Beer #1463-1655 / Day #205-218: Gettin' a Taste With The Waste

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Beer #1002-1090 / Day #158-169: Innovation and Aggravation

Part 1: Innovation

If you’re a hermit who just recently integrated yourself back into society, then you’re the only remaining person on the planet who is not aware San Diego County is Ground Zero for microbrewing (I refuse to call it “craft” anything).  Not only is it birthplace to many of the most respected and revered names in the beer scene, but it continues to lead the pack in trend-setting and innovation.  A couple weekends back, I picked a few breweries at random to visit, and I didn’t pick all obscure destinations either, which is what I’m prone to do.  It was Father’s Day, and as a proud Father, I treated myself to my own gift.

First stop was a new one for me: White Labs.  This company has been supplying yeast to the brewing community since the mid-90s.  Only in recent years did they start their own brewing program, and open it to the public.  Their tasting room is comfortable, and their list is impressive.  What makes White Labs so pioneering & unique is their flights:  Four samplers of four of the same beer, but each one is fermented with a different strain of yeast.  Tasting them all side by side, you understand how much impact each different yeast culture has on your beer.  I had the IPA flight, and all four were distinct.  Most notable was the WLP 4000 Vermont Double IPA Yeast, which I was told comes from a “famous Vermont brewer”.  Was I tasting the cousin of HEADY TOPPER?  It could be neither confirmed nor denied, but suspicions were well founded.  Also highly notable were the “Franken” brews, all containing a mixture of 96 combined yeast strains; Tastiest of all of them was the FRANKENSTOUT.  Proof that science can be both fun and tasty. Double props go to White Labs for handing out free growlers to all of the Dads who showed up on Father's Day!

Next stop:  Ballast Point, Old Grove Location. Mid-afternoon on Sunday and this joint was packed to the gills. It took some patience and creative jockeying to catch the eye of a server, but well worth the combat-tasting experience.  If you’re in SoCal, you can find Ballast Point anywhere.  If you’re a beer snob, you might consider it a bit of a “ho hum” choice, but I’m telling you the tasting room is a completely different beast worthy of being tamed.  20 taps, plus a cask or two.  In addition to the usual suspects, there’s a ton of experimentation resulting in new one-off brews, and oddball varieties of the tried & true beers.  Like the hoppy BLACK MARLIN PORTER WITH ROASTED PEANUTS AND COCOA NIBS ON CASK.  Or the CHIPOTLE BLACK MARLIN PORTER.  Or the WINTER SAN SALVADOR BLACK LAGER WITH OYSTERS.  Or the GRAPEFRUIT SCULPIN IPA.  I love breweries that constantly push the envelope, and despite their size, Ballast Point maintains that D.I.Y. grassroots vibe.  Not to mention their beer is consistently excellent across the board.

Next, a hop, skip, and jump over to AleSmith Brewing Company.  And I did indeed feel like hopping, skipping, and jumping for joy after finally visiting this mecca of brewing perfection.  They were pouring a few items exclusive to their tasting room, so I went for the 394 SAN DIEGO PALE ALE, the OLDE ALE MMXIV, BALTIC PORTER, and the SPEEDWAY STOUT WITH ETHIOPIAN SUPERNATURAL COFFEE.  All world class beers, and I love the continuing variations being introduced into the Speedway Stout.  I’m going to visit this place more often, and take advantage of these Local’s-only innovations.

It was finally time to make my way Northward towards home.  After making a bit of progress on the road, I went for one final pit stop at Pizza Port San Clemente. I’m a huge fan of this franchise.  Each Pizza Port location brews their own proprietary beers, and in my experience 95% of them are outstanding.  All styles, always something new, interesting, and sometimes challenging. 

The perfect capper to this day was coming home to incredible homemade gnocchi from my Wife.  She ended the day with her own brand of innovation.  Damn, now I wish every day was Father’s Day.

Part 2: Aggravation

Tuesday night is band practice night.  Often I’ll meet up with Matt Domino and Joe Denunzio prior to practice at a local dive bar, but occasionally we’ll hit a spot that actually carries beers I want to try.  The other week we chose Story Tavern in Burbank.  I’ve been there before, but it’s been a year or so.  Last time I had a flight of excellent Stone rarities at a Tap Takeover night.

Domino sporting the Tuesday shirt

This time I asked about ordering tasters of a few different beers.  The waitress checked with the management, and informed me they couldn’t sell me any tasters because of their Kinetic Brewing tap takeover. Even though half of their board was non-Kinetic brews, the rule still applied.
OK, I have no problem with an establishment who simply doesn’t sell samplers.  And I have no problem if there’s a special event, and they want you to buy a full pour on that night.  I get it.  But I was already aware of the Kinetic taps, and I was also aware that the official Kinetic Tap Takeover event took place on the Thursday before!  It was now Tuesday... five days later!  The actual event of a Tap Takeover is traditionally on one evening.  After that, sometimes there’s leftovers, as was the case here.  To add insult to injury, half of the fucking Kinetic beers on the board were crossed out because they ran out of them.  Not cool.  At all.  As for full pours, nothing on the board was under $8.
Don’t make an excuse that there’s a tap takeover when it’s five days after the fact and half of the goddamn featured beers aren’t even available.  I felt like I was being fleeced.  Regardless, we stuck around and had a few pints (or tulip glasses, depending on the beer).  In spite of my ruffled feathers, the Kinetic brews were outstanding, especially the KINETIC FUSION PORTER.  

Thumbs down to Story Tavern.
Thumbs up to Kinetic. 

The beering continues...

Sat 6/7 – A few flights at Slater’s 50/50 in Pasadena, and a few pints in various spots around Downtown LA

1002 - PORT BREWING ANNIVERSARY ALE – Rich ‘n hoppy excellence.

Patiently dealing with my beering

1003 - GREAT DIVIDE BREWING HERCULES DOUBLE IPA – Hefty, caramelly, malty DIPA. Flex those pecs!

1004 - MOTHER EARTH BOOKOO IPA – Light, crisp, crunch hops, tastes like one of the many session IPAs out there, and that’s a good thing. Very tasty.

1005 - RITUAL BREWING EXTRA RED – Decent red, I think I got it too cold on tap. Last sip was the best when it started to warm up.

1006 - IRONFIRE BREWING NUHELL IPL – Loved this one, following in the sizeable footsteps of Bruery Humulus. From one of my new favorites straight outta Temecula.

1007 - THE BRUERY MISCHIEF – Their flagship Belgian style. Golden, refreshing goodness.

1008 - SANTAN BREWING MR. PINEAPPLE WHEAT – Different spin on wheat beer, not syrupy as I’d expect. Really tasty, wish I was on a beach in Maui sippin’ this.

1009 - VICTORY BREWING SUMMER LOVE – Mild lager, good mild hoppiness and hints of barley. Victory never disappoints.

Slater's 50/50: Great food & flight friendly

1010 - NINKASI DAWN OF THE RED – Hoppy red, with a slight acidic bite like pink grapefruit.

1011 - LADYFACE ALEHOUSE LA GRISETTE – Majorly lemony saison.

1012 – CHIMAY CINQ CENTS TRIPEL – Mild, golden, yeasty, floral esters. More comforting than Christopher Cross on a sailboat.

1013 – SPEAKEASY THE INFORMANT SAISON – Decent, tart saison, not incredible, but OK.

1014 - SMOG CITY BREWING SABER TOOTHED SQUIRREL AMBER – Very nice, rich, full bodied.

1015 - UNITED BREWERIES KINGFISHER PREMIUM LAGER – What I expected, maybe a little better. Lite lager that goes will with our incredible Indian food at Badmaash, downtown LA

1016 – OMMEGANG HENNEPIN FARMHOUSE SAISON – Citrusy farmhouse brew, it’s got the Yum Factor.

Sun 6/8 – Chillin’ at home

1017 - BAYHAWK ALES CHOCOLATE PORTER – Roasty & chocolatey, could have been more dense for my tastes, but still a good sipper.

1018 - THE LOST ABBEY GIFT OF THE MAGI BIERE DE GARDE – Cloudy amber beer with mild spice, faint hops, light carbonation.  Decent.

1019 - EEL RIVER BREWING IPA – Nondescript, but OK.

1020 - VICTORY BREWING STORM KING IMPERIAL STOUT – Awesome hop-packed stout.

Mon 6/9 - Home

1021 - EPIC BREWING BRAINLESS IPA – Yeasty and IPAey, best of both worlds

1022 - ROGUE ALES MOCHA PORTER – First Rogue brew I’ve had in many years, I’ve been avoiding them.  Pleasantly surprised that I actually like this one quite a bit.

1023 - ANDERSON VALLEY BROTHER DAVID'S TRIPLE ABBEY STYLE ALE – Trippin’ balls about this triple. Good one.

Tues 6/10 – A few at Story Tavern, Burbank and a couple at home

1024 - DOUBLE MOUNTAIN IRA – Heavy, hop forward red ale.  Awesome, best Double Mtn to date.

1025 - KINETIC BREWING RUSTED COFFEE AMBER ALE – Coffee overload, like I’m having my morning coffee with a shot of booze.

1026 - KINETIC BREWING FUSION PORTER – Best Kinetic brew yet, super roasty, rich, freakin’ delicious. Cheers to the high desert’s finest.

1027 - KINETIC BREWING IGNITION PALE ALE – Fookin’ great, citrusy, crushingly hoppy. Love it.

1028 - BRASSERIE DIEU DU CIEL SOLSTICE D'HIVER BARLEY WINE – Delicious barleywine, heavy on the caramel, perfect nitecap, comforting, should be served with vanilla gelato.

The Morrison: Who knew Glendale doesn't have to be lame?

Wed 6/11 – Starting at home, watching the Kings blow it at Beer Belly, nitecap at The Morrison

1029 - DOUBLE MOUNTAIN SACRE BLEU – That just sounds like a nasty double entendre, doesn’t it?  Double mount’n? Very Beavis & Butthead. Anyhow, this is a decent Belgian style double, amber, malty goodness.

1030 - CRAFTSMAN BREWING O' STOUT – Drinks more like a black lager, low carbonation, decent.

1031 - CRAFTSMAN BREWING SAISON – Excellent, rich, fruity farmhouse ale with a deep orange color.  It just looks satisfying.

1032 - CRAFTSMAN BREWING MAIBOCK – Real tasty, malty, wheaty, creamy ale. My Wife says it would go well with cookies.

1033 - THE LOST ABBEY CARNEVALE – Tart and wild, very good. I liked the Craftsman Saison much better though.

1034 - ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING WILD TURKEY BOURBON BARREL STOUT – As deeelish as it sounds.

1035 - BELHAVEN BREWERY WEE HEAVY – Super sweet, rich, delicious, a liquefied powerhouse dessert in a glass

1036 - BELHAVEN BREWERY BELHAVEN BLACK – On nitro, excellent roasted malts, lighter mouthfeel, but full of flavor

Thurs 6/12 – Home

1037 – SAM ADAMS LONGSHOT GRATZER – Smells smoky, tastes like melted Popsicle in a used ashtray. Recipe is from the winner of a homebrew competition.  Gratzer is a traditional Polish smoke wheat beer.  There’s a joke in there somewhere…

1038 – UINTA BABA BLACK LAGER – Solid, roasty, easy drinking, and organic if you’re worried about such things.

1039 – GOOSE ISLAND ENDLESS IPA – Lite but sharp hop bite, very tasty session IPA, bottled 6 weeks ago, so still nice, fresh, and crunchy.

1040 – FIRESTONE WALKER VELVET MERLIN OATMEAL STOUT – Ol’ Reliable, a mighty brew that’s oaty and stouty, of course, but also very affordable. Firestone Walker is bringin’ high quality brew to The People!

Fri 6/13 – Opening a couple bottles with family, and a few late night samplers at Boneyard Bistro

1041 - EPIC BREWING SPIRAL JETTY IPA – Sorta OK IPA

1042 - CLOWN SHOES BROWN ANGEL – Hoppy imperial brown ale, even a honky like me knows how freakin’ bad ass it is

1043 - BRASSERIE CARACOLE SAXO – Super wheaty and crisp, decent golden ale

1044 - BROUWERIJ VERHAEGHE DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE – Tasty, both sweet and sour, I could marinate some pork in this & make Chinese food

1045 - SMUTTYNOSE FINESTKIND IPA – Aggressive hoppy IPA. Great stuff, Maynard.

1046 - SMUTTYNOSE ROBUST PORTER – Excellent, deep roasted malts. Maybe some mild hops lurking in there, too?

Sat 6/14 – Barely even starting in San Diego

1047 - BELL'S KALAMAZOO STOUT – So-so stout.

1048 - IRONFIRE BREWING SIX KILLER STOUT – Emphasis on “killer”, strong coffee and roasty cocoa. Great!

1049 - HUMBOLDT BREWING BLACK XANTUS – Barrel aged brilliance. Mouthfeel is smooth as silk, flavors are thick as a brick, absolute perfection.

1050 - ACOUSTIC ALES WESTBOUND AND DOWN BELGIAN QUAD – Thick and spicy Belgian Quad, two thumbs up.

1051 - ACOUSTIC ALES RUN FOR THE HILLS DIPA – Fuggin’ fantastic nuclear hop detonation.

1052 - BALLAST POINT CALICO AMBER ALE – Classic amber, rich and tasty.

Blackmail material.

1053 - CORONADO BREWING ISLANDER IPA – This is the semi-secret gem of West Coast IPAs, always a favorite, but never touted as the incredible IPA that it is. Not as easy to find as the Idiot IPA, but worth the extra legwork to track down.

1054 - BALLAST POINT BLACK MARLIN PORTER – A hop heavy porter that’s so damn good, it’s a revelation.

1055 - BRECKENRIDGE BREWERY OATMEAL STOUT – I was excited to find this Colorado brewery in California for the first time. That said, the stout itself is less than exciting. Decent, good cereally barley nose. Granted, after the excellent stouts I had earlier in the day, they’re a tough act to follow.

Sun 6/15 – San Diego contributes to the best Father’s Day ever

1056 - WHITE LABS FRANKEN STOUT – The “Franken” refers to a combination of 96 yeast strains used for fermentation. A beautiful freak of nature.

1057 - WHITE LABS TABBERER IPA WLP 001 CALIFORNIA ALE YEAST – Well balanced West Coast style IPA.

1058 - WHITE LABS TABBERER IPA WLP 090 SAN DIEGO SUPER YEAST – Citrusy with a creamy mouthfeel.

1059 - WHITE LABS TABBERER IPA WLP 4000 VERMONT DOUBLE IPA YEAST – Wheaty, clean, rural, yeast tastes like undercooked bread or cookie dough. The fella running the taps said they got this yeast strain from a “famous Vermont brewer”.  He would neither confirm nor deny that this is Alchemist yeast, but it seems likely. Is it the cousin of Heady Topper?  If he told you the answer, he would have to kill you?

1060 - WHITE LABS TABBERER IPA WLP 550 BELGIAN ALE YEAST – Heavy citrus nose and taste

1061 - WHITE LABS FRANKEN SMOKED MILD – Heavy fruit and a little bacon, not only Mild in style, but mildly smoked. Not a smoke bomb like Schlenkerla. Mellow and easy drinking.

1062 - WHITE LABS BIER DE GARDE WITH CHERRIES ON CASK – Very rural, cherries are subtle, hints of sour apple

1063 - WHITE LABS FRANKEN LAGER WITH MOSAIC – Clean, crisp, with a hint of pear

1064 - WHITE LABS FRANKEN LAGER WITH SORACHI ACE – Lemony and bready… again, all of these aforementioned “Franken” beers contain a combo of 96 yeast strains.

1065 - BALLAST POINT GRUNION PALE ALE – Crisp, solid, hoppy ale, heavy orange and kiwi.

1066 - BALLAST POINT WINTER SAN SALVADOR BLACK LAGER WITH OYSTERS – Killer spiced oyster black lager, maybe even some sage in there?

1067 - BALLAST POINT EVEN KEEL SESSION IPA – On par with all others in the recent wave of high-quality Session IPAs.

1068 - BALLAST POINT GRAPEFRUIT SCULPIN IPA – Wow, heavy acidic grapefruit overwhelms the hops. I could probably mix this in a margarita or a greyhound.

1069 - BALLAST POINT REEF RYE BROWN ALE – Rye forward and great.

1070 - BALLAST POINT CHIPOTLE BLACK MARLIN – A godsend. This already brilliant beer is taken to the next level with chipotle pepper; even superior to Habanero Sculpin in my book.

1071 - BALLAST POINT BLACK MARLIN WITH ROASTED PEANUTS AND COCOA NIBS ON CASK – Completely different beer than the Black Marlin above. The peanut flavor is overwhelming, I was expecting a PB & Chocolate bomb, but it’s mainly a peanut bomb. I don’t taste the Marlin hops, and the cocoa is extremely subtle.  Innovate and simultaneously weird.

1072 - ALESMITH BREWING 394 SAN DIEGO PALE ALE – Named for SD Padres local legend Tony Gwynn, in reference to the Hall Of Famers batting average, this drinks like a clean session IPA. Hop prominent, and delicious.

1073 - ALESMITH BREWING OLDE ALE MMXIV – Crazy sweet malts, almost a barley wine.

1074 - ALESMITH BREWING SPEEDWAY STOUT WITH ETHIOPIAN SUPERNATURAL COFFEE – Really smooth mouthfeel, rich and oily, mild espresso and cocoa presence. As superior as expected.

1075 - ALESMITH BREWING BALTIC PORTER – A bready and malty treat.

1076 - PIZZA PORT (SAN CLEMENTE) PIER RAT PORTER – A damn solid roasty Porter.

1077 - PIZZA PORT (SAN CLEMENTE) BLACK SEA BASS SCHWARTZBIER – On nitro, smooth but kinda watered down, one of the only Pizza Port brews I didn’t love.

1078 - PIZZA PORT (SAN CLEMENTE) DANGER ZONE DOUBLE IPA – Big time cannabis weed ale with those skunky hops… they should ditch their Chronic Ale, and replace it with this.

1079 - PIZZA PORT (SAN CLEMENTE) CITRA-R-RAMA -  Hoppy and light, a total yum fest.

Mon 6/16 – Home with the parents visiting from Chico

1080 – BLACK SHEEP BREWERY MONTY PYTHON’S HOLY GRAIL ALE – Tastes like a malty, melted Popsicle. In a word: Semprini.

1081 – MISSISSIPPI MUD BLACK & TAN – Derp.

1082 – SIERRA NEVADA BLINDFOLD BLACK IPA – If I’m going to be blindfolded, I think I need a “safe word”.  How about “Cacao”?  Anyhow, freakin’ great beer, powerful hop bite, love it. 

Even the sign has a bend.

Tues 6/17 – A couple at Whiskey Bend, a couple at home

1083 – SIERRA NEVADA NOONER SESSION IPA – Quite toothsome, as expected. I’ve been Nooned.

1084 – MICHELOB ULTRA – Shit beer sent through a time warp from 1986.

1085 – NEW BELGIUM FAT TIRE – Your best bet if it’s offered in a dive bar tap line-up.

1086 – GRAND TETON BREWING BITCH CREEK ESB EXTRA SPECIAL BROWN – Slight caramel malt and mildly bready. Yeah, you heard me, Biatch!

Wed 6/18 – Chillin’ at home with the family

1087 – SAM ADAMS ESCAPE ROUTE – Most Sam Adams make we wish I had an escape route. This one’s an OK kolsch, some light malts and lemony overtones (no, I didn’t say “notes”).

1088 – SIERRA NEVADA SNOW WIT WHITE IPA – Clever name, given the 7 experimental dwarf hops they used.  Awesome white IPA.

1089 – KNEE DEEP BREWING RYEDENTITY CRISIS – Not what I was expecting. Like a rye infused sour with a hint of handsoap.

1090 – GREEN FLASH DOUBLE STOUT – 5 years ago this was my favorite stout. I haven’t had it in a couple years, and it turns out this bad boy still holds its own. Deep licorice, chocolate, roasty tobacco.  I never hear anyone rave about this beer, and I have a feeling this is overlooked by the general populous in the beer community. Still awesome!

Party time.