Thirsty Bear Brewing Company in downtown San Francisco has introduced a limited edition Stave Series and it sounds great. The new beers are being offered at the brewery restaurant during March and April.

The Stave Series is named for the staves or wooden boards that are pieced together to construct wine and whiskey barrels. All Stave Series beers are aged in oak barrels.

Already on tap is the Red Stave, which is blend of a Belgian farmhouse-style ale, which was aged eight months in a cabernet sauvignon barrel, with a Belgian-inspired red ale.

Next in the series is Golden Stave, an oak-aged version of Thirsty Bear Old 58 strong golden ale blended with a Belgian-style golden ale. The third is The Spirit of St. George, which is Thirsty Bear ESB aged in whiskey barrels provided by craft distiller St. George Spirits of Alameda, CA.

Thirsty Bear is one of our favorite urban stops on the Wine Country Beer tour because it follows its own path to achieving interesting, tasty beers. It produces premium all-organic beers that are handcrafted in small quantities. Its restaurant is Spanish tapas focused with a super variety of offerings that go so well with Thirsty Bear ales and lagers.