A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

The San Diego area has so many great breweries -- AleSmith, Green Flash, Port, just to pull a few off a list in alphabetical order -- that it certainly needs its fair share of great beer bars to showcase the local SoCal talent. They've got the goods. Perennial powerhouse Hamilton's Tavern always keeps a mighty draft list. Significant start-ups like Toronado's recent San Diego location offers tons of taps. Even Stone Brewery gets in on the action, featuring not only their own brews but favorites from around California and beyond.

Today, however, O'Brien's Pub gets the nod for a trend worth supporting: draft beer archives! Not only do they offer up their own "On Tap" link via their website, but patrons can also view a complete list of every brew they've ever had on draft ... or at least for the past few years. "It's everything we've ever posted on the website," says owner Tom Nickel, "but the site only dates back to 2007." Still, two years of beers is the kind of comprehensive compiling that What's On Tap nerds can get behind!

After the jump, a reprint of the most current draft list off their website.

In the U.S., many rich cheeses like Brie, Camembert and triple crèmes like Pierre Robert are too buttery and lack a distinctive kick of flavor. St Pat, on the other hand, provides a sensational surprise to the palate with a sweet, nutty vegetal taste reminiscent of artichokes. Tucking into a luxuriously creamy half-pound wheel of St Pat is like partaking of a springtime cheesecake.

Read more about St Pat after the jump.

Josh Elliott is obsessed with chicks.

Three in particular -- Pot Pie, Salad Sandwich and Noodle Soup -- have turned his head. A pro freelance shutterbug turned urban chicken farmer, he has devoted a blog to their adventures (and misadventures) called Three Chicks a Day that will break your heart with cuteness.

It all started when a friend introduced Elliott to home-raised eggs -- "definitely better than store-bought" -- four years ago. When he and roommate Chrissy Morgan finally adopted three dewy little critters last week, he decided to snap their portraits daily until they are old enough to move outside in about four weeks. The blog features photos with brief notes about the chicks' modeling preferences: Noodle Soup, for example, is a "strutter."

Elliott is among a growing number of city dwellers from coast to coast building coops in their yards. They are holding social events and even chat groups where forums range from incubating and hatching eggs to lively discussions about predators and pests.

In Portland, Ore., where he lives, three chickens are the legal limit without having to obtain a permit. With the blessing of his landlord, a teacher who found the idea adorable, he began building a coop and enrolled in a weekend-long seminar called Chicken Fest at a local nursery. Classes included Chicken 101, coop-building and chicken health and boy, was it popular: "I went to one class and there must have been 30 people [there]."

Why is Elliott going through all this?

A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

When is a beer store more than a beer store? When you can drink in it, of course!

Many people from the Seattle area sing the praises of Redmond's Malt & Vine because of their exceptional craft beer (and wine) selection. But what really sets this beer store apart is that they have their tavern license, meaning those 10 taps you see aren't just for growlers: You can grab yourself a glass of beer while you do your shopping.

Don't feel like browsing? Malt & Vine has table seating as well. And nothing is really off limits here. Patrons can hang around and drink anything in stock for a small corkage/crackage fee. Even bring your own food for a private beer and food pairing. Here's a store that really carries through on the "make yourself at home" credo.

Malt & Vine also holds regular beer tastings every Friday night, as well as other beer-centric events when the fancy strikes them. (A full schedule of events is available on their Web site.) The owners and staff have a reputation for being both knowledge and friendly, so you know these events will be worthy of your time and your questions will be ready to be answered.

Let's take a look at what Malt & Vine currently feels is worth serving to their beloved beer drinkers (after the jump). ...

According to a recent Los Angeles Times story, sommeliers are reporting a downshift in consumers' "sweet spot" -- i.e., the price range where they feel most comfortable spending. Wine's sweet spot (in LA, anyway) used to be around $80 a bottle; now it's closer to $50-60.

We all know that because of restaurant markups, it's hard to get anything even drinkable for under $20 (consider that a $20 restaurant wine is likely $7 to $8 at retail). If you're like me and consider wine a nonnegotiable part of the dining experience, how much are you willing to pay? Vote in the poll below.

A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

As I've mentioned before, the San Francisco Bay Area has a rich history for beer and brewing. As a result, the city sports a lot of great beer bars and brewpubs. On a recommendation from a friend who was recently in said city, this week's What's On Tap takes a look at one of the area's newer gastropubs, The Monk's Kettle.

Foodies take note: The Monk's Kettle (opened in December of 2007) really aims to put the "gastro" in gastropub. Now, I don't get paid to talk about food (I had half a boiled potato and Fun Dip for dinner), but their fries comes with something called "aioli" and they've got an $8 pretzel on the menu (not sure if that's a pro or a con to try to get beer drinkers through the door).

But food aside, The Monk's Kettle's beer list alone proves they are worthy of a stop if you happen to be in the neighborhood. Check out their entire current draft list after the jump...

Zinfandel. It's so good, it has its own festival. Want to go? The public tasting, where you can taste Zins from 275 winereries, is Saturday, Jan. 31 from 2-5 p.m. at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. I've got four tickets to give away, which I'll give away in twos. Post in the comments below and two people will win.

Since the timeframe is so short, please post by 8 p.m. Eastern tonight in order to enter, and I'll get tickets out first thing tomorrow.

I'm one of those geeky gardener-cooks who tries hard to close the loop: I grow veggies and herbs, compost the scraps, and throw it back into the garden to make even better veggies and herbs. But thus far I haven't taken the final step--harvesting rainwater from the roof--because I've never found a rain barrrel I liked enough.

Now a company called TerraCycle has partnered with wineries in Napa, including Kendall-Jackson, to make rain barrels out of their used oak wine casks. According to TerraCycle, once casks have outlived their use in the winery, they're typically burned--not the most environmentally friendly way to get rid of them.

Hence the concept of "upcycling," or finding a new use for formerly non-recyclable materials. And when the new product is pretty, well, I'm a sucker! Find the rain barrels at Sam's Club and Home Depot for $149 each.

With the exception of White Zinfandel, Merlot may be the most-maligned wine in a couple of decades. In the 2004 movie Sideways, Miles, the main character and Pinot Noir lover, repeatedly trashes Merlot as the Worst. Grape. Ever. Somehow the wave caught on, and Pinot Noir sales soared while Merlot staggered along.

Of course Miles was right, to a point. The U.S. was awash in mediocre Merlot, most of which didn't even come close to realizing the potential of the grape. (Now we have the same problem with Pinot Noir, but I digress.) Merlot does have its merits, and I ask you to give it--or rather, certain bottlings of it--a chance.

Compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot tends to be softer, less tannic, and fruitier. Its flavors range from cherry to black plum and a hint of herbaciousness. In Bordeaux, Merlot is one of the two main varietals (along with Cabernet Sauvignon) and on the Right Bank is the dominant varietal.

Read my Merlot recommendations after the jump.

A few weeks ago I listed my 2009 wine predictions, including one under "wishful thinking" about box wine, PET bottles, and lighter, alternative forms of packaging becoming mainstream. Now it seems we're one step closer: a California wine company is bottling (or would that be "bagging") a Cabernet Sauvignon in a cardboard tube.

According to the company, Four Wine reduces carbon footprint by 50 percent and reduces landfill waste by 85 percent compared with traditional glass packaging. The packaging is 100 percent recyclable.

As far as I can tell, this wine is boxed wine of a different shape, an attempt at marketing to people who want to be green but don't want the stigma of serving from a box. It has a bag and spigot, but the packaging is a bit more upscale than your generic box brand. And hey, if wine snobs latch on, who cares if the cardboard packaging is a rolled tube or a rectangular box?

I haven't tried the wine, but it's supposed to be a premium brand with lower prices since you're not paying as much for shipping. A 3-liter tube (the equivalent of four bottles) retails at $39. Tried it? What do you think?

I posted recently about investing in wine futures vs. the stock market; now a Napa wine company has tied them together. Here's how it works: you pre-buy a bottle of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon for $39, which is already a fairly good deal for that region, where most Cabs run much higher. The penny-pinchers at Bailout Wine record the Dow Jones closing value on the day you buy the bottle, and when it's officially released on August 14, 2009, you'll get $2 off for every 100 points the Dow has dropped since you first signed up.

If in the unlikely event that the Dow goes up, you're still set: the $39 price is the ceiling.

My favorite part was the caveat at the bottom of the "How it Works" page: "Note that if the price per bottle should go below $9, we have to charge you $9/bottle for legal reasons. But that will be the least of our concerns." Umm, yeah. At least you'll have a nice Cab to drown your sorrows in.

Wine lovers all over the country have reason to celebrate tomorrow: December 5, 1933, marked the end of the 13-year Prohibition on alcohol in the U.S. (Of course the resulting state-by-state laws are still confusing, cumbersome, and laden with politics, but individuals can speak up to their legislative representatives through the nonprofit organization Free the Grapes.)

During those long thirteen years of Prohibition, the California wine industry suffered. Most wineries were forced to close their doors, and those who remained open produced wines for medicinal and religious use. Farmers willing to ride out Prohibition fared a little better: each male was allowed to make 200 gallons of wine each year for personal use, so the demand for grapes around the country was fairly high, even as commercial winemaking all but disappeared.

This year, a new line of wines called Festival 34 was released to commemorate California's first harvest following the repeal of Prohibition 75 years ago. The wines include a Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, all sourced from California's Central Coast and made by C & B Vintage Cellars in Napa.

I'm usually skeptical of fancy marketing ploys when it comes to wine, because there's often an inverse relationship between the quality of the wine and the cleverness of the label. Festival 34 is an exception for three reasons. One, the concept is truly clever, as it calls attention to and celebrates the end of a terrible era for wine lovers; two, the label art is gorgeous and practically collectible; and three, the wines are quite good. The Chardonnay was too oaky for my taste, but I loved the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Both are a great value for around $12-15.

I absolutely believe that moderation (called "temperance" in the old days), not prohibition, should be the buzzword with alcohol, and on the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the United States, I raise my glass to the liberation of the vineyards.

While visiting Paso Robles, California, last week, we took a day to explore the coast, including the gorgeous Hearst Castle--a must-see for anyone who loves art, not to mention 30s-era Hollywood gossip--and the surrounding land, Hearst Ranch. The ranch has been a cow-calf operation since 1865, but recently Hearst Corporation changed the business model so the cows would use the resources of the land (i.e., they reduced the number of cattle to 800, the number the land will support, and let the cows graze for food).

I talk a lot about the concept of terroir in wine--the wine's sense of place from the soil, climate, and region, but Brian Kenny, division manager at Hearst Ranch Beef, says terroir goes beyond wine. "Grass fed beef is the ultimate expression of terroir. The cattle eat grass, and the flavor result in the meat is an expression of the land."

Kenny remembers the time he gave Alice Waters some rib-eye to sample (Chez Panisse is a customer). She asked, "What do I taste? It's amazing." Kenny replied, "You taste the Central Coast."

And that, ultimately, is his goal. "When people come to visit the coast, we want them to go away with a sense of flavor," he says. I tried some Hearst Ranch Braised Brisket in Oaxacan Chile Gravy at Villa Creek in Paso and brought some jerky home with me. As to describing its taste, I can't do better than another of Kenny's customers: "It tastes like beef used to taste."

Click on the gallery to see photos of the beautiful castle and ranch.

I'm taking a break from my usual wine beat for the next few posts to tell you about some foodie treasures I found on the California coast last week. Abalone has been prized in Asia for centuries. Its iridescent shell is beautiful; the firm-textured fresh meat inside is delicious in everything from a stir fry (baby abalone) to a meaty full-size steak (a six-year-old abalone). Every part of the abalone is used--the shells for jewelry and furniture and guitar inlays, the viscera in pharmaceutical research, and of course the meat for food.

When The Abalone Farm was founded off of California's central coast in 1969, researchers hadn't even studied the abalone's life cycle in enough detail to discover that they would soon have a serious underpopulation problem on their hands. Abalone was once plentiful along the west coast, but harvesters and researchers didn't know it can take up to five years for a single abalone to reach full size. Overharvesting and pollution caused the eventual ban of commercial wild harvest, but there's still high demand for abalone, says Brad Buckley, sales manager at The Abalone Farm, mostly in the U.S. for sushi and steaks. The company raises more than 1 million abalone each year, but because abalone take about four years to reach full size, the Farm has around four million abalone in various stages of production.

There's a lot of talk about sustainable seafood versus farm-raised, but with abalone, you don't have to choose the lesser of two evils. The Abalone Farm is a part of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's Sustainable Seafood Watch program, where it's rated a "Best Choice." I had a breaded and fried version while there, but some say the ultimate expression of abalone is in sushi, raw, crunchy, and tasting of the sea.

While in Paso Robles, California, last week on a wine tour, I got to go through Steinbeck Vineyards, which has been supplying grapes to different Paso wineries for 20+ years and just started making their own wine, and Four Vines Winery, where winemaker Christian Tietje is as untraditional as they come. Here's a gallery of photos I took as we went through the winemaking process.