Drink: Fieldwork Brewing’s newest taproom opens in San Ramon this week, beer garden and all.
FIELDWORK TAKES FLIGHT >> The Fieldwork Brewing beer empire, which already has locations in Berkeley, San Mateo and Napa, is adding a sixth taproom in San Ramon’s new City Center Bishop Ranch on Bollinger Canyon Road. The new digs, scheduled to open Thursday, will include a 2,400-squarefoot taproom and a 2,700-square-foot outdoor beer garden, plus its own brewery. Expect to see a tap lineup with 15 or more beers, including several releases exclusive to the San Ramon location, and two custom fire pits in the dog-friendly beer garden. No food will be available on the premises, but you’ll be free to bring in food from any of the dozen City Center restaurants opening this fall; fieldworkbrewing.com.
SEASONAL SIPS >> The holidays lie just ahead, but many breweries are still releasing their fall seasonal offerings. Among them, East Brother Beer Co. just released the latest in its seasonal lager series. Festbier, available in four-pack cans, is a tasty Bavarianstyle lager that balances malt complexity with a light Noble hop character. Head brewer Paul Liszewski describes the beer as “a lighter, more poundable version of the Märzen style Oktoberfest beers found in the United States, showcasing the malt characteristics with a light hop character.” It’s a limited release, so pick some up soon or stop by the taproom in Richmond — at 1001 Canal Blvd.; www. eastbrotherbeer.com — to try it on draft.
Bear Republic Brewing has released its second hazy IPA. Drift Racer Hazy Double IPA is brewed with Galaxy, Hallertau Blanc and Huell Melon hop varieties. The label, drawn by owner Rich Norgrove Jr., whose art graces every Bear Republic label, features his own Nissan Datsun S30 and “pays homage to Japanese auto culture,” he says, “and challenges the race car drivers within all of us to explore new ways of driving and thinking.” (Drinking after the race Berkeley’s Fieldwork Brewing is expanding with a sixth taproom and beer garden scheduled to open in San Ramon on Thursday.
is over, I should add.)
Anchor Brewing has two new beers for your shopping list including a Fog Breaker IPA, which given the hazy IPA craze is a pretty funny name for a nonhazy San Francisco IPA. Brewed with Denali and Cascade hops and Citra Cryo hop oils, it’s loaded with pine and tropical fruit aromas and flavors. And the newest in Anchor’s “evolving hop series” is Brewers’ Pale Ale Citra Hop Blend, made with Citra, Cascade, El Dorado and Eureka hops. The unfiltered pale ale has great citrus and pine notes and a dry finish. Both beers are available now in six-packs and on draft.
BEERVENTURES >> Beer festival timing tends to favor warm weather months, but if you love bacon and beer, November might just be the best month of all. The inaugural San Francisco Bacon and Beer Classic will run from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, with more than 100 beers, 30 bacon dishes from local
chefs, a home-brewing demonstration, a Hormel-sponsored bacon-eating contest, lawn games, music and surprises on the concourse. Tickets are $56 to $119; baconandbeerclassic.com.
The great, weeklong Toronado Barleywine Festival opened Nov. 3 with more than 50 barley wines on tap for the first few days. On Tuesday, the number will drop to 20 but that’s still a lot of great barley wines. The Toronado Pub is at 547 Haight St. in San Francisco; toronado.com.
And the Bistro’s 13th annual West Coast Barrel-Aged Beer Festival returns to Hayward on Thursday with dozens of strong, barrel-aged beers offered throughout the day. Find the Bistro at 1001 B St.; www.the-bistro.com.