Mission Mission

North Coast Brewing Company is better known for its stouts, Old Rasputin and Old No. 38, but my favorite beer of theirs is Red Seal, their understated and perfectly balanced medium ale. Classified as an amber or red ale, it’s got the bright hops of a typical CA pale, with the malts and body to balance it out.

For those who want to try a different take on this CA classic, Valencia’s new beer-nerd bar Abbott’s Cellar is offering it on one of their two cask setups. Cask-conditioned ale is unfiltered and only slightly carbonated, served from the container that it is put into after primary fermentation, with no additives after the initial process (except perhaps some additional hops.)

In this case, the cask-conditioning results in a much tamer, less hoppy taste and helps bring out the easy-to-miss caramel malt flavors of the beer, as well as imparting some oak.

The beers at Abbot’s Cellar are constantly changing and really fun and challenging for people who like that sort of thing. Cheers to another great addition to the list.

Drink of the week is brought to you by Poachedjobs.com.

Any takers?

[via Valerie]

From Grantland’s coverage of the SF Giants championship parade:

This guy was an absolute beauty. “Me and the bird went to 12 games this year,” he was telling another dude, as if the parrot on his shoulder was a buddy from high school. “I really think the Giants can win four World Series in six years. Four in six, man. Four in six!”

You hear that, Giants?  P.D Bird demands four in six!  Meanwhile, MUNI is having heart palpitations in a corner somewhere while contemplating future celebrations in horror.  Check out the full article here.

Previously:

• Discerning coffe bird

Boba Guys is back in action, and they’ve put together this Royal Tenenbaums-style video to show off their cast of characters. Has it been too long since you’ve had some balls in your mouth? Head to Suika at 18th and Mission, where the Boba Guys (and Girls) have been slinging drinks during lunch hours all week.

It’s election season, and even though we take it for granted around here that California is gonna vote Obama, it’s not necessarily that simple in other states around the country.  In some places (ahem, Florida), new voter restriction measures have even made it more likely that many citizens (a high proportion of which are minorities) may not be able to get their votes counted.

The only way to move towards preventing these kind of shenanigans is to educate ourselves, and the best way to get started on that is to come out to Artists Television Access on Valencia this Friday to watch Struggle, a film by Roger Hill about what happens in U.S. elections when the forces of racism, corruption, technological manipulation and old fashioned ballot-box stuffing coalesce to deny Americans their right to vote and steal elections.

RSVP and invite your friends here, and check out all the details including the trailer below:

Struggle is a case study of the 2004 Presidential Election in Ohio, the deciding swing state which delivered the presidency once again to George W. Bush.  Diligently researched by the key contributors to the film, Struggle is a bold film that challenges the legitimacy of that Presidential Election and brings the entire U.S. electoral process into question.

(more…)

Prescribed me a burrito.

[via Bus Driver Stories] [Thanks, Josh.]

From the official invite:

This Halloween, the Unresolved Love Life of Evelyn Lee takes a trip to the Australian Outback, and we’re all invited!

Aussie-rules Berlin-style ping pong will be happening in the back, and a very special real-life Aussie guest bartender will be slinging the drinks she and Nicole Kidman grew up on back home in Queensland. (They’re weird but good.) Drink specials, Aussie bands on the juke box, candy, Aussie snacks, prizes for costumes. Marsupials. Free!

Tonight! RSVP and invite your fiends!

Now that daylight savings is about to kick in and the sun in starting to set on our glorious Indian summer, that also means that the best daytime party in the Mission will be bidding farewell for the season, but not before one last blowout bash!  It’s all going down this Saturday, Nov 3, with festivities starting as they normally would on the El Rio patio before transitioning to Public Works at 10pm for a glorious afterparty featuring our pals Midnight Magic all the way from the clutches of Sandy in NYC.  And don’t forget to bring your dancing shoes, because these folks will MAKE YOU DANCE!

And the best part is that we’re offering two (2) free tickets to whomever can submit the best photo or story in the comments that embodies just how rad Hard French really is.  Or just post your rad Halloween costumes!  The contest ends promptly at 6pm on Thursday (tomorrow), so you better get cracking!  Also, don’t forget to check out all the details as well as RSVP and invite your friends here.

Oh, and did I mention that these folks will make you dance:

Yeah, so people were super psyched about the World Series win and went overboard with their celebrating (or used it as an excuse), burning and breaking stuff. When all that is said and done though, this is the image that I have stuck in my head from last night:

Watching our team dominate. In a bar with friends and neighbors, leaving seats empty as we stand in support, cheering on Sergio Romo as he does his thing and takes out Miguel Cabrera.

Today our team came back home to get celebrated in person.

Hunter Pence.

(via bodieswork on Instagram, who is also my mother)

Romo and the trophy.

(bodieswork)

And here’s a timelapse of the whole game, from the POV of fans watching in Civic Center, sent to us by Nick.