Courtesy of Derek Wolfgram
San Jose-based Clandestine Brewing’s Agent Provocateur Doppelbock offers a hint of toasted bread and toffee.
While 2020 may not have been anyone’s favorite year for a host of reasons, it was a great year for California breweries at the Great American Beer Festival, with 63 of 272 medals being awarded to California breweries.
Following are a variety of medal-winning Golden State-brewed beers I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy over the past few months.
• Clandestine Brewing, San Jose: Agent Provocateur, Gold Medal, German-Style Doppelbock. Deep brown with a creamy, persistent beige head and ruby highlights, the aroma showcases rich malt complexity, with intense toasted bread and toffee character, as well as light perfumy yeast esters and subtle herbal noble hops. Similarly, the flavor is dominated by intense dark bready maltiness, while simultaneously coming across as well-attenuated and not particularly sweet. With just enough hop bitterness to p
Top local picks for San Francisco Beer Week
Beer Week looks different this year – but still brings new releases of special local brews.
With the pandemic disrupting San Francisco Beer Week this year, the Bay Area Brewers Guild teamed up with six other regional guilds throughout the state to organize California Craft Beer Week from February 12-21. While large gatherings and festivals won’t be happening this year, breweries are still hosting plentiful virtual tastings and other events over the next two weekends.
Friday night’s free online kickoff event will feature talks by luminaries from throughout California like Vinny and Natalie Cilurzo of Russian River, Greg Koch of Stone, and David Walker of Firestone Walker, as well as Bay Area brewers Tim Sciascia of Cellarmaker, Kim Sturdivant of Pacifica Brewery, Shaun O’Sullivan of 21 st Amendment, and many others.