Day 242, August 30 / Big Daddy IPA

Day 241, August 29, 2011

Big Daddy IPA

Speakeasy Ales and Lagers / San Francisco, CA

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A combination Irish bar, sports bar, piano bar.... and cafeteria!

So I got to my hotel last night, unpacked, struggled with blogging on my iPad for a while, and then went down to the lobby bar to find a local beer. While they had a couple other beers from the bay area, the only San Francisco beer they had was Anchor Steam - for 8 bucks a bottle. Pass. So I headed out to find a bar... and that wasn't too difficult.

Across the street was Lefty O'Doul's - there were people heading in, and music coming out... looked good to me. TV’s were playing the Giants / Cubs game. Irish decor was on the walls. In the front window, a dude was playing piano and taking requests. And along the wall across from the bar is what can only be described as a cafeteria line. Apparently, Lefty's claim to fame is their roasted and carved meats - roast beef, turkey, ham, corned beef -- served until 12 midnight. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to sample it, but I am here for 3 more nights!

Local beers on tap were Anchor Steam, Anchor Liberty Ale and Anchor Porter, plus Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA. I figured I'd save the other 2 Anchor beers for "safety beers", so at the bartender's recommendation, I got a Big Daddy. Good choice! This was a good, fresh IPA, but not an overly hoppy one. In contrast, my second beer was a Deschutes Inversion IPA, which was just a little hopper, but still not as hoppy as the 21st Amendment IPA. I'd say that this is a "sessionable" IPA - I have seen this on the shelves back home in Virginia, and it will be on my "go to" list next year.

While I was sipping my Deschutes IPA, I struck up a conversation with a guy who sat down next to me. As soon as he sat down, the bartender gave him a shot of some dark liquor, and a small glass of beer. Being a curious person, I asked him what the liquor was. He went on to explain the virtues of Frenet , a bitter, herbal, aromatic spirit, made from about 75 different ingredients. It's generally served as a digestive aid after a meal, but is said to also alleviate menstrual discomfort, hangovers and baby colic. The bartender poured me a small sample - whoa! Apparently, San Francisco accounts for 25% of the US consumption of Fernet. I'll give it a try while I'm out here and left you know if it cured my cramps.