California
SAN FRANCISCO
RECOMMENDED BY Mark Carpenter
In the opening paragraph of McTeague, Frank Norris's classic novel of late nineteenth-century San Francisco life, the title character stops for some beer after his regular Sunday dinner:
On his way back to his office, one block above, he stopped at Joe Frenna's saloon and bought a pitcher of steam beer. It was his habit to leave the pitcher there on his way to dinner… . By and by, gorged with steam beer, and overcome by the heat of the room, the cheap tobacco, and the effects of his heavy meal, he dropped off to sleep.
Things don't go too well for McTeague as the story unfolds. But he was on to something with his appetite for Steam Beer, a beverage that put San Francisco on the beer map before there even were beer maps.
"I'm amazed at how popular beer has become," Mark Carpenter began. "Now, much of the credit for ingenuity that used to go to winemakers goes to brewers. People have a new appreciation of beer. When I first started brewing, people would say, 'What's Anchor?' I have children in their mid-thirties now, and it's funny to have them tell me that their friends want to meet me."
Jim Koch and his Boston Beer Company may have done more than anyone to bring the idea of craft beer to America through its aggressive advertising campaigns. But a strong case can be made that the first shots of the microbrewery revolution were fired in San Francisco, when Fritz Maytag decided to get into the beer business. "Fritz was a student at Stanford, and he used to come up to San Francisco and have dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory in the North Beach neighborhood," Mark continued. "He fell in love with the city and Anchor Steam beer. The Old Spaghetti Factory was owned by a Chicagoan named Freddy Kuh. Fritz and Freddy became friends, and Freddy told Fritz he should go visit the brewery. He felt that steam beer was part of San Francisco history. It was failing, and he should see it before it went away. Fritz did go see it. At that time, it was a nineteenth-century brewery—only one pump, no refrigeration. Nonetheless, he ended up buying it. He realized that if he was going to make money, the beer would have to be consistent and would have to be bottled. He started down the path to achieve these goals. At the time, there were under one hundred breweries across the country. The few other small breweries were making regular yellow beer, trying to compete with the national brands. The only way they could survive was by selling it cheaper. Fritz couldn't make money selling beer cheaper; he had to sell it at a higher price. But he had something unique—steam beer. Many thought he couldn't do it, but he decided he would go down trying. It took nine years to start making money, but he had a vision of where he wanted to go and kept at it. And then, in the mid-seventies, the market began to change."
Indeed it did. Anchor Steam came to be recognized as one of America's great beers, a forerunner of the many thousands of flavorful American-brewed beers to come. Anchor Porter, Liberty Ale, Old Foghorn Barleywine Style Ale, and the first annual Christmas Ale followed in 1975. America's first craft brewery was on firm footing.
What is Steam Beer, and how did it get its name? Steam Beer is a hybrid of sorts, a beer fermented with lager yeast at temperatures associated with ales in open-air fermenters, through a process called kr?usening. According to Anchor historians, the name stems from a nineteenth-century nickname applied to all beers brewed on the West Coast under primitive conditions and without ice. While the etymology is not completely clear, it likely relates to the original practice of fermenting the beer on San Francisco's rooftops. The foggy night air naturally cooled the fermenting beer in lieu of ice, creating steam off the warm open pans. The Anchor Brewing Company tour showcases the kr?usening process, and guests receive generous samples of Anchor product. "I really like how the tour begins with our beautiful old copper brewhouse," Mark added. "It draws you in. I think the sense of handcrafting comes across; there's not just rows of stainless tanks and people in front of computers."
There are approximately fifteen breweries/brewpubs in San Francisco proper, down from the one hundred that operated there at the time of McTeague. Cast a net up to Marin, over to the East Bay, and down to Silicon Valley, and that number is multiplied many times. Mark shared a few of his favorites. "If you had a clear day, I'd head out to the Beach Chalet at the western edge of Golden Gate Park overlooking the Pacific. They have good beer and food, but the building's a great attraction. It was built during the Great Depression and features great WPA murals. Over in Haight-Ashbury, right near the old Grateful Dead House, there's Magnolia Brewing. They do fabulous beer; I especially like their Kalifornia Kolsch."
When asked where he likes to enjoy a pint of his own handiwork, Mark didn't hesitate. "I like Tadich Grill down in the financial district. It's San Francisco's oldest restaurant. [Tadich was established in 1849; it's also California's oldest restaurant.] Toronado, in the Lower Haight, is another great spot. It's one of the original great beer bars and introduced people to many interesting beers. [It's also one of the few places where one can frequently find Pliny the Elder, Russian River Brewing Company's much lauded double IPA, on tap.] And though the Old Spaghetti Factory is long gone, there are lots of bars in North Beach—Tosca, Specs, and Vesuvio, across Jack Kerouac Alley from City Lights Books."
MARK CARPENTER is head brewer at Anchor Brewing Company.
If You Go
Getting There: San Francisco is served by most major carriers.
Best Time to Visit: San Francisco has a Mediterranean climate. You can count on some rain in the winter, some fog in the summer (especially in the city's western reaches), and generally beautiful, sunny falls.
Spots to Visit: Anchor Brewing Company (415-863-8350; www.anchorbrewing.com); Beach Chalet (415-386-8439; www.beachchalet.com); Magnolia Pub (415-864-7468; www.magnoliapub.com); Tadich Grill (415-391-1849; www.tadichgrill.com); Toronado (415-863-2276; www.toronado.com); Tosca (415-986-9651; www.toscascafesf.com); Specs (415-421-4112); Vesuvio (www.vesuvio.com). Reservations are necessary for the Anchor Brewing tour.
Accommodations: A good place to start your planning is the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau (415-391-2000; www.sfvisitor.org).
