Today is iconoclastic brewer Brian Hunt’s 51st birthday. Brian owns and operates Moonlight Brewing in in Sonoma County, California, as a one-man show. If you’ve never had his “Death and Taxes,” “Twist of Fate Bitter,” “Bombay by Boat,” or his fresh hop ale, alternately called “Homegrown” or “Greenbud Ale,” then you’re really missing out on some of the most unique and wonderful beers around. Plus, Brian is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Join me in wishing Brian a very happy birthday.

Hildegard van Ostaden, Urthel’s brewster, one of only two female brewers working in Belgium, and Brian.

Brian in his hopyard, with Russian River’s assistant brewer Travis, and Vinnie Cilurzo.

Shaun O’Sullivan and Vinnie Cilurzo with Brian at the Bistro in Hayward, California.

The “Five Guys and a Barrel” beer dinner Sunday night at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco featured five, count ‘em, five, brewers and their beers. Rob Tod (from Allagash), Adam Avery (from Avery), Sam Calagione (from Dogfish Head), Tomme Arthur (from the Lost Abbey) and Vinnie Cilurzo (from Russian River Brewing) all got together for one special evening of food and beer. We were all a little tired after nearly a week in San Diego for the Craft Brewers Conference, but the wonderful food the beer chef, Bruce Paton, put together certainly lifted our spirits and enriched our souls.

After the dinner, a toast was offered with Isabelle Proximus, the Collaborative Sour Ale made by blending beer, which was made by Adam Avery, Rob Todd, Sam Calagione, Tomme Arthur, and Vinnie Cilurzo; with food, of course, by Bruce Paton.

For more photos from Five Guys and a Barrel Beer Dinner, visit the photo gallery.
 

Here is the second half of the photos I took at the 2008 World Beer Cup Gala Awards ceremony, which was held last Saturday in San Diego, California.

Brendan Moylan and Arne Johnson, from Marin Brewing, picking one of the three medals Arne won.

The hard-working staff of the Brewers Association who put on Craft Brewers Conference and the World Beer Cup competition. For many more award photos, go to part 1 of the photo gallery, followed by part 2.

For many more photos from the second half of this year’s World Beer Cup Awards, visit the photo gallery.
 

The 2008 World Beer Cup Gala Awards ceremony was held last Saturday in San Diego, California. 2,864 from 644 breweries in 58 countries competed for medals in 91 categories. In each category, usually a distinctive beer style, a gold, silver and bronze is awarded, though on occasion one medal within a category is not given if none of the beers meet the written criteria for the style. Approximately 268 medals were awarded (91 x 3 = 273, minus 5 awards not given).

Of the 91 categories, an average of 32 beers was entered in each, with IPAs getting the most (77) followed by German-style Pilsener (72). Of the 58 countries entering, beers from 21 won medals, with the US winning the most (158), Germany in second (25) and Belgium in third (11). Beers from the State of California itself won 35 medals, with Colorado winning 22 and Oregon 16.

Bas and Hildegard, from Urthel, accepting their award. For many more award photos, go to the photo gallery.

For many more photos from the first half of this year’s World Beer Cup Awards, visit the photo gallery.
 

Trying desperately to catch up, here are photos from Friday and Saturday, the last two days of the Craft Brewers Conference held last week in San Diego. Friday was a day of seminars, the trade show and visits outside the resort. Saturday was more seminars during the day but the World Beer Cup Gala Awards Dinner in the evening. I still have to post the awards, but here is everything up until that point.

Tom Kerns, from Maui Brewing, Greg Koch, from Stone Brewing, and Chris Black, from Falling Rock in Denver, Colorado, at the reception before the dinner.

My vote for best-dressed at the dinner, Natalie Cilurzo, from Russian River Brewing, and Garrett Oliver, from Brooklyn Brewery. Bruce Paton, the Beer Chef, did the menu and created the meal from past World Beer Cup award winners. It was my second of three beer dinners in four days.

Friday night, Karl Strauss Breweries hosted a party at their local production brewery and bussed everyone out to the grounds for food and grog. Here, Tomme Arthur and Luke Nicholas, who makes Epic Beer in New Zealand, enjoy a pint.

For many more photos from this year’s Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego, start with Random Photos From the Last Two Days, the party Friday night at Karl Strauss Breweries and then finally the World Beer Cup Gala Dinner, all at the photo gallery.
 

I was lucky enough to be invited to a beer dinner last Thursday night thrown by The Lost Abbey, held at the Port Brewing facility in San Marcos. Tables were set up inside the small brewery, making it a very cozy evening. Luckily, everyone knew one another and didn’t mind being in a candlelit brewery with over 120 others.

One of the main reasons for the dinner was the debut of Isabelle Proximus Collaborative Sour Ale, a beer made by Tomme, along with Adam Avery, Sam Calagione, Vinnie Cilurzo and Rob Todd; and inspired by their trip to Belgium two years ago with Italian beer writer Lorenzo Dabove, better know simply as Kuaska. This was first time all six of them were able to try the beer at the same time.

Sam drew the artwork for Isabelle Proximus Collaborative Sour Ale, shown here on a cask of it. We were treated to a five-course meal paired with Lost Abbey beers inside the brewery. It was a great evening and my first of three beer dinners in four days.

For many more photos from the Lost Abbey beer dinner, visit the photo gallery.
 

The well-known Toronado bar in San Francisco is coming to San Diego … soon. Rumored for almost two years, I attended a reception Thursday afternoon at the new location currently under construction at 4026 30th Street in San Diego’s North Park. If all goes according to plan, it should be open with the next month.

Fal Allen, with San Diego Toronado owner Ian Black. Ian worked at the Toronado in San Francisco for some time before moving to San Diego.

Dave Keen, owner of the Toronado in San Francisco, was on hand and pouring Duvel for Ian and a packed house of revelers.

For more photos from the San Diego Toronado reception, visit the photo gallery.
 

The Craft Brewers Conference, this year held in San Diego, officially began last Thursday — as it always does — with all the Brewers Association members assembled in a large hall for the “Welcome and Keynote Address.” During this time, they also present three awards important within the craft beer industry.

After opening remarks from BA President Charlie Papazian, Tom Nickel gave the history of San Diego, the area’s beer community, along with tips on what to see and do in the city.

Dr. Michael Lewis, from U.C. Davis, received one of the three awards.

As did Vinnie Cilurzo, from Russian River Brewing.

For more information and photos from this year’s first day of the Craft Brewers Conference, visit the photo gallery.
 

For the second time in four years, the annual Craft Brewers Conference again descended on San Diego, California. It was an opportunity for beer people from around the world to get together and interact, learn and, of course, have a great time.

The tightknit San Diego brewing community went out of thier way to make everyone feel welcome. Tomme Arthur, from Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey, and his lovely daughter Sydney, greeted people from far and wide at the Brewers Reception hosted by Stone Brewing.

It was an opportunity for friends from around the world to see one another again, often for the first time since GABF.

For many more photos from the day before this year’s Craft Brewers Conference, visit the photo gallery.
 

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Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, while attending a Slow Food event in Torino in late 2006, befriended Agostino Arioli, who opened one of Italy’s earliest craft breweries. His brewery, Birrificio Italiano, makes a unique beer, La Fleurette, whose varied ingredients include flowers, black pepper and orange blossom honey. Agostino is in California this week for the world Beer Cup and the Craft Brewers Conference which begins next week in San Diego. But yesterday, he was in Santa Rosa visiting his friends at their brewery, Russian River Brewing. The plan was to brew his La Fleurette beer at Russian River, trying to approximate it as best they could using a different brew system. I spent the day documenting the brewing process. There are three galleries and approximately 54 photos of brewing the La Fleurette and the story of the beer, too. Start with gallery one and follow along as I present Brewing La Fleurette at Russian River. At the end of each gallery, there’s a link to the next part of the story, through three separate pages. Enjoy.

Agostino Arioli, from Birrificio Italiano in northern Italy, with Vinnie Cilurzo and Travis Smith, at Russian River Brewing.

The beer included two kinds of dried flowers, violets and roses (shown here).

At the point during the boil where dry-hopping normally occurs, the flowers are added along with orange blossom honey and black pepper.

For many more photos of the La Fleurette brew day at Russian River, start with Part 1.
 

On Sunday, beginning at 11:30 a.m., I sat down with 80 or so beer lovers at the Toronado in San Francisco for a Belgian beer lunch, a blunch? The Toronado has been putting on this mostly word-of-mouth event, which sells out every time, for a number of years, but this was the first year the food was done by Sean Paxton, the Homebrew Chef. The blunch lasted almost six hours through a total of eleven separate courses and at least sixteen Belgian beers (plus a few more American ones). We all agreed that Sean Paxton is a mad man, a culinary alchemist. Read the description of the blunch in the photo gallery and see if you don’t agree.

The blunch was hosted by Toronado owner Dave Keene and the food was done by Sean Paxton.

Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, from Russian River Brewing, among the Belgian beer and cheese plate.

For many more photos from the Toronado Belgian Blunch, visit the photo gallery.
 

The 5th annual Bay Area Firkin Gravity Festival was held yesterday at Triple Rock Brewery in Berkeley, California. Some of the stand out beers for me included Pizza Port’s Imperial Red, 547 Haight St., that Jeff Bagby brewed for the Toronado’s 20th anniversary, 21st Amendment’s Rye, Drake’s Wheatwine, Speakeasy’s Stout, Half Moon Bay’s authentic English-style brown and an interesting California Common from Oakland’s newest brewery, Linden Street Brewing.

This year, nearly thirty casks of real ale were available for sampling.

Triple Rock GM Rachaal with Ken Kelley from North Coast Brewing.

For many more photos from this year’s Bay Area Firkin Gravity Festival, visit the photo gallery.