Brian Yaeger

Tonight: Cherry Voodoo Launches Boozy Beers at Church Key

Brian YaegerCherry Voodoo faceman Yuri Green wants to fuck you up.​Beer Week is the place for new beer releases and even new brewery releases. Nothing illustrated that better than Sunday's Nanobreweries of Tomorrow event, where nine brewers planning to launch their sudsy empires poured their a ... More >>

Beets, Glocks, and Pig Knuckles: This Week in Food Bloggery

Kari Sullivan/FlickrPickled beets are just the beginning.​Five highlights from the blogs this week:1. With even more enthusiasm (and considerably more planning) than last year, we've taken up the annual challenge of profiling 92 of the city's best dishes on the 92 weekdays leading up to the 2011 B ... More >>

Will S.F. Ever Get a Beer Truck Like Portland's?

Brian YaegerBrew truck Beervana launched this weekend at Portland's new D-Street Noshery food-cart pod.​Former SFoodie beer contributor Brian Yaeger recently moved to Portland, where he's combating instant-onset S.A.D. with ― you guessed it ― beer. Portland's pods ― those clusters of f ... More >>

Salacious Cotton Candy and Holiday Brews: This Week in Food Bloggery

Cue the Barry White.​Highlights from SFoodie and beyond this week:1. This week, our Portland-bound beer columnist, Brian Yaeger, conducted his last blind tasting of local and nationally distributed holiday beers, and found that the Jews outshone the Christians and heathens alike. Pick up a six-pac ... More >>

In Chico, a Craft Beer Pioneer Turns 30

Brian YaegerSierra Nevada is the nation's largest independent brewery.​Nov. 15, 1980: Twenty-six-year-old Ken Grossman brews his first commercial beer. Last night, Grossman briefly took the stage at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s 30th anniversary party in Chico where it all began. Thirty di ... More >>

S.F.'s Brewpub Explosion: Local Brewing Co.

Brian YaegerLocal Brewing Co.'s Regan at the bar in Shotwell's. ​Regan and Sarah might sound like a pop-punk band with roots in New Wave, but actually they're part of the next wave of San Francisco craft brewers who plan to launch Local Brewing Co. What began as a hobby six years ago is on tra ... More >>

Fresh Eats: Our weekly roundup of SFoodie news

Today: Organic Brewers Converge on Ferry Building for Eco Tasting

MateVeza's organic India Pale Ale.​Between the World Series and Halloween we've got a lot to be excited about 'round here. If you have time between getting your Snooki or The Situation costume together and painting a sign with clever wordplay involving Jonathan Sanchez, take a moment to celebr ... More >>

Tasting Blind, Great Pumpkin Edition

Brian YaegerOur lineup of pumpkin brews, their identities cleverly hidden.​Seasonal offerings from breweries have reached a fever pitch. It seems you can't experience a solstice, equinox, change in barometric pressure, or Hallmark-sponsored holiday without a slurry of commemorative beers hitti ... More >>

Pickled Figs and Pumpkin Beers: This Week in Food Bloggery

Tamara Palmer​Highlights from the blog and beyond: 1. Sean Timberlake continues his series of advice columns on preserving peak-season produce with a recipe for pickled figs that looks phenomenal ― as well as links to other fig-forward preserves. (Also intriguing: Timberlake's sighting of nastur ... More >>

With Old Oak Beer Co., Local Beer Blogger Turns Brewmaster

Old Oak Beer Co.​Old Oak Beer Co. is on course to be licensed by the ABC (Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control) one of these days. Founded by Beer & Nosh blogger/beer dinner purveyor/beer porn photog Jesse Friedman ― along with partner Damian Fagan, whose design work already graces other ... More >>

Chips Ahoy, Cocktails Down the Hatch: This Week in Food Bloggery

J. BirdsallBehold: The majestic chocolate chip cookie.​1. You know how some people get a reputation for liking owls, and suddenly they're receiving owl earrings for Christmas, owl thank-you cards after dinner parties, and owl pencils? Well, John Birdsall put the word out that he was tasting chocol ... More >>

Tour de Fat: Beer-Soaked Bikefest Rolls Saturday

Brian Yaeger"Remember, this is a bicycle festival with beer, not the other way around." Sure.​What do a 6-foot-tall carrot, Sasquatch, and a gang of nuns on bicycles have in common? Tour de Fat, New Belgium Brewing's annual lovefest for all things bicycle (and yeah, some beer). The Tour pedals ... More >>

Tonight: Launch Party for Nirvino Beer-Rating iPhone App

​We knew we wanted to join the legion of smartphone users when we discovered Shazam, the application which tells you what song you're hearing so you never again have to say, "Oh man, I wish I knew who sings this song." For oenophiles, perhaps the must-have app is Nirvino, the best selling wine ... More >>

NorCal Brewers Score Big at the Great American Beer Festival

Brian YaegerSocial Kitchen brewmaster Rich Higgins, manning the SF Brewers Guild booth in Denver.​As the 51-week wait for next year's 30th Great American Beer Festival begins, let's look back at the last few days in Denver, where 462 breweries converged inside the Colorado Convention Center, a ... More >>

Great American Beer Festival Takes Over Denver, with Plenty of Bay Area Contenders

Brian YaegerS.F. beer geek Jason Henry volunteering at the Cascade Brewing booth at last year's GABF.​Thursday marks the beginning of the three-day, mind-blowing, liver-busting, gut-expanding extravaganza known as the Great American Beer Festival, now in its 29th year. Sponsored by the Brewers ... More >>

This Weekend's Brews on the Bay: You're At a Beerfest. On a Boat

This weekend, the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien welcomes the seventh annual Bros on the Bay, er, Brews on the Bay, at Pier 45. What better way to celebrate the San Francisco Brewers Guild and its seven brewing members than paying $45 (in advance, $55 at the gate until it sells out) for unlimited samples o ... More >>

Bear Republic Previews 23 Brews for This Year's Great American Beer Fest

Brian YaegerHealdsburg's Bear Republic Brewing is entering 23 of its brews in this month's Great American Beer Festival in Denver.​At last year's Great American Beer Festival, Bear Republic Brewing's Racer 5 IPA took home a gold medal, not for American India Pale Ale, but for American-style St ... More >>

This Year's Texas State Fair Big Tex Contender: Deep-Fried Beer

Dallas Morning NewsBeer-filled pretzel? More like Guinness-stuffed ravioli.​Edible trends shake up San Francisco like a 7.0 on the Richter scale (pork belly, roasted marrow, and of course, figs on a plate). But offer a Texan a Little Gem salad and he won't give a frying fig. That's because in ... More >>

Really Eating Real, Five Pop Reviews: This Week in Bloggery

Meredith Brody/2009This is totally us, tomorrow and Sunday.​1. The story that dominated the past few days of SFoodie coverage was the Eat Real Festival, which takes place in Oakland tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday. We wrote about the festival's scavenger hut, how to survive, wha ... More >>

What's a Homebrew Contest without Taco Beers?

Meredith Brody/2009This weekend's Eat Real Fest revives last year's Beer Shed.​For the second annual Eat Real, not only is the Beer Shed returning but organizers have also implemented a homebrew competition, since what's urban homesteading without homebrewing? Having said that, while there wil ... More >>

Public House Kicks Off Monthly Beer Dinners Tonight (First 30 Guests Only)

earl g./YelpThe three-course pairings are slated for the third Tuesday of every month.​Maybe you go to Public House for a pre-game beer. Maybe you go to Public House because at least their jalapeño poppers are better than the inside-the-ballpark heat-lamp fries that can't be saved by a mound ... More >>

Marin Brewing Co.'s Arne Johnson

Arne Jonson's been brewmaster at Marin Brewing Co. for 15 years.​Brendan Moylan founded Marin Brewing Co. in 1989 and has since launched Moylan's in Novato. Fifteen years ago, Arne Johnson became the brewmaster at Moylan's Larkspur original, where the always-sunny patio is a favorite ferry des ... More >>

Tomorrow: Speakeasy Turns Lucky 13. Touch the Magic

phil h./YelpThere'll be a new brew to mark Speakeasy's 2,500th batch.​Even though 21st Amendment didn't go off for its 10th anniversary a few days ago, that doesn't mean fellow SF Brewers Guild member Speakeasy Ales and Lagers won't. Tomorrow, visit the brewers where they work (and bottle) the ... More >>

Beer Dinners, or the Fine Art of the 'Brew Fixe'

Jesse Friedman/Beer & Nosh​There's no steadfast rule to putting together a beer dinner except, duh, you should have good food and pair it with good beer. Beyond that, they come in all shapes and sizes, meaning number of courses and the hit your wallet will take. Proving attending one doesn't ... More >>

Boobs and Beer Converge for BreastFest

music2work2/FlickrFor once, coming together for a cause greater than the individual parts. ​In the immortal words of The Bloodhound Gang, "Hooray for boobies." Tomorrow brings us the 10th Annual BreastFest Beerfest, this year jiggling over the Golden Gate Bridge and into the city. Benefiting t ... More >>

Batch 19 Pre-Prohibition Lager: Party Like It's 1919

MillerCoors​With speakeasies, Savoy cocktails, and other early-20th century booze culture touchstones back in action, it's only natural beer should get roaring. We got our first taste of MillerCoors' new Batch 19 Pre-Prohibition Lager at the First Annual Giants Brewfest, an event showcasing lo ... More >>

Ask a Brewer: Speakeasy's Kushal Hall

Brian YaegerKushal Hall.​Speakeasy Lagers and Ales is San Francisco's other packaging brewery (besides Anchor). Founded in 1997, this Bayview/Hunters Point brewery is responsible for Big Daddy IPA along with several other beers you'll find bottled and on draft around town. Speakeasy's weekly o ... More >>

Tasting Blind: Our Panel Rates Summer Beers

Brian YaegerRigorous steps were taken to assure impartiality.​For this month's blind beer-tasting, rather than focus on a specific style, and since we just celebrated the solstice with on-again, off-again warm weather, we lined up a mixed six-pack of seasonal summer beers. Here's how the Brewe ... More >>

What's the Best-Selling Beer in the Castro? The Mega-Brews Making a Play for Gay Dollars

​There, on the bottom right corner of the official Pride website, four tiny, alternating ads flash that link to corporate sponsors, each with a tagline that winks to their support of the LGBT community. Anheuser-Busch, a corporation that pulls in almost $37 billion in sales by virtue of contro ... More >>

Altoids Stout and Chipotle Mead: A Report from the National Homebrewers Conference

Homebrewers AssociationEvery year, beer hobbyists from all over show up to geek out.​MINNEAPOLIS ―Once a year, brewmasters take a back seat to those who brew in the trenches (read: kitchens or garages). At the National Homebrewers Conference (NHC), organized by the American Homebrewers Assoc ... More >>

21st Amendment Taps Liquid Gold, aka Imperial Jack

Brian YaegerImperial Jack ESB, the World Beer Cup's favorite "Other Strong Beer."​Yesterday, 21st Amendment tapped the beer that earned it a gold medal at the World Beer Cup back in April. Unlike other brewing competitions, this biannual event awards medals to the best of the best from over 64 ... More >>

Tasting Blind: Our Panel of Local Brew Experts Rates India Pale Ales

Brian Yaeger​For this month's blind beer tasting, we're tackling India Pale Ales. Though IPAs originated in 18th century England, the style was shanghaied by American craft brewers who kicked up the hops for walloping bitterness and pungency. For comparison's sake, at last year's Great Americ ... More >>

Saturday's Giants Brewfest Was a Clusterf#%k. Here's Our Advice for Next Year

Brian YaegerWe don't mind rubbing elbows. It was the rubbing of everything else that got to us.​Saturday's Giants Brewfest was only a success if you consider that the event sold out. But packed N-Judah cars more than three hours before game time was an early indicator that there would be more ... More >>

If You Didn't Get Tix to Giants Brewfest, There's Always Next Week in Oakland

francobobfred II/FlickrSummer essential: Chugging beer in some stadium parking lot.​The only thing more exciting than the prospect of a series the Giants can actually sweep (vs. the cellar-dwelling D'backs) is great, free-ish beer beforehand in the form of Saturday's first annual Giants Brewfe ... More >>

Kauffman's Five: This Week in Food Bloggery

​This week's favorite bits from SFoodie and beyond. 1. A celebrity panel assembled by Brian Yaeger to do a blind tasting of pale ales found that, oh yeah, our Sierra Nevada still shows well against the competition. If you've been avoiding Sierra Nevada because it's ol' familiar, reread Roxanne Web ... More >>

Our Blind Tasting of Pale Ales Reveals Wide Disparity

Brian YaegerThe lineup.​For this month's blind beer-tasting, we're not going beyond the pale ― we're going right to it. Made with lightly roasted malts, pale ales originated in England as a mellow alternative to dark mild and porter ales. They might have been invented in Burton-on-Trent, Eng ... More >>

Social Kitchen & Brewery Opens Tonight with Curtailed Hours

Brian Yaeger​The vaunted launch of Social Kitchen reeled and slipped into a vat of barley mash late last month ― blame the usual delay in agency sign-off, this time from ABC, but today Social pulls itself out and shakes off. Brewmaster Rich Higgins swears Social will open its doors today at ... More >>

Kauffman's Five: This Week in Bloggery

My favorite five bites from SFoodie and beyond:Fritz Maytag.​1. I appreciated Brian Yaeger's thoughtful questioning ― motivated by a mixture of respect and betrayal ― of what might come of Fritz Maytag's sale of Anchor Brewing to the producers of Skyy Vodka.2. Considering that the last Undergr ... More >>

Social Kitchen & Brewery Probably Not Opening Tomorrow After All

Brian Yaeger​All that breathless excitement about Social Kitchen & Brewery welcoming in the suds-loving public tomorrow, to coincide with the San Francisco Brewers Guild meet 'n' greet? Keep holding your breath. Turns out the ABC hasn't yet issued Social's license ― brewmaster Rich Higgins s ... More >>

Awesome Range of Beers at Public House Leads the League

Brian YaegerCertified cicerone Eric Cripe assembled the epic beer list.​If the Giants keep winning, AT&T Park should be packed for the home stand that starts next Friday. This season, no longer will fans need to shell out big bucks for mediocre food inside the park when there's Traci Des Jardi ... More >>

Kauffman's Five: This Week in Food Bloggery

Five morsels ― electronic or, um, flour and water ― that struck my fancy this week:​1. Bite of the Week: Not having to eat any more hot dogs for a while actually makes me a little giddy, but that's probably just the effects of nitrate withdrawal. In terms of real food tasted this week, the mos ... More >>

Don't Sound Like a Tool: How to Pronounce German Beers

​Don't Sound Like a Tool is SFoodie's series of audio pronunciation guides to sort-of-common-but-not-obvious words we keep encountering on wine lists and menus. No more shame, no more pointing, no more taking on the accent of a language you don't speak.Something always happens to us when orderi ... More >>

SF Beer Week: Thursday's Prix-Fixe Madness

​From now through the end of SF Beer Week, we're providing daily quarterbacking for the frothiest events. Skol, dudes. Jesse Friedman/Beer & Nosh​We're over the Beer Week hump ― time to let the real gluttony begin. Behold the prix-fixe beer dinner: Thursday has eight on the schedule, ... More >>

California Craft Brewers Represent at the Fancy Food Show

B. YaegerFirestone-Walker Brewing's Brandon Borgel, part of the California brewski cointingent.​For three days (Jan. 17-19), Moscone Center is so full of munchies, it's like a stoner's wet dream. The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) is in the midst of producing the 35t ... More >>

2009, the Year in Beer: Brian Yaeger Makes Makes Sense of Last Year's Suds

Brian Yaeger​In 2009, craft beers and ales were big news in San Francisco and beyond, with upscale restaurants turning to cicerones (beer sommeliers) to design menus. Brian Yaeger, the San Francisco author of Red, White, and Brew, put on beer goggles for SF Weekly's Joe Eskenazi to examine the ... More >>

The Year in Beer With San Francisco's Scribe of the Suds

Brian Yaeger, the Richmond District's Bard of Beer​ Much time -- and even more beer -- has passed (pun intended) since we last caught up with Brian Yaeger. The San Francisco writer is a hero of sorts to folks who enjoy drinking beer and hope to make a living off of this skill."It's amazing how man ... More >>

Local Author Breaks Down the Year in Brewskis

Jesse Friedman/Beer & Nosh​Beer was big news in 2009 ― big enough, maybe, to justify a rundown of beer trends at SFoodie's sister news blog, The Snitch. Brian Yaeger, the San Francisco author of Red, White, and Brew, puts on beer goggles to examine the year that was: barrel aging, the local ... More >>

Hey, Beer Man: S.F. Writer Manages to Land Greatest Job in the World