I still have a number of posts to catch up on, but for now, here’s a little of what I personally studied the first part of Fall 2011.

All this studying is a lot of hard work.

Always Grateful,

~Andy

Through their comfort food. Their family friendly environment. And through their craft beer offerings. Especially Thursday nights.

Thursday nights is when Harry’s hosts Pint Nights, where a particular craft beer and brewery are featured with special promotions, ranging from beer and glassware discounts to the opportunity to meet brewery reps.

I’ve had the chance to hang out with a number of good folks the last couple months on these Pint Nights. Let’s take a look:

Thursday pint night on Nov. 1, 2011 featured Lucifer Belgian Golden Ale (a Belgian strong pale ale, 8.5% ABV).

This was one of those pint nights where we could purchase discounted glassware.

We all enjoyed this beer, which was smooth and refreshing, and went well with our meals.

Count three more families that had a good time that night.

The Thursday pint night on Dec. 1, 2011, which four of us buddies went to, featured Stone’s Double Bastard Ale (an American strong ale at 10.5% ABV).

We ordered some other beers to help mellow the assertiveness of the Double Bastard ales. Plus, were were all in a rare situation where we knew we could stay out a bit longer than usual.

St. Bernardus ABT 12 (10.5% ABV).

Mongo (American double/imperial IPA, 9% ABV).

Deschutes Hop in the Dark (American black ale, 6.9% ABV).

That was a particularly pleasant evening of hanging out and catching up.

The Thursday night on Dec. 8, 2011 was a special one, a tap takeover featuring many Firestone Walker beers. It was also special because I was able to hang out with my brother on this night.

Including their Double Jack (American double/imperial IPA, 9.5% ABV).

And Double Barrel Ale (aka DBA) – English pale ale, 5% ABV.

And the real special pouring of their Firestone 15 Anniversary ale (American strong ale, 12.5%).

I’m not the only one catching up with friends on these pint nights.

Cheers! Prost! Gun bae!

~Andy

I went for the Firestone Walker Double Jack IPA, New Belgium Somersault, and Napa Smith Lost Dog Red Ale beer flight.

I hadn’t quite yet acquired the full appreciation for IPAs (let alone Double IPAs) when I tried this beer flight, so the Double Jack was my least favorite due to the bitter taste when compared to the other beers.

These days, I greatly enjoy the Double Jack, which reflects how much my taste in beer has evolved since the beginning of this year.

The meal itself was quite good.

Roasted 38 North chicken breast – rock shrimp & andouille sauce creole, white corn polenta, Coke Farms braised greens.

Pan roasted California sea bass with fava beans, chanterelle mushrooms and Borba Farms baby squash.

Earlier in the fall, I had the chance to check the Yard House, with their wide selection of beers. I wrote a separate post about our thoroughly enjoyable outing.

Early last month, I tried the beer and burger pairing special at The Counter in Santana Row.

The draft selections, few and mostly straightforward, paired nicely with their respective mini-burgers. A nice addition to their selection is the Full Boar Scotch Ale from Belmont’s Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company.

Lastly, earlier this month, we visited Pizza Antica, where I helped myself to a Trumer Pils, a German pilsener beer brewed in Berkeley’s Trumer Brauerei. This beer was crisp and refreshing. And the food was excellent.

Warm Brussels sprouts salad with bacon, hard cooked egg, caramelized onion, and croutons.

Heirloom potatoes, caramelized onion, and white truffle oil.

Kid’s cheese pizza.

We enjoy hanging out at Santana Row, and it’s nice to know that there’s some good beer to be had there.

Cheers! Prost! Gun bae!

~Andy

Tied House hosted a “Lupulin for Lupus” fundraiser organized by the folks associated with the BetterBeerBlog.

Proceeds from four donated casks were to benefit a lupus foundation.

Alpha Session from Drake’s Brewing and Hops on Rye from Firehouse Brewing.

Appetizer and raffles.

Mr. and Mrs. BetterBeerBlog.

We’re so glad to have been able to attend this event. We drank tasty beer, caught up with good folks, got to meet Tied House’s director of marketing, and did our little part in helping out a good cause. Tied House, for sure, is going to be a place we’ll be returning to often.

A few days after having visited Tied House, we stopped by El Toro Brewing Co. on our way back from a trip to Gilroy Gardens.

El Toro IPA and Deuce Imperial IPA.

The beers were excellent, and the food hit the spot as well.

El Toro Brewing Co. is another place that we’ll certainly be returning to.

Cheers! Prost! Gun bae!

~Andy

This post is a catch-up post reflecting more of the beers (through pictures) that we’ve had throughout this past year up to roughly the end of summer. We enjoyed all of these beers, as wifey and I have similar, flexible tastes.

The below draft beer is the Marzen from Sudwerk Brewery in Davis, which we got at a great Davis restaurant, Caffe Italia.

Again, wifey and I enjoyed all these beers. Our interest in and appreciation for good beer have been growing greatly, and it’s been fun. We’ve been starting to keep tasting notes, of which I’ll start posting more going forward.

Cheers! Prost! Gun bae!

~Andy