirror Pond Pale
Green Lakes Organic
Black Butte Porter
Inversion IPA

Dieu Du Ciel! –
Rosee D’hibiscus
Route Des Epices
Equinoxe Du Printemps

Dogfish Head –
90 Minute IPA (100th Beer!)
Festina Peche
Midas Touch
Palo Santo Marren

Drie Fonteinen –
Oude Geuze
Oude Kriek

Drie Horne –
Bananatana

Duvel Brewery –
Maredsous Blonde
Maredsous Brune

Eel River –
Organic Amber Ale
Organic Acai Berry Wheat

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. –
DBA
Pale 31
Union Jack

Fox Barrel –
Hard Cider
Black Currant Cider

Franziskaner Brewery –
Hefe-Weiss
Hefe-Weiss Dunkel

Full Sail Brewing Co. –
Session Premium Lager
Pale
Amber
IPA

Fuller’s Brewery –
ESB
Porter

Grand Teton Brewing Co. –
Au Naturale Organic Blonde Ale
Bitch Creek
Lost Continent Double IPA
Sweetgrass IPA

Green Flash –
30th Street Pale Ale
Hop Head Red
West Coast IPA
Trippel

Green Mountain Beverage –
Wyder’s Dry Pear Cider
Woodchuck Draft Cider Amber

Haandbryggeriet –
Norse Porter
Norweigan Wood

Het Anker Brewery –
Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor
Gouden Carolus Triple
Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw

Huvila –
ESB
X Porter

Huyghe Brewery –
Delirium Tremens
Delirium Nocturnum

Ise Kadaya –
Brown Ale
IPA
Genmai Ale

Jolly Pumpkin –
Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale
Oro De Calabaza
La Roja

Karl Strauss –
Red Trolley Ale
Pintail Pale Ale
Tower 10 IPA
Windansea Wheat Hefeweizen

Kona Brewing Co. –
Longboard Lager
Wailua Wheat

Konig Brewery –
Pilsener

Kulmbacher Brauerei –
Edelherb Pils
Eisbock
Kapuziner Weisse
Monchshof Kellerbier

La Choulette –
Framboise

La Jolla Brewhouse –
Blond
Kahlua Stout

Lagunitas –
IPA
Hop Stoopid!
Pale Ale

Left Coast Brewing Co. –
Hop Juice Double IPA
Asylum Belgian Tripel

Lightning Brewery –
Elemental Pilsner
Amber Ale
Black Lightning Porter
Old Tempest Ale

Lost Coast –
Great White
Tangerine Wheat

Mad River Brewing Co. –
Steelhead Extra Pale Ale
Jamaica Red Ale
Steelhead Double IPA

Manneken Brussel –
Schneider Aventinus

Maui Brewing Co. –
Bikini Blonde Lager
Big Swell IPA
Coconut Porter

Meantime Brewery –
India Pale Ale

Mendocino Brewing Co. –
Blue Heron Pale Ale
White Hawk IPA
Eye Of The Hawk Select Ale

Mikkeller –
Monk’s Brew
Beer Geek Breakfast
Draft Bear

Miller Coor’s –
Blue Moon

Mission Brewery –
Maibock
Blonde
Amber
IPA

Mountain Meadows Mead –
Moonlight Magic Mead
Honeymoon Nectar
Spice Nectar
Agave Mead

Moylans Brewing Co. –
Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale
Dragoon’s Dry Irish Stout
Hopsickle Imperial IPA (200th Beer!!)
Pommegranate Wheat Ale

Nectar Ales –
Red Nectar
Hemp Ale

New Belgium –
Fat Tire

New English Brewing –
Explorer ESB
Brewers Special Brown Ale
Troopers Tipple IPA

Nils Oscar –
Kalasöl
Barley Wine

Nøgne Ø –
Pale Ale
Porter
Saison

North Coast Brewing –
Old Rasputin
Le Merle
Prangster
Brother Thelonious

Oggis Pizza San Clemente –
California Gold
McGarvey’s Scottish Ale
Black Magic Stout
Torrey Pines IPA

Oppigards –
Well-Hopped Lager
Golden Ale

Oskar Blues Brewery –
Mama’s Little Yella Pils
Old Chub Scottish Ale
Dale’s Pale Ale
Gordon Ale

Palm Breweries –
Palm
Steenbruge Dubbel Bruin

Pietra –
Columba
Pietra

Pizza Port Carlsbad –
Borough Market Bitter
Warm Water Sweet

Pizza Port San Clemente –
Pier Rat Porter
Faceplant

Pizza Port Solana Beach –
Tavarish Stout
Swami’s IPA
Seaside Stout

Port Brewing Co. –
Midnight Sessions
3rd Anniversary Ale

Pyramid Brewing –
Curveball
Haywire Hefeweizen

Redhook Ales –
Slim Chance
Longhammer

Redstone Meadery –
Black Raspberry Nectar
Sunshine Nectar

Ridgeway –
Ivanhoe Pale Ale
Bad King John
IPA

Rock Bottom Brewing –
Ragtop Red
Sticky Tongue Stout
North Star IPA
Fallen Angel Belgian-Style Golden Ale

Rogue Ales –
Dead Guy Ale
Juniper Pale Ale
Hazlenut Brown Nectar
Shakespeare Stout

San Diego Brewing –
Hopnotic
Callahan’s Blueberry Wheat

San Marcos Brewing –
Pompous Ass
Honey Ale

San Miguel –
San Miguel Dark
Red Horse

San Pedro Brewing Co. –
Longshoreman Lager
Shangai Red
Harbor Hefeweizen

Scheldebrouwerij –
Hansje Drinker Tripel

Seadog Brewing –
Bluepaw Blueberry Wheat Ale

Shipyard Brewing –
Export Ale
Imperial Porter
Blue Fin Stout
XXXX IPA

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. –
Summerfest
Pale Ale

Skyscraper Brewing –
Power Tool Pilsner
Bulldozer Honeyweizen
Lug Nut Lager

Spaten Brewery –
Lager
Octoberfest
Dunkel
Optimator

St. Feuillien Brewery –
Tripel

Stone Brewing Co. –
08-08-08 Vertical Epic Ale
Levitation Ale
Imperial Russian Stout
Ruination IPA

Sunner Brewery –
Kolsch

Tailgate Beer –
Amber Wave
Brown Ale
IPA
Hefeweizen

The Bruery –
Black Orchard
Hottenroth Berliner Weisse
Trade Winds Tripel
Orchard White

The Lost Abbey –
Serpent’s Stout
Brother Levonian
Carnevale Ale
Judgement Day

Trumer –
Pils
Shiner Commemorative (300th Beer!!!)

Uncommon Brewers –
Baltic Porter
Saimese Twin Ale
Golden State Ale

Urthel Brewery –
Hop It

Victory Beer –
Hopdevil
Prima Pils

Wells & Young’s Brewery –
Wells Bombardier Ale
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
Wells Banana Bread Ale

Widmer Brothers Brewing –
Hefeweizen
Drifter

Results for the 2009 San Diego International Beer Festival are in! 60 certified judges and professional brewers sampled 524 entries on May 9th at the San Diego County Fair Grounds in Del Mar. The Best of Show winner will be announced at the San Diego International Beer Festival at 4:00 p.m., June 26th, 2009.

Click for tickets to the festival (June 26th 4-8p and June 27th noon-8p).

Click for 2009 IBF results

We’ll have about 330 beers from 132 breweries in 20 countries and 20 states making this one of the best selections of beer of any festival on the west coast. Hope to see you!

Chad

The 2009 American Homebrewers Association national conference in Oakland is sure to be memorable. I wrote a few weeks ago about one of the commemorative beers, Brother Levonian Saison. It will be available through the conference and the Michael Jackson rare beer club in 750’s. The other commemorative beer will be “Sippin on the Dock of the Bay IPA.” This beer will be in 22 oz. bottles and was brewed by Harold Gulbransen and Pat McIllhenny the owner of Alpine Beer Company.

In all honesty, it was my idea to approach Pat to brew this beer. Harold was afraid it would be a stretch for this MICRO-brewing artist. He is a Fireman by day and brewer by off days…very small scale and already stretched too thin. But we knew in our guts, with beers like “Nelson” and “Duet,” there was just no one else for the job. He is a homebrewer who let his passion get the best of him…haven’t we all!?!

Pat & Harold’s recipe can be found at the AHA website.

The Golden Promise base malt is often used in malty Scottish Ales. This provides a superb backbone to the signature Alpine Beer Co. hop presence. This isn’t just any IPA. It’s an in your face, “Welcome to California IPA.” We hope you have an opportunity to enjoy it in Oakland!

Chad

April 8th I went to O’Brien’s. Vince from Pizza Port was making pizzas in the pizza wagon. Tom had some very interesting Italian Beers on…glad I tried them all!

First was Birrificio di Como Malthus Birolla. It had a ‘naturally inoculated’ funk; a flavor and aroma not for the uninitiated. This was a ”Chestnut Ale” that poured cloudy.

Up next was Picollo Birrificio Chiostro. This beer also poured cloudy but with a dense white head that left Belgian Lace on the glass. The beer had an unidentifiable sweet edge to it and is made with wormwood.

I was blown away by Birrificio del Ducato Verdi Imperial Stout. A meaty brown/black imperial stout with a heavy chocolate edge accentuated with the perfect balance of hot chili – a touch of heat up front and lingering. I’ve had chili in a number of chocolate candy bars. I think this was even better; it achieved the perfect balancing act.

The last Italian was Birrificio Troll Shangri-La. This was an amber ale with floaties. The beer is made with tandori spices. A wonderful idea, and I think the flavor was very nice, but the beer could use a bit more spice in the aroma.

O’Brien’s is known for Belgian beer. These were a wonderful addition to the line-up. A real treat to see how far out there you can go with a beer recipe if you allow yourself to dream big!

Dave was my best friend. He liked to drink and brew Saison’s. After several attempts on my own, he got me going on the right path. This is a recipe he helped me with on August 31, 2005. It took a second and first in America’s Finest City Homebrew Competition and first round Nationals 2006.

7 lbs. Franco Belge Pils
3.5 lbs. Franco Belge Vienna
8 oz. Best Malz Munich
1 lb. Hard Red Winter Wheat
8 oz. Feed Oats
12 oz. Sugar – start of boil
8 oz. Honey – end of boil

135f for 20 min, add boiling adjuncts = 151f for 75 min. Juice from one lime in 170f sparge water.

1.5 oz. Saaz 4.0% 60 min
.6 oz. Glacier 5.8% 30 min
1 oz. Cascade 5.5% 5 min
1 oz. Saaz 4.0% KO
.5 oz. Styrian Goldings 1.3% Dry Hop

¼ oz. Algerian Tangerine Peel KO
¼ tsp. Pepper KO
¼ tsp. Turmeric KO

WLP 566 Saison II Yeast, 75-80f fermentation. The astute will note that WLP 566 didn’t exist in 2005. I cultured the yeast from a 25 cl. bottle Dave brought back from Belgium, gave the yeast to Lisa White, they liked it, Stone Brewing liked it in 07/07/07….

6 gallons RO water
5 gallons carbon filtered tap water
7.5 gallons in the fermentor
1.055 OG
1.004 FG
3.2 SRM
26.2 IBU’s
.476 BU/GU

Jamil Z. talked my buddy Harold and me into coordinating the commemorative beers for the AHA National Convention in Oakland this year. Did I say talked us into? I guess he drank me into it. It didn’t come up in conversation until he had four or five beers in me!

One of the beers is “Sippin on the Doc of the Bay IPA.” This beer is the brainstorm of Pat McIllhenney, Alpine Beer Company. It’s a “Welcome to California IPA.” The other is “Brother Levonian Saison,” brewed by “Mighty Mike” of Lost Abbey – www.lostabbey.com

Dave Levonian was a homebrewer, QUAFF member, and a very approachable guy. Just one of the nicest guys you’ve ever met. He passed away in 2008 at way too young an age. Dave loved Saisons…LOVED them. In his memory, a couple of the brewers in San Diego - Colby Chandler and Dean Rouleau - have brewed “Brother Levonian” commemorative beers with proceeds going to Dave’s daughter’s college fund.

When I approached Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey with the idea of doing this beer for the AHA, he didn’t hesitate; he jumped on the idea with enthusiasm. Actually all the contributors for this project have been incredibly forthcoming – White Labs, North Country Malt, Hop Union, More Beer, Brewcraft, MPS Digital, Alpine Beer Company – all have been wonderful to work with.

Dave and I brewed one Saison together; that recipe will follow in a separate “beer recipes” post. The recipe we came up with for the Lost Abbey rendition was essentially the same, just bigger…I mean BIGGER!

Malt from North Country Malt:

1265 lbs. Franco Belge Pils
440 lbs. Franco Belge Vienna
200 lbs. 2 Row
150 lbs. Wheat Malt
100 lbs. Honey

149f mash.

Hops from Hop Union:

6 lbs. Saaz 90 min.
4.6 lbs. Glacier 45 min.
4 lbs. Amarillo KO
4 lbs. Saaz WP

Pepper KO
Turmeric KO
And one humongous bag of Tangerine peels steeped at KO.

The yeast was provided by White Labs. It was a culture I had provided them a few years ago and is now WLP 566 Saison II.

Now for the really cool part: half the batch is going to the AHA National Convention in Oakland. Attendees will enjoy the beer on draft and take home a 750ml. bottle dosed with brett! The other half of the batch is going to the Michael Jackson rare beer club!! Proceeds go to Dave’s daughters college fund. How cool is that!?!

More later,

Chad

A note about the homegrown hops in this recipe. My buddy Harold has a buddy Hal who lives in Oregon. He has too much time, money, and land on his hands so he grows hops…for fun! He was nice enough to give me a few bags. Some went into this recipe; some went into a randalizer for another beer. Both uses were wonderful!

9 lbs. Halcyon 2.2L
8 oz. Paul’s Malt 42L Crystal
8 oz. Munich II 9.7L
8 oz. Wheat Malt
6 oz British Chocolate

154f for 60 min.

90 minute boil.
0.5 oz Mt. Hood homegrown 60 min.
1.0 oz. 5.2% Mt. Hood 40 min.
1.0 oz. 5.2% Mt. Hood 20 min.
1.0 oz 5.2 % Mt. Hood 2 min.
0.5 oz Mt. Hood homegrown KO.

Safale US-05 American Ale Yeast, 64f fermentation.

5 gallons tap water
4 gallons rain water
5.5 gallons in the fermentor
1.053 OG
1.008 FG
16.3 SRM
34.4 IBU’s
.653 BU/GU

So the next time you lift your glass and admire your next conquest, toast the distributor or importer who brought you that beer.

Prost!