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.