Art of Beer Invitational 2015

The wife and I had an incredible evening Friday, January 30th at The Art of Beer Invitational.  The event gathered 40 plus breweries, artists and food vendors in support of Ales for Autism.  Ales for Autism is a beer-centric organization with the goal of raising money for and promoting autism awareness.  Art made by local area artists and brewers was auctioned off with the proceeds going to Ales for Autism.  They hold many beer-centric happenings, with the Black & White Beer Ball coming to San Francisco Beer Week, February 13th; clink the link for tickets.

These oysters were shucking fantastic

Music played as the event kicked off with a VIP hour. Special beers were brought out by the brewers to be paired with food selections from Mikuni, ThePasta Queen, Blackbird Kitchen + Beer Gallery, Passione Pizza, and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.  I did not have a bad beer the entire night and the food was all fantastic. There were a few options that really stood out, in both the food and the beer.  The food choice that really excited me were the oysters from Blackbird Kitchen.  The list of delightful beers that I tasted that evening are far too numerous to account for in this post.  I couldn't taste them all and I'm sure that I missed a few great beers.  Out of the many beers that I did taste, I managed to narrow it down to my top 14.  In no particular order:

I love their Milk Stout,
 with or without espresso

• Monk's Cellar Brewery - West Coast Tripel - Dry Hopped Belgian DIPA
• Monk's Cellar Brewery - St. Arnold Ale - Belgian Style Quadruple
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Barrel Aged Bigfoot - Barleywine
• Firestone Walker Brewing Company - Velvet Mocha Merlin - Coffee Infused Oatmeal Stout
• Drakes Brewing Compnay - Batch 5000 - Belgian Strong Pale
• New Glory Craft Brewery - Wild, Wild West IPA - 100% Brett IPA
• Speakeasy Ales & Lagers - The Cover Up - Belgian White IPA
• Speakeasy Ales & Lagers - Cement Shoes - Dry Hopped American Strong Ale
• Bike Dog Brewing Company Espresso Milk Stout
• High Water Brewing - Sugaree - Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie Ale
• Almanac Beer Company - IPA
• Almanac Beer Company - Imperial Chocolate Stout
• Saint Archer Brewing Company - DIPA
• Calicraft Brewing Company - Buzzerkly - Sparkling Ale 

I eagerly await the day that they open a taproom

BA Bigfoot, awesome got awesomer 

I trust Firestone with my taste buds

This was the first of many servings of New
Glory's Wild, Wild West IPA.  It was hands
down my favorite beer of the night

I loved the Wild, Wild West IPA so much
that I never tried the Fear Itself.  The other
two beers are standards at the brewery

This is my second year attending The Art of Beer and I certainly look forward to next year.  The beers were as great last year as they were this year; the same goes for the food.  The venue changed since last year, but the new venue is better suited for an event of this size. The Art of Beer Invitational is just far enough ahead of Sacramento Beer Week to get me excited and to have enough time for a little bit of liver repair.  Check back with me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram often during SacBeerWeek for a peek into my beerventures.

Cheers!