I kegged my Winter Monster last night. I chucked a liter into a Soda Stream bottle and carbed up to somewhere around 2vols. It attenuated a lot more than I had planned for - down to 1.012, giving me an ABV of 7.4%. I didn't expect that from an english strain (wy1026) so at 90+ IBU you can really feel that she is pretty rough around the edges. I think at 1.016 it would be fine.
I handed a taster over to my Wife and asked for her thoughts - she said it smelled fine, and was predominantly passionfruit. I'm too self critical to agree, and could only taste the greenness and the current faults to notice any of the niceties in the brew. Some nutty aromas were starting to come through as it warmed up, along with an interesting fruity ester when you swirled the glass. The rest of it was teeth melt mixed in with a bit disolved enamel. I was pretty roasted after the liter.
First Pale Ale of my SF visit - down in Silicon Valley this week, so a quick tour of some liquor stores to get a 6 pack of Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, 6 pack of Stone IPA and a bottle of Stone Ruination. Happy Memorial Day!
The Thirsty Bear on Howard St is also a regular spot for JavaOne conf that I'll be attending next week - serves some good beer (http://thirstybear.com/) though not sure I can vouch for its Spanish culture (odd mix). Of course, I'll have a few sessions in the legendary House of Shields too that has achieved cult status as a dingy old drinking establishment if not for the beer..
Go the Toronado... the draught beer list looks alright.
It's on Haight... but I've heard it ain't quite Haight and Ashbury.
Two people have told me it is amazing. One person reckons it was a bit dingy (and stinky). Sounds alright to me.
Toronado is awesome. Over Xmas I spent a great evening at San Francisco Brewing Co. It is basically a neighbourhood brewpub. Everyone knows each other (and are very welcoming) and the beer was bloody nice. Had a great bartender who only charged me for about half of what I drank.
Ah the memories, spent a few drug hazed nights on Haight Ashbury, I think the beer was ok, I don't remember!
Just having a Harringtons' Belgium Tempest- Saison, 8%. It's a bit cold at the moment and I'm holding myself back, in order to let it warm up a little. Buts it's tasting very nice, Tony likes.
Rustico, a brown ale with English malts a lot less memorable. Ending off with Back 'n Black IPA, with the same hops as BFoD but with some roasty malts, and tasty! My last for this afternoon as I need to get some work done. Nice to see Twitter presence - http://twitter.com/21stAmendment.