Anderson Valley Summer Solstice lights up my perception of Amber Ales

I can't describe the beer's taste taste better than what's described on the label. "Smooth malt and lightly sweet with a hint of spice and velvety flavor." I not only appreciate it when beers are 'as advertised,' but I love summer brews (especially Alaskan Summer) and this is no exception better than on the back. Smootj malty and lightly swee with a hint of spice and velvety flavor. This is perfect for an afternoon in the hammock.

This is technically an amber ale and using my newly posted Beer & Food Pairing table, I'm in luck. Leftover pizza goes swimmingly with this brew. The sweetness and the touch of spice pair excellently with a savory meat pizzer. I'm not a typically a fan of Ambers, but I will drink more knowing how well they accompany dough and marinara. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Left Coast Una Mas celebrates the Table of Glory and it's legend

Thora the explorer is still human-sitting David and I and she's currently reclining in front of the Table of Glory.

Lore has it, that this legendary table was discovered in an ancient fraternity house after it collapsed under the weight of a raging roof party. To those that own it, brings great glorious awesomeness. But with great glory, comes great responsibility. Which means you have to check I.D.'s.

No, not really. David and I built the 1500 beer cap table during our senior year of college. The center G embodies two thoughts; the table of glory, and also the name of David's house that year was "Grandma's House," named by one of their first visitors (me) after I walked in and announced that it smelled like an old lady's mansion. That smell didn't last long. It was a legendary year. It was a non-fraternity house and thousands of beers were drunk there. Legendary.

Too bad Thora's name ain't Gertrude

The table itself is nothing but a piece of work. The design was David's. It's a premiere Beer Pong table and is cut into two halves for easy transportation. There is a triangle on each side, Domestic vs. Foreign, and there are designated water cup spots on each side. My added design touch was the F-Zero like power triangles gracing either side of the triangle. There are even Red Stripe cap'd sight-lines near the G that guide a player's bounce (worth two cups in pong if it's made). It took two days in a poorly ventilated garage and a lot of brain cells for David and I to glue the caps down and fasten a plexiglas top to the board. I have never had a worse headache after that experience.

David and I didn't live together than, and I used to drive through Malibu Canyon (20mins each way) late at night during study breaks just to play a round or two of beer pong and shoot the shit around the Table O' Glory. It's a table that holds a lot of history and memories. Unfortunately, one of our friends left it out in the rain and the wood warped (grrrr). It was retired to the museum that is our living room, still full of beauty and dark secrets.

We continue our exploration of the Left Coast beers with Una Mas, a 6.4% amber ale. Not a lover of the ambers (a bit racist I am), and right off there's an off putting bold nutty aroma. But the taste, is actually decent for my least favorite beer. As a beer warms, the body opens up and the flavors come out. This beer is really cold. I should've realized this a long time ago, but I should have all my ambers cold. It'd be so much more enjoyable. Duly noted. ARMAGEDDON rating. 

Karl Strauss Amber Lager begins our San Diego Brewery Trip

Since there is a beer fueled festivus ahead of us, we figure Fernet Branca is an approriate shot for the road. David's love affair with this "like black licorice-flavored Listerine" knows no bounds.(Fernet)

We're heading down to stay at a beautiful hotel where everything smells like pine, The Lodge at Torrey Pines.

Seriously, they burn pine logs in the lobby fireplace, their shampoo and soap smells o' pine and their busboys are Ents, those Tree Men from Lord Of The Rings.

I wonder what they pay them...

 The lodge is pretty damn beautiful.

Apparently if you play golf, this place is amazing. It hosted the U.S. Open a couple years ago.

Fortunately I don't play golf, so I'm won't be tempted or distracted by her sweet greens. We're here to visit as many breweries as possible. I'm aiming for 8, but may hit one less than that. But my parents are here and they're ready dive into this beer bath that awaits us in brewery country. The posts are going to be long and filled with pics, so I'll save my words and fingers for other posts. Our beer of the day was at the Lodge Bar and is from a San Diego based brewery that we won't be visiting, Karl Strauss.

The Amber Lager is a mix of styles. Usually Ambers aren't lagers, they're brewed as ales. The result is a crisp lager finish with a fairly smooth light caramel and nut malt. If you like Ambers, a sixer of this would be easy to drink thanks to the lager yeast. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Brewdog 5AM Saint primes my steakly palate

At The Old Place to celebrate Nick G's 29th berfday with his family. The restaurant is hidden deep in the Santa Monica mountains East of Malibu in the small town where they filmed shows such as M.A.S.H and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (David's 2nd favorite rerun show behind The Wonder Years).


The restaurant has been cooking steaks for the last 50 years on the same grill, and their meat has quite the distinctive smokey taste. Also, there is a winery next door which I'd love return during the day and have some wine then follow up with more Noodle & Cheese Bake and Steak - The Old Place menu.

They have a surprisingly pleasant beer list. I dive into one worthy of a steak joint and a Brewdog I haven't seen before.

Um, a little more mood lighting please? I need more darkness

First off, 5am Saint is a great freaking name. Iconoclastic Amber Ale, which is labeled at the bottom, is a bold statement but it's totally backed up. This beer is smooth with a nutty bite and just the right amount of sweetness.  The more I drink the more excellent it becomes. This is the type of Amber Ale I want every other Amber to be. Itg oes well with food too. THE ROCK rating

I finish of this beer before the main course and order an Oaked Arrogant Bastard for the steak, which is a brilliant move on my part. In the future when you grill, find a six pack of the oaked bastardo, it'll do your bbq wonders.


Nick's been my closest friend for 9 years and counting, and like a fine wine or 15 year-old girls, he only gets better with age.

Green Lakes Organic Ale would be endorsed by James Cameron

Back late from a celebratory night at Copo d'Oro. Let's just say they have $5 Bourbon Old Fashions till 8pm (but that doesn't mean I didn't stop then). It was nice. I arrive back at the mancave where an organic ale was awaiting me. The concept driving organic beer isn't to make a 'green' beer or to help the ozone, etc. Rather, brewers who make organic resolutely believe that organically grown grain and hops (sans pesticides, etc) create a better tasting brew - at least that's my perception of this growing niche market.

I believe this is based on a futuristic Pandoran beer. Time travel sure is nice

The Green Lakes is a malty amber/red ale. The malt permeates the nose and my first taste. Subsequent swishes and gulps bring awareness to the beer's mild hops side. Not my style of beer but overall it's a very drinkable beer and smooth. I'll let you be the judge whether organic ingredients create a tastier brew. ARMAGEDDON rating

Copper Hook and a Big Bear Arrival

Just drove up highway 18 to Big Bear on winding roads and stopped in the leasing office parking lot a couple minutes before midnight. Success! Also, it's damn cold but excited to ski for the second time this winter!

Trapper hat Lindsey  

Copper Hook is an amber ale that's malty, smooth and super drinkable. There is nothing sublime about this fellow but it is still another decent brew from continually solid Red Hook brewery. If you're looking for a cheap microbrew to bring to a party, keep this in mind. THE ISLAND rating.

P.S. I don't understand why Red Hook isn't as well known as say, Sam Adams, and I hope they will be in time. They create a broad spectrum of very drinkable beers. David mentioned they have breweries on both the East and West coasts. That's interesting, maybe this cuts down on distribution costs? Smart. Anywho, I wish them well and would love to see their variety packs in supermarkets next to Sam Adams seasonals.

Saint Arnold week continues with the Amber Ale

Home to watch the national championship game and ketchup on two long entries over Christmas, including my trip to the Shiner Brewery (Shiner Dortmunder, check it out). Poor Oregon, I hoped they would pull it out (that's what she said). Although Oregon didn't win, David did book a cabin in Big Bear for the upcoming three day weekend, so....winnnnnahh.

We have a bunch of the Houston-based St. Arnold brewery and the Amber is the 2nd so far. It pours a light color. The taste is smooth and has a light caramel touch to it. When I toured the St. Arnold brewery over Christmas, their beers came across as simple but clean and refreshing, however, there wasn't a complex one that knocks my pants off.

In comparison to the Christmas Ale, I enjoyed this a little more. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Napa Valley Wedding Day 1!! - Napa Smith Crush Beer

Coming off an epic Thursday night with James L and David, James and I could barely eat pizza at 7:30am in the Southwest Terminal let alone use free drink coupons for Hair of the Dog at 9am. By the time we met our parents at a private tasting, our hangover had become apocalyptic. Good thing Patz & Hall comes with cheese...Which bdubs was awesome.

Best. Cheese. Ever.

On the way back, I asked my dad to pull over at the liquor store and I ran in for a few local brews to last me the weekend. In the spirit of wine country, I present Napa Smith Crush beer, an amber lager brewed with grapes.

You surprise me sir

Given my disposition to fart in the general direction of Amber beers and combined with the idea to put grapes and malt together, I thought this was going to be nothing short of pure gasoline...And then I tried it I was really surprised. I asked James for a second opinion and he confirmed my suspicions. This isn't a bad beer.

It's interesting, there is a slight but not overpowering grape tint to the palate, and it dissipated the bitterness found in many ambers. This isn't a lambic, but it is a beer that's fortified with grape and the result is a surprisingly well rounded brew (I hope that makes sense). This isn't something I'd drink often, but it's certainly drinkable. Color me surprised and for that I'm granting you a TRANSFORMERS rating. Going to a Desert/Cocktail reception tonight and wine tasting and the wedding tomorrow, can't wait!

Ballast Point Week: Day 3, Calico Amber

Grabbed a real good meal with Ned, Claude, Marc and Arne. Came home, skyped LaLa, and now I'm dropping in on this Calico Amber. I don't usually like Ambers, they're usually a step above browns and a step below IPAs. This is exactly the case with this beer. A little more bitter than an ordinary amber, and it doesn't exactly serve it well. Nothing about this is really that awesome. Meh.

This beer is Kevin Kline neither good or bad, but who really cares. Everyone knows they hired you for (insert whatever role) because they couldn't afford... whoever.

Ballast Point Calico Amber

I'm not a big fan of Ambers, so it wasn't a surprise that I wasn't a huge fan. Knowing nothing about the makeup of Ambers, I always feel like it's a Grimm Brothers tale, about the little amber who got lost in the HopsWood forest and so she tasted really funky when the Black Bears ATE HER. And then they were still thirsty because it finishes dry. Point is, I'm still waiting for that one Amber who's going to change my mind.

That was the before picture. The after picture had more thumbs down.

But guess what, my boy James L from Houston is in town! And he takes really, really dorky pictures. We're heading up to a wedding in Napa this weekend. But we're not leaving LA until we hit up The Other Room, Townhouse and Nikki's Beach tomorrow night. Stay tuned. THE ISLAND rating.

Mission Amber - my nipples are no longer hard for Mission beer week

David takes one look at the beer and deadpans "Of fuck this isn't gonna be good." HAHAHA. This is the first week really we've really dived into brewery and I'm thinking that we rolled snake eyes. 

My sign says Gerber

This beer isn't fucked though. Is our theory about the other two Mission beers wrong? We thought that it was the bottles, but after this one I'm thinking the other beers were just that shoddy. Regardless, this Amber is not a stellar beer. Crazy carbonation and it's super malty. I'm beginning to think that Mission would rather shock you (like a genre horror film) than seduce you with drinks across the bar and roses from an pestering Spanish woman. This Amber is better than the other Mission beers but still not special. My boner for this weeks tasting has officially deflated and I can only hope the New Belgium Lips of Faith will restore it. THE ISLAND RATING.

Rogue American Amber. A million times more delicious than cod worms.

Dead Guy was one of my first "holy crap, what is this?!" beers, so I'm really hoping this is good. Aaaaaaaand, it IS.

The slightly toasted malt gives the subtlest hint of a dark beer, a little like wood or nuts, while letting the hops play an equally subtle, co-starring role.

So it turns out were at Aaron Bs making sweet potato crusted pacific cod, see picture, as well as salt baked branzino. And just as Aaron is getting ready to dip a filet of the cod. BAM WIGGLE!!! He finds a worm on it! WHOA! Sam J gets on the Google, only to discover that, while
repulsive, they're pretty common and will not grow babies in your belly that eventually escape through your...

Back to the beer. In honor of his shared regional heritage with Rogue (Oregon), smooth demeanor and balanced, laid-back character, this beer is Sam J. He also is enjoying it with us and likes it quite a bit. The worm will not be enjoying the beer with us.

Rogue American Amber Ale Fights Terrorists

Coming back from from an intense Krav Maga workout I joined Aaron B, Sam B, Jaime and David at Baseman's lair for beer. We watched Sniper Deadliest Missions on the History Channel during dinner. The production on that show is excellent, the best I've seen for a re-creation and the graphics are ridiculous. SWAT snipers hunting fugitives from helicopters and Marine Snipers in Fallujah killing terrorists from over 1300 meters? You know what kind of channel History is? THE BEST kind of channel. I was armed with a Rogue American Amber Ale.

Fugitive Michael Alan Silka takes aim but he's gonna be toast in three seconds

The others were cooking fish so I couldn't smell but what a beautiful color! I need to fix the flash on my camera, I know, but the color was enough to get me excited. Subtle malts followed by even subtler hops. Well balanced with a quick finish. Thanks to the water, there's a little metal aftertaste but it is soon forgotten.  I'd have to consult the charts but I believe this is one of (if not the first) amber ale we drank and Rogue, I knew you wouldn't disappoint. After so many full bodied, heavy Belgians, I was elated to realize that I could drink a lot of these. Tonight was perfectly excellent. THE ROCK rating.

Quote of the night, a marine sniper said in a perfectly normal tone;

"...and that's when I dropped the hammer on him" 

Just another day in a life for soldiers. Mess with a Marine and they're gonna mess with you. Enemy combatants, I hope you like eating lead. Booyah. U.S.A. wins.