[2/11 Update: Bill Brand now in stable condition though not out of the woods]

[2/10 Update: Bill Brand was seriously injured late Sunday night when he was a struck by a train in San Francisco. Jay from the Brookston Beer Bulletin, and a close friend of Bill’s, wrote that he was in a coma yesterday but I haven’t seen any updates since. Watch Bill’s blog for updates on his status. Over 200 people have left comments on Twitter and his blog wishing for a speedy recovery showing the impact he has left on the beer community. While I have never met him, I have followed his work for several months. It is no stretch by any means to say that Bill sets the bar for all of us beer bloggers and we all pray that he pulls through this.]

(San Francisco, CA) – The inaugural SF Beer Week kicked off over the weekend and continues through next weekend with a ton of great events. Just a brief snippet to wet your palate of what has and will take place:

7th – 9th Annual Bistro Double IPA Festival
7th – Alesmith Night at City Beer
8th – Lost Abbey Night at Toronado
9th – Meet The Brewers – Schooners/Valley Brew
10th – Russian River Night at Toronado
12th – Sour Reds/Bitter Chocolates Night at City Beer
14th – Toronado Barleywine Festival

Pretty solid, no?

The two best blogs to keep up with events (and check out pics, etc.) are What’s on Tap and The Brookston Beer Bulletin.

Both reported on a new brewery-only release coming soon from Anchor Brewing called Our Barrel Ale. According to Brand’s blog, “It’s 8.02 percent, aged six months in charred oak barrels that had been used to age Anchor Old Potrero Straight Rye Whiskey. They only have about 100 cases of magnum –50. 7 ounce – bottles.” […] “Fritz said it’s a blend of Anchor’s other beers, but not Anchor Steam.” I don’t recall seeing a label approval coming through Looks like this one may be waiting on state approval, otherwise, it is bottled and will sell at $30/pop. [Pic comes courtesy of the Brookston Beer Bulletin.]

Here is the official website for more details on what is happening this week.