San Diego Beer Week wrap up

So this past week (and a half) was the inaugural San Diego Beer Week. In one of the richest beer cities in the country, it seems like every week is beer week, but all the breweries, beer bars, and other participants went above and beyond to put on some of the best beer events I've been to yet.

Here are a few of the things I did:

Tuesday, November 10 - Hamilton's Tavern for Small NorCal Brewery night

Representing for some of the smaller breweries/brewpubs of Northern California, Hamilton's rolled out around 17 kegs of great beer from the other half of the state. In attendance were such breweries as Valley Brewing, Moonlight, Marin, and Magnolia. I was excited to try another beer from Moonlight in Lunatic Lager. Delicious and crisp flavor. Marin's White Knuckle is a must-have whenever I see it on tap, too.

Wednesday, November 11 - Toronado SD for Late night with Tomme Arthur (Lost Abbey)

There was no way I would miss this one. I rushed home on Wednesday and anxiously counted down the hours until I told myself I could head over to Toronado and wait for the 10pm tap time. Slated to be poured was Cable Car 2008 and 2009 (draft) and Cuvee de Tomme 2008. The crowd grew as 10pm approached and it felt as if the time would never come. Finally, Jay pours out the first few micro-tulips of beer and it was well worth the wait. 2008 Cable Car was apparently complex and the sharp sour notes present in 2009's batch had mellowed and began to transform into something even more desirable. 2009 Cable Car was equally delicious and complex, but distinctly different. After a few samples of each and a sip of 2008 Cuvee de Tomme, I called it a night.

Thursday, November 12 - Hamilton's Tavern for Liars Club Redux

This one was on my list from the beginning. I remember the first time I made the drive down to Mission Blvd. to visit the storied Liars Club. It was the day after Thanksgiving. We parked, walked up to the door, and found they had just closed their doors. Later we found out this would be semi-permanent. I was fortunate enough to visit Liars Club reincarnate in Alpine and enjoyed a few memorable trips. Either way, I was excited to experience another taste of something like Liars Club close to home. I arrived after having a few beers at Toronado (Anchor night with Fritz Maytag). By 6pm I found myself in a line 50 people deep. After an hour or more of waiting and listening to the music blaring from inside, I had finally made it. With a great line up of beers (Green Flash Le Freak, Port Black Lie IPA, Port Poor Man's IPA, Alesmith Speedway Stout and many others). Again, the wait was worth it. Great music, awesome vibe, and I even picked up a cool Liars Club shirt.

Friday, November 13 - My night off (kind of)

Friday I decided to give my wallet a break and just meet up with a few friend and enjoy a few bottles. Sampled beers included Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga Grand Reserve, Buzzard's Bay Cranberry Lambic, Smuttynose Baltic Porter, Big Sky Olde Blue Hair barrel-aged barleywine, and a few more.

Saturday, November 14 - Hamilton's Tavern for Second Saturday with Port Brewing

Another Second Saturday at Hamilton's brought a slew of great beers (25+ Port beers on tap) and phenomenal food. They served suckling pig, spiral ham, pig gravy, spinach with persimmons salad, and brussel sprouts with bacon. Some great beers I had included Barbarian Barleywine, T-Street Wheat, Twerp, Van Porter and others I can no longer remember.

Sunday, November 15 - Stone Brewing Co for a bottle share with friends

Today was the culmination of efforts between a few beer drinking friends to find and drink great beer. The centerpiece of today's tasting was the recently acquired 3L bottle of Stonewall Ale. Brewed by Stone Brewing for a charity event in 2005 (or 2006), this beer was the strongest beer ever brewed at Stone. After sampling it yesterday, I was extremely satisfied. Rich and sweet, exceedingly complex. Packed with notes of caramel, toffee, and even some hops. This was a great way to finish of the week.


For the first ever beer week in San Diego, this one was amazing. I can't imagine it getting better, but know that next year will only top this year's offerings. I'm thankful to all that had a hand in planning and producing each event I was able to participate in. There was so much more I wanted to do, but I guess I'll have something to look forward to for next year.

Beeradvocate tasting

So I've been meeting up with a few buddies from Beeradvocate.com for beer tastings. We had another one today, and the theme was bring some random beer. We ended up with quite a wide selection. Here's a list of beer and a quick pick to show you the madness these things can bear. Said and done, it was a great time. Can't wait until the next one.

homebrewed IPA (dry-hopped)
North Coast Old Rasputin XII
Flying Dog Wild Dog (barrel-aged)
East End Toaster
Port Brewing Brother Levonian
Kostritzer
Stone Vertical Epid 040404
He'Brew Lenny's Rye IPA
Boon Marriage Parfait Geueze 2003
N'ice Chouffe 2007
Lightning Old Tempest
Stone Double Bastard
Goose Island Sofie
Upland Brewing Strawberry Lambic
Upland Brewing Blueberry Lambic
Mikkeller Black Hole
St. Somewhere Saison Athene
Dogfish Head Black and Blue
Duck Rabbit Brown Ale
Thomas Creek Extreme IPA
Russian River Temptation (batch 3)
Russian River Supplication (batch 3)
Russian River Beatification (batch 2)

50lbs of (awesome) beer!

So this past Friday, Fedex showed up at my work with an 18x18x18 51.3lb box of the finest beers available. This was all courtesy of Beeradvocate.com's jtrockchalk and the Gentlemen's Club BIF.

As you can imaging, I was blown away to receive such a large package, but even more stunned when I opened it and found:

Midnight Sun Artic Devil
Two Brothers Hop Juice
FFF Dreadnaught
Dark Lord 09
DFH Red & White
Schlafly Reserve Barleywine 2007
Weyerbacher Riserva
Boulevard Imperial Stout
Boulevard Saison Brett
Surly Cynicale
Bell's Hopslam x 2
Avery Brabant
Voodoo Black Majic
Struise Black Albert
Struise Mikkeller IIPA
Founders KBS

NYC (beer) Trip in the works

So I've made plans to visit friends in New York City in late July. I can't wait to hit some great NYC beer spots. Got tips? Let me know.

Looking forward to:
Brooklyn Brewery
Blind Tiger
Capt. Lawrence Brewing Co.
Spuyten Duyvil

It'll be great I'm sure. Pictures and empty bottles to follow.

Review: Older Viscosity 2008

It has been sometime since I posted here. I thought I might try and revive the blog bug with a simple beer review. I finally opened this bottle and have affirmed this is one of my favorite beers.

A: Pours the richest black/brown with a tan/light brown head layer that just looms atop the glass for minutes.
S: Rich and complex sweetness. A bit of caramel, vanilla, oak and dark fruits stand out.
T: Smooth caramel, bourbon, dark chocolate flavors.
M: Barrel aged bliss. Wonderful alcohol warming effect.
D: Exceptional in all senses. One of a kind beer. One of my favorite offerings from Lost Abbey.

Review: 2004 Stone Old Guardian

I jumped at the opportunity to fill my growler with this retired beer this weekend at Stone Brewing Co. Offered as their Saturday Night Special, I couldn't help but speed up the 15 in hopes that some of this brew would be left for me. I was about 15th in line when I got there, but was still able to grab some.

A: Poured an amber/orange color barely penetrable to light, with plenty of carbonation (surprising). A nice, cream-colored 1.5 finger head layer tops my glass and fades slowly, leaving patchy lace down my glass.
S: Strong, sweet malty goodness abounds into my nostrils as I barely lift the glass to better observe the aroma. Classic Stone hop characteristic is still noticeable.
T: Very smooth! The taste is similar, but still quite departed from the way this beer smells. On nose, there is heavy alcohol and sweet malt notes. At taste, the malt sweetness continues, but the beer is very smooth and creamy. The body has a smooth, but strong alcohol (brandy-like) quality.
M: Rich, creamy and complex. Delicious from sip to swallow. A slight alcohol warming affect is noted.
D: I can't believe how good this beer is. I wish I had a fresh one to compare side by side, but from what I can remember this is still quite similar in some aspects. The taste has smoothed out substantially, but the nose reminds me of the fresh version.

mike d... beer connoisseur

Memories of a beer festival: Stong Ale 2007

Remembering a time when enjoying numerous beers in a setting, a mini glass and a pocketful of tickets. I stumbled upon this menu the other day and noticed quite a few beers that were there that I knew nothing about then, but would die for now. Oak Aged Yeti, Oaked Stone RIS and others to name a few.

Strong Ale 2007 Menu

Hamilton's Cafe - Now open!!!

I am so excited to say that Hamilton's Cafe is open and serving awesome food to go along with stellar beer in South Park. Not that Lei Back was not delicious, but Blair has stepped the game up with a eclectic menu offering only the finest gnosh at prices to save you a buck you can spend on beer. If you get the oppourtunity, you should grab a bite to eat and a beer to wash it down with.

I personally have tried the West Coast Grilled Cheese (twice) and love it. That sharp cheddar with avocado, tomato and pickle is awesome. The fries rock. The beer cheese soups was damn tasty. I've yet to be disappointed. Stop by and enjoy today!!

Menu: http://www.hamiltonstavern.com/pdf/menu.pdf

Review - Hair of the Dog Blue Dot IIPA

Its been a while since we've had new content here, so I thought I would pick the scab and let it bleed a bit. Kickin it off with a review of the infamous HOTD Blue DOT IIPA. Damn good beer!! I just brought back a few bottles of Blue Dot from the Great Bay Beer Trip and couldn't wait any longer to crack into one. Bottles are labeled Spring 2007, so I guess about a year old now. Noteworthy is the fact that when I popped this bottle, the head spewed for literal minutes. No joke. It went on, and on... and on! I don't know if it was the plane ride or just a mutant strain of yeast, but this shit would not stop. I eventually had to grab another glass to keep from losing all the beer down the drain. Anyways, to the meat:

A: Pours golden/yellow, but quite cloudy. The sediment/yeast flowed from the bottle right into my glass. The beer poured viciously, with never ending bubbly head, but this was tamed by pouring into two glasses.
S: Earthy hops and citrus aroma stand out at first nose. Notes of pineapple and a hay/grass smell are apparent.
T: Bitterness makes itself known, but does not overwhelm. Hops appear, but citrus balances them. I can't help but notice a continuance of pineapple or tropical fruit flavors. Hints of alcohol found, also.
M: Perfect body and balance! A great hoppy, bitter linger, with smooth, but slick wash down.
D: Damn!! Great beer. I knew this was going to be good, but this was REALLY GOOD! I wish I brought more home. It is just so deliciously hoppy and creamy. Keep your eyes open for HOTD wherever you are and grab a Blue Dot if you get the chance.

-Nate (nate_hughes@cox.net)

Great Bay Beer Trip

So Beer Squad minus one is back from San Fran and the surrounding area. Stories and pictures to be posted soon!!

A preview of the haul:

Holiday Ale Tasting

Eleven different Ales, blind tasting all with the holiday spirit. We tasted and we will tell.

Lunger's Map of Beer

While I sit at home hacking up lungers, my friends are out enjoying beer. This sucks, so I thought I'd contribute to our blog with the "Lunger's Map of Beer". I've selected some choice breweries as well as favorite places to shop and drink beer within San Diego County. I'll continue to expand the list beyond the area, maybe even throw in a winery or two... or maybe, just maybe there will be a "Lunger's Map of Wine" some day. Maybe today since I'M STILL STUCK AT HOME COUGHING UP A LUNG!! cough.

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Lunger's Map of Beer

View Larger Map

Wobbly Nuts and Christmas Cheer

Last night I got piss drunk off some New Castle and Baileys. Merry Christmas.

11th Annual Strong Ale Festival 2007

Mike:
We have been looking forward to this event for the last 2 months. Planning our route out, imagining which beers we will start with, how we will get some free pours, and most importantly how not to get so wasted that I shotgun a bunch of Miller Lite's and buy a $40 rad picture of Bob Marley and never live it down. Pretty much, how do I avoid a repeat of Real Ale 07??? All of us (except Scott, who was nursing a bad case of vaginitis) made it on to the trolley, on to the Coaster and walked over to Pizza Port. It was a chilly & windy day, having rained hard the day before. Once we got in, it was already pretty packed, with some beers gone already! I was most bummed about missing out on the Firestone Parabola Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout. The beers that I liked more than others were: Firestone Amber, Stone Oaked Imperial Stout, Port & De Proef Signature Ale, Sierra Nevada Barrel Aged Scotch Ales, and the 4 Peaks Winter Wobbler. Overall, between everybody's tastes that I tasted, I sampled over 30 unique beers. The sausage setup was tasty, and the Stone sauce samplers were awesome. We ended up buying the Ruination Mustard. The Festival seems to be outgrowing its location, it was jam packed. I ended up getting a growler of the Pizza Port Beech St Bitter for the Coaster ride home, killed it between the 4 of us plus new found friends. Also bought a couple of bottles from the bottle shop. Note to self, patent and or invent an ATM card with a breathalizer built in to it. Don't recall the trolley ride home, but now that we made it home safe because we proceeded to open up the bottles we just bought and drank them, because we weren't already drunk. Some people ended up passing out on our floor, woke in the wee hours of the morning not quite sure how they ended up there, and drove home to go to bed. Highlights were the beer, the waiter at the Coyote cafe who sounded like a young Michael Jackson, me not buying a Bob poster, and me not having a hang over. Can't wait for the Belgian Ale Festival.

Nate:
Emily:
Melissa:
Vaginitis: I was busy, not much else to say.

Sipping in slippers

It's a Monday evening and I'm sitting with my dog Pepper sleeping under my feet, I have a log burning in the fireplace and I'm sipping on one delicious ale. The Trader Joe's 2006 Vintage Ale brewed by Unibroue is a "Dark ale on lees" with a 9% alc/vol. This beer has a toasty flavor with a very bubbly bubbly, similar to a champagne. Each sip is a caramel dream in the back of an El Camino rolling on dubs. I've finished off 2 bottles and I my beard smells like a brewery. Does it get any better than this? Bottom line, buy this beer and drink it with friends. Or drink it with your dog.

Alpine Beer Company - Nov. 24, 2007

Our inagural outing as an official "beer squad" took us to Alpine Beer Company. Led by head brewmaster Pat McIlhenney, ABC puts out between 7 to 10 great brews at a time. We took this opportunity to sample the 9 brews currently available, including seasonals Willy Vanilly and Ichabod. Collectively we enjoyed. Individually...

Nate:

Alpine Beer Co. has been on my radar for a few months and I finally got the oppourtunity to visit. Before the trip, I had tried Pure Hopiness, McIlhenney's Irish Red, Duet, Ichabod, and Mandarin Nectar.

The trip was great. Each brew tried was delicious. I didn't have anything I wouldn't drink again. I left with 3 growlers in tow, each filled with my favorites of the day (Duet, Willy Vanilly + Captain Stout, and Ichabod). Despite being located relatively far from home and having such small space, I think that I will return for another trip or two. Return trips just to refill my growlers will be a must. I think I will keep an eye on their seasonal brews and base my trips on what they're currently offering.

Mike:
We finally did it, we kicked off the much talked about (only amongst ourselves) SD beer squad with a visit to Alpine Brewery. I knew little about this brewery, I had Nelson at the Local once, but I was drunk so I don't recall much. Anyways, this brewery is tucked away in east county close to the 8, easy to get to, even for me. It is in Alpine version of a strip mall. Tiny little brewery, smallest of any of the SD breweries I have been to. This place is out of the way for most, you won't just "be in the neighborhood" unless you live out in the boodocks. Once we get there, we squeezed into their tiny tasting room, maybe 12 x 12 for.....beer. You can pretty much see all the brewery equipment from the tasting room, their shit is crammed in there. Surprisingly no odor, but we could hear the fermentation process *blub-blub-blub-blub*, pretty cool. We saw their availablity, and decided we must try one of each. I mean who knows when we'll make it out here again? (sooner than I think) We started with the famous Willy. Mmm, a wheat beer, that seems almost creamy. Already I like this place. Then the Willy Vanilly, not only creamy but like the name implies- Vanilly, like dessert. As we move down the list, I begin to realize....man is Melissa cold, she has goose bumps all over her arm the whole time, and actually says "Man am I cold". Anyways, I also realize that there hasn't been a beer that I didn't really enjoy Pure Hoppiness, McIlhenney's Red, Alpine Ale, Captian Stout to name a few. Is it being caught up in the brewery moment that effects my judgement, is it the multiple tastings, is the freshness, or are they really that good of a brewery? The last tasting, was one that I had been looking forward to. It was their seasonal offering that I actually had at the Linkery, the Ichabod! A unique brown sour, aged in red wine barrels with spices (think subtle pumpkin pie), with mellow, sour tangy-ness that really gets your back-bottom salivary glands kicking in. Makes me smack like 2-3 times after each swallow. The staff was not all that friendly, I would call them indifferent- to us. Locals would come in for growler fills and chat them up, us- not so much. We ended up buying a 6 pack of growlers, and like 6 22 oz bottles. So to get my money's worth, I will be going back to fill my 3 growlers. Surprisingly, 3 growlers didn't make it through the weekend (I blame Emily). The Willy Vanilly-Captain Stout mix was a big hit. Reminded me of the Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla. So overall, a rustic country out of the way tiny brewery that likes their locals and they craft some kickass brews. I look forward to returning for some growler fills in the near future. I will just have to fake that my car is broken again so I can get Scott to drive.

Emily:
Our trip to Alpine kicked off on the right foot with Mike’s car breaking down and me popping Tylenol every ten minutes to combat my raging hangover. I was in a bit of a beer-induced fog, but I think I can still make some worthy contributions about the visit. First, Melissa’s natural body temperature is apparently 10 degrees lower than everybody else’s as she was shivering the entire time we were there. I tried to wrap her in her own hair, but ended up wearing it as a scarf for myself. Luckily, she was able to fashion some sleeves out of her pant legs a la Michael Scott. Moving on to the actual beer, there was not one that I did not enjoy. The Willy was an easy drinking wheat beer. Not my favorite based on the style but smooth and very drinkable. The Willy Vanilly was like a rich cream soda and was best summed up by Scott when he said “This is what the Willy aspires to be”. While I enjoyed the Mandarin Nectar, the floral notes from the orange blossom were a little overwhelming to me. I would have to say that the standouts in this order would be the Pure Hoppiness, which I absolutely adored for it’s strong hop flavor but smooth rich finish, The Captain Stout mixed with the Willy Vanilly, for it’s perfect coffee, cream dessert like taste, and McIlhenney’s Irish Red for it’s flavor and drinkability, whatever that means. My memory of the Duet and the Alpine Ale are a little fuzzy because we tasted them right about the time that I realized that my hangover symptoms were starting to wane at which point I realized I was likely just postponing my symptoms until the buzz wore off. Point is, I will definitely be back to fill our 3 growlers with deliciousness. Contrary to the opinion’s of some, I thought the brewery staff were pleasant and accommodating. Apparently, some people need their ass kissed to enjoy good beer.

Scott:
I've just popped the top off my 22oz Pure Hoppiness, so I thought it would be a good time to post my comments about our trip to Alpine.
The day started with a bit of car drama, Mike was suppose to drive the crew out to Alpine but instead he lit a molotov cocktail and threw it under the hood. Way to get out of driving.

I took up the reins and got us there. I won't rehash the whole experience given the long winded entry from Mike. I'll just say the beer was all good. My favorite was the Pure Hopiness. The Ichabod was also a stand out beer for me because of it's unusual flavor. However, I must say the draft Ichabod is considerably better than the bottled Ichabod.
After the brew we walked next door and grabbed some mexican food at Tapatio. MMMM rrrrr gooood. If you are out in east county wandering around looking for some meth, go to Alpine instead and drink beer.

Melissa:
If you couldn't have guessed....I was freezing! I think some of the shakes were left over from Hamilton's the previous night (hence Emily's raging hangover). Other than enduring the horrendous elements there, I ultimately enjoyed Alpine brewery. My favorite beer available was Pure Hoppiness followed by Willy Vanilly which made me feel all warm and cozy inside:) I don't recall what happened to our growler filled with Willy Vanilly and Captain Stout, but I am anxious to get back to Alpine to get another. Tapatio really hit the spot after all of our tastings. Their carne asada was great (I think Emily and I ate more off Scott's plate than he did). Nate and I delayed our anniversary celebration to attend the beer squad event and I have no regrets...great beer with great friends!





More pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18825216@N05/sets/72157603295741455/