Brews Clues

Beer Brats, Craft Style

2011-07-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Back in Los Angeles. It was a good month in the Far East, but I'm pretty happy to be back in SoCal for my favorite time of year: Summer. 2 fridges and a cellar full of delicious craft beers is quite a site to come home to, I wasn't even sure where to begin. My first brew back was a Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red and I wish I could say I liked it better, but it was still a nice re-entry into a world of brewing where they use copious amounts of hops and grain, rather than corn extract, yeast and water.

This weekend we were throwing a barbeque, and keeping with the tradition of beer dishes, I wanted to find a way of using beer in whatever we made. Since last December, I've had my eye on doing some beer brats, so it was a clear choice for the weekend. However, after quite a bit of research online I found very few sources that used anything beyond the crappiest beer in the fridge. On a side note, I did find a lot of recipes that instructed you to use one can of "ale or lager," as though those were specific styles you could find in the store. I found it pretty hilarious. These poor people are so uninformed about brew they don't even understand the basic types of beer. It'd be the same as if I suggested they cook vegetables or meat... leave's a lot of questions unanswered.

Anyway, after scouring the internet for the better part of a few hours, I found a handful (literally) of recipes that used something better than bud light. However, what I didn't expect to find in my research, was some excellent advice about how to cook beer brats from Wisconsin natives. Despite their lack of good beer knowledge, they had some excellent tips on the do's and don'ts of perfect beer brats. So using pieces of advice I gleamed from the beer brat veterans and ingredients from some of these recipes, I set out to make the perfect Craft Beer Brat.

In my case, I was making around 12 brats, so this recipe is large, but you could easily cut down the proportions. Credit to Dethroner, for much of the ingredients of this recipe, although I made my own variations based on some reading.

Ingredients:
12 brats uncooked.
- You can get the pre-cooked ones, but you're going to have a hard time imparting the beer flavor to them. Get the raw ones.
1 - 2 Yellow Onions, cut into rings and halved.
2 Tbs Butter
1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tsp sugar
2-4 cups of beef broth or stock
12 thick cut buns (the hot dog buns are a little too flimsy for this, get the thick ones)
2 22 oz bottles of brown ale. (Brekle's Brown)
- The beer of course took a lot of thinking. I decided to go with a brown because of their sweetness and toasted malt flavors. I've used a brown ale once before for cooking meat and had excellent results. Since I didn't want to spend a fortune on beer that was going to be cooked, I found a reasonably priced $5 Brekle's Brown from Anchor brewing.
2 - 3 extra beers on hand, you could use almost anything, more browns, pale ales, even some pacificos. I chose Sierra Nevada's Kellerweis because it's also a little sweet.

Using a big pot, melt the butter and oil at medium-high heat, add the onions, and pinch or two of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are almost caramelized, about 15 - 20 minutes. The way to tell is if they're soft and just starting to turn brown. Towards the end of this cooking add your sugar. I used regular granulated white sugar, but brown would be good too.

Add your brats, beer, and enough beef broth to cover the the brats and then cook for about 30 - 45 minutes on medium heat. You don't want to boil the brats. Boiling will cause the skin on the brats to split which lets out all the flavor you've been cooking in. Instead keeping at a simmer, so you see little bubbles continually rise. Meanwhile your house will smell amazing as these babies cook.

After cooking them, transfer the brats with tongs to a grill. You should have the grill going at about medium to medium high heat. You can tell the ideal temperature for the grill by putting your hand about 2 inches above it. You should be able to hold your hand there for about 4 - 5 seconds. Score both sides of the brats to your liking, but probably about 3 - 5 minutes per side. Keep your beer and onions mixture on the stove and up the heat. It should start to thicken and you'll get some great glaze and beer onions.

When the brats are done, transfer them directly into a beer bath with the remaining beer, in my case the Kellerweis. This last second beer bath will add a little more beer flavor (so you may want to stick with your original beer choice), but also keeps them nice and moist, everyone hates those dried out disgusting hot dogs and sausages at bbqs.

Put the brats in buns and top with the beer glaze and onions and anything else you like. We offered people a hot pepper relish, sauerkraut, mustard and banana peppers.

They turned out fucking amazing. Try it out!

Beer in China, Part 3, Homebrew

2011-07-05T07:32:00.001-07:00

I find myself in South China, about 10 to 12 hours from the Vietnam border. We're walking down a well lit and touristy street simply called Xie Lue, or West st, in Yangshuo in the Guanxi Province. The reason we're wandering the banks of the Li river is in pursuit of a French Restaurant called Le Votre that supposedly brews its own beer. A French restaurant in China is definitely an odd concept, but I'm assuming that this close to Vietnam there was probably some overflow during the colonial era. However, that still doesn't explain why a French restaurant would be brewing it's own beer. The French have always been somewhat lukewarm to beer, never letting it surpass their infatuation with wine as the number one drink of choice. All of these are questions that I would normally expect to find answers to, but the one thing traveling in China has taught me is that there are often no logical or satisfactory answers to the anomolies you encounter.
We find the restaurant located midway down the street, it's a big establishment by Chinese restaurant standards with a large courtyard and steps leading up to the kitchen and more seating. There's a guy with a keyboard setting up at the top of the stairs and I can't decide if this is another one of young China's inane musical acts, or an homage to the synthesizer demo, which, after all, must be entering its 25th or 30th anniversary by now.
On the front of the menu it advertises two types of beers, available in two sizes. There's no descriptions of the beers, simply pictures, and I don't have the language skills to delve into the finer style details with a waiter in Chinese, and judging by the wait staff I'm not really expecting them to know anyway. But the pictures show light and dark and I'm quickly told that the light beer is not available tonight, making my choice relatively simple.
I suppose to an outsider this type of menu looks pretty cheesy, not the product of an expensive French restaurant. While I can't argue with the menu's resemblance to camembert or brie, such is the common design of menus in China. Menus are more akin to short novellas, complete with pictures and strange Freudian mispellings. One of the first restaurants we stopped at in Beijing had a menu that was 76 pages long!
So left with only one choice, I ordered the "dark" beer. It is, much as I expected, some basic variant on an export version of the Munich Dunkel. What I don't expect is the fact that it actually tastes homebrewed, true to the name! There's just enough roast and residual sweetness in the grain to give it some uniqueness before the flood of lagery water takes over. Still it's a nice change from the malt liquor and mass produced lagers that have been otherwise dominating my palate on this trip.
The lighter beer, while I'm unable to try it or get any description of it, I'm guessing is a blonde ale or more than likely since they have lagering capabilities, a Czech style pilsner. Questions such as their production process, ingredients, capacity, all had to be left in the giant chasm of misunderstanding that is the language barrier.
However, still an interesting discovery in the south of China. The journey continues...

Beer in China part 2, Tibetan Barleywine

2011-06-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

As our travel in China continues, we find ourselves much farther West than Beijing, in the fiery province of Sichuan. Megan and I came here largely for the famous spicy cuisine, but also because it sits at the base of the Himalayas and offers some amazing hikes and even more spectacular views.
Last week while pursuing some of those views, we found ourselves in Northern Sichuan, an area called Juizhaigou. The pronounciation on this name varies depending on who you ask, but "joe's-hi-go," seemed to be more or less correct. Its a stunning national park on par with our Yellowstone and Yosemite. The park consists of 9 lakes, all with crystal clear blue fresh water, making them completely transparent and breathtaking. Unfortunately, like many tourist attractions in China, the park is strictly controlled with paths and expensive one day passes and ridiculously overcrowded with Chinese tourists. However, the scenery is so stunning that it's still worth making the arduous trip up there.
Rather than staying at one of Juizhaigou's many overpriced hotels, we decided to stay with a small family that lived near the park. The villages in that area are all composed of native Tibetans and many of the women still wear a traditional dress. While staying with this Tibetan family, the grandmother showed me an area of the yard where she kept around 20 or so beehives. We had already tasted some of the honey with homeade bread and I was aware of how delicious fresh honey is, but this seemed like a tremendous amount of beehives for just a little honey and bread. It was then that the Grandmother showed me that she used it to make Barleywine. Amazing. It's unbelievable that I can travel halfway around the world, and bus out to the most remote Tibetan village in the mountains, and yet I still come across a new beer.
The Tibetan Barleywine, or Chiang in Tibetan, is a barleywine in name alone, and due to all the honey, is really much more like an Ethiopian T'ej. Due to the language barrier it was difficult to get all the information a hungry beer deprived mind like mine was looking for, but I was able to gleen a few things about the process. Barleywine is the most popular Tibetan alcoholic drink and is considered to have healing qualities. Before drinking, the Tibetans often dip the fourth finger of their right hand and flick three times to show respect for heaven, the earth, and ancestors.
Chiang is made from a barley base, which is washed, roasted, and then fermented along with the honey for anywhere from 3 to 12 months. It was difficult to find out what they used for yeast, but I read that it's usually yeast that's derived naturally from Tibetan wildflowers and medicinal plants. They said it's around 3% alcohol content, but it tasted closer to 5% when I tasted it. The flavor, as you might have guessed, was overwhelming sweet. Like T'ej, it had that sort of syrupy body bordering on boozy; it actually tasted a lot like an apple vodka. But all that being said, it was still fun to drink and was a nice alternative to the watered down mass produced lagers and malt liquors that were otherwise available.

Beer in China, Tsingtao

2011-06-15T07:00:00.001-07:00

For those that don't know, I'm currently traveling through China. In an effort to keep the unquenchable appetites of my readers fulfilled, I thought I'd try some mobile blogging.
So far while wandering around Beijing I've seen a few different mass industrial produced lagers. Most of them resemble the malt liquor I drank out of 40s in college, and a few seem to match that unmistakable essence of Milwaukee Best. However, when in China there is one name that dominates almost all beer, Tsintao, pronounced "chin-dao."
This staple of Chinese beer, widely available in the states, is something of a Budweiser of China, and in taste its not too far off the mark from that: watery malts, with no apparent hops presence, and massive carbonation. In pairing with all the rich and often spicy foods we've been eating, the beer is often too thin to stand up to such bold flavors. But even with all its faults, when served cold it does a remarkable job of cutting through the humidity and smog of the city.
Tsingtao comes from an area just Southeast of Beijing and nestled on the coast of the Yellow Sea called, Qingdao. The area was claimed by Germany in 1898, which helped to begin its beer production in 1903, and thus Tsingtao was born, making it one of the few active breweries in the world over 100 years old. After a brief ownership under the Japanese occupation, as Dai Nippon Brewery starting in 1914, they returned to their namesake under communist China in 1949. After that the beer flourished and is now owned by the giant InBev, I guess that explains the flavor similarities to Budweiser.

While they started out with two styles: a light pilsner and dark munich, it's the pilsner that is found in most restaurants around the world. The taste as I mentioned isnt really worth writing about, but under Anheiser-Busch leadership they do remain consistent. Supposedly you can still get a version of their dark Munich if you go to the original brewery location in Qingdao, where the beers are served traditionally in bags rather than bottles. As of yet I have no plans to make it out there, but things may change as the trip continues.

BrewDog and Mikkeller, Devine Rebel

2011-06-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

The collaboration is all the rage these days. Hopefully, you've all at least had a chance to taste one of Stone's many beers from their collaboration series, which includes breweries like Ballast Point, Nogne O, BrewDog, Dogfishead, Victory, Jolly Pumpkin, and many other notable brewers. But it's not just brewers that collaborating these days. Some of you were probably lucky enough to check out the ColLAboration event at Tony's this past weekend. ColLaboration is a series of pop-up mobile craft beer gardens where true beer enthusiasts can gather and enjoy the best in brews under the warm California sun. It's led by some of the best beer bars in the city joining forces: Verdugo/Surly Goat, Blue Palms, 38 Degrees, and Tony's/Mohawk Bend. You can check out their page here. So it seems only fitting that tonight I'm drinking one of craft beer's biggest collaborators and extreme beer makers, Mikkeller and BrewDog.

For those that don't know, and there can't be many of you if you've even read my blog once, Mikkeller is a "gypsy brewer," originally hailing from Denmark with a love of American Style Ales. The self-titled term, "gypsy brewer," comes from his lack of a home brewery, relying on the kindness and collaboration of other breweries to make his beer. BrewDog is the Scottish brewery created by the young brewmeister rebels James Watt and Martin Dickie. They are known for their eccentric and high gravity beers, including the famous Sink the Bizmark and Nuclear Penguin, weighing in at over 40% abv. When these two get together, it only makes sense that they should chase after a style that is one of the grandest of all, the English Barleywine.

For the uninitiated, a barleywine is in fact a beer, not a wine. The term wine is applied because it has a similar alcohol content to wine and is one of the strongest beer styles. They tend to load up on every ingredient characterized by rich malt and fruit flavors and often bold hop bitterness. The color can range anywhere from amber to brown and the body is usually very thick. The only thing that separates the American Barleywine from the English is the use of hops. American Barleywines tend to use more high alpha acid hops than their British cousins.

According to the bottle, this Devine Rebel is inspired by the experimental and rebellious nature of the two brewers who made it, using ale and champagne yeasts along with partially aging the beer in Speyside whiskey barrels. The color is a beautiful rich ruby with very little head. Aromas are of malts with sweet raisins and toffee. Despite having a failry boozy taste, it's still very drinkable. There's a very strong malt and rich raisin flavor with a roasted essence that wasn't apparent in the aroma, but is quite strong in flavor. True to the style, the hops are present, but certainly don't dominate. It's not overly carbonated, but has just enough from the champagne yeast to have a nice balance against the otherwise creamy mouthfeel. Unfortunately, I'm not tasting any of the whiskey barrels in this. Still an enjoyable drink though.

Devine Rebel: ***1/2

Grand Teton Trout Hop Black IPA

2011-05-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I was speaking with a good friend who just finished a two week trek from Indiana to Oregon and one of the first things he tells me is what an amazing beer scene there is in… Idaho. For those of you trapped in the smoggy SoCal beer scene, the hip Bay Area beer scene, or the burgeoning Philadelphia and Maryland beer scenes, this may come as a bit of a shock. But if you've spent any time in Oregon, Washington, or had the fortunate opportunity to travel through the Gem State, you're probably well aware that there are some skilled artisan brewers starting to make a name for themselves in Idaho. And why not? Situated in the blue mountains, between Yellowstone and the Tetons in the East and the Blue Mountains in the West, Idaho has all the peaks, rivers, and valleys that really can't be called complete unless there's brewery not too far around the corner.

One of the leaders in Idaho brewing is Grand Teton Brewing. Grand Teton was originally started just over the border in Wilson, Wyoming by Charlie and Ernie Otto, two brothers who, like so many micro-brewers of the 80s, were inspired to explore their German and Austrian heritage. Twenty-three years later, they have a brewpub based out of Victor Idaho that houses a 30 barrel production line and 660 barrel fermenting tanks. Their signature brews include a pale, amber, ESB, pale golden, and a bavarian hefeweissen and are all made with glacier run off water, which is a nice touch.

In the past six years, however, Teton has embarked on a Cellar Reserve series using specialized ingredients, bottle aging, and a longer production process, lasting anywhere from 3 to 8 months. The styles on these reserves run the gamit from imperial stouts and scotch ales to maibocks and farmhouse saisons. Megan bought me this bottle of their Black IPA last hannukah, and I've had it cellared... until now... The reserve bottles do look really nice and you can't help but feel like you're opening something special. It's a 1 pint 9.4 fl oz with the wider bottom and thick glass. The label is full glossy four color print with a custom local artists painting on it, but the material really picks up the light. Best of all, the bottle comes with a card hung around the neck that talks about the making of the beer and has a bottled on date. In my case it was July 30 2010. Since we're almost upon a year, it seems like the perfect time to open this bad boy.

I was a little disappointed to see that they called the style listed as "Black IPA," rather than Cascadian Dark Ale, which I guess just isn't catching on. Oh well, at least it's better than BJCP's atrocious moniker, "American-style India Black Ale." Blasphemy! Can you imagine walking into a bar and asking, "yes, I'm wondering what good American-style India Black Ales you have on tap?" They'd ask you to leave or perhaps offer you a straw with your beer. Anyway, enough venting, let's drink this.

The color is brown with a fairly sturdy head. Aromas are lightly sweet with a hint of chocolate and a backbone of sweet fruit. Minus the chocolate, it actually smells a lot like Titan IPA by Great Divide with that sort of saccharine powered sugar aroma. As I really get my nose in there I'm getting a little more cocoa than before. This is far and away the most unique Black IPA I've tasted to date. The body is definitely heavier than most Black IPAs I've had, which is a good thing, especially when you consider they've been able to preserve the strong chocolate and coffee flavors without getting that chalky mouthfeel that often comes with poorly made Black IPAs. What's missing though is that overbearing Northwest hop kick. The hops are tightly woven into the chocolate malts and never really separate themselves in a final bitter blast that you'd expect from the style. But the bitterness is undeniably present and it's piney essence creeps up ever so slowly until you're left with a very rich and dark bitterness in the aftertaste when you purse your lips. Otherwise the beer is just an amazing mixture of cocoa and coffee with a hint of smoke that is just a joy to drink. Even though this departs from the style as I know it, I'm still going to give it 4 stars. The style is relatively new and I think a fair amount of interpretation should be allowed. What's more, the drinkability on this beer is just off the charts.

If you're interested in trying one of Grand Teton's brews, you can check out their distribution here.

Trout Hop Black IPA: ****

Simmzy's

2011-05-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

There are a few of us beer drinkers who still have hopes of trying to stay in good shape, while at the same time spending our free time and spare money consuming massive quantities of high abv beer and otherwise drinking in a manner that would suggest the complete opposite. I am one of those confused and naive patrons that still clings to that hope of health and beer, and while the results sometimes vary, I've managed to find a good balance. I've never been a fan of drinking low cal beers or low gravity beers in order to stay in shape; the beer world is too delicious and vast for that. Instead, I just say work off what you drink. So this weekend Megan and I cycled a roundtrip 25 miles from Santa Monica to Manhattan Beach and back in order to sample one of my new favorite beer bars in the Southland: Simmzy's.

I had been hearing about Simmzy's for some time on the weekly Beer Blast, where their excellent selection and beer pairing dinners had been touted. Sometimes it takes a while to make the short trip down to the South Bay, but we decided this was the weekend to do it. After getting some air in the tires and filling up our camelpak, we set out on our ride. Cutting through the side streets and back alleys of Santa Monica and Venice wasn't too tough and was actually a pretty enjoyable ride. Once you get to the Marina, you can pick up the bike trail, which leads you all the way there. It's actually amazing simple and I imagine even the directionless among you couldn't mess this one up. I did pretty well on the ride there, I was in decent enough shape to not get tired, but man my butt sure was sore after an hour or so of sitting on a hard seat.

When we got to Simmzy's it was jam packed, standing room only. What's more, there was a line of people sitting outside with drinks that extended around the corner. We put our names on the chalkboard, I ordered a Cismontane Blacks Dawn Stout and sat down to prepare for a long wait. I knew by the map's location that it was close to the beach, but I actually had never seen pictures of the joint and so I wasn't sure what to expect. Despite being half inside half outside with mostly patio seating, the giant open deck on the place makes it feel like you're on some sort of patio bar as sunlight seeps in through every direction. This was a welcome feature as I wasn't looking forward to sitting in a dark bar after riding there in the sun. The place is pretty small, hence the wait, but they pack it full of people making for a pretty lively environment.

The wait ended up passing fairly painlessly and it gave me a chance to check out the crowd. I was a little shocked that most people were drinking sangria rather than beer, but the manager got them off the collective hook after explaining that they do a sangria special on Saturday afternoons. It was definitely a Manhattan Beach crowd, predominantly white with a mix of late 20-30 somethings having a beer after a surf sesh, and 40 something beach bums who still refuse to grow up. Glad to see their down with craft brew too.

I don't know what it is about beer bars that so often inspires well designed or just cool interiors, but this was no exception. Wood counters with about 20 tables and 10 bar seats and 24 taps. It's a bit hard to read some of the names off the blackboard, but highlights would include: Avery Dugana, Port Mongo IPA, Blind Pig, and of course staples of the trade like Allagash White, Green Flash West Coast IPA, Primo Island Lager, and Stone IPA. Emphasis was predominantly on ales, in fact other than Primo and Scrimshaw, I didn't see any other lagers on the list. They also featured a Simmzy's Heff, which is brewed for them by Firestone, but I didn't order this, so can't tell you much more than that.

My second round was a Dugana and we accompanied that with a couple of burgers. The menu is fairly short, but focuses on quality over quality featuring mainly sandwiches and burgers with a few salads, tacos, and breakfast options. We of course went for the test drive on the burgers; after biking 12 miles to get there we weren't short on hunger. I appreciated their attention to local and organic sourcing, a tough aspiration for a bar located on the beach, but it's not lost on me.

We ordered a Simmzy's regular and added balsmaic roasted shitakes and fresno chili rings. Then we got there Bacon Bleu Deluxe which featured bleu cheese, candied bacon and frizzled shallots. As you can see here, both were incredible, although the bleu cheese was the clear winner. But definitely one of the better burgers I've had in a while, really great. We also got an order of fries, which were good although nothing to write home about.

So after a nice two hour break of beers and burgers we headed back for a long ride. It was considerably harder on the way back after drinking and eating, but we still managed fine other than my butt being ridiculously sore.

And that was the weekend trip. Pretty fun one and I highly recommend checking out Simmzy's and having a taste of their burger. It may be packed an weekend afternoons so I'm guessing weekday evenings may be a better shot. Be sure to check it out though. If you're interested in making a bike trip yourself, I've posted a rough, although not the exact route we took below.

Simmzy's is located at 229 Manhattan Beach Blvd. in Manhattan Beach

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The Lost Abbey, Red Poppy Ale

2011-05-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the hiatus last week. Things are getting pretty busy as we prepare for our trip to China and I don't have my usual pipeline of blog entries already written. But since we had a week off I'm writing about a real gem this week, Lost Abbey's Red Poppy. For those that live in Southern California, Lost Abbey is a familiar name. Led by their virtuoso brewer, Tomme Arthur, Lost Abbey is owned by the same folks as Pizza Port, but takes a decidedly different direction with their brewing, favoring creative takes on styles like Biere de Gardes, American Wild Ales, American Imperial Stouts, Saisons, and many, many others. For the most part though, these aren't session beers, they're high abv, single bottle masterpieces, handcrafted with extreme attention to detail. I was lucky enough to find a bottle of their Oud Bruin, the Red Poppy, and snatched it up right away. But before I put this liquid gold in a glass, let's talk about the style.

Recently, I've introduced quite a few friends to the novel concept that beers can not only be bitter and/or sweet, but also sour. Usually, the discovery comes with disgust or amazement and some sort of statement like, "it tastes like vinegar!" Love it or hate it, the sour beer is definitely an unusual flavor. While they've existed for centuries in Europe, it's only in the past 10 years that American Craftbrewers have started to embrace this eccentricity in their beers. This souring flavor is caused by wild yeast strains such as Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Acetobacteria, and the infamous Brettanomyces or "brett," which all leave powerful acidic notes behind when used in brewing. American beer drinkers are slowly starting to warm up to beer that has horse-blanketesque funk, and red vinegar tannons. The difficult part of describing these beers to new comers though, is when they say, "what's that sour beer called again?" The sour isn't a style in itself, really it's a flavor you could add to any beer, but there are a few different styles where sourness should be expected if not embraced. Roughly speaking, those styles are the Berliner-Weisse, Oud Bruin, Flanders Red, Lambic, Gueuze, and American Wild Ales. I'll try to make a point of writing a review about each one of these styles so you have some concrete examples, but for today I'm drinking an Oud Bruin.

The Oud Bruin, literally translates as "old brown," due to the aging process they go through, which can be up to a year, but they are also known as Sour Browns or the Flanders Brown. The style originates in the Flemmish area of Belgium known as Flanders. Over time, the sour beers of Flanders have been divided into two closely related, yet distinct cousins, and it's really impossible to talk about one without mentioning the other. The Flanders Red is a light bodied ale brewed more towards West Flanders, and is aged for over a year, often in oak barrels. Blending and aging lends some earthier flavors that help to balance the sharp acidity. But don't get me wrong, these beers are still extremely sour. The Rodenbach Brewery in Roeselare embodies the style. The East Flanders version is the aforementioned the Oud Bruin. While this ale maintains a similar red color, it has hints of brownish hues that bring its body much closer to medium. While they age often up to a year, they do not necessarily rely on oak barrels, and the browns are often described as having a "sweet and sour," flavor due to their mixture of acidity and sweet fruit flavors.

This particular brown is actually aged in oak and brewed with cherries. After popping the stubborn cork on this one, I'm met with very foamy dark brown beer. This brown is so dark I can only see the slightest hue of muddy red coming through when I hold it to the light. I can already smell the acidic aroma, with a slight hint of cherries and a backbone of plums.

Drinking this beer is an absolute pleasure. Not only does its flavor match its aroma note for note, but it builds upon it with the back end, which brings on the brett, in othewords, barnyard funk. I know that a horse blanket doesn't sound mouthwatering, and if you were to distill it and drink it on its own, it probably would be awful. But mixed with the tart front end it makes for a wonderful contrast, introducing a rougher mouthfeel and spiciness. There's just the slightest hint of vanila and cinammon. The flavor isn't for everyone, but if you're interested in trying to learn about sour beers, the Oud Bruin should be at the top of your list and this beer on the top of that one. I got mine at the Wine House on Cotner, but Beverage Warehouse and Bevmo may also have it in stock.

Red Poppy Ale: *****

Price paid: $14.99

Deschutes Jubel 2010

2011-05-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

I originally bought this beer around a year and half ago and based on the "best after" suggestion on the label: 1/29/11, decided to age not one, but a few of them. After months of continuously pulling it out of my cellar only to remember the best after date and putting it back, I'm finally ready to open my first bottle of it.

Jubel 2010 is classified as an American Strong Ale and for those not familiar with the style, I'll define it a bit. An American Strong Ale isn't really a style per say, but a category encompassing very strong and generally dark beers, usually over 7.5%, but vague enough in nature to fall under any distinct style of beer. As such, BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) does not recognize American Strongs. You may find that some have similar qualities to Barleywines, Scotch Ales, and Old Ales, meaning big heavy bodies with strong malt flavors, but distinctly hopped with American style aroma hops, which gives the category it's name. It's not uncommon for them to be barrel aged as well. Since they can really run the gamut and are difficult to nail down, you can often drink one without even knowing. In fact, I'm guessing most of you in Southern California have sipped quite a few Stone Arrogant Bastards without ever realizing that it's a Strong Ale.

The story behind this Strong Ale from Deschutes is an interesting one. 20 years ago or so, someone tried to steal a keg of their winter seasonal, Jubelale, but wasn't smart enough to realize that full kegs are heavy, and carrying them in the snow isn't fun. They found the keg burried in the snow, half frozen, and found that having frozen all the water off left for a super rich beer, a "Jubelale on steroids," as they called it. In tribute to this beer, they tried to recreate it in 2000, aging the beer in Oregon Pinot Noir barrels and again in 2010, giving the beer it's "Once a Decade," moniker.

It pours a deep brown embedded with red hues. Not much head here, but the retention is decent Aromas of bright berries, very much like a barleywine with maybe the slightest hint of cocoa lying underneath. Not nearly as hoppy as I was expecting. The flavors are barleywine like in the malts, sweet raisins and brown sugar. The back end ripples with a subtle combo of cocoa and hops, just enough bitter and sweet to leave you with a wonderful aftertaste. The body isn't as full as maybe you'd expect from such a dark beer. The presence of the heavy 10% alcohol is detectable, but not overwhelming and the beer maintains a fine line of drinkability.

The beer actually drinks much more like a red wine than a beer and there's just a hint of that pinot noir flavor. It reminds me a bit of a cross between Palo Santo and a barleywine, however, the flavors aren't nearly as ambitioius in their complexity. That's not to suggest they're bad, far from it. There is a starkness to the amount of flavors your palate detects in this beer that makes me think about the simplicity of beer itself. This strong ale succeeds by saying, "less is more,"and focusing all of its efforts on cultivating the richness of each of its flavors, few in number though they may be. I have to admit, as I'm getting deeper into this it's becoming a bit more boozy, but not at all taking away from the overall drinking experience. You may want to be here next time I open one of my other 3 bottles, because until 2020, they're going to be hard to find.

Jubel 2010: ****

Steingarten LA

2011-04-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Looking for a new place to grab a brew on the Westside? I always am, and quite frankly the selection is limited. Oh don't get me wrong, I love me some Library Alehouse and Father's Office, but neither place is really great for watching a game, and we're right in the middle of NBA playoffs. The beer curve drops off considerably after those two. After a few bad experiences at Broadway Alehouse and West 4th and Jane, I think they're off my list, which means the nearest bar that serves craft is Tony's in the Marina.

So it was with that dilemma that I decided to venture a little farther west to the latest addition in LA's ever growing beer scene: Steingarten LA. I was able to swing by a couple of weeks ago for a Lakers Blazers game to see what they're up to. The German sounding beer bar keeps a fairly low profile, stashed away on the border of West Los Angeles and Culver City and is really more of a Belgian bar than the name might suggest.

Walking into the bar it was much bigger than I expected and what they lack in signage or website – it's a rather nondescript area on Pico – they certainly make up for with a gigantic space.

On the far side of the restaurant are some great long German Beer Hall style tables. In addition to the roomy interior and high ceilings, there's a large retractable skylight above the tables that gives the bar a natural light feel that you can't beat. Ahh, no more wasting the days away drinking in the dark. You can see by the pictures, that decor is actually quite nice, they've obviously spent some money on the layout and decorating the place. I especially liked the non-desrcript taps.

There's also a small outdoor area with heat lamps.

Guided under the tutelage of Dave Watrous, who has worked with Broadway Alehouse, the Woodshop Series, and Tony's, the beer selection is excellent. There are 20 taps, all of which rotate. The night we were there, some of the highlights were New Belgium's La Terroir, Firestone's Double Jack, Brasserie Dieu de Ciel's Rosee d'Hibiscus, Lost Abbey's Serpent's Stout, Port's Mongo, and many more; American, Belgian, German, Czech, and ahhh... what the hell, British brewing too, all represented here.

Looking elsewhere off their menu of broad and diverse selection of rotating taps, Dave really loves bottle conditioned beers, so their bottle collection has a number of excellent selections. Here are some highlights, Russian River's Pliny the Elder and Supplication (which we could not resist ordering a bottle of), Mikkeller Rausch Geek Breakfast, Firestone Abacus, Cantillon de Rose Gambrinus and others.

In addition to their extensive beer collection, kept properly stored at appropriate temperatures in their beer cellar and fridge, they are doing mixed drinks. I'm not as knowledgeable about mixed drinks, but I am a fan. The charge is being led by Luke Wederbrook who is to spirits what Dave is to beer. Bartenders were mixing up some impressive concoctions, handing out samples, and the bar was littered with some of the most exotic bitters I've ever seen. On one of my subsequent visits I definitely plan on trying a special hopped up whiskey that I saw on the menu.

They've got a few brand new LCD TVs, which were perfect for sitting at the bar and watching the game. I wore the appropriate attire:

We weren't exceptionally hungry so we ordered a pretzel and a deer salami sandwich. The pretzel was pretty good, very soft, served hot with a sweet mustard. It could have used some big salt flakes, but otherwise we enjoyed it.

The deer salami sandwich was a little harder to pick out from their exotic list of game meat sausages and sandwiches, but we ordered it upon recommendation. The salami itself was very good, however, the rest of the toppings didn't live up to the salami and overall it was sort of dry. They're highlighting their sausages though, so next time I plan on trying some of those.

The place was sparsely crowded when we got there at around 7pm, but really hopping when we left around 10pm. The crowd was a mix of co-workers, groups of friends, and a few dates, mostly in the late 20s to mid 30s range. On the night, I drank a Double Jack, Serpent's Stout, and finished with one of my favorite Wild Ale's, Supplication. Megan had a La Terroir, Rosee d'Hibiscus, and split the Supplication with me.

Otherwise it was a great time and the Blazers even won, which was a nice button on the night. I'm actually glad it didn't turn out to be a traditional German Beer Hall. While I enjoy said places of Bavarian inebriation, I can't help but feel that with the westside Wurstkutche opening in the old Air Conditioning building this summer, we're reaching our tipping point in LA. Steingarten offers its own take on something between European bar and an American Gastropub that gives it a bit of distinct character. With excellent taps and room to stretch your legs it's a great place to get a beer that I'll be adding to my short Westside list. Dave has really made sure that the servers all have at least a rudimentary knowledge in beer, which means they can answer your questions and have taken the time to serve your beer properly. Best of all, Dave has a wealth of beer knowledge he can share with you. I'll be interested to see how the mixology goes for them. When I was there, it was a about 60/40 beer to mixed drinks and Dave said they're hoping to incorporate some cocktails with beer in them. Be sure to check it out!

Steingarten LA is located at 10543 W Pico Blvd in West Los Angeles.

Victory Baltic Thunder

2011-04-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Baltic Porter is an interesting style that you don't see too many of in your daily beer travels. Despite what the name suggests, the style originated in 18th Century England, but was named Baltic because they were mostly made for export to Russia. Countries along the Baltic coast such as Poland, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, and others enjoyed the beer so much that they took up their own production of it. That's why most Baltic Porters you'll find are from those regions or from American Craft Breweries who are interested in the style.

The interesting thing about this style though is that despite the porter name, it's actually a lager. The style should ideally have roasted malt flavors and aromas with a smooth mouthfeel. You might have a little bit of hop flavor depending on the brew, but ideally it should take a back seat in a major way to the heavy toasted malts.

The Victory version of this beer is a tribute to the Baltic God of Thunder and has a fair amount of head with a thin roasted chocolate aroma. The color is a very nice ruby brown. My first sip is immensely complex with loads of roasted grain flavor.

There's a lot of chocolate mixed with toasted grains laced with the most ever so slight hints of coffee. The alcohol content is on the higher side at 8.5%, but the beer remains immensely drinkable with a smooth mouthfeel conjuring flavors of cherries and dates supporting the bold toasted grains. There's just the slightest hint of a chalky mouthfeel towards the end of the sip that keeps this beer from being a five-star, but any flaws in the brew certainly wouldn't be due to flavor.

Because it's a lager it maintains a light body despite its bold flavors. This one is real pleasure to drink. Ideally, this would be great to pair with heavy barbeque, but tonight I'm just having some roast chicken. I'm curious if it could also hold up to some chocolate desserts? The malts are just rich and sweet enough that I think they might.

I picked up my bottle at the liquor store on Pico just east of 20th St in Santa Monica, but chances are BevMo or Beverage Warehouse will have this one. Definitely call to check first.

Baltic Thunder: ****

Estrella Damm Inedit

2011-04-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

You don't often hear about beers from Spain. Spain, along with much of Southern Europe is far better known for its winemaking than its beer drinking. Historically, this stems from the Mediterranean region's warmer climates, which were more ideal for growing grapes than hops. However, we're starting to see some more experimental and hand craftd beers coming out of places like Italy and Spain, and we owe the historic winemaking countries at least the decency of drinking their beer.

The Witbier, or White Ale as it's also known, is a wheat beer with a cloudy appearance that first appeared around the eleventh century. Wit means white, which comes from the color and cloudy appearance of the beer. It was one of the first beer styles brewed with hops although ironically today most versions let hops take a back seat to flavors like orange and coriander. The style has enjoyed immense success in many countries and with multiple variations. There are different variations of light and dark witbiers, but most often you'll find them on the paler side like this one. In that case, what you're looking for is notes of orange and corriander with a creamy texture and maybe a slightly acidic finish.

Having poured Senor Estrella here, I see it has a pale straw appearance with just a hint of cloudiness. Head retention is fairly decent, although I'm not seeing a lot of lacing at the moment. A lot of orange in the aroma mixed with some other spices, sort of a freshness to it. There's a slight funk going on here where it should be floral, hard to tell what it is; nothing as strong as a lambic, but there's something a little out of character. Not much carbonation, which would help to make it a bit creamier, however, otherwise the body is alright..

Tonight I'm pairing this with some Thai food from Bangkok West, which is all wrong, but obviously I didn't have time to plan this one out. Ideal pairings would be something lighter that won't overpower the light body and flavors of this beer; think seafood like mussels and salmon, or chicken and game hen in the bird world.

While the flavors are all in the right place, there's something missing that should be bridging them a little better. The orange, while very strong, finishes a little watery letting the hop acids strike where there should be more a little more body and richness of flavor. This means the bitterness is abandoned a little bit naked and cold in the wind and what you're left with is a weak citrus flavor. Overall, this beer just doesn't pack enough of a punch to really leave a mark. However, if you're still interested in trying it I've seen it popping up all over town. You can find it's fancy starred bottle at Umami Burger, West 4th and Jane, BevMo, The Bazaar on La Cienaga, Santino's Tapas Wine bar on Lincoln, and the liquor store at Ocean Park and 28th.

Estrella Damm Inedit: **

Back to School!

2011-04-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finally got a chance to check out Public School 612 in Downtown LA. Since LA is a big city and it's often hard to get around to different neighborhoods, I thought I'd share some pictures and experiences with you. Add this to your list of places to drink craft beer in Downtown.

In case you haven't heard about PS612, I suggest you read my earlier post about the concept bar from last month. The bar opened in early March and has been pretty packed since it opened. I went with a few friends on a quiet Sunday to sample some of the food and brews.

The ethos behind this gastropub, which shares an entrance and kitchen with the Daily Grill on 6th and Flower, is that they're giving you an education in food and beer; trying to elevate the experience and taste-buds of their customers. Hence the back to school theme.

The place looks really amazing and has the advantage of being completely new and remodeled. The money they put into making it feel like a singular place really shows: soft lighting, hardwood tables, and paisley wall paper. The bar is wide and is beautifully presented and best of all they've installed 2 dart boards in the back adding themselves to the short list of bars that serve good beer and have games. The crowd seemed like late 20s to late 30s and a mix of co-workers taking some time to blow off steam, a group of friends sharing a drink, and a double date or two. We were there pretty early on Sunday so it wasn't too crowded and the place felt very spacious, but it isn't hard to imagine it bustling with a late night crowd.

On to the beer... Sad to say they lost their impressive Peachy Folder menus that were presented to me at the concept dinner. They've been replaced by the old composition books with the black and white fronts. Not a bad substitute, but the Peachys would have been awesome. They're sporting about 20 taps with about one representation from every major style. I asked about rotations and the bartender said they're working on that. For now they have the resident taps listed below. These aren't super geek out rare beers, but they're standards and classics in each style and they far surpass what you'll find in the sports bars down the street. Beers like Racer 5, Black Butte Porter, Allagash White, Arrogant Bastard, 1903, Rasputin are all excellent gateway brews for beer geek novices to explore different styles and expand their knowledge of breweries. While I stuck to draughts this time, I was very interested to see that they had Orval, Curieux, Telegraph's Stock Porter, and Wipeout IPA in bottles.... next time.

A cheers to kick off the afternoon. I started with the Echt Kriekenbier, I was very happy to see it come in the proper glassware, looks like Hallie trained the staff pretty well.

You order at the bar and they bring out to you at your table, so it's a perfect place for ordering a bunch of small dishes and taking your time with them. First course was the Huevos al Diablor, or deviled eggs. Notice the jalapenos on top. These were great, I've always been a deviled egg fan.

Next up was the fried chicken. This was probably one of my favorite dishes. It was real pieces of chicken with a thin, but solid breaded crust, none of this amalgamated chicken with cereal on the outside nonsense. They came with great Siracha Ketchup and BBQ Mustard dipping sauces: subtle touches that set places apart from your run of the mill bars.

We then had the Short Ribs, cooked in Dragoon's Irish Stout. Some of the folks were only so-so about this one, but I really liked it and enjoyed the mashed potatoes which were drenched in a caramelized onion au jus. Behind that you can catch a glimpse of the Lamb Burger. Maybe I'm just not a lamb burger fan, but this one didn't really do it for me. The bread, arugula, and cheese were all well thought out, but perhaps I just prefer beef burgers. Lamb burger fans will probably rejoice though as it was cooked perfectly.

By this time I was ready for my second beer. It's been a while since I've had anything from Eagle Rock Brewery, so I tried their Solidarity, which is a English Dark Mild Ale. Very glad to see that PS612 is supporting the local breweries as well.

Here's a nice picture of some of the Saison DuPont that Megan was drinking.

Next up for food was the Wild Mushroom and Taleggio Lavash Pizza. This was probably the food highlight of the afternoon. Arugula, mushrooms, and Taleggio galore, but what really made it was the hints of chili flakes and truffle oil, really delicious! I'd like to try this one again paired with some of the lighter Belgian ales they have tap.

The afternoon wouldn't be complete unless we tried their beer float, made with Young's Double Chocolate Stout, and signature PB+J cookies and milk. The float was great, they nailed the amount of ice cream to beer ratio perfectly. I'd like to see them branch out and offer some other flavors of ice cream or styles of beer.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with my trip to PS612. Sitting by the big windows and looking out on the busy streets of Downtown made me happy I was inside drinking a beer and relaxing. Despite being on the busy corner of 6th and Flower and sharing a space with Daily Grill, the bar maintains its own space, which is a relaxing space to have a quick bite and drink a good beer. Often it's difficult for new bars that stem from existing franchises to maintain their own identity, but PS612 definitely has personality and character.

Great Divide Titan IPA

2011-03-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Great Divide Brewing is on the short list of my favorite breweries that I think consistently make great beer and I will always buy when I have the chance. However, their beer was never for sale in California, so for years this has meant buying through ebay or making bottle exchanges with wandering beer gurus. This past fall, Great Divide Brewing signed distribution deals with Stone and since that time Great Divide beers have been showing up on shelves in SoCal. I couldn't be happier about this and it's just another reason why we should love Stone.

When thinking of Great Divide, I generally think of their big beautiful stouts and barleywines – dare I say Yeti... However, they make some other interesting beers outside of the big category that are very worth talking about. This week, I present you with Titan, their single IPA. I love that they're putting suggested food pairing on the side of their bottles; it's fantastic, it helps you to drink the beer as they intended and aids people in the difficult task of beer and food pairing.

The color is deep golden and there's just the slightest hint of cloudiness. A fairly miniscule head, with little retention. I smell a decent whiff of piney hops, guessing cascade, with overwhelming sweet malts. Seriously, the malts smell so sacrine and gentle, it conjures up mental images of powdered sugar.

The body is on the heavier side for a single and it definitely coats your mouth with its thick resinous hop and sweet malt flavors. This beer has a hop bite arching all the way through the sip. The bite is less floral and more resinous and grassy. The malts are on the sweeter side leaving a little caramel that when mixed with the heavy hops produce a wonderful sweet mixture, not unlike tasting a piece of pineapple. At times the finishing hop bite can be so strong it borders on a slightly fishy aftertaste. It's a small flaw in this otherwise fairly perfect beer. Despite being at 7.1 and being very bitter, I think the drinkability is off the charts. Thanks again to Great Divide and Stone.

Titan IPA: ****1/2

Flying Dog, Raging Bitch

2011-03-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised that Flying Dog hasn't made an appearance on my blog before this entry. They've certainly been around for awhile, but I've never been a big purveyor of their beers. Of course that all changed with the release of their Belgian IPA, Raging Bitch, which I've seen recently rise to popularity levels not unfamiliar to Green Flash's, California IPA when it first came out.

Clarity on the body is very nice and color borders perfectly between orange and golden. Almost no head to speak of and certainly none worth going into detail about. The aroma is a ripe richness of Autumn Belgian fruit harvest emanating with pollens and nectars.

I've decided to pair this Belgian Bitch with a meal decidedly un-Belgian: In-N-Out. Some may question my choice of burger, however, In-N-Out holds a dear place in my heart and I'm pretty sure there's a unwritten law that when you're passing an In-N-Out and there's not a long line, you have to stop and get a double double animal style.

Despite the heavy alcohol content, clocking in 8.3%, the beer has a very light body, lots of carbonation and floral front end. The herbs taste like chamomile and the fruit coming across the strongest is pear, which binds nicely to the alcoholic tannins. The flavors break near the back of the palate and drive for a nice hop finish; hard to zero in on exactly what type, but my guess is a flavorful mix of both noble and alphas. The front flavors never break though and mix well with the hops without creating an overbearing Belgian fruit/alcohol flavor that you can sometimes find in Belgian styles.

A very crisp and surprisingly drinkable beer, this is a great beer to introduce your non hops loving friends to, and definitely one worth trying yourself. While I picked up mine at Beverage Warehouse, I'm pretty sure you can find these at BevMo and other places (including mainstream bars) around town. As far as the burger, In-N-Out actually probably wasn't the best pairing, but both beer and burger were delcious nonetheless.

Raging Bitch: ****

Echigo Beer Pub, Premium Red

2011-03-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

And so the Japanese beer series continues; this time, with Echigo Beer Pub's Premium Red Ale. I picked this up at the Venice Whole Foods, which interestingly enough has a very fine selection of Japanese beers. If you go there for some, don't look in their usual beer aisle. You'll need to head over to the sushi bar on the deli side, where they have a mix of interesting sakes and beers.

I haven't heard anything about this brewery and I'm yet to have a Red from any Japanese brewer, so that's why I happened on this particular bottle. First a few notes on the Red style.

The American Red and Amber are really very much the same beast and was one of the first styles to emerge out of the American Craft Beer movement. The goal is to create a very drinkable medium bodied beer that has a fairly even balance between the malts and hops. You might have a little floral aroma, but most of your hops are going to be concentrated into a bitter finish. Malts should dominate the aroma and should skew to caramel flavors.

The aroma is definitely caramel, but not overwhelming. Head retention is about zero, it collapsed almost immediately after I poured it. Color is a deep amber with shades of red. The body is surprisingly thin and the mouthfeel is somewhat alkaline. While a lighter body does make for a more drinkable beer, this is too delicate. The carbonation really cuts through the malts and creates a cider-like quality. Part of this may be because of the caramel and apple flavors in the malts. The hops take a bit of work to detect, and it actually took me a few swigs before I could really grasp hold of them because I was so distracted by the unorthodox mouthfeel. The bitterness arises very naturally from the malts and it's a decent mix, but the hops are incredibly short lived.

I suppose you could say this is an incredibly drinkable beer with its light body and low alcohol content, but the all around flavors are simply too delicate to really want to make you drink it in the first place.

Premium Red: *

Public School 612

2011-03-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Since my LA neighborhood beer guide was such a hit, I thought I'd take the opportunity to tell you about one of the newest pub houses that's hitting the LA beer scene.

Last month, I was invited with a few food bloggers to The Daily Grill at the Westin in Westchester. The goal of the meeting was two fold: they wanted to tell us about some new burgers they're making and to tell us about a new beer bar they're opening.

Normally, I wouldn't take time to talk about food in such depth on a beer blog, and if you've just tuned in for the beer talk, then perhaps you'll be happier skimming down the page to where I start talking about beer. But chances are, if you like beer, then you like burgers, and even if you've only read my blog once or twice, you probably know that I LOVE burgers.

Under the creative guidance of Chef Phil Kastel, the Daily Grill has decided to put the daily grind in their ground beef. At all their locations, they're now grinding their own ground beef for burgers, the plank steak, and their meatloaf. They're using a 100% chuck and grinding fresh everyday, twice a day. I'm not a food blogger, so I don't know how common a practice this is, but I certainly haven't heard about it much if it is. But I love the concept, which basically boils down to fresher meat. In a world where we're increasingly trying to get closer to the production of our food, this struck me as a fantastic endeavor.

We were offered three new menu choices for our burgers: mushroom havarti, pepper bacon, and the classic. The Classic was sort of a California style burger with your standard toppings; think gourmet version of Fatburger. Tough call here, but I went with the pepper bacon. The way that Phil described how he prepares the bacon and peppers was just too appetizing. And I didn't choose incorrectly, the burger was really amazing. Here's a pic, feast your eyes:

First, the meat was a nice big 1" thick patty and it was extremely flavorful; you could really taste the in house quality too: a lovely mixture of fat and red meat while still tasting just lean enough that you don't have grease all over your face. These days in LA though, what you put on your burger is a big deal. Personally, with the flavors they had going I didn't need the pickles. Don't get me wrong, I love pickles, but they just didn't need them. Why? Because they had an amazing pepper and cheese mixture that took its place. Phil buries crumbled bacon and pasilla pepper pieces in a gracious amount of cheddar cheese and places that on top of the burger. The ultimate result: yes...

We were also treated to a few of their other specialties that feature their ground beef, namely their meatloaf....

and plank steak...

These were both also good, but the highlight of the night for me was really the burger. I will also add that for those that are a fan of coleslaw, Phil has a very understated coleslaw that comes with the burgers that features a bit of vinegar, peanuts, and maybe a tad bit of mayonnaise. Not excited? Well, I like coleslaw, and I liked it. Now, on to the beer...

Those who have been to the Daily Grill before know, it's no beer bar. So after listening to their list of bud and miller variants, I begrudgingly settled on a Sierra pale to go with my burger. Yes, yes, I know, not too exotic, or even really even all that interesting. But Sierra still keeps it going strong and Bob Spivak, the owner of Daily Grill, managed to whet my beer appetite with information rather than beer itself.

That information was this: today (yes, today, March 8th), Daily Grill is officially soft launching a brand new venture. The idea is a gastropub, and it graces the relative beer oasis that is Downtown LA. Based in their downtown Daily Grill location, they are converting a portion of the restaurant to be a separate pub house called Public School 612. The goal is to create a communal bar experience with beer savvy bartenders who help to educate you about beer choices and pairings, hence the name: Public School. Under the guidance of Hallie Beaune, one half of the Beer Chicks, they've selected 22 taps and 12 bottles/cans to serve you in a bar like atmosphere.

Taking a look at their concept menu in a peachy folder, a few items jumped off the page. First it was the large variety of beers that they'll be serving. From sour Krieks to the bitterest of IPAs, they've got a fairly diverse range of regionals and styles for 22 taps. Some highlights were Allagash Curieux, Orval, Oskar Blues, Eagle Rock Brewery, Port Wipeout, Taps Irish Red, and Bruery White. In addition to some of the small food fare, they have a Pub Burger and a Colorado Lamb Burger. Every beer place has to have their own burger and the lamb burger is an intriguing take on that, can't wait to try it. There are also a few other items that set them apart: Dragoons Irish Stout Short Ribs, Horseradish Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onion Au jus, and in the continued throwback of public school days, Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies with Milk.

So why is this new place significant? Looking over the beer landscape of downtown LA, there are a few places like Villains, the Lazy Ox, Library Bar, and Corkbar that have started incorporating four to six selections of craft beer and good food on their menu. But the scene is still in its infancy. The only places that have succeeded in maintaining more than eight taps are The Lab and Wurstkutche, but for Angelinos living downtown, The Lab is pretty far south and Wurstkutche pretty far east; not to mention, going to Wurstkutche these days requires quite a wait to get in. PS612 is modeling themselves after places like Father's Office and Congregation Alehouse with no servers and an emphasis on lots of taps, craft beer, and high quality food. The emphasis on beer education combined with the Daily Grill's broad appeal, should lead to bringing in a number of non-craft beer drinkers and introducing them to new craft beer choices. With a fully functional kitchen it also opens up the possibility of creating interesting beer and food pairings.

As a Westsider that lives and works in Santa Monica, I don't often have many an occasion to leave the Westside. However, the one thing that does get me out of the house is a new beer bar, so I'll definitely be making the trip Downtown to check out this new place.

Public School 612 opens today and is located at 612 South Flower Street, Downtown Los Angeles.

New Belgium, Lips of Faith Series, Sahti

2011-03-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Well, San Francisco Beer Week has come and gone. There were actually quite a number events happening in the Southern California area as well. I hope you all managed to get a glass of Pliny the Younger this year. I was able to grab one about 5 minutes before it kicked. Although the real highlight for me was having a few glasses of Russian River's Consecration.

This week's beer, is another creation from New Belgium's highly ambitious and extremely experimental Lips of Faith series. They certainly keep that reputation with this beer, Sahti, which is both the style of beer and the name.

The Sahti is an unhopped Finnish beer from the 1500's made through a Juniper infusion process. I'll spare you the traditional brewing details, but suffice to say it features an unboiled wort, wild yeast, and juniper twigs for filtering and hopping. They're usually loaded with proteins making a heavy bodied, fairly cloudy beer. I don't have a tremendous amount of experience with the style, but I can never resist trying something new.

A little confused by New Belgium's take on this as their description has it as a rye ale with juniper and spices. I'm not sure if that's an interpretation on their part or if there is a branch of this beer's family tree that is also considered a rye ale. Also, the inclusion of cascade and amarillo hops is somewhat breaking from the tradition, although those are mighty fine hops and I'm interested to see how they effect the flavor.

It pours a clear copper color with very little head. Not much aroma here, which is a little surprising. I'd expect those wild yeasts to leave some sort of pungent mark. The only real trace of scent here is a slight raisin-y sweetness.

Moving to the taste, it's definitely got a big body, and a surprisingly heavy alcoholic backbone for 7.2%. I definitely taste the rye and orange peel, but it's hard to find much separation from the big body. At the finish there's a slight hint of the amarillo hops, but it does neither of the hop strains any justice as it's pretty hard to distinguish from the juniper. If it had just been this juniper finish, I probably wouldn't have complained because that's more along the lines of what you expect from the style. However, you can't tell me there's cascade and amarillo in here and the make it hard to single them out; it's just disappointing.

In all, the resonating flavors aren't much to get very excited about. The juniper doesn't do anything to really distinguish itself from the overwhelming rye body, there's no heavy sour effects from the yeast like I was hoping, and the inventive hop additions just get lost in a big body and juniper bite. The Sahti is an ambitioius attempt, but this one just falls flat.

Sahti: *1/2

Tony P's and Oskar Blues Beer Dinner

2011-02-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

For the past few months, Tony P's has been hosting a beer pairing dinner once a month. Last week, I had the opportunity to join them for their Oskar Blues night. In full disclosure as a blogger, I was invited and paid for to attend, but I think my observations are still pretty impartial. Here's a little recap.
I wasn't too familiar with Tony P's. In my mind, I pictured it more as a Gator dominated sports bar than a beer bar. However, I was quite surprised when I arrived here to find out that they have 40 beers on draft and 60 to 70 different choices of bottled beers. Of those 40, 30 are resident and 10 are rotating. Obviously, with their beautiful brand new LED flat screens they're catering more to the interested beer and sports fan then uber craft beer nerds. But that being said, I was able to find several beers on their menu that I hadn't tried, which is saying something indeed.

The first pairing was Dale's Pale Ale with a chicken cordon blue calzone. Dale's is a pretty good and standard pale ale. I find it's body to be slightly metallic and thin, but it's got a very nice hop finish and a very even malt front end. Here's Kat and Naheed cheers-ing with a Dale's.

... And MJ cheers-ing to camera with a Dale's

The calzone came stuffed with chicken and spinach with an alfredo sauce poured over the top of the whole thing. The pairing was really quite enjoyable; the carbonation and light body of the beer cut nicely through the heavy alfredo sauce.

Next up was the Gordon, which is a blend between an Imperial Red and a Double IPA. I've never really heard of anyone doing this before and I'm not really even sure what it means. I'm not sure why that hybrid isn't just... an Imperial Red? At least that's what I imagined the flavors would be. But I think the key point here is that it's a blend, not a hybrid, so I'm imagining they mixed the two beers post brew, rather than during the boil.

This was served with a Spicy Mac-N-Cheese, which has chorizo and roasted pasilla peppers. This was probably my favorite pairing of the night.

While the Gordon was good on first taste, it wasn't blowing my socks off. I tasted raisins with a touch of caramel and I thought it actually tasted a lot closer to the Old Chub with a little hop finish at the end. It did have a good body though. However, the spiciness of the chorizo complemented the beer perfectly. It made the hop finish really pop. The Gordon has just enough body to stand up to the much bigger hop rush that's brought out from the spice. This was really nice!Course number three started with the Gubna Double IPA. Gubna is a great double. What's most impressive is they created the beer using only Summit hops. Summit is high alpha stuff and leaves a wondeful piney, citrusy aroma with a great bright hop finish. Brewed with Dark Munich grains, it still maintains its balance and light color for a double.

This was served with a smoked pork mole, which was quite good, and very spicy. Unfortunately, the two didn't work as well together as I would have hoped. While spices are usually good with hoppy beers, the mole was so heavy that it killed a lot of the beautiful Summit flavor in the beer. Otherwise though this was pretty enjoyable.

Next up was the Old Chub, their Scotch Ale. Tony (of Tony P's), proclaimed this beer as his favorite, and he may be on to something. I've been seeing Old Chub popping up more and more and I think this beer may be a big winner in the end for Oskar Blues. It's currently rated as the top Scotch Ale on Beer Advocate and it has the potential to gain a lot of popularity due to its appeal to both novice and experienced Scotch Ale drinkers. For those who aren't familiar with Scotch Ales, they undergo long boiling periods in order to caramelize the wort. This creates a fairly potent and sweet with a full mouth of roasted grains in a full-bodied mix.

Unfortunately, due to these characteristics, it's a hard beer to pair with. In this case, it was paired with a Catfish Po Boy, with collared greens and ham hock on the side. I'm not really a big catfish fan, nor did I have much room left in my stomach after 3 prior courses, so I didn't have too much of this one. My impression on the pairing though was that it wasn't bad, but the dish and the beer didn't do too much for each other.

For dessert we had Ten Fidy, their Imperial Stout with a Chocolate Brownie tart and vanilla ice cream. Ten Fidy was fantastic as always, but it simply couldn't hold up to the level of sweetness in the tart. Still, I enjoyed eating and drinking both.

Here's MJ drinking his Ten Fidy, acting like he's too cool for school... actually he is, I've seen his high school book reports.

I have to hand it to Tony, he gave us pretty sizable portions of beer and food all night; this wasn't a little tasting session. Afterwards, I spoke with him and he's really trying to get people to drink better beer. He's got an amazing setting to do it in with a secluded dining room and sports bar in the same building, he's on his way to getting people to drink better beer.

Tony P's will continue to hold beer pairing dinners once a month. Next month he's doing a special Irish themed meal with several beers from the UK.

Port Brewing Midnight Sessions

2011-02-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't read my blog before, or in a while, let me just say: I love Port Brewing. I love the names, the beer, the attitude, and I love that they started with a pizza and beer place. In honor of opening this Midnight Sessions, which has been sitting in my fridge for quite a while, I've ordered a pizza from Dagwoods to go with; half Woody's, half Greek, should be delicious.

For those that may not have read my posts about Black Lagers before, here's a little review. The Black Lager is basicaly an American take on the German "Schwarzbier." Schwarzbier sounds like something they might have drank in Spaceballs and while I won't rule that out, Shwarzbier literally just means "black beer." It's a fairly simple description for what actually is a fairly complex lager. A good Schwarzbier is going to be a dark brown, bordering on black, yet should still have a very light body; being a lager helps with that. The goal is to drive out all the fruit flavors and have nothing other than roasted malt flavor and a bit of hops.

The aromas have a distinct roasted malt flavor. It's a deep smell with hints of salty sea air and a dry body. The head lacks a tremendous amount of retention, but it's a good amount for the pour. The color is extremely dark, bordering on black. It's only when you hold it to the light that you can catch the subtle amber and brown tones. The first part of your sip is a load of carbonation with a distinct taste of bitters. As it opens up it becomes a concentrated blend of roasted grains and coffee, but is supported the whole way by that thin undercurrent of bitterness. Oh hell yes, the pizza is here, looks amazing. Here you go, you get to share the experience a bit.

So back to the beer. Hints of chocolate in the grains, a beautiful mix with the coffee, but a totally different experience than a coffee stout because of the light body. As it finishes, the coffee and hops take over leaving a lovely rich bitterness on your tongue. My only complaint on this beer is that its mouthfeel is so carbonated that it borders on soda like quality. But otherwise it's a solid black lager. The coffee addition is brilliant and mixes perfectly with the choice of hops and roasted grains. Nicely done Port!

Midnight Sessions: ****1/2

Founder's Breakfast Stout

2011-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

While this is a breakfast stout, I'm not having it for breakfast. In fact I'm having it after a long day at work and a dinner long since digested. This is the irony of coffee Stouts. While their coffee flavors would suggest a morning beverage, the rich chocolate malts also make for wonderful after dinner drinks. I've heard about Founders quite a bit in reading magazines and through the "hop-vine," however, I hadn't found them in many places in Southern California. I was able to pick up this bottle on ebay for a hefty price though. You'll notice these pictures were taken at the new place.

This pitch black beverage has zero head and looks completely opaque, although when held to the light you can detect the slightest hint of ruby brown. Aromas are of rich chocolate, strong coffee, and hearty alcohol. The flavor is simply put, a mouthful of coffee. They've enriched this beer with both Kona and Sumatra coffees, which is really coffee heaven if you're someone who likes coffee. The effort they went to for these beans certainly pays off, as the flavor is distinct, rich and bitter. I've had quite a few Coffee Stouts, but this has got to be by far the strongest coffee flavor I've had in any of them; perhaps almost too a fault. While the flavor and tone of the coffee is delicious, it's hard for the chocolate and oat flake flavors to distinguish themselves. Towards the end of the sip, the coffee begins to thin out and leave a slight metallic sort of ringing on the palate.

As I have a few more sips, I'm able to pull out some of the chocolate and flavors of roasted grain and jut the slightest hint of oats, but it's serious work to distinguish them from the coffee. Now I love coffee, so you won't have many complaints from me about this. However, part of what I like about this breed of beer is it's ability to mix coffee in with the other flavors. So while the taste distibution is somewhat limited, it's hardly a fault I can hold against it.

Breakfast Stout: ****

Santa Cruz Aleworks, California IPA

2011-02-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, there's a surprise for you. This beer poured almost all foam, much to my disappointment, as you can see in these photos.

Sort of ridiculous, I don't know whether I accidentally hit the bottle on it's way out or if it was just bottled under extreme pressure. Took about five minutes to get this to calm down.

The aroma is surprisingly far more floral more reminiscent of Belgian styles than the piney hops I was expecting. There's a little bit of fruit in there, but far more orange pulp than lemon or grapefruit rind since I'm getting sweet aromas. The color is an orange bordering on golden, but it is a little cloudy which gives it a deeper hue.

The flavors in this beer are a little disappointing. Maybe I was expecting an American IPA based on the bottle description, but this is clearly a Belgian IPA by the use of grain, yeast, and hops. Flavors are very sweet up front with loads of carbonation. This really gets too sweet for me and I'm reminded of a carbonated fruit juice. Otherwise there isn't much at all up front, what few flavors there are feel muffled, or perhaps drowned, in an excess of water. The taste does an about face towards the middle of the sip moving rather abruptly for the hop finish; too soon I'd say, as the fruity front end really dissipates into a highly watery mixture that doesn't do a good enough job of bolstering up the hops. The hop finish is strong, but very lopsided since it feels like a thin layer of industrial styled bitterness offering very little in accompanying flavors.

Ultimately, this is far more of a Belgian IPA than an American one, and almost borders on a Saison. But even after reclassification it doesn't do much for me since the malts don't impress any paticular urgency in their identity. Somewhat surprising that a Santa Cruz beermaker would choose to go in this direction; with a name like California IPA, I'd expect American IPA flavors. Apologies to the makers, but I just didn't like this one.

California IPA: *1/2

Nogne O Imperial Dunkel Wit

2011-01-25T10:00:00.001-08:00

This strange creation from Nogne O (a name I still can't pronounce) is meant to be a pleaser for everyone: people who like Belgians, people who like dark ales, and folks who like big beers.

There's very little head and even less retention on this beer, which strangely has the color of root beer. Aromas bring to mind plums and raisins, but only slightly as there isn't much aromas coming off this.

My first sip brings quite a bit of confusion, but plently of enjoyment. The best way to describe it might be a beer of many movements because it seems to have distinct flavors of taste in multiple waves rather than one building arc. Hops strike first combined with a concentrated burst of carbonation that directs right to the front of your tongue. There's hints of purple grape underneath the bubbles. From there the beer expands out to the rest of your pallette bringing a strange mix of fruity esters, roasted grain, and acids.

There's a little bit of an orange tang to the medium-heavy body, which makes sense since they use orange peels in the brewing process. That orange mixes nicely with the slightly plum flavored alcohol taste that creates quite a bit of heat on the tongue. The alcohol and fruit build to a nice finish on their own and are quickly followed by an additional finish, which is a mixture of roasted barley and hops. Once again, this finish is good in its own right, but seems so distinct from the one you just enjoyed only micro seconds before. Finally, the real finale kicks in with moderate a hop attack at the back ends of your tongue.

Unfortunately, all three finishes do not combine to any sort of building orgasmic symphonic arrangement, instead remaining relatively distinct, like three musicians unaware that they are all playing in the same practice room. The only thing that connects these three movements is the hot taste of alcohol running through the palate. This warm streak, mixed with the decently heavy body makes the beer seem a little boozy.

The beer has excellent qualities and some great flavors, however, the packaging could use some work as those flavors are delivered intelligently but perhaps not as delicately as needed. It's probably most similar to a Belgian Dark/Strong despite the description because the fruity esters are certainly the most overwhelming flavor; a similar beer would be Trois Pistoles. All that being said, it's doing the trick for me tonight, and while it's drinkability might be considered to be on the lesser side of average, I'd still say it's worth a try if you can find it.

Imperial Dunkel Wit: ***

In Defense of Hops part 2

2011-01-18T10:00:00.001-08:00

This week I'm responding to Lizzie Buchen's response to my response on her article from last week. Her original response is at the end of this post.

Hi Lizzie, first of all, thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog and write such a coherent response.

I'm glad to hear you like hoppy beers and I hope no offense was taken by my response. I realize your article was much more about the science and origins of our (in)tolerance for bitterness and I thought your research was very interesting.

From a beer drinker and brewer's perspective, it triggered a familiar though slightly tangential complaint I hear a lot about hops. Whether it's novice drinkers or beer traditionalists, they all seem to have something negative to say about the over hopping trend. I have a fairly defensive attitude towards these folks, not only because I love these beers, but because I believe American hops have had a transformative effect on the creativity that has defined and caused a resurgence of American beer. So I'm glad to hear that you actually like hoppy beers and that's a lovely reference you make to the relative newcomer Ninkasi. But for the purposes of furthering general discussion between the unlikely candidates of a beer blogger and a science writer, here's a few things I wondered about.

Your question whether I would drink Pliny if it didn't have any alcohol is a great one. It goes without saying that removing alcohol from the beer would alter the balance of flavors and the consistency of the beer. You would end up with a liquid that bears little resemblance to Pliny at all (I shudder at the thought). So yeah, chances are I wouldn't want to drink that strange brew.

But I assume you mean in the hypothetical that the flavor was unaltered and it magically had no alcohol content? Well sure, why not? I'd be drinking Pliny right? The same taste I've grown to know and love? The fact that I'm not getting drunk isn't really a big issue if the flavors are the same, it's the taste that I think is amazing. I probably wouldn't drink it in the same locale and chances are they wouldn't have it at my favorite bar. When I order a beer, high or low alcohol content, I'm thinking about what flavors I would enjoy, what styles I like, not how drunk it will get me. If I was concerned primarily with sobriety, why spend all this extra money on beers for my beer fridge and travel to far off specialty beer bars? I could just sit at home with a 40 oz of Steel Reserve. Now that being said, the associated effects of alcohol are certainly welcome participants in the drinking process, but it's always flavor first.

Take a real world example of this point with something like Yerba Mate. It has an incredibly bitter taste with no alcohol content and yet is enjoyed all over South America and now in certain areas of the Middle East. Here's an extremely bitter drink that has become quite infused with Argentinean culture. Now you could make a similar argument replacing alcohol with its stimulative effects. But I think heavy Mate drinkers would say something similar. Perhaps the stimulative qualities are why they tried it for the first time, but the taste they have grown to love.

I'd be interested to know if there has been research done in similar areas regarding other cultures' where bitter foods are more prevalent. Food items like arugula, raddichio, bitter melon, dark chocolate, just to name a few. I don't know the research, but I wonder what prompted their infusion into the cultural cuisine?

Lastly, I like to remind people that America's brewing roots are as much Germanic as they are British and up until the advent of mass market beer, we actually had a rich and vibrant beer culture here in the US, complete with our own Oktoberfest. Of course the hop varieties back then were nothing like the super alpha strains we have now, but when we talk about acquiring a taste for hops, it's important to remember that we're actually re-acquiring those tastes.

Regarding Toronado's fullness factor, I absolutely agree: people generally don't like to hang out in empty bars drinking by themselves... unless maybe it's a pub in Lancashire. However, to reduce the popularity of said bar, or any of my favorite beer bars really, to a crowded room, might be an oversimplification.

First of all, there's clientele and atmosphere. It's not just that it's crowded when I go to a beer bar, it's crowded with people that generally I'm more interested in. We both made the choice to come to this establishment for better beer than they're serving down the street. I respect that choice. There's also whatever the purveyor puts into the place that maybe can't be conveyed with simple descriptions. Creating a space where people can happily socialize isn't easy, just ask the hundreds of restaurant and bar owners that close up shop every year.

However, diving into the social psychology of what makes people choose particular bars might be opening up too large a can of worms to tackle and I certainly feel like I'm at the limit of my expertise. So let me return to a factor that I know more about and is not to be overlooked: selection. I'd argue that the number one factor behind a bar like Toronado's success is the amount of taps and the fantastic selection in their choices of what to pour.

Having this kind of selection not only requires having knowledge of and access to these beers, but having enough space in which to keep them fresh, which is no easy task. If Toronado was known to serve funky beer, undoubtedly their attendance would suffer. At least among beer geeks like me it would.

Thanks again for writing, reading, writing again, and reading again. It's great to have these kinds of dialogues.

Cheers! (Written while drinking a Mikkeller Tomahawk Single Hop IPA, very grassy, a bit too earthy with a nice bright finish)

Original comment from Lizzie Buchen:

Hi, thanks for posting about my article. I was inspired to write this article because I absolutely love hoppy beers -- but I know that wasn't always the case. I certainly remember when Sierra Nevada Pale was the hoppiest and most bitter beer I could handle. But then I started drinking other IPAs (Racer 5, Lagunitas), and suddenly, I found Sierra Nevada somewhat boring. And the trend continued -- I started drinking Pliny, Torpedo, Tricerahops etc., and suddenly, even Lagunitas had lost its bite.

This fascinated me. Bitterness is a sensation that we evolved to dislike because it often indicates poison. Yet I found myself craving increasing levels of it. (I know hoppiness isn't all about bitter--I love the aroma as well--but it's the overwhelming sensation). I started wondering -- are my taste buds adapting? Are my expectations changing? I even spent a while looking into whether Sierra Nevada had changed its recipe to decrease the hops! And the most interesting aspect is I'm not just "getting used to" the hoppiness; rather, I actually *like* it. How would humans evolve to enjoy something they're supposed to spit out?

I list a number of theories in the article. I certainly never connected drinkers of craft beer to addicts of any sort, but I do think alcohol plays a role. (The link to caffeine was that perhaps it helps people come to like the bitterness in coffee. I assume you drew the marijuana link from my reference to its aroma, which I think is quite pleasant, even though I'm not addicted to marijuana). Would you drink a non-alcoholic beverage that smelled, looked, felt and tasted exactly like the true Pliny the Elder? I certainly wouldn't.

As for the wealth/popularity/wealth view, I think this is a really interesting area of consumer psychology. A number of tests have shown that humans are influenced by price tags, such as the psych experiment I referenced where people judged "$90" wine as better than "$10" wine, even though, in reality, they were the same exact wine.

As for popularity -- don't you think one reason The Toronado is always so crowded is that, well, because it's always so crowded? People like being with other people, and sharing in the same activities as their neighbors. People try new beers all the time at the recommendation of friends. If they don't love it the first time, they might keep drinking it because they trust their friends' judgement. It doesn't mean they're "followers". It's another interesting part of our evolutionary history -- we are social animals.

And then, of course, there is the taste and the aroma, which people genuinely come to enjoy. Perhaps we get used to the bitterness, and come to appreciate these lovely, subtle notes.

These are all theories, and I'm not saying they all apply to everyone in every situation. But I think some of them apply most of the time. They were all fascinating for me to learn about, so I thought my readers would be interested to learn about them too. I hope so!

Cheers!

January 17, 2011 2:54 PM

In Defense of Hops

2011-01-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Recently, a friend sent me this article from the New Scientist. My apologies that this isn't an open link, however, the registration is free and the article is fairly short if you'd like to read it. If you'd rather not, it's called, Extreme Beer: No Accounting for Taste, and I'll summarize by giving you the tag line: "American craft beers are getting ever more bitter, expensive and undrinkable – so how do we learn to savour tastes we're hard-wired to spit out?" The article goes on to make a few observations about the surge in craft beer popularity and then tries to suggest some possible evolutionary reasons behind our predilection for odd tastes, namely bitterness. The article also spends some time talking about Russian River's Pliny the Younger, which needs no explanation or introduction for my audience, except to say that it seems to have reached a new level of recognition even beyond the confines of the craft beer world.

It's interesting science, although the conclusions seem to be incredibly negative, painting the motivation behind craft beer drinkers as drunken, caffeine and marijuana addicts, looking to prove our wealth, popularity, and masculinity, from an evolutionary standpoint that is. It's a portrait that might have some truth as you gaze across American culture, but probably less so in the craft beer market as compared to the mass beer market.

But accurate or not, something bothered me about this article as I read it. I actually was just drinking Pliny the Elder (Younger's lesser, but much more attainable cousin) and Russian River's Temptation '08 (one of the famous sours she refers to in the article) last week at Toronado in San Francisco. The place was packed, the beer was delicious, and it was a great time. Surely this Thursday afternoon could be attributed to far more than the evolutionary outcomes of a bar full of people's misguided desires and addictions.

From a beer drinker's perspective, whether a hops lover or not, I think there is a foundation in history that has informed culture and is worth mentioning. Surely, when someone thinks of the unpalatable flavors in beer, the first flavor in question is bitterness. And true to form, this article spends much of its time questioning (although I'm tempted to say "bemoaning") the bitterness flavor that most craft beer drinkers have become accustomed to drinking.

It's an understandable critique. The first time I tried an extremely hoppy beer, I wasn't charmed immediately. It took a few drinks and some exposure of the subtle flavors it contained and accompanied the bitterness, the way the alpha acids worked with the flavor of the grain and yeast to really understand how good the taste could be. I know a number of beer snobs who think the overabundance of hops in beer is a real tragedy, and ever since hops were outlined as a required ingredient by the German Reinheitsgebot in 1516, they've been a pivotal, yet sometimes controversial part of the beer process.

Hops are a vine flower that share a lot of similarity to grapes used for making wine. And just like grapes, they are subject to a concept called "terroir." Terroir is the idea that the geographic climate, soil, and atmosphere impart specific characteristics to the plant. So while Germany, the world's largest hop producer, and the US, the world's second largest hop producer, have similar conditions for growing, say a Noble hop variety, there will be subtle taste differences in the hop pertaining to the region in question. Magnify this effect over centuries, add modern technology and a knowledge of genetic breeding in plants and we get quite a wide variety of Alpha and Super Alpha hop strains produced in the US and specific to its soil. Names like Willamette, Chinook, Simcoe, Summit, and Cascade, just to name a few. It doesn't take long for people to start using these hops in experimental brewing and suddenly we give birth to the distinctive flavor of the American Ale. The American Pale, the American IPA, the American Red, and really almost every beer from the British style, all with a new bite and finish because of the hop production based locally here.

The hops arms race, started around 20 or so years ago, and saw its biggest rise in the past 10 years, as different brewers pitted against each other, trying to cram all these new super high acid hop strains into their beers. I'm not really sure it's over, but it's a period marked by strong experimentation and individual creativity among craft beer brewers. Now how can that be a bad thing? In fact, I would extend that argument to say that it was this opportunity to step outside the conventional stylistic guidelines and restrictions with hops that opened up the idea of using different ingredients, experimenting with styles as a whole.

Some embrace the hop explosion and ridiculous levels of IBUs in these new beers. Others see it as a gimmick that ruins the natural flavors of traditional beer. Whether you're a hops fan or not, you have to admit the important role hops played in shaping the beer renaissance that followed. That renaissance is a reflection of the real heart of American ingenuity and agriculture. Beer, is not simply a beverage, it is a cultural reflection. For centuries, beer has been defined by Belgian Monasteries, German Beer halls, British Pub Beers, and Czech Pilsners. Finally, American beer has a way to separate itself from these giants with something other than mass produced flavorless lagers in cans. Whether you like hops or not, it's important to understand that they opened the floodgates of an American revolution in beer.

So maybe the next time you pick up a pint of whatever you happen to be drinking, hoppy or not, show a little love to the bitter coned flower that helped pave the way for so many other brews.

Cheers!

Stone, Dogfish Head, Victory Saison Du Buff

2011-01-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

It's unfair to label this beer as a Stone beer, although the label does bear their printing style and Bill's name is signed on the description. It's actually a collaboration between Stone, Dogfish Head, and Victory. The idea was to make a Saison that used floral and aromatic herbs for ultimate refreshment. It pours a light straw color with a medium head and decent retention. Nice bubbles and the aroma is a very clean and crisp malt. It's a Saison to perfection; Michael Jackson would be proud.

Drinking this Buff in is a huge mouthful of flavor. The body is light and extremely even. The grains are big bready flavors, but very light on the tongue. They mix with German style hops that bitter the back and sides of your tongue mixing with a bit of lemon and a lot of sage. The sage is almost overwhelming, but mixes beautifully with the hops. I'm not getting any of the rosemary that is promised on the bottle.

The beer has a very smooth hop finish, although has little in the way of alpha acid's pine and citrus and tastes more like orange peel and pepper. Ultimately, these brewers were able to achieve exactly what they set out for, a refreshing kickass Saison. Drinkability is off the charts, and the beer is super refreshing and crisp. My personal preference would be to have some more American hops in there to get a nicer piney finish, but the beer is still great as is.

Saison Du Buff: ****

Favorite Beers of the year

2010-12-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

For my final entry of 2010, I thought I'd look back over the year at a few beers that I tried and really enjoyed. Overall, I reviewed 43 beers this year, not bad considering there are 52 weeks in a year. However, unless you're like me and keep an excel spreadsheet list of what you've been drinking, it can be pretty hard to keep track of them. Unfortunately, many of the double porters and imperial stouts I tried were one offs and limited editions at bars and festivals, so I neither smart enough nor sober enough to write down reviews. But here's a brief stroll my favorites that I was lucky enough to have a bottle of and review this year.

Snake River, Zonker Stout

HUB, Organic IPA

Brasserie d'Orval, Orval

Mikkeller, It's Alive!

Stone/Brew Dog, Bashah

Port Brewing, Hot Rocks Lager

Allagash, 2009 Fluxus

Mikkeller, Nelson-Sauvin Single Hop IPA

Rogue, John John Ale

Sierra Nevada, 30th Anniversary Charlie, Fred, and Ken's Bock

And that's it. Not a bad list all things considered. All these beers are four stars and above with the exception of the Fluxus, which I believe I was a little harsh on with three and a half. The John John should get a special mention just for the creativity of using Gin barrels to age the beer, very unique and a great ale. Of these, I'd have to say that Mikkeller's Nelson-Sauvin is my pick of the year. This was just such an awesome beer and worked perfectly with his single hop series. It's the only beer I gave five stars to all year.

That's it for this year of Brews Clues, hopefully you've enjoyed my thoughts, info, and reviews. Have a great New Years party, drink lots of good beer, and look for more posts in 2011!

cheers,
Dave

Deschutes Hop in the Dark

2010-12-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry, we're still in picture-less land for another week or two. Bear with me.

Black IPAs are slowly, but surely, becoming all the rage, and I have to say, I'm a huge fan. I don't know why we didn't think to combine big dark grain flavors with big hop profiles in a light body earlier, seems like a no brainer. But I guess it took centuries of beer evolution before someone decided it's a good idea.

Now Deschutes has thrown their hat in the ring with Hop in the Dark, which they're labeling as a Cascadian Dark Ale. Really, we're talking about a Black IPA, but I do like their name and maybe BJCP will take it into consideration. I recently saw this beer as #2 in Wine Enthusiast's top 25 beers of 2010. Since I already had a bottle in my beer fridge, I decided it was time to pop it open.

The beer pours a rich black color, although with some close examination lets in just enough light to actually be considered a dark ruby. Big frothy head, although zero retention. Aromas are strongly hop driven, pine and grassy with a black licorice lacing. Deschutes doesn't list much about how this is prepared, but knowing them, they probably hopped the shit out of it. Light carbonation on the front end buildling into a grassy hop profile and finishes with a rich toasted grain flavor a bit of smokiness (or maybe burned grains) and finally light hop bitters. The body on this guy is pretty big and taking a drink is a huge mouthful of flavors. The mouthfeel is kind of odd though. The grassy hop flavor has a lot of oils and when they transition to the grains it creates a sort of chalky mouthfeel, bordering on metallic.

Not to boast, but the beer tastes remarkably similar to the wet hop Black IPA I made a year ago called, Shah Mat. My beer had a similar flaw in the mouthfeel, although it also had a slightly skunkier aroma from the wet hops. Therein lies the real trick of getting a Black IPA right. Mixing big bold roasted grain flavors with heavy hop profiles means creating balance where they don't fight each other. What's happening in this beer is the two flavors combine to create a third and not so pleasant taste that carries throughout the sip and overtakes the both hops and grain. Not to say that this beer is bad by any means, but I don't think it achieves it in the way a beer like Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous does.

Hop in the Dark: ***1/2

Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

2010-12-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

For all of you that are purely visually inclined, I'm sad to say that I just found out one of my SD cards is corrupt. As a result, I've lost pictures of three of my last Beer entries. So unfortunately, for the next few posts you're going to have to use your imagination a little. I promise to do my best describing them.

Japanese brewing is taking off. I've done one entry about this already, but I'm seeing more and more interesting brews coming over from the Far East. Kiuchi Brewery is certainly one of the largest exporters of craft brews and you can find their Hitachino Nest line in a number of stores, bars, and restaurants around LA. Most often you'll find their White Ale or the Hefe, however, Beverage Warehouse has recently started carrying a few of their other beers. Of particular interest to me was this Espresso Stout. Unfortunately, all the info about it is in Japanese, so I can't tell you too much behind the ethos, but I can share how it tastes.

It pours a beautiful black/brown with a lovely tan head. Lacing is decent and sustains for a minute or so, but is slowly dissipating. Aroma is rich chocolate grains with a bit of black currant and the slightest hints of burned espresso and alcoholic phenols. The body is solid for a single, but a little lighter than some of the other massive coffee stouts I've been drinking recently.

While the finish is a marvelous mixture of chocolate and oily espresso beans, the front end has a strange bitter coffee flavor that mixes with the grains and yet somehow doesn't work. It's the same bitter flavor that I get when I accidentally chew on the coffee grinds from the french press (this happens more often than I'd like to admit). While this is a marvelous achievement of authenticity, it unfortunately really overpowers some of the beautiful subtle chocolate and espresso flavors that I can taste buried under the grinds. Other than that, it's a pretty solid stout. The hopping is just right to leave big acidic remnants at the end of your sip and when combined with the massive bitter coffee flavor, it really creates a deep and complex flavor for you meditate on before your next sip.

Espresso Stout: ***

Mikkeller Chinook Single Hop IPA

2010-12-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

A nice shade of golden with sweet apple-y aroma and just a hint of citrus hops. Chinook are high alpha acid hops with a wonderful herbal, almost spicey/smokey character combined with a pine finish. They are a distinctly American hop and are usually used during the last stage of the boil for aromatics, also often in dry hops. The flavor really comes through in this beer.

The front end is all carbonation, really prickly. As it evens out you get a strong burst of the Chinook in a smokey, almost earthy aftertaste. Buried, inside that overwhelming smoke is a slight pine edge; it's a nice final touch to add just a little more complexity to the beer. A very bitter, lopsided beer, this IPA is certainly not for beginners, and probably not for beer lovers who love a more traditional balance of grain and hops. However, it is an interesting case study of the chinook hop strain, that really allows you to isolate and hone in on its flavors.

Chinook Single Hop IPA: ***

Rogue Double Mocha Porter

2010-11-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

Rogue's Mocha Porter has become something of a staple in their canon of beers. When it first came out, over ten years ago, it was a unique and impressive combination of chocolate and coffee with a dark, yet medium bodied porter. Over the years it evolved some and the chocolate started taking over quite a bit of the flavor, however, it still remained one of the better coffee porters on the market.

Now in our latest beer renaissance, the mocha porter has evolved again, this time as a double in Rogue's new solid colored double bottles, which I really like. Rogue has undergone a bit of redesign; in addition to their double and GYO (Grow Your Own) series, they've taken to listing all their ingredients on their beers. In an a time of coveted secret recipes, it shows quite a bit of open sourced attitude, however, many of their grains and hops are homegrown, and amounts times, and temperatures are not listed, so it would be hard to replicate these recipes to the letter.

The color pours a dark dark brown, practically black. It's a rich and foamy head, medium lacing with a strong cocoa berry-like grain aroma and very subtle hints of chocolate and coffee. As always with Rogue, the flavors are complex and evolving. I'm a bit surprised that the body is as light as it is. The flavor opens up with quite a bit of carbonation, which disguises a lot of the front end. The beer begins to evolve into a more a hop dominant bitterness, quite a large hop flavor for such a dark beer. As it settles down the hops mingle with some roasted grain flavor for a very nice finish and great aftertaste.

Overall, the beer is very drinkable and has some interesting flavors. However, for a double I'm expecting a lot more complexity, a richer body, and better balance between the hops and the grain. Ultimately, this beer has little to offer in grain flavor other than color and aroma and has a disappointing watery front end. The chocolate and the coffee are barely discernible and the hop bitterness, while delicious, is far too dominant over the grains. I was pretty excited about this beer, but was a little dissapointed with the end result. Rogue still knows how to make a good beer, but in their maturity from adolesence let's hope this is just part of the growing (your own) process.

Double Mocha Porter: **

Drake's Denogginizer at Jupiter

2010-11-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

This week I'm blogging live from Jupiter in Berkeley, California. We're on our way up to Oregon for Thanksgiving and decided to stop, see some family and friends, and catch a Warriors game. Very excited to hit up some Caldera, Ninkasi and other great local Oregon brews, but the Bay has its own fantastic brewing legacy. Unfortunately, there's no time to head over the bridge into the city to try some of the great bars like Toranado over there, but trying to make the best of our time.

I've been to Jupiter before, and as I've stated before, I have a real weakness for pizza and beer, still not sure why there's no place in LA, but hopefully someone will read this and fix that. Jupiter selection is nothing to go wild about, but their house brews are all brewed by Drake's, which has been churning out some fantastic brews of late. The 1500 in my opinion is one of the finest Pale's you can buy. Today I decided to have the Denogginizer, a seriously hopped up double that I meant to review last month, but ended up just drinking it instead.

The color is a pretty deep orange, almost approaching an amber. I'm having a little bit of allergies after a long walk, so my nose isn't as sharp as usual, but the aroma is a light lemony/citrus hops with a sweet backbone. Last time I had this I remember the aroma being much more in your face with serious dry hop flavors, so perhaps this keg has been sitting around. The taste opens a mouthful of grains, maybe carafa, certainly on the darker side for an IPA, but just enough lightness to distinguish it from an Amber. As it opens up a huge wheelbarrow of apples gets dumped on your tongue, almost to the point that you start thinking about cider. However, before the double heads down a truly tragic path, it's rescued by a strong swing of beta hop acids that lend dark bitters and hints of black pepper. The body is smooth but with substance, perhaps the most attractive quality of this beer.

It's a well rounded double, which is what you look for in this style, and the reliance on beta acids and apples reminds me a lot of Avery's Maharaja, which is an excellent beer. I only wish this would push a little harder in the hops department, balancing those strong low end acids with some brighter high acids. Considering how hopped up their 1500 is, you would think their double would knock your socks off. Socks are still on, but still enjoying the hell out of this beer.

Denogginizer: ****

New Belgium Lips of Faith

2010-11-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

I had been holding on to this beer for a month or so waiting for a good time to try it out and I found an early Friday off before labor day as the perfect time. I'm not very well versed in Berliner Weissebeers, as they're hard to find in these parts and haven't been completely accepted by the American audience.

This beer has a rapidly vanishing head along with a tart, citrusy aroma. It has a beautiful straw golden color to it. The body is light and needless to say there is zero hop presence here. The flavors are citrusy with a very sour apple, sour wheat tartness and a light grain finish. This finish almost has promise, but it's really the tartness that takes over the palate and runs away with this one.

On it's own it's has interesting flavors that give it merit, however, not enough complexity nor diversity to make it stand out. It does have some similar qualities to a white wine, however, and I imagine it would pair very well with anitpastas or other hor d'oevres. I actually had some homemade green olives from a friend while I tried this and it paired excellently.

But pairing notes aside, I'm a little uncertain what makes this an imperial. The body, grain, and mouthfeel all skew very light, and other than the sour notes, there isn't much that gives it that over the top imperial quality. Another interesting endeavor, by the ever creative New Belgium, however, not one that totally came through.

Lips of Faith: ***

John John Ale

2010-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

For those that may be saying, "hey, you reviewed this last year as the Juniper Ale"– few though you may be – let me clarify up front that, no this is not the same beer. Rogue has collaborated with a Master Distiller, whose name I can only assume is John, to make this very interesting Juniper Ale aged in spruce gin barrels. I should also probably establish up front that the one liquor that I really can't stand is gin. To me it has a sort of rubbing alcohol, medicinal flavor that I just can't get down with. That being said, I don't mind this beer at all. It has a very light aroma of pale ale, the Juniper flavors make it almost smell a bit lighter like a flavorful lager. I haven't seen a lot of barrel aged pale ales, but given the unique flavors of this one I'd say it's a great idea for pales. The body drinks just like a pale, but carrying a load of flavors on its back that open up as you sip it. That being said, the spruce, juniper, and earthy tones don't weigh down the beer at all. Instead, the expand your palate to really enjoy the amarillo hops. This is a very drinkable and very enjoyable creation by Rogue. Plus a killer name.

John John Ale: ****

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary, Charlie, Fred, and Ken's Bock

2010-11-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

I don't drink a lot of Sierra Nevada, but when I saw this Imperial Helles on the shelf at Beverage Warehouse, I was intrigued. Helles and Maibocks are traditionally served in the Spring, so I'm a bit out of season, however, I was also ordering thai food, and the two are well matched for each other. This beer was a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and some of their favorite homebrewers. It's nice to see that after all this time, Sierra stays true to their roots.

It pours a deep golden color with loads of head. Aromas are of a sweet variety, leaning towards apples. The beer goes down easy, which is nice for an imperial at 8.3%. That being said, it still has a pretty full body. There's a significant amount of toasted grain in the flavor with a lot of malts and a sweet and spicy alcoholic backbone. It's a rich finish, with just the slightest bit of hop character introduced.

Helles aren't usually my bag, but the imperial aspect of this one really brings out some of the rich beer flavors that one would otherwise miss in a single. The craftmanship on this lager is pretty outstanding; each swig is packed with flavor, yet it tastes immensely fresh with a smooth body that makes for easy drinking.

30th Anniversary Bock: ****

Bootlegger's Rustic Rye

2010-10-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Now here's an interesting beer from our growing neighbor Bootlegger's to the south. I have to admit, I haven't had a lot of rye beers, and I don’t think I've ever seen a Rye IPA before.

For those that don't know, rye beers simply use rye grain in the bill in order to promote spicy and sour flavors in the beer. The aroma is fairly floral in the hops variety; a bit of citrus, perhaps some raisins. I think the most surprising thing upon drinking this beer is its very light body combined with an astringent mouthfeel and high carbonation. The cumulative effect of those qualities makes the beer not unlike a heavy pilsner. Perhaps this IPA has a bit of an identity crisis.

Otherwise the flavors are not unlike a standard IPA without much of a wallop at the end. What punch is there is more beta acids than alpha. The rye is rather hard to detect, however, a bit of sour and spice in the finish is your final clue to that mystery. There's also a bit of a smokey flavor that comes out in the waning moments, however, I think this due more to an earthy hop strain than to the rye.

Overall, this beer is so light it's an incredibly drinkable and at 6.2% makes it a great early evening beer. Not much to really critique here, with a crisp mouthfeel and very detectable flavors this isn't really an overly complicated beer, yet it clearly achieves the simple goal it lays out. I can't help but wish the rye were a little more discernable to give it some more character. We paired this with few cheeses for fun and found it excellent for pairing because of it's astringent finish.

Rustic Rye: ***

Mikkeller, Nelson Sauvin Single Hope

2010-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a great LA Beer Week. Back to good old Mikkeller. A few months ago I decided I'd give you all a break from my nonstop Mikkeller raving, however, I still have four or five bottles of the Single Hop Series in my fridge, just waiting to be opened, so we're back at it again.

I thought I'd try the Nelson Sauvin because it's a hop I don't have much experience with. Surprisingly, it originates in New Zealand rather than on the West Coast. I say surprising because Mikkeller generally shows a deference to West Coast Hop themed IPAs, so I was surprised this was one of his choices. The hop is fairly cherised for its high alpha acids as well its grape like character. That means it delivers quite a complex mix of fruitiness while still maintaining its hop bite. It's oils are often described as "fresh crushed goose berries," which interestingly enough is more often a term used to describe a grape used in some Sauvignon Blancs. This beer pours frothy with a decently webbed foam and a floral aroma dominated by the smell of red or green wine grapes. The aroma of the grapes is distinct and really quite amazing. The color is a much deeper orange than I would have expected, almost an amber. The taste... wow, the flavor!

On stopping to think of how to describe the taste of this beer, I'm left slightly speechless at first due to its complexity and richness. The front end is a subtle flavor, it starts with a even balance of fruit and malts. As the beer opens up, you get a bit more of that young grape flavor that presented itself in the aroma. The sweet flavors start to expand and for a moment you start to wonder if this could possibly be a barleywine – if somehow you grabbed the wrong bottle off the shelf. But just as you're about to get up and check, the familiar hop bitterness begins to kick in, starting gradually and finishing with an extremely well balanced punch. I can certainly see why this hop strain is so exhaulted and why Mikkeller had to use it. It's an incredible balance of sweet and bitter, and the pungency of the grape flavor is so distinct that you really are wowed by its richness. At 6.9%, the beer is just enough alcohol content to enjoy what you're drinking without being overwhelmed by the hot presence of alcohol on your throat and tongue. I often bemoan IPAs that stray too far from the origin of the American style, however, the craftmanship in this beer leaves little room for criticism and even less liquid left in the bottle.

Nelson Sauvin Single Hop: *****

LA Beer Week, part II

2010-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, here are my suggestions for the last 5 days of LA Beer Week, I hope you all have been enjoying yourselves so far.

Wednesday, Oct 13

Stone Archive night @ Tony's Darts Away

Stone is bringing a load of their aged and old releases (i.e. limited) to this one night only event. Those familiar with the Vertical Epic series will note that they are releasing their latest on 10.10.10 so I'm guessing there's a good chance it may be here. Should be fantastic!

Thursday, Oct 14

Allagash Brewer's Dinner @ Tin Roof Bistro

I've never been to Tin Roof Bistro in Manhattan Beach, but judging by their menu and their pairing with Allagash, it's long overdue. I'm guessing this will be a fancier event, but if you've never been to a beer pairing dinner it's really a great experience. Check out the exquisite menu for this beer pairing dinner that promises to be well worth the money.

Hot Knives/Bruery pairing @ Surly Goat

Hot Knives again (make their own cheese), this time pairing their cheeses with beers from The Bruery. Both brewer and cheese maker (is there are word for that?) are incredible artisans and this should be a great event.

Friday, Oct 15

Stone night @ Lucky Baldwin's

This is more Stone archive and goodness featuring some of their limited and current releases. Probably similar to the other Stone events going on all week, but if this is closer to you or you miss the other ones, stop by here.

Drake's Denogginizer @ Library Alehouse

This is an awesome double IPA from Drake's. I just found it in the bottle last week at Beverage Warehouse, but I'm yet to see it on tap. Should be pretty epic.

Schneider and Cheese Impressario pairing @ Surly Goat

This should be vastly different from the Hot Knives cheese pairing and is well worth checking out. Personally, I'm not familiar with the Cheese Impressario (Barrie Lynn), but based on Surly Goat's reputation I'm betting it will be pretty awesome.

Firestone premiere of Dark Knights @ Blue Palms

Somehow this slipped past me when I was initially reading the list. There will be red carpet photos and food and cheese Pairings. Taste the delicousness of their brand new beer, The Dark Knights... 2010 Black Xantus, 2010 Parabola, Cask~Velvet Merlin, Walker's Reserve, also available, Double Jack, DBA, Pale 31, and Union Jack!

Saturday, Oct 16

Schneider Beer Brunch @ Wurstkutche

I half debated leaving this one off my list cause now it's gonna be absolutely packed. But this is just too good to ignore. Schneider and Aventinus paired with Wurstkutche Snausages!! You don't get much more Oktoberfest than this.

Great Divide @ Naja's

You missed Great Divide at Congregation? Lucky you, they're back again at Naja's. Check last week's post for info about the Great Divide Brewery, but the short of it is they have some incredible beers that you won't get elsewhere.

Firestone Night @ Tony's Darts Away

Firestone is bringing a whole range of styles for you to try and Tony's is doing different flights so you can try all different varieties. I'm betting they'll have their new beer, Dark Knights available as well.

Sunday, Oct 17

Union Station Beer Festival

This is actually the only event of the day and I'm sure it will be epic. 70 breweries, $40 entry for unlimited 4oz tastings. The unlimited tastings is a pretty unique feature for a beer festival. I haven't been able to find the list of breweries in attendance, maybe someone can comment if they know, but nonetheless, it should be great. See you there!

LA Beer Week, part I

2010-10-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm guessing those who read my blog regularly will already know about this, but just in case you're one of the few people that are living a life of purity out in a cave somewhere... LA Beer Week starts this Thursday, the 7th, and goes through the 17th.

Personally, I can't wait. I only wish I had some time off work so I could fully enjoy all 11 days of all day activities. If you've never done a beer week or beer festival, the list of events can be pretty overwhelming, so I thought I'd highlight a few of the events that I think will well be worth attending.

First a couple of suggestions and disclaimers:

1. These are just some of the highlights. Use these for rough suggestions, but definitely go and read all the events that are available. There are a lot of great parties to check out, you can view all the events here.

2. Try to vary up your activities. Don't just hit a bar, go to a beer pairing dinner, or a cheese pairing, or style competition. There's a lot of great ways to enjoy beer.

3. Try new beers. Racer 5 is great, but you can order it when Beer Week is over. Seriously, try a new beer, try a new style, a lot of these will only available this week; you'll never see them again!

4. Pace yourself. I know you're all shaking your heads, but a lot of these beers are STRONG! A good rule of thumb is to drink tasters or have a glass of water for every beer you drink. Nobody wants to be that guy passed out in the corner after three beers... I hate that guy.

Thursday, Oct 7

Stone Brewing @ Naja's
For those that live in the Redondo Beach area this is an extraordinary treat; those that live close by, consider making the drive. Greg Koch, Steve Wagner, Mitch Steele from Stone, will be on hand with 40 Stone beers!!

Friday, Oct 8

Avery night @ Blue Palms
For the uninitiated, Avery Brewing is based out of Colorado and they're one of my favorite breweries. Owner Adam Avery will be on hand, I'm sure with some extraordinary beers. I don't think they make a bad beer. Swing by and order a truffle burger while you're there.

Saturday, Oct 9

Oktoberfest @ Verdugo
With Verdugo's big outdoor patio, this should be a great time. They're doing a traditional Oktoberfest style day from 1 - 7 with traditional German beers like Spaten, Paulener, and Schneider plus they've got German food like pretzels and sausages.

Houblon Chouffe tapping @ Library Alehouse
The Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel is a Belgian IPA and one of my favorites. You can generally find it around town in the bottle, but not every place has it on tap. If you've never tried this beer and like hops, definitely swing by for a great beer.

Ballast Point Brewing @ Naja's
Ballast Point is one of our acclaimed local Southern California brewers (San Diego), and they'll be bring a bunch of their beers to Naja's. Worth checking out. Naja's is actually doing all day activities including Belgian beers from Wetton Importers and a beer and cheese pairing event.

Sunday, Oct 10

Great Divide Extravaganza @ Congregation Alehouse
I was lucky enough to check out this new place down in Long Beach last week and it's pretty cool. Even cooler is that they'll have Great Divide on hand for the celebration. Great Divide is thought to be among the top ten in American brewing and their beers are very hard to get out here. Congregation will have 6 taps and bottles as well.

LA CABAL present Brewer's Brunch @ Eagle Rock Brewing
This is a beer inspired brunch with a menu set by Hot Knives. Hot Knives is a blogging/cheese making team that love beer and cheese. If you haven't had their stuff, you've got to try it, simply mouthwatering.

Beer Float Showdown II @ Verdugo
This is going to be an epic battle of Los Angeles beer floats going head to head. What's even better is that you get to be the judge! Last year Golden State beat out Bottle Rock in a heated battle.

Monday, Oct 11

Premiere of Beer Ice Cream @ Scoops
Scoops is widely thought to be the best, most creative, ice cream shop in LA. Golden State uses their ice cream for their famous beer floats. Well it looks like Scoops is skipping a step as they'll be debuting their own, Beer ice cream.

Molecular Dinner featuring the Bruery @ Beachwood
This may be a little too far to drive for some, but certainly worth the trip for those culinarily inclined. Gabe Gordon will be the head chef for this beer pairing dinner that should make some serious waves.

Oro de Calabaza @ Library Alehouse
Jolly Pumpkin is another brewery considered to be among the American brewer's greatest. Oro de Calabaza is their highly rated Biere de Garde, and also one of my favorites for this style. While it's not impossible to find this on tap at other times during the year, it's worth the trip if you like sour beers and have never had it.

Tuesday, Oct 12

Lost Coast 20th Anniversary @ Spring Street Smoke House
I actually haven't been down to this venue yet, but a BBQ with Lost Coast on tap should be epic. Lost Coast is bring some of their staple beers along with some limited releases.

Strand Brewing Night @ Boneyard Bistro
Speaking of BBQ, have you been to Boneyard Bistro yet? If you haven't, check it out. Strand Brewing, another local, will be on hand with some of their beers.

That's all for this week. Next week I'll finish up with suggestions for the 13th through 17th.

Ise Kadoya India Pale Ale

2010-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've recently been hearing a lot about the up and coming brew culture in, of all places... Japan. I'm sure you've all noticed the many places now carrying the incredibly popular Hitachino Nest from the Kiuchi Brewery. Most bars have either their White Ale or Hefe, although I've read online that they make an Espresso Stout, Amber, Pale, and few others that I'd be more interested in trying. So when I saw this Ise Kadoya selection at Beverage Warehouse, I was very interested in giving it a try.

From what I can tell, they do a number of English/American styles including a Brown, Stout, Pale, Triple Hop, Scotch, as well as an Imperial IPA. I thought I'd start with what seemed the most basic staple of most American Breweries to see how it compares. According to the bottle, they've been making miso and soy sauce for centuries by the "traditional methods,"and they mean for this beer to follow in that same tradition. Only one way to find out...

Not much head on this despite my rigorous pour. The aroma is pretty surprising! Leaning over to take a whiff of what I thought was surely citrus and pine, was actually a much sweeter, almost cider like, apple and toffee smell. In addition, the color is much more orange than I would have expected.

Drinking this import in, I have to take a long sip to really appreciate all the flavors. It's a very interesting creation that Ise Kadoya has shipped over. The sugary aroma is not meant to mislead as it starts off like a big bite of an apple. Do not fear, however, as the sweeter elements fade away they are replaced by a very deep beta acid bitter, the kind that only effects the back of your tongue and wants nothing to do with the front. Strangely as the hops die down the beer finishes with a very malty aftertaste, which is quite surprising and distinct in flavor. You're left with the taste of what I can only describe as maltwater, which while not unenjoyable because of the incredible clarity of the roasted barley flavors, is perhaps not the best notion to be left with when drinking an IPA.

At 7%, this beer is complex and drinkable enough to satisfy me on a hot summer evening, however, it certainly is a far cry from the IPAs I know and love. I wonder if they wouldn't have more sucess with this beer if they called it a barleywine instead of an IPA? The richness of the malt flavors, the sweet front end, and the dominance of the beta acid hops make it far more like a barleywine than American IPA. As such I've given it three stars because it's an enjoyable beer, but certainly not an IPA.

India Pale Ale: ***

Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager

2010-09-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, back to the old standard, my first love: Rogue. Technically, this beer is called First Growth Dirtoir Black Lager, but I thought I'd shorten it for the sake of the post.

I've recently been seeing a number of these Black Lagers popping up by some of my favorite brewers; Avery made an incredible one as their anniversary beer called Seventeen. The Black Lager is a distinctly American take on the German styled Schwarzbier. Schwarzbier pronounced "shvahrts-beer," sounds more Yiddish than German... which is simply German for black beer. It doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily heavy or light in body, although they tend to lean towards light. This makes them quite different from their porter and stout cousins. The goal is to eliminate all fruit flavors and instead produce a very mild, almost bittersweet flavor with notes of chocolate, coffee, and vanilla: taking a few steps closer to the American Stout flavor, while still maintaining the light lager body.

The Rogue Dirtoir pretty much picks up right there in my description. A black body with sizeable tan-coffee head and excellent lacing pours into my pseudo pilsner glass. Very little front end on this beer, but it develops into a very nice roased malt bitterness mixed with a rich dark chocolate and finishes with a well balanced and not overpowering hop bite. Overall, very tasty, although the clarity of the lager seems to expose the bitterness in the initial malts leaving for a slightly overpowering and lasting bitterness that carries through the sip. This bittersweet, while probably intended, pretty much takes over the palate muting the other flavors under it. Otherwise, this is immensely drinkable beer, and the notes from the chocolate malts do not go unnoticed. I should add that Rogue labels this beer as a GYO or, Grow Your Own. In fact, Rogue did exactly that: from the hops to the grains, they provided everything to make this beer. It's another interesting step towards sustainability in the beer world.

First Growth Dirtoir Black Lager: ***

Deschutes Twilight, Summer Seasonal

2010-09-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's been rather a grey summer so far this year in Southern California. I suppose then it makes sense that on one of our few days of sun I break out this new summer seasonal called, Twilight.

I've always been a bit dubious of summer seasonals; it's a hard beer to nail down because it seems somewhat unnecessary as a style. Indulge me for a moment. Think of a Winter seasonal – all sorts of comforting winter flavors come to mind: vanilla, spruce tips, cinnamon, cloves, and the list goes on. It's a fairly identifiable and an easy beer to place in the spectrum of flavor. You could say similar things for Fall and Spring with pumpkins and rose petals respectively. But Summer doesn't have quite the same immediate connotation of easily compatible flavors. For me, Summer flavors are all about fresh vegetables like tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, and string beans; blistering hot days with sweet, ice-cold drinks to cool you off and luke warm nights where you can't seem to fall asleep; day trips into the mountains or beaches where you play so long by the time you get home you simply pass out from exhaustion. That may not be everybody's idea of summer, but surely you understand how the flavors immediately brought to life are far less tangible from a beer maker's perspective. When I think of Summer, I think of a refreshing drink that will cool me off under the hot sun. The problem is, that's the very essence of of most lagers and lighter ales! If you're working up a sweat, there are a multitude of kolschs, pilsners, hefeweizens, pales, IPAs, ESBs, Doppelbocks, and other lagers, all served cold, which would be a great source of refreshment. There isn't really a need for an addition of seemingly nonexistent flavors to better them. You could probably make a strong argument for a flavoring of one of these styles which you then declare as a Summer Seasonal, but I think Summer Seasonals as an actual style have a lot of chips stacked against them from the get go. But on to the beer...

It pours between golden and orange with minimal head, however, very nice lacing. Aromas are of heavy grains, infused with a tinge of orange. The mouthfeel is ever so slightly metallic, leaving a small bit of residue from its practically nonexistent body. What can be noticed at all of a front end is a bitter astringency (think white part of an orange bitterness, not hop bitterness), but is like a flash in the pan of taste before it converts to a heavy dose of amarillo hops. The hops are a nice touch and the taste evolves well, but it does leave the beer incredibly lopsided.

It's a lovely thought by Deschutes, who I've come to respect quite a bit over the past year, but as I've pointed out, a task perhaps doomed to fail from the start. They were right to keep the alcohol content low at 5%, but with heavy aroma of grains, it doesn't feel like I'm drinking a low gravity beer and as a result the beverage is neither thirst quenching nor perceived as light, even despite it's very hollow body. Perhaps we'll have to wait for another beer to exemplify the Summer Seasonal, and until then, I'll enjoy another IPA on the beautiful summer day.

Twilight: **1/2

Stone 14th Anniversary Party

2010-09-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending Stone's 14th Anniversary Beer Festival at CSU San Marcos. The event was really amazing: brewers from all over the world, rare and one off beers, and about 7,000 fellow beer lovers. Megan and I were lucky enough to catch a ride with the Library Alehouse Express, a bus arranged by Library to shuttle us down and extend our day of shenanigans.

While the festival was amazing, I was a little disappointed that at $40 a ticket, food was additional once we got in. We also got there about 45 minutes late, so for a three hour time period we had trouble getting through all 10 of our tickets. Nonetheless, we had a ridiculous amount of great beers. Here's the list of what we drank:

First
Dave: Baltic Thunder, Victory Brewing Co. (Downington, PA)
Megan: Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale, Lagunitas (Petaluma, CA)

Second
Dave: Ken Schmidt / Maui / Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter (Collaboration)
Megan: I Beat You, Mikkeler (Kobenhavn, Denmark)

This porter was sweet heaven. So rich, so well balanced.

Third
Dave: 16th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA, Great Divide Brewing Co. (Denver, CO)
Megan: BrewDog / Cambridge Brewing Co. / Stone Juxtaposition Black Pilsner

Fourth
Dave: Nøgne Ø / Jolly Pumpkin / Stone Special Holiday Ale - Brewed at Nøgne Ø, Norway
Megan: Dry Hopped Hog Heaven Barleywine-Style Ale, Avery Brewing Co. (Boulder, CO)

An Avery volunteer poses for the Dry Hopped Hog Heaven.

I was pretty excited about try the Special Holiday Ale, I was one of the first in line when it went on tap.

Much lighter bodied than I had expected, but still really delicious.

Fifth
Dave: Cho-Saiko, Pizza Port (San Diego-ish, CA )
Megan: Merlot Stout, SKA Brewing Co. (Durango, CO)

It was right around here that our effort to document our beer drinking for the day fell apart, at least pictorially. Beer will do that.

Sixth
Dave: Hand Cask Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA w/ Sovereign Hops
Megan: TEA (Traditional Experimental Ale), The Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA)

Seventh
Dave: Modus Hoperandi, SKA Brewing Co. (Durango, CO)
Megan: Stone Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle Peppers

Eighth
Dave: Black Pearl, Coronado Brewing Co. (Coronado, CA)
Megan: Idiot IPA, Coronado Brewing Co. (Coronado, CA)

A fellow beer reveller offered to take our picture.

Then proceeded to spill beer on me. He was a Lakers fan... typical.

Happy beer festival goers.

Back at the bus everyone was in good spirits.

Tom took us to a brand new gastropub called Urge. The beer selection was incredible and pretty much everyone got one of their six burger options. It was amazing.

We also had these fries, which I believe were covered with bacon.

Finally, we ended up at the Ballast Point Brewery for a tour. Most of my pictures were pretty useless by this time.

That's it! An incredible beer filled day, great people and great food. Can't wait for next year.

Where to Drink in LA - Part 4, The Valley

2010-08-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is the final week of my four part series, "Where to Drink Craft Beer on Tap in LA." This week we finish the series with a region that can only be summed up by two words...

The Valley

Verdugo

This is Ryan Sweeney's original LA bar, and while it's tucked away on a dark street in Glassell Park, it still serves the Craft selection that made it a success. With their 22 taps of diverse selections, it's dark, moody, and there's some sort of beer for everyone. There's no food, but there's usually a truck, and they have a big outdoor patio for you to enjoy it on. I especially like all the different room choices you have to enjoy a beer in, gives you some options to stay out of the crowd or be in the thick of it. More spacious than some of the crowded Hollywood and Westside spots.

Tony's Darts Away

Sorry guys, I still think this is the worst bar name ever, maybe the nickname "Tony's," can catch on somehow. To be fair, the name is inspired from the original name of the bar, Tony's, which they took over last year. Apparently, the old Tony's was a bit of a landmark, however, wasn't kept up well at all; the new Tony came in and changed all that. They make up for any confusing names with GREAT beer selection and awesome events every night of the week. These guys do an awesome job of loading all their 36 taps with only California beers as they are dedicated to fostering the local economy. I personally enjoy the entire page dedicated to IPAs. Enjoy a fine meat or vegan sausage with your beer and check out their website for events that they have, pretty much every night. Tony is working on a new restaurant/gastropub in Echo Park that sounds like it's going to be amazing. I wish this place was closer, I would go there every night.

Boneyard Bistro

This place recently rennovated and I was lucky enough to have time to swing by last week. The idea is a lot like Beechwood, except a whole lot closer: BBQ and beer. With 42 beers on tap, an extensive bottle list, and tons of BBQ, what's not to love here? It's an interesting selection of classics like Avery, Russian River, and The Bruery, mixed with smaller local breweries like Coronado, Ladyface, and Hangar 24. Their menu has a laundry list of different meats, including a few combo plates meant for 8 to 12. A must try is their appetizer, Kobe Beef Chili Filled Donuts. They're pretty tasty and have a real SoCal signature to them. I loved the Fried Mac and Cheese and the pulled pork was good, but the real highlight of the evening was their burgers; they list 6 in all, each with their own style and set of toppings. I tried The OMG, which, true to it's name was definitely worth mentioning. Perfectly cooked, great meat, unique toppings which showed both quality and character, this was an unbelievable burger. But probably my favorite part of this place is all the space you get. So many beer bars around town feel really packed in, but this place is spacious and you can relax comfortably.

Eagle Rock Brewery

While it is slightly outside of the referenced area, Eagle Rock to be exact, it is certainly worth mentioning on this list for being the closest Craft Brewer around (no one better write back asking about Angel City Brewing). They have a tap room that is open Friday, Saturday, and Sundays, serving their 5 different beers, and yes, you can fill your growler here! There's no food, but you can bring your own or visit a nearby food truck, and they give tours of their brewery on Sundays. Rumor has it they're working on a soon to be debuted IPA.

The York on York

Also not technically in this area, but close enough to be considered, The York on York, or just, "The York," offers up 13 taps of carefully selected Craft Brew from 3pm to 2am every day. In addition to a tasty menu of food items, they have a fine selection of bottles for you to choose from. This can sometimes become an Occidental Student hangout, but like Boneyard, they feature my favorite gastropub interior of brick walls and chalkboard menus. They also have a jukebox.

8 1/2 Tavern
This place was just recently brought to my attention, so I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Located in Studio City, this place makes for a great beer stop after your studio pitch. From what I can tell it seems to be a fusion of relaxed slightly upscale dining and gastropub. The menu skews Italian, with a fair amount of pizzas to choose from. The beer list features 12 taps with names like Allagash, Ballast Point, Alesmith, and Stone, they also have a small, but excellent bottle menu.

Laurel Tavern

With 16 beers on tap and plenty of burgers and good food to be had, Laurel Tavern seems to be a hot spot among the Valley locals. It can be hard to grab a seat here on the weekend, but the wood interior bar makes for a nice venue if you can find a seat. My favorite thing about this place is their $5 and $6 beer menu, a nice change of cost for Craft Brews. Taps include labels like Lost Coast, North Coast, Rogue, Coronado, and Craftsman. While I haven't eaten here, I did take a look at the menu which features simple items with no need for description.

And that's my list! My apologies to South Bay and Inland for leaving some places out that fall in the "father east or south than I'd like to drive," category, most notably: Beachwood, 38 Degrees, Lucky Baldwins, Stuffed Sandwich, Ladyface Alehouse, and Naja's Place. But for the most part these are some of the best places in and around town to hang your hat and have a cold one. If you'd like to stay on top of what's on tap at some of these places, make sure you're subscribed to the weekly Beer Blast, an email that updates you to tap changes around town.

Where to Drink in LA - Part 3, Silverlake/Echo Park/Downtown

2010-08-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's week #3 of Where to Drink Craft Beer on Tap in LA. This week you'll notice I'm clumping together a few neighborhoods and including a few places which are really wine bars because of the sparse amount of places.

Silverlake/Echo Park/Downtown

El Prado

This place is certainly no Shortstop, and you won't find $2 PBR's at gametime. El Prado has around 7 or 8 taps they use to rotate an excellent selection of domestic and foreign Crafts. It's a tiny little place in the up and coming neighborhood of Echo Park, but certainly worth a stop if you're passing by and feel like you need some refreshments. They have some small bites like walnuts for you to munch on if you need something more than just a drink.

City Sip

City Sip is certainly more of a Wine establishment, but they do pay attention to the Craft Beer drinkers. In fact, they're hosted a home brew class a few weeks ago. They have 6 rotating taps with names like Victory, Allagash, Port, and Eagle Rock. They also carry a few Belgian bottles, including my favorite sour, Duchesse de Bourgogne. The vibe here is about helping your to learn about beer and wine as you drink it and in that vein, they have large selection of rotating cheeses they like to pair with their beers.

Bar Covell

Bar Covell is an interesting mix of vintage class and antique funk in Los Feliz across from the Umami Burger. While their primary feature is the 20 rotating wine options, they've taken to serving some very fine brews. 8 rotating taps serving names like Flying Dog, Jolly Pumpkin, St. Bernardu, and Eagle Rock Brewery, just to name a few. At $7 -8 per glass it's on the pricier side, but this is nothing new to all you beer lovers out there. No food here, but they do small cheese plates and chacuterie.

1642
Recently, I've been hearing a lot about this new bar, nestled in the Historic Filipino section of Echo Park and recently opened in March. I actually used to live around the corner from where it's located on Temple, so I'm bummed they weren't open when I was there. Apparently, it's a pretty low profile place, not much of a sign, and its metal screen door suggests more of an appliance store than a bar. But along with its "dive-y" atmosphere, you'll find reasonable beer prices, and a decent selection from 4 taps.

Villains Tavern
It's hard to keep up with all the new places Downtown, seems like a new one is opening up every week. Villains is an interesting addition to the Downtown landscape. Open now for only a few weeks, the gothic styled venue, located under the shadows of the 4th and 6th street bridges in the arts district, specializes in mixology, however, does sport 28 taps. They serve their beers in chilled jars, which is an interesting touch, but tells me they probably won't be bringing in the rarest of the rare. Along that note, while they have some better selections than most, e.g. Racer 5, Deschutes, Chimay, Anchor, Lost Coast, they also have some pretty disgraceful taps like Bud Light, Miller Lite (never understood why it's 'ite') and Tecate. For $8 they give you a beer and shot of your choice, which is a lovely combo, however, I've heard complaints that the size is a little small on these. Another problem is there's no happy hour, which may disappoint the thriftier of us. But for the hungry, there is food.

Good Microbrew and Grill

This is a tough one for me. I'm not sure Good really fits the profile of some of these other places, but I thought, since I'm compiling a list of where you can drink Craft Brews, this is in fact a place where you can get it on tap. While Good doesn't really rotate their taps much, you may find yourself ordering off their surprisingly large menu of bottle selections. There is plenty of space inside and out to enjoy your beer in. They also have their own namesake beer, brewed by Firestone.

Spring St.
Downtown residents have a lot to be happy about now that they have Spring St, their only true Downtown Craft Beer joint. Having looked over the menu, I'm not blown away by their tap choices, but they certainly have some classics like Brother Thelonious, Arrogant, 90 minute, Pranqster, Telegraph White, and Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout. Throw in an outdoor patio, reasonable prices, and a smoked salmon sandwich, which seems to be all the rage, and you've got yourself a gastropub of note.

Bottle Rock

In case you have a friend that doesn't like beer, bring them to this place; they can drink wine, you can drink beer. With 12 taps, a beer float, and plenty of wines to choose from, Bottle Rock is a great place for a few small plates or a full meal. They also have a Culver City location.

Cork Bar

Once again, another Wine Bar coming around and serving great beer as well. While you have to dig through an extensive list of wines to find them, they do feature 6 well selected taps and 6 more expensive but eclectic bottles.

Biergarten
Just last week I heard about this new place that opened in Koreatown a few months ago, although I as of yet I haven't been and don't know too much about them. Since they don't have a website, I looked them up on Yelp and they get excellent marks. From what I can tell, the place is in the style of a traditional Bavarian Beer Garden, however, with the food being a combination of German, Mexican, and Korean Bbq. They have 25 beers on tap and sport labels like Alesmith, Golden Carolous, and Delerium, but I imagine some interesting German beers as well. To top it off, they have beer floats, making them the 3rd place in LA to delve into this burgeoning trend. Unfortunately, they're only using Thifty ice cream, not Scoops, but I realize that may be a selling point for some.

Wurstkutche

Ok, this isn't really a Craft Beer bar, but who can argue with a great German Beer selection and killer sausages! I don't know if the place really qualifies, but it's just fun to go here.

That's all, next week... The Valley.

Where to Drink in LA - Part 2 Hollywood

2010-08-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I'm continuing my 4 week long series on Where to Drink Craft Beer on Tap in LA. A couple of corrections from last week's post about the Westside: 5th Amendment has in fact changed its name to Broadway Alehouse, please make a note of it. I also probably should have included the Venice Whole Foods, since their bar does in fact have 4 taps that they change roughly every week. This week, we go to...

Hollywood

Surly Goat

For those that still haven't figured out that Ryan Sweeney opened a beer bar in West Hollywood, you've all officially been told to go. 27 taps and 1 cask, they have killer selection and a great variety to choose from. The Goat was recently selected by LA magazine as the number one beer bar in the city and it's hard to disagree. I don't think I've seen as diverse a selection of Craft Beers labels and styles anywhere in LA. Get in now before this place goes all Hollywood...

Blue Palms

Owner Brian Lenzo has done a very nice job of creating a great Craft Beer bar, right on the edge of Hollywood. The sign and window for this place is pretty small, you'll almost drive right past it, but there's plenty of space and big beers inside. They have a giant projected screen that tells you what beers are on their 24 taps and 1 cask, but if you still can't decide on something they have a very eclectic bottle list and offer flights of beer. Every week this place seems to have a new event going on and they do a great job of fostering the beer community; I just spent all day Saturday trying some of the incredible selections they brought in for 2nd Anniversary party. The selection and rotation here is really excellent, and while I can't speak for all the food, the bartender talked me into getting an unlisted item, The Truffle Burger, which was unbelievably good.

Golden State

Don't let the size of this place fool you. While there's only a small list of beers on tap and 6 or so more in bottles, co-owner Jason Bernstein only serves you the best stuff. Their beer selection is hard to argue with and their burger can give Father's Office a run for their money. This offers a much brighter alternative to dark wooded interiors like the Goat and FO. Be sure to try their sweet potato fries and a beer float.

Village Idiot

The Village Idiot offers up good food with a fine assortment of beverages and was surprisingly a fixture before all of LA got into a Craft Craze. It looks a bit more like a New York Gastropub, but its location on Melrose is unmistakably LA. They have 7 resident taps, as well as one rotating tap. I would love if they started rotating more, but until then, they serve up some good food including a few throwbacks you won't find at other places, like meat pies... yum?

Lucky Devils

The owners of Lucky Devils seem to be big fans of Imports, however, they do make room on their 14 taps for 5 or 6 Crafts. Once again, they don't rotate much, but perhaps I'm asking too much? They also have a long bottle list. While I've never eaten here, the food looks pretty good. They use local and organic ingredients and have a number of pizzas and burgers for you to pair your beer with. I don't know why, but those two food dishes are still my favorite things to have with a beer; maybe I'm just old school. Swing in here for their $10 lunch special.

8oz

Nothing like a burger bar that says LA, and nothing better than a burger to go with your beer. Compliment one of their 6 taps with any of their signature burgers or customize your own. They also have a nice bottle selection including Ommegang, Russian River, Lost Abbey, and Allash. Or you can order PBR in the can.

Stout
What? It's ANOTHER burger and beer bar?? Yes, deal with it! Personally I love burgers and beer, so you won't find any complaints from me. This one boasts 30 taps featuring names like Allagash, Port, Anderson Valley, North Coast, Deschutes, Lagunitas, Victory, and quite a few others. They distinguish themselves by focusing on how to pair your burger and beer, which is probably something I'm fairly ignorant of on most occasions. Haven't tried the burger yet so I can't give you my assessment, however, having looked over the menu it looks like they have 9 different styles to choose from.

Morels

You're probably thinking, "Morels?! That tourist trap in The Grove?" Yes. While I can't recommend the atmosphere for everyone, they have 12 surprisingly well chosen California and other domestic Crafts on tap. If you want to have a craft on tap, but you're not into bars, this might be a good place to go. Or maybe just have a beer next time you're going to a movie.

The Third Stop

This gastropub nestled at the edges of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, might be one of the few sports bars that can serve you good beer and fancy food. While their 34 taps feature some run of the mill, disappointing names like, Miller Lite, they also have slightly more interesting selections like Stone, Flying Dog, Bear Republic, and BrewDog. I don't know if they have any team or city affiliation – maybe someone can get back to me on that – but they do say to come in for Dodgers' games on their website... maybe next season.

Alright, that's my Hollywood list. Be sure to comment if I forgot any. Next week, Silverlake/Echo Park/Downtown...

Where to Drink in LA - Part 1, Westside

2010-08-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

This month I thought I'd put together a little list of where to go in Los Angeles to find good Craft Beer on tap. Now for some of you, this information may be pretty mundane, in fact you may not learn anything new at all. However, there's a whole new generation of people just discovering Craft Beer and have no idea that there are great bars just down the street or around the corner from them. Los Angeles has had a surge of beer bars in the past year and hopefully this post will help you to discover some new places. In addition to some proper "beer bars," I've included some places you might not think of. So, coming to you in four parts over four weeks, I've organized the best places by neighborhoods, starting with my own:

Santa Monica/Venice

Library Alehouse

Probably my favorite Westside beer bar. Not only do they rotate their taps often, they bring in great selections, host events for charity, and put together interesting beer pairing dinners. To top that off they have a great dining room with very excellent food. They have 29 taps and a long menu of great options.

Father's Office

FO with their 36 taps, is probably the first place people think of when they think of Craft beer. Even with two locations (one in Culver City) it can still be a bit hard to find seating at this jam packed gastropub. The beers rotate seasonally, although they usually keep some select names year round. Personally, I'd like to see them rotate a little more often, but their selection is always sublime. When it comes to getting a burger and beer, there may not be a better place than this.

5th Amendment

This is a quirky little hole in the wall bar just off the Promenade in Santa Monica. While I've never tried the food here, they have 20 taps, which they rotate often, and you won't have to fight for a seat like some of the other places. It's a much quieter venue to grab a beer with a few friends. Since their music is often run off a laptop, sometimes you can talk the bartender into letting you DJ.

The Daily Pint

An Irish Pub with darts, shuffle board, pool, karaoke, foosball, and TVs for big games, this bar is guaranteed to have something for everyone. What's more, they have a really great selection of craft beers, including 2 cask ales every day of the week. In case you're not feeling like beer, they have an amazing selection of reasonably priced Single Malt Scotches to choose from.

The Other Room

Now a Venice mainstay, this place can get pretty crowded on weekends and extremely loud. While they're not known for rotating their taps much, or well... at all really, they do have some good standard Crafts on tap and in the bottle. It's dark, hip, and very much a scene, but I appreciate that they still bring some beers to the party.

Venice Ale House

This place is literally brand new, and when I say literally, I mean last week. When I visited, it seemed like they're going through all the opening week jitters, getting all their ducks in order. And despite the fact that they had kicked about 6 taps when I was there, they do seem to have a number of decent drafts from California as well as some oldies but goodies from Oregon, Alaska, and Colorado. The selection wasn't too mind boggling, but I certainly found a few beers I liked and they seem committed to bringing in better beer. We'll see what happens with this place, but for now I'll get behind them since they're serving organic food and have the balls to open up this kind of establishment on the boardwalk.

Next Week: Hollywood!

Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws

2010-08-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Somehow this winter seasonal slipped into the back of my tasting queue and I find myself only now drinking it… in June, although undoubtedly this is being read in July. Oh well, when I drank this, it wasn't all that warm that day, so maybe a barleywine isn't the most horrible thing to put on the menu.

When I opened this bottle I did a double take when I didn't hear the normal hiss of carbonation and eyed it cautiously when I saw almost no bubbles in my glass. This beer is certainly lacking in carbonation, glad to see that these kinds of mistakes can happen to the experts too! Well it certainly puts a damper on my review to go on too much about the taste without the appropriate carbonation, but I'll give you an idea of the taste. It's a very sweet beer, as barleywines tend to be, the richness of the caramel reminds me of the old stock's syrupy body. The taste does bend round into an earthy, slightly isyprobyl alcohol, and bitter flavor, much the way you might do if you were trying to mentally steer your desparately hit golf ball back on course. The 11% alcohol tastes very hot, especially on your throat, although I've come to somewhat expect this from higher gravity beers such as this.

Overall, really not something I'm enjoying, but the whole experience amounts to a foot faul given the lack of carbonation. The beer is meant to be aged, but I'm glad I didn't; if I had opened this to zero carbonation in a matter of years rather than months I would have been pretty upset. I give it one and a half stars for now, with the footnote that I had a bad bottle. I certainly owe Hair of the Dog a second chance on this one.

Doggie Claws: *1/2

Port Brewing Hot Rocks Lager

2010-07-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

A lager from Port Brewing is certainly a surprise, given their predilection for high powered, high octane ales; as they state themselves on the bottle, it's not often they make a beer that requires mind over matter.

This was a collaboration between Port and Tonya Cornett of Bend Brewing. They made this in the traditional Stein manner by dropping glowing rocks, heated by fire, directly into the wort. This creates all sorts of smoke, steam, and rolling boils because of the extreme heat of the rocks, not to mention is a bit of a time machine back to some of the earliest days of brewing.

Port's decision to use Black Granite was obviously a good one, because as Lagers go, this one isn't bad at all. Typical lack of aroma lager with a very dark amber color and fairly rich body. The lager starts off as you would expect, as though sitting in a beer garden in Munich. But as the taste develops, the Lager is heightened by what I can only imagine is the effects of the hot rocks, and the brilliance of the Port brewers.

An infusion of dark coffee notes that are indistinguishable in their roasted quality from the caramel malts finish with a subtle hop bitterness; there's a nutty flavor mixed in there somewhere that I can't quite discern. It's tempting to say the nut flavor comes from the addition of hazlenut because of the coffee and caramel, but I can't really be sure since it is very subtle.

This is a complex and delicious creation from Port. As can be the case with Lagers, there's a slight lingering yeast flavor that comes through both in the aroma and the aftertaste, but certainly not enough to make you dislike this beer. If you just picked up the glass without knowing the story, you'd probably think it was just a quality German Dunkel, but there's just enough creative additions in here to make it something more.

Hot Rocks Lager: ****

Grand Teton Bitch Creek ESB

2010-07-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

10 years ago, it wasn't uncommon to see an ESB beside every pale or amber on the shelf. Somehow in the craft beer renaissance, the ESB's shelf space has been rapidly replaced by three other initials, IPA. The styles are not at all comparable, but in a beer world where every brewer has a single, double, and even triple IPA, ESB's seem to be in short supply, at least in this country.

For those that don't already know, ESB stands for Extra Special/Strong Bitter. Personally, I always go with "strong," because "special," doesn't tell you much as far as the taste. Basically, the goal is to create a bitter with more aggressive hop characteristics, but an overall more balanced body.

The Bitch Creek is a fine beer coming out of the bottle. It has a deep copper color, very little head and lacing, with a rich toasted caramel aroma. Grand Teton has created a very drinkable beer and stays true to the ideal of an ESB. A very small hop bite on the front end balanced with a suprisingly full flavored toasted grain and caramel finish. There's a nice alpha acid hop aftertaste that rounds out the drinking experience staying true to the ideals of an ESB. On the negative side, there's a slightly metallic flavor that is implied but not necessarily intended during the finish of this beer. Overall, very drinkable, fairly tasty, but not quite complex enough to push it over the edge into a four star beer.

Bitch Creek: ***1/2

Allagash 2009 Fluxus

2010-07-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the shelf at Beverage Warehouse with a pricetag of $17, I had a pretty huge eyebrow raise when I saw Allagash's 2009 Fluxus. However, it was too late, having noticed the inclusion of sweet potatoes and black pepper in the brewing process had picqued my curiosity enough to cause me to toss it in with my basket of goodies.

I tend to be a little fickle when it comes to Saisons. Most of the standards that have been ranked as classics throughout the years don't do much for me. I appreciate the history and the craft, yada yada yada... and thus I tip my hat. However, when it comes to my own personal drinking preferences, I need a little more spice, bitter, or flavor than your standard bread and malt fare.

If you didn't have the bottle to tell you otherwise, from all appearances this looks like a standard Saison. A nice golden color with tons of head and beautiful lacing. The aroma is like many other Saisons I've tried, raisin like sweetness and nondescript malt. Yet the taste of this beer is very different.

Surprisingly light bodied, but full flavored, it hardly opens up to your taste buds until the end of the sip, but then opens with full force on your palate, like someone sneaking up behind you and walloping you at the last second. That wallop is what carries this beer above and beyond for me. It's a complex mix of an earthy sweetness and a sharp bite, which I can only assume comes from the pepper. It's an interesting evolution that leaves ricochets of the spicey bite in your mouth long after your sip is finished.

I assume that this is what Allagash was after when they called this the fluxus, doing us the courtesy of defining it right on the bottle as 1. a flowing or flow, 2. continuous change, passage or movement. It definitely changes and incredibly so, but I dont' think I'd go so far as to call it continuous or even. Surreptitiously strong at 8.3%

2009 Fluxus: ****

Mini Beercation Day #3 - Stone Brewery

2010-07-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lapse last week, got caught up in work. Hey! It happens, work has to come first, not like anyone is paying me for my thoughts on beer...

After visiting Stone Brewery on my third day of Mini Beercation I wrote quite a bit on my phone notepad so that I would remember, in detail, all the glorious details of this stop. Unfortunately, since then, I have had to reboot my phone and as a result have lost all those tasting notes...

However, if I were to try and recall what I wrote on that day, I think it would have gone something like this:

Glorious, magnificent, visionary! If Port Pizza was a blast from a past, then surely Stone is a glimpse of the future.

Walking into this massive structure at the end of a desolate road in Escondido, one is reminded more of a four star hotel, or a Winery. The stone entryway and 30 foot high ceilings have the feeling of some renovated gothic castle.

The beer selection has a number of Stone's year round brews, as well as some great selections from other craft breweries.

There are two bars, one inside and one outside, as well as gardens out back that they often setup a small bar in. The whole place has a feeling of grandeur because of the high ceilings accompanied roll up glass walls that open out into the patio, making the place seem really large.

What's really impressive though is how they use this space. They hold events out in their garden or simply let you take a casual stroll through. The night we were there, Stone was hosting a movie night (Airplane). You really get the feeling that they're dedicated to fostering community.

I ordered a Sublimely Self-Righteous, which was amazing as always.

Stone's food menu is an obvious dedication to their own beer ethic. In addition to all of the food being made with beer, they make a point of having only local and organic ingredients and dedicate themselves to bolstering their local community through slow food, industry, and money. To put it in their own words: "At Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, we use in-season, locally, regionally, and organically grown produce. We do this not just for the simple principles of freshness and sustainability, but also because fresh, local and organic tastes better. It’s also better for you and the world in which we live. No, we’re not health nuts, we’re quality nuts! The fact that actual real food is better for you than the “food-like” substances that folks commonly eat is beside the point."

Good enough for me, we started off with the Mac 'n Beer Cheese with sausage, which was pretty incredible. This was actually as good as it looks, See?

Down to the last bite.

Megan ordered the Rosemary Crusted Pork Loin.

And I, surprisingly, got the 3 BBQ Duck Tacos. I say surprisingly because with Stone's wonderful menu of Steaks and exotic flavors, Duck tacos might sound a little bland. However, this couldn't be further from the case. Stone makes a Chile de Arbol and Levitation Ale BBQ sauce on this creation, topped off with some habaneros and asiago cheese. This dish was spicy and succulent, the sweetness of the duck was a perfect match for the spiciness of the sauce. Truly incredible.

Finally, we finished off with what we thought would be simple Chocolate Brownies. Once again, Stone blew me away. I forget what type of beer they used in these brownies, but they were seriously out of control.

Stone was really the perfect place to cap off this trip. As I sat there having an absolutely great time, I started thinking about the success they've had and their current expansions, most notably, the possible opening of a brewery in Europe. It certainly seems like their setting an excellent example, not just for other craft breweries, but for the food and business as a whole: it is possible to be successful and adhere to the quality and ethics that you believe in and possibly got you to where you are. I will definitely be making more trips down to this brewery, I'd advise you all to do the same.

Mini Beercation - Day #2

2010-06-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

I had been really excited to try Pizza Port for some time. They make some incredible beers

and their love of hopping their American Style ales with Simcoe and other high alpha acid hops is really after my own heart. So, after some roughly 20 miles hiked, we headed off to Pizza Port Carlsbad for Day #2 of Beercation 2010.

Unfortunately, through some navigational errors we ended up at Pizza Port Solano Beach instead. This turned out to be a very fortunate miscalculation. Solano Beach is actually the original location for Pizza Port and it gave us a glimpse of "Pizza Port past" that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Walking into this joint was a serious blast from the past. This place has a real small town and, dare I say, Pacific Northwest feel about it. The beer places I grew up with, and came to love, were essentially giant rooms with big german beer hall style tables, video games at one end, and a walk up counter at the other where you can order your beer and/or pizza from the plethora of college kids working the night shift. It's certainly not fancy, and probably not entirely hygienic, but you can fill up your growler, watch the game, and enjoy some great west coast style pizza. It's the kind of place that simply doesn't exist in LA and may cease to exist as beer bars become increasingly fancy establishments in urban areas. Not that I'm against all the wonderful new places that are sprouting up, they offer their own value, but I do think there is still a place for the good old fashion beer and pizza joint, and I couldn't have been happier to walk into this throwback.

Once I saw the beer board I got even more excited. Most of their own stuff on the board were not available in the bottle, at least that I've seen. That always makes for great tasting. We started off with the Swami IPA. Swami was just a solid American style IPA with classic Port Brewing Simcoe style hopping. I was really enjoying the Swami until I tried The Road IPA. This beer blew my mind. It was just a wonderfully balanced, yet still strong hopped double IPA. There were strong hints of citrus and a cannabis type flavor and it really finished with a lot of bite. We enjoyed these beers with a delicious vegetarian pizza. It was hard to contain my excitement.

The next round was the Jules Winfield. This was described as a Strong American Stout, but it was the hoppiest stout I've ever tasted: not that that's a bad thing. This beer could have almost passed as a Black IPA if it were not for the rich chocolate flavors on the front end of its taste.

Finally, I went with a Mikkeller IPA, which they happened to have on tap there. It might seem strange to order a Mikkeller at Port, but it's so rare to find a Mikkeller beer on tap that I felt like I had to give it a try. It actually proved to be very interesting comparison to the very American styled IPAs. After drinking the long list of Port beers, the Mikkeller IPA was really overpowering with caramel and was a bit too strong in this comparison.

We met our neighbors as one does in close quarters and long tables like this. One of them may have actually been Casey Affleck...

I was kind enough to help them pick out some better beers to order, and they returned the favor by buying us some of their pitcher... with no glass. I improvised with some pouring skills I learned in Cinque Terre.

Afterwards, I bought a couple of rare bottles they had by the register. The anniversary ale made me giddy like a school boy.

Next week, the long awaited journey to Stone Brewery headquarters for a very different sort of beer experience...

Mini Beercation - Day #1

2010-06-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Having my first real time off in many months, Megan and I decided to head down to San Diego for a little mini vacation. The goal was two fold: do some great hiking and get a sneak a peek at San Diego's rapidly growing beer scene.

If you've never taken one, beer vacations probably sound like a lot of fun. Well that's not altogether untrue, however, I have learned that day after day of tasting different styles and strengths of beers can really make you feel awful. At the World Cup in 2006, I learned this the hard way in Munich; two weeks of drinking beer all day and watching soccer was an unparalleled experience, but so was the way I felt afterwards. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, then here's a visual explanation.

Too much of this...

this...

and this...

can make you feel like this...

this...

and occasionally will have you looking like this...

Because of this lesson learned, I never plan my vacation exclusively around drinking beer and instead try to balance it out with plenty of walking and exercise so that the highlight of your vacationing doesn't actually become drinking. That's just a little reasoning behind why I'm not declaring this as an all out "Beer Vacation." Now onto the good stuff.

We didn't do too much planning before we left and luckily, we didn't need to; right across from our hotel in La Jolla was a Karl Strauss pub house. I'm not a huge Karl Strauss fan, but with the Laker game about to go on and being in walking distance, it was hard to pass up.

For food we ordered a beer battered sausage plate and a mac and cheese; neither were really worth mentioning. However, let's talk beer. As you probably know by now, I find it difficult to write full reviews when I'm out and about, so for this beercation, I simply jotted down a few notes here and there as I tried different brews. I have to thank our really wonderful bartender. She gave us free tasters of almost every single beer on the menu, which really is what made this possible.

First up was the Tower 10 IPA. I believe you can actually find this beer in most Albertsons nowadays. It's a decent IPA, but nothing to write home about. It's about on par with New Belgium's Ranger Redhook's Long Hammer. Next up was the Pintail pale ale, a very nice seasonal with good balance and that we both found to be very refreshing. At 5.3% it was very drinkable and was probably the winner on the day. After that we sampled the Minden Maibock, their May seasonal, which I found to be overpowered by apple flavor that really took away from the overall drinking experience. I was pretty excited to try their Reef Break Red since it was a May and November seasonal. This wasn't too bad a beer, but had a very high alcohol percentage, which, when mixed with the caramel flavor, scored very low on the drinkability chart. Also, this big front end made the finish completely invisible, which just didn't work for me in an American red style ale. The Belgian Stranger was perhaps a brew unique to that brewhouse since I couldn't find it anywhere on their site. All I wrote is, "all the worst parts of a Saison with a hop finish." Guess that sums that up. Lastly, we had the Endless Summer Light. This was a light pilsner that got much too fruity just before it finished with incredible crispness; it reminded me a lot of a champagne.

So rather than dump all these travels into one post, I've decided to break them up over three. This should make for a bit of an easier reading experience, I know there's a lot of non-beer related news that you all have to get to as well. Next week... Pizza Port Solano Beach! Here's a preview,

Beer and Cheese Dinner

2010-06-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

I had been waiting for quite a long time to put together my first ever beer and cheese pairing event. I finally had an excuse to put one together a few weeks ago when my parents were in town.

Not being all that familiar with common pairings, I had to do some research. My first stop was Sam Calagione's book, Extreme Brewing, which suggests some common pairings and some ideas on how to set yours up. Next, I took a few notes from the Beer Advocate page. Lastly, I got this great pairing guide, to help solidify my choices.

Part of the goal was to intertwine the cheeses into actual dishes, so that people weren't left hungry or stuffed after eating four courses of cheese and nothing else. So after deciding pairing combos, the second challenge was to figure out how to use the cheese in a salad, soup, sandwich or pasta dish.

Ultimately, this is what I came up with, and as you can see, I couldn't resist making a menu.

Here are a few shots during the cooking process.

And the finished products.

This is the Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, paired with the Dale's 1500 Pale Ale.

This is the Blue de Basques Sheep Cheese, paired with Avery's Hog Heaven Barleywine. Those are toasted walnuts surrounding it.

This is the mixed green pear and prosciutto salad with Ciresa Mountain Gorgonzola, paired with the Stone IPA and Racer 5 IPA.

These are the goat cheese and balsamic caramelized onion crostinis, paired with my Brouwerij de Isser Saison, Enter the Tiger.

To finish off the meal, I took one of my Cossack Wisecrack's (russian imperial stout) and reduced it into a chocolate sauce to pour over vanilla ice cream.

Ultimately, the pairing went incredibly well and the dishes were liked by all. The consensus was the Barleywine with the Blue de Basques was the best pairing, however, my Saison was the favorite beer and worked remarkably well to cut through the thick and creamy goat cheese on the crostinis. Everyone really liked the salad too, however, the cheese seemed to get lost in the lettuce and was hard to define its particular flavor to pair with the IPAs. The aged cheddar was incredible, but Dale's 1500 was probably too hoppy of a pale to pair it with. Lastly, my stout reduction syrup was a big hit.

Blind beer tasting with Lee Chase

2010-06-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

I recently made my first visit to Tony's Darts Away to have a beer with fellow Beer Blogger, Sean Inman. Of course, it was just my luck that Tony had scheduled an event to kick off Craft Beer Week.

Hosted by Lee Chase, former head brewer for Stone, brewing consultant, and current head brewer for Blind Lady Alehouse, Tony's' had blind tasting of some of their beers selected by Lee. Our job was to guess what beer it was we were drinking.

The theme of the night was "hybrid-styles challenge", in which each beer has a twist to it from the "traditional" style making it particularly hard to place the beer to the brand/ "style."

I was hyped and ready for the challenge. Even had my Blazers Rip City shirt on.

Here was the list of beers and order he chose:

Ballast Point, Yellow Tail. A Kolsch that tasted a lot like a lager.
Anchor Steam. A lager that tasted like an ale.
Craftsman, .5 IPA. The little IPA, brewed as a revolt to the double IPA craze
Stone, Cali-Belgique. IPA fermented with belgian yeast. I thought I would have recognized this beer immediately having drank it a lot, but it when put to the blind taste test, I thought it was too floral to be the Belgique.
Mate-Veza, Black Lager. This was a really interesting mate infused schwarzbier. You can totally taste the mate infusion, it really grew on me as I drank it.
Alesmith, Speedway Stout. A coffee infused Russian Imperial Stout. Dangerously drinkable at 12% alc.

And here's me, doing my best beer discerning to guess the correct answers.

smelling...

examining...

drinking...

smelling sideways...

studying...

and finally, doing this...

But for all my finely perfected beer discerning skills, I was a miserable 1 for 6. The Stout was the one beer I actually guessed right; I guess I know my stouts. But despite my miserable skills at beer identification, it was a great time and Lee taught us all a lot about identifying characteristics of different beers.

Good times had by all, Brian and Paige from Blue Palms along with Sean Inman and a girl I didn't get the name of.. sorry!

Fellow beer blogger, Norm from My Beer Quest.

An artsy shot of Lee where his head seems to be merging with the sign.

Tony enjoying the tasting.

And that's it. Be sure to check out Tony's, they've got some great beers on tap and awesome meat and vegan sausages for eating.