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.

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.

Karl Strauss Stargazer IPA

Rushing to the airport for my red-eye to NYC for the weekend, I stopped off at the brew pub for a Stargazer IPA and a meal from Tony Maroni's something or other.

Garcon, where's my dog food?

The night didn't get off to a great start after Jabar lied to me about the food. This 'really tasty' Maroni's chili bowl was crap. I've had Alpo better than this. As for the the Stargazer IPA, it's decent. There are solid hops upfront, but it lacks follow through. I grabbed a 2nd beer and struck up conversation with a fellow traveler, which caused me to almost miss my flight for the 5th time since graduating college. I need to get a watch that doesn't have "Beer O'clock" written on its face.

I've been gone 4 out of the last 5 weekends and loving it, I can't wait to see my lil bro, hit the town and drink some great beer! ARMAGEDDON rating.

Downing Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale before Mumford & Sons

I'm flying in and out of the apartment to make the Mumford & Sons concert, which will undoubtedly be AMAZING. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for this red ale.

David enjoyed his Ginger with Snails. It was that kind of night

Choo chooo. I like the label but not the beer. A standard red ale but it's bland. Not a very imaginative flavor. If I was using the PH Scale to gauge Tastiness, this beer's PH 0. THE ISLAND rating.