Kona Koko Brown Toasted with Coconut services a summer bbq and the first preview of Heisenberg's Honey Wheat homebrew

Today was a big day! We gathered a group of 7 to hit the beach and do a run through for me and Tiff's joint birthday celebration. With 7 people though, there were no teams and there was always a shortage of fielders. Exhausting would be the word to describe the day. But back at the apartment, we dove into full bbq mode, or at least David and Matt did. I'm more of a people person.

Nic and Aj's wedding is in two weeks from today, and I can't wait to see them tie the knot! Nic brought a sixer of Kona Brown with coconut and it's today's beer o' day.

The fish that David prepared is amazing and these brat's were gone before I knew it. This is a brown ale with coconut, pretty simple. I'm tasting the brown ale and coffee and the coconut was either added late in the boil or during secondary fermentation, because it kicks in late in the sip. It's an interesting idea but not something that piques my interest. THE ISLAND beer.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton Imperial IPA would impress Chuck Norris

Bringing food to the Surly Goat is a first for me, and sushi will hopefully prove to be a good choice, even though there are so many ways it could go wrong. I'm excited to try this Dogfish Head, it's an IPA with 10% alcohol! How could this go wrong? 

I subscribe to 7, 10 beer blogs and haven't seen this reviewed by anyone. It must be brand new. Again, props to the Goat for being on the front end of this distribution.

This beer has a big malt, a HUGE malt with a caramel body that leaves me salvitating. This is a big American malt base for a lethal dose of hops. This is Chuck Norris strength of imperial IPA's and deserves a BAD BOYS rating. Love drinking this.

Lindsey, my long lost Chicago friend sent me the coolest beer label today and it's personalized! F*cking A Lindz, I LOVE IT.

Pinkus Mueller Organic Ur Pilsner wows us at The Other Room

Meeting two beereveryday regulars Tiff and Tierney at The Other Room and David, who was out on the Venice Pier checking out a spy satellite launch from up the coast, is joining shortly. Space Nerds Rule.

On the beer chalkboard the beer is listed simply as Pinkus Munster, which makes it sound like either a British Ale or a really good stinky cheese. Other Room was off on the name but not the quality.

This isn't your smooth pilsener like a Spatan or the Czech Urquell; it's grainy. It's like the difference between Grey Goose and Smirnoff Triple. My Houston friend Boris is Russian and he knows himself some vodka. He doesn't drink the ultra-premium vodkas because they're "too smooth," rather, he likes himself the Smirnoff because he can taste the vodka. The same analogy can be made here. This brew is well crafted, what's your personal taste? David loves this grainy-ness but I like a smooth pilsener - not like I'm not enjoying the cold freshness in my hand. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine is deliciously re-released back into the wild

Deschutes night at the Surly Goat and they brought their truck! Party

I'm here not just because I love their Mirror Pond, Hop Henge, Red Chair and Black Butte or because they've been the only brewery to officially comment on the blog, but because Deschutes pouring something special tonight.

As legend/the interweb has it, that the brewers found a 'lost' keg in their warehouse of a previously extinct barleywine. If one believes the lore, this brew is so delicious that rainbows will stream forth from the keg. Color me excited.

I smell strong dark chocolate and dark fruit notes that form an intoxicating combination. Barleywine smells appeal to me but this even more bold and rich than I can expect...The aroma is strong with this one. 

Mirror Mirror is 11% alcohol and it shows up to play, but there is a welcoming richness to the body. Having just tried a series of rochefort trappist beers, this reminds of that sweet, rich belgian flavor. I love, the richer edibles in life - the dark chocolate mousse cake, cookies made with half a stick of butter, cupcakes from Sprinkles - and this flavor profile fits my bill.

The alcohol sticks out like fart in an small movie theater, but the attendees don't care because of the rich, smooth nudity onscreen (it's a bad slasher flick, okay?). Basically this is delicious and a real treat to enjoy. It's gonna be hard to just have one of these. This 'lost' brew just found itself a BAD BOYS rating.

Victory 12 Liquid Luxury belongs in the Robb Report

Headed over to Glen and Ross's apartment for some Tuesday night movie action, and I picked out an impressive beer for an equally impressive film - BAD BOYS 2**. What else did you expect?

Represent

This golden god is a quadruple - 12% alcohol - and it's deliciously simple. The other Belgian Quadruples I've tasted have been dark and complex, but this brew is the step-child of this style - golden, sweet, tangy and spicy. This beast is simple and the alcohol well balanced.

BAD BOYS 2 is a bigger, badder and wilder version of the first Bad Boys (don't even try to play logic police with a Michael Bay film - your head will spontaneously combust), but in comparison to the typical quadruple, I'm loving the Liquid Luxury's departure from the dark belgian style. It's hard to manage this quantity of alcohol and Victory does it apropo of the title, Liquid Luxury. This isn't quite a Bad Boys but it's certainly welcome at THE ROCK.

**trivia fact, BAD BOYS 2 is the only Michael Bay film not used in my rating system. How could that possibly happen?! Bad Boys 1 is already the highest rating a beer can receive...SO is Bad Boys 2 just above or just below the first film? Academics far more qualified than I have debated this with as much zest as Obama's Birthing and there's never been a firm resolution. Unlike Donald Trump, I don't want to draw attention to myself or the website and away from the beer by making such a bold claim as to rate the sequel superior to the original. It's just not in my constitution.

Trappistes Rochefort 10 is transcendent

This is the granddaddy, the Big Kahuna, the 2nd not fully operational but secretly operational death star whose shields are still up. Karl and David have built up to a very high level of expectation. I actually wish they would've oversold the damn thing because the Rochefort 10 would still surpass any description they could give.

Last week we tasted the Rochefort 6 and 8 and they were pretty blissful. The 10 follows their tradition; it's sweet, rich and not as heavy as a what I'd think an 11% would be. It's so easy to drink! I'm not sure how else to describe this other than its divinely made. I'm slobbering all over the couch like a bulldog. I'd like drink a sixer of these, but at 11% I'd be out of my mind.

YOU MUST try this beer if you've never had one.  BAD BOYS rating.

Karl asks this question, "What other 11% beer, or beer in general, tastes as good as this? You'll be hard pressed to find one."

Coastal Fog Smoked Porter can't beat combat shotgun training day

Nic R had the greatest idea for his bachelor party. Take a couple guys out and be taught be the best in the country on how to tactically use a shotgun. These guys were rated #1 in the world by Homeland Security (or so they say) http://www.americandefenseenterprises.com/index.htm

First, the beer. I wasn't a fan.

My new entrepreneurial book by the creators of the Brooklyn Brewery, a fascinating read

It was brewed in the 'San Francisco' style, which means it used the same style as Anchor Steam. This attributes to the fruity flavor I'm tasting, but overall it's a pretty simple beer and there isn't much here really. Easy drinking I suppose. THE ISLAND rating.

We learned everything from handling a shotgun, reloading, firing moving forward and backward, firing at multiple targets using cover, reloading on the run (the first picture above) and then house clearing, which was a little nerve racking.

The bachelor himself takes on three targets

Reloading

We shot over 120 shells over the course of the day and earned a terrible sunburn. We all agreed that this was a fantastic bachelor idea and party. I'm not a huge gun nut, I'll never own a gun, but I loved doing this. The instructors were serious and intense. The whole day was intense, from beginning to end.

Safety on!

There were other people firing nearby us and even though you we're protected by dirt mounds (in the background above), high rounds whizzed above our heads. We were obviously never in danger but it was certainly unnerving. I didn't even know how to shoot a shotgun at the beginnig of the day. The first two shots we fired as a group, I didn't even shoot because the safety was on and I didn't put one in the chamber. I was a total noob. But by the end of the day reloading on the run and firing at multiple targets was mechanical. I can only imagine what doing this everyday in the army could turn you into.

This was my favorite exercise, firing at 5 targets while moving between cover

I was given an Benelli M2 Semi-Automatic shotgun, which means I didn't have to pump it to fire. This terrified my initially, fearing that I'd accidentally put some buckshot into someone's leg. But as soon as I learned how to use it, God I was loving it. Not having to pump, I ran through some courses like a ninja. Once I returned it to the trainers, I already missed my Benelli. Single tear...

Nick G makes short work

The last sequence below was a lot of fun. Shoot three targets, then 'under fire' move back to cover, port-load a shotgun slug (enter a musket round directly into your chamber), take out the back target, then reload with buckshot for the final two. It was such a blast!

Bachelor Nic R does the last drill

Pros at the end of the day.

LA Beerfest at Sony Studio and Gordon's Imperial Red

Nick G, David and I did this beerfest two years ago and it was a wildly fun. Karl did it last year and enjoyed himself. Nick G gave up booze for lent so right now only Karl, David and I are standing in a massively long line. Massive. We're thinking it won't compare to the last beerfest we attended in October LA Beerfest at Union Station but we're pretty certain that it will take less than the three hours allotted to us to drink our $40 tickets worth. We're meeting up with a group of people including Kenny, our accomplice from the above mentioned beerfest, and Yooner.

As I enter the gate the security clicker counts me off as #1634 out of 2500 for the first three hour tasting. Madness (2nd one is from 5-8pm). I went to the port-o-potties and opened the first green door and walked right in on an older lady doing her business. She screamed and I yelped. From the very beginning I knew this whole thing was gonna be a...shit-show. zing

Also, Snoop Dog was there:

Kenny looked good in more ways than one. CHOMP

And there were seriously a billion people. This shot is just of the back area.

We charged pretty hard out of the gate. Karl and I counted 10 or 11 pours/tastings within the first half hour, which is a little under 4 beers. I stopped counting after that because I ran out of fingers.

There were two really strong standouts for the day. One of our first beers was the Gordon Imperial Red, which came in a can! David and I are big fans of imperial red ales and this was no exception. Even though we may be able to find this in the store, this brew demanded our attention. It's light and creamy with a sweet caramel flavor. It's really smooth and clocks in at 8.7%. And it's from a can! Holy smokes. THE ROCK rating. 

The welcome surprise for the afternoon was an upstart brewery call Cosmic Ales. They're brand new and don't have serious distribution for their brews yet, so if you are looking for a new brew in your bar check them out here, because they caught peoples' attention at beerfest Cosmic Brewery. David and I are in joint agreement on our dislike of brown and amber ales. However, David tracked me down through the madness to tell me I had to try their Brown Ale. The two fellows behind the table were incredibly friendly and enthusiastic about their product. I could tell they were simply excited to spread their passion to others and it was infectious.

The Brown Ale has 36 IBU and is 5.3% and whatever other brown ales you like are but mere shadows compared to this cosmic goodness. Living in LA, you see the ocean very often and you become used to it. But every once in a while you see the waves and suddenly it's like see the water for the first time. That's how it was for me tasting this brown ale. I saw the style in an entirely new light, what they could be. I wish these guys the best of luck in the future and will try to spread the word to the Surly Goat and other places I frequent.

I have a soft spot in my heart for anything Ninkasi brews.

Overall, what I expected to happen, happened. Everyone got "overserved" by the beer servers and became really happy and had a great time. We ran into an old college Caroline Heart, which was a delightful surprise. It was indeed not as delicious as the Union Station beerfest but it was just as fun.


Here are some random pics from the day, enjoy!

Sony Studio ain't a bad place to cut loose

Kenny and crew

Squinty Christian Bale made an appearance

You really thought we were gonna stop after the beerfest?

Party on Wayne.

Party on Garth.

Avery Collaboration Not Litigation Ale is a double salvation

I love this bar called the Surly Goat. I'm very lucky to have a watering hole with this many rotating taps on hand for my beereveryday year. The people who work here are lovely and knowledgeable and there's Foosball and Shuffleboard, both of which I'm sucking at tonight. Well, even Pele had his days off...

Tiff raved about this beer last week but unfortunately she is out stick today with the stomach flu so in her honor, it's being drank...drunk...drinked...whatever.


It turns out, this beer is a collaboration between Avery and Russian River. It sprung from the fact that each brewery had a beer named 'Salvation.' One year they got together and blended to the two together. A cool story that shows the true spirit of the craft beer world and their brewers.


It's a Belgian Strong Dark Ale that clocks in at 8.72%. I'm tasting your standard chocolate and fruits but what's really capturing my attention is its sweetness. It reminds me of the Stone Belgo Barleywine, a burst of sweetness like bubble gum or cotton candy. But unlike the Belgo which explodes in your mouth like a supernova of sweetness, the Collaboration is humblely sweet. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Firestone Walker's Reserved Porter is the perfect companion for a stormy night

Let's be honest, I only drink Firestone because I see my name on the label. They also make good beers but that's kinda a moot point for me.

We're gearing up for Beefest (in our minds and hearts) and David is taunting me with KFC. He believes deep down that I secretly want KFC. He tore out this huge coupon as part of his campaign...Let me tell you about the last time we had KFC. 

But first, beer! There are roaring winds outside right now and we're hunkered down with what I think is the best hunkering down beer possible, a porter. When it's stormy outside, I don't want an IPA or a Blonde or even a Belgian. I want something that's dark, filling and full of roasted elements. It's the beer equivalent of sitting next to a roaring fireplace.

This porter has a pleasant nut aroma and it has dark chocolate and nut flavors that compliment a nice roasty character. It's a well made porter. THE ROCK rating. 


-- For a stormy night, here's a little scary story (more like gross) to hear whilst you drink your porters. It's a story of gluttony told in the most necessarily dramatic fashion possible --

I used to live in a single apt. near Brentwood across the street from a KFC. I didn't grow up on fried chicken and I'm not a fan. I'll eat your Taco Bell and Jack n' the Cracks, but KFC never appealed to me and I swore to never eat it as long as I lived in that location. It became a point of pride. Yet there it was, its luminous lights glaring at me deep into the night. I saw young, old, latino, white people, EVERY type of person go in and out of that establishment, except for me (and why do the elderly have a craving for a wing? Mind boggling).

I lived there for 13 months before one day when I finally caved. There was a lot of alcohol involved and some pre-KFC shenanigans. Day drinking at its finest. David and I were on a Call of Duty Zombie killing kick, and the plan was to end the evening by ordering something quick and focus on killing some undead Nazis. I don't remember whose bright idea KFC was but for continuity's sake, I'll blame David entirely. So we walked over and that's when we saw the sign - for 12 bucks we could get a family pack that came with a bucket of chicken, biscuits, gravy, and a Bundt Cake. Really? A freaking family sized cake? KFC was out of cookies, so no substitutions. Dammit! We snapped it up anyway.

Imagine all this for two people, but with less presentation

This is where it gets embarrassing. Back in my single apartment, I laid out newspaper on the floor. We stationed our buiscuits and gravy around us for easy access and dove in with gluttonous fervor. Bones and grease began piling up on the floor. I put more newspaper down. We were acting like Neanderthals who hadn't eaten any Woolly Mammoth since the last big frost, but my booze addled mind was incapable of realizing this reality. Later, my stomach was full from all the other crap but I also have a terrible sweet tooth. What to do about the bundt cake? Well, there was a thin layer of icing atop the cake. Being the pragmatic person I am, I simply ate the icing and left the cake. Now, that is to say, I demolished the entire top half of the cake using my bare hands (were there no utensils? Who knows) and left the bottom half standing, like the foundations to an old house. On this night, hyenas would've been terrified of us. We...obliterated that 'family pack,' and then proceeded to drink and play zombies until passing out. Party.

Ate the top like a zombie eating brains

In the morning, we felt wretched. There were bones everywhere on the grease soaked newspapers. Leftover mashed potatoes and gravy were scattered about. It didn't matter what our stomachs were telling us, 10 minutes later, there were no leftover mashed potatoes and gravy. We killed the last of the gravy with our warm unfinished beers. No survivors in that house...Gross doesn't describe it.

I can forget many nights (thanks booze) but I can't seem to forget the details of that night as hard as I try. I mean, it's not like I ran over a hobo and drove off without calling an ambulance, or shook an infant like a Polaroid picture, but for whatever reason that night shamed me pretty bad. I guess you could say (in the most melodramatic way possible), that it showed me what I was really capable of. I saw the shadowy fat kid who lurks inside.

Now is a better time in my life. I now try to eat at one salad a day and workout 4-5 times a week (to counter balance my daily beer diet). The air seems fresher and even the sun seems brighter. The KFC was 2 years ago and we're wayyy more mature now...But I have a feeling that after 3 hours of day drinking nonstop, the devil may tempt me to partake in the Colonel's Finest White Meat.

Duh duh dunnnnn

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.

Trappistes Rochefort 8 steps up the goodness

Karl is over again two nights in a row (Karl's presence is always a pleasure, never a chore) to drink beer 2 of 3 from Rochefort, the 9.2% alcohol Rochefort 8. 

Only the best company for my new book

The 8 is simply a bigger bodied and badder version of the 6. It's hard to explain but it's even though the 8 is essentially the same beer as the 6 - only bolder - somehow the additional alcohol and body make a huge difference in flavor.

Another interesting note is that I can taste the alcohol. Usually I take points away for not masking the booze, but here it's not a bad thing. Because both beers are so smooth, the alcohol adds an edge to the 8 that the 6 didn't have and I dig it. It's like after I grew a beard, people actually notice me. It's probably because I'm so dark and mysterious...but it's more likely because I look like the Brawny Man in my plaid pearl snap shirts. And I'll take it! I mean, have you seen Ax Men on Discovery Channel? BAD BOYS rating.

--
So I ordered two beer books from Amazon last week, and one of them was the Designing Great Beers textbook (as I'll call it). It's marks the next step forward in my burgeoning home brewing experience. I received it today and I've already poured through a decent hunk of the material and it's pretty fascinating. The author breaks down the science of brewing, which wasn't my forte, because I'm more of a history guy, but I plan to make an exception. Karl joked that if I applied as much effort to studying beer as I did studying in college, I wouldn't currently be such a waste of space / bum. Dammit, Karl's always right.

This book, I think, will radically challenge what I perceive to already know about brew and about what beers I want to make in the future. Time to dive in get serious about this stuff. 

Is Trappistes Rochefort 6 the first step on the gateway to beer nirvana?

Karl finishes one of his big finals tonight (one of several this week) and we're celebrating with the best. Rochefort is one of the seven Trappist ales and it makes three ales of varying strength from essentially the same recipe. Tonight we start at the bottom with Rochefort 6 which is 7.5%. Rochefort 10 is 11.3% alcohol and is the second highest rated Belgian Strong Dark Ale on BeerAdvocate.

David is disbelieving that I've never had Rochefort (his favorite beer) but Karl only had it for the first time within the last couple months. For me, the best is still to come.

Rochefort next to my Belgian IPA and Belgian Red home brews

Rochefort 6 represents only 1% of the Abbey's production and it's relatively hard to find. Like all Trappist breweries, the monks only make enough to support the Abbey and a few charitable causes, so they never feel the need to increase production to meet demand.

Biscuit road and chocolate malts, this taste is interesting. I feel these are elements you find seperately in Belgian Pale and Belgian Dark ales, but rarely combined. The sweetness is keyed down and it's very drinkable. Overall I find even the littlest brother to be very different than other trappist beers. It's a rich and dessert-ish beer. The #8 and #10 are bigger and badder and I'm really looking forward to them. THE ROCK rating.

 

Karl feels that drinkability is the key characteristic of the 6. If he could make money rain, he could drink this all day. Karl also told us about some research he did, which is to pour what little you leave in the bottle after your initial pour, the yeast and sediment (etc), into a shot glass and drink it. I think it's supposed to aid in something, maybe digestion? I forget. Monks are shamans for Jebus though, so I'll take their word for it and shoot it back!

Lagunitas Gnarlywine should age better than Jack Nicholson

Had Mantastic day with Nick G and Nic -shooting pistols and shotguns at the range in the morning, then In-And-Out followed by watching the bloody SUPER starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page in the afternoon, then beers at Cabo Cantina. I capped off the man-day by bottling my latest homebrew (whose title I've changed), Heisenberg's Honey Wheat.


Kinda ran into a problem though. I've made three homebrews in the last three months and I'm incredibly low on unused bottles. Either David and I needed to drink 10 bottles or it was time to dive into previous bottles we've drunk and saved and see if I can sufficiently clean them out in time to bottle. Much to David's disappointment, I was able to save enough Stone brews (which we drank in October!) to bottle the batch, although we still drank Belgian Home Brews - ya know - just in case we needed more bottles. I decided to spray paint the Stone label to avoid confusion. The result was a bottle as bloody as the film SUPER.

I dig the barleywines and I'm excited to try this. It has a VERY rich malt of caramel and toffee. It's fun to drink, but I think it's way too sweet still and needs time to age. Love the big malt though, and this characteristic reminds me of Stone's Double Bastard. I'm very tempted to buy this and age it another year in the closet. It could be a Transformers, but currently it's simply ARMAGEDDON.

Ladyface Blind Ambition Belgian Abbey is still finding its way

Karl found a steal of a deal out in Westlake Village Saturday afternoon - wine tasting - 26 wines for $15 dollars. I know right? CrazyFunTime. Tiffany joined us for the trip out to Bellavino, a really cool restaurant Bellavino Wine Bar. I ended up actually sampling 15 wines, rather than getting drunk on all 26 (look at me being all sorts of mature). But then we went to Ladyface Alehouse house down the road and kept drinking, so, yeah.

AND hopefully I'll be as awesome as this guy later in life. Hey darling, you color and I'll drink! Everybody wins, yayyyy.

Her face lit up like it was Christmas when the tasting arrived. Then it fell when she realized it wasn't for her.

This isn't my first time at the alehouse but it was my first time seeing the Blind Ambition Belgian Abbey beer, so I went for it. 

 

I like the ladyface ales, but my chief complaint for the majority of their ales are that they're "too clean." With the exception of the Chesboro DIPA, the bodies of the beer are too light for the alcohol. However, the Abbey Ale doesn't succumb to the "too clean" problem. It's very drinkable with brown sugar and caramel notes, but it lacks the complexity I expect a Belgian Abbey to embody. THE ISLAND rating.

Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA bites like Jaws

I couldn't pronounce this until I heard the bartender say it, so it seems worthy for my beer tonight (my standards are pretty shot this late in the week).

10.3% alcohol! Thank you doctor for that perscription. The alcohol is masked well thanks to a BIG fruit and piny hop bite. I didn't enjoy my first sip but it grew on me. Stu, a fellow I met who's in town from Pasadena for a concert on Sunset, loves it and he's a big hop head. I'm liking this a lot, it's just a really intense beer. It's like the Arrogant Bastard of IPA's. THE ROCK rating.

We had a big group tonight come out, including the regulars above - Rhiannon, Matt and Tiffany. Here's the whole group!

We all hit up Baby Blues afterwords. Nothing great than Foosball, Beer and BBQ. Party on