SF Beer Week

You can win badges for drinking.

​Celebrating Valentine's Day on February 14th is sooooo 2011. You know what's really sexy? The element of surprise. Get the jump on your significant other by planning an early surprise outing, and you may even get jumped at the end of the night. Turn up the smooth jazz, because Cupid's arrow is about to land a day early.

Besides Tom Selleck enjoying a sandwich by a waterfall, there's nothing sexier than chocolate. Indulge your date with this beer and chocolate pairing event:

Valentine's Chocolate and Beer Pairing Class
Where: Boothby Center for the Beverage Arts, 1161 Mission St. (at 8th St.)
When: Monday, February 13th, 5pm-7pm
Cost: $65
What: Join Rich Higgins, Master Cicerone and brewer at Social Kitchen and Brewery, as he teaches you how to evaluate a beer and pair it with chocolate. There will be lots of samples, and perhaps some snuggling.

Your date isn't into chocolate? Quick, cue the fondue and French beer:

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​You made it! You've gone through nearly a year of SF Beer Week (http://sfbeerweek.org/) withdrawal. The 355 days of cold sweats, long nights, and detox shakes are about to pay off in a big way. Get all your errands out of the way now, because for the next ten days you won't have time for petty inconveniences such as laundry, work meetings, or personal hygiene. Most of all, you'll be too busy imbibing to scour the 327 events on the official schedule. Kick back and relax with a cold one, because SFoodie is here to guide you through every day of this beer journey.

Saturday, February 11th:
You'll be faced with a series of difficult choices this weekend, many of which will cut to the core of your very being. Before you choose your own adventure on Saturday, consider the following question: Is it "liquor before beer, you're in the clear," or "Liquor before beer, the end is near?" If your response was the latter, head directly to one of the country's best hoppy beer festivals:

The Bistro Barrel Aged Beer Festival
Where: The Bistro , 1001 B St. (at Main), Hayward
When: Saturday, February 11th, 11am-7pm
Cost: $45 for 6 five-ounce pours and a commemorative glass
What: Arguably the most revered Double IPA event in the country. Expect over 75 hoppy brews, including many rarities. This year, the fest will feature a dedicated group of "triple IPAs" including Russian River's Pliny the Younger and Dogfish Head's120 Minute IPA.

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​ Man cannot live on beer alone. Or, at least it's not recommended. While the focus of SF Beer Week is squarely on the brew, there are dozens of events that explore the intersection of beer and food. If you're reading SFoodie, then you probably have a stomach. Fill 'er up at these unique pairing events:

An Evening of Beer and Soul
Where: Bar Tartine, 561 Valencia St. (at 17th), 487-1600
When: Monday, February 13, 6pm
Cost: $49, reservations available through Open Table or by phone
What: Chef Sarah Kirnon, formerly of Front Porch and Hibiscus , has crafted two menus for diners to choose from. Each of the menus, which feature highlights such as Congo-style soup and Chef Kirnon's famous fried chicken, will be paired with 8 beers curated by Certified Cicerone Sayre Piotrkowski (formerly of Monk's Kettle). Beer highlights include Linden Street Brewery's Daily (B)red, a red lager using yeast cultured from Tartine sourdough, and Moonlight Prison Wages, fermented with pinot noir grapes. Full menu and beer list here.

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​Super Bowl Sunday also doubles as National Corn Chip Day, National Cheap Beer Day, and National Sloppy Joe Day. But if you, or your partner, aren't an expert in Super Bowl Day cooking, head to a bar instead. These bars will give you guaranteed viewing of Super Bowl 2012, and perhaps food slightly better than the average:
 
Tres, 130 Townsend: San Francisco's biggest tequila bar still has a private room available for tequila tasting and screening of the Super Bowl. If you are a Patriots fan, book this room so you can hide your after-party from the rest of us.

Ace's is a sanctuary for New York Giants fans.

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Ace's, 998 Sutter: A Giants fan's haven, the "only Giants bar in San Francisco," is offering free BBQ and five flat-screen TVs with surround sound.

Jasper's Corner Tap & Kitchen, 401 Taylor: The first 20 guests get automatic entrance to win "big" prizes. Serving $2 fries, $2 sliders, and $2 High Lifes, plus pulled pork slider, hummus, chicken wings, and mini corn dogs foir $3 to $6.

Public House, 24 Willie Mays: From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., this TV-laden AT&T Park bar will be selling $5 Bloody Marys and Mimosas. A post-game happy hour goes from 4 to 6 p.m., serving half-price bar bites and $3 cask ales, as well as well cocktails and select draft beers and wines for $5.

Giordano Brothers, 303 Columbus and 3108 16th St.: Pittsburgh-style meat-bomb sandwiches for $7 and six TVs. Opens at 11:30 a.m.More >>

​Unfortunately, San Franciscans don't have much to look forward to this Superbowl Sunday. We'll have to suffer through deep depression, uncontrollable fits of sobbing, and endless commercials for bland beer. Thankfully, there are two East Bay beer events this Saturday that should restore your faith in humanity. Or lead to a Sunday Superhangover. The details for Saturday's big beer game, below:

Drake's Hopocalypse Day
Where: Drake's Barrel House,1933 Davis (at Timothy), San Leandro
When: Saturday, Feb. 4, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Cost: Pay per drink
What: Sample Hopocalypse Double IPA (9.3 percent abv, three-bottle limit) on cask, draft, and in bottles to-go. Also try the limited, brewery-only release of the new Hopocalypse "Black Label" Triple IPA (12.5 percent abv, two bottle limit). There will be live music, brewery tours, wood-fired pizza from Firetrail, and smoked meats from Bourbon Bros. BBQ. Drake's has warned us ..."'the end is beer."

Beer Revolution Second Anniversary Party
Where: Beer Revolution, 464 3rd St. (at Broadway), Oakland, (510) 452-2337
When: Saturday, Feb. 4, noon to 11 p.m.
Cost: Pay per drink
What: In their first year, Beer Revolution came out of the gate as a fully-formed beer destination. At the 2-year mark, they have firmly solidified themselves as a premiere craft beer destination. Expect 47 taps of special brews and bottle specials. Numerous breweries have crafted one-off beers for the event, including:

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The 21st Amendment

​They say you are what you eat. Since February is Strong Beer Month, you're going to get pretty buff over the next few weeks. Buff and tipsy, most likely. For the tenth year, the Magnolia and 21st Amendment brewpubs are serving up a dozen special brews over 8% abv. For the second year, Social Kitchen and Brewery is jumping into the ring with five bold beers of their own. The brews represent a wide range of styles for every palate, assuming that you're pretty tough.

With SF Beer Week just over a week down the road, this is a good opportunity to perk up your liver and start training. Per tradition, if you sample all of the Magnolia and 21A beers over the course of the month, you can keep the commemorative tasting glass. Just throw it on the shelf with the rest of your bodybuilding trophies.

Put on your gameface and meet your worthy adversaries, below:

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We have good news and bad news. The good news is that much-anticipated Southern Pacific Brewing will be open this weekend. The bad news is that they aren't named after South Pacific, the romance musical. We were bummed too.

Thankfully, there will be plenty of tasty beer on hand this Friday as you stifle the urge to burst into a tipsy rendition of "Bali Ha'i." For starters, Southern Pacific will have at least 5 house taps ready to go. Proprietor Chris Lawrence, who previously handled national sales at Speakeasy Brewing, told us to expect West Coast-style offerings. Translation: hops. For their pale ale and IPA, expect a dry beverage that showcases a floral and resinous hop punch with a down-played malt sweetness.

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Jason Henry

​How do I love thee, SF Beer Week? Let me count the ways! On second thought, scratch that. With over 200 events already on the Beer Week calendar, professing our affection would take forever.

With the schedule expected to expand significantly over the coming weeks, it's easy to be overwhelmed by a "week" so epic that it takes 10 days to complete.

But take heart, weary drinker. SFoodie will tirelessly comb the calendar and provide event previews, beer dinner recommendations, and a daily guide to the boozy madness. For those who want to choose their own adventure, don't worry -- there's an app for that. Beergeeks can download the official SFBW 2012 app with schedules, maps, and an editable itinerary.

In the meantime, here's a few ticketed events that deserve a place on your calendar. Some will sell out quickly - consider yourself warned. And be sure to have a pen handy as you read...you'll likely be inspired to write a love sonnet or three.

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​The promise of beer-filled boots attracts crowds to Hayes Valley's Suppenkuche on Saturday nights, but come back the following morning and you may be surprised. Not only does the restaurant offer a full, ever-changing German brunch menu, bartenders are doling out boots once again, this time to a family-friendly clientele.
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Brett L.

​ It's only a few days into 2012, but you've been behaving very well. The New Year diet is working, and tonight you'll be gorging on raw carrot sticks, a handful of unsalted almonds, and a tall glass of water. At the end of the week, celebrate the success of your resolution by breaking it in grand fashion.

This Friday marks The Jug Shop's first beer tasting of the year. The store has been one of the city's best destinations for fermented and distilled liquids since the mid-1960's, and Certified Cicerone's Eric Cripe carries the torch of curating one of San Francisco's finest collections of brew. The shop's regular beer tastings are informal, educational, and generally unified by a theme (sign up for the newsletter for tasting announcements.

This week's tasting is devoted to 'gypsy' brewers who create their beers on borrowed time at established breweries ... and tend to have a penchant for mis-matched flowy garments and kitschy gold jewelry. Envision Jack Sparrow hunched over the brew kettle.

Two of the featured breweries are domestic: Pretty Things of Massachusetts, and Maryland's saison-focused Stillwater Artisanal Ales. The tasting is rounded out by Danish newcomer Evil Twin Brewing. Created by Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergso, the proprietor of Copenhagen's best beer shop, Evil Twin has gypsy brewing in the family. Jeppe's brother, Mikkel Borg-Bjergso, created the world's most well-known roving brew outfit, Mikkeller. On Friday, you can decide if Jeppe is living up to the family profession.

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