Each year, for the past seven years, a beer festival is held in San Francisco at Pier 45 on the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien, a World War II Liberty class ship. The event is a benefit for the upkeep and restoration of this historic class of sea vessel. Held on September 11-12, this year the event featured unlimited tastings from the seven breweries that make up the SF Brewer’s Guild: 21st Amendment, Beach Chalet, Gordon Biersch, Magnolia, Social Kitchen & Brewery, Speakeasy, and Thirsty Bear. I thought this would be a great warm up before I headed to the Great American Beer Festival and I was right. This was a great event.

Although the event featured only seven breweries, there were 41 different beers available for generous samplings. Unlike some festivals, where each brewery brings only 2-3 of their best each brewery had, on average, 5 beers available. At $45 for one day or $75 for two days, it might seem expensive but  you have to remember this event is also a fund raiser. Also featured at the event was food from Orson and music by Zoo Station and Hot for Teacher.

Of the beers that were served, I sampled the following:

• 21st Amendment Hop Crisis
• 21st Amendment Golden Doom
• Magnolia Oysterhead Stout
• Social Kitchen Social Kölsch
• Social Kitchen Old Time Alt
• Speakeasy White Lightning
• Thirsty Bear Cask-conditioned ESB (dry hopped with Willamette)
• Thirsty Bear Rum Runner

The entire beer list at the event was as follows:

• 21st Amendment
  • Brew Free of Die IPA, Hell or High Watermelon Wheat, Hop Crisis, Golden Doom
• Beach Chalet
  • VFW Light, Bavarian Hefeweizen, California Kind, Presidio IPA, Riptide Red, Fleishhacker Stout, Saison du Chalet de Plage, Düsseldorf Altbier
• Gordon Biersch
  • Marzen, Schwarzbier, Festbier, Czech Pilsner, Hefeweizen, Export
• Magnolia
  • Kalifornia Kölsch, Proving Ground IPA, Prescription Pale, Big Cypress Brown, Oysterhead Stout
• Social Kitchen
  • Social Kölsch, Old Time Alt, L’Enfant Terrible, Rapscallion, Easy IPA, Big Mundy Weizenbock
• Speakeasy
  • Big Daddy, Prohibition, Double Daddy, Public Enemy Pils, White Lightning
• Thirsty Bear
  • Polar Bear Lager, Golden Vanilla Ale, Valencia Wheat, Rum Runner, Meyer ESB, Kozlov Stout, Cask-conditioned ESB

Where I Found It. I had this beer at the Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant in San Francisco, CA.

Serving Type. When I sampled this brew, it it was served from the tap into a pint glass.

Appearance. The head is a light, off-white, tan color but does not last very long. The color of this Pumpkin Spice Ale is a nice bright orange color that is complementary to the fact that this is a pumpkin ale. This beer is crystal clear.

Smell. The aroma of this Pumpkin Spice Ale is slightly sweet, malty, and mild. The bouquet has a just a hint of pumpkin pie spices such as nutmeg, cloves, and a dash of cinnamon. There is another sweetness present like that of concord grapes but in a good way as if it will be refreshing. I also noticed the grape-juice-like scent in the Beach Chalet stout, which makes me wonder what is causing that scent.

Taste. The pumpkin pie flavor is very subtle and is by no means in your face. There are flavors of a dash of nutmeg and a hint of cinnamon alongside some cloves. I also experienced a vanilla flavor but not as strong as a cream soda. There is definitely malt sweetness present and the balance is in favor of the malt over the hops. After a while, the slight vanilla flavor takes on a light caramel flavor.

Mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is smooth with a slightly spicy aftertaste. This pumpkin ale is a light to medium bodied ale. It is not too watery and not too thick.

Drinkability. This is a wonderful beer to try especially if you like a pumpkin ale that is more subtle than in your face. Personally, I prefer to have the pumpkin spice flavors to be pronounced. It is quite possible, however, that this batch has mellowed over time.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score. The overall rating is calculated exactly the same way as Beer Advocate.

• Appearance (20%): 4.0
• Smell (20%): 3.5
• Taste (40%): 3.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 3.5
• Drinkability (10%): 3.0
• Overall: 3.55

Information

• Alcohol by volume: unknown, I’ll guess 5.6% like most of their other beers
• Style: Pumpkin Ale
• Brewery: Beach Chalet Brewery
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.55 (on January 26, 2009)

Other Reviews

• Beer Advocate – Beach Chalet Pumpkin Spice Ale
• Rate Beer – Pumpkin Spice from Beach Chalet Brewery
• If you review this beer on your blog, please leave a comment and I will post a link.

The Beach Chalet describes Fleishhacker Stout as follows:

Medium-boded stout with chocolate notes & a rich, smooth finish.

This description, however, does not explain what Fleishhacker means. It turns out that Fleishhacker refers to the Fleishhacker Pool, which was the largest swimming pool in the United States located in San Francisco, CA near the zoo. With this knowledge, the beer label, which depicts a woman diving into a pool, makes more sense.

Where I Found It. I had this beer at the Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant in San Francisco, CA.

Serving Type. When I sampled this brew, it it was served from the tap into a pint glass.

Appearance. The head has a cappuccino color. Although the head was nice and foamy coming out of the tap, it did not last long. This might have been because the bartender seemed a little impatient with the head settling and overfilled the glass several times. Flieshhacker Stout has a black opaque color that you would expect from a stout.

Smell. The aroma of this stout is of very dark roasted malts and chocolate. The hop bouquet is very slight and has a hint of citrus and a more faint hint of concord grape juice.

Taste. Fleishhacker Stout has a nice flavor of toasty, dark roast coffee. There is also a noticeable bitterness, which was more than I expected. The bitterness, however, is balanced well against a pleasant malty sweetness. The flavor also has a hint of chocolate.

Mouthfeel. As described by the brewery, this is a medium bodied beer and I personally prefer a stout that has a fuller and creamier body. In fact, I think the mouthfeel is a bit watery. The aftertaste has a hop bitterness that lingers on back sides of the tongue. Finally, there is a slight chalky texture to this beer, which I also do not like.

Drinkability. Fleishhacker Stout is a smooth beer that can be consumed all year round. It does not, however, give a warming feeling that a winter warmer style beer does and that’s okay.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score. The overall rating is calculated exactly the same way as Beer Advocate.

• Appearance (20%): 3.0
• Smell (20%): 3.5
• Taste (40%): 3.5
• Mouthfeel (10%): 2.0
• Drinkability (10%): 3.0
• Overall: 3.2

Information

• Alcohol by volume: 5.6%
• Style: American Stout
• Brewery: Beach Chalet Brewery
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.77 (on January 24, 2009)

Other Reviews

• Beer Advocate – Fleishhacker Stout
• Rate Beer – Fleishhacker Stout from Beach Chalet Brewery
• If you review this beer on your blog, please leave a comment and I will post a link.