On Friday we got SF Beer Week kicked off with a little event Brewed For thought hosted at Alpha Sigma Phi in Berkeley. This was my old fraternity and I was looking forward to introducing them to some tasty beverages. The response leading up to the event was very positive and it showed as we had more than 30 people in attendance.
Before I get into the beer, I have to say it was quite interesting coming back to Berkeley. I hadn’t realized it, but I had only come back to town once or twice in the last 7 years. Everything was very familiar with the exception of a few tall buildings on the West Side of campus and a new playing field/parking structure between Unit 1 & 2. Making my way up Dwight Way brought back many memories of late night walks.
When I arrived, the house was abuzz with brothers setting up the event. The room was set for the 27 anticipated guests with additional seats squeezed in wherever possible. With an hour and a half left to go before the event was set to start, the room was set and I had some pizza to buy.
With such a large group, I needed to have a few assistants who could pour samples around the room. As a reward, I fed these young men the finest faire Berkeley has to offer, West Coast Pizza. I also brought a bottle of Redemption for them from Russian River BRewing, a nice Blonde that wouldn’t be a part of the schedule event tastings. I was pleased to see how well received this beer was. It was a sign of good things to come.
As the beginning of the event grew nearer, I got a better idea of what I had gotte myself into. A group of ten of my friends with 5 samples each tended to get a bit chaotic in the end, but I had 30+ college aged students, and the room was packed. The nerves were beginning to build a little but it was too late to turn back. Showtime!
The menu for the evening was what I felt would be a good representation of the variety of Belgian Beers:
- Affligem Blonde
- Duvel
- Chimay Premiere (Red)
- Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue)
- St. Bernardus Abt 12
Each guest received a tulip glass to take home. I gave a brief description of the glass and the qualities it enchanced in the beer, but could tell the natives were restless. I ditched my long-winded presentation and gave quick descriptions of the beer, letting everyone get into the sampling.
Many I had talked to worried that such a young group wouldn’t be appreciative of a Belgian beer tasting. I have to admit, the eagerness to get to the beer had me worried a bit as well, but as we went through the menu, the questions I encountered through the room made me confident that the group was more than appreciate, but genuinely interested in the subject at hand and not just the intoxicating effects. The topics of yeast, bottle conditioning and proper tasting all were brought up, with one guest even taking notes to go with each beer.
To end the event, we held a raffle, giving away free bottles of the Duvel, chimays and St Bernardus, as well as free pours at Monk’s Kettle and The Trappist. The big item prize was a gift pack from Chimay, complete with Trappist glass.
I had a great time bringing this taste of Belgium to Nu Chapter and look forward to hosting more events of this nature. If you were in attendance, let me know how it went. If you’re interested in having me host a party for you, send me an email at mario(at)brewedforthought(dot)com.
[...] Here’s another reason SF Beer Week was a good idea: A beer tasting hosted at Alpha Sigma Phi in Berkeley. Yes, I too, had to get past the fraternity part. But Mario at Brewed for Thought put [...]