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| It's this guy's fault... |
I’ve been friends with
Dave Witte since the early
90’s. We connected through a shared appreciation of each others’ bands,
primarily my band
Spazz and his bands
Discordance Axis,
Iabhorher, and
Human
Remains. We lived 3,000 miles apart, Dave on the East Coast and me on the
West Coast, but we kept in regular contact. Witte is the first person I
met who was a hardcore beer nerd. I started publishing a magazine in 2000
called
“Short, Fast + Loud!” and Witte wrote a column
, “Beers and Bands”.
I wasn't a huge beer fan at the time, but I respected his enthusiasm for the
craft. Not until we met up in 2001 at The Troubador in West
Hollywood did I finally “get it”. Witte was filling in as
the drummer for Japanese legends
Melt-Banana. They had come down the West
Coast, and along the way Witte had picked up a special bottle from
Hair Of The Dog Brewery in Portland. He gushed about how awesome
this beer was and insisted on sharing it with me. As much as I
appreciated the offer, I felt unqualified to drink such a monumental beer as I felt I
wouldn’t truly love it like Witte loved it. I didn’t want him to waste
such an astounding beer on my inexperienced palate. Witte wouldn’t take “No”
for an answer, and poured me a small sampler. I don’t recall what the specific
beer was, but it was a pivotal moment… the consumption of that “gateway” beer
that would eventually sway me into the world of top notch brews.
Now in 2014 Witte and I are still close friends, despite the
massive East-West mileage gap. And when one of his current bands Municipal
Waste asked one of my bands To The Point to open for them on a two-show SoCal
stint, it was a no-brainer. Appropriately
enough, the first show in LA was sponsored by Pabst Brewing. In addition to the gigs, Dave & I agreed
to dedicate as many hours as possible to serious beering.
Witte flew in on Thursday, and we hit the ground running
with a visit to the
GLENDALE TAP, a former hole in the wall, scary dive bar
turned hipster haven. They sport a rapidly rotating list of drafts and
some impressive bottles to boot. Definitely a destination for
flannel-clad, bearded 20-somethings pursuing the latest in “craft”
offerings. We met up with
Adam Greenwood, the bassist who replaced me a
few years ago in the line-up for the band
Despise You, to share some braus
& discuss ideas for a possible beer-focused webseries. I tried an ALMANAC beer I surprisingly didn’t love, GOLDEN GATE GOSE, but
the brewery’s name was quickly redeemed when I ordered the solid ALMANAC
IPA. We all ordered several rounds of unique brews, and shared tastes of
everything around the table. Several selections pleased me immensely… THE
BRUERY TRADE WINDS TRIPEL WITH THAI BASIL, EPIC BREWING BRAINLESS ON PEACHES,
LOGSDON FARMHOUSE ALES OAK AGED BRETTA, and EPIC BREWING IMPERIAL STOUT.
Not bad for a weeknight.
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| Harkins & Witte: Nuclear keg partying |
Friday night was the self-described
Pabst “Nuclear Keg
Party” at the Echoplex. The line of long haired, black T-shirt clad
partiers awaiting entry was easily a quarter mile down the block to Echo Park.
My band To The Point was opening the show at 9pm, and I was looking forward to
getting it over with. I sort of enjoy performing, but when I’m in the
opening band, it’s even less exciting, and my main focus is to get through it
without any major catastrophes so I can relax and enjoy the rest of the
show. LA has always been one of my favorite places to play, and tonight
was no different. Witte’s headlining band Municipal Waste has a large and
loyal following. They’re also a traditional ‘80s style thrash metal band,
whereas To The Point is awkward, stop & start hardcore punk, devoid of
metal or solos. Would we go over well with this crowd? I breathed a
sigh of relief when the room responded positively, immediately moshing,
cheering, sharing beers and clearly ready to party.
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| To The Pabst |
Our band is slightly
out of our element on a “real” stage, as we’re more accustomed to playing on an
impromptu set up in a rented hall or warehouse. Despite the silly “rock”
smoke machine, and the illuminated Pabst neon sign behind us, the set felt
good, and we actually sounded pretty damn solid from what I could tell. Mission accomplished, I
relaxed in the cramped backstage, hunting for something non-Pabst to
consume. Witte has a serious contingent of friends and fans who are well
aware of his beer acumen, so there were a few rounds of nice bottles brought
back and hidden under the mountain
of PBRs. Reaching
into the chilly tubs, bobbing for beer, I pulled out bottle after bottle of
quality brau, most of which I had already tried this year. Eventually, a
few surfaced which were new for my list, and despite the crazed atmosphere, the backstage revelers displayed proper decorum by passing around bottles to share
for tasting. GREAT DIVIDE BREWING SHOWDOWN RYE IPA, HERETIC BREWING EVIL TWIN,
and BALLAST POINT FATHOM IPL were the few that were new for me. I missed
the middle band The Shrine, distracted by catching up with old friends and
sampling suds.
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| The Wife and The Waste |
Then it was the moment everyone waited for: The
Waste. They haven’t played in a while, but you could have fooled
me. The playing was flawless, the crowd was whipped into a relentless
frenzy from the first note to the last. Garbage cans were thrown.
Beer was sprayed in every direction. Middle-aged dudes who haven’t done a
stage dive in 10-20 years were doing stage dives. Pants were pulled
down. Backflips off stage. Sweat. Mayhem. Best of all,
everyone was smiling. The show was over somewhat early, so The Wife and I
stopped in to The Red Lion, sharing a couple German braus for a quick
nitecap. The kitchen was closed. The beer was decent. The
crowd was young, and definitely not “our people”. We called it a night
& I had to be content with only five claimable beers for the day. Not
to fret…
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| Log Em All |
Our second show was supposed to be Saturday, but was
inexplicably moved to Sunday. Saturday was now an “off day”. No
matter. There’s plenty of untapped tasting opportunities in LA and The
OC. We picked up Witte’s buddy from ASCAP
Etan Rosenbloom and headed down
to Placentia to
THE BRUERY. This was a first time for us all, and in retrospect I’m
kicking myself in the ass for waiting so long to make the pilgrimage
here. Not only does this establishment create some of the most
innovative, pioneering, and all-around tasty brews, but after continually
raising the bar of excellence so high, likewise their prices have followed
suit. Aside from a handful of flagship beers that retail around $8-12,
the standard for Bruery output seems to be in the $20-30 range these
days. Way too rich for my blood, so imagine how stoked I was to discover
their tasting room offered roughly 30 of their unique beers, and all available
as reasonably priced samplers, as cheap as $1 each. Between the four of
us we ordered multiple samplers which we shared, and ended up blasting through
a good 26 tasters, most of which were new to my Big Year. Way to rack ‘em
up. A few truly limited beers were on a separate lists for “members
only”, but the staff was kind enough to let us sample the FLOYD D’RUE
collaboration beer with
3 FLOYDS, a rum barrel aged imperial porter which,
frankly, tasted like Jagermeister. This destination is a must for any
serious or adventurous beer drinker. Each new taster was as delectable as
the previous. With this many incredible beers, I decided my usual note-taking was absurd. The stock descriptions of each brew said it all. And
each one was pure perfection.
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| A Noble attempt at tasting everything |
I speculated that by hitting The Bruery first, anything
after that would pale in comparison, no matter how excellent it was. Such
was the case with our next stop,
NOBLE ALE WORKS. One of my OC favorites,
but after the over-the-top richness of the full canon of Bruery braus, it was
difficult to convince my companions how great this destination is. We
tried everything available, most of which I had already claimed, but I gladly
indulged in tastes of old favorites like the MAN’S MILK STOUT. New revelations
were the TRANSPACIFIC SAISON and the bizarrely simple but satisfying PINK &
YELLOW.
At this point, Etan had loosened up, and was clearly a sheet
or two into the wind. He hinted repeatedly and not so subtly about
stopping at taco trucks if we “wanted to”. We were full, but it kept
coming up, so clearly this fella was starving. Heading back from behind
The Orange Curtain, up to LA, we made a pit stop in Boyle
Heights, which by chance lead us to a
destination I had heard about but never sought out: RAMIREZ BEVERAGE CENTER Located in
one of the most unlikely areas of LA, half of this store is like a beer
supermarket, with numerous bottles I’ve never seen in California,
like Bell’s
Brewery. I’m convinced this is one of the only destinations in the
country where you’ll find cholos with neck tattoos discussing the attributes of
fruity esters in specialty beers. Witte and I purchased a few bottles to
share, shuttled Etan home, and headed back to my place for swimming, chilling,
and beering, with a quick evening detour to visit Grill Em All’s Ryan &
Kevine Harkins for some burgers, dogs, and braus. But we weren’t partying
tonight. Tomorrow we were leaving early, in search of the Holy Grail.
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| Ramirez: Muy grande |
Back in October 2012, Witte invited a ton of friends to meet
up in Denver at
the Great American Beer Festival, indisputably the largest beerfest in the
country. I was the only one who didn’t flake. Thanks to some press
passes, we were able to gain immediate access to each GABF session without
cramming our way in behind tens of thousands of eager, unwashed masses.
The very first booth Witte insisted on visiting was Alpine Beer Company.
I live in California
& I’d never heard of them, yet they’re only about two and a half hours
south of where I live. He excitedly gushed about what a revelation their
Duet IPA was, and he was right, as usual. It was an unparalleled hop
bomb, rivaled only by classics of the genre like Pliny. Since that day,
every time Witte has visited Southern California,
he has mentioned, “We should visit Alpine”. Our time has always been
limited, and as great as Alpine is, a five hour road trip usually doesn’t sound
too appealing.
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| Alpine photo bomb |
This visit was different. Our second show was in San Diego. We had
all day to explore breweries. We hit
the road at 9am, made a pit stop in Boyle
Heights for breakfast
tacos from a street vendor, and made a beeline for the promised land of Alpine,
jamming ‘70s prog rock the whole way. Deep Purple, Kansas, Ambrosia. Slightly later than
we hoped, but still early enough to beat the rush, we hit the rustic mountain
town of Alpine, roughly 30 minutes east of SD proper. This is one of
those small towns where all of the local businesses take the easy way out and
name themselves after the town itself. Alpine Lumber. Alpine
Bowling. Alpine Real Estate. Alpine Pest
Control. Alpine Books. At last… ALPINE BEER COMPANY, a small and
unassuming brewery on the main (and only) drag through town. Unless you
were in the know, you’d have no clue that this place is masturbatory fodder for
beer geeks nationwide.
It was lunchtime and fortunately they not only served taster
flights, but they had a café. We ordered tasters of everything available,
which ended up being 12 different beers. A few of them I had already
enjoyed this year, but most were new for my 2014 list, including the majority
of their legendary IPAs, of both the flagship and the obscure variety.
Their non-IPA beers are decent but nothing to write home about, with the
exception of the exceptional BOURBON BARREL AGED ODIN'S RAVEN, but their IPAs
are world class, and highly sought after in beer geek circles. There it
was, flowing freely, the godly DUET, along with the LUPULIN STAR, the sessionable BABY
FACE, PURE HOPPINESS (which I had already proudly claimed this year as Beer
#1,000), and the proprietary in-house blend DU-HOP, a mix of Duet and Pure
Hoppiness. We chowed on the beef-and-an-egg-with-gravy-over-fries
“poutine”, served on a paper plate with a plastic fork, shared every beer in
the house, and chatted up the friendly staff. This day was already
absolute perfection, and we were just kicking it off.
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| The Promised Land |
Next stop, we headed back West to the industrial parks and
hit SOCIETE BREWING COMPANY. I had sampled some of their brews this time
last year at the Mammoth Bluesapalooza beer fest, and I recall walking away
with a so-so impression of their output. This visit was the polar opposite.
We loitered in their vast tasting room, and sampled every single beer, and
there wasn’t a single one that could even be considered “average”. These
folks know exactly what they’re doing. All were extremely impressive and
distinct, not to mention all 13 we tasted were unique to my Big Year and
claimable. Great single hop IPAs, nice stouts, rich Belgian styles,
they’ve got it all.
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| Products of Societe |
We then trekked to
WHITE LABS. For decades, this establishment has
been in the business of supplying yeast, microbes, and all of that sciencey
teeny tiny stuff that makes beer taste so unique. They now brew their own
beer, and offer samplers and flights of the same beer (i.e. four of the same porter recipe) fermented with different yeasts,
and by tasting them back-to-back, it proves how vital it is to select the correct strain for your
brew. The beers were both innovative and oddball, especially the FRANKENSTOUT
with a mix of 96 yeast strains, and two versions of the PEANUT BUTTER PORTER,
one with London Yeast that tasted like a Brach’s candy corn, and the other with
Hefeweizen Yeast that tasted like a straight up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The
fella behind the bar lacked any personality whatsoever, and told us everyone
else was across the street at a company picnic. No surprise they left him
behind.
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| Intergalactic sans Beastie Boys |
Our ears perked up when he asked if we liked stouts (an
absurd question), and he recommended
INTERGALACTIC BREWING, only a few blocks
away. Yet another secluded industrial park brewery, this tiny D.I.Y.
establishment has only been open for about a year, but they’re ambitious and
chasing the dream at warp speed. Having already tasted 30+ beers before
3pm, we limited ourselves to six samplers at Intergalactic, which was OK
considering we found most of their output to be pretty average. Despite
the insistence that we should come here for the stouts, they were our least
favorite of the tasting. I dug the BROWN COAT ALE and the ANDROMEDA IPA, but
best of the batch was the BEAM ME UP SCOTCH ALE, which inexplicably was
not
called Beam Me Up
Scotchy! Talk about a missed opportunity. While we
didn’t love it, in fairness Alpine and Societe are a hard act to follow, but
these guys are young & eager to try new things. They’re just not
there yet. I’ll check ‘em out again, maybe in another year, and see if
they’ve got it dialed in. But they’re on their way.
Witte and I detoured to my Dad’s house, to check in, drop
off our bags, and spend some brief quality time visiting, since we were
crashing there for the evening. Daddy Dodge has always been supportive of
my endeavors, even when he doesn’t fully understand them. Their guest
room was taken over by a momma cat and five kittens who they recently agreed to
foster. I volunteered to crash on the couch. Witte eagerly claimed the room with the family of cats.
We drove downtown to load-in to the Casbah, tonight’s
shoebox of a venue, and a staple of the San
Diego underground music scene for 20 years.
Directly in the flight path and less than half a mile from the International Airport,
this club has a capacity of maybe 130, but San Diego has never been a big turnout kinda
town. San Diegans do everything possible to make you aware that they
aren’t second fiddle to Los Angeles,
secretly aware that they really are. Municipal Waste could easily fill an
800 capacity venue in LA, but 130 people is oddly a challenge to lure into a
venue in SD.
It was still early, and fortunately we were within walking
distance of Little Italy. While we should have invested some quality time
at Bottlecraft, instead we hit BALLAST POINT for food and samplers of their
“R&D” beers which are constantly revolving taps
of experimental brews. My last experience a few months prior at Ballast
Point’s Old Grove location was phenomenal, despite the crowds; each beer a revelation
in brewing excellence. This time…. well…. not so much. The majority
of the R&D beers this time around were so indistinct, I had difficult time
figuring out which one was which. And the food was surprisingly
sub-par. So much so that I felt like I needed a diaper the minute we left
the tasting room.
This day was the finale of the legendary San Diego
Comic-Con, so the neighborhood was riddled with out of town geeks of every
shape and size. I silently chuckled at the sight of old dudes carrying huge
bags of swag, wearing Captain America
shirts. I scoffed, but is it any more embarrassing than middle aged dudes
like myself wearing black T-shirts of old punk bands? And driving hours
away from home to play noisy music and barely get paid gas money? And to
do it for a good 30 years straight? Now who’s the real out of town geek?
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| No Clash jokes, please |
The show kicked off at a reasonable hour with local thrash
metal acts Eukaryst and Witchaven, two tight, and energetic bands, followed by
yours truly and To The Point. As with the LA show, we were a fast
hardcore punk band on a basically all-metal bill. Unlike the LA show, in
SD we went over like a lead balloon. The second I spoke into the mic I
wished I had brought a pin with me, so I could hear it drop. While the
crowd wasn’t antagonistic in any way, they were also completely non-responsive,
and completely non-stoked that we were on stage absorbing valuable
life minutes from them that should have been occupied by pure metal instead. I was
in this situation in 1986 with my high school skate punk band Legion Of Doom,
and I reacted indignantly, urging everyone in the room to “support the scene”
while they mercilessly heckled me and told me to do things like “play the skin
flute”. 28 years and countless shows later I knew better. We were
out of our element. Who cares. There’s no way to really win, so just have
fun with it… don’t mock the crowd, have a good time, and maybe a few
individuals will eventually warm up. As it turned out, what started as an
arctic blast of a reception, eventually melted into a smattering of polite
applause and minor participation towards the end of the set. I headed to
an air-conditioned corner to drink Bulliet Rye shots while Municipal Waste
righteously and rightfully rocked the Casbah (yeah, I had to say the obvious).
A little after midnight, we were already packed up &
ready to go. Dave and I were up for a quick nightcap, but with it being
late on a Sunday, we were S.O.L. The anticipated spots were not open til
the usual 2am tonight. We cruised North Park.
No Toronado. No Modern Times. Total bust. Whatever. It
was getting late, and we were better off going to bed. After all, we had
another day of tasting ahead of us, so it’s best to cut our loses and head back
to Pop’s. I flopped around the whole evening on a stiff, uneven couch,
while Dave tossed and turned in the other room, randomly tormented by kittens leaping in every direction and batting him in the face.
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| One of everything, Pizza Port style |
Monday we awoke bleary eyed, but ready to roll. After
a quick family breakfast full of meat and starch, Witte and I drove to the
ocean to visit
PIZZA
PORT OCEAN
BEACH as soon as they
opened. All Pizza
Port locations are famous
for brewing their own raster of formidable proprietary beers. Witte
introduced me to head brewer
“Nacho” and we requested our standard
tasters: “One of everything”. Soon enough we were joined by a few
of the members of last night’s opener
Eukaryst. Bassist
Gino Fontana
works here as well, and this young man is living the dream. He’s a
20-something metal dude in a beautiful beach city, who landed a job making the
best pizzas in town, learned at work how to make the best beer in town, and has
now brewed his own beer, named after his band, which is for sale at Pizza Port:
EUKARYST SINISTER IMPERIAL STOUT. Hell, they even taped a
music video in the brewery itself. Sadly, the keg was blown when Witte and
I arrived, so out of 17 proprietary beers we sampled, Sinister was not one of
them. These were metal dudes, who really could have given two shits who I
was, but I was with Witte, The Master, who has basically set the benchmark for extreme music
over the past two decades, and these guys knew it, so by association I was
hooked up.
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| Livin' the dream, you wish you were this guy |
Dave needed to return his gear, and his car, and make it to
LAX for a late flight. Even though it was noon, I was aware of the
impending horrors of Southland traffic, so we reluctantly left San Diego County earlier than either of us wanted
to. After a long drive, stops at Paiste, and a drum rental spot, we
didn’t reach my house until about 6pm, starved and a little cranky from lack of
food and beer. I popped a couple bottles, we snacked, then headed to the South Bay
to return his car. Everything in LA takes a long time, and this was no
exception. Although we envisioned a day filled with non-stop beer, at
this point we only had an hour before Witte had to be at LAX for his red-eye
home, so we wrapped up the weekend at NAJA'S PLACE at the Redondo Beach
Pier. A local legend for their 88 taps, it’s a spot I’ve always wanted to
like, but have always had a difficult time doing so. This evening was no
different. There was hardly anyone there
on a Monday night, yet the small handful of drinkers present were even louder
than the “new country” horseshit being
blasted at volume 11. The view of the
small harbor was picturesque, the weather this evening was perfect, the beer
itself was great, but I just didn’t want to be here. After a token Pliny, and a few other tastes, we ran to LAX, and the Beer Guru ascended towards the East like the great, hoppy Buddha that he is.
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| Nothing like beers & painfully loud New Country |
The beering continues...
Thursday 7/24 – New Release tasting at Vendome, a few at
home, and a trip to Glendale Tap
1463 - SURF BREWERY SHAKA CITRA
IPA - Tropical fruit, mildly bitter, and clean like a session IPA.
1464 - SHMALTZ BREWING HE'BREW ST.
LENNY'S BELGIAN RYE DOUBLE IPA – Heavy on the rye, mild caramel finish, slight
bite almost like a rauchbier.
1465 - ALASKAN BREWING PILOT SERIES IMPERIAL RED – Roasty
caramel, malt, and fruit.
1466 - THE BRUERY SMOKING WOOD BOURBON BARREL AGED (2014) –
Heavy smoke & chocolate, a superior smoked imperial rye porter, so crazy
good I had to buy a bottle for later.
1467 - SIERRA NEVADA / BALLAST POINT COLLABORATION BEER CAMP
ELECTRIC RAY
IPL
- The Bruery Humulus is still king of all IPLs, but this is a close 2nd.
1468 - SIERRA NEVADA / ASHEVILLE BREWERS ALLIANCE
COLLABORATION TATER RIDGE SCOTTISH ALE - Brewed with sweet potatoes. These guys
are getting wacky now.
1469 - SIERRA NEVADA / ALLAGASH COLLABORATION MYRON'S WALK
BELGIAN STYLE PALE ALE - Sounds boring, tastes excellent. I love this one.
1470 - THE LOST ABBEY SERPENT'S STOUT - Oily and awesome,
better than most Lost Abbey ales
1471 - ALMANAC GOLDEN GATE GOSE - Second Almanac beer I
didn't love, I'm tasting rosemary.
1472 - THE BRUERY TRADE WINDS TRIPEL WITH THAI BASIL - Just
killer, they didn't go over the top, just hints of spice to keep it perfectly
balanced.
1473 - ALMANAC IPA - Crisp full bodied and damn good, tastes
like a double.
1474 - NINKASI BREWING TRICERAHOPS DOUBLE IPA - Malty,
hoppy, well rounded, perfectly executed.
1475 - EPIC BREWING BRAINLESS ON PEACHES - Excellent. I
don't taste the cask but it's a nice, evenly balanced mildly fruity brau.
1476 - LOGSDON FARMHOUSE ALES OAK AGED BRETTA - One of the
best, killer saison that stands out from your average farmhouse ale.
1477 - EPIC BREWING IMPERIAL STOUT – Mildly hoppy, way
impressive, dense
1478 - STONE BREWING IMPERIAL RUSSIAN STOUT (2014) –
Excellent, thick & chocolatey
Friday 7/25 – Echoplex backstage and a quick visit to the
Red Lion.
1479 - GREAT DIVIDE BREWING SHOWDOWN RYE IPA – Yum.
1480 - HERETIC BREWING EVIL TWIN – Tasty mildly hoppy
imperial red.
1481 - BALLAST POINT FATHOM IPL – Lighter like a session
IPA, I dig it.
1482 – WARSTEINER PREMIUM
DUNKEL
- One of two late night at the Red Lion Inn, this one was better than the
Landbier.
1483 - BRAUEREI VELTINS GREVENSTEINER LANDBIER – S’OK but I
wouldn’t order it again.
Saturday 7/26 – The Bruery tasting room. Mind = blown.
Noble tasting room. Then several closer to home. I spent my time
enjoying, and practically no time taking notes.
1484 - THE BRUERY FLOYD D'RUE – Bourbon barrel aged imperial
porter…. Tastes like a Jager shot
1485 - THE BRUERY BOIS FUME – Bourbon barrel aged old ale,
smoked porter blend
1486 - THE BRUERY SUCRE BOURBON BARREL AGED – Bourbon barrel
aged English style old ale
1487 - THE BRUERY 5 GOLDEN RINGS BOURBON BARREL AGED –
Bourbon barrel aged golden ale with pineapple, cinnamon, and allspice
1488 - THE BRUERY THE WANDERER – Dark sour ale with
blackberries & cherries
1489 - THE BRUERY HUMULUS HBC 462 – Very light single hopped
blonde ale
1490 - THE BRUERY BERAZZLED – Sour blonde with raspberries
1491 - THE BRUERY OUDE TART (2014) – Sour Flemish-style red
ale aged in wine barrels
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| Never trust a skinny beer drinker |
1492 - THE BRUERY WHITE CHOCOLATE (2013) – Bourbon barrel aged
wheatwine with vanilla and cacao, so sweet and dense, I’m not sure I could
drink more than a small taster
1493 - THE BRUERY COUVERTEUR – Belgian dubbel with cacao
nibs and vanilla beans
1494 - THE BRUERY SOUR IN THE RYE WITH PINEAPPLE AND COCONUT
1495 - THE BRUERY OUDE TART (2012) - Sour Flemish-style red
ale aged in wine barrels
1496 - THE BRUERY BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS – New American oak
Anniversary ale with 20% maple syrup aged in Fess Parker port barrels
1497 - THE BRUERY SAISON RUE (2014) – Farmhouse-style saison
1498 - THE BRUERY / BOTTLE LOGIC COLLABORATION TUMESCENCE –
Saison brewed with fruit and herbs
1499 - THE BRUERY TART OF DARKNESS WITH CACAO & VANILLA
– Sour stout with cacao and vanilla
1500 - THE BRUERY AUTUMN MAPLE BOURBON BARREL AGED
1501 - THE BRUERY HUMULUS HBC 430 – Another variation on the
single hopped blonde ale, I recall this one was better than the HBC 462
1502 - THE BRUERY TART OF DARKNESS (2014) – Legendary sour
barrel aged stout
1503 - NOBLE ALE WORKS SIPPER-SAURUS – Mexican style lager,
served with a lime, made by Tyler King from The Bruery.
1504 - NOBLE ALE WORKS CUDDLE PUDDLE – German style Sticke
Alt bier created by the brewer from TAPS
1505 - NOBLE ALE WORKS ALEXANDRA NOWELL'S TRANSPACIFIC
SAISON – Created by one of the brewers from the up & coming Inglewood brewery Three
Weavers. Probably my favorite Noble of the day.
1506 - NOBLE ALE WORKS BREAKAWAY PALE ALE – Hoppy and easy
drinking.
1507 - NOBLE ALE WORKS PINK & YELLOW – Like a Summer
Shandy, but really, really freakin’ good.
1508 - CUCAPA BREWING LOOKOUT BLONDE ALE – One of the only
Mexican “craft” breweries I’ve had the opportunity to try. Perfect pool
beer. Good thing we were actually in the pool when we shared it.
1509 - FREIGEIST BIERKULTUR FREIGEIST GEISTERZUG – A
“spruced traditional gose”. Piney and herby, funky and good.
1510 - BRASSERIE DE SILLY SILLY SOUR – This is a really nice
sour, Silly.
1511 - ANGEL CITY BREWERY DARK RYE LAGER BOURBON BARREL
(2014) – Never seen this before. Glad to see something new from Angel City
finally. Heavy rye and malty deliciousness.
1512 – AVERY SALVATION – Left over from the Echoplex
stash. Avery is flawless.
1513 - GOLDEN ROAD CABRILLO KOLSCH – Their flagship canned
kolsch, reliable and tasty as hell.
Sunday 7/27 – San
Diego County
tour with The Master. A crazy amount of tasting, but hardly any
note-taking. Not necessary.
1514 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY WILLY VANILLY – Vanilla added to
the Willy lager.
1515 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY MANDARIN NECTAR – OK, not a
favorite
1516 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY IRISH RED – Good.
1517 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY CAPTAIN STOUT – Good.
1518 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY BOURBON BARREL AGED ODIN'S RAVEN
– I’ve never even seen the standard Odin’s Raven stout, let alone this treat.
1519 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY BABY FACE – Excellent session IPA
1520 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY LUPULIN STAR – Now you’re
talking.
1521 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY DUET – This is the beer that
started it all for me & Witte. Perfection.
1522 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY DU-HOP – An in-house blend of
Duet and Pure Hoppiness. Perfection x2.
1523 - SOCIETE BREWING THE BACHELOR AMARILLO SINGLE HOP IPA
1524 - SOCIETE BREWING THE BACHELOR CITRA SINGLE HOP IPA
1525 - SOCIETE BREWING THE BACHELOR MOSAIC SINGLE HOP IPA
1526 - SOCIETE BREWING THE APPRENTICE IPA
1527 - SOCIETE BREWING THE PUPIL IPA
1528 - SOCIETE BREWING THE PUGILIST DRY STOUT
1529 - SOCIETE BREWING THE BUTCHER IMPERIAL STOUT
1530 - SOCIETE BREWING THE PUBLICAN HOPPY ALE – Smooth n’
hoppy, good one
1531 - SOCIETE BREWING THE SCRAPPER SD DARK ALE – Very tasty
& malty and a bit o’ hops
1532 - SOCIETE BREWING THE GLEANER SAISON WITH CALIFORNIA
SAGEBRUSH – Awesome and refreshing with fruity esters up the wazoo
1533 - SOCIETE BREWING THE HARLOT BELGIAN BLONDE – Extra
piney and sagey
1534 - SOCIETE BREWING THE MADAM BELGIAN STRONG GOLDEN – A
tropical fruit bomb
1535 - SOCIETE BREWING THE WIDOW BELGIAN STRONG DARK –
Yeasty, fruity, dark amber, yum
1536 - WHITE LABS PEANUT BUTTER CUP PORTER WLP013 LONDON
YEAST – Candy corn, big time
1537 - WHITE LABS PEANUT BUTTER CUP PORTER WLP380 HEFEWEIZEN
YEAST – More pure PB essence
1538 - WHITE LABS LEEUWENHOEK SAISON WLP670 AMERICAN
FARMHOUSE YEAST BLEND
1539 - WHITE LABS PASTEUR PORTER WLP006 BEDFORD BRITISH YEAST
1540 - WHITE LABS PASTEUR PORTER WLP051 CALIFORNIA ALE V YEAST
1541 - WHITE LABS PASTEUR PORTER WLP005 BRITISH ALE YEAST
1542 - WHITE LABS PASTEUR PORTER WLP862 CRY HAVOC LAGER
YEAST
1543 - INTERGALACTIC BREWING WORMHOLE WIT
1544 - INTERGALACTIC BREWING BROWN COAT ALE
1545 - INTERGALACTIC BREWING ANDROMEDA IPA
1546 - INTERGALACTIC BREWING RED SHIRT #21 IMPERIAL IPA
1547 - INTERGALACTIC BREWING PLANET INVADER RUSSIAN IMPERIAL
STOUT
1548 - INTERGALACTIC BREWING BEAM ME UP SCOTCH ALE WEE HEAVY
– Why didn’t they call this “Beam Me Up, Scotchy”? A missed opportunity.
1549 - BALLAST POINT SAILOR'S DELIGHT IPA WITH HUELL MELON
HOPS
1550 - BALLAST POINT Q.U.A.F.F. ROGGENBIER
1551 - BALLAST POINT LUNGFISH OAK SMOKED HELLES LAGER
1552 - BALLAST POINT ALT HANDS ON DECK
1553 - BALLAST POINT REEL BOSSES AMERICAN WHEAT WITH FRUIT
1554 - BALLAST POINT SALES AND ALES AGAVE CREAM ALE
Monday 7/28 – Trying everything at Pizza Port Ocean Beach
with Witte, and wrapping up at home. Again, not interested in note
taking. Just focusing on enjoying what we’re tasting.
1555 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) TEAR DOWN THE WALL
BERLINER WEISSE
1556 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) OC CHRONIC AMBER
1557 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) NERF HERDER
ENGLISH DARK MILD
1558 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) MICANO QUAD-DIZZLE
BELGIAN QUAD WITH RAISINS
1559 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN BEACH) CHINGON IMPERIAL IPA WITH MANGO, LIME ZEST,
& CAYENNE
1560 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) NORSE WOMAN IPA
1561 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN BEACH) BRONX BOMBER
IMPERIAL IPA
1562 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) JETTY IPA
1563 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) NO SURF CREAM ALE
1564 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) SHARK BITE HOPPY
RED
1565 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) GUILLAUME BELGIAN
STYLE WIHTE
1566 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN BEACH)
SUNSET CLIFFS SAISON
1567 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) LA FLAMA DORADA
TRIPEL
1568 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) ABRAHAM DRINKIN'
AMERICAN WHEAT
1569 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) BEER HUNTER
EPISODE 2 SAISON WITH KIWI
1570 - PIZZA PORT (OCEAN
BEACH) LUKE SKYGUY PALE
ALE
1571 - THORN ST. BREWERY SPICY SESSION – Lovin’ chile beers this
year. This one is right up there with all the awesome Thorn St. output.
1572 - HERMITAGE BREWING CITRA SINGLE HOP IPA – Damn
good. Thanks Chris Wilder for enlightening me to this brewery that I’d
written off in previous years.
1573 - NOGNE O #100 BARLEY WINE – What’s Norwegian for
“Yum”?
1574 - DRAKE'S BREWING AROMA COMA – Seasonal IPA, I’m a
frake for Drake’s
1575 - FACTION BREWING OATMEAL STOUT – Naja’s Place, Redondo
Beach – Despite the new country being blasted at volume 11, and the douchey
patrons, still a great view and a good selection of unique brews. Really
taking a cotton to this newer Alameda,
CA brewery.
 |
| Now if only we could find an enormous bra... |
Tuesday 7/29 – Home Sweet Home
1576 - SIERRA NEVADA / RUSSIAN RIVER COLLBORATION BEER CAMP YVAN THE
GREAT HOPPY BLONDE
1577 - ALASKAN BREWING ICY BAY IPA
1578 - SIERRA NEVADA
/ VICTORY COLLABORATION BEER CAMP
ALT ROUTE
1579 - EVIL TWIN / STILLWATER
/ STONE COLLABORATION THE PERFECT CRIME BLACK SMOKED SAISON
Wednesday 7/30 – Date Night at home watching the premiere of
Sharknado 2
1580 - THREE FLOYDS ALPHA KING – Legendary. My
co-worker Sean Casey truly my hero for bringing this back from Chicago.
1581 - STEVE ENDERS HOMEBREW (PALO ALTO, CA)
OAKED CITRA – When is some brewery going to hire this guy. Every homebrew
I’ve had from Mr. Enders is the end-all be-all.
1582 - GOOSE ISLAND BEER CO. PERE JACQUES (2013) – Whoa, I
forgot how good Goose
Island could be.
Thanks Sean Casey for bringing this back from The Windy City.
1583 – AVERY KARMA BELGIAN STYLE PALE ALE – Avery always
delivers, but the previous 3 are tough acts to follow.
Thursday 7/31 – After work tasters at Tony’s, and a few late
night tasters on the town with The Wife
1584 - PORT BREWING GROMMET SESSION IPA – Yum.
1585 - BLACK DIAMOND BREWING RAMPAGE IMPERIAL IPA – Heavy duty,
didn’t know Black Diamond was this good.
1586 - KNEE DEEP BREWING HOPOHOLIC 4x IPA – Strangely enough
not as over the top potent as expected.
1587 - THE LOST ABBEY JUDGMENT DAY BELGIAN
QUAD - OK
1588 - BALLAST POINT STEAMBOAT BLACK LAGER – Oh baby that’s
good. I’m a sucker for black lagers.
1589 - NORTH COAST BREWING COMPANY RED SEAL ALE – Perty
good.
1590 - GREAT DIVIDE BREWING CLAYMORE SCOTCH ALE – Wee heavy,
and way tasty.
1591 - OMMEGANG WITTE – At The Falls, DTLA. Really good.
Named after my beer BBF. Not really, but he gets people sending him pics
of this beer weekly.
1592 - EPIC BREWING CO. CAPT'N CROMPTON'S PALE ALE – Tasty.
1593 - CRAFTSMAN BREWING POPPYFIELDS – S’OK
1594 - THE LOST ABBEY AVANT GARDE - OK
1595 - CRAFTSMAN BREWING URSA MINOR – A drinkable sour from
Craftsman
1596 - EVIL TWIN BREWING ASHTRAY HEART SMOKED IMPERIAL STOUT
– At the Hermosillo,
inky, smoky, perfection.
Friday 8/1 – Quick BevMo sampling, tasters from MacLeod Ale
Brewing, and a few with The Cushion
1597 - LOST COAST BREWING TANGERINE WHEAT – Soda pop.
Blech.
1598 - TUCHER BRAU TUCHER HELLES HEFE WEIZEN – Surprisingly
full bodied. Danke.
1599 - SCUTTLEBUTT BREWING GALE FORCE IPA – I like
everything from Washington.
1600 - MACLEOD ALE BREWING COMPANY THE SESSION GAP ORDINARY
BITTER – On cask, finally a brewery in San Fernando Valley.
1601 - MACLEOD ALE BREWING COMPANY THE LITTLE SPREE
YORKSHIRE PALE ALE – On cask, loverly.
1602 - MACLEOD ALE BREWING COMPANY THE KING'S TAXES SCOTTISH
60 SHILLING – On cask, diggin’ it.
1603 - MACLEOD ALE BREWING COMPANY JACKIE TAR BROWN STOUT –
English style stout, lighter and sessionable like all of their selections.
 |
| Yes, Jello shots still exist |
1604 - MACLEOD ALE BREWING COMPANY THE CRISIS NEW SCHOOL
ENGLISH PALE ALE – My favorite of the five. So glad they didn’t run out of beer
before I made it there.
1605 - FIGUEROA
MOUNTAIN BREWING PARADISE RD PILSNER
– Tasty. Especially while watching Drunk Karaoke at The Cork, Van Nuys.
1606 - FIGUEROA MOUNTAIN BREWING FMB 101 KOLSCH STYLE ALE –
This hole in the wall actually had another beer that I haven’t had. Cray!
1607 - KIUCHI BREWERY HITACHINO NEST XH MATURED IN SAKE
CASKS – Umai!
Saturday 8/2 – Afternoon sampling in Downtown LA with The
Wife
1608 - CISMONTANE BREWING BLACK'S DAWN – A favorite from
recent years, a nice, thick, oily coffee stout, both toothsome and affordable.
1609 - BLACK DIAMOND BREWING WHITE WITCH IPA – Dismissed
this as a hack brewery, but this hop sauce is solid.
1610 - STONE BREWING ARROGANT BASTARD BOURBON BARREL AGED –
Not as rich as expected, but not a letdown by any means.
1611 - IRONFIRE BREWING GUNSLINGER GOLD – Decent.
1612 - STONE BREWING DOUBLE BASTARD ALE (2013) – The bomb,
and then some.
1613 - MOYLAN'S BREWERY DRAGOON'S DRY IRISH STOUT – On
nitro, dark and tasty.
1614 - HAVEN BREWING RIGHT SAID RED – Hoppy, pretty good.
1615 - DOUBLE
MOUNTAIN CLUSTERF#CK IPA
– A clusterf#ckin’ good one.
1616 - KIUCHI BREWERY ANABI PLUM WEIZEN – Wow, unique.
Unlike any other beer. Great.
1617 - KIUCHI BREWERY HITACHINO NEST DAI DAI ALE IPA – Doesn’t
taste like your standard IPA, that’s Japan for ya…
1618 - KIUCHI BREWERY HITACHINO NEST ALE BREWED WITH GINGER
– Again, really unique. Sugoi!
1619 - KIUCHI BREWERY HITACHINO NEST ESPRESSO STOUT – I’m
going to marry this beer.
1620 - STRAND BREWING MUSASHI BLACK IPA – A beer that’s
hoppy and dark? Sign me up.
1621 - NOBLE ALE WORKS NAUGHTY SAUCE – Dig it.
Although golden milk stouts kinda freak me out.
1622 - BUTTERNUT’S BEER AND ALE HEINNIEWEISSE WEISSEBIER –
Farmhouse-ish, pretty darn good, one of the better Butternut’s efforts.
1623 - EEL RIVER BREWING CALIFORNIA
BLONDE ALE – Pointless.
1624 - MISSION BREWERY CARRACK IMPERIAL RED - Yarrr
matey, red skies at night, sailor’s delight! Delicious ye be!
Sunday 8/3 – A few at home, and many at Vendome’s weekend
tasting & bottle share
1625 – SKA BREWING MODUS HOPERANDI – Been wanting to try
this all year, finally available in Cali.
Solid hop bomb.
1626 – RHINELANDER BREWING BOATSWAIN DOUBLE IPA – Not bad
for a Trader Joe’s house ale, not amazing, and not very hoppy, but malty and
decent. The price is right, that’s for sure.
1627 – DEVIL’S CANYON BREWING BELLE BIERE BRUT CALIFORNIA
SPARKLING ALE - Fruity and sparkly champagne style ale, the wife would love
this.
1628 – TELEGRAPH BREWING BUELLTON SILENT PARTNER - Still got
mine in the fridge, yet to hear the album, but just tried it at a Vendome
tasting, light and farmhousey
1629 – MOTHER EARTH BREW CO. KISMET IPA - Major cannabis
overload, skunky and crunchy as hell
 |
| Hair of some other dog |
1630 – BOOTLEGGER’S BREWERY 5TH ANNIVERSARY -
Tastes like a Belgian strong ale, dark, malty, highly carbonated
1631 – EL SEGUNDO BREWING BLUE HOUSE IPA - Slightly malty.
Delicious.
1632 – BLACK MARKET BREWING QUADROPHENIA - Belgian style
brewed with coconut palm sugar, so damn tasty.
1633 – HANGAR 24 BARREL ROLL NO. 4 HAMMERHEAD (2014) - Hands
down best H24 to date, heavy caramel up front, heavy malt on the back,
barleywine aged in rye n bourbon barrels.
1634 – FIGUEROA MOUNTAIN BREWING LIZARD’S MOUTH IMPERIAL IPA
- Piney, skunky DIPA, best Fig Mtn to date.
1635 – SANTE ADAIRIUS RUSTIC ALES DEAF STEWART - Sour
witbier, big time pineapple with some pucker, totally refreshing. Thanks Chris Wilder!
1636 – ART’S HOMEBREW RASPBERRY WHEAT - Damn that's tasty,
courtesy of a Vendome Liquors bottleshare regular, refreshing and superior to
most fruit beers on the market.
1637 – ALMANAC CERISE SOUR BLOND - Welcome to Pucker Town.
Population: This. Strangely mustardy on the nose.
1638 – ALMANAC DARK PUMPKIN SOUR - Pumpkin, spices, aged in
wine barrels - Hohoho - total holiday winter warmer type beer.
1639 – EL SEGUNDO MOSAIC BLUE HOUSE PALE - Light, crispy,
delicately hoppy like a session IPA.
 |
| Camping season |
Monday 8/4 – Tasting at home
1640 - WORLD BREWS BARREL TROLLEY IPA NO. 2 - Malty IPA, not
super hoppy, for some reason I thought this would be cheap and crappy. It's not
bad.
1641 - BISON BREWING ORGANIC HONEY BASIL – Whatever.
1642 - BELCHING BEAVER BEAVER'S MILK STOUT - Sweet, rich,
inky, chocolatey, with a silky mouthfeel. Good one.
1643 - RUSSIAN
RIVER BREWING
SANCTIFICATION SOUR BLONDE - 100% brettanomyces sour. Not heavy pucker, but
just enough to give it complexity. Astoundingly easy to drink.
Tuesday 8/5 – The Other Door, Burbank and Infest practice
1644 - LAGUNITAS BREWING DAYTIME FRACTIONAL IPA - Great session IPA.
1645 – UNIBROUE BLANCHE DE CHAMBLY – Wheaty &
satisfying.
1646 - BIERBROUWERIJ DE KONINGSHOEVEN LA TRAPPE DUBBEL - Malty
caramelly, a real treat.
1647 - MODELO ESPECIAL CHELADA – Que lastima!
1648 - REDHOOK ALE BREWERY AUDIBLE ALE – Eh.
Wednesday 8/6 – Tony’s tasters and a couple at home
1649 - NOBLE ALE WORKS HOPS OF HOPE - Unfiltered session
IPA, nice sharp hoppiness, straw colored, crisp bite, for a great cause.
1650 - FACTION BREWING ALES FOR ALS IPA - Standard IPA,
mildly hoppy, for a great cause.
1651 - STRAND BREWING ATTICUS IPA - Reddish-amber, malty IPA
from a South Bay fave
1652 - GOLDEN ROAD SURFLINER FOR ALS - Golden, straight
forward IPA for a great cause
1653 - DRAKE'S BREWING GOODBYE PORKPIE RYE - Smooth, light,
easy drinking rye pale. Proceeds go to
fight ALS.
1654 - SPRECHER BREWING ABBEY TRIPLE - Slightly syrupy,
heavily fruity Belgian style triple
1655 - SIERRA NEVADA
BREWING PORTER - I don't remember it being this great... creamy texture almost
like a milk stout, roasty, with a malty grain finish, slightly sweet.
 |
| When you're not looking, sometimes even Donnie gets a taste |
