San Francisco Brewers Bring Their Best To Quench Thirsty Crowds

The San Francisco Brewers Guild will be holding its fourth annual Brews on the Bay craft beer festival on September 8th and 9th. The event takes place at the National Liberty Ship Memorial, SS Jeremiah O’Brien, at Pier 45 near Fisherman’s Wharf.

By Joel Williams  
Published: September, 2007 

A total of eight San Francisco breweries will participate in the event, serving their finest and freshest beers from noon until 4:30 p.m. each day. A total of over 40 local artisan beers will be poured, making it the largest offering of San Francisco-brewed beer at any festival worldwide.

One unique aspect of this festival is that with the small number of participating breweries, each brewery is encouraged to bring a wide and diverse selection of their products; at most festivals, breweries bring only their two most popular beers. Here, some breweries are bringing up to eight different styles of beers, making for a large and varied selection for attendees to enjoy.

This year marks the first time the festival will be held over two days. Last year’s festival drew over 1,000 people on one day and organizers felt it was too crowded; this year the Guild has decided to have the festival over a two-day period, with the crowd capped at around 700 people each day. The event will also feature live music and delicious food catered by ThirstyBear Brewing Company, as well as special tours of the SS Jeremiah O’Brien with virtually the entire ship open to visitors; proceeds from the event will benefit the beloved local ship.

Although there will be a plethora of outstanding examples of what these local brewers can create, there are some particular beers that I suggest you check out:

ThirstyBear will be serving its Golden Vanilla, a cult favorite at the restaurant. It is a light and smooth golden ale that gets its unique flavor from the addition of whole vanilla beans into the post-fermentation cycle.

Gordon Biersch’s Schwarzbier (literally black beer in German) is a bit deceptive at first glance. When most people see a dark beer, they think it will be heavy and strong; the Schwarzbier, however, is actually the lightest beer served at Gordon Biersch. This black lager has a delicate body and a very clean finish. Those who are wary of dark beers will be rewarded if they take a chance with this one.

The Beach Chalet will have its wonderful Riptide Red, which is a fabulous example of this style of beer. Good red beers are rarely found in the sea of mediocre and ordinary reds available in stores and pubs today. This brew has a delicate balance of rich roasted caramel flavor, which provides a nice malty body with minimal hop bitterness. I am also excited to try Beach Chalet’s new seasonal Ocean Beach Oktoberfest.

21^st Amendment will be serving their one-of-a-kind Watermelon Wheat, which is made by adding 400 pounds of fresh-pressed watermelon to each batch. The end product is a light, refreshing beer with the taste of the true essence of watermelon, not an overly sweet, artificial Jolly Rancher watermelon flavor. It’s extremely popular at the pub and the Watermelon Wheat is consistently one of the most popular beers at the fest. Be sure to try it early before it runs out.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.sfbrewersguild.org and at all eight of the participating breweries. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 the day of the event. Admission is free for children under 12 and $8 for 13-20 year olds.

The San Francisco Brewers Guild has a mission to preserve, celebrate and promote the heritage and craft of San Francisco’s artisan breweries. The Guild consists of San Francisco Brewing Company, Gordon Biersch Brewery & Restaurant, Thirsty Bear Brewing Company, 21^st Amendment, Magnolia Pub & Brewery, Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant, Speakeasy and San Francisco’s newest brewery, Wunder Brew.