February 2013 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• The San Jose/Evergreen Community College District bought and will populate the seven story, 41,500 sqft former American Bank and Trust building at 40 S. Market.
• A new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is going to run down Santa Clara Street and will ultimately connect to Eastridge Mall, Palo Alto, and DeAnza College. They will provide a similar level of service to light rail and have better seating, stations, and travel times than normal buses.
• Umpqua Bank has started building out its ground-floor space at 225 W Santa Clara (next to Amici's), which will include a computer cafe and free WiFi.
• Vyne Bistro is now open and has specials like mushroom risotto and caviar. Visit the new wine bar and restaurant at 110 Paseo De San Antonio.
• Hibiscus Stodio is open where City Salon & Spa used to be at 136 E. Santa Clara.
• Curb cafes are coming to five locations in San Jose this year, including Chacho's.
• A 10ft-tall working model replica of "Organograph" is available for viewing at the City Hall lobby. Eventually this will be a 75ft-tall interactive work of art near Diridon.
• Zipcar is now available Downtown and in Midtown. 17 public spaces have been re-purposed for Zipcar.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

DOSE OF REALITY Premiering at Cinequest

Cinequest is well underway in San Jose with an insane array of movies to chose from. I tend to prioritize the premieres since you get the very rare opportunity of watching a film before anyone else. DOSE OF REALITY is one the films kicking off their world premiere at Cinequest, and the very first showing is tomorrow. More info below!

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Can you solve the mystery at  CINEQUEST film festival?

Get your tickets for DOSE OF REALITY the movie and give it a shot.

We're proud to World Premiere at Cinequest.

DOSE OF REALITY movie

Intriguing keeps you guessing mystery thriller with dramatic performances at:

CINEQUEST Film Festival

San Jose, CA

Camera 12  theaters
201 S 2nd St, San Jose, CA 95113

2-28-13 at 7:00 p.m
3-2-13 at 9:30 p.m.

3-5-13 at 4:00 p.m.

Read more about it

When the bar doors closed one evening, the night was far from over. After Matt, a handsome, young bartender, discovers an attractive, bloodied woman passed out on the bathroom floor, the descent into utter chaos begins. He and his arrogant manager, Tony, frantically argue about what to do when she wakes up and hysterically accuses them of attacking her. Taking matters into her own hands with irresistible charm and manipulative mind games, she discovers their deepest, innermost weaknesses. What started out as a quest to uncover the identity of her attacker quickly evolves into a scheme to reveal the secrets of everyone involved. But some secrets will remain hidden, others will identify a new victim, but one will turn everything you thought you knew upside down – Sharon Gonzales  - CINEQUEST

Film stars: Fairuza Balk award winning actress (Gas Food and lodging and The Craft), Rick Ravanello (The Cave), Ryan Merriman (Final Destination and soon to be released "42" starring Harrison Ford).

Order Tickets here:

http://payments.cinequest.org/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=6913~78899376-35a9-4153-8303-e1557be2dc32&epguid=70d8e056-fa45-4221-9cc7-b6dc88f62c98&

Girl Shaped Drug - US Premiere @ Cinequest

Today the floodgates are opening for hundreds of world-class screenings of independent and foreign movies in San Jose! Girl Shaped Love Drug is not only a film featured in Cinequest, it's having its US premiere right here. If you haven't been to a premiere screening yet, you definitely have to check it out. Immediately following the movie, you can participate in Q&A with the writer/director and several of the actors. Where else do you get an opportunity like that?

The trailer is below and for more information, just head on over here.

Cinequest Starts Today!

Get all of your Cinequest info and tickets right over here!

Japantown "Corp Yard" Project Moves Forward!

An epic $180 million project is moving forward in Japantown. The quick details: 600 residential apartments in six-story buildings with underground parking, ground floor retail and live/work units, a park with cherry orchards, a public stage/pavilion, and a creative center for the arts. You can check out the design for the creative center in the very last image... I hope that becomes the final design because it looks incredible! That building will house San Jose Taiko, CreaTV, Arts Council of Silicon Valley, and other San Jose nonprofits. I'm not sure what more you could possibly ask for in a Japantown project.

You have to click the images below to really see the detail from the scans. The architecture is "modern Japan" with elegant simplicity, wood elements, shifted forms, and framed views. Needless to say, this will be one of the most unique and visually striking developments in the Bay Area. I really hope this comes to fruition and encourages even more projects of this caliber in San Jose.

Sources: Jonathan Bush (thanks for the scans!), SVBJ

Dig Into the Past at History San José’s Archaeology Days at Peralta Adobe at San Pedro Square Market

San José, CA – February 12, 2013

On Sunday, February 24, from 11 AM to 3 PM --- Archaeology Day at the Peralta Adobe at San Pedro Square Market will offer children an opportunity to be junior archaeologists.

Stanford Archaeology Center students will be at the Peralta Adobe historic site conducting a mock excavation, screening,  artifact identification and artifact reconstruction. 

This free family educational program will allow individuals to collect stickers for each activity to place in Archaeology Passports and become ‘certified’ as a Junior Archaeologist.  Children will also have the opportunity to learn more about the Mission and Rancho historic periods of California history with various hands-on activities.

The oldest home in San Jose, the Peralta Adobe, serves as a perfect archaeological location. It is the centerpiece for San Pedro Square Market at 175 West Saint John Street in downtown San Jose.  It is just across the street from the Fallon House, a mid-19th century Victorian home.

The public archaeology activities are free. While at the Peralta Adobe, visitors can also take tours of the Peralta Adobe and the Fallon House, which are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors (62 and older) and students with a valid school identification card; and $5 for children who are accompanied by an adult. As usual, members of History San José receive free admission.

Adult tours, and tours for children ages seven and older, will be held through the Peralta Adobe and the Fallon House, at 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.  

Hands-on tours of the Peralta Adobe, especially designed for children ages 4 through 9 accompanied by an adult, will be  at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. These historic buildings are not wheel-chair accessible.

For more information or to make reservations for a tour, call 408 918-1047 or visit www.historysanjose.org

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The Fallon House was built in 1855 by one of San José’s earliest mayors. The Victorian mansion showcases 15 fully-furnished rooms typical of the Victorian period. Thomas Fallon was a frontiersman in the John C. Fremont expedition, and Carmel Fallon was the daughter of one of the most prominent Mexican landowners in California.

The Peralta Adobe is San José’s oldest address. Built in 1797, the Peralta Adobe is the last remaining structure from El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe. See the Adobe’s horno, an outside working oven or venture inside the home and see two rooms furnished as they might have been when they were occupied by the Gonzales and Peralta families. It is now surrounded by the new San Pedro Square Market.

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About History San José: 

History San José is a non-profit organization that collects, preserves and celebrates the stories of diversity and innovation in San José and the Santa Clara Valley. HSJ manages one of the largest and most comprehensive regional history collections in the State of California, from 1784 Spanish governmental records to twenty-first century Silicon Valley technology. 

History San José     1650 Senter Road     San José, CA  95112       408.287.2290

Website:  historysanjose.org

Blog: historysanjose.org/blog

Facebook: /historysanjose

Twitter: @historysanjose

San Jose #2 for Solar "Leases" in 2012

A business model for the solar energy industry that is gaining in popularity is to lease solar to people that are interested in a photo-voltaic system for their homes, but do not want to pay upfront to buy the whole system. The buyers recognizes instant savings on their electric bill and often times does not have to pay anything out of pocket.

Well it turns out that San Jose has made it to number 2 on the list of cities in California with the largest number of leased solar roofs. I hope to see even more adoption of green technology in the future as the city strives to maintain its pole position in green-tech.

MOST SOLAR LEASES IN 2012

1.) San Diego
2.) San Jose
3.) Bakersfield
4.) Los Angeles
5.) Fresno
6.) San Francisco
7.) Corona
8.) Murrieta
9.) Clovis
10.) Temecula

Source: SVBJ

Sharks Update 2/22 (and Preparing for Blackhawks!)

“Where is the chemistry? “
“Where is the dominant puck control?”
“Where is the confidence?”

I often pondered such questions during every Sharks game over the last couple weeks, each one streaming live to my computer, while pulling post-midnight working excursions for the last month.  During my last update to The San Jose Blog, I finished updating the San Jose faithful on the wonderful, excellent chemistry the team has had during the month of January.  Evidently, my increased workload translated to the subsequent seven game long losing streak – right?

Actually, no.  My fiancé kindly pointed out my “lucky” black and teal colored toe nails she painted for me while I was in my hospital bed had the polish wear off, effectively washing away the “luck.”  I allowed her to re-paint them Monday night when I returned home super late from work, and sure enough, in the Sharks’ follow-up battle against the St. Louis Blues (a good team, I might add) – the Sharks won.

Superstitions aside, a die-hard fan like myself usually has to wonder what had happened to our Sharks, who has possessed the NHL leads in many statistical categories, including the team to be the last to record their first loss.  After that magical seven game run, all seemed lost.  It didn’t matter who the Sharks played, even the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Their luck was out, and they were going to lose.  (That analysis, however, is for the superstitious type.)

It helps to listen to what some of the players have to say about their playing.  Quite interestingly, it is fun to hear the players dispel what critics and commentators say.  In particular, many commentators have noted the Sharks’ lack of speed, especially against the Chicago Blackhawks, as a particular hindrance to their playing abilities.

Ryane Clowe, during one of his intermission interviews, hinted that the “appearance” of a faster speed is due to more efficient puck movement.  When the Sharks do not have the chemistry together, they do look slower.  Remember when the Sharks had their seven game winning streak?  (I bet they looked exceedingly fast!)

What some have mentioned – and have been RIGHT about – is the lack of effort (i.e. work ethic) and getting quality shots to the net.  While I can almost guarantee that any puck on Joe Thornton’s stick cannot be whisked away, unless it’s to a teammate’s stick, the important factor is to whom Thornton is passing the puck, and more importantly, where the puck recipient is standing.  All too often, a puck getting shot from a Sharks stick is from a bad angle, and unless everyone on the team can snipe as proficiently as Logan Couture, goals are a rarity.

The NHL has evolved to a much different level, with teams finally understanding that putting up a strong fortification is often times the formula for winning championships.  As I’ve mentioned before, look at many of the past Stanley Cup winners.  Have any of them been known as offensive teams?  I’m betting none were.  Look at the new, more widespread statistics, such as blocked shots and takeaways.  In addition, look at the new defensive strategies of giving players no way to get a clean shot on net.  Such strategies were integral in some of the rule changes (e.g. eliminating the play stoppage due to a two-line pass), giving teams a more difficult time to defend.

The team that seems to have the defensive strategy down to a true art is the Nashville Predators.  Granted, the Sharks had a terrible beginning to February, including dropping two games to the Predators, but the lack of the Sharks’ scoring production can be put squarely on the shoulders of some of the best defensemen in the league, and who many say is currently the best goaltender in the league (Pekka Rinne).  Historically, the Sharks have struggled to put up points against the Predators for those reasons alone.  In recent years, the Predators have been dark horse playoff contenders, and based on their style of play, there is no question how they made it.  It is only their lack of significant offense that have kept them from making it far.

Fortunately, the Sharks have true ice sense and skill in their corner.  The debate about how younger, fresher players make better teams and/or that having superstars on a team makes them better has swiftly been disproven multiple times, season after season.  Two teams – the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers – while fine teams on their own, are the epitome of teams with young, fast players, and loaded with superstars.  Based on these factors, one may expect these teams to be at the very top of the league’s standings.  It is however, evident that is not the case.  The teams with the best ice sense and the teams with the best defense typically fare the best.  This is what the Sharks need to capitalize on – their veteran leadership and ice sense.

Tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks hope to make history by not having a regulation loss after tonight’s performance.  Their opponent?  The Sharks.

The Blackhawks are a very beatable team.  They have simply made it this far due to hard work and determination.  It’s evident when watching them play, they have the ability to never give up, and can put massive pressure in the offensive zone.

It is up to the Sharks to keep the puck out of their defensive zone and to maintain offensive pressure – something time and time again they have proven to be good at.  Niemi needs to be on top of his game.  Sure, there are some shots that cannot be stopped, but all other shots need to be kept from going in (especially no weak shots that can sneak by).  The forwards need to get, and stay, open.  Lastly, the Blackhawks defense needs to be intimidated quite a bit, something executed primarily through massive offensive pressure.  Unlike the Predators, the Blackhawks rely primarily on their offense (e.g. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa), so we must exploit their defensive line!

We cannot afford to get caught with our heads down.  With our last win, let us use that momentum.  The Sharks are known to perform well when the momentum is going.  We can not, and must not, let the Blackhawks win.

The game tonight starts at 5:30pm Pacific time, and will be live from Chicago’s United Center.  Tune (or stream) in for some action.  We need this win – big time!

(Could we also possibly hope for another Thornton-Toews one-sided fight?)

C. Wonder Opening First Store in San Jose

Santana Row is nabbing yet another premier retail store. C. Wonder is opening their very first San Jose location in November of this year. The company features fresh twists on traditional designs for both clothing and home products. The store will clock in at just under 4,000 sqft. For more info, just continue reading below.

C. Wonder chooses Santana Row for first San Jose location

                                         

Created to deliver brightness to every corner of life, C. Wonder offers an entirely new retail experience: clothing, accessories and home decor products of outstanding quality and astonishing value in a setting that excites and inspires.

 

C. Wonder opens its first San Jose store at Santana Row, offering a diverse assortment of beautiful, versatile and spirited products that pair timeless design elements with fresh twists, such as unexpected colors and patterned linings. The collection is edited to offer solely must-haves — key items to enhance a room, refresh a wardrobe or inspire a memorable experience.

The 3,824 square-foot store at Santana Row, scheduled to open in November 2013, will be a jubilant celebration of design and discovery for home and wardrobe and an inviting destination for shoppers. With breathtaking, always-changing window and floor displays, gorgeous decorative schemes, and intriguing surprises to uncover the world of C. Wonder is a sensory experience not to be missed.

 

C. Wonder joins a new lineup of fashion favorites at The Row:

 

Madewell, an iconic American retailer and a brand coveted by fashion-conscious women and men, is slated to open on April 24. The 3,500 square-foot shop will occupy a portion of the space that was the former H&M store before its move to a larger building last fall. Established in 1937 as a dry goods emporium, Madewell offers a wide range of effortlessly cool pieces. Chic yet comfy apparel includes soft chambray shirts, broken-in tees, leather boots, accessories and bags. The denim bar serves up a menu of current jean styles from skinny to boot-cut, boyfriend to capris.

 

Splendid, another label noted for its informal stylishness, opens a 2,000 square-foot boutique in late April, also in a portion former H&M space. Known for its luxuriously soft tops and T-shirts made from a specially designed fabric, the offerings for men, women and children are a perfect fit for Silicon Valley: richly casual. The retailer also offers accessories such as hats, scarves and shoes.

 

 

 

 

About Santana Row

Santana Row a 1.5 million square foot mixed used development in the heart of San Jose, California, is Silicon Valley's premier destination for shopping,

dining, living and nightlife. Surrounded by landscaped gardens, parks and plazas, Santana Row features over 70 retail shops, more than two dozen acclaimed restaurants, a 212-room boutique hotel and six-screen movie theatre. In addition to the dynamic retail collection, Santana Row offers 622 residential units featuring a fitness center, rooftop pool and resort-living accommodations, and 65,000 square feet of office space at 300 Santana Row, its newest office address. Santana Row is a property of  www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit www.santanarow.com.

 

 

About Federal Realty

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, and redevelopment of high quality retail real estate in the country’s best markets.  As of September 30, 2012, Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contained approximately 19.1 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, and California. In addition, the Trust has an ownership interest in approximately 1.0 million square feet of retail space through a joint venture in which the Trust has a 30% interest. Our operating portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) was 95.1% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of September 30, 2012, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 3.1% of annualized base rent. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 45 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P MidCap 400 company and its shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT. For more information, please visit www.federalrealty.com.

African Americans in WWII Panel @ History San Jose

Click image to enlarge

Dishcrawl - Neighborfood

San Jose-based Dishcrawl is taking the hyperlocal foodie scene up another notch this weekend. They are doing their first Neighborfood event, which lets you try out 8 (yes, 8) different restaurants all within walking distance in a single neighborhood. There is no better way to try out a bunch of different restaurants in one night! The icing on the cake is that the proceeds from this event will benefit Arts Council Silicon Valley. For more info and to get your tickets at a discounted price click here!

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Event: Neighborfood

Premise: Neighborfood is a one night celebration of food, family, and the community we live in. Neighbors will visit 8 local restaurants to try 8 dishes, with proceeds to benefit Arts Council Silicon Valley.

When: Sunday Feb 24, 2p-5p

Where: Downtown Mountain View

Price: $40

Link: http://dishcrawl.com/neighborfoodmtnview

The Pointerless Web with Nicholas Zakas

Interesting free event below with local food, craft beers, and a great topic for those in tech (probably at least half of us). To register, just click here.

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  Thursday, February 21, 2013

  6:30 PM To 9:00 PM
• PayPal Town Hall

  2161 North 1st Street, San Jose, CA (map)

  PayPal Town Hall is at PayPal HQ and faces North First St. Park anywhere!

• 
  

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Not everyone uses a computer in the same way… yet many developers tend to build web experiences as if they do.

Nicholas Zakas is a renowned engineer, known for his leadership in front end architecture, including performance and maintainability.

Come hear Nicholas’ story and explore:

• How people navigate the web without using a mouse
• How the web is inherently accessible and how web developers make it less so
• How spatial navigation is changing the way keyboard users navigate the web

Special host for the evening: Victor Tsaran, Head of Accessibility, PayPal

As always, this event will feature:

• delicious, free food from a San Jose-based restaurant,
• craft beer tasting and
• an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with the brightest TechXplorers in the South Bay!

RSVP now to get your seat.

Agenda:

@ 6:24PM: Delicious Food & Craft Beer Tasting

@ 7:21PM: Nicholas Zakas' Pointerless Web

@ 8:03PM: Questions & Answers with Nicholas Zakas and Victor Tsaran

How to find us: Town Hall is at PayPal HQ, facing North First Street.

Public Transit Info: PayPal Town Hall is directly across the street from the Karina Station of VTA/Light Rail in San Jose, CA.

Parking Info: All unmarked spots at PayPal HQ are up for grabs. When you pull into the campus, look for Town Hall (large building says "Town Hall" above doors, faces North First) and then park where you'd like.

Please RSVP for you and your guests to make check-in speedy.

Please also bring a valid ID.

About Nicholas Zakas:

Nicholas C. Zakas is a front-end consultant, author, and speaker. He worked at Yahoo! for almost five years, where he was front-end tech lead for the Yahoo! homepage and a contributor to the YUI library. He is the author of Maintainable JavaScript (O’Reilly, 2012), Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (Wrox, 2012), High Performance JavaScript (O’Reilly, 2010), and Professional Ajax (Wrox, 2007). Nicholas is a strong advocate for development best practices including progressive enhancement, accessibility, performance, scalability, and maintainability. He blogs regularly athttp://www.nczonline.net/ and can be found on Twitter via @slicknet.

About Victor Tsaran:

Victor leads the Accessibility Team at PayPal. The team is responsible for ensuring that users with disabilities can effectively utilize PayPal's products and services, both on mobile and desktop devices. Prior to PayPal, Victor oversaw the implementation of the company-wide accessibility activities on the technical side for Yahoo! In addition to his job responsibilities, Victor has a passion for jazz guitar and participates in various open source projects, the most known of which is JSonar, the software which enables visually impaired musicians around the world to use Cakewalk Sonar, the world’s leading music recording application for Windows.

Content Magazine Pick Up Party for Issue 5.0

The latest issue of Content Magazine comes out tomorrow and they provide a "delivery option" that you will not find offered by many other magazines (if any). They invite readers to come party with them and pick up their issue at the venue! You can meet not only the writers and photographers, but also some of the San Joseans featured in the magazine in person.

This pick-up party is very special as it marks Content Magazine's first year in print. Also, I couldn't think of a better venue to celebrate than Vino Vino (4.5 stars on yelp, 180 reviews). If you are one of the few people than haven't been to this wine bar yet, you are missing out.

For more info, check out their Facebook event over here.

Noonie Cakes Opens in Eastridge

A new cupcake shop has opened up in Eastridge mall called Noonie Cakes. It's run by Jackie Jackson, someone who has been in the catering business for quite some time. She features Southern flavors such as peach cobbler, sweet potato, banana pudding, and of course red velvet. The shop is located near the movie theater and is open from 10am-7pm Monday though Saturday and 11am-7pm on Sunday. For more info, check out their website over here.

Net Impact Silicon Valley / Santa Clara U MBAs with Kitchen Table Advisors present TEDx Event

A Viewing Party, Feb 16, 12 to 4 PM

We will be hosting a fun and casual viewing party to watch a live-streaming of TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” on February 16, 2013.Speakers with various backgrounds in food and farming will share their insights and expertise.

The event is free of charge and includes lunch, provided by Bon Appetit catering. All are welcome. Register here.

Date: February 16, 2013
Time: 12 to 4
Location:
Santa Clara University
Lucas Hall, Room 126 (Forbes Conference Room)
Alameda & Franklin Street, Santa Clara, CA

For more directions, see the SCU Campus Map

For more information about TEDx Manhattan - Changing the Way We Eat, check out www.tedxmanhattan.org

General schedule
12:00 Arrive, mingle and enjoy a lunch at no charge
12:45 Launch webcast and get inspired!
3:00 Networking and small group discussion

Due to the timing of the event, we will only be showing one session of the TEDx talks titled EMPOWER.

Speakers include: 
Maisle Greenawalt The realities of a large company going sustainable
Lindsey Lusher Shute Young farmers
Cheryl Kollin Farm to Freezer
Ann Cooper School Food
David McInerney Good food should taste great 

Attendees will also receive a variety of TEDx Manhattan Giveaways!

- King Corn DVDs
- Foodopoly by Wenonah Hauter
- Take Back the Tap! branded Klean Kanteens
- Foraged Flavor by Tama Matsuoka Wong
- Stonyfield gift bags
- Chipotle tri-fold gift cards for free burritos and chips & guacamole
- Fenugreen FreshPaper
- NRDC tote bag, bookmark and sticker sets
- The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses
- More TBA!

Questions? Contact:

Net Impact Silicon Valley: Clara Kuo (silicon@netimpact.org)

Net Impact Santa Clara: Lawrence Chum (lchum@scu.edu)

*TEDx Manhattan is sponsored by the Glynwood Institute (www.glynwood.org)

Special Thanks to:

The Roots of XVI - February 15 @ 6 PM at Harry's Hofbrau in San Jose

One of the most prevalent venues in the South Bay beer scene is hosting a Firestone Walker Brewing Company event today. No tickets or pre-purchase required, all you have to do is show up and you can purchase as many samples as you would like a la carte. Sounds like a great way to celebrate beer-week in a classic San Jose watering hole. Harry's Hofbrau is located on 390 Saratoga Avenue and the event starts at 6pm.

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THE ROOTS OF XVI – FEBRUARY 15 @ 6 P.M. AT HARRY’S HOFBRAU IN SAN JOSE

One of California’s most acclaimed barrel-aged beers is set to be deconstructed as Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Harry’s Hofbrau in San Jose present “The Roots of XVI,” a one-of-a-kind tasting of the rare component beers that were blended to create Firestone Walker’s XVI Anniversary Ale. 

The doors open at 6 p.m. No tickets or reservations are required. Guests can simply come and purchase samples as they wish.

This SF Beer Week event will be hosted by Jeffers Richardson, director of Firestone Walker’s new Barrelworks facility, which is dedicated to barrel-aged wild beers and strong ales.

The Chop on XVI…

XVI is the seventh release in Firestone Walker’s anniversary series, dating back to the release of the inaugural anniversary release called “Ten” in 2006.

Every year, local Paso Robles winemakers gather with the brewing team to taste through a variety of strong ales and determine the final blend. This year, the result was XVI, which was composed of 226 barrels spanning eight diverse components.

“Dozens of notebooks, hundreds of questions and countless beers have refined our approach to creating the best flavors possible through barrel aging,” says Brewmaster Brynildson. “Then we step back and let our winemaker friends help us put the final puzzle together. This year, the result is XVI—our finest achievement to date.”

At “The Roots of XVI,” the puzzle will be pulled back apart, and guests will savor these rare component pieces and learn about the art of blending. The featured component ales are:

Velvet Merkin / Aged in Bourbon Barrels     

-Traditional Oatmeal Stout

Double DBA / Aged in retired Firestone Union Barrels

-Double strength English Pale Ale

Parabola / Aged in Bourbon Barrels

-Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout                                                                  

Helldorado / Aged in Bourbon and Brandy Barrels

-Blonde Barley Wine

Bravo / Aged in Bourbon and Brandy Barrels

-Imperial Brown Ale

Wookey Jack / 100% Stainless Steel

-Black Rye India Pale Ale