Tuesday band practice means the weekly Union Meeting with Domino
& Denunzio. We typically end up at The Office or Tony's Darts
Away. This week we mixed it up & tried a new spot in Burbank:
THE SNUG. We thought it would be a silly, over the top, Irish pub, or the
crummiest dive bar. It was neither. The Snug is officially our new
hangout. It's clean, hipster free, non-pretentious, non-crowded, with a
decent selection of taps and hard liquor, a friendly bartender,
affordable drinks, 70s classic rock & 80s hits in rotation.... No
complaints. The Snug is The Shit!
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| The Shiznit. |
Instead
of limiting themselves to Guinness and Bass, like most of these faux
Limey bars, they had some unexpected & interesting selections. Domino was hooked as soon as we found out Fireball shots were $4 with any beer. Welcome home! I opted to start with the
AVERY BREWING WHITE RASCAL - Beer #38,
one of the more complex witbiers out there. I away shy from many
lighter beers, but this has a lot going on, and exemplifies why Avery is
one of my favorites Stateside. Next, I went for the
ALASKAN BREWING IPA - Beer #39.
Funny how it's doesn't have a name other than "IPA", but it's
appropriate because that all it is. It's not frou-frou, fancy, or
ultra-rare... it's just a freakin' IPA, so deal with it. Good, not
amazing, but it does the job.
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| Avoid eye contact with the Brew Jawa |
We
stopped drinking a bit earlier than usual, in favor of actually having a
good practice (i.e. not showing up shit-faced). Good plan considering
we're headed out to play Baltimore in 10 days. On the way there, Domino
stopped at the liquor store across from The Snug and discovered they
carried singles of several good beers. I knew this guy loved me the
second he showed up at practice with a tall boy of
GOLDEN ROAD POINT THE WAY IPA - Beer #40 for me. One of my top local favorites, no question. Since we're playing out soon, we agreed practice next week should be sober. Then again, we're not exactly famous for keeping our promises.
Wednesday
night after work, I was without a car and needed to wait for a ride from The Mrs.
There's only one bar within a block of my work, and that's
THE OFFICE.
I've frequented
this room a million times, not so much because I'm such a huge fan, but
because it's within walking
distance. Any going away party or other co-worker milestone
is celebrated at this establishment. The Office is also the standard
Infest pre-practice watering hole.
The bartender knows us and occasionally hooks us up. And its less than a
mile from where we practice. The Office has decent taps (although they
rotate infrequently), uncomfortable chairs, but nice
bartenders. The more I come here, the more I recognize the regulars.
There's a few guys I see every time, no matter what day of
the week. Gotta love local drunks.
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| Beer selfie. Act natural. |
Speaking of, I decided to start with the
SIERRA NEVADA CELEBRATION ALE - Beer #41. The keg actually
ran out halfway thru the pint, so the bartender gave it to
me gratis. Good lookin' out, Sister! That's service! Showing true love, I say. I somehow avoided
this beer during the
Holidays, which is when it's released annually, but wanted to get a taste
before it
disappears til next Fall. It has that familiar Sierra Nevada varietal
hop bite, but its more akin to a hoppy,
brown ale. Since I'm here often, and I usually order the same few things
(Green Flash IPA, North Coast Old Rasputin, Angel City Angelino IPA, or
Ballast Point Sculpin), I decided to mix it up & try something
new. I went for another seasonal selection, the
SAMUEL ADAMS COLD SNAP - Beer #42. This one is wheaty, and barnyardy. Like a bale of hay fermented in apple juice. Not entirely awesome. I wasn't expecting greatness, and I got what I expected.
The Wife scooped me up, and we wrapped up the evening at home with a
SIERRA NEVADA OLD CHICO CRYSTAL WHEAT - Beer #43. I've never seen this beer in SoCal, but my Mom lives in Chico, home of Sierra Nevada, and on her last visit brought me four cases of different Sierra Nevada brews. That's true love, right there. Old Chico is a perfect everyday beer. Not overwhelming, but superior to any other mainstream beer you'd pick up on Game Day. It's light, refreshing, but with distinct, gritty malt and barley flavor. I've got another 10 or so stockpiled if you want to try it.
And to top off the evening, the Clippers win again. Further proof that someone up there
does love me!
CHEERS!
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