Sacramento Beer week is 3-years-old in 2012. February 24th started nine days of festivities in Down Town, Mid-Town and surrounding areas. Tomorrow, March 4th, is the last day and lets hope we all made it out to at least one of the many events that took place this year.
I attended different bars and restaurants at random on days and nights I had free. Starting out on Sunday night, February 26 at Clark's Corner on J and 57th, I had the Sierra Nevada 4 beer sampler, the Angus blue cheese burger with sweet potato fries. The beers were vastly different in their taste ranging from a full bodied stout to a light and crispy pale ale. The waiter was great with all my questions and recommended the blue cheese Angus burger, which melted in my mouth and melded perfectly with the cheese. The grilled onions and chipotle sauce made it perfect, probably one of the best burgers I have ever had.
On Wednesday, February 29th, it was time to celebrate the extra day so it was done in style with German beer at Bonn Lair on J St in the middle of 36th and 38th St. I would never try to pronounce the beer on special so I ordered it by saying, "I'll take the beer that everyone else is drinking," it's called Uerige Sticke. Literally everyone in sight had a bottle sitting in front of them. Besides the awesome German bottling method the beer was rich and was made for sipping, which is what I did.
Brew Your Own Adventures and the Sacramento Theater Company on H and 14th St teamed up Friday night, March 2nd, for a beer tasting an hour and a half before curtain call. Lockdown Brewery was there with the beer and even a root beer was on hand. No beer was that dark but the flavor was in full attendance. The two beers on tap were a scotch and a rye, both were good and these were my favorite of the night. Lockdown's red-beer didn't win me over, which was a bummer since red-beer is one of my favorite styles. If the IPA had more bite to it I would of liked it more but it was good as is. Over all I was pleased with the offerings of the brewer. The show was, "M is for Murder," and it was wonderful. I highly recommend seeing the show and checking out BYOA and either of Lockdown's two tasting facilities.
Saturday, March 3rd turned out to be another great day in Midtown and The Porch was the perfect way to start of the afternoon. Attending the 3-3-3-3-3 event I really wasn't sure what to expect and when I walked in I felt a little out of place being sweaty after a five miles bike ride and the restaurant's upscale ambiance. The vibe of the place is classic with dark wood furnishing most of the color and the bar speaks of a 1950s feel. The wooden tables were unfinished on the side and mason jars were stocked with water this took the upscale edge off the place and I felt quite comfortable after settling in. The deal that I partook in was the $13.95 beer and food pairing. It was 3-6oz beers, 3 food items, at 3 O'clock on the 3rd day of the 3rd month. I loved it and was my second best experience of the week, Clark's was the best. The beers and food were Lagunitias Pilsner with Porch sweet potato fries, Mad River Steelhead Extra Pale Ale with Porch Pemiento Cheese Fritters and Mammoth Floating Rock Hefeweizen with Cypress Grove Chevre, Humboldt Fog, Midnight Moon and Psyche Dillic CHEESE!!! It seems like a lot but the food portions were a bit small, but it was worth the money. The cheese parings were absolutely wonderful and I could of ordered a second round of the cheese plate. The emotions of delight that ran across my palate are almost indescribable but all of them were pungent, left a wonderful lasting taste on the palate that washed down beautifully with the Hef it was paired with. My mouth was refreshed and ready for anther bite.
After leaving The Porch I went to ride home and stopped in at City Bicycle Works for a helmet. Wouldn't you know it they were also hosting a beer event with Lagunitas IPA on tap. It was great to hang around and talk bikes with some passionate people.
It was quite the week and I look forward to seeing if the Sacramento beer culture hangs around after this week.
