From the Martinez Patch online newspaper:

Craft Beer Festival A Hit Once Again

Second festival draws a large and enthusiastic crowd, more brewers.

By Joe Alfieri  April 11, 2011

… Inside the warehouse-size building, four rows of booths beckoned with offerings ranging from the larger and more well known pioneers of the craft such as San Francisco’s Anchor Steam or Chico’s Sierra Nevada, to the home-brewed styles on tap at the Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE) home brewing tent. …

At the DOZE tent, 10 homebrews were available for sampling. First on the list was the Double Chocolate, which seemed to me a fine starting point. The dark brown mix is a creation of DOZE member Patrick Baxley, who plans to take his blends from home-brewing to commercially available under the banner Pirate Brewing Co. “I’m putting together a business plan now,” he said, and explained the rich heady mixture that includes one-half pound of chocolate added to the 10-gallon brew. The taste was smooth and creamy, like a malt or a shake, and a satisfying first sample. …

The Bay Area Craft Beer Festival, to be held in Martinez on April 9, has asked DOZE to host a homebrew pouring at the event.  Tasty is organizing the booth, and a number of DOZErs have offered kegs of their brew for the event.

If you’re attending the festival be sure to stop by and say “hi”.

The American 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference will take place August 19-21 in Portland, Oregon. Beer bloggers, beer writers, industry bloggers, and other beer and social media professionals will gather from throughout North America and beyond to meet, learn, taste, and share.

Who Should Attend?

* Citizen Bloggers and Writers who write about beer or the beer industry.
* Industry Bloggers who have a blog related to their brewery or other beer industry business.
* New Media Innovators who work in the world of blogging and social media.
* Beer Industry members who would like to learn about new media or interact with bloggers in attendance.

Registration includes multiple beer tastings, two dinners, and conference content.

Details at:  http://beerbloggersconference.org/america/