Silicon Valley Beer Week 2013: Gordon Biersch Kick of Party

Felt like walking into the Wonka Factory.

It's Silicon Valley Beer Week! Michael and I attended the Kick Off Party at Gordon Biersch on Sunday. It took place at the brewhouse in east San Jose, right in the back storage and shipping area.

I will do a separate post about Gordon Biersch later on. Right now let's just focus on the event...

Do you ever think about how many random people's photo's you're in?

It consistent of several tents featuring a pairing of an appetizer from a local restaurant and a beer from a local brewery.

Yummy Pilsner

Gordon Biersch had its Czech Style Pilsner, which was my first drink. It is a pretty standard German Pilsner, maybe a little more on the malty side. Very drinkable and a nice starter for the party.

Very big golden ale

Strike Brewing Company offered its Blonde Ale, a very golden ale with a lot of malt. This is a good beer, but has a tartness that needs to be paired with something herb-y or it is overpowering. I see it going well with appetizers, maybe some thick wheat crackers and basil hummus.

I was SO happy to have vegan food. 

There was even a vegan vendor, Good Karma Cafe! We had dinner there the other night actually (I will do a post about it soon). Good Karma served jalapeno poppers, which I have not had in a long time so I was happy. The beer pairing was Lagunitas Dogtown Pale Ale.

Love this IPA

This is a crisp, hoppy beer. Prefect to cut through the richness of the vegan cream cheese in the poppers. I know from experience this also pairs very well with juicy veggie burger. Towards the end, Good Karma ran out of Dogtown, so they tapped a Maximus instead. It's a extremely hoppy IPA, also paired with with the poppers.

Biere de Chocolat, very interesting...

Almanac Beer Company had its California Table Beer: Biere de Chocolat. This is very complex beer, very chocolaty. A bit bitter at first, and finishes kind of smokey. I was not that impressed by this beer. It is a bit much to drink on its own (and does not pair well with jalapeno poppers). I'm sure the beer would have been better with the pairing, a bacon wrapped date or something, to give it more sweetness and compliment all the background flavors. I am very interested in trying more of Almanac's beers though. I love the its concept of taking inspiration from Northern California's farming legacy. Making artisan "table beer" similar to making "table wine".

Malty

Hermitage Brewing Company had two choices: Maltopia and Hoptopia. I am kind of allergic to hops, so I try to avoid extremely hoppy beers when I can. I only took a sip of Michael's Hoptopia, plus I've had it before. It's double IPA that does not skip on the hops. It's balanced out by a caramel background taste, but that fresh hops taste is definitely right in the forefront. I did have a sample of Maltopia. It is a Scottish Ale, toasty malt flavor and a little fruity too.

"Never Trust a Skinny Brewer"

This was a very fun event, nice job everyone involved!

Cannery Row Brewing Company and De Tierra Vineyards

Michael and I decided to have a little impromptu celebration of our year and half anniversary. We drove out to Carmel and Monterey for the day. We got massages from A Petite Retreat, which was soooo relaxing. While Michael was getting his I explored downtown Carmel (check out my previous post about Carmel). I received a free wine tasting coupon at De Tierra Vineyards Tasting Room from the massage, which I was more than happy to try.

When I got to the tasting room, they were technically not open yet, but let people who came by in anyways, which I thought was very nice. Anna runs the tasting room, she is very friendly and very knowledgeable. I tried the 2009 Monterey Syrah and the 2008 Montery Pinot Noir, both very nice.

She was extra nice and let me try the dessert wine, the 2006 Ekem Late Harvest Pinot Gris. I am not usually a big fan of dessert wines or liquors, but this was different. I overheard Anna say that sometimes they can be syrupy and that is exactly what I do not like. Why would you want a class of sugary goo after you just ate a delicious dinner? This wine, however, is just sweet enough and not syrupy at all. I bought a bottle :-) Although Michael is not a big wine fan, but I cannot imagine he will say no to some of this poured over ice cream.

Afterwards we headed over to Monterrey. We had lunch at El Torrito. It is just a standard chain Cal-Mex restaurant, good but nothing special. The reason we went is for the view! It hang out right over Monterrey Bay with tons a wildlife in plain sight. There were tons of gulls, adorable harbor seals just loafing on the rocks, a few sea lions went by, and I even as a manta ray jump!

The view from our seat by the window!

Afterwards we walked over to Cannery Row Brewing Company. I cannot find much information on the history of the brewing company itself, I will update this later if I get more information. I can assume they chose the name because they are located on Cannery Row. Cannery Row is located in the New Monterey Section of Monterey (New in the sense that is was not founded back in the early 1800s) right along the water front. From 1902-1973, the area was home to numerous sardine canneries. It was immortalized in John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row. However, over-fishing caused a major collapse in supply and the business had to shut their doors. Today many of old cannery buildings have been refurbished into restaurant and shops, making the area a tourist attraction.

In side of of Cannery Row Brewing Company looks pretty much like a restored cannery. Bare wooden beams and metal fixture.

There is a prohibition theme throughout the place, which I thought was a nice twist. More seaport bars either do the nautical or tropical theme (as beautiful as Monterey is, it is far from tropical).

Since we already ate dinner, we just ordered fries to munch on. They were good, no complaints.

They have chalk boards on the walls by the bathroom. 

Now for the beers...

There are so many on tap, it is hard to chose! According to the website, there are 73 beers on tap plus several bottles. 

One side of the menu is just for beer!

We arrived during happy hour, so the Signature Beers were only $5. I got the Monterey Bay Brown Ale. The Brown Ale was excellent. A simple, well-made malty brown ale. Michael wants to make one exactly like it. At first I did not know how I felt a brewery that only makes three beers but when you make that quality of beer, it does not matter.

Then I had a hard time deciding what to get next, so I consulted the bartender. I did not catch her name, but she was awesome. Not only did she know how to pour beer of the tap correctly (a lost skill nowadays), but she knew everything on tap by heart. I told her I liked wheat beer, so she gave me a few fruit ones to try. They were nice, but not what I wanted. Then she pulled out a classic German wheat, Erdinger's Drunkel Weizen. I want to make a beer exactly like that one!

I ordered one more beer, knowing that Michael would probably finish it for me since I was pretty full.  I picked something we both would like. I asked the bartender for something oatmealy and chocolately, and she brought me a glass of Port Brewing Company's Board Room. It was exactly what I wanted. We both want to make a beer like this one.

We then walked around Cannery Row for a while and headed back to the Silicon Valley. It was nice to celebrate our love and have awesome beer.

Auburn Ale House

Just noticed Michael got in the picture...at least he's cute!

A few weeks ago Michael was a groomsman in his college friend's wedding in Lake Tahoe (check out the post on my other blog). We stopped had dinner with his sisters and brother-in-law since we would be passing by and have not seen them in awhile. For her birthday last year, we had brunch at awesome little place and wanted to go back again, the Auburn Ale House.

Auburn is small gold rush town about 40 minutes from Sacramento. Old Town has been restored, giving a nice Gold Rush era feel. We have only explore the brewery and a few shops, but plan on checking more of the historic places out soon (Michel promised me a Gold Country camping trip before the summer ends).

Auburn Ale House opened in 2007 in Old Town. The decor theme is mix between Gold Rush California and Nostalgic American. Interesting mix of Americana. It was founded by Brian and Lisa Ford, who hoped to create a family-friendly destination that would both standout culinary and compliment the history of the building. They wanted to go beyond the old standard of basic burgers and pizza---and trust me they did.

When we went last year for brunch, not much on the direct menu was vegan. However, they were more than happy to accommodate me. They made me sourdough toast with no butter, fresh fruit, and homefries with veggies. And not to mention the bottomless mimosas...

This time I ordered Barley Burger with no cheese or aioli. I love barley burgers and I hardly ever see them in restaurants, so I was very happy. Cooked perfectly and loved the sweet roasted red pepper on it.

Michael got the Alehouse Reuben, as usual whenever he sees it on the menu. He said it was great too.

Ok, now for the beer...

I got the American River Pale Ale First (and so did the brother-in-law). A classic IPA that smells very citrus-y. This will go well with almost anything. "Highly drinkable" as they describe it.

Michael got the Old Town Brown, I am not sure I agree with calling it a "Session Ale" as the website describes. It was slightly mild for brown ale, but not enough that the word "session" ever came to my mind. Loved the balanced malty chocolate flavor.

He started drinking it before I got a pic...

His sister got Gold Country Pilsner, she said it was good and very drinkable. I loved the straw color.

And, we grabbed a growler of American River as a present for the bride and groom, and one of Fool's Gold Ale for us. We bought a bottle of this last time and loved it. It reminds me of hoppy Oregon beers. Lovely rich gold color and pretty strong (7.8%) for a pale ale. Nothing not to love.

We LOVE this place. I love history of the area. The staff is very friendly (our waitress, without hesitation, brought a few samples so we could decided what to get in the growlers). The atmosphere and decor are warm and inviting (who doesn't love a pin-up girl their beer?). And the beers are amazing.  You HAVE to try this place. Take a trip out the Gold Country and have a delicious craft beer on the way, serious worth the trip.