Sometimes I Drink Good Beer

Tags

Color Run Irvine, He'Brew Funky Jewbelation, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza, Karl Strauss 23rd Aniversary Old Ale, Logsdon Seizeon Bretta, Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale, Mission Brewery Dark Seas, Oskar Blues Deviant Dales, Shitty Beer Blogs

I don’t really know what to do with this blog.  Most of the time I write in it because I have ran out of productive things to do.  There have to be 8 billion beer blogs, most of which are uninteresting.  This is 8 billion and one.  So, here is a long list of beers I have recently consumed and random thoughts about each.

First up would be Karl Strauss 23rd Anniversary Old Ale, just in case you can’t read the bottle but can read this text.  Karl Strauss is brewed in San Diego.  I love everything about San Diego and miss it every day.  This is the best Karl Strauss beer I have ever had by far.  I love anything barrel aged.  I wish I had several bottles of this so I could age one.  I’m not sure why there is a random cord on the floor.  Also, the ground is dirty.  But the beer, well, it is amazing.  Find it, save one for me.

I don’t know what this is.  It is from a local establishment called Wade’s Wines.  They run a tap room Thursday-Sunday.  Slightly overpriced, but the best variety of beer in a 20 mile radius of my house.  I think this is Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza.  If it is said beer, it is a sour, Dark Belgian Strong Ale.  It is also amazing.  If is isn’t that beer, nothing to see here.  Probably a Bud Light with Lime.

I sort of love the new caning craze in the craft beer world.  Oskar Blues has been doing it longer than most, but this is their relatively new Deviant Dales.  It is a smooth and easy to drink DIPA.  I like drinking out of a tall boy.  Makes me feel like a real American.  Like Hulk Hogan.  Makes me want to fight for the rights of every man.  It is good, but certainly not great.  But, it comes in a tall boy.  So that is good, but probably not great.

Another San Diego beer, recommended by a nice gentleman that works at Wades Wines.  Thanks nice gentleman!  You will never read this, but I do appreciate you help and amazing customer service.  Mission Brewery Dark Seas.  Russian Imperial Stouts are great, and this is a nice edition to the family.  Nothing amazing, although I would love a barrel aged version of this.  Solid, balanced, and delicious.  Just like the Russian’s like it.  Right?

Another recommendation from Wades.  Logsdon Seizoen Bretta.  I am big into Saisons these days.  I mentioned that to the guy at Wades, he showed me this.  A Saison with Brett?  DOWN!  Brett is a wild yeast used in a lot of Belgian and Belgian style beers.  Brings a nice sour, crisp flavor to this great beer.  Has a dry finish.  Really nice.  Way to photo bomb, Trader Joes bag.

San Diego again.  Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale.  An amazing, amazing sour.  It is barrel aged.  Tastes amazing.  Not as good as Cuvee de Tomme, but looks way sexier.  If you like sours, and don’t mind spending $15 or so, this is a great choice.  Lost Abbey is criminally underrated I think.  Seek out their beers.  I would cut people for them.

Last, a gift from my mother.  He’Brew Funky Jewbelation.  Yeah, my mom is that awesome to buy me a beer called Funky Jewbelation.  It is a blend of 6 beers, barrel aged, and pretty good.  I wouldn’t say great.  Way too boozy and way too sweet, but I bet it mellows so well in a year or two.   Shiny toaster alert!

A special bonus!  Me and my wife, at the Color Run in Irvine.  You run, they throw color at you.  My boogers were purple for 2 days. 

Hope it was good for you.

Cheers!

My Spring Break Trip to the South: Civil Rights, Great Food, Lack of Beer

Tags

Abita, Beale Street, Billy Kyles, Blue Palms Brewhouse, Cafe du Monde, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Karl Strauss 21st Anniversary, Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan, Lorraine Motel, Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme, Medgar Evers, Napoleon House, Rendezvous, Stone Mixtape #1

A few weeks ago I took a trip down south.  I went to Memphis, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi; Natchez, Mississippi; and New Orleans, Louisiana.  I am a teacher, so the purpose of this was to take a historic journey down the Mississippi River.  Pretty much amazing.

The first night we were in Memphis and it was St. Patrick’s Day.  It was sort of nuts.  The first item on the agenda: ribs.  Our hotel was strategically located right next to the landmark Rendezvous, which specializes in amazing ribs.   They were pretty ridiculous.

They do a dry rub.  Side of slaw and beans.  Pretty much epic.  It looks like hell, it takes like heaven.  As my good friend Anthony Bourdain would say, God wants you to eat this.

From there, walked 2 blocks to Beale Street.  Beale Street used to be where all the Jazz clubs of yesteryear were.  Now, it is basically Las Vegas without the gambling. 

There were these guys, throwing beads.  I might have lost my dignity.

Here is the beer selection.  Kind of boring, although I enjoyed a Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan.  Maybe two.  It wasn’t a BIG ASS BEER either.  And it wasn’t green. 

Drunk people.

We also went to the Rock n Soul Museum.  Mitt Romney was there…allegedly.

The next day, we went to the Lorraine Motel.  You might know this as the site where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968.  It is now home to the Civil Rights Museum, which one of the better museums I have ever been too.  Powerful, powerful stuff.

The part of the museum is a 30 minute documentary called The Witness.  It has interviews with some of the people who were with Dr. King before he was shot.  It features Rev. Billy Kyles, who was on the balcony a few feet away from Dr. King when he was killed.  Watch this documentary.  It is incredible.

So, we walk through the museum.  Great exhibits on every major civil rights event in American history.  Leave the museum, and who do we see.  Rev. Kyles.  Just hanging out.  He does this a lot, we soon found out.  I got to meet the man who was next to Dr. King, the last man to speak to him, before he died.  This is what life is about.  A highlight of my life.

Moving down to Jackson, Mississippi.  I don’t mean to offend, but I didn’t enjoy Mississippi.  I don’t have anything good to say about it.  In Jackson, we went to this house.

It was the home of a man named Medgar Evers.  He is sort of a hero of mine.  You can read the marker for yourself.  Again, powerful.

Natchez, Mississippi was the most racist place I have ever been.  No pictures.  Don’t go.

Moving on to a lighter subject, food.  On to New Orleans.  Yeah, we did historic stuff.  Yeah, it was good.  But I mostly wanted to eat. 

I did.

Alligator sausage?  Why, yes!

Beignets at Cafe du Monde.  Don’t mind if I do.

Lunch at Napoleon House.  Great sandwiches.  Also, it was built to try to hide/kidnap Napoleon and bring him to New Orleans when he was in exile.  Pretty awesome…except it didn’t work out so well.

An assortment of goodies I can’t remember?  Food porn!!!

Beer selection was lack luster, although we went to a few bars that had some solid choices.  I stuck with Abita most of the time.

A couple great beer events in the LA area coming soon.  I am most excited about Blue Palms Farmers Market FestivALE.  They are going to have a tap list full of beers with fruit, vegetable, spice, or herb.  The tap list so far is pretty solid: Stone Mixtape #1, Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme, and  Karl Strauss 21st Anniversary to name a few.  No cover, order what you want.  Sounds amazing.

Cheers!

Stone Brewing Co. Brewery Tour

Tags

Beer Jesus, brewery tour, Stone Brewing Company

This is a long time coming.  I have sat down numerous times to write this.  Just never happened.  So, I am currently surrounded by boxes as my wife and I are moving in a few weeks.   And this is the story of when I met Jesus at Stone Brewing Co.

Sounds weird, I know.  But seriously I had a religious experience at Stone.  About 6 weeks ago I went to the Stone Brewery and went on their brewery tour (Much thanks to whoever it was that got us on the tour without having to wait.  You are awesome and I hope good things happen to you.)  I have been to Stone a few dozen times.  Never been on the tour.  Now is the time.

The tour starts with a little history and a little brewing 101.  I want to start home brewing, so I listened carefully.  They talked about their expansion, the Stone hotel, and generally information about the brewery.  Good stuff.   I never really looked at our tour guide, however.  Just listened to his voice.  Then I snapped this picture with my phone rather quickly, mostly for the visual of the brew system.  What do I see?  Jesus.  Beer Jesus.  Or I immediately tweeted Stone and they said his name was Phil.  Whatever.

I mean, he is blurry, but I am pretty sure that is Beer Jesus.

Anyway, the tour was solid.  Learned about hops.

And, more hops.

And packaging….that is a lot of beer.  That is beer porn.

And brewing beer.

And bottling…AND THERE IS JESUS AGAIN! 

And barrel aging.  More beer porn.

And that was the day I met Jesus at Stone.  I love brewery tours.  Stone’s is really impressive.  They give you samples of their most popular beers at the end, but I was several deep at the moment and the tour served to sober up.  Don’t worry, my wife, who wasn’t drinking, drove.  She is a good person.

Until next time, cheers!

I’ve Been Gone a Long Time

Tags

Ballast Point Sour Wench, Blue Palms Brewhouse, Churchill's Finest Hour, Churchill's Pub, ColLAboration, Craftsmen El Prieto, Dogfish Head Ta Henket, Eagle Rock Solidarity, Firestone Walker Sucaba, He'brew Jewbelation 12, Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme, Lost Abbey Deliverance, New Belgium La Folie, Pliny the Younger, The Bruery Chocosaurus Rye

Sometimes life is hectic.  My wife and I recently bought a house.  I just went on an epic, historic trip down the Mississippi River from Memphis to New Orleans.  So, this blog, read by literally tens of people, got neglected.  This changes now.

Many beverages have been consumed in the last month.  Those beverages need to be shared.

About a month ago, myself and several friends of mine went to ColLAboration Beer Garden.  It was an indoor beer garden, set in Downtown LA, ran by some major players in the LA beer scene.  It was stupid, in the best way possible.  I took no pictures.  Here is a list of beers I either sampled from a friend or had a full pour of:

Pliny the Younger(certainly good, probably not worth the hype)

Eagle Rock Solidarity(session ale, not bad)

Dogfish Head Ta Henket(smells and tastes like split pea soup)

The Bruery Chocosaurus Rye(really unique)

Ballast Point Sour Wench(more a fruit beer than a sour I think)

Lost Abbey Deliverance(an amazing barrel aged blend)

New Belgium La Folie(great sour, get your hands on it)

Firestone Walker Sucaba(best barley wine you can find)

He’brew Jewbelation 12(I honest don’t remember…)

This amount of beer makes me feel good.

Shit was epic.  I am in the middle, if you were wondering.

The next week, I went to Churchill’s Pub and Grille to their Renaissance fest.  It celebrates the release of their epic Churchill’s Finest Hour.  I was able to snatch up 2 bottles of that beast, and have the following epic beers:

Pliny the Younger

Churchill’s Finest Hour 2011(great barrel aged blend from Port/Lost Abbey, full review later of the 2012 version)

Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme(if you can find this, it is the best sour I have ever had.)

Craftsmen El Prieto(I never remember the last one!)

Plus tastes of like 12 other beers, most of which were Russian River gems.  Churchill’s is the best pub around.  Everyone there was super nice, including the random couple we met from up in the LA area.  They were down to get some PTY, and we shared many a brew with them.  Beer people are the best people.

Basically, my life is good.

More epic beer events are on the horizon, most notably the grand re-opening of Blue Palms Brewhouse.  That is April 1st.  They are taping Pliny the Younger(which is probably the last tap of the year at this point), as well as many other great beers that they will announce later this week.

Life is good, so are coffee and gluten free, vegan donuts!

Cheers!

Firestone Walker Weekend

Tags

Black Xantus, David Walker, Draughts, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Firestone XV Anniversary, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, Nectar Ales, Pliny the Younger, Sucaba, Velvet Merkin

Three day weekends are nice.  Not working on a Monday is nice.  I saw on twitter that a local establishment, Ladyface Ale House, had the ultra rare Pliny the Younger today.  I rushed to get their only to find out the keg blew 5 minutes before we got there.  I shouldn’t have put on pants.  Such is life.  Never wear pants.

Nonetheless, what a great President’s Weekend it was!  I went to another local establishment, Draughts, for their Firestone Walker Total Tap Takeover!!!

They had a pretty epic list of rare and not so rare Firestone Walker brews.  If you are not familiar, Firestone Walker is out of Paso Robles, Ca.  They make great beer, but really they shine in the  barrel aged beer category.  They had a few epic examples such as Black Xantus, Sucaba, Velvet Merkin, and XV Anniversary.   It was a good night.

I got to met and chat with David Walker, the Walker of Firestone Walker.  Nice guy, cussed a lot.  My kind of fellow.  I look like a creep who wears lipstick.  I look like an ass. 

As far as the beer goes, they had the goods.  I had a Velvet Merkin, a  XV Anniversary, and a Black Xantus.

Velvet Merkin is their Velvet Merlin that is bourbon barrel aged.  According to David Walker, Velvet Merlin used to be Velvet Merkin.  When they went to bottle it under the name, conservative groups gave him a “rash of shit” because of the name merkin.  Not sure what a merkin is?  Check here.  It is potentially NSFW status.  And hilarious.  The beer is decent, but really not a killer.  If you like a good bourbon aged porter, give it a go.

XV Anniversary is their fifteenth anniversary blend.  I believe it is a blend of 8 different beers, most of the beers are made specifically for the blend and are ultra rare.  It is sweet, delicious, epic, and amazing.  I got a lot of vanilla and bourbon.

Black Xantus is a a barrel aged imperial stout, brewed under the Nectar Ales label, owned by Firestone Walker.  One of my favorite barrel aged stouts.  Great coffee notes.  A wonderful representation of the style.  Also, I scored a free Nectar Ales shirt.  I win.

I picked up a bottle of Sucaba, their Barley Wine, as well.  Aging that beast.  Give it some time.

Hoping to find Pliny the Younger either this weekend or the next.  I can’t wait.

There was a great mullet at the event, but the picture didn’t come out.  Mullets=great beer.  Proven fact.

Cheers!

A Sour Happy Valentines Day

Tags

Churchill's Finest Hour, Churchill's Pub, ColLAboration, Duchesse De Bourgogne, Petrus Oud Bruin, Pliny the Younger

I want to try new beer as much as possible.  See what is out there.  Expand my horizons.  Something cliché.  With that, I am trying new styles.  A style that has simultaneously intrigued and intimidated is sours.  I don’t really know how to explain what a sour is except to say they are sour.  There are many different types, which I don’t understand either.  All I know is I like them and I want to try more.

First is Petrus Oud Bruin.  That style is Flanders Oud Bruin.  If I knew more, I wouldn’t post links.

It is brown in color.  It is sweet to the smell.  It isn’t all that sour, and as some Belgian funk to it.  I didn’t really love it, and I don’t think it is a good representation of what a sour can be, but I don’t know either.  I wouldn’t kick it out of bed, that is for sure.  I only kick Bud Light out of bed.  Lady of the night.

Also, we have Duchesse De Bourgogne.  This is a Flanders Red Ale, which I think I like more than the Flanders Oud Bruin.  But again, I am a rookie.

So, this is more red or amber in color.  Smells like tart cherries to me.  Tastes like it too.  Both sweet and sour.  It is an amazing beer, one of the best I have had in a while.  But again, I am a rookie. 

Anyway, I am on a quest to find more sours.  It seems like it is a style gaining more traction in the United States.  I know Russian River and Lost Abbey make solid offerings, but they are both expensive and hard to find.  Basically, I need to go to Belgium.

Changing gears, it is Pliny the Younger season.  Released once a year, every February, by Russian River.  Bars and beer geeks go ape shit over it.  I had it last year and it is very good.  Is it worth standing in line over?  Only if you are interested in the destination as a whole.  There are IPAs out there that are on par with it.  But part of the hype is standing in line with other beer geeks.  I really enjoy drinking a beer with other beer who truly enjoy beer.  There are a lot of events in Southern California going in with Pliny the Younger, but these are two I am probably going to attend.

Churchill’s Pub is having their Renaissance event, with the release of their amazing beer Churchill’s Finest Hour.  It is brewed by Port/Lost Abbey.  They also have Pliny the Younger and other rare beers.  Great event at a great pub. This event is on March 3rd, late in the Pliny season.

ColLAboration is having their winter beer garden on February 26th.  Pliny, both Elder and Younger, will be poured, as well as other amazing gems.  Went to one of their events last spring and it was a blast.  The only nice people in LA are craft beer drinkers.

Find Pliny if you can. 

Cheers!

Boneyard Bistro and Ladyface Alehouse. The Best of Both Worlds?

Tags

Boneyard Bistro, Bootleggers Black Phoenix, Cismontane, Clos Normandy Brut Cider, ColLAboration, Dos Cone Es, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, Ladyface Russian Lullaby

I had a pretty epic weekend.  Mostly because of a few select beers I was able to try.  I am doing well on my new years resolution of trying new beers.  I am racking up the Untappd badges(add me: beerdialogue).  Life is good.

Many people have mentioned to me how good Boneyard Bistro is.  So, we decided to check it out.  They have a killer tap and bottle list and great BBQ.  A few of my favorite things.

My wife and I split this.  Tri-tip, pulled pork, collard greens, and baked beans.  Best BBQ I have had in Southern California.  No joke.  In case you were wondering, best BBQ I have had so far was in North Carolina, although I am going to Memphis in a few months.  We shall see.

Not pictured were the Bacon Sticks.  What is a bacon stick?  Extremely thick cut, house cured, and slightly candied bacon.  If that doesn’t make you want to slap your grandma, you done goofed.

Our waiter suggested a special they had on tap. Cismontane Dos Cone Es.  It is an oak barrel aged double IPA.  I would sum it up by saying, it is sweet.  Similar to a barley wine.  There is certainly an oaky quality to it and it is a little bitter, but fairly mellow for a DIPA.  I really enjoyed it, although certainly not amazing.  It packs a punch at 11.5% ABV. It paired well with the BBQ, oddly enough.

Also, Cismontane Brewing Company is a really nice brewery in Orange County.  I want to check it out, as I have had a few interesting brews by them.  Road trip?  Orange County is coming strong with great, fairly new, breweries.  This is a good thing.

I had to go with an after dinner beer, so up next was Bootleggers Black Phoenix.  This is a chipotle coffee stout.  I am usually not huge into peppers in beer, but I am huge into coffee stouts.  Can the two merge?  Mos def.

This beer looks sexy.  It smells so good.  I love coffee and everything about coffee.  This smells like coffee.  Like the best coffee you have ever had.  Not much chipotle in the nose, that comes later.  Tastes like coffee, chocolate, but not really sweet.  The pepper comes in at the end and burns the back of the throat in the best way possible.  A subtle tingle. It is super creamy, so the coffee lingers but the peppers don’t.  I want this beer a lot.

So then we decided, we need dessert!  Makes sense.  We decided Ladyface was the place.  Mostly, they have great creme brulee.  Last time we had a blueberry, this time, tart cherry.  Amazing. 

I had selfish reasons as well, as Ladyface just tapped Russian Lullaby, their Russian Imperial Stout.  It is a really nice stout.  Creamy.  Nice chocolate smell.  But something was missing.  I don’t know.  I liked it, and I wanted to love it, but I had to just like it.  It was served really cold, which could have been the issue, as it all seemed muted.  I would gladly drink it again but I think it needs some minor adjustments.  And I am not expert, so maybe I am an idiot.

My wife cannot drink beer, which is a bummer.  She can have cider, which is great.  So she ordered this beast, all 750ml of it.  And took it down like a champ. 

Clos Normandy Brut Cider.  My wife likes dry cider, and this was really dry.  One of the better ciders we have ever been able to find at any restaurant ever.  If cider is your thing, check it out.

Last thing, the amazing ColLAboration Beer Garden seems to be close to announcing their next beer garden to make up for their winter beer garden being shut down due to high winds and power outages.  I went to their first beer garden last spring and it was epic.  I really hope I can make this.  They get amazing kegs.  And I recall sausage.  I never forget a good sausage.

I am about to crack a Hair of the Dog Ruth. 

Cheers!

This Week in Beer I Drank

Tags

Eagle Rock Brewery, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, Lucky Baldwins. Sierra Nevada Big Foot, Pliny the Elder, Stone Old Guardian, Verdugo Bar, Victory Headwaters Pale Ale

On Monday I went to a local bottle shop to pick up some provisions.  Some new, some old.  Here are two.  There are four more.  Suspense ensues.

Yesterday I cracked open a bottle of Pliny the Elder while watching my SDSU Aztecs dominate New Mexico in basketball.  It is much sought after but fairly easy to find in bottle and on tap in the Southern California area.  It is a great Double IPA and I think the best IPA to introduce someone to the style.  It has all the great characteristics of IPA: classic amber look, large head, heavy lacing, great piney smell, piney citrus taste, and incredible clean and more balanced than you would expect.  Especially so if your only experiences with IPA are massive west coast style.  This is much more drinkable if you are not huge into bitter, hoppy, IPAs.  Great beer.  I always pick it up when I see it.  Well not always, but most always.

Also, Pliny the Elder is a real person too.  Like, historical. Not just a silly name.  I want to name my first born Pliny.  Or Rutherford, after the President.  Nevermind.  Anyway.

Next up was a new beer for me.  Victory Headwaters Pale Ale.  I have seen this on shelves for a while, but never picked it up.  Now I did.

I didn’t really take any notes on this as a drank it.  I also took a picture of it on our dirty as hell table on the patio.  That is dust.  A lot of dust.  But it was a smooth and totally drinkable beer.  If you like Pale Ales, this one is hard to beat.  And the bottle is pretty.  That counts for something I think, especially because of the dust.

I have been alerted to all sorts of fun beer events coming up, so here is the round up.  This is mostly for my purposes, so I remember to get my ass out of my apartment.  Otherwise, I would just sit around hoping someone texts me.

Stone Brewing is releasing their fantastic Barley Wine, Old Guardian on February 12th.  To celebrate, they are having a Vintage Celebration.  They have past vintages on tap and in bottles, including the last remaining kegs of 2001 Old Guardian and 2005 Old Guardian aged in Bourbon Barrels and the last case of 1999 Old Guardian.  This is so epic, I can’t breath.  I have a few vintages of this in the fridge and have had a few more on tap.  Always epic. 

Lucky Baldwins, my favorite pub, is having a Sierra Nevada Big Foot tasting on January 25th.  They have 2001-2010.  Big Foot is also a Barley Wine.  I have only had the 2011, which was boozy as heck, so trying some older vintages would be great, see how it has mellowed.  I have another bottle of 2011 as well.  I want it so bad.  Lucky Baldwins also has epic apple pie with vanilla custard, in case you were wondering.

Ladyface Ale House is having their 2nd Anniversary.  To celebrate they have a week of events January 22nd-28th.  Pretty awesome, hope to make it out just to make it out.

Eagle Rock Brewery is also having their 2nd Anniversary party.  It will be at Verdugo Bar on January 28th.  Probably won’t suck.

My liver hurts.

Cheers!

San Diego Beer, Greatest Beer Ever.

Tags

Blue Palms Brewhouse, Brandy Barrel Aged Barleywine, Brewbies Festival, Coronado Brewing, Ernest's Silky Smooth, Full Suit, Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Karl Strauss Changing of the Barrels, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, Pizza Port, Pliny the Younger, Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA, Stone Brewing Company, Stone World Bistro and Gardens, Stone's Winter Storm

This weekend, my wife and I met up with some friends in San Diego.  My parents still live in San Diego, I am from San Diego.  Much love.  So we did what any respectable person going to San Diego would do, which is we went to breweries.

First stop, Stone World Bistro and Garden, the mothership of Stone Brewing.  Great place, if you have never been.  Amazing food.  We had hummus with veggies, chicken tikka masala, and wild boar ribs.  Delicious.  There is a huge garden to check out, and the brewery itself(which I have yet to tour, because I am a moron…they give free beer!), a gift shop, a small bottle shop/growler fill spot(which I have yet to use, because I am a moron…they give you beer to take home!), and generally good times.  Because I have had all of the Stone selections on tap, I went elsewhere on my beer journey/new year beers resolution.  I believe they have 32 taps, so they have a lot of guest taps.  I went with some local San Diego brews.  I keep it real.

First up we have this beautiful beer.  Coronado Brewing Brandy Barrel Aged Barleywine.  OMG alliteration!!!  A very nice barleywine.  I think this style is the most attractive beer.  It looks so good, yet it is lethal.  I would date it, but not take it home.  Is that creepy?  It smells sweet.  Smells like oak.  I am not sure if it smells like brandy, because honestly I have no idea what brandy smells like.  Never had it.  But this beer probably smells like brandy.  Taste is more of the same.  Sweet, oak, some vanilla maybe, and what I assume would be brandy.  Pretty boozy at  11%.  I am a huge fan of this style.  Great for a slightly cool afternoon.  I am sure this beast would be amazing with some age.  I want it now.

Another local, Pizza Port Ernest’s Silky Smooth.  So, here is the story.  There are 4 separate Pizza Port locations in Southern California: Carlsbad, Ocean Beach, San Clemente, and Solana Beach.  There is also a great bottle shop next to the Carlsbad.  They used to be associated with Port Brewing/Lost Abbey, but aren’t anymore.  They have great pizza.  Each location brews on site and they each brew different beers.  They also clean up at the Great American Beer Fest.  They don’t suck.  The Ernest’s Silky Smooth is brewed at the San Clemente location, which I have been to, and enjoyed greatly.

Another attractive brew.  At Stone they called it a sweet stout.  Beer advocate calls it an oatmeal stout.  Either way, it was good.  Smells like roasted malt, a little coffee too.  It is creamy and pretty heavily carbonated.  Tastes fairly sweet, oatmeal, coffee, vanilla, roasted malts, bitter chocolate.  Really smooth and drinkable. 

So, we home.  Took a nap.  Dreamed about beer.  Like seriously, I did.  Then, we out with my parents to Karl Strauss Brewing Company.  They have several restaurants in San Diego.  I am not a biggest fan of their beer, although Red Trolley Ale is pretty solid.  Mostly, they have great food.

Romaine, gorgonzola, tomato, chorizo, and shrimp with a chili citrus dressing?  Ridiculous. 

I had one beer, which was Full Suit Belgian Brown Ale.  It is decent.  Pours a great head.  Smells like chocolate and Belgian yeast to me.  Had a nice, chocolate and Belgian funk taste.  A little thin I think.  Decent, but not my favorite and would probably avoid unless the other options were Bud Light and crab juice.

Additionally, some cool San Diego beer events if you are into that sort of thing.  If you aren’t, well, that is stupid.

Karl Strauss Changing of the Barrels-celebrating their 23rd anniversary

Pizza Port’s Brewbies Festival-A benefit event for Keep a Breast.  Beer and boobs seem to go together.  I don’t mind this.

Stone’s Winter Storm-an all Stone tap takeover of Stone?  Nothing but Stone brews on tap, with most taps taken by rare Stone brews.  12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout?  2006 Double Bastard aged in Brandy Barrels?  Stonewall Ale?  Dude.

And a couple close to home.

Blue Palms Brewhouse is still open.  Hopefully for good.  They have some limited Occupy Blue Palms shirts.  I want.

Ladyface  Alehouse has a Sierra Nevada take over that sounds solid.  I am interested in trying the new Ruthless Rye IPA.

Also, it is beginning to be Pliny the Younger season.  Be on the look out in February.

Cheers!

Stone Makes Great Beer.

Tags

More Brown Than Black IPA, Ninkasi, Stone Brewing Company, The Alchemist

I am from San Diego.  I miss San Diego.  I want to be in San Diego pretty much all the time.  When I lived in San Diego I did not drink, therefore I never went to Stone Brewing Company.  This is a travesty.  Now I love beer and moved far way from San Diego, the epic breweries of San Diego, and, specifically,  Stone.  I think that is irony, but I don’t get irony.  Stone is probably my favorite brewery.  Although, that could change depending on my mood.

So we were visiting my parents for Christmas and I stopped by Stone.  Didn’t eat, didn’t do the brewery tour, just picked up a few bottles of this.

It is part of Stone’s collaboration series.  The Alchemist/ Ninkasi/ Stone More Brown Than Black IPA.

Well, it is more brown than black, which is good.  Smells like a lot of west coast IPA.  A lot of citrus and pine but with a unique earthy quality.  Tastes is pretty bitter immediately.  The malts come in at the end to balance out, but it is pretty damn hoppy.  I found it a bit creamy, which is also unique for an IPA.  The black IPA style is taking over, and this is a worthy entire, but not quite as good as their 15th Anniversary Imperial Black IPA.  You can also see quite a bit of sediment.  Whoops, my bad.  Still pretty sexy.

Try it if you can find it.  I love Stone’s collaboration series.  I have yet to taste a bust.  To be fair, I have not had them all, but that ones I have had are epic.  They are all a bit experimental, which is awesome as well.

Cheers!