A visual tribute to beer and the people who love it.
Totally open, and last night diner wait was about an hour. Bar area has open seating, and though packed we had beers in hand and found a seats at a shared table within a few minutes. Six beers available…the list below… ..plus a session IPA called “The “C” Word”, and a collaboration saison with Sierra […]
Our first visit to Vista’s newest brewery…open for maybe a month now. Clockwise from top (the foamy one), a fruit IPA, a scotch ale, a nelson IPA and a sour beer.
The first brewery to open in San Diego in 2016 is also San Diego’s newest brewery. Go figure being only the 5th of January. As expected I preferred the hoppy beers. Michele preferred the Black Sheep coffee porter on CO2 over the nitro version. Just down the street from the Morena Costco, I can see […]
Nothing surprising, but a decent interpretation of a Belgian-style wit beer…or that’s my guess based on what I tasted. 4.5% ABV from Detroit’s Atwater Brewery.
Tasted 6 different hard root beers at today’s New Year Day party. 5.0% ABV to 7.5% ABV. From San Diego, CA to Brooklyn, NY. Many different flavor profiles. Though all were sweet and distinctly root beer-ish, some were more sweet than others. Some had more of a black licorice/anise flavor, and one I recall having […]
Very nice hoppy imperial red ale. Nice hop nose and flavor up front, and a clean finish without the lingering bitterness. 8.7% ABV.
Very pleased with this light Belgian-style farmhouse ale from New Holland Brewing. Though not on the label, per the brewery website only 5.6% ABV and 23 IBU.
8.8% ABV barrel aged Sin Tax is their fourth of Four Seasons of Mother Earth. The strong whiskey notes overpower the flavors of the peanut butter stout when first poured cold. Flavors mellow to a nice blend of wood and whiskey on top of the original base beer as it warms.
I found a bottle of 2014 Lazy Marmot Maibock from Grand Teton Brewing in the fridge.
‘Nuf said.
A wee bit of the 12% ABV Belgian Merry Ho Ho libation.
On the left, the 6.5% ABV GABF gold medal winner, Revolver IPA, from BNS Brewing for me, and Bagby’s 9.2% ABV Golden Girl Belgian-style golden strong ale for the lady.
My true love gave to me a case of Sierra Nevada Celebration
Michele smuggled this back from her recent trip to Kalamazoo MI. A smooth and sweet porter with strong vanilla flavors, starts good but finishes kinda watery. 7%ABV. I found it odd to see on the label that “carmel color” was added along with “artificial flavor”. Why was added color needed? I assume the added flavor […]
This farmhouse ale brewed with Brettanomyces smelled great and was very promising. Unfortunately this bottle had a strong aftertaste of bandaids/ adhesive/ antiseptic which made the lingering bitterness unpleasant.
Our first visit since they moved into the old Whiskey Creek building…so it has been a while. Our favorites were the Wild Sierra, their mountain farmhouse saison brewed with pine, and Bluesa Brett, a mildly tart blonde with brett.
Brewed with Neomexicanus Hops, this is Sierra Nevada’s 5th of their 5 beer Harvest series. I’m enjoying it. Though a past version smelled strongly of marijuana, this one is less so.
Perfect timing for our board/ski trip to Mammoth, as this nano brewery opened for business a week ago. Five tasty offerings and after a nice day on the hills we ended up getting more.
A tasty 7.2% Belgian-style ale that I found more saison-like than Triple, but that’s just me.
We’ve been sitting on this for a little while. Not sure when it was released, but aged in rye whiskey barrels from 7-5-13 to 5-19-14. 8.2% ABV. It has held up very well. Nice wood and whiskey notes.
Session IPA from Michigan’s Paw Paw Brewing Company. Pleasant hop flavor with citrus and fruit notes.
At Grand Holiday Marketplace at Cellar 3.
AleSmith was the first stop, followed by Duck Foot and then Regents Pizza for a big boy glass (the Fish IPA from Pizza Port Brewing) and a slice. Last stop Amplified Ale Works and their Soundcheck IPA. A great way to spend a day.
As you might expect, a big boy glass of Knee Deep Breaking Bud, an American IPA, for me, and the dainty glass of Modern Times Fruitlands, gose, with Apricots for the lady. I’m not gonna lie, as much as I’m enjoying the Breaking Bud, I should have got the Fruitlands. More tart than sweet…more so […]
Came here for The Patsy, and stoked to find this recently tapped double IPA on draft. Cheers to Kevin. Damn good beer maker. Grabbing some Patsy to go for some side by side coconut beer tastings.
13.2% ABV Imperial Stout aged a year in Buffalo Trace barrels. Also a few palate cleansers… L to R…Pumpkin Pi, Tripel Point and Goldzilla. Good stop.
Not to be confused with Phantom Carriage in Torrance, Phantom Ales is in Anaheim. From L to R – Grand Cru, Sour Barrel-aged Saison, Flying Brick Double IPA, Aletheia Cider, Simcoe Fusion IPA, and a Barrel-aged Grand Cru, a collaboration with Bootleggers Brewery. Her favorite was the 9.8% ABV Grand Cru, where mine was the […]
On draft at Long Beach chapter of Congregation Ale House.
Looking at the tap list, we’ve had more than we thought.
All pretty good…though a bit bummed we could only choose between their core flight or their specialty flight. Enjoyed the splash of First Rodeo, the first anniversary IPA.
Top to bottom, left to right..nuf said.
All good, but favs were the Kinski and The Brood.
Churchill’s X was my post Thanksgiving family meal beverage…well…more like my post post…post beverage. Good none the less.
8.1% ABV Xocoveza for the holidays and the new year packaged in recyclable 12oz serving vessles…and per the label, now to be an annual release. Cheers to Chris Banker.
Pushed to the back, it was forgotten or overlooked until now. Only a tad late though.
I enjoyed this Oklahoma brewed farmhouse ale bottle conditioned with Brettanomyces. Refreshing. Some fruitiness and tartness, and a bit of funk.
Three Weavers Expatriate IPA for me, and Bagby Golden Girl for the lady.
Neverwhere, Brett IPA, for me and Fruitlands, sour cherry gose, for the lady.
We decided to have a blind taste test to compare the 2. It’s been a while since I’ve had it, but have always enjoyed Maui’s CoCoNut Porter and it was the first thing I thought of when I tried Death by Coconut last night. Death by Cocont nose and flavor are more sweet and rich […]
A newer offering from Oskar Blues Brewing is a very smooth porter with a roasty-coconut-milk chocolate nose and a flavor to match. All that and 6.5% ABV. Very good….will try side by side with Maui’s Coconut Porter soon.
Really quite delicious. A sweet floral/ earthy nose, flavor is mild tartness with subtle herb / earthy notes that linger on the palate long enough that you want another sip. Going down way to fast. This is the second Propolis beer we tasted. Both very good. We definitely need to get our hands on some […]
Really quite good…and not like anything else I’ve tasted. In a small classification of Biére de Champagne/ Biére Brut. I’d describe as Belgian golden strong ale with semi-sweet brut champagne chacteristics…tiny bubbles and 11.5% ABV too.
At The Joint in OB. Always a good choice, though had I spent a bit more time reading the signs before ordering, I would likely noticed that Sculpin IPA are $2.50 pints all night on Tuesdays…and you would be seeing a post of that instead.
I chose tasters of CoCoRasa, their robust porter brewed with coconut and vanilla, Seize the IPA, their regular ‘ol IPA, and Fool Me Twice, an imperial IPA. All very good.
The Temptress Imperial Milk Stout from Lakewood Brewing Company, Dallas, Texas.
A heck of a good thing going on here in my mouth. Slightly tart, a bit funky with notes of wood. This one bottled July 1, 2015, so we only had laying around for a few months.
…for me, and Tieton Cider Works Apricot/ Apple Cider for the lady. At Toronado SD.
The fourth out of five beer series from Sierra Nevada. Not even gonna dirty a glass, n drink it right out of da jug. 24oz of yummy 6.8% wet hop IPA for $5.99 plus crv n tax = good deal.
Sipping and doing homework. Enjoying very much right now.
…, but not all night long. In this case the 22oz of IPA lasted approximately an hour, sipping in between bites of food. First Green Flash bottle of Alpine beer I’ve of tasted. I enjoyed it. Not sure if Alpine bottled using Green Flash vessels, or if Green Flash is now bottling the product.
The second Bolero Snort Brewery beer Michele smuggled back home from her recent trip to New Jersey. A sweet malty ale clocking in at 7% ABV. I don’t taste cranberries or orange peel than the label says it was brewed with.
Suprisingly good were Grunion with pineapple and guava, Sculpin with mango and the cask of Sculpin with passionfruit.
A piney and resinous colaboration IPA from South Park Brewing Company and Stone Brewing’s Jeremy Moynier.
Designed by Nippon Craft Beer, Tokyo. Product of Belgium. An 8% ABV mildly spiced Belgian amber ale.
Hess Brewing OB tap room grand opening is off to a slow start…no line is a good thing. About to tap the cask of 2014 barleywine. No food truck…yet. No face painting…yet. Free pretzels snacks…while they last.
Though not on the menu the XPA is quite good…while it lasts. Can’t believe it’s been 3 years.
From Bolero Snort Brewery in New Jersey. Smooth malty sweetness up front, a bit watery in the middle with mildly bitter roasty finish. All that and 5.3% ABV. Brewed and bottled by High Point Brewing Co., also from New Jersey.
At the source, and very good batch…though can’t recall a bad batch.
Sierra Nevada’s IPA using brewery grown organic wet hops and barley. Malt forward with lingering resinous bitterness.
9.6% ABV imperial stout brewed with vanilla beans from New Yorks Southern Tier. Happy Halloween.
Like’n the New English IPA on draft today.
From Burial Beer Co., in Ashville, North Carolina, a 6.2% ABV Belgian-style farmhouse ale, malty sweetness with a dry finish.
Wild ale brewed and bottled by Big Al Brewing in Seattle, Washington. Not funky, not oak aged, not sour but not all bad…just not great. 4.2% ABV
In Toronto having a lager from Hop City, a local brewery here in Ontario.
Always something to look forward to. This malt forward fresh hop IPA from Sierra Nevada rarely disappoints. Cheers.
An delicious oak aged wild ale from the fine folks at Jolly Pumpkin.
My favorite is the Todos Santos Double IPA.
Making a good day that much better. If in Alameda, Lucky 13 is a good beer spot, with Chimay on draft.
Made by Oakland’s Ale Industries for Burma Superstar restaurants, I found this spiced shandy-like beer very refreshing. Ginger, lemon and coriander flavors over a light bodied beer paired well with the spicy food. 4.6% ABV.
At Capitol Beer in Sacramento. The fine folks at Capitol Beer drive to Berkeley to pickup the kegs at Fieldwork Brewing, bringing good craft beer to the masses.
Alpine Duet and Golden Road’s Wolf Among the Weeds at The Compass in Carlsbad, CA
I like this re-release of their original Belgian-inspired IPA. I think it tastes like I remember, but that was a lot of beers ago. I also enjoyed Your Father Smelt of Elderberries, a strong ale which, I would assume was made with elderberries, but couldn’t really tell by the taste.
At Port Brewing. I would like to try them all side by side. I think #2 citrus and something was my favorite.
At Stone Liberty Station.
In approximately 6 hours last night, the four of us polished off 18 bottles of some pretty awesome beer. I didn’t get a photo of the Amplified 2015 barrel aged Rare Form, or Dual Artisanship a collaboration beer from Perennial Artisan Ales and Prarie Artisan Ales…as well as a few others. It wasn’t until I was […]
From Deep River Brewing Co. in Clayton, North Carolina. Pleasant roasty porter. Pumpkin is more noticeable as it warms. Less pie spice flavor doesn’t overwhelm the porter and pumpkin flavors. 5.9% ABV.
12% ABV barrel aged offering from the fine folks at Mother Earth Brew Co. Damn good beer. A nose of sweet dried dark fruit, molasses and wood aged alcohol. Flavor does not disappoint. I look forward to trying this after cellaring for a few years.
Well…sorta. At the Mother Earth Brew Co. Main St. tap room.
Kern River Brewing 8th Anniversary Ale is an 8.5% ABV double white IPA. The nose is full hops with notes of pine, cedar, and even marijuana. It has a wonderful hop flavor over the low malt/wheat base. I need to get another bottle.
13.something % ABV imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels with coffee and cocoa nibs added. Preserved well.
This farmhouse ale aged in wine barrels with apricots, from Tahoe Brewing, is by far the best beer I had all day. Slightly tart, fruity but not too sweet. Very refreshing.
Though busy here, its a great break from the crowds on India Street for the street festival today.
Damn good.
7% ABV and 90 IBU wet hop IPA at Oceanside’s Local Tap House (LTH) & Kitchen.
From Guadeloupe Brewing in Texas. It’s like a hard A&W Cream Soda …surprisingly good.
Though I’ve heard/ read good things about beers from Wendlandt, in Encenada, I was still skeptical. Really quite good.
Very nice. Fruity but not sweet, and mildly tart. Quite refreshing.
A 9.2% ABV Belgian-style strong golden brewed and canned by North Carolina’s own Raleigh Brewing Company. Though we both thought it tasted true to the style, we tasted different things. I found it more dry, while she felt it more sweet.
Same pool n koozie…but in a big boy can.
A nice day for a beer by the pool. Yep…that’s one of the coveted “d’Brickashawna” koozies to keep my beer cozy.
8.5%ABV double IPA at 4S Karl Strauss.
Rogue Farms 7 and a Youngs chocolate Stout to finish off the week
A very tasty brett saison brewed with Elderflowers from Port Townsend, WA.
It poured a bit murky, but not chunky. Fruit and funk nose. Very pleasant saison-like flavor; mildly fruity, subtle sweetness, nice finish with just a bit of bitterness…enough to make me want another sip. Overall very happy with this Belgian-style ale with peach and brett from the fine folks at Atlanta’s Sweet Water Brewing Company. […]
….umm…I mean MillerCoors Mosaic IPA.
7.9% ABV strong ale from the fine folks at Funky Buddha Brewery.
