The Hoppy Times

SAN JOSE, CA - Andy Brinck, Hoppy's new director of sales, recently met with Harry Stavrenos, president of the SJ Giants baseball organization, to discuss what was going to be on tap for this coming season, and how Hoppy could participate again for its second year at the ball park.

"Basically, some of the highlights that have been worked out are: 1) Hoppy Face and/or Liquid Sunshine (when it becomes available on tap) will be rotated in and out as the only micro-brew on-tap in the VIP area; 2) Hoppy Face 12oz bottles will be pouring in the BBQ once again, and once the Liquid Sunshine becomes available in 12oz, it will also be there; 3) we will have one sign located in the same place as last year in left field where the horse races occur in the 7th inning with our company logo and internet address, and another sign underneath the TV in the snack area; and 4) the Hoppy Crew obtained a pair of "killer" box seats right next to the playing field on the third base side. I know Troy will be looking forward to using these seats," comments Andy.

"In addition, the marketing department has been given the green light to do a number of promotions, one that comes to mind will be a "Sit on a Hoppy Face" seat cushion night," adds Andy. "I'm also sure we will be doing another investor night like we did last year," finishes Andy.

SAN JOSE, CA - The Hoppy Crew made their first ever Hoppy Beer Bust recently at IBM. "This event was not only a lot of fun, but I feel it was also great exposure for our products," comments Hoppy's Events Coordinator Theresa Cleary shown at right. It seems that the crew notice that there were about 100 to 125 people in attendance, and they went through one keg of Hoppy and two cases of Liquid, two cases of Total, and two cases of their Holiday Ale in just under two hours!!! "The Liquid Sunshine went first, and next to go was the Total Eclipse," commments Theresa. "There were alot of people asking for a dark beer and the Total Eclipse was definitely a big hit," adds an excited Theresa.

"If anyone knows of a company that does an event like this, or would like to do an event like this, I think that it would definitely be worth our time," concludes Theresa. If you think this is something your company would be interested in, please feel free to give Theresa a call and let her know you are interested...

WILLOW GLEN, CA - The "beer train" brewpub trip was arranged by Jon Binkley a graduate student from Stanford University recently, and the Hoppy Crew was invited to attend; needless to say, at least one of the Hoppy Crew showed up in full tasting gear to take advantage of this excursion...

The beer train crew started their adventures at 20 Tank in San Francisco at noon, and then after lunch they proceeded to head over to the Thirsty Bear, where they were given a tour of the place by the head brewer. Tim McNearney was heard commenting that the Thirsty Bear had a very nice porter and pale available...

From there, the gathering of some 25 people, including reknowned brewpub critic Ken Papai, caught Cal-Train and headed south towards Steelehead Brewing Company (formerly known as Burlingame Station). Once at Steelehead, the crew was treated to some luxury pool- tables, appetizers, and probably one of the best IPA's (albeit a bit citrusy) in the Bay Area on a cask conditioned hand pump. In addition, they had a VERY nice porter on the hand pump as well... Should anyone decide to make a stop, they should make sure to check the pool room out in the back. Talk about Taj Mahal...

The next stop was at Barley and Hops in San Mateo. This place not only has a "killer" atmosphere, they also have a GREAT selection of scotches and cigars in their upstairs "play room", and if you're looking to hang out and play some games, then this should be a place that you should visit; not to mention that they had a very nice RyeIPA available...

Going on, the next stop was at Gordon Biersch in Palo Alto. This was the first time we'd been in there since they remodeled the place. It seems that they remodeled, simply because they'd worn the old place out... The new arrangement greatly improved the efficiency in the bar area, and also made for more room for those thirty patrons. Not paying much attention to time, the crew almost missed the train south and had to hurry to catch it, and in the course of hurrying to the train, we unfortunately managed to loose four people...

Arriving at the Tied-House in Mountain View we found that they had set aside some space for us in the back beer garden where we were able eat dinner, so we figured those who'd been left behind would catch up with us there... It didn't happen... The Tied-House still had their three "original" beers, but had expanded their list to include six others...

The next, and final stop was in Sunnyvale, we found three of our lost souls at the station waiting for us... Actually they were trying to get on the train to go back to San Francisco, but that train wasn't going in that direction, and they would have ended up in San Jose had we not stopped them... In any event, it seems that they'd forgotten to get off in Mountain View after missing the train in Palo Alto, and had been spending time at Stoddard's while we were eating in Mountain View...

Stoddard's had some nice beer and a couple of acoustic musicians that was keeping the bar area entertained. They also had a really nice crowd on a Saturday night... It's nice to see this place doing well!!! Too bad that Bob Stoddard was off in Europe scouting new brews, because it would have been nice to run into him... Anyway, everyone managed to catch the train back home...

It seems that everyone had a GREAT time, and enjoyed seeing some people that they hadn't seen a while, and meeting some new ones... In addition, there was a "hands-down" consensus on thanking Jon for putting this thing together!!! Lastly, the train thing worked pretty well, simply because the breweries are within easy walking/crawling distance, and the trains run every hour...

Also, Ken Papai has managed to put together some details at the following beer-train web site:

SAN JOSE, CA - Sam's BBQ, their original location at 1110 S. Bascom Avenue in San Jose and now with their new location at 1461 W. Campbell Avenue in Campbell, is one of the best kept secret's in the San Jose area! Sam, perfected his BBQ technique out at the Flea Market, and has been in business now for almost six years. He is fast becoming a local legend for producing GREAT BBQ as more people find out about their food!!! Sam, and his wife Adila, have a cozy little "dining room" type concept where the sounds of cattle riding the rails can be heard from the overhead train that circles the room in both locations. A sign on one of the cars even lets a curious patron know how many miles the train has covered. Not only is Sam's meat some of the most juiciest BBQ the Hoppy Crew has ever tasted, where they show up occasionally for one of their weekly staff meetings, but they have all tried to bribe Sam for the recipe to his secret sauce!!!

According to Sam, when one of the brew crew tells him what they put in the Hoppy Face, he will tell them what is in his sauce; it seems like both parties will have to be satisfied with knowing their own specialty for now... In addition to excellent food, Sam has over 30 microbrewed beer's available in bottles to compliment his menu. His meals are very reasonably priced from $6.00 to $9.00, and they are open until 9:00pm most days. If you have a craving for juicy BBQ, and you are not quite sure where to go, then just go to Sam's; they will do the rest!!!

Sam's BBQ - 1110 S. Bascom Ave.  or     1461 W. Campbell Ave.
            San Jose, CA  95128         Campbell, CA  95008
            408.297.9151                408.374.9676

A FEW WORDS FROM THE EVENTS DEPARTMENT…..