Gueuze and Kreik sitting on a barrel at Cantillon (or Brasserie Cantillon Brouwerij if you want to be specific) in Brussels:

I didn’t have time to take a tour this time, but it was a nice little stopover.

this past weekend, about 32 of us were treated to an eight-course beer-paired culinary adventure: eating about beer 2010.  More extensive descriptions of the event will be written by the makers in the near future, so for now just I’ll share a few pictures:

sopressata, cured at home

“a selection of seasonal pickled vegetables” arranged symmetrically

homebrews in fancy packaging

buckwheat soba noodle making

homebrews on ice

soba going through the pasta maker

topping for the sicilian chickpea fritters

pickled vegetables cut up for serving

marzen model

soba with cale, shredded daikon and dipping broth

peruvian ceviche

ratatoullie with cheese scraping

pork chop

prost!

adding wheatberries to the salad

mustard, in nugget dipping containers

nuggets, with dipping containers, in serving boxes

fancy napkins for the nuggets

tapioca with a hazelnut and coffee shortbread cookie

the eab crew at the end of the night

The 19th annual I Care Classic ride (presented by the Almaden Super Lions Club) was on May 15th, 2010.

registration:

Paramit corporation hosted the staging area and registration.  They love microwaves.  or hot food.

wall of microwaves

The ride was really well supported with plentiful sugary home-baked rest stops.  I ate a lot of m&ms and cookies that day.  yum.

great homebaked food

The ride was a little foggy in the morning, especially once you got up in the hills a bit:

foggy gilroy hot springs

and sometimes sunny

sunny gilroy hot springs

the fog was wonderful though:

beautiful fog

more beautiful fog

there was an accident somewhere on the route where a car apparently hit a telephone pole, requiring that the road be closed while PG&E conduct repairs.  we lost about 30 miles of our ride but we were able to make up 20 miles of it elsewhere on uvas rd.

detour!

Brook hooked me up with some flashy handlebar tape:

rockin the gold handlebar tape

el toro brewing company was nearby, so beers were in order:

beer to cap it off

Friend and Oakland resident Eric Smillie has a nice writeup in the New York Times regarding craft beer tastings:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/travel/30headsup.html

Mentions Oakland’s Beer Revolution and SF’s City Beer Store.

My friend Bill hosted a paired pig and beer dinner that I was fortunate enough to enjoy and photograph.  Here are a few pictures of the madness.  For a full, super-detailed description and many more photos, check out his post: http://billievethat.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/foodbuzz-24-24-24-snout-to-tail-stout-to-pale/

ears for the salad.

ears in the salad.

homemade sausage and homemade pretzels featuring eric's sauerkraut.

for more on the sauerkraut: http://www.awesomepickle.com

and of course, the rest of the head.

Once again, see Bill’s post for more: http://billievethat.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/foodbuzz-24-24-24-snout-to-tail-stout-to-pale/

I went to the 2010 beer 2 brakers ride on Saturday for San Francisco Beer Week.  My friends Israel and Bill (in a “Eating about Beer” side project) started the day with a “Beer for Breakfast” pairing at cafe la paz and then we rode off to wave “hi” to Speakeasy, and then back into SoMA to visit Thirsty Bear.  From there, the crew rode to Gordon Biersch and then Mojo Cafe and then to the beach.  Here are some photos from the event.

Beer for Breakfast: 1st Course – Escarole / Arugula / Watercress Frittata + Marin’s Hefe Weiss / Blue Frog’s Hefe Weizen

folks enjoying french pressed coffee from cafe la paz

chuey taps the first keg of the morning

Frittatas…

…are served

2nd Course - Tacos de Huevoz con Chorizo with Salsa Verde Cruda + Magnolia's Prescription Pale Ale

sharky hooking up the espresso

tamping

bottomless

3rd Course - Chocolate / Smoked Bacon Fat Glazed Donut Holes + Anchor's Porter

people gathering outside prior to the start of the ride

en route to speakeasy

en route to speakeasy

en route to speakeasy

en route to speakeasy

riding circles in the speakeasy parking lot

headed to thirsty bear

thirsty bear

thirsty bear

chuey outside of thirsty bear