I wanted to do an indepth review of all the beer experiences I enjoyed this weekend, but with the pending move I think the hours I'd spending put it all together could be better spent on packing. So instead a quick few highlights by day.

Friday
Getting to meet Brenden Dobel at ThirstyBear was great. The brewery and the food have had me coming back consistently for the last 10 years whenever I am in the Bay Area. Brenden was generous with his time giving me and MyloFiore a great insight to the brewery. I am a huge fan of the Black Lagers I think it was extra smoothness from nitrogen that made the Black Bear hit the spot for me. Sampling the Vanilla Golden it struck me that it's the Cream Soda of beers, very refreshing, but a very unique offering. The Bohemian Pilsner was an interesting take on the style, because of the hop shortage no Saaz was used. Instead Brenden used Sperling which gave the beer more of a floral style than tradition but not unpleasantly so at all.

Magnolia wasn't what I expected, but I loved the large selection of beers including 5 cask ales. Heidrun Mead was a sparkling, semi-sweet from Avocado Blossom honey was surprising and refreshing. I could have spent a day just going through all the options they had on tap.

Last was the 21st Amendment, Shaun was a great host giving us a personalized tour of the brewery and we all had a great time. I even picked up some 21st Amendment beer in a can, That's Right Cans.

Saturday
Saturday started with going to up to visit Bear Republic and while they were made famous by Racer 5, Red Rocket Ale, and Hop Rod Rye we tried their speciality beers that we would never see in Arizona. Of the current offerings the Black Mamba and Crazy Ivan made the biggest impression on me. Both took a twist on the Belgian tradition in different ways, but displayed the innovation that makes American Craft beer the cutting edge of the industry.

Next we moved on to Russian River Brewery I couldn't wait to try their beers and none of them disappointed. Fluerette was really amazing the rose hips, pepper, spices and other herbs gave it an amazing subtle character. I hope I get to try it it again or with the larger production facility they have just built maybe even buy some bottles. Beatification was a great sour beer, I look forward to trying the bottle I bought soon, along with 3 of it's brothers.

Our last and main event Saturday was Downtown Joe's for the BN Anniversary. Mad house, great party, homebrewer convention or perhaps best a mix of all three. It was great to see Justin, JP, Doc, Beevo, Push, and all the rest of the BN Army. The homebrew tasting at the beginning I got to try the work of Tasty McDole, Chad, and a lot of the other homebrewers. The only complaint was during the broadcast it was a little difficult to hear clearly, but considering it was a restaurant-brewery not a broadcast studio it wasn't really surprising. I also had the opportunity to meet Jay Brooks as well. The energy was really positive throughout the night it was great to meet so many folks in person. Their music after the show was great and gave the BN crew to really be rock stars for the night.

Sunday
Slow start to the day but I found my way to Triple Rock Brewery eventually. I had the good fortunate to experience a WakeUpCall. What is it? To find out you'll have to go experience yourself. Rachel was a great tour guide there at the bar and sent me along my way to the Trappist in Oakland.

The Trappist is what any good beer bar should aspire to be. The selection was excellent between the 15 taps and a solid book of bottled beers. But it wasn't just the selection it was the reverence for the beers. From the tradition Belgian tap system with glass washing system to the way they cleaned the foam and glass after pouring the beer there was a respect for the beer most people in this country today still don't understand. You could tell that everyone at the Trappist knew exactly why that respect for beer was being given. The other pleasure out of that stop for the weekend was I had the pleasure to meet Bruce Paton, The Beer Chef, and William Brand. William even happened to post the list of beers from yesterday. Of the beers I had I think it was Working for Tips and Curieux that impressed me the most. I had heard about Working for Tips by Moonlight Brewing Company a while back and I loved the concept of a hop free ale. It didn't disappoint with the Cedar tips I believe providing a nice counterpoint to the malt without being over done as I have seen in some beers using tips.

Overall it was an amazing weekend filled with good company, conversations and beer.