The Bruery Cuadruple made with Dark Agave Syrup is fit for a king

After diving into some apocalyptic french toast at 26 Beach for breakfast, the parents and I spent the morning along the Santa Monica pier and promenade and visited the farmers market. We tasted a couple types of honey, which was really interesting, and ended up buying a 1lb of sage honey for our next Belgian IPA home brew.  Also, check out this bizzaro Romanesco Cauliflower that we came across:

When I ran down the list of activities to do in the afternoon, I included brewery tasting as one of the events and my parents loved the idea which I didn't expect. To quote my inspirational father, "I can't drink all day any more but I can drink half the day." Hahaha, those are the words of a champion! Now I know where I got my lust for beer from. So I DD'd my parents down to The Bruery in Placentia. We arrived half an hour after they opened and at 4:30pm, we were already late to the party as the place was packed.

Cuadruple rocked my socks off

Here we are and I am stoked to be here for numerous reasons, but particularily because I know The Bruery Provisions store released their latest limited run specialty beer the Cuadruple last night. The Cuadruple is a Belgian Quadruple, a type of high gravity and high alcoholic dark malty ale whose family includes Rochefort 10, St. Bernardus Abt. 12 and the Allagash Four - all of which I've never tasted. So the Cuadruple marks my first taste of this beer style. What makes this tasting even more unique for me, is that they substituted candi sugar for Dark Agave Syrup.

The Cuadruple clocks in at an intense 10% alcohol but the dark ale is exceptionally mellow and extremely delicious thanks to the agave, which also imparts a neat mild citrus flavor. I LOVE THIS. It's incredibly unique and smooth. If Borat was here, he'd say "Niiiiiiiiice!!!" If Wile Coyote was here, drinking this would inspire him to stop chasing the Road Runner and ponder what life would be like without ACME anvils crushing his face. The Cuadruple s is what the Most Interesting Man in the world drinks when he's not having Dos Equis.

It is profoundly distinctive and difficult to describe. The Dark Agave Syrup imports a very special and rich caramel flavor that must be tasted. It's cool like a wet cloth to a hot forehead. I'm buying a bottle for David and sufficed to say, I to purchased another to store under my bed for a rainy day or a more so a special occasion, like the second coming of Christ. This is really a phenomenal beer. Obviously, this deserves a BAD BOYS rating.

And the parents had a blast!

My Dad liked all the beers but his favorite was the Rugbrod. My mom's pick was the Orchard White, which is made with lavender. We leave The Bruery after some Ahi Tuna Chips and head to Bootleggers. My favorite quote along the way was my dad saying, "Somebody should drive us home and it shouldn't be me." HA.

Dad likes Rye ales, so I hook him up with a half pint of the Rustic Rye IPA and my mom with the Old World Hefeweizen. I was surprised to find that Bootleggers added around 7 new beers styles since we were here a couple weeks ago. I bought a Hopinator Hefe growler for the Super Bowl tomorrow and the Gingered Ale looks promising.

On the way home Dad regales me with stories of his younger days, which I thoroughly enjoy and hope to hear more of. Later, David joined us for dinner at Rustic Canyon where I had the best pork chop of my life. Now that's how I want to spend a day with my parents!

Duvel Tripel Hop and the parental units celebrate our Halfway Milestone

Ma and Pa Davis are in town and took Karl, David and I out to Enterprise Fish Co for some good seafood and one bomb-ass bread puff lobster bisque.

This deliciousness marks the beginning of a food filled weekend with the 'rents

It developed into an amusing dinner because I've never had a waiter who was so sardonic and disgruntled about the restaurant which he'd worked at for the past two years. He didn't take any crap and I loved it. He began the meal informing us the special Dine-LA menu was 'really stupid' unless you got the lobster (which no one did). Then he took one look at David's ginger sauce and said that it was 'god awful.' He apparently returned to the kitchen and argued with the chef until she made new sauce and the forced her to bring  it out herself (he really relished winning that power struggle). He then ended the meal by regaling us about the biggest tumbleweeds he'd ever seen in Texas/Arizona. You know, normal stories waiters animatedly tell customers.  After thoroughly stuffing ourselves, the group headed back to the marina to celebrate beer number 183 and our halfway mark through the year.

Glorious, glorious nectar

Duvel is David's all time favorite beer and we'd been eying the Duvel Tripel Hop for quite some time. David finally bought it a couple weeks ago. Friday morning I made an executive decision and 'discretely' placed the beer in the fridge and the tag on David's wallet letting him know the time has come for us to drink the nectar.

Beer nerds celebrate

Wow, HOPS! They weren't messing around when they made this with tripel hops. Take a Duvel and add Saaz (which you can taste upfront), Syrian Goldings and Amarillo hops and you can imagine what the Tripel Hop tastes like. They kept it simple and didn't change much. Sadly, Karl doesn't like Duvel but even he is warming up to thanks to this bottle's crispness. I love the bottle design too. It's fitting that Karl is here and personally happy I'm happy because he's been a major part of the last 6 months.

Very fortunate to have Platt and Carolyn in town for the occasion!

Duvel is in the hall of Mt. Olympus as one of the greatest beers in the world. The original Duvel is hard to beat, but the tripel hop is an interesting and ultimately satisfying twist on the original. BAD BOYS rating.

Fantastic way to celebrate the halfway milestone. As I went to sleep, I didn't count sheep and instead counted beer -- 182 beers left on the wall, 182 two beers left. Take one down, pass it around, 181 beers on the wall...

HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR!!!

Last night we had beer #182 and tonight's beer is # 183. We have officially crossed the halfway point of our beer every day quest. I philosophized about it in yesterday's entry but here's how I'm addressing the milestone today:

We drank a hell of a lot more than 183 beers-

I've learned so much about beer and home brewing and through this experience I have very much grown personally over the last 6 months. Having a different beer as the focal point of each day has made life interesting in numerous way. Moreover, I looked back through each one of my entries today and thanks to the pictures, could recall some detail of nearly each night which is pretty amazing. I am overwhelmingly happy and grateful to have this experience, especially with my long term friend and roommate David, and with everyone who has tasted along the way.

That being said, we still have a lot more to go-

And tonight David and I plan to celebrate the only way we know how-

Party on Wayne-

Party on Garth-

Lips of Faith Eric's Ale from New Belgium reunites me with old friends

With Nick, Matt and David at the Daily Pint but I'm way more focused on the sweet, sweet Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak sandwich from the food truck outside right now. I haven't seen Nick since before Christmas and Matt since November, which is a felony.

So the owner of the Daily Pint is a fairly infamous Brit who looks like he worked down on the wharves. He either wins you over with his dry sarcasm or you get in a pissing match with him and he throws you out of the bar. I'm in the former but I have seen the later. He's open to but doesn't advertise tasting but I know better so I ask for tasters for two Lips of Faith, Dark Heather Saison (too fruity) and Eric's Ale, which I know nothing about. One sip later my mouth twists and turns on itself. I must be a Wild Ale, my least favorite beer style for the following reason. "Damn that's sour!" I exclaim. The owner responds, "I like it. Try it again."

Haha um, okay, I don't shine to taking orders regarding liquor but this one is apparently non-negotiable. I taste again and suddenly my mouth isn't exploding. Rather, the shock of the first sour punch wore off and the second sip allows my tongue to get a little more acquainted with this wild man sour. With each subsequent sip I grew in appreciation.

Also, let the record show this might be the only time I will ever pair a Sour Wild Ale with a spicy buffalo chicken sandwich. Raaaaandom.

It's been a long time since I took a big gamble on a beer and chose an out-of-the box style, and even rarer that I was talked into drinking. Looking back, I realize I was in bit of a beer rut by only trying styles that I was familiar with. I'm glad this hard ass owner doesn't take no guff. He threw my naivety back at me. Life isn't always IPA's and Belgian's, it's also a little sour. That's really cheesy and I hate myself right now. 

Eric's Ale pours color of dark golden hue. It's a smooth sour ale with mild fruity notes (especially peach) and a hint of sweetness. This beer grew on me and pairing it with Buffalo Chicken wasn't the best, but it worked out. On the night before our halfway point, thank you Daily Pint Owner for broadening my perspective and reminding me why I started this experience. THE ROCK rating.



As I mentioned, tomorrow is our halfway point for the year. Matt provided a quote tonight his Father passed down which resonated with me and the beer every day experience; "Half of life is just showing up." We've been doing this legit, by the rules, for 6 months. As Matt pointed out, how often do people announce they will do something and never follow through? I will start and finish an experience that I will look back proudly at and with an untold number of experiences that would never have happened without this.

On a lighter note, the next major milestone will be in two months, as my daily relationship with beer ironically surpasses any female relationship I've had (current record for a relationship is 8 months - I'm more of a sprinter than a long distance). When I started this, I quickly realized that when I finished this, my longest relationship wouldn't be with a girlfriend but with beer. HA

So yeah, beer has been and will hopefully continue to do good things for me.

Straffe Hendrik Tripel is easy drinking with friends and ARCHER

Rolled over to the always awesome and delightful AJ and Nic's apt and coworker Tiff joined us for some appetizers, booze, impolite conversations, gregarious laughs and some ARCHER, which I'll get to later.

AJ makes the best spreads

Apparently Straffe Hendrik is the last of the once numerous "authentic Bruges' Tripel Beer" and I understand it's longevity. For a tripel that clocks in at 9%, the beer is light and super smooth. It tastes sweet with doughy and fruit notes and a strong malt presence. BIG thank you to David who tasted this over Christmas and was gentlemanly enough to bring a big bottle back. THE ROCK rating.

ARCHER's 2nd season started last week on FX Thursdays at 10pm and if you like laughter than you best DVR this show. I recently discovered this myself and after watching one episode, I bought the first season. For the number of jokes per minute in each of the 10 episodes, it's a steal at $13 on Amazon. What first piqued my interest was seeing the clip below online and then learning the show's creator wanted to combine a workplace comedy with the spy genre he loved, and also that he wanted to see how big an asshole the hero could be and still get away with it. It sounded really cool and in all regards it's a great success. If you like Arrested Development, know that the mother from AD voices the mother of the lead ARCHER and she's just as hilarious. Judy Greer who played Kitty in AD also lends her vocal talents as does SNL alum and Dr. Spaceman on 30 ROCK, Chris Parnell. If you don't watch this show, I'm will put you in the 'Danger zone!'

"Seriously Lana, your obsession with me is dangerous. Call Kenny Loggins because you're in the danger zone."

Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome Ale puts me at ease

 I needed a break and Trader Joes delivered with a 3 cheese (blue, grana padano and parm) pizza as well as a sterling brewery in Samuel Smith's.  Sersiously, look at that pizza and realize it's only 3.69. The beer was 2.69. I can get fat and happy for $7. God Bless America.









This label is wicked sweet and reminds me of an old vaudeville or traveling circus poster, which is funny because I have no idea what either of those actually look like, so I guess the label just seems like it would. Here's my research, and I think I'm right - what do you think?

Anywho, I'm unwinding to the tune of ARCHER season 1 while perusing home brewing info because I want to formulate my own recipes and the Winter Welcome really scratches my itch. It has a fruity aroma and sweet malty notes with caramel base. There isn't a big mix of winter spices and at 6% alcohol, it goes down nice. This is a really excellent winter warmer. THE ROCK rating.

Redhook Blonde and Jay's triumphant return

Jay "Jabroni" Subbers is back in town for a one night special and we met up at the Townhouse and ran into old friends Adri and Brad and what I thought would be a quick drink turned into an erstwhile festivus talking about old times, bourbon, Coachella and one of my favorite subjects, savory food. Brad keeps segueing into stories by yelling out "RAAAANDY" from Aziz Ansari stand-up and it surprisingly never gets old. Awesomeness prevails tonight.

Blonde's have more fun - but not as much as gingers

Back home I'm cracking open a Redhook Blonde. I'm a big fan of blonde ales but I recall not liking this in college. However, there's truth to the "every seven years your taste buds change" because I'm enjoying this even though it has failing marks on the beer advocate website. Maybe that's the Maker's talking, but the medium body feels right and the taste is clean with a touch of hops. If Redhook was pitched against Sam Adams in a Beer Bowl, I'd be rooting for Redhook to win - ima fan. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Kona Wipeout and the Craft Beer Festival at Whole Foods is the Best. Deal. Ever

The post is heavy on pictures and light on words because pictures do say a 1,000 words. What do these pictures convey? BEER. Beer, beer, beer, and beer for only $10. There are 10 breweries. 10 dollars for multiple beers from each of them. Today is easily the best way I have ever spent ten bucks except for that one time in Tijuana. For 10 bucks I'm constantly drinking quality craft beer for two hours 10 from noteworthy breweries. 10! 10! 10! Is this the real deal? Fueled by a David Bowie/Hall&Oates super mix, Karl, David and I rolled down to the El Segundo Whole Foods to investigate.

 

I'm beginning with Firestone and sampling the Union Jack (a personal favorite) as well as the never-drunk Special Edition DIPA and the Merlin Oatmeal Stout, both were excellent and the double I'm excited to officially taste it one day soon. Mister Firestone himself was there pouring and he let me know that the DIPA was a year-round beer but it will be available in limited quantities because it is a time intensive brew.

Firestone Brewery

Peak Organic Ale is the most interesting beer there. They make a slew of organic beers that are pretty out of the box, including a Pomegranate Wheat Ale that is really solid. IPA was tasty as well. I learned that the hardest part of their job is convincing the farmers to cordon off part of their land to grow organically (at greater time and expense) in order to make beer that will taste better (due to it being organic). I can see how that would be a tough sell. A farmer would really have to believe in the quality of beer.

Peak Organic

Sam Adams has their winter seasonal to sample as well as LEGIT beer opener key chains. I tried the Fuzziweg, an interesting concoction of 12 spices.

Sam Adams loves key chain beer openers

Aloha beer! Our beer of the day is from Kona. The rep pouring the brew is wearing a lei and is super chill. Maybe he's drunk, I can't tell. Maybe I'm a little sauced. Whatever, I'm surfing right now on a Hawaiian Porter wave of 100% Kona Coffee. As a seasonal, it's simple but pleasurable beer and definitely defined by the coffee. ARMAGEDDON rating

Kona Coffee Porter

Our two favorite local breweries are on hand. The Bruery is tasting the Rugbord and Orchard de Lente. Bootleggers brought a pony keg of their brand new West Coast IPA, which is a DANK beer and hope to buy a growler of next time I'm down there.

The Bruery represents

After devouring spicy cheese balls, we are moving onto the second area. This is where the party is. Everyone's a little drunk too by the time they arrive here, so the beer flows like wine. Speaking of beer and wine, first in the mix is Sierra Nevada's three pack of 30th Anniversary Beer and one of them tastes like a barley wine. I wanted to originally have one of these beers as our halfway through the year beer, but I'm glad we didn't. They aren't bad but they're not as amazing as I dreamed them to be.

Also, the Sierra sales rep was HAMMERED and pouring people as if he had an infinite supply. He is love'n it - being drunk on and pouring Sierra Nevada at the same time. My hero for the day.

Sierra Nevada also have the brand new Hoptometer, their attempt at a 110+IBU uber IPA. It's ego-strokingly hoptaculer. David is buying one to taste, we'll have it soon.

Tried the New Belgim Trippel for the first time, was excellent and would love to drink more.

 

The other beers available are a few from Le Fin de Monde, Weihenstephaner, Affligem and two from Stone. These strong beers really put me over the edge and I feel happy. I suddenly want to buy the entire beer selection in the Whole Foods fridge. I'm definitely over-served. Mission Accomplished!

Overall, this is a sublime experience which probably won't happen again. I think Whole Foods was grossly unprepared for the amount of people turning out. We got away with murder for the amount of beer we drank at the price. We tried a few beers for the first time and enjoyed many for the umpteenth time. Thanks to Karl for driving and for being awesome and to Whole Foods for being naive enough to think 10 dollars for a 2 hour drunkfest wouldn't attract a crowd.

Flying Dog Tire Bite Golden Ale is more of a Gremlin than Man's Best Friend

Took the kayak out (haven't since 4th July) and had an awesome early afternoon meeting up with peeps from Red Bull, which culminated in a late El Torito brunch. Later we headed to SUSHI STOP on Sawtelle for, wait for it, sushi. Every plate here is $3 and I had an incredible plate of Salmon Bellies. I could feast on those all day, as well as the Eel and Pampano. Check it out here: Sushi Stop and click on 'specials' on the top left. I'm pretty excited to take a date there and not tell her how much I'm not spending on her.

We almost convinced the hip waitress to let us bring the sixer of Golden Ale in, but I'm glad we didn't...

Baxter, bark twice if you're in Milwaukee

Afterwards, I brought this to a rooftop party in Westwood for Jooey and I might be switching to Maker's Mark. It's a fairly lackluster showing for a golden ale. Tire Bite has a weak, watery body and a bitter taste. I've had better. Flying Dog's Raging Bitch Belgian IPA is one of my favorite beers but unfortunately, Tire Bite is just the Bitch's piss. THE ISLAND rating.

The Strand Atticus IPA leads my foosball players to victory

Met coworker Tiff and her high school friends Andrew and Matt at our weekly Surly Goat rendezvous and immediately proceeded with games and beer, which is the best way to finish a workweek.

The man, myth and legend, my Foosball partner, Andrew

I'm not-so-secretly hoping to aspire to be as nerdy as this guy one day: Jedi taught Foosball Skills

Doesn't that Speakeasy sign make the background above the beer look like the ghosts in Pac-Man?

Atticus is statistically one of the least favorite names for a boy (ranked 600th) but that didn't stop the Torrance located The Strand brewery from naming their pale ale's hoppier cousin Atticus.  The IBU is 65 for this IPA and is achieved by Summit, Cascade and Amarillo hops (I'm beginning to list the hops so that I can learn their different tastes and improve my home brewing recipes!).

There is no major aroma and the pale ale body isn't complex but it smooths the hop bite for a balanced mouthful. I like hop complexity and it sticks out from the rest of the IPA pack. It's a solid beer for this competitive gaming Friday night. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Port Brewing Wipeout IPA is just as good as the T.V. show Wipeout

Just came from the Alibi Room where coworker Tiff and I dived into Kogi Sliders and the flaming hot Chicken Quesadilla. That stuff is sooo good, I'd place it up there with In-And-Out as essential California food that visitors must try. From Alibi Room to we moved onto The Other Room and we're holed up here with Allison and Sophie and starting to cause a raucous, which is fine by me. Tiffany knew she had to go big or go home so she went big with the Russian River Damnation. I'm going with the SoCal Port Brewing Wipeout IPA, which would've paired well with the spicy kogi we just inhaled.

Port Brewing hails from Saint Diego and the Wipeout is a finely tuned IPA. It is a persuasive ale with biting hops and you won't leave disappointed if you enjoy hopst. I drank two in a row and my palate isn't overwhelmed from the bitterness and I'm still loving the hops. Solid TRANSFORMERS rating bordering on The Rock.

Shiner Hefeweizen rounds out a Texan Kinda Night

Arrived back from the Surly Goat where I spent the last three hours kicking it with fellow Texan, Glen, which was appropriate since the below awaited me at home:

The official beer of the Buck Hunter arcade

Let me tell you about Buck Range or 'Buck Hunter' as David and I reference it...12 cans for $6 at some podunk gas station. We haven't had it as the beer of the day yet, but how could this price be possible? Has anyone ever heard of this beer and more importantly, who was the professor who named it?

A hold out from the holidays, the Shiner Hefeweizen is sweet with a light to medium body. The beer refrains from the standard doughy notes and it's not as complex or bold as many of the German hefe's I've tasted but, it's nonetheless deliciously drinkable. This is the working man's hefeweizen and while it won't win awards, during the summer I could easily vanquish a sixer. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Green Lakes Organic Ale would be endorsed by James Cameron

Back late from a celebratory night at Copo d'Oro. Let's just say they have $5 Bourbon Old Fashions till 8pm (but that doesn't mean I didn't stop then). It was nice. I arrive back at the mancave where an organic ale was awaiting me. The concept driving organic beer isn't to make a 'green' beer or to help the ozone, etc. Rather, brewers who make organic resolutely believe that organically grown grain and hops (sans pesticides, etc) create a better tasting brew - at least that's my perception of this growing niche market.

I believe this is based on a futuristic Pandoran beer. Time travel sure is nice

The Green Lakes is a malty amber/red ale. The malt permeates the nose and my first taste. Subsequent swishes and gulps bring awareness to the beer's mild hops side. Not my style of beer but overall it's a very drinkable beer and smooth. I'll let you be the judge whether organic ingredients create a tastier brew. ARMAGEDDON rating

Saint Arnold Texas Wheat welcomes Kevin Bacon

I arrived home to David's always delicious clam chowder and a gift from his office, Google TV. What is that contraption you ask? I'll let Kevin Bacon enlighten you:

 The last beer I brought back from Houston based brewery Saint Arnold is their "Wheat" beer. Now, I originally confused this with a hefeweizen, which it is certainly not and the wheat was so offenced by this generalization that it forced me to drop it tonight. But I have Allstate and I'm in good hands, which caught the bottle. Anywho, I know that all wheat's aren't hefe's, and I realize this fellow is a crystal-weizen, which means it is super light and crisp and what I imagine a cumulonimbus cloud tastes like.

Darth Vader "You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor! Take her away!"

What's also fun about tonight is that we're tasting the Wheat in Hite glasses we stole from Korean BBQ last Friday night and they're the perfect size. Remember kids, sometimes petty larceny does pay. This brew would be refreshing on a summer afternoon, ARMAGEDDON rating.

Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout is smoothly intoxicating

I spent the day day recovering from our double brewery excursion yesterday and used the time watch football and transfer our Belgian IPA from the primary to the carboy. We poured a healthy glass to sample and while there will be a few tweaks on our next recipe, we both believe the current batch will turn out pretty great. David believes that the temperature control we achieved during this batch through the new wort cooler we bought and my heated bedroom (grrrr) made a huge difference in the brews consistency. It's going to be super hoppy but smooth, and I can't wait to taste it again in two weeks. Still working on a name...

Before fighting the Imperial Forces lead by Darth Stout, R2-D2 posed for a picture with his adversary

I can smell the alcohol (7%) heavily in Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout, as well as a healthy dose of chocolate. The body is really smooth and creamy with an enticing cocoa presence. I'm really enjoying this. Big thanks to my coworker Kate Schriver for giving this to me as a Christmas gift. This warms the belly and my tired soul. THE ROCK rating.

The Bruery Provisions Series is Old Richland is the last of its kind

Karl, David and I are joined by Infamous Jamie as we head down for our third trip to The Bruery and Bootleggers. The new twist to the adventure is that we first hit up The Bruery Provisions store in Orange, which has a host of beers and cheese to sample.

We arrived to discover that two of the three Provisions brews, Gunga Galunga and Premiere, have gone the way of the pager and are now only available in people's cellars and local pawn shops. However, their third Provisions beer, the Old Richalnd, is available to taste. Whinnnna!

My taster included the Humulus Session, 7 Grain Saison, Saison De Lente, the exquisite Three French Hens and the Old Richland, beer o'day.

The Old Richland is a barelywine by style but DIPA by association. The Bruery's created a 9% barleywine then dry hopped it with Centennial, Simcoe and Sterling hops (these big boys - very acidic hops).

Old Richland

It smells super sweet. Upon tasting, the hops and malt play well together. It's a smooth but passive beer - nothing jumps out at me. Barleywine tends to put you on your ass, so if I waned a high quality 'drinking to get drunk' style of beer, this would be it. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to find it. Check out Stone's Old Guardian instead. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Karl and Infamous Jamie sample the nectar

The fun comes after the beer of the day is drunk. I tried Karl's sample of the Belgian Mint style beer called Aurora Borealis and it smells like a hospital. It tastes just as weird. Infamous Jamie says it tastes like Colgate. There you go. David was the only person who finished their sample of it.

I'm bitching about the 7 Grain Saison so Jamie grabs my taster and throws it back. "It's not bad" she responds and thereby rejects my perspective, "it tastes like pee." HA. Exactly, nice try Infamous Jamie. 
David and Karl finish off their cheese plates and we jet off to The Bruery. Low and behold they have their 10 year Anniversary beer on tap, the Coton! What a coup. It's sweet and delicious with hints of cocoa. THe Coton is like a beer equivalent of port. It's delicious but so dank that you can actually drink too much. 

When I drink Coton I forget about the everything else

The rest is history, or lack there of. We bought two growlers of Michief and made serious moves with them. I tried pacing myself but patience isn't my strong suit, so how do you think that turned out? By the time Laura and Michelle showed up fresh from Temecula Wine Country, I'd forgotten all about Bootleggers. 'Wait, we're going to another brewery?! Well I'll be a monkey's uncle...' Belgian style beer has a funny way of fogging up one's memory. We refilled our growlers and had a beer at Bootleggers before they closed, followed by In-and-Out, which our group definitely caused a raucous in. Your welcome Placentia for the Saturday night antics and entertainment. From there, we returned home to more beer and hammock napping. Another successful brewery run but next time it's my time to drive, D'Oh!

Eagle Rock Solidarity starts the party at Surly Goat happy hour

My coworker Tiffany and I started doing the Surly Goat Happy Hour every Friday after work and it's been a boon. They have four or so beers for $4 dollars till 8pm and a host of other unique beers for under $8. Their bartenders are both cool and knowledgeable. For a beer geek, the place is an oasis. More to the point, they also have Foosball. Today's beer was from the local Eagle Rock brewery:

The Solidarity is a black mild ale and pours a great head. She has nice toated malts with a hint of cocoa that goes down light and makes for a good happy hour starter. I could drink a couple of these but I instead branched out for a Firestone Pale Ale (nice hops) followed by the ever gracious, Pliny the Elder. Plus bartendress Amy encouraged me to sample a few beers. Can't beat that night.  Next stop is Korean BBQ and some Hite! TRANSFORMERS rating.

Ommegang Cup O' Kyndness Belgian Style Scotch Ale is all sorts of mixed up

Karl is here for his weekly Thursday brew and for the next couple weeks we'll be drinking beers from a brewery in his native state of New York - Ommegang.

Hail New York State!

Karl let us know that this style of beer started during WW2 when Scottish troops were stationed in Belgium and local bars began catering to the soldiers' tastes. I find it amusing to learn that several styles of beers, including IPA's, evolved out of military personnel's experience abroad. I wonder if that's still the case now.

Kyndness is a Belgian Style Scotch Ale full of toasty malts and it's an odd mix of styles. It's interesting but I won't drink it again; it's just not my cup o' tee.

Karl says it best: "Thank you for exposing me to Belgian/Scotch Ale, but kindly sir, give me a Belgian Golden (post-haste!)." Word Big Bird. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Dick's Silk Lady rescues me from drinking Coors in between beer pong games

It's beer pong night with Linds, Karl and David (who was a rock star in his former life). For the record, Karl is a Master Jedi at beer pong and I hate playing against someone so skillful. Remember how the German invasion of Poland in WW2 turned out? It was a rout. Karl may be Polish, but he's a Nazi at beer pong.

Karl came straight from an L.L. Bean catalog shoot.

Dick's Silk Lady refers to the Geisha that Dick keeps chained in his basement. Okay, that's not true. It actually refers to his favorite kitty, who's a mean ol' cooter.

So the beer is from Centralia, Washington, a town that I didn't know existed before tonight. Silk Lady is a Belgian Style ale with a depressing 4.4% alcohol. It tastes like a incredibly like home brew; really, we could make this. The flavor is somewhere between a light Belgian and a heavy hefeweizen and the clarity and the sweetness reflect this style as well. THE ISLAND rating.

Also, Esquire released the beers they're excited for in 2011, and it's a surprisingly interesting list. The first one is news to me, but it makes me salvitate: Esquire's Best Beers of 2011.

Victory Prima Pilsner is weird but in a good way, like going to the gym drunk

I actually picked my Ibanez up today after 8 months of collecting dust because one of my New Year's resolutions is to play the acoustic and electric guitar more. Now, I rarely make resolutions but for 2011 I have several, including using the apartment complex hot tub at least once (we've lived here 18 months and never used it), cooking dinner more (I takeout mucho), and learn to pair some of the beer I'm trying with food (and journal the experience to gain insight). It's the little things that make a new year better, not big ideas like gaining 30 pounds to make myself eligible for the Lap-Band.

The best and also the simplest explanation I can provide for the Prima Pilsner is to label it as a "hoppy pilsner," which is going against the type for pilsners. So If you like bitter beers, it's a peculiar but tasty treat. Otherwise, your tongue will ask why you let a Czech cross-dresser into your mouth. TRANSFORMERS rating.