10/13/2008 07:49:04 PM 
It took some time, but it's worth it.
1. What's the inspiration behind Monk's Kettle?
The inspiration was really the brainchild of Christian Albertson, my business partner. He was first introduced to the world of beer while working at a brewpub in Boulder, CO, called The Mountain Sun. Then, while managing the Parish Café in Boston, MA, he discovered the city’s beer-focused places and learned about the industry as a whole. When he moved out to San Francisco about 5 years ago, and noticed virtually no beer focused bars and restaurants (save Toronado of course) he saw a market waiting to be filled. When we started talking about the concept, I was on board right away. Being from Seattle, WA, a city with a huge beer culture, I knew exactly what he was talking about. We soon began our work on the business plan and opened our doors a mere two or three years later.
2. Why do you think that beer has become elevated into more of a
gourmet product?
Well, for hundreds of years beer has actually been just as complex, flavorful, unique and sophisticated as wine: in essence, gourmet. It’s just that for the majority of the population, especially here in the U.S., there was no knowledge of that fact. The only beer really available here was mass-produced by the brewing giants of Anheuser Busch, Coors and Miller. Only over the last 20 years or so did the art of craft brewing make it into this country. Slowly, over that time, it gained popularity and recognition with the help of some great educators on the subject. A few breweries elevated their products, showing consumers the depth of the beer world (Sam Adams and Anchor are two domestics that come to mind), as well as expanded distribution which brought many previously unavailable brews to our shores. There have also been a few beer writers who have done much in the way of education: Garrett Oliver, the head brewer of Brooklyn Brewery has written on beer and food pairings, but by far the most significant writer is the late Michael Jackson whose writings are essential for learning about the world of beer. All of these forces together have brought beer recently onto a scene that was once dominated by wine alone.
3. What do you feel about a Belgian brewer buying Bud?
I think it’s a shame. Not so much because a ‘foreigner’ now owns the beer probably most associated with America, but because the brewing of beer is becoming so dominated by so few large corporations. I think that any time, in any instance, you take a process that requires creativity and a more hands-on approach, and make it more stream-lined and capable of being mass-produced, you lose something. Not to say that Bud is the most hands-on, creative and unique beer, but the principle is still the same. You’re seeing that happening all over Europe with many of their best brew-houses, and its happening here in the U.S. too. The more it happens, I think, the more the artisan beers will lose their character.
4. What do you think is one of the most overlooked beer producing nations-who has surprised you?
There have been a few surprises abroad; though in the way of individual breweries rather than countries as a whole. Most notable are Moa Brewing Co. from New Zealand, Hitachino from Japan, Cucapa Brewing Co. from Mexicali, Mexico, and Baladin from Italy. More surprising, however, has been the style of sour as the great frontier in beermaking today. They have been around for a very long time, developed in the Lambeek region of Belgium, but have begun to really emerge as of late. We at the Kettle have quite taken to this style, the reason we have been increasing our selections. We always have a sour on tap, and a growing selection by the bottle.
5. How do you think San Francisco compares to NYC, when it comes to setting trends in food and drink?
There have been a few areas where San Francisco has set the trend in food and drinks (most notably the Slow Food Movement led by Chez Panisse, as well as speakeasy-like bars like Bourbon and Branch). In general, however, it seems that New York often leads the way in this industry. We at the Monk’s Kettle has seen this specifically with the gastropub trend that is fairly established in NYC, while only getting started here in the San Francisco. When we arrived in San Francisco years ago, we were surprised to find that a place like the Monk’s Kettle did not yet exist. San Francisco is interesting in that there are an awful lot of restaurants and bars, but it seems that the percentage of places that are truly unique and/or providing an excellent product is too low to be considered a leader in the industry nationwide. But we could be wrong about that—we spend too much time at our own place to get out much elsewhere.
Posted by Ed Cotton
It appears you don't have Flash installed.