18th Hour: Salted Caramel Beer Edition!

Each week, we open our doors to bring you delicious food and drink. 18th Hour Café offers a changing weekly menu of craft beer, amazing wine, cheese, charcuterie and Tartine bread; prices range from $3-$20. The café features a curated schedule of art exhibits, a growing cookbook library, our instructor-curated retail shop and music. The goal of 18th Hour is twofold: to create a great space in the Mission for people to enjoy, and to support 18 Reasons public programming and community collaborations. Proceeds from 18th Hour support our Cooking Matters Program.

This Thursday is particularly special! It’s that time of year again, where San Francisco kicks up its normal love of the micro-brew and really geeks out. Join us this Thursday as we celebrate BEER WEEK with our two favorite neighbors: Bi-rite Creamery and Cervecería de MateVeza.

18th Hour Cafe: Salted Caramel Beer Edition
Thursday February 10, 6-10pm, Drop-In (everyone is welcome; no reservations needed)

We’re pouring fresh Salted Caramel beer made by Cervecería de MateVeza, the brewers down the block, with the help of Anne and Kris from the Creamery. Here’s what MateVeza had to say about brew day:

“To achieve a deep caramel flavor, we used an assortment of caramel malts and caramelized our own sugar by combining malt extract with organic demerara sugar; turns out this process is very similar to the way that Kris and Anne caramelize their sugar for Salted Caramel Ice Cream! We stirred the mixture in our boil kettle on low heat for almost an hour, Kris and I watching the color closely, until we achieved a deep mahogany. We then transferred the wort (unfermented beer) from the mash tun into the boil kettle and added Saaz (subtle spiciness) and Fuggle (earthy aroma) hops for aroma and bitterness. At the end of the boil, Anne added a few ounces of kosher salt (the same used in the ice cream) for the signature salt character. Fermentation started quickly and finished in about 7 days. We added a touch of lactose (for a subtle milky sweetness), filled and carbonated our keg and voilà! The beer is lovely, with plenty of rich caramel notes and a subtle touch of salt, but balanced by a dry finish and crisp hop character.”