Napa Smith Lost Dog Red Ale ends up in the pound

Having to drive straight to LAX from work to catch a flight to meet my family in Napa Valley for the weekend, but the short window won't stop me from having my beer of the day though!The Parking Spot has crappy scenery though.

In honor of my destination, I'm having a local Napa brew from Napa Smith. There's a saying in Napa; "it takes a lot of good beer to make good wine." During harvest, the pickers work crazy hours and can only maintain their sanity by drinking the one thing that they're not picking - beer.

This is the third brew from Napa Smith I've tried and while the first one surprised me in the best of ways - napa-valley-wedding-day-1-napa-smith.html - this Lost Dog Red Ale doesn't warrant further sipping past what's left in my to-go cup. It tastes like they used an English yeast, but there's no backbone to the brew. The caramel and sweetness isn't there and it's rather lackluster to be honest. I'm looking forward to drinking more Napa wine and less Napa Smith this weekend. THE ISLAND rating.

Napa Valley Wedding Day 2 - Napa Smith Pilsner

Sunrise Napa Valley. Riddle me this, had I just woken up or was I just making it to sleep?

So I met with a gaggle of friends including Katie M, Billy D, Emily S, Katie B and Farbod, who needs no last initial (He's like Plato, Seal, McLovin or Sting. Especially like Sting) and forwent the expensive breakfast buffet for a rumored small cafe. Not only was the meal tasty and cheap but to my delight, I came across another Napa Smith brew, the Pilsner. Breakfast beer, yessssss.

Katie B's floating head. What a mug!

Whilst my Huevos Rancheros con extra salsa was just what the doctor ordered, the Pilsner was not. Pilsner is tough to make and I will Napa Smith credit, they made grape beer taste good. However, this fellow is a fairly ubiquitous pilsner and there's not much more to say, other than it lacked taste and goodness and it's hard to compete with the Germans in wine country. TRANSFORMERS 2 rating.

We went wine tasting in the afternoon and then onto the main event, Lauren and Chris's wedding!

Wedding on a golf course, b-e-a-utiful

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!