Red Rock Secale is a lager first for me

We're at the the High West Brewery in Park City, Utah and while the food and whiskey/rye is fantastic, what's grabbing my attention is the beer at the end of the meal.

The whiskey distillers teamed with a local Utah brewer to age their Doppelbock Lager in Rye Whiskey Barrels for 6 months. I've never heard of a lager being aged in liquor barrels because they're usually big ales like a barleywine or imperial stout that can handle the addition of oak. I'm dying to try this.

The unique combination creates a fantastic beer. The Doppelbock is smooth with a strong toffee and a subtle caramel flavor. The whiskey barrel smooths out this brew and adds an extremely subtle oaky flavor. I had my doubts but wow, I've never had a lager with this level of complexity. Color me impressed. THE ROCK rating.

While I can't buy a bottle of the Secale home with me, I 'settle' for an 8 year bourbon. Life is good surrounded by friends like these.

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.

Pacifico celebrates Fifth de Mayo

To commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French Forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, Rush Street in Culver City isn't the most Mexican of places, but they do have drink specials and everywhere else is a packed with drunk idiots.

I arrive early and so I saddle up to the bar. Disappointed they didn't have Model Especial, I settled on a Pacifico Lager. Then something that's never happened to me in Los Angeles occurred; two women bought me a drink. Scratch that - two older women with Scandinavian accents bought me a vodka based drink that was served in a martini glass. How did I know they were Scandinavian? Because I'm a cultured individual. To quote Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 'I have class coming out of my ass.'

So a woman bought me a drink and I'm thinking, Walker you must look really, rediculously good looking today. I mean, duh, thanks for the newsflash Brian Williams. We start conversing, and at one point I let them know I'm meeting other people. I discover that the blonde's name is Marlin, and I'm primed to make all sorts of clever fishing puns when she offers to buy drinks for the girls I'm meeting. Que? You want to buy drinks for girls too? Suddenly I'm not feeling so full of myself.

Guess what does the lovely woman named after a fish with a spear like snout or bill do for a living? She works for Absolut Vodka in Sweden. She then tells me all about the drink she bought for me, especially the vodka. When Tiffany and Jenny arrive, we do more Absolut Citron shots and then the Swedes down their martini drinks and bounce before everyone can get properly acquainted.

Looking back, this foreign lady got me liquored up, pimped out her business, and then bounced. Why can't I meet more women like that? She was, as they say, one in a million. HA.

One of the weird/awkward/fun moments of the evening came with the shot, in which Marlin and her friend serenaded us in a Scandinavian toast that was akin to The League's "Shiva" song...

...only it lasted longer than necessary and was in a foreign language, so we Tiffany, Jenny and I were left standing around uncomfortably as these Swedes raged on clapping and yelling a Swedish cheer during a Mexican holiday party. Totes funny.

If you haven't had Pacifico, chances are you were born in a hut on Nova Scotia. This beer isn't as pervasive as Dos Equis or Corona, but it's close. In the hierarchy beer, my personal opinion is that Corona is the Mexican Lager equivalent to Coors or Budweiser, Dos Equis is a little bit classier, and then Pacifico is a step above that. But they're little steps above each other, like steps built for little people, or leprechauns as the Boston Equality Group (BEG) calls them. In the realm of lagers south of the border, my personal favorite is either a Pacifico or a Modelo (negro or especial). If you in fact haven't had one, drink a Pacifico next time it's hot and sunny...and refrain from telling people you were born in a hut. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Victoria Mexican Lager says goodbye to Christi!

Apparently David used to drink all the time in Rosarito during our college years, but I'm not familiar with it; more of a dirty Sol man myself.

Oh Rosarito, the land where young Pepperdine students went to lose their sense of innocence. Mexican lagers all taste the same to me; cool refreshing and cheap. I've transitioned from Corona to Dos Equis and now Tecate for my Mexican beer of choice, but if Victoria was more available, I'd drink it more often.TRANSFORMERS rating.

Taj Mahal Premium Lager sells out India's only Wonder of the World but for a good cause

I tend to stay away from Lagers on this beer quest, but you know the saying, when in India...

Karl and Laura have searched LA high and low for the finest Indian food and Jaipur is, as Beck says, where it's at. I've tasted the fruits of Jaipur and upon the completed meal, my rotund belly let me know it was AMAZING. The Chicken Tikki Marsala, Lamb Korma, and Tandoori Chicken was phenomenal. I know that David didn't like Indian food before Karl took him here but he's a changed man because of it. So if you're in LA, check this place out Jaipur. AND I finally discovered what the hell a Tandoori is, horay!

To cool off the spicyness, Karl and I utilizing his favorite Indian brew, the Taj Mahal Premium Lager. Apparently, Indians have beat America to the punch in the realm of whoring out national landmarks to sell beer. I never thought this day would come.

However, not to vilify ourselves, the quote of the night comes from Laura who exclaimed confidently in response to the shenanigans of Karl and I that, "We're all shady people." Touche miss.  She knows all too well.

The Mahal de Taj is pretty tasty. I would put it above any mass produced American Lager. It's crisp, creamy, and has a touch of fruit flavor. It pairs wonderfully with the native food. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Afterward, Library Alehouse had a special Belgian beer night where they were giving away glasses with the purchase of specific brews, including Kwak. David was practically frothing at the gash for a glass for whatever reason (he didn't know they looked like a novelty margarita glass you buy at a baseball game) so I met Tiffany and her friend Tyler who were holding down the fort at the Alehouse all night. Thanks to Tiff, David now has his Belgian Margarita Glass. Parrrrtayy.

Kuryjebckoe Russian Lager defies explanation as to why it was imported

David picked this monster 1qt 1pint 3 fl oz plastic jug of Russian Lager for $6. This reminds me of the 1.5 liter 6 Euro bottle of Grappa my roommates bought our first weekend in Florence. It tasted like pure gasoline. Never, ever, NEVER have cheap Italian Wine Stem Liquor. One my roommates puked. Everyone spluttered, coughed drive heaved and needed a chaser. I don't even use a chaser with absinthe, but I required a quart of Turpentine to get those shots down. True story.

Will this be the same? I'm with Sara P and David at a hot tub/bbq a street down in the marina and we're gonna booze it up.

Size comparison to a Sierra Nevada

So I saw a travel channel show today on steaks and they showed an interesting video of the Kobe cows, whose meat is deliciously world famous because they are massaged and fed beer in order to be de-stressed. An unstressed cow apparently makes great beef. So the image that popped up when I drank this beer was the image of the cows being fed beer. They didn't have great table manners and excess beer and slobber was everywhere. This Russian Lager tastes like mix of Japanese beer and cattle slobber. Yum. Natty Light is Veuve Clicquot compared to this. This was one of those beers I had a terrible time finishing. But it's all in a days work on this blog. PEARL HARBOR rating.

Size comparison from one Russian to another

Andre Johnson beat down can't top the Flensburger Gold Lager

Came home from a dominating Texans and Titans game in which the Texans won by 20. And for the fans personal amusement, star wideout Andre Johnson ripped off an agitating cornerback's helmet and delivered a couple of haymakers to his head before being subdued. A helmets-off fist fight in the NFL? Never happens. It was awesome. Check it out via my self-titled link: Andre Johnson Owns Scrub

My dad my or may not like to party, care to guess?

This is the third and final  Flensburger I bought (they're imported by a Houston distribution company). The Gold is a lager with an average body and hints of citrus, but overall is uninteresting. See you soon Houston, it was fattening, back to the grind in LA. ARMAGEDDON rating.