Sunday, January 24, 2010

This Weekend's Shennanigans


At Phileas Fogg's, Poway, about 10:30am waiting for Loren and Rene to arrive down in SD from Upland. Grolsch special for 3.95 a bottle I think. Nice beer to start the morning off. Their buffalo wings are pretty great also, and their fries are amazing. And we know our fries. Seasoned with lemon pepper and so soft and sexy. Pat says they were the best fries he'd ever had. Wow- Bold statement after consuming many a Lucky Baldwin's chip!!


Karl Strauss Tower 10 IPA at Fogg's. Not bad. Not great. Smell was above average, taste was solid but not mind blowing.


Lost Abbey. Loved their new tasting room arrangement, and as always, Sage and Molly provided great service even with like 2 or 3 busfulls of bar hoppers filling up the room. Was crazy busy, but they ran it super smooth. Red Barn (middle) was "on point" and Pat enjoyed a Santa's Little Helper (right) among other things.


Birthday boy Loren enjoying his brews. Rene to the right.


Hot dog lady was going a great job!


Green Flash Brewery. Had myself a Le Freak, the best Belgian IPA brewed in the country, no argument necessary. Actually best Belgian IPA brewed in the world... again argument n/a.


Cases of Nut Brown Ale (which is very tasty) for only $20! Pat is super happy any time he can get a beer for under $1 a bottle. And it wasn't old either. They said it was bottled in September. Not bad.


Green Flash


Brigantine Escondido for some fish tacos. Must say, the Poway location is SO MUCH better. Escondido didn't put enough creamy sauce in their tacos. Pat volunteered to make up for it but we all declined. Still a fun time. Love the Brig, which I was introduced to by my friend the Baltimore Beer Guy who just so happens to be the foremost authority on anything beer information in the Chesapeake Bay area.


Fish tacos. I know it's getting repetitive. Stone Pale Ale


Brig bar. I like the Poway location A LOT more. Escondido location had an older weird feel to it. Poway is super classy and nice.


Fillin up some growlers at Stone. Pat looks like a fat snowball. Alaskan Smoked Porter.


O'Briens. Havin a... hmm I forgot. Rene had the Sierra Nevada Limb & Life session ale. Pat had a couple Elders.


Wendy's. 99 cents sure gets you a lot!!!


Hammy's was hopping. Ok tap list, nothin amazing. Pat loved the Avery Dugana but it was way too fruity for me to want a whole or multiple pints of.




Sunday morning beers at O'Brien's watching the Jets/Colts game. Sierra Nevada Porter. Solid. First time I'd had that in maybe 5 years.


Garlic fries at O'Brien's. A must have any time you set foot in SD county.


Back to the Brig in Poway for Sunday dinner. These margaritas were goooooood!!! And of course the fish tacos were amazing (but you knew that!)

Friday, January 22, 2010

What I've been drinking the last month


Homebrewed Belgian Strong Pale/Tripel hybrid I brewed with the Baltimore Beer Guy about a year ago. Tasting very delicious. The two strains of yeast we use really kicked out a ton of yeast flavor. This was a partial mash beer, but we used late extract addition to keep the caramelization of the pilsner extract low and it worked out really well.


Lightning Elemental Pilsner and the Brigantine's amazing fish tacos. My favorite place for Sunday morning football and breakfast.


More fish tacos at the Brig, this time with an Alaskan IPA. A very underrated IPA. Super crisp, nice citrusy hop character. They served this to me with a crushed ice rim, which I've never seen before and would have never even thought of. Actually I would have turned my nose up at the idea a couple years ago. But this was f!#$%ing delicious!


Stone IPA as me and Pat stopped into Newport Pizza and Alehouse in Ocean Beach.


Vodka and 7-up break after a morning of beer. Dive bar in Ocean Beach.


Green Flash Belgian Brown at Hamilton's. Good beer, easy to drink. Not ridiculously Belgian but enough to give it some flair.


One of the best sours ever. Cascade Kriek. We needed a sour to keep our palates going.


Green Flash Hamilton's 3rd Anniv beer. No hops in this. It was pretty tasty, and I would have never guessed there were no hops in it.


After a long day of drinking, this Duet was pretty much a waste.


From the Beers of the World gift pack my aunt got me. Chang beer was actually quite delicious!


On the other hand, Carlsberg tasted skunked. No wonder it's the official sponsor of L'pool.


Mixing things up with a good scotch. MacAllan's 12 yr. My new go-to!


Hangar 24 Orange Wheat at McAllan's pub in Rancho Cucamonga. I'm not really a fan of this place and this is the best beer they have on tap. The waitress was amazed I took the orange off the rim.


Stone IPA at the Yardhouse before Fleming's happy hour


Firestone Double Barrel at the Yardhouse in Rancho Cucamonga.


Firestone Union Jack and Fish 'n Chips at Shakespeare's Pub in San Diego watching the Arsenal v. Bolton game.


Guinness at Shakespeare's. A nice proper pour, but not too tasty of a beer.


Sometimes this just hits the spot after a day of work.


A couple bombers

Sunday, January 10, 2010

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Biker bar, ocean beach, ballast point wahoo wheat, listening to lipstick boogie...uuuuuh, great time!!!
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Friday, January 1, 2010

Clipper City Heavy Seas Yule Tide

Sent to me by my friend in Baltimore. Good tripel. Aroma has a very nice balance between the Belgian yeast derived phenols and the fruity esters. 10% alcohol well hidden. Smooth flavor combinations of fruitiness and earthiness. Another big winner by Clipper City. Pairs well with 12 hour Sudafed.
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