Advent beer calendar day-15 is another 5%-ish, 4.6% to be exact, ABV helles lager. Not bad, but nothing great. A hint of sweetness up front with a more dry finish.
American Beauty Hazy Ripple IPA
To me this juicy and fruity IPA from Dogfish Head is so much more enjoyable than the earlier German smoked lager…a world of difference. Virtually no bitterness, and it seems a tad on the sweet side (fruity sweet, not malty sweet…as if there’s a difference)… but that could be due to that last beer being […]
Zwönitzer Rauchbier
Not a fan of advent beer calendar day-14… but can’t think of a rauchbier I’ve liked. We dumped it.
Herrnbräu Jubiläums Sud
Advent beer calendar day-13 is a 5.4% Munich Dunkel, and damn if it don’t taste just like Modelo Negra.
Radio Haze
Fresh off the plane from Charlotte, North Carolina, where cans can be purchased from the NoDa Brewing Co airport tasting room and kitchen for a measly $11.50 a can. Light body with plenty of nice hop flavors, with a mildly bitter finish with notes of black pepper. Juicy? NoDa. Hazy? NoDa. IPA? NoDa. 6% ABV? […]
Ladenburger Weizenbock Hell
Day 8 is the strongest so far clocking in at 7.4% ABV. Other than the noticable alcohol on the nose, not a huge difference in other characteristics.
Perlenzauber
Day 7 is Perlenzauber. This 5.4% ABV German pale ale is different than most American or English pale ales ove tried. The malt body is lighter. No sweetness and no bitterness, with notes of citrus.
Erlkönig Hell
A few days of catch-up on the Advent beer calendar. Day 6 was another light body lager with a clean finish. Not bad, but not outstanding either.
Kress Bayrisch Zwickel
Advent Beer Calendar day-5 was a 5.4% German Zwickel with flavors of sweet malts with a touch of toastyness.
Memminger Gold Märzen
Decent, easy drinking with clean finish. Clocking in at 5.1% ABV, Beer Advent Calendar day-4 is brewed in Germany.
Schnaitl Bräu
German Beer Advent calendar day-3 is a somewhat bland 5.9% lager, with an unpleasant aftertaste, from Austria? Hmmm.
Blau Weisse
German Beer Advent Calendar day 2 was an enjoyable 5.6% ABV weisse beer. Light bodied with a touch of sweetness and clean finish. I have to admit that my expectations were pretty low going in, so pleasantly surprised.
Advent 1 German Beer
We found the Käuzle Helles Lager quite refreshing. Yeah…that was yesterday, but I still clearly remember that after 30+miles on a bicycle, multiple hydration stations, a well deserved snack and social beverage with friends, that while soaking up to my neck in hot water in the dark…ilI felt it replenished life sustaining nutrients.
Mmm..new batch of Electrocution (IPA)…
…for me, and a Gold Record, with a passion fruit Fruitful Endeavor sidecar, for the lady.
Thanksgiving begins Deliciously
Family in town for Thanksgiving, so I’m out enjoying a Stone Delicious.
Thanksgiving begins Deliciously
Family in town for Thanksgiving, so I’m out enjoying a Stone Delicious.
Celebrate Good Times…
…come on!, it’s a Celebration (fresh hop IPA). The most wonderful time of the year…fresh hop beer season.
Wet Hop Simcoe City DIPA
Goes down quite smooth for 8.5% ABV .
Wet Hop Pretty Bird IPA
Not much nose, but damn tasty. Nice balance with nice hop flavors/bitterness. No ABV indicated, but would guess 7%-ish. Jeez…Pizza Port Solana Beach is packed tonight. Order a beer and get back in line.
Brewery X DIPA By the Minute
My in-laws surprised me for my birthday w/ a massive 32oz can of 8%/111 IBU double IPA from the new local brewery. The world needs a new craft brewery and a new Double IPA like a hole in the head as there are so many of them out there, but this one did surprise. It’s […]
Dogleg Brewing Tasters
L to R is top to bottom with the scotch ale in Nevada. ESB was ok… had no interest in finishing the others.
DDH Goodbye Pluto…
…(a delish 7.1% ABV, more than hazy…,opaque, IPA made with Galaxy, Comet and Mosaic hops) for me and Velvet Stars (a refreshingly tart/sweet 5% ABV kombucha made with raspberries hibiscus and honey) for the lady.
Stratablaster
10% ABV hazy IIPA. Piney and resinous nose with subtle melon notes. Soft mouth feel, great hop flavors with little to no lingering hop bitterness. The 10% ABV is less apparent with each sip.
Bar Sin Nombre 2nd Anniversary
L to R – #17, #40 & #36. 20 miles in and 20 to go before our next beer stop. Some nice beers to be tapped later too.
Averbode Abbey Ale
Feeling monkish. Liquid pre-lunch snack. She chose the Deliria and it seems off compared to what we recall from last time. The abbey ale is quite nice. A somewhat sweet malt and yeast nose. Nice balance flavor and finish. Clocking in at 7.5% ABV.
Boo!
9.4% ABV Enjoy-By today IPA. Not quite as spooky when it’s still light out, but worked just fine.
Nug-O-War
Only info not in the pic…6.5% ABV and a collaboration with Burgeon Beer Co. Quite tasty.
Kensington Brewing Tasters
We had heard Kensington Brewing opened a tasting room in Kensington. Todays CicloSDias took us right by it so it seemed a good place to stop. R to L we tried the Belgian Golden, Nitro Cream Ale, Hempstead Hazy and the Session IPA. Hazy was the fav. More an unfiltered west coast than the NE-style.
Pie Hard 2 – Pie Harder
A 5.5% ABV lemon pie inspired beer from the fine folks at Alvarado Street Brewing. A kettle sour made with lemons, vanilla and lactose on nitro. Failed to shake before pouring, so poured a bit flat. I think they a fine job getting the lemon meringue pie filling flavor in the beer. Tasty but somewhat […]
Not too surprising…
…to find that Stone Brewings 23rd anniversary beer is an IPA. I’m sure the words on the back of the bottle would tell the story of the “uncanny anni”, but don’t want to dig into the recycle bin, and, truth be told…I don’t really care. The beer itself is ok. Resinous hoppy nose, malty base […]
Spooky Ghosts
Started with Ghost Mountain a hazy NE-style IPA, juicy with soft mouth-feel, from Modern Times Beer Next moved to Ghost Hammer IPA from Stone Brewing. More in the west-coast style and quite enjoyable. Piney and resinous, pleasant bitterness that lingers just long enough to make you want another sip. No problem finishing either sample.
Nelson & Nelson
An 8% double IPA from Port Brewing. Piney hop nose. Medium body with lingering bitterness. Yeah, this will work. Though not really getting some of the characteristics I would expect from Nelson (Sauvin) in both boil and dry hopping, I’m enjoying it more as I continue to sip. Whoa… it’s gone! Who stole my beer?
I Don’t Like Mondays
“The silicon chip inside her head gets switched to overload. And nobody’s gonna go to school today, She’s going to make them stay at home…” As I recall when she was asked why she did it, her answer was “I don’t like Mondays’. A 1979 piano ballad about actual event the same year when a […]
Permanent Marker Pen Disguises….
..for me, and a Cactus Passion Dragon Fruit San Diego Vice for the lady. A 7% ABV medium bodied juicy IPA, with soft mouthfeel and mild bitterness from Columbus, Ohio’s Hoof Hearted Brewing. Darn tasty. Oh… the Vice was pretty good too. More on par with the draft versions of ones we’ve liked and better […]
Solis 95
Whoa…another old can in the beer drawer. Canned in Mar of 2019. Damn, I really need to do a better job of rotating beers forward. Straight from da can.
Gentle Reminder IPA
Found this in the bottom of the beer drawer. Ouch…June 2019 canning date… so a bit late. Oh well. Right out of the can the nose was a mix of piney, resinous, sweet malts with notes of fruit. Medium bodied IPA with soft, pillowy mouthfeel and a balanced finish. Maybe less bitterness than balanced. “Exudes […]
Desert Haze IPA
Mmm…new 7% ABV hazy at Amplified. Earthy hoppy nose, medium body with soft mouthfeel and mild lingering bitterness.
San Franpsycho IPA
Smell was mix of fruity sweetness and resinous hops. Flavor was a mix of malty sweetness with noticable fruit flavors with pronounced and lingering hop bitterness. Might be something with this particular can, but had to dump it.
Carlsbad Collective IPA
Tried this beer last night at Culver Beer Co., and had to come back for more. Great hop flavors over a pale malt body with crisp finish and no residual malt sweetness. ABV not indicated, but guessing between 6% and 7%. From the minds of (7) San Diego Brewers Guild members with tasting rooms in […]
Digital Bath
Quite happy with Belching Beaver’s Deftones (band) collaboration. A 6.5% ABV New England-style hazy IPA. Citrusy and juicy, mild bitterness with soft-mouth feel.
Colombia Mexican Lager
Sitting at the Dog Haus in Vista beating the heat with some cool brews.
Hazy AF
Another tasty IPA from Pizza Port Solana Beach. 6.8% ABV made in the hazy style. Nose is citrus forward. Bitterness is mild. It seems there is a film, or residue, left in the mouth after I swallow and that is where I taste the hop bitterness, which is dry. Somewhat to be expected..as I just […]
Temescal Here and Now
7% ABV citrus forward hazy-ish IPA with notes of tropical fruits and mild bitterness. Working just fine on this warm day in the lower left. Base on the name alone I would have guess Temescal would be from Temecula – Lake Elsinore area…Temescal Canyon. Once again pulling info from my backside, I’m wrong. They hail […]
What What Double IPA
A big boy glass of 9.1% ABV double IPA from the fine folks at Nevada’s Revision Brewing. FullPriceFriday
Unsung Slagma Red IPA
The back the can says that “Slagma strikes with a sticky, piney, resinous hop-bite and doesn’t relent. With a strong malt backbone, this vindictive invertebrate will prove to be surprisingly easy to swallow.” I don’t know who writes their marketing, but there’s no piney, resin, or hard to swallow. There is lots of red-malt complexity, […]
Pat & Skip’s Excellent Adventure
Yup…yummy IPA for me… and she got a beer too. Lucky to grab seats, and found out why they were empty….sun coming in at multiple angles: sky and reflecting off white bar top.
SiamWeizen
Another attempt at a Belgian-style witt/wheat beer…and still not quite there. Not bad enough to pour out. 4.5% ABV, cold and safer to drink than tap water.
U Beer
A 4.5% larger brewed by Singha that I thought was too sweet. No worry about a hang over? Wonder how that works? Maybe cuz one won’t want to drink it…or is it more a guarantee you will get one. Like, don’t worry, you’ll get it. Hmmm.
“Pretty Much My Favorite Animal”
Liger is a mediocre 5% ABV dark larger from Cambodia. Found in a local market, consumed on the patio.
Belgian Beers in Thailand
Somewhat surprised, and pleased, to find Belgian beers in Krabi…and not outrageously priced either. Maybe $7.50 US/ $225 Thai baht. It is a bit much compared to the $90 Baht for 12oz of the local mass produced lagers (Chang, Singha, or Leo..etc.)…but quite enjoyable.
Eleventh Fort IPL..
..for me. Crisp lager with light malt body and hop notes like an English pale ale. Didn’t note the ABV, but expect it was in the 5% range. She chose.. Devanom Mead Sour Mocha, a 5% ABV session mead with notes of coffee and chocolate. Flavor was good, more sweet with slight tart note. We […]
Russian River Intinction 2nd Release
Russian River has been flooding my local store w/ uniuqe beers. I am a sucker as I’ll buy everything they release. This week is Intinction. It has a funny wine cover knife on the label which I think represents the pilsner ages in sauvignon blanc barrels and grapes. It tastes like a sour (which I […]
Stone Head Beers
Stumbled into Craft (Silom) which is mostly imported craft beers. San Diego is well represented with 1/5 of the draft list. They also have a few local drafts and bottles. Of the draft… L to R are Stone Head’s Smiling Evil pale ale, Gangore IPA and The Dark Side stout. Bottles next. Coconut Cream Ale […]
…Leo in an Alley
Ok…more a narrow one-way street than an alley. At 90+ degrees and 90+% relative humidity, these 5% lagers are quite nice. Drink fast, or the beer gets warm.
Love Juice
A juicy 5.5% ABV NE-Style IPA from Henderson, NV. Last of the cans we brought back from the road trip in March.
Swami’s IPA
Doing some at-home self realizing.
Check Your Hops
New batch of the 7% ABV hazy IPA.
Freaky Kveiky
A 6.5% ABV NE-IPA made with Norwegian yeast for me, and Monterey Rosé, a 5.9% ABV tart wheat ale aged on fruit lees, for the lady. At HopSaint in Torrance. Quite tasty… looking forward to my catfish PoBoy…mmm
32 North The Conqueror Pilsner
It’s hot, it’s July and I’m at a biergarten in Vista. The pils is perfect.
32 North The Conqueror Pilsner
It’s hot, it’s July and I’m at a biergarten in Vista. The pils is perfect.
Super Sticky
Mmmm…8.2% ABV of hazy IPA yumminess, at Rip Current Brewing tasting room North Park. Dank hop nose with a flavor that didn’t disappoint.
Bakers Dozen
I was impressed with this maple bourbon barrel-aged barleywine from Mason Ale Works. Strong toffee flavors over the chocolate and coffee…like a pastry stout, but a barleywine…mmm. Clocking in at 13% ABV doesn’t hurt…but it did a little this morning.
H24 Orange Wheat
I had this beer at Hanger 24s original brew house in Redlands a decade ago. It was great on that hot, smoggy day and it’s still really refreshing today. I’m going to have this one more often this summer.
Pan A Flores
A 7% ABV porter from South Norte. The nose reminded me of Chuao Chocolate’s Spicy Maya dark chocolate bar – sweet chocolate, cinnamon and chilies. I was pleasantly surprised it was not too coffee forward. Flavors of sweet chocolate with cinnamon and some underlying coffee. Though sweet, it’s not a pastry stout…and if comparing to […]
Rolling Rock
Been a long time since I had a beer from the glass lined tanks of old Latrobe. Tastes pretty much how I expected.
New Batch ‘O New Gen
Mmm….New Generation Hazy IPA is back on draft at Amplified Ale Works. Not an easy choice when there age so many tasty options.
Fuzz Pedal n & FIFA Finals
I’ve been reluctant to share postings of Amplified Ale Work recent batch Fuzz Pedal IPA, a 6% ABV hazy IPA, and collaboration with Crosby Hop Farms. So damn good. I’ve been told the hop bill from Crosby was not disclosed, but would guess predominantly Nelson. Citrus fruit nose with underlying pine. Flavor is not subtle; […]
Happy 4th of July
A great reason to do some day drink’n on the streets. No better beer than Amplified Ale Works Juice Springsteen, with it’s aptly colored themed label, and no better place than the 40th annual Bird Rock 4th of July Festival and Parade, today from 10am to 1pm. Cheers.
Anaconda Harmonica DIPA…
…for me, and a Framboiii for the lady. Found these gems at Session Craft, Reykjavik.
Northern Lager
Yeeewwww IPA
When you say the name of this one you need to make the Shaka sign with your fingers. Lots of mosaic in this Backstreet Brew.
RVK Brewing Tasters
To get it to eight glass flight, we passed pn the lager, chose the draft version of the “All Night Long” and the nitro version of the “AfterHours” for the fight. Quite pleased with them all. I thought the nose for draft of All Night Long was off Favs were the cask version of All […]
Ölvisholt Tasters
Knowing their open hours were limited, we were happy to find them open when driving past. Unfortunately we arrived 15 mins before closing; they were gracious enough to serve us anyway, as another brewery staffer was on site tending to things for a bit longer. We agreed on a flight of 8 beers, as well […]
Borg Brugghus Bjórs
Myrkvi NR.13, a 6% ABV coffee porter, for the lady, and Úlfur NR.3, a 5.9% ABV IPA, for me. Staying at a horse ranch hostel in Skjol, and found a campground with a small restaurant-bar right across the way.
Skadi Farmhouse Ale
A pleasant 7.5% Icelandic-style farmhouse ale from Ölvisholt Brewery. Nicely balanced and malt forward. We will be passing the brewery tomorrow, hopefully during their 12 to 3 open hours.
Ölverk Tasters
A quick stop at Ölverk Pizza and Brewery, just west of Selfoss. From R to L we tried 1, 3, 4 and 7…later realized 4 and 7 were guest beers. Ölvisholt is a planned stop in a couple days.
Exorbitance
A delish 13+% pastry stout from Moksa Brewing out of Sacramento, CA. Like a Scandinavian Omnipolo pastry stout good. If ya don’t already have diabetes, this is a good head start. Dessert sweet. Surprised, but quite pleased, to find it still on tap a week after last weeks Moksa tap takeover.
Hop Puddin’ Can
After trying Juice in a can I had to try a Hop Puddin’ can. Mmm… still some bitterness, but slightly less. Quite tasty… though still think “Hawaiian Topics” while sipping. Michele wants even zero bitterness and added chocolate notes, like an Almond Joy. Yeah, yeah…Mounds is the one without almonds, but AJ is dark chocolate. […]
Juice by the Pool
Juice in the can is awesome. Sure, that’s my perspective… but that’s me drinking n typing n shit. The can has been in the fridge for a week or so, and I didn’t pour the last bit…keeping the sludge to a minimum. I thought it has less lingering bitterness and found even more juicy.
Original 40 tasters
Happy to find plenty of liquid refreshments available though it is the last day of their soft opening. My fav was Feeling Safe, assuming I got the beer order correct. Juicy with strong grapefruit notes, and a touch of sweetness. Not really a west coast IPA, but tasty none the less.
Knee Deep Simtra
I like a lot of Knee Deep Brewing’s beers. I even like some of their IPAs. The label sounded familiar, so I grabbed one. This is just ridiculous and undrinkable. I confused their Citra with Simtra. Coming in at 11.25% with Citra and Simcoe hops that top out at a 131 IBU. They describe it […]
Trestles IPA
Left Coast brewery of San Clemente, California claims that “People that go left are in their right mind.” Last I checked, the point at Trestles break far better right. Trestle’s IPA has IBU’s of 58.5. It’s brewed by a local, family owned Left Coast Brewery in San Clemente. The label claims it’s a light bodied, […]
Coastal Eddy
It’s been some months since my last venture to The Casbah. In addition to the select drafts I recall cans of some smaller local brews, as well as 12oz of larger crafts and 20+oz. of macro-brews. This 6.5% ABV hazy IPA tallboy offering from 32 North is a pleasant surprise. Juicy with strong notes of […]
Belgian Pale Ale
At Pizza Port Solana Beach. Nicely hopped with Belgian yeast notes, and only 5% ABV. Quite nice. 134 IPA ain’t a bad choice either.
Caught in a Rip
A delish 11.5% IPA from the fine folks at Rip Current Brewing. Though a bit sweet on the nose, the piney and resinous hop flavors are front and forward from start to finish.
Old Can o’ New Gen
Not to be confused with Bad Reputation or My Generation… it’s held up surprisingly well for a 9 month old 6.5% ABV IPA. Rumor has it that it is on the schedule again for rerelease…hmm.. or maybe that was a dream.
Give Me Cali or Give Me Death
Newer collaboration beer from Amplified Ale Works and Chula Vista’s 3 Punks…you guess it.. it’s an IPA made in the hazy style.
Saint Archer Hazy IPA
After sitting for a bit packaged hazy beers can have a concentrated sludge on the bottom that would be best avoided. When in a can you can’t see it…but it’s often there, lurking. A vigorous shake isn’t necessary; but maybe a bit of can rotating to reintroduce the sediment back into the liquid. The beer […]
Cocomo IPA
I’ve tried many a Figueroa Mtn beer, but likely just scratching the surface of the Fig Mtn beer catalog. But, it’s quite possibly the best Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. beer I’ve had. It’s a well balanced IPA with a mild coconut nose and tad more than a hint of coconut on the finish. It’s got […]
Blind Tasting
Revengeful Spirit IIPA
Stone Brewing’s 8.1% ABV imperial IPA made with pineapple and mandarin orange. Fruity up front, somewhat sweet while in my mouth and with just enough lingering hop finish to encourage another sip. Whoa… that was gone fast… who drank my beer?
Petrus Cherry Chocolate Quad
Years ago we would make a dessert-like beer cocktail mixing Young’s Double Chocolate Stout and Lindeman Frambois. This Petrus reminded me of that; sweet and dessert-like. At 8.5% ABV it had almost 50% more octane compared to our beer cocktail. Tonight we had after dinner and found it quite enjoyable. Coating our mouths almost like […]
Codename: Superfan
Fresh off the bus from Lafayette we walked into Whole Foods with the idea of a snack or the $1 fresh shucked oysters that was on the sign outside. Instead I’m lounging in Adirondack chair in the beer lounge of a supermarket. Happy with my beer choice…juicy.
4 Noses Whimsy NEIPA
Yummy citrus juiciness. Currently on a rotating tap at Stout St Social.
Liberati Oenobeer Tasters
Oenobeers are beers made with the addition of wine grapes, or grape must, or juice, etc., prior to fermentation…always starting with a base beer first. Quite interesting. Like wine-barrel aged beers, but all stainless. For some, like the stout, I think contaminated… like unintentional souring that is not quite sour. Hard to wrap my head […]
Four Peaks Phoenix Airport
21 mins to board… so a Hop Knot IPA for me and a Kilt Lifter for the lady.
Thru the Haze IPA
Quite happy with this 6.4% ABV beverage from the fine folks of Bear Republic Brewing. 49 words worth of picture below.
Tongue of Angels IPA…
…for me (100% Simcoe…mmm)., and a Grassmarket 80 Schilling for the lady.
Murkwood & Polar Opposite
A Pure Project hazy IPA for me, and the 32 North golden coffee stout with vanilla on nitro for the lady.
SouthNorte Aniversario 1
Pleasantly surprised by this 7.5% ABV belgian-style saison. This has been in the fridge for a while as we weren’t to impressed with other SouthNorte beers we’ve tried.
