Rare beer (and a book signing)

My boss, Stone Brewing Co. co-founder and CEO Greg Koch, gets lots of attention. He’s a cult figure in the craft beer world, and when he makes appearances at craft beer bars and events, he’s often carried off, crowd surf-style, by bands of beer geeks. Even so, he has a deeper understanding of what makes for a stellar beer event and once gave me words from the wise concerning planning my own beer events. It’s not about the person…it’s about the beer. Make sure there’s good beer! Fortunately, I never fancied myself worth the price of admission, so it was easy advice to follow.

When setting up an upcoming signing event for my book, the Complete Guide to San Diego Breweries, I made sure to give beer drinkers what they’d want (and what I’d want)…a kickass beer list worth showing up for. I got on the horn with some of the breweries that garnered the highest ratings in the guide and asked them to set aside kegs of some rare and especially tasty ales. As a result, attendees at my signing, which will take place next week at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station, will get to taste their way through every beer on this phenomenal list:

• • AleSmith Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout
• • Ballast Point Rye Barrel-Aged Victory At Sea Coffee & Vanilla Imperial Porter
• • Benchmark Here's Your Damn Stout Imperial Stout
• • Council Tart Saison w/ Pomegranate
• • Green Flash Super Freak Wine Barrel-Aged Sour Ale
• • Monkey Paw Bonobos San Diego Pale Ale
• • Nickel Hopster Douchebag Double IPA
• • Pizza Port Citra-R-Ama IPA
• • Port Bourbon Barrel-Aged Santa's Little Helper Imperial Stout
• • Rip Current Hop Wine Quadruple IPA
• • Stone Passion Project Wine Barrel-Aged Sour Ale w/Stone Farms Passion Fruit
• • Societe Jackaroo Southern Hemisphere IPA

On top of all that beer, the owners, brewmasters, brewers and other cool people from those top-rated breweries will be on-hand to talk beer and sign the guide. The festivities will take place Tuesday, December 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. and tickets are currently available online (and include a copy of the book!). Koch may show up, too, but even if he doesn’t, it’s all good. There’s plenty of what matters most — truly incredible beer. That includes a unique, one-time-only, small-batch creation from the day-job: Stone Passion Project, a Belgian abbey-style ale aged in red and rosé wine barrels along with passion fruit grown at Stone Farms in northern Escondido. This isn’t your everyday beer, or your everyday event. Hope to see you there.