Are You Going to San Francisco…

(Continued from last week) …I attended a reception at “Annabelles” across from the San Francisco Marriot. At 7:00 p.m. I linked up with my fellow “beer hunters” and the four of us hopped in a cab for Haight-Ashbury and the “Magnolia.”

At first glance Magnolia has a Psychedelic Logo painted on the façade that belies the traditional pub-like interior. Inside is austere -- water stained walls, high ceilings, dark wood with some booths and both common and separate tables. The bar runs the length of the building and has about eight taps serving traditional keg beer with CO2 and four ales on “Cask.” Our server was both cheerful and well informed as to the nuances of each beer. I dove right into the Cask offerings I started with the Bluebird Bitter (fabulously refreshing with a wonderful mouth feel, a delicate natural carbonation and a pleasing, mildly hoppy aroma) and I asked our server for samples of their Mild and their Brown Ales - both were superb. I elected to order a pint of the Brown (Crisp, lightly carbonated and not at all sweet like the common brown ales that are available in our area). The Brown Ale paired rather nicely with the Quail and spring carrots that I chose for my entrée. In a moment of quiet reverie I silently toasted John Thaw of “Inspector Morse” fame and reflected on the virtues of the often overlooked style that is the “English Brown.” Morse was clearly on to something…

Our repast complete and a busy Monday ahead, we paid our tab and went out into the now quite chilly San Francisco night. One of my companions’s started humming the melody of the song that is the title of this week’s column. We passed a few moments waiting for a cab trying to remember who sang the song in question. Alas, it eluded us all and we arrived at the hotel resolved to look it up prior to turning in.

All things considered it had been a great visit so far, but the best was yet to come.

As an aside some might wonder what exactly is the difference between “tap or draught” beer and “cask” beer. Ingredient wise they are similar it is the delivery system and the source of carbonation that vary. In traditional “draws” such as one might find at the local establishments, CO2 is used to propel the beer from a keg to the tap and thence to the glass. With Cask no CO2 is involved -- gravity or a hand pump provides the means of transport. With cask beers the only carbonation is that which occurs naturally as a byproduct of a secondary fermentation in the “cask.”

Monday dawned with an impossibly blue sky and warm sunshine. I had a few more meetings and a 2”O’clock appointment to tour the Anchor Brewery…

In a word the Anchor Brewery tour was awesome. Our guide, Lindsay, a Jersey Girl, shepherded us through the brewing room with its massive copper kettles and immaculate tile flooring… In the process she explained the history of Anchor Brewing and possible origins of the unique San Francisco styled “steam beer.” Visits to the hop room the traditional flat cooling trays and bottling room followed.

Anchor brews 500,000 barrels a year. Approximately 70% of that total is their signature Steam Beer the rest being divided up amongst their 3 other regular brews (Anchor Porter, Liberty Pale Ale and Old Foghorn Barley Wine) 2 seasonal styles (Anchor Bock and Anchor Summer) and 2 specialty brews (Anchor Small Beer and Christmas Ale). They brew five batches per day, five days a week. Anchor has 60 employees and has no present intention of moving or growing. They prefer to stay small and local and follow their current model. Bit of trivia – Anchor is owned and operated by Fritz Maytag, a member of the Iowa Maytag clan who decided Appliances and Blue Cheese were not for him and became a brewer instead. Fritz first enjoyed Anchor as a graduate student studying Japanese History and Literature and when he found out the Brewery was in financial trouble he made an investment and became a half owner. A few years later he bought his partners out and the rest is history. Anchor was a pioneer in the craft brewing movement and remains a well thought of brewery with a reputation for quality and taste.

Anchor has so-far avoided the “extreme” beer craze and I cannot say this is a bad thing. At the end of the tour we sampled most of the current Anchor brews with the exception of the “Small” and the “Christmas.” The Summer Ale is a 50% Wheat brew that is crisp, light on the palate and very refreshing. Pair this summer quencher with a warm bay shore evening on the front porch and some good friends – you get the idea. We worked our way through the rest of the line-up savoring the nuances of each style. At the end of the tasting I was ready to stock up on Anchor for the rest of the summer. I settled for some coasters, a baseball hat and a set of glasses…