Stone's 12th Anniversary Celebration

The fest is coming up this Saturday and I've had a bottle of their 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout sitting in my fridge for like 3 weeks now. It pours a deep deep brownish black, and no head forms, although you can rouse a little bit up with some swirling. If your thing is bitter roasted barley and unsweetened dark chocolate then this is for you! It's not for me. I can drink my glass but the bitterness is just a bit overdone for my tastes. Believe me I like the most bitter of hoppy beers, but bitterness from roasted grains is something else. The oats give this a big time thick, oily feel.

Onto the festival on Saturday. Stone lets us know what breweries will be there but we really don't have an idea of what beers each brewery will have. With that in mind here are the booths I'm going to hit first, and hope that they will be serving these certain beers.

1. Rubicon - hoping they have Hop Sauce.
2. Valley - Uberhoppy IPA
3. Papago - whatever they have
4. Brew Dog - whatever they have, first time I've heard of them.
5. Alesmith & Ballast Point - looking for any special beers
6. Lightning - have only had 1 of their beers in the past.
7. Port / Lost Abbey - you know they'll have something special on (like Funky Barrel last year)

Those are the ones at the top of the list. If I still have tickets left I'll have to see what the trendy new beer is at the fest (like Maui Coconut Porter last year).

Central California Weekend Roundup

Let me just start by saying we probably would have been better off traveling the extra 200 miles north for the Toronado's 21st anniversary party and The Bistro's IPA Fest. There were still a couple bright spots in the short weekend getaway.

I wanted to leave around 2 but we didn't actually get going until 3. We hit the 210 West to the 134 and in a half hour we were in Glendale at Red Carpet Wine to pick up a case of Blind Pig. After that short stop we continued on up the 101. Thanks to Friday afternoon traffic and a crash 10 miles before our first destination of JJ Brewsky's in Camarillo, we didn't get there until 5'ish. This place was quite big and had a pretty large crowd for early on a Friday. The beers I ordered were a Green Flash Imperial IPA (sadly the first time I've gotten around to trying that) and a Sierra Nevada Super 7 Pilsner. The Green Flash was pretty good (more on that later), and the Super 7 was probably not the best choice to follow up such an aggressive brew.

After we stuffed ourselves with a bunch of appetizers and beer we continued another 50 miles up the 101 to Goleta where we stopped at Hollister Brewing Company. For being such a small (yet very promising), young brewery they sure had a nice thing going there. A small, contemporary sports bar type place located in a big shopping center, and it was packed. They had 13 beers on tap so we ordered a sampler of each one. There have only been 2 beers I've ever had that have simulated the dank, pungent qualities of a handful of pellet hops- these being Green Flash's Hop Head Red and Green Flash's Imperial IPA. Hollister had a beer called White Star Extra Pale Ale which had this same hop pellet smelling and dank, resiny taste to it that was as pungent as either of the Green Flash's. It's not a taste I would want in every beer but it's fun every now and then. Another beer that impressed was the 85.9 Double IPA. I think my favorite beer in the sampler was the Kristalweisse which had an awesome clean wheat and clove taste. Least favorites would be a lemon-juice-tasting Wit, and "The J" which they brew with hemp seeds and smoked malt. They said it should taste like bacon and it sure did.

As we finished up our samples our friend Pat and his girlfriend had finally made it into the area and were passing us up to get to the Firestone Taproom in Buellton where we were about to leave to. They got there first and guess what, it's like 9pm and Firestone is closed. Bummer. We ended up having to just go straight to Pat's house in Pismo Beach. And since we didn't feel like going out after all the driving we just stayed in and enjoyed some beverages.

Saturday afternoon, after having breakfast in San Luis Obispo, we went to a pub we usually stop in at when up there called the Frog & Peach. Although we've had some fun times there in the past I probably won't be going there anymore. The beer selection is ok (though never rotates) and the place is really dirty. I usually just stick with Black Butte Porter and that's what we did Saturday with a pitcher of it before moving on.

After Frog & Peach we walked over a street to Downtown Brewing Company (formerly SLO Brewing Co. I think). We finished watching the Angels-Yankees game there (and the Angels 8 run 8th inning to blow the game open) while having some of their IPA which was really good.


Downtown Brewing was just a quick stop before the main attraction of our weekend; going to dinner at the Sea Chest Restaurant in Cambria. We usually get there 45-60 minutes before they open the door at 5:30 to stand in line where people tailgate with wine, beer or whatever. We bought a cooler of Blind Pig to have while waiting. The great thing is they let you bring in whatever you are drinking while in line, so we popped the cap on another round of Blind Pig just before 5:30 to bring in as we sat at the bar. It doesn't get much better than having some Blind Pig in the cool ocean breeze, or in front of a warm kitchen with a bunch of Oysters and Calamari.











Dinner was the climax and everything was downhill from there.

Pliny the Elder + Vanilla?

No I didn't mix Pliny with some Vanilla. Well, sort of I didn't. After a long day of helping my friend Steve move into his new place in Long Beach I came home to some leftover pizza and thought, what would go better with that than a bottle of Pliny the Elder? So I popped one open and enjoyed the hell out of it. Just the smell had me thinking I was sitting up at the bar in Santa Rosa. Pliny is such an amazing beer. I absolutely love the pine that comes though in it, giving it a real green, outdoorsy taste. If you're in an area that doesn't get a supply of Pliny, find someone to trade with. Don't pay $70+ for a bottle of it like someone did recently on eBay... you can certainly trade for it at a much cheaper price than that (usually for equal value).

After dinner I still felt like another beer so with some chocolate brownie, whipped cream and strawberry thing my mom made I pulled out a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. The only other beer I've had with vanilla beans in the past was Stone's Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean, which was amazingly crafted. As I was eating my brownie the vanilla porter went down so smooth and rich, probably due to the chocolate coating in my mouth. It smelled like this beer had some lactose added to it maybe... like a cream stout. The mouthfeel was super creamy and the taste was mildly roasty and very chocolaty, with a sweetness like lactose... I dunno maybe that was the vanilla. Overall, once I was done with my dessert I could tell this beer was really sweet and creamy.. a sipper even if it's only 4.7%, and not something I would quaff.

Another interesting beer on the day was when we first finished moving all the furniture into Steve's new house. In his fridge the only thing there was about 10 beers from a trade he had just received. We decided to have the Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA. He didn't have glassware yet so we drank from the bottle. I've had the beer once before and thought it was "eh"... but out of the bottle, on a really hot Southern California day, after getting a nice sweat going moving furniture, this 9% double IPA did not hit the spot at all. Anyway, so bad choice there. Then, as if it were Anchorman, Steve decides to take about a half gallon swig of milk. I don't think that ended up being a good idea either.

Long day, but tomorrow we head out to Pismo Beach for the weekend. Our itinerary looks like this: Leave around 1pm, after about an hour and half arrive in Camarillo at JJ Brewsky's, grab a drink there and then head into Goleta for Hollister Brewing Company. If we're on schedule after that we'll continue up to Buellton and meet our friend Pat who is driving separately and leaving a bit later than us, at Firestone's Taproom. If we're ahead of schedule then we'll still head into Buellton and probably stop off at The Hitching Post for a glass of wine or something. Once we get into Pismo we will most certainly be hitting a favorite dive of ours in San Luis Obispo, the Frog & Peach, with a Saturday dinner at the best seafood restaurant in the country (fact!), the Seachest in Cambria. There's also a really cool looking Belgian beer and frites place in SLO I want to get to, Bel Frites.

Smuttynose "Finest Kind" IPA

As I've found out in the past year, Smuttynose Brewing Company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire makes some fine beers. I've tried their Shoal's Pale Ale, Robust Porter, Old Brown Dog Ale, Big A IPA, and now comes their standard single Finestkind IPA.

The thing that I noticed first about this beer was how cool the label is. Two elderly dudes just sitting on lawn having a beer. That is what I hope my post-retirement years are spent doing.

The beer itself is quite good. It delivers exactly what you're looking for when you decide to pull an IPA out of the fridge. Good hop aroma, flavor, and a brisk finishing bitterness. I like the dryness of this beer which really helps showcase the bitter grapefruit citrus, earthy and spicy hops.

They have a notched "best by" calendar on the side of the bottle, which scores Smuttynose extra points. This bottle was dated as best by Nov. 2008 so I know I got it really fresh. A good representation of the style. 4.0/5

Parallel Blog Tasting #2 - Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

This is the 2nd parallel blog tasting conducted between myself and my friend the Baltimore Beer Guy. This time we take down another Dogfish Head Beer. If you missed it, the previous tasting was of Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron. Here we go with Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA....

SOB (6:45:48 PM): shall we knock out the 120?
SOB (6:45:57 PM): it's only 9:45 back there
BBG (6:45:58 PM): can either of us handle it
SOB (6:46:06 PM): I can handle maybe 3 oz
BBG (6:46:14 PM): what container does it need?>
SOB (6:46:24 PM): I think I'll go with the old Stone style brandy snifters
BBG (6:48:58 PM): gosh damn 21%
BBG (6:49:00 PM): thats amazing
BBG (6:49:11 PM): it ate the whole wheel of cheese
SOB (6:49:24 PM): it might be fun to see how stupid we get after a few ounces
BBG (6:49:29 PM): alright
BBG (6:49:30 PM): lemme go get it
BBG (6:50:11 PM): the sooner to get me to bed anyway
BBG (6:50:16 PM): if I want to get to B'More tomorrow
SOB (6:52:27 PM): LOL
SOB (6:52:34 PM): ok what is your bottle dated on the neck
BBG (6:52:54 PM): 07
SOB (6:53:00 PM): ok i'm gonna go grab my 07
BBG (6:53:04 PM): 5/10/07
SOB (6:53:35 PM): mine is 10/10/07
SOB (6:54:26 PM): liquid looks pretty clear in the bottle (unlike my '08)
SOB (6:54:29 PM): which is hazy as shit
BBG (6:54:45 PM): oh yeh I remember you saying that
SOB (6:55:41 PM): ok gonna uncap and pour now, probably a tad cold for it but I don't reckon I'll be drinkin this that fast as it is
SOB (6:56:11 PM): wow that smell while its still in the bottle is sweet
BBG (6:56:20 PM): stings the nostrils
BBG (6:56:21 PM): literally
SOB (6:56:24 PM): smells like shnapps or something
SOB (6:57:59 PM): OMG
SOB (6:58:01 PM): yowza
BBG (6:58:10 PM): that is one yellow head
SOB (6:58:49 PM): I didn't get much head
SOB (6:58:56 PM): some bubbles, white tho
BBG (6:58:57 PM): me either
BBG (6:59:04 PM): but what did appear was bright yellow and went fast
SOB (6:59:10 PM): man that smell reminds me of something i can't place
SOB (6:59:21 PM): maybe nail polish remover... yeah... that's it
BBG (6:59:32 PM): lol
BBG (6:59:38 PM): Mines more like root vegetable
SOB (6:59:41 PM): can't really detect hops i nthe aroma to be honest
BBG (6:59:42 PM): Earthy
BBG (6:59:54 PM): Me either
SOB (6:59:58 PM): actually it's like stingly alcohol but really fruity
SOB (7:00:15 PM): time to taste
SOB (7:00:28 PM): wow that is fruity sweet
SOB (7:00:35 PM): sticky
BBG (7:00:49 PM): fruity is a good word
BBG (7:00:51 PM): passion fruit
SOB (7:01:03 PM): the finish is really strange
SOB (7:01:07 PM): like sugary something
SOB (7:01:16 PM): like burnt marshmallows
SOB (7:01:23 PM): like when you set the mallow on fire
SOB (7:01:31 PM): and then you taste that carmelized burnt outside part
BBG (7:01:39 PM): lol
BBG (7:01:43 PM): not so much for me
BBG (7:01:47 PM): wait no
BBG (7:01:48 PM): actually
BBG (7:01:50 PM): yeah
BBG (7:01:51 PM): lol
BBG (7:01:53 PM): I can buy that
BBG (7:02:01 PM): interesting observation and dead on
BBG (7:03:29 PM): not getting much alcohol
BBG (7:03:32 PM): really interesting beer
SOB (7:03:42 PM): dad really liked his sip
BBG (7:03:46 PM): heh
SOB (7:03:49 PM): well i dont know about really liked, but liked
SOB (7:03:57 PM): alcohol seems to all be in the nose
BBG (7:04:02 PM): yeh theres some kind of fruit in there
SOB (7:04:41 PM): i hate to use the term for so many beers but maybe it's like an orange marmalade
SOB (7:04:55 PM): certain hops really give off that sorta sweet orange flavor
BBG (7:04:58 PM): eh
BBG (7:05:18 PM): dammit
BBG (7:05:21 PM): maybe you're right agian
BBG (7:05:26 PM): I think my brain is lagging
BBG (7:05:36 PM): and then when I put two and two together it makes sense
SOB (7:19:46 PM): Regardless of ABV content, this thing is so sweet i dont think I would want the other 9oz of the beer
BBG (7:20:25 PM): wow
BBG (7:20:29 PM): I can probably finish it
BBG (7:20:37 PM): my heads already starting to get the buzz tho


(after this we really got sidetracked with talk of Lightning Brewery, New Zealand beer chicks, downtown Baltimore and more specifically Brewer's Art, and beer dinners).

SOB (7:47:02 PM): B / 3.6 for 120 minute from me

Bottle Of Russian River Blind Pig

Where I live in Southern California I can now have Russian River's Blind Pig IPA on tap regularly at 2 places within a 30 minute drive. It's not the most convenient thing in the world but at least I know it's fairly close if I'm out in those areas. (conversely, people in San Diego can probably find it at no more than a 10-15 minute drive from them, wherever they are). Anyway, I still wanted to get a bottle of it to see how it drinks from there.

I know there seems to be plenty of people who can tell huge differences between tap and bottled versions, and there already have been a bunch of complaints of the bottled Pliny the Elder not living up to its tap version, but to me they taste pretty close. I really love this beer but I must say I think as far as regular IPA's go right now I would give the notch to Russian River IPA over their Blind Pig.

Lost Abbey and Russian River Sour Tasting

Last Saturday my friend Steve decided to host a little gathering at his house. This would of course include beer but being the amazing chef that he is it also included ribeye steaks, tortellini, an assortment of good cheeses and much more. I got up there a bit early with my friend Pete to do a little warmup drinking of some Double IPA's I had laying around before the sour beers that night.

We started with a growler of Alpine Pure Hoppiness (one of my favorite beers for all of you who just joined in) and moved onto a new beer to me, Hair of the Dog Blue Dot Double IPA. This was the first Hair of the Dog beer I've finally bought, and I wasn't disappointed. This was an excellent beer showcasing some earthy and mildly citrus hops on a light body. They brew this with rye which is exciting to me, but I couldn't detect it at all (more of a knock against my weak palate than Hair of the Dog). However, at $8 a bomber I probably won't be buying it again any time soon. We kept the Double IPA's rolling and moved onto Legacy Brewing's Hoptimus Prime from Reading, PA. This was an Ok beer, with a tad thicker body and a more resiny hop flavor/feel. It did have that sweet backbone I don't care for but it wasn't as off-putting as others I've had. The final beer in the DIPA warmup was ReaperAle Sleighor Double IPA. The best description I can give on this beer is that it reminded me a lot of Stone's 10th Anniversary DIPA. While I'm guessing 99% of anyone who reads that prior sentence has already left the room to go try and find as much Sleighor as possible I won't be any time soon. As opposed to the thousands who loved Stone's 10th I was not a fan. I'm not so much into the sweet hop syrup IPA's and this is what it was similar to.

That was the before dinner lineup. The after dinner lineup was not as exciting to me, since I had already had many of the beers before but there were a couple new additions.

We went through the Temptation-Supplication-Beatification series and then Cuvee de Tomme and Red Poppy. I remember finishing with a Lost Abbey Bourbon Barrel Aged Angel's Share. I've had it before but not since my sample at the release. This is a truly fantastic beer. In between all of that I remember the Boon Mariage Parfait Geuze, 2003. That was a pretty good Geuze, quite sour with very noticeable funky/wild smell to it.

It was a fun night and the beer was just slightly better than the food that was prepared, if you can imagine that.

Random Drinking - Deschutes 20th Anniv. Wit and Smuttynose IPA

The 20th Anniversary Wit from Deschutes is now fairly easy to find in the Southern California area and I usually get anything I can from Deschutes at least once, and for many of their beers, multiple times. In the last 1+ years I'm really starting to like a good Witbier now and then, though it's not something I would choose to drink all the time. The aroma is predominant wheat malt. Clove-like phenolics are present with that and those two make up the main aroma except it seems like there is a slight sweetness, maybe a fruitiness at a very low level giving it a candy-like "undertone." The taste plays out the same way with wheat, clove, and then for a brief second at the very end of the swallow a slight sweetness comes through. The carbonation seemed fine at first, at a moderate high level, though it really lost a lot of that carbonation really fast.... and I wasn't drinking this slow either. Anyway, it was EASY to take down this entire bomber in under 20 minutes, and thoroughly enjoy it at the same time. 4.35/5

The Clipper City Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale is one of the many good IPA's I've tried recently. This here is a 7.25% citrus bomb of an IPA. Clipper City says they use a lot of Amarillo hops and when used generously it's pretty notorious for giving an orange citrus-like flavor, which this was packed with. Overall it wasn't too complexity... this was a pretty straight forward flavor, but I like it that way. Not too bitter, but enough. Mission IPA (gold medal at the GABF last year I think), made down here in San Diego is one that this reminded me of, though Mission has a more harsh bitterness which I really like. Anyway, this beer and the pale ale I've had from Clipper City have both impressed me. 4.15/5

Summer of Beer Suffers A Blow

Just the other day the camera that has documented my travels though the world of beer took a major hit as it was uploading pictures to my computer. I got up fast from my desk, tripped over the cord, and the opened lens took a nice two foot fall to my soft carpet. Now the lens is stuck and the LCD only registers "lens error." The thing that makes it somewhat of a bummer is it was a graduation present from my parents a few years ago. Well, life goes on and I ordered a new camera that should be arriving at my door on Wednesday.

Mammoth Making Some Excellent Beers

I've now tried two beers from Mammoth Brewing Company in Mammoth Lakes, CA and they've both been excellent. Beers that I would want to have my glass refilled with multiple times. The first was Mammoth Double Nut Brown, the latest being Mammoth Floating Rock Hefeweizen thanks to my friend Rene who brought a bottle back on his trip to Mammoth. The taste on this is really balanced between wheat and spicy phenolics. Some banana is noticeable only if you really search for it. It is quite drinkable, as they would say. 4/5

Oh, and recently when I said I've hit the doldrums of beer drinking, well that corrected itself pretty fast with some of the great beer I've received in trades recently and the latest taste of my homebrewed batch of IPA... mmmmm mm.

Another Two Top 100's Bite the Dust

Last night I found myself out at The Back Abbey and amazingly not only was my first choice still on tap, so was my second! Two for two is beating the odds when ordering something off a draught list these days. The first beer was Beer Advocate's 63rd ranked beer in the world, Aventinus Weizenbock made in Germany by Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn. This was the first of the style I've ever had and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's wheat, banana and clove meets chocolaty, raisiny malt. I really loved the balance as the flavor wasn't dominated too much one way or another but created a balance which could be experienced each sip. I gave it a rating of 4.55/5.

Next order was the Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel, the 81st ranked beer on Beer Advocate's best beers in the world. I was very skeptical of this as I've never enjoyed any hoppy Belgian beers. I just don't (didn't) see how that hop flavor and aroma could work with those earthy phenols the Belgian strains pump out. Well I was wrong. While I didn't exactly like it as much as I do my American IPA's it was still quite good. At first there was a strong earthy and spicy flavor but after getting acclimated for half a glass I started to pick up citrusy notes of the hops. Overall very nice and easily drinkable earning it a score of 4.3/5.

Blind Pig and Black Butte XX at Beachwood BBQ

My first visit to Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach, CA, and it was a great time. I arrived just before 4pm and was the first person to take a seat at the bar. Waiting for my friend I decided to order a Deschutes Black Butte XX as my first beer. XX is a great beer, I just wish I hadn't ordered it first without anything in my stomach because 11% can kick your ass. Anyway, for a brief description of Black Butte XX let me tell you that Deschutes did a masterful job with this. I am amazed and pleased that they kept this 11% "imperial" version within the realm of the porter style. The body was not full like an imperial stout would be, and the flavor wasn't too roasted, but contained just enough chocolate, sweetness, and a bit of coffee to make for a great porter flavor. My friend Steve ordered a Weihenstephaner hefeweizen which I haven't gotten around to having at all. I took a small sample and man that is a good hefe.

Moving on, we had asked the owner Gabe if what we heard was true about them putting a keg of Russian River Blind Pig IPA on tap tonight and he said yeah he could since one of his kegs had just blown, although he was busy at the moment putting a food menu together for a friend of his. So we ordered another round as the Angels-Yankees game started. I went with the Stone Levitation with Amarillo and Centennial hops that was on cask. This wasn't the most enjoyable beer ever, although the taste certainly wasn't the problem. I understand cask is suppose to have a very subtle carbonation and be served at cellar temps, but this was 70 degrees and flat. Believe me I can tell when something is flat. Anyway I still got a whole pint of that down thankfully because the flavor was still pretty good.

As the Angels took a 6-0 lead and eventually a 10-2 lead on the Yanks, Gabe finally got around to putting the Blind Pig on and I got the first pint pulled from the keg. This was so amazingly fresh and to be honest the times I have had Blind Pig on tap down here in So Cal I've enjoyed it more than on tap at the Russian River brewpub. Down here it seems to be pressurized with a bit more CO2, so it's a little livelier on the tongue, whereas at Russian River I've found the carbonation to be more subtle, just a notch below how I would want it. Anyway, it was awesome of course yet the weird thing was all the pints being drawn were cloudy which nobody has ever seen before. Usually Blind Pig is crystal clear. Anyway, is there anything wrong with unfiltered Blind Pig? Not for me.

That completed the day for the most part and I am looking forward to many returns to Beachwood BBQ, even though it's about a 45 minute drive.