More Brown Than Black Collaboration IPA is the best of both worlds

There's a great story behind this collaboration from Stone, Ninkasi and Alchemist. The proceeds of the brew are going to help victims of Hurricane Irene, which is near the Alchemist brewery. Ninkasi and Stone are two of my favorite breweries so I'm excited to see how the brain trust pulls off what sounds like a unique style and brew.

This collaboration is so knew that it's not even in the Stone book which I received for Xmas. It's still somehow photo-bombed the collab. There's a lot of sediment with the pour and the aroma has more citrus zest from the hops than you might expect with such a dark roast malt. The flavor has the sweet brown sugar and biscuit-ness of a brown ale and only a tinge of roasted bitterness. There's a whole lot of hop going on but the malt body hangs in there to balance it out. The mouthful finishes dry and quick, which makes me want more. Nearly black in color, this brew has the heart of a brown ale and the bitterness of a Ronin Samurai. Sorry, I'm watching 13 Warriors on Netflix streaming now and its awesomeness is bleeding into the post. It's pretty gory and cool. Anywho, THE ROCK rating. Great beer by great breweries for a great cause, go getcha self some More Brown Than Black!

Mikkeller Williamette showcases the fuggle out of that hop

This is my third single hop IPA from Mikkeller but the hop, Willamette, I know very little about. My googling machine conveys that it's similar to the English style Fuggle but is more fruity and has floral notes. So what's the real story?

It's improbable, since most of/allMikkeller's beers are limited production, that he would make six packs of his single hop varitals, but Jebus I wish he would. He has the innate ability to balance the hops and malts to create brews that are delicious and showcase the IPA. He puts together the perfect backing band for the pop star, Willamette. The hop itself is delicious and tasting some light citrus, apple, pear flavors. I wish their was a Single Hop Super Hero who doled out six packs right now. Rrreal bad. TRANSFORMERS rating.


Side story, as I went out on the patio to grab the beer, I was almost past the screen door when something huge caught my eye and gave me a jolt. It's not every day you see a white Praying Mantis!

You have to understand, we are as far away from what you'd call 'nature' as possible in this urban parking lot called Los Angeles. David and I live in Marina del Rey, surrounded by huge apartment complexes, water and boats. Pizza delivery people rarely come down here, let alone insects. So this fella was a very cool surprise for me. Apparently their sightings symbolize the coming of personal growth and inner change. Science would say that because he was 4 inches long but still white, he was seeking a protective place to molt (shed his skin) for the final time, thus becoming green. But as a passive idealist, I will go with the former.

What's even weirder, is that Lindsey and David get home late and coincidently had a captured insect with them. A bee, which they want to "put a leash on" using floss. SOOOMEBODY has been sniffing paint chips. David is a little insulted that I hadn't captured the creature - "they're really rare you know." I'm beginning to feel 7 years old again.

What's with all these insects? Symbolism or are they just getting lost? I was never a kid who collected animals and such, although there was a kid in elementary school, Will, who grew frogs in order to skin their hides. He's a big rig truck driver now, I kid you not. Redneck to the core. Another story I just remembered from an old ex-girlfriend was from her childhood, her family caught a praying mantis and a scorpion and decided to invoke Darwin's Survival of the Fittest. They placed a glass bowl over the two unwilling participants to see which creature came out victorious, gladiator style. The main event was billed "WELCOME TO THE THUNDER DOME." HA. I just wanted to tell that story so I could say that phrase. Mad Max 3 rules. Bye

Anderson Valley IPA malts me nicely

I'm pouring this just as David is finishing up with TRON and it reminds me that I missed her coming to the office last week to meet my boss (I work at a production company). A little bummed, but I was in Napa so I can't complain. What about you - incredible wine or Olivia Wilde? Does Olivia taste like blackberries, chalk and pepper all at once? Doubtful.

Anderson Valley IPA is a good malty IPA with a light caramel flavor. Their beers tend to be maltier rather than hoppy and this IPA is no exception. However, the hops do balance their naturally malty beers nicely. I wouldn't say this is Hop Ottin, as their name advertises, but it results in a balanced ipa that's enjoyable. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Stone Collaboration Japanese Green Tea IPA warms the heart

I have about 45 minutes before I run to the airport and fly to Utah to meet the 'rents for a weekend getaway in Park City. David is at the X-Games and so I'm on my own for the beer, giving me the opportunity to pull something I've EAGERLY anticipated having, a very unique collaboration between Stone and two Japanese breweries, Ishii and Baird. Check out the video here

I love the craft brewing community for many reasons, but I especially love collaborations. This collaboration is particularly special, as Stone wanted to reach out to Japanese breweries to make a beer that relays the Japanese people are not alone and that people are thinking about them. This beer's proceeds will go to the Tsunami and Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund. It's dry hopped with Green Tea and the alcohol is the same magnitude as the earthquake, 9.2%, to correlate with the tremor. The whole situation is heartwarming is creating an uncomfortable amount of empathy within me. I already heard some really amazing news about my future today, which I will reveal a week from today on our one year beer-versary, and all this 'helping people' crap is really getting to me. Come on Walker! I need to find a telephone booth stat!

Besides the humanity, I'm just excited to try interesting beers and this is right for my wheelhouse.

There is a complex earthiness from tea, much more than I would think from dry hopping. As mentioned in the video above, the IPA-ness is a departure from your typical American IPA and it's more herbal than citrusy. While the herbal hop flavor is different than what I expect from a Stone beer, the body has the trademark of a Stone IPA. Overall, the bitterness is complex but also a quite astringent. This is a hop lovers brew for sure. I'm eating leftover spicy chicken mole and the bitterness is pairing well with the spice. I really appreciate this beer, even if I don't rank it as an All-Star. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Lagunitas Fusion 2 Black IPA celebrates Karl's berfday

Frequent collaborator Karl celebrates his birthday today and in case you forgot who this classy gentleman is and whether he likes cheese, below is a subtle reminder:

At The Daily Pint, I order a pint of a black IPA, a very different style that I'm considering home brewing. I've tasted a few along the way, Deschutes Hop in the Dark was the first and by far the best, but the rest have been a mixed bag. Will my 348th beer of the year be delicious and help me destroy Karl at Foosball on his berday?

Me thinks so. Poured a two finger head out of the tap and has a rich roasted aroma that's enticing. It has a medium bodied consistency, less than a Guinness. The taste is a great combination of roasted malts with a hoppy kick at the end. It's pretty malty up until the hops kick in, which I enjoy but it doesn't make the beer much of an IPA and is more along the lines of a hoppy Black Mild. Potatoe, Potatoo I suppose. The main problem in creating a black IPA, is mixing the hop bite with the bitter roasted malts, and Lagunitas solved the problem by creating a malty IPA, and I'm enjoying it.

I also enjoyed beating Karl for second time by 1 point! CLUTCH CITY. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Mikkeller Chinook Single Hop is a tasty education

Thank goodness it's Friday. I can't actually say TGIF because it's not very becoming of a man my age and social stature...Basically it sounds like I'm in a teenage Facebook chatroom. Regardless, I'm excited to be over with this week, which was long and hard. That's what she....

Btw, I discovered today there are more single hop varieties than the Chinook and Simcoe, but those are the only ones available at Beverage Warehouse. FFS.

Jeez. BTDT. Well, I'll have to make do with what I have.  

The Simcoe single hop IPA really surprised me because I thought I knew the character of Simcoe. For the Chinook, I am more prepared for the elementary effect of a single hop IPA. After the first couple of sips, I'm admiring the subtlety of this IPA.

Accordingly to my Designing Great Beers book, if Chinook is employed later in the boil it imparts a herbal, almost smoky aroma. However, Mikkeller clearly used Chinook at the beginning of the boil because it has a rich and pronounced aroma with a citrus component.

For having a very high alpha acid count (one of the strongest hops), the IPA is surprisingly refreshing and citrusy. It's like finding the big silent bully has a heart of gold.

I'm enjoying this much more than the Simcoe, and would love to get my hands on the Amarillo, Centennial, Citra and Cascade single hop IPAs. TRANSFORMERS rating. GLWT Walker.


And finally,

MTFBWY


(May The Force Be With You)

Mikkeller Green Gold is made for the Spring

After work I stopped by the Surly Goat, where I was able to revisit Deschutes Lost Mirror Mirror Barleywine (post). I was lead to believe that I would never have it again, but apparently they had 'found' another keg of the stuff because it was on tap.

I walk in the door and Storm Tater is ready to mash me, but I deftly deflect his blows. He's getting better, and one day I may land a fatal stroke...if his arms don't fall off first. 

Mikkeller Green Gold IPA awaits!

StormTater's long awaited return to the blog

I love the name of this - hops are green gold. This brew is made with Simcoe, Cascade and Amarillo hops, all hops I've used in beers and I'm enjoy immensely.

If yesterday's Mikkeller 10 is a Summer IPA, this is an American Spring IPA. It has a strong citrus hop with a classic American body. I've noticed this week Mikkeller's beers have outstanding carbonation, which adds to the beer's crispness.

Every IPA from Mikkeller I would drink again. Few breweries create brews of such high standards - Stone, Dogfish Head - and I feel Mikkeller is in the same club. I'm beginning to understand why he's so revered. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Mikkeller 10 IPA gets close to a perfect score

I'm still recovering from the 4th o' July weekend and I'm spending the down time making the only dish that would utilize all my left over ingredients from the bbq - meatloaf! 

Hamburger buns, chipotle bbq sauce and 2 lbs of ground beef are almost all I need to make this bad boy. That, combined with Sam Malone and an American style IPA complete the evening.

Clocks in at a 6.9% alcohol and has a fresh grass and piney hop bite that combines with a very light and citrusy body. Rather than the typical hop bombs that Americans love, Mikkeller's IPA's are proving to be subtle characters and rarely do I taste IPA's this light and refreshing. I could describe it as a summer IPA, perfect for a picnic. THE ROCK rating.

Mikkeller Simcoe single hop IPA isn't what I hop'd it to be

David is away in Austria and Florida all week (filming the Space Shuttle's last launch! He will have seen the last two shuttle launches EVER. Lucky bastard), but I'm not that jealous because it's Mikkeller time.

I would classify Mikkeller - from what I know - as a brewer's brewer. Mikkeller is Danish and is a 'gypsy' brewer, brewing and collaborating all over the world. The beer world loves him. I picked up five of his beers, which are only available in 11 ounce bottles for around $5 and they would be hard to split with David so I'm taking advantage of his absence to squeeze them in before the year ends.

I'm especially excited because two of the five are single hop IPA's, which will be a cool experiment. Beers almost always combine multiple hops to create complexity, but Mikkeller created a line of IPA's to highlight the contributions of several hops. Sam Adam did a single IPA box of beers and I heard they were not so tasty. I bet this is different.

I chose the Simcoe IPA to drink first because I have a nostalgic connection to the hop. The first IPA I made, a Double Belgian IPA called Double Dutch Rudder, was made with Simcoe and it has a very unique hop bite to it. I am of the understanding that Simcoe is a 'super hop,' and so the hop complexity owed itself primarily to Simcoe and not the two other hops I used as well.

Well after tasting this single hop, I am quite wrong. The IPA isn't as bitter as I hoped it to be and the body is surprisingly clean and malty. Simcoe, I'm learning, is a far more subtle and earthy hop than I supposed it to be. I like this IPA because it is refreshing and I learned a great deal from it. That being said, I'm not going to rate it highly because it is, after all, a single hop beer and it's not something I'd recommend everyone spending their money on unless they're a homebrewer. ARMAGEDDON rating

Dogfish head 60 min ipa makes way for my beer closet

Can't believe I've put off both of these for so late in the year! It's time to clean out our hall closet to make way for our carboy, two buckets, two 5 gallon partial-mash coolers, and 5 cases of home brew plus another 4 cases of home brew that are currently fermenting and will bottle in the coming weeks. I will have before and after pictures tomorrow for now/below, feast your eyes on part of the after and the beer of the day.

Dogfish Head's 90min IPA is a phenomenal beer, rich, big bodied and perfectly hopped. How big a difference will 30 mins less of being continuously hopped make for Dogfish Head's 60 min IPA?

So the fewer 30 mins and lower alcohol/body found in the 60 min IPA does make a huge difference in quantity compared to the 90min. That being said, this still beats many, many IPA's out there. It's a great IPA and its drinkability is high. We originally bought a six pack and I could easily have drunk it all laying on the hammock that afternoon. Good thing I saved one for later! TRANSFORMERS rating

Goose Island IPA welcomes me to New York City, four hours late

This was one hell of a day. I wake up early and successfully fly standby for an earlier flight, hoping to arrive in NYC at 7pm rather than 12am in order to spend time with the broham, the brosef, the hambone himself, my brother Warren. However, as we're about to land the plane starts dropping and jumping around, causing the woman next to me to start yelling and grabbing my arm. This is what happened next -

True story. So our approach is canceled and we're diverted out to sea, and about an hour later diverted into Atlantic City. At this point we're 2 hours late. To compound my woes, my phone's screen is broken and I have no way to contact my friends in NYC except my brother, whose number is the only one I have memorized. Long story short, we land in NYC after being on that damn plane for 9 hours, and I f*cking needed a drink. Fortunately I have the best brother in the world and he had a double shot of Maker's Mark and a Goose Island IPA waiting for me when I arrive five minutes to midnight - just in the nick of time!

Goose Island IPA upholds the Chicago brewery's golden standard. It has a light caramel malt that's sweet but makes room for the robust hops, which don't overwhelm the palate. This is a very drinkable IPA, a hoppy midwest session beer, and it's deserving of THE ROCK rating.

Afterward Warren and his two coworkers, Mike and Scuba Steve (pictured) head over to Pop Burger for some 1am brews and burgers. Warren's excited for me to try his favorite Barleywine, the Anchor Steam Foghorn, which is excellent. I'm excited to try the Brooklyn Chocolate Stout (amazing) and our lovely manager/waitress Nichole pushes the Brooklyn Local 1 & 2 on us. I'm an easy sell them all. The #2 is Belgian Strong Dark Ale and isn't quite as delicious as the #1, but you still can't go wrong with it. Warren has to be up early to trade commodities so we call it a night at 2am.

A burger so big I actually had to unhinge my jaws like a snake to eat it. Charming Walker, such a class act

A long, shitty day of zero drink'n ends with a burst of delicious brews from all over the U.S. Thank you brother and NYC for delivering, can't wait to see what the weekend entails!

Karl Strauss Tower 10 IPA fittingly starts Memorial Day weekend

With a half day at work and a plane flight looming, I poured myself some bourbon and set to packing for a trip to Houston for a wedding. Packing took me all of 10 minutes so I poured myself a bomber from Karl Strauss and soaked up sun in the hammock. If I was here this weekend, I'd spend time down by da beach, by Tower 26. But I'm sure as hell ain't gonna spend time in the sun in Houston, it's 96 degrees!

Hell of a day to leave California

I've had three  beers from Karl Strauss and enjoyed none of them terribly much. However, the Tower 10 turns out to be one good lookin' slumpbuster. It's not a great IPA but it's definitely the common man's drinking IPA. Turned out, I picked a fantastic beer to enjoy during a warm day at the start of summer. It's 6.5% alcohol and has a great bite to it. For once, Karl Strauss, you're getting above 4 stars. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Left Coast Trestles IPA readies for the Chicago invasion

Preparing for some rowdy Chicago friends, Sarah and Andrea, to hit LA tomorrow but I'm more focused on another sexy bitch right now, Thora! David's boss still needs us to dogsit and I'm excited because the extra time has really paid off. She only ignores me 85% of the time instead of 99%. Small steps, like a Leprechaun's stride. But Thora's not happy with me now thanks to several flashes from camera.

This is the first of four Left Coast ales that we'll be sampling. Trestles is an IPA with a thin caramel malt, and a sharp and grassy hop bite as it finishes. Love the malt, don't enjoy how the hops are handled especially the bite at the end. The beer is just like my relationship with sweet Thora. It's going good for a while, she wants to play, give me some sloppy kisses, and then she fell asleep. She left me down, as they/I just said and fell asleep just as the getting was good. They all do... ARMAGEDDON rating.

Dogfish Head 90 Min IPA deliciously haunts the former Del's Saloon

Right around the corner from my old Brentwood apartment was a notorious Dive Bar called Del’s Saloon. There was saw dust on the floor and a U-shaped table in the bar’s center. It was also the location of a scene in Knocked Up, where Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan grab drinks and decide to go to Las Vegas:

This is a cleaned up movie version of Del’s

It was a good old fashioned shit hole and the drinks were cheap. You were guaranteed to find a ratio of 2:1 male to females and a good portion of the crowd would be 40+ and looked like they smoke 2 packs a day. Basically, the place was infested with former models (psych). Unfortunately, the place shuttered over a year ago. Fortunately, a new bar opened up with the same cheap drink special ($2 dollar Coors during happy hour, $1 off every beer) and a new décor that includes leather booths. Sadly, gone is the shitty U-shaped table. Being in a place that has class without paying for it? I’m in. David and I are meeting up with an old friend Matt D to ketchup over a round of pool and brewskies.
Fortunately for us, this beer has better taste than Coors light. I can get a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA for $5 dollars. It’s a 9% beer and one of the best around. I can’t believe two things: That it’s this cheap, and I haven’t counted it as one my beers. Time to make it count.

Something I didn’t know, is that Dogfish head uses an English two row pale as the base malt, which I would assume is rather unusual for an American IPA. 90 minutes refers to the length of the boil and over that hour and a half the beer is continuously hopped with multiple kinds of hops. Continuous hopping is a specialty of Dogfish, Sam Caligione actually created a machine specifically designed to continually feed hops over the length of the boil.

As I taste, there is smooth citrus and herbal bite. The Dogfish Head hop bite, like Stone, is so distinct and 'well known' most craft brew drinker could pick it out of a lineup after tailgating a Bud Light fueled University of Texas football game. The alcohol is well disguised in this beer. The beer has a darker amber flavor than I expected, and it’s damn delicious. David is having multiple of these. I plan on returning back here and even though I can’t count this as one of my beers, it’s the only thing I want to be drinking. BAD BOYS rating.

Green Flash West Coast IPA drops hops like a B-52 Bomber

At The Other Room with Tara, Ellie and David and meeting up with Joey who's a big hop head. Ellie and Tara are pretty stoked to be part of the beereveryday tasting experience (first timers!) and I'm looking forward to trying the well regarded Green Flash West Coast IPA. Win, Win...will there be another Win with the IPA?

Get this:

"Hops used include Simcoe for a unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes and Cascade for floral aroma."

That's crazy time to the 10th degree. I don't know what the IBU's are but they have to be astronomic; the first three hops mentioned are THE strongest hops available. I used only four ounces total split between of Simcoe, Centennial and Cascade for my Belgian IPA, and that was over 80 IBU's. Your average IPA has between between 50 and 70 IBU.

Tara and Ellie aren't fans in the slightest. This beer is overwhelmingly bitter and an aftertaste that doesn't fade away. They had both tried my Belgian Red IPA earlier and like it much more. Victory is mine!

For me, this is a hop heads beer. The bitterness is truly overwhelming. As I drink my palate is carpet bombed by hops but oddly enough, the beer becomes easier to drink. I'm impressed and immensely appreciate their bitter boldness, but it's not something I want to drink for pleasure. TRANSFORMERS rating - but consider yourself warned.

Dogfish Head Aprihop and my Belgian Red Home Brew make for a Funday Sunday

The day has come! Hoorayyy! Belgian Red, my first real experimental beer, is ready to drink. This was me when I woke up. David was Paul Pierce, the guy just running around after sinking a game winning shot:

So here is the Belgian Red Recipe. I have to say, it pours beautifully. Many home brews don't have great carbonation, but look at how much head it pours with! Awesomeness.

David says that you could have told him that this was the Belgian IPA we brewed and he would believe it. The IBU's are only at 50, opposed to the 80+ we have in our Belgian, but it's still quite hoppy. David also said, and I have to quote him because I'm proud, that the beer's "good quality exhibits my experience." Happy to report I'm getting better and not worse with age. Score.

Tell you what, it's different than I expected but I'm still very happy with it and it tastes delicious. The color pours beautifully but the flavor doesn't scream red ale, rather, the beer exhibits some light caramel flavors and the sweetness of a Belgian strong ale. There is considerably less caramel flavor than a Belgian Dubbel but there's definitely considerably more caramel than a Belgian Golden. I was hoping for a more "red" flavor profile, but this was the first recipe and I'll add more caramel notes next time. Otherwise, I'm VERY excited to share this with people in the coming weeks. It's tasty.

After sampling, we went onto "sample" more beer with Christine who is up from Newport and with Sara. It's time for a little Sunday Funday.

We checked out a bier garden on the Venice boardwalk. It's been a while since I've strolled the chaos that is Venice beach and I forgot how entertaining it is - that and how many dogs there are int he world. David brought Kamari (under the table in the picture above) and we settled in for a pitcher of Erdinger Dunkel, German puffed pasta and mozzarella sticks ordered by yours truly (not very German of me).

Sunday Funday continued with Sangria at Primitivo Wine Bistro. Guess what else is on Abbott Kenney? The Other Room. The beer of the day is now 3 out of 4 days from this bar. Starting to run out of options...Psych! Their menu is Laaarge.

Even though I know nothing about apricots (I have no idea what they smell or look like), I welcome any beer that can incorporate unusual elements in to make a balanced brew. Sam Caligione is the king of this, so I'm very excited to taste this.

I'm trusting Christine and Sara to help me out with the aroma. They say the Aprihop smells like a bag of dried apricots and weed. HA, silly girls - that's Dogfish Heads signature HOPS. But to be fair, hops are a distant cousin of the green cheeva that is so prevalent in this area. I blame it on the hippies. The fruit in this beer is very well balanced with the hops. I'm not a fan of fruit beers but I love this because the fruit and hops are so subtle. It's simply a well made beer. THE ROCK rating.

David announced that his next beer will be an Imperial Red, like Drake's Denoggenizer. I'm going to use my tax refund money like Ninkasi (the Sumerian goddess of fermentation) would want me too and invest in equipment to brew my first partial-mash beer. Time to step up home brewing a notch and get serious about this!

Kern River Just Outstanding IPA is as advertised

I'm fairly weary of beer names that tout a purported some sort of self-descriptive (see my article on HopStoopid), but Kern River has a reason to thump their chest, they made a great session IPA.


I promised last week that I'd show you the Unhappy Goat, so without further ado--

This guy looks like a....Saul. Saul the Surly Goat. Sounds right.

Foosball game is in full swing. The IPA is right around my favorite alcohol level, 6.8%. Not too much, not too little. There's a pretty big hop bite but I like it! It's like a distinctive bourbon, like Bookers. It's not for everyone, but those who like a bite and hair on their chest, love it (like this guys). This is the perfect IPA for Hop Heads who like that bite. THE ROCK rating.

Also, this video inspires me in so many ways:

World's Greatest Beer Fetching Dog

Ninkasi Total Domination IPA bogarts my affection

I've had three other Ninkasi's and love'm all. I dig their company name; Ninkasi is the Sumerian Goddess of Fermentation, which is rad because Sumerians literally worshiped their beer (I could actually tell you why, thanks to reading "A History Of The World In Six Glasses"). The company motto is:

Beer is a staple of civilization. Worship the Goddess.

Love'n it! Great motto. The company has thus far excellent consistency in their brews and their Tricerahops, their double IPA, really grabbed me and I've been unable to let them out of my mind since. This is their standard IPA and guess how excited I am to drink it---

That and I got a new haircut. What up!

The color is is slightly more golden than typical American IPA's and the taste reflects a more subdued caramel profile. It's 6.7% alcohol and 65 IBU and the brew has a well balanced malt and hop combination. This would pair excellent with food and wouldn't overwhelm the palate. This has everything I look for in an easy drinking IPA. It's $4 for a 22oz bomber at BevMo. I love this company, the beer, the energy behind it and especially the motto (my nerdness is showing again). Pick this up and you won't be disappointed. THE ROCK rating.

Coronado Islander IPA ends a glorious day of imbibing in Malibu

Afternoon kicked off at the Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie in Agoura Hills with Tamara, where we sampled four beers and some Brasserie food http://www.ladyfaceale.com/. We only had their pretzel (it was bomb), but their food menu looks great.

I love the look of the Alehouse, a lot of natural wood decor and the building's tones are all the same color of beer (green for hops, caramel, blonde, etc). We sampled their Blonde Ale, the Belgian Tripel, their Chesboro IPA, and their Blue Belly 2010 Barleywine. Tamara's favorite was the Tripel and she slyly nudged the taster closer and closer to her (and away from me, HA), so I turned my attention toward the IPA and Barleywine, which the later has an astounding 103 IBU.

What's interesting about the Ladyface, Ladyface, Ladyfaaaaaace Ales are that the bodies of their beers are not very heavy for being 9% + alcohol. In order to attain that much alcohol, you half to add a ton of fermentables like malt and sugar. If you add sugar, it creates alcohol without adding body to the beer. I loved the hop blend in the Chesboro IPA, but I found myself wanting a more substantial body. The 2010 Barleywine had time to age and acquired a heavier body than the 2011 and the flavor profile a unique earthy, tobacco taste. I really enjoyed it.

From here we traveled to Malibu Wine and sampled a tasting in the fog and then onto some old Malibu haunts, Malibu Yo and Moonshadows for some bourbon old-fashioned's.

I'm feeling nostalgic after the trip to Malibu. Since I haven't included a Kangaroo Balls picture in a long time, here you go. Pleasure's all mine

I wasn't impressed with our last Coronado, the Orange Wit, but the Islander is a solid IPA with strong caramel malts and hops. It's perfect as the 'I could drink this every day' IPA. As a bonus, it's 7.5% alcohol, so, it's more like 'get your buzz on every day' IPA. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Drake's Hop Salad distracts me from Foosball but not from awesome handshakes

It's Friday, and I know what time it is...Unhappy Rammed Sheep night! No but seriously, Tiffany actually found out tonight the origin for the bar's name. It came about  because the owners had a failed graphic t-shirt venture and had a large quantity of left over t-shirts available with 'Surly Goat.' So they named their bar after it. I feel like that would be like naming my first born child after my unpublished spec screenplay, the Untitled Dennis Dugan Comedy Project. I still believe they could use my help writing the Grown Ups sequel.

We have a huge group here with Tiffany, Matt, Maryelle and Glen, who brought several more excellent friends. We're having a fairly outrageously good time here and these wonderful peeps are inspiring me to break into Eddie Murphy's golden hit featuring Rick James:

After smelling and tasting this salad o' hops, it's safe to presume they named this beer because it's like a mixed fruit salad, but with hops. There's a complexity of hops here that results in a VERY intense pine aroma and taste. And apparently the Drake's brewers eat their mixed fruit salad with grain vodka, because this IPA clocks in a startling 9% alcohol.

The reviews online are overwhelmingly positive for this brew but I'm not a huge fan, it's not well balanced and is a little intense for me. ARMAGEDDON rating.


Of course I played Foosball tonight with Tiff, Maryelle and Glen. Maryelle and I created a handshake that's almost but not quite as cool as this one. Something to aspire too...