Toasting Toronado’s 20th
The San Francisco Chronicle offers a little love to David Keene and the venerable Toronado because the San Francisco pub/bier-cafe/multi-tap is turning 20 years old.
I wasn’t sure in which blog to put the link in, but I picked here because Keene’s devotion to Belgian-inspired beer surely has meant that those of us in far-flung parts of the country (like New Mexico) have access to a few beers we might not otherwise.
From the Chronicle:
Q: What was the first great beer you ever had?
A: Before the bar opened in 1986, I was watching the “Today” show and Bryant Gumbel was in Belgium and they were drinking Chimay. And he made the statement that this was probably the finest beer in the world. And that stuck in my mind and I went out and found Chimay here in San Francisco at Liquor Barn. I got a bottle of it. It came in a 750 (ml bottle) with a cork finish. It was the Chimay red.
For the next year, I pretty much bought the Liquor Barns out of Chimay. I even had to go to L.A. to get it ’cause there was no more Chimay up here. That’s how I started my love affair with Belgian beer, which continues today.
Grab a Belgian or Belgian-inspired beer (wishing it was the Toronado Anniversary Ale from Russian River) and raise a toast to David.
