Beerymoon Part Six

Back onto this particular tangent before I completely forget where I was! There are two more places I really want to tell you guys about.
First it's Alembic, it's owned by the same people who own Magnolia and it's also on Haight (Golden Gate Park end). We'd had a wander around Golden Gate Park, been into the De Young museum, wandered around there seen loads of interesting pieces...(impressionism sucks, sorry but it's true) and were ready for lunch, that's a bit of an understatement, I was starving, hot and gasping for a beer!
We knew about this place but hadn't seen it on the way so we went hunting, it's a long thin bar so if you blink you'll miss it from outside, inside, whilst long and thin it has high(almost cavernous) ceilings and is slightly more decorated than Magnolia but then it's touted as a cocktail bar. To me it was just a bar and a very good one at that, the service was, as always in America, flawless, the menu was delightful and the beers were amazing.
We sat down, ordered a couple of Kalifornia Kolsch's which were superb, just what we needed after being roasted in the Californian heat outside. We got given the menu's which we perused and I went for Crispy Pork Belly with Scallops with Corn Puree, English Peas, Trumpet Mushroom and Black Garlic Jus. This cost me $20 and it was well worth it, presentation was spot on, and the portion size wasn't...er...American.
So after we finished the meal I was in the mood for more beer and I wanted something Hoppy as Hell(what a surprise! I hear you shout) and since there wasn't really anything on tap like that the waitress recommended Stone Ruination to which I cried out for joy! She brought out a LARGE bottle which I finished myself (Yes I am THAT much of an alcoholic). She seemed surprised that we could get good American beers over here, I guess the preconception that America does shit beer can be turned around the other way from that side of the Atlantic, anyway I digress, when I told her I ran a beer bar in London she offered us tasters of a couple of things which were just fantastic, firstly I tried the Firestone Walker Solace, a wheat beer that's really refreshing and drinkable but that's really all I remember about it.
The second taster was one from Moonlight and it was called Uncle Svensson, NO HOPS in this beer but instead replaced with CEDAR! Very strange but amazing nonetheless.
The Alembic is a must stop for anyone who is passionate about beer, food, cocktails and service, it's all encompassing friendliness ensures that we'll be back next time!
One more to come.