Keeping Cool in the City

Tricks for Staying Cool on Sweltering Days

Here at the SmartsCo offices in San Francisco, we’re typically clad in jeans and sweaters of some sort. The only difference between summer and winter is whether we wear sandals or boots on our feet. And our favorite item on the lunch menu is a nice bowl of soup from some of our favorite nearby jaunts such as Kate O’Briens or Town Hall. But this summer is quite different ...

Typically we San Franciscans get a nice little chuckle in the summer as we relish in our 55 to 65 degree weather knowing that our neighbors just over the hill are sweating it out in 100 degrees temperatures.

We relish in the fact that if we feel cold in the summer, we can take a short drive, ferry or better yet bike ride to Sam’s Cafe in Tiburon and enjoy the warm weather over tasty Ramoz Fizz and Crab Louie, and then return to our typically foggy home and snuggle up under a nice warm blanket. The best part of living in San Francisco is we can choose whether we’re hot or cool.

But this summer is quite different. It’s hot! Really hot! And most of us don’t have fans, much less air conditioners. And at SmartsCo HQ, we are on the top floor of a building with no AC that just sucks in the hot air. Currently our thermostat reads 94 degrees, and it’s actually cooler than yesterday. So, what are we doing to keep cool?

Ice, Ice Baby

This morning I grabbed a bag of ice for the office. To quote one of our team members “It’s like Christmas morning. The best gift ever.” Who knew a little ice could make such a difference. Not only are our coffees and waters iced, we can drench ourselves with the ice.

Don’t Pass the Buck

While typically a Peet’s girl myself, unfortunately, their shops typically aren’t so great for hanging out. But Starbucks generally has great seating, and they’re air conditioned. We’ve been sucking down their herbal berry ice tea and even bringing our laptops to do some work.

Cold Soup

While our hot soup preference isn’t too appetizing these days, cold soup can really hit the spot. While gazpacho is the obvious choice, I’ve been indulging in some really yummy ones lately, including: cold sorrel soup (delish), cold cucumber soup, and cold asparagus soup.

Creative Salads

Green salads don’t have to be boring, especially with all the great wonderful fruits and veggies that are in season right now. Last week I made a delicious salad with: sugar snap peas, jicama, fresh corn (cut it off the cob uncooked), tomatoes, red peppers, and some black beans. Toss on a spicy vinaigrette and it’s fun time. Or throw in strawberries, melons or even peaches to a green salad and it’s really refreshing.


H20 Melon

I could just eat watermelon all day long. Not only super refreshing, it’s actually quite low in calories. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Pass the Prosecco Please – or other light wine

When all else fails, have some wine. It certainly seems like sundown comes quicker. We typically keep the office fridge stocked with the very reasonably priced Vinho Verdhe from Broadbent Selections. It’s slightly effervescent and low in alcohol so we can continue to function at full capacity. Or when we really need some bubbles to wake us up, we’ll pop open a bottle of Italian Prosecco – which are typically bright and cheerful, and good bargains to boot.



That’s all I can think of to stay cool on this blistering hot day. If anyone else has brilliant ideas, we’d love to hear them. I’m proud to announce that last month I became car-less, which is my attempt to do my small part to stop contributing to global warming. So it’s all public transportation and in the rare occurrences that I need a car, I check out one from our friends at ZipCar. Not only am I saving $100s / month, I never have to worry about high gas prices (gas is included with ZipCar), insurance, and I don't have to worry what day street cleaning is. Why I didn’t do this sooner is the biggest mystery.

Summer and Beer - the perfect pairing

Summer and Beer - the perfect pairing

I'm going to try not to sound like a bad beer commercial here, but there is something wonderful about a beer on a hot summer day. And since I'm a SmartsCo girl, I can't just have a beer, I need to gather some friends around to compare a variety of beers and have a beer tasting. Until we developed BeerSmarts, I didn't know the difference between a lager and an ale, or about the huge variety of beers available.

In BeerSmarts, our writer Joe Cummins, and editor Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery, shared a great description of the difference between lager and ale, and an overview of ales. So chill your glass and read on... (and if you want to check out his tips for throwing your own beer tasting party, visit our party tips page.

Ale and Lager--What's the difference?

There are two main species of yeast for fermenting beer, and they make the two types of beer we have today: ale and lager. Within these two species are thousands of strains.

ALE has been brewed since ancient times and was mostly unhopped until the 15th century. Ale is fermented at warm temperatures where the yeast rises to the top. Such “top-fermenting” yeast works very quickly, which is why ale is generally aged for only a few weeks at most. It tends to be fruity in flavor.

LAGER is the type of beer most casual American drinkers are familiar with. Lagers are bottom fermenting, which means that the yeast ferments at colder temperatures, and sinks to the bottom of the vat. Traditionally the beer is then aged for months (however mass market lagers are usually only aged for a couple of weeks). Lager tends to be smooth and subtle in flavor, and today accounts for most of the beer consumed in the world.

A Spotlight on lagers


Pilsner
Pilsner originated in the 19th century in what is now the Czech Republic. This dry, superbly golden, carbonated beer took an ale-weary world by storm and today is still the most popular beer around. Beers such as Budweiser and Miller are based on the Pilsner style although they use some different ingredients and are less flavorful than the original.


Bock / Doppelbock
Bock is a strong and malty beer that originated in the German city of Einbeck. It was originally brewed late in the harvest season, stored all winter and tapped in the spring. A stronger bock beer is known as doppelbock.

Oktoberfest (Märzen)
Hearty and full of malt flavor, these beers are traditionally brewed in the sp ring (märzen means March in German) to last through the summer into the fall. A nice accompaniment to an Oktoberfest celebration.

Malt Liquor
Malt liquors usually have added rice, corn or refined sugars (as do almost all mass-market beers), although so

me states define malt liquor as any beer that has over 5 percent alcohol. Colloquially speaking, malt liquors (Olde English 800, etc.) are cheap strong lagers made by large breweries.

Helles
Helles means “bright” in German, and these pale, golden beers are easy-drinking and slightly less bitter than their neighboring Czech pilsners. Helles is the most popular beer style in Bavaria.

Dunkel
Dunkels (meaning “dark” in German), are smooth reddish-brown beers made with gently toasted barley malts, creating soft caramel, nutty, and coffee flavors.

Standard American Lager
These tend to be quite bland, light-bodied, pale in color, with lots of fizz. The big-name U.S. brands follow this style.