I'm titillated for the beer cornucopia we're about to experience just north of San Diego. David and I have been planning a San Diego trip since the first several weeks of this blog and we have been foiled twice, the second time we were on the launch pad but had to scuttle the mission at the last moment when David was offered an all expenses paid trip to Oktoberfest 3 days before the weekend. My parents wanting to visit me in California made this weekend's trip possible, and I'm very happy they've become willing and enthusiastic supporters of beer. Or maybe the truth is they're terrific lushes and make my drinking escapades look like a scene from Sister Act 2. We shall see...
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| Just kidding, they're lovely and responsible |
And drink we did. David and I counted our tallies and we actually sampled 40 different beers. Now, we didn't drink 40 different beers, but between the different samplers we and my parents drank, we drunk and/or sipped 40 various brews.
Here's the actual beer/drunk talley for the weekend: Samplers - 4 from Ballast Point, AleSmith 6, Hess 3, Irotn Fist 4, Stone 5, Lost Abbey 5. 27 tastings each 4 oz = 108 oz, or 9 beers. But most of the beers were between 6 and 10%, so double that roughly and we drank 18 'coors light' worth of beer after two days of sampling. Plus we had 4 beers at Pizza Port, 1 Karl Strauss and 1 at Stone and we split a growler Sunday night. Also, two shots of Fernet and several whiskeys Saturday night. Party.
I'm surprised my body hasn't revolted against me. Accordingly, if you see Nicholas Cage, let him know I need the exact same shot he injected into his heart at the end of THE ROCK and I plan to stab this into my liver, post haste.
The craft brewing scene in San Diego is a Mecca. This trip's purpose is to not just see where the magic is made, but it's also a pilgrimage to experience a beer soaked culture. People in San Diego love their craft brew and I can't wait to dive into a tank brimming with fervor for barley and hop.
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| Momma Davis exhibits a book that **** |
Because we tasted so many beers (and took so many pics), my tasting notes are going to be brief. Our first stop was Ballast Point.
Ballast began well over a decade ago and they an air conditioned building to show for it. The other breweries around LA are much new and don't have proper tasting rooms. It was nice but kinda odd to visit a brewery that actually felt like a bar.
Because we've tasted their first five beers, David and I sampled the bottom 4 beers on the chart above.
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| The beer names and decor are aquatic themed. This is either a tail or a mythological serpent |
Nitro Sextant Oatmeal Stout - oatmeal helps create a more subtle stout that isn't very complex but is balanced.
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| She seems like she'd have a nice personality |
Even Keel - is about as even as a drunk sailor walking the poopdeck during a raging Nor'easter. It's simply hops with some body thrown in as an after thought. I would...keelhaul this one. Zing
Dorado Double IPA - the first DIPA I've tasted that has more malt than hops. Here, hops are simply an afterthought and the result is a malt which tastes like bubble gum or hard cider. David says it's a case of shooting for the moon on alcohol content and coming up short. It's a cautionary tale - a lot of homebrewers who want to make a dank, alcoholic beer because they're interested in getting drunk. To them I say stick to the hard alcohol or Four Loko for getting pissed.
Sculpin IPA - I've tasted before; it's award winning and fantastic with tasty herbal hops. When I see this on tap, I get excited about it.
We walked in just after it opened at 11am and the crowd was minimal. In half an hour 4 Beer Tour vans had dumped their thirsty cargo into the tasting room and it was packed, at least 40 people in a really small space, the size of my living room. At one point, David saw the two women tending the bar go back to the brewer in the back and basically freak out. He saw the number of people and freaked out. Apparently this wasn't your normal Saturday. Right before 12pm we decided to get the hell outta Dodge and beat the groups to our next destination, AleSmith.
AleSmith was one of two breweries we absolutely had to hit. David's mom two years ago sent him 8 bottles of the stuff for Christmas. They make some incredible stuff - rich and dank beer.
They have more on tap than I knew they produced and super stoked!
It begins:
Lil Devil - made with coriander and is 5.8% alcohol. The smell and taste reflect a very light and refreshing beer. The spices are tasty but I'm under the suspicion they might overhwlem me if I were drinking a full pint.
Nautical Nut Brown - not a huge brown ale fan, but this is not overwhelming and crisp. It's decent, and that's praise coming from my keystrokes.
Wee Heavy Scotch Ale - 10% alcohol, which I believe is strong for this style. I love this malt base and I'm becoming a big advocate of the style, however, the alcohol here is prevalent and overwhelms the brew's other characteristics. I like it a lot, but would appreciate a mellower alcohol profile.
Old Numbskull - 11% barleywine and I love the name. Sweet caramel malt and hoppy bitterness, it's tasty but not delicious. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing how this is after it ages.
English Nut Brown - *Our beer of the day* We chose this out of all the other because it's a seasonal brew, and it must be pretty new because it's not on BeerAdvocate. It's smooth and the English yeast leaves a very indelible mark, especially compared to the Nautical Nut. Because I enjoyed the Nautical Nut more than this, I bestow an ARMAGEDDON rating on the English Nut Brown .
Check out the Obama Tap they have. I also had a taster of Speedway Stout but because it's one of the most phenomenal beers I've ever tasted and I got really excited about it, there is no picture. Maybe I drank it too fast. If you like Stouts and have never tried this, it's an absolute must. Plus it's 12% alcohol, so you know, party time.
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| Sears catalog models on their day off |
David has a Horny Devil bottle from two years ago left and he bought a newer vintage so we could to a side-by-side comparison. We're also bringing home a bottle of Speedway Stout, YESSS.
Next up is a brewer I know nothing about, but why shouldn't we try something completely new? Plus it's super close by to AleSmith. Hess Brewing, welcome to Beereveryday.com.
I'm not sure how long Mike Hess has been brewing professionally, but he recently upgraded from a 20 gallon to a 50 gallon brewery equipment. He's a small brewer trying to do big things.
This is the first time I've actually seen the nut and bolts of a brewing operation. And it looks like they swept everything under the couch just before the brew tasting guests arrived. I feel like this is just how it is when you first start a company.
3 very unique beers to try.
Grazias Vienna Cream Ale - inspired by the classic Vienna Lagers brought to Mexica from Austria in the 1800's but with a Hess Brewing twist. I'm very unfamiliar with this style. It's well made and unique but the style makes for an odd malt.
Intrepidus IPA - not a great nose and has a very piney and mixed malt. An intermediate beer that I would drink if someone had at a party. Mom pointed out that it smells different than tastes. David responds by noting, that's the trick in brewing - you can't confuse the two. Smell and taste are too intrinsically tied. Maybe he used the wrong hop combination in the boil and dry hopping.
Ex Umbris Rye Imperial Stout - 9.8% alcohol. He said it was 15%-20% rye. There is a lot of chocolate mal t in here. This is a great beer and my favorite of the three amigos. Ex Umbris = Steve Martin.
Love, love the style of the growlers. The woman far left is giving the funniest face.
Our last stop was Port Brewing's brew pub, Pizza Port in Solana Beach. They have a bunch of locations and are spoken well of. I'm really needing some pizza by this point.
Pizza Port - I'm stoked to dig into this Shrimp and Clam pizza. My parents get a pint of California Honey and David and I try the Shark Bite, a red ale. We do love our red ales.
While we wait for our pizzas, David decides to spend the time telling my parents about the time earlier this week that I made three trips to the freezer to get bowls filled with three different types of ice cream. Luckily, this isn't my parents first rodeo with their fat kid son and they are amused rather than appalled.
The Shark bite is a solid tasting Irish Red with a great caramel flavor. Great stuff. The atmosphere in the Pizza Port is pretty odd - half the customers are families and meat head drinking parties, the other half or cyclists in spandex with pitchers full of beer and pizza. Randomly funny.
For Dessert, the Booya Staz IPA- bitter with piney hops piney, a very good ipa.
We took a break for a nap (I watched History Channel, which had an awesome episode about Pirates. I practically received an honorary degree from the University of Phoenix after watching that) and then headed to La Jolla for dinner at George's Ocean Terrace. Amazing views complimented the food, as we dined on halibut ceviche and mahi mahi over pan fried gnocchi. Amazeballs.
This was an amazing day, if you couldn't tell from the happy pictures and plethora of beer that we drank. Tomorrow looks like it could even be better. A huge thank you for my parents for making this happen!
For glancing through the article, here's a bonus picture from a license plate found in parking lot of our hotel. How could I resist?
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| I'm super mature |
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