Barleywine is for Lovers:2006 Toronado Barleywine Festival

Once a year sometime near the second weekend in February, lovers from around the country migrate to a little, albeit infamous bar in San Francisco. This pilgrimage has nothing to do with the Hallmark holiday which happens to fall in the same season. No, this holiday is all about love of barleywine!

Publican and aficionado, David Keene hosts what is probably the most famous festival highlighting the strong and bold brewing style of barleywine at his bar, the Toronado Pub. Every year, Mr. Keene hand picks 50 examples of this style and serves them up to the masses. And, I mean masses. Keene invites a selection of judges to come, taste and rank the brews. But, in my opinion the real judging is done by a few hundred average Joes who manage to pack into this hole in the wall beginning as early as 11:00 am - and it lasts all weekend. As I discovered, folks would be happy to begin even earlier if they were permitted to do so. We arrived at about 10 in the morning hoping to get a jump on the competition, but were met with a line of about a hundred or so expectant quaffers. The doors never opened until 11:00, but that didn't stop the hoards from lining up hoping to stake their claim on a coveted table or stool at the bar.

As we made our way through the door we grabbed a list of beers, a pencil and a little table near the back of the bar. We lucked out and a few friends from Southern California, who had arrived even earlier than us, allowed us to join their table just a few steps from the bar, but just outside the swarm of patrons. So, with the list in hand, the seat reserved and my pencil for notes, we dove in. Rather than selecting our old favorites, or picking some brews we've never tried, we just went by number. We were on a mission to sample all 50!

I'll spare any reader all the details and just give a few highlights and a few of the lowlights. The list was complete with the old standards like Old Foghorn, Old Stock, Old Guardian, and there were a few entries from smaller brewers like good old Tomme Arthur from Port Brewing Co. and Hoptown's DUIPA. Of my favorite, more unusual samplings were Old School Ale from Dogfish Head which was an aged ale, Old 97 by Farmhouse Brewing Co., Lower De Boom from 21st Amendment, and Old Thunderpussy by Magnolia Brewery. If you know anything about these breweries, not many of them produce any of these beers on a regular basis. Many of them were brewed specifically for this festival. Some of them were aged in whiskey or oak barrels. Some were aged for up to 12 years! There was a lot of great beer to be had. However, in any sampling of 50 brews, there's always a few that sink to the bottom. I was shocked to find a pumpkin beer in the mix, "The Great Pumpkin" that Elysian Brewing Co. sent over... and it tasted just like you'd think... Beyond that, I was floored to taste the barleywine from Green Flash. It smelled of cheesy feet and tasted like a lemon. Somebody over there needs to pay a little more attention to sanitation.

Aside from the beers, the atmosphere was on par with your typical beer swilling festival. It was crowded, smelly and dark in the back of the bar. Even though there were a few hundred too many people in line ahead of me, the crowd was in good spirits. It may have been the booze, it may be the laid back North West attitude showing its face, but people were nicer than you'd expect at a beer event serving 50 ales... all 8% and higher. There were more than a few old, bearded beer nerds who were jumping at the bit to talk your ear off about any of the beers, the bar, beer making or anything else barely, hops or yeast related. On the other hand, there were quite a few beer noobs present. I took my sister and her boyfriend who had never tasted a barleywine before (shame on me) and they had a blast.

As noon approaches, you can venture outside to the sausage vendor. He has an excellent selection of exotic sausages served once a year, specifically for the event. I - for one - had never tried a rabbit or deer sausage before. It was the perfect lunch to soak up some of that malty breakfast.

As the day went on, our attention began to wane. To be honest I was a little disappointed that there was no official announcement for the winners and losers. There was a lot of buz in the bar about what the judges were talking about and which beers they were picking. But, as far as I - and many of my fellow patrons were concerned, the judging had ended around 1:30 It was clear which beers were terrible, which were acceptable and which ones we needed to go back and revisit again and again.

I heard sometime late in the day that Midnight Sun Brewing from Alaska had won first place with their "Arctic Devil." I forced myself to give it another taste, but I had switched to mainly water and Gatorade at that point. When I had my first taste of it earlier in the day I had made a note that it was good, but somehow it got lost in my memory. It was fabulous. I'd definitely buy a pint if I ever came across it again. But then again, there were a lot of great beers here. There was some swill to be sure, but if you're attracted to big beers, and if you salivate at the thought of tasting a bunch of one-off, never to be tasted-again barleywines, or if your heart skips a beat contemplating 50 high gravity ales in one sitting, then plan a trip to the Toronado Pub next mid February. It may not be romantic, and your spouse might need some persuading before you attend, but I promise you'll fall in love with this little bar on Haight St. in San Francisco. I know I'll be back next year... with my wife of course.