More San Francisco

Here are a few more beers from San Francisco earlier this month.  The first is a Hunter's Point Porter (also known as Payback Porter) from San Francisco's Speakeasy Ales & Lagers.  I had this at the famous Cliff House, with rocks and the Pacific Ocean in the backdrop.  This was a dark, sweet porter.  It had hints of chocolate, and the roasted malts were prominent.  This beer, which I had with dinner, tasted like dessert.  I liked the beer, and it went well with the windy, foggy late afternoon.  The beer selection at Cliff House was prosaic, with Hunter's Point sharing space with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Anchor's Steam, Boston Brewing's Summer Ale, Stella Artois and other macros.  (I wish I had had time to stop and grab a beer at Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant that is just down the road from Cliff House.)

The only brewery I went to was the brewpub Thirsty Bear.  We didn't eat there, just had beers and a few tapas.  I liked Thirsty Bear's glassware.  All bars and restaurants should offer twenty ounce beers.  In the age of shrinking glasses and increased beer prices, the Thirsty Bear's large glasses are inviting.  I tried Thirsty Bear's Howard Street IPA.  My notes say I did not think it too hoppy, but it had enough hops to make it a solid IPA.  It was clearly on the piney side of the IPA citrus/pine taste profile.  It was an easy drinker, and the twenty ounces disappeared too fast.  The second beer in the picture is Thirsty Bear's Valencia Wheat, a flavor bomb of a wit.

Finally, a Chimay Rouge outside at Cafe de la Presse, just across from the Grant Avenue entrance to Chinatown (at Bush Street)  My enjoyment of Chimay Rouge was truncated, as the party I was waiting for arrived sooner than expected and was ready to push on to a museum.  I don't have much to say about Rouge, other than Cafe de la Presse is a great spot to have a beer, and I was craving a chunk of hard, bold cheese to go with it, like an English Farmhouse Cheddar.