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 #884-958 / Day #151-152: The Single Greatest Goddamn Beer Event In The Western Hemisphere

Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival. 

Wait.  

Just read that again and ponder it for a moment.  

Now that I’ve attended FWIBF, that’s how much reverence I’ve attached to FWIBF.  The name of FWIBF can only be spoken or read with a brief pause in order to reflect on the fact that it’s The Single Greatest Goddamn Beer Event In The Western Hemisphere.

I’ve never attended this gathering, and I didn’t do much research on it.  I briefly scanned the list of brewers, knew it would be awesome, and put it out of my mind.  What didn’t occur to me until I got there was this cross-section of breweries represented The Best Of The Best.   The recent LA area brewfests I’ve attended we’re most likely just free rein to whoever wanted to pay for a booth.  And as unmatched as Denver’s annual Great American Beer Festival is, and as competitive as it is for breweries to even get a table at GABF, there is still a lacking element of meticulous quality control.  This is the upper hand of the FWIBF.  It’s not just an open casting call.  It’s like GABF, pared down to manageable size, with the riff raff weeded out.  Participating breweries have been invited by Firestone Walker.  They are the upper echelon of not only Domestic, but International brewers as well.  

When geeks get extra geeky about their beer, who do they name drop?  Fifty/Fifty?  Three Floyds?  Surly?  Mikkeller?  Cigar City?  They’re all here!  And not until I arrived did I get the full impact of what a treasure trove of geekdom this was.  

Sure, you guys are cute and all, but wine? WTF?

At this tent was a plethora of beers I’ve never heard of, but each one was better than the previous.  At that tent was a beer I had only heard about from friends or read about online, and here it was, freely flowing on tap for unlimited pours.  I’m never going to make it to Tampa, FL for Cigar City’s annual release party for the highly sought after Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout.  But here it was in my home state. In arm's reach, to enjoy without restriction until the keg runs dry.

The wife & I ventured North through the featureless Central Valley of California, turning West on Hwy 46, past Brown Material Road, past the death site of James Dean, to the uppity booze mecca of Paso Robles.  We convinced our wine-addicted friends The Beckers to trek to Paso the same weekend.  The Mrs. would have enjoyed FWIBF for about two hours, then would have tugged at my shirt tails for the next four hours begging to leave.  There was no way I was leaving this event until they kicked me out (which is what ultimately happened), so I pawned her off on The Beckers for a day of wine tasting adventures, while I indulged in my hobby/passion/obsession for the day.

My pal Barnaby Struve, VP of Three Floyds Brewing, was kind enough to comp my entry, so I was allowed to partake in the Brewer’s VIP early entrance privileges.  This gathering was tightly organized, with every detail given attention.  Not only was each beer geek issued a tasting glass, but also a small tray for food samples, as well as a booklet listing all breweries alphabetically and noting what they were pouring… even calling out specific kegs as “Rare Beer”.  They even gave us miniature golf pencils to take notes. There was plenty of elbow room, plenty of free water for hydration, multiple vendors plating up free food samples.  And center stage, a generous sampling of the finest beer on the planet, many of which are not otherwise available in Califonia. 

Sockeye fans are dumb.

True to form, and determined not to conform, Barnaby from Three Floyds sported a Bastard Noise T-shirt while pouring at their booth.  Since he got me in, I repayed him with a super shitty CDR copy the Sockeye “Barf On A Globe” collection of songs from compilations and split records.  Nobody knows who Sockeye is (including you), and out of the few people who do know Sockeye, even fewer are actually fans of Sockeye.  But Barnaby is that rare off-kilter type of gentleman who actually is a fan, and was genuinely happy to receive it.  I got in early on 3F’s stellar Yum Yum Pale Ale (which they describe as “pale ale-ish”), their Barrel Aged Blot Out The Sun Imperial Stout which nearly made me weep at its perfection, and I was lucky enough to be present when they opened their only two available bottles of the Ol Leghorn Barleywine, a collaboration brew with Firestone Walker that I have yet to find on a shelf, even at Firestone.

Rubbin elbows with this Surly couple

I schmoozed by way across the event center to greet a few more old pals, most notably Todd & Linda Haug, the power couple in charge of the mighty Surly Brewing out of Minnesota.  Thanks to US Air, the Haug’s luggage was lost, and therefore, they had to buy clean clothes for the day at a nearby Target.  Also out there somewhere in their missing bags were the Surly banner, and accompanying Surly tchotchkes like stickers and beer can koozies.  In spite of the setbacks and frustrations, they commandeered their tent with some of the finest brews known to mankind, and I happily sampled their legendary Darkness Stout and the long-awaited Pentagram dark sour.

I met up with Dustin Durrance, a friend of Dave Witte’s from Richmond, VA (then again, isn’t everyone a friend of Dave Witte’s?), and beer nerd who follows this stuff way more than I do.  He’s a super cool dude and clued me in to some of the “must haves” I wasn’t even focused on, such as the Kern River Citra Double IPA.  Then I ran into some old cohorts from the San Jose hardcore/grind/punk scene, the group of which are all mega beer nerds, and at several points throughout the day we connected and bonded over our mutual love of high quality brews and high speed bands. 

This is how they say "Cheers" in Richmond

Bottom line, it was a mass of pleased humanity.  We were all simultaneously tipsy, ecstatic, euphoric. 

Unlike most other Fests I attend, on this day very few of my samples were poured out midway to make room for something different.  The glass was small, and most pours were a third to half full, so I managed to make my way through an astounding 55 samples.  A nice lead on trying this many beers was unexpectedly gaining access about 40 minutes before the main gates opened (Thank you again FFF!).  Out of 55 total beers this day, maybe only 4-5 were “pretty good”, but even that description is likely reliant upon the fact that the bar had been raised to its highest point across the board.  On a day when every brewer was exceptional, and bringing their A-Game, anything considered “decent” was still exceptionally better than any day-to-day brau out there.  Within the confines of this compound, the extravagance of high quality sudsery felt debaucherous.  With unlimited access to many of the greatest beers on the planet, I felt like Caligula, violating every keg within arm’s reach. Off the cuff I would have described each of these beers as “one of the best”, on a day when EVERYTHING was The Best.

Exclusive Geek's-eye View!

For now, I'm breathing deeply, relishing the memory, but keeping focused on my next conquest.  Did someone say "quadruple digits"?  Stay tuned!

The tally continues…

5/31 – The Single Greatest Goddamn Beer Event In The Western Hemisphere, plus a few nitecaps at the diviest bar in Morro Bay:

884 - THREE FLOYDS YUM YUM PALE ALE - Self-described "Pale Ale-ish", but “Yum Yum” describes it perfectly.  Yum.

885 - FIRESTONE WALKER / THREE FLOYDS COLLABORATION OL LEGHORN BARLEY WINE - Hopped, barrel aged barley wine. As unreal as expected.

886 - THREE FLOYDS BLOT OUT THE SUN STOUT BARREL AGED - Holy. Eff. One of my favorites. Of all time. You're not allowed to try this. Don't even look at it. In fact, don't even read this.

887 - CIGAR CITY HUNAHPU'S IMPERIAL STOUT 2014 - Was beginning to think I'd never get to try this elusive behemoth. Massive, heavy cinnamon & cocoa, unique compared to other imperial stouts

888 – SURLY DARKNESS RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT - The legend continues.

889 – SURLY PENTAGRAM - Heavy cherry and "barnyard funk", dark, dank, tart, brilliant, and somewhat evil

890 – BOULEVARD GINGER LEMON RADLER - Melted frozen popsicle, lemon & ginger overload, I should be floating in an inner tube

891 - DOGFISH HEAD WINE BARREL AGED BLACK AND BLUE - A one-off? Damn, I got lucky. Major dark berry jammy powerhouse, mildly sour, mmhmmm

892 - MIKKELLER ORANGE YUZU GLAD I SAID PORTER GRAND MARNIER BARREL AGED - Aged in Grand Marnier barrels, subtle flavors, still can't rightfully say I know what yuzu tastes like

893 - MIKKELLER TENDERLOIN APA - Usually only available at their SF taproom, but sampled at FWIBF, love it, not overly hoppy, enough hop kick but still well balanced

894 - BRAUFACTUM ROOG RAUCHWEIZEN - Smoked beer that is thankfully mild on the smoke, fruity, floral, really unique, excellent

895 - BEAR REPUBLIC TARTARE ROUGE RED SOUR - Serious funk like a "corked" bottle of wine or a pungent bleu cheese, mildly & wonderfully moldy and weird sour. Great!

896 - BEACHWOOD DENVER JACKHAMMER – Creamy with a bite, listed at 100+ IBU. As Bon Scott would say, I’ve got The Jack.

897 - FIFTY FIFTY COFFEE-VANILLA ECLIPSE – Considering how crazy expensive all of their beers are, sampling their wares here was a golden opportunity. I avoided the mile long Russian River line and opted for the ¼ mile long Fifty Fifty line instead.  This beer puts all other beer to shame. Aged in oak bourbon barrels, espresso, vanilla, coffee.  Brought me to the verge of tears.  Thank you Baby Jesus.

898 - PIZZA PORT SOUR BEER HUNTER 2013 – Heavy on the Rainier Cherries, not overly pucker, delicious, like a liquified Hostess Cherry Fruit Pie with a sh*t-ton of alcohol

899 - ODELL BREWING DR. ACULA BARREL AGED BLACK ALE – This makes me even more depressed that Odell isn’t distributed in California.  This “coffin aged” ale is one of the finest on a day filled with exceptional beers. 

900 - REVOLUTION BREWING STRAIGHT JACKET BOURBON BARREL AGED BARLEY WINE - Fruit, coconut, bourbon... in two words:  Fucking insane!

901 - RAHR & SONS STORMCLOUD BRITISH STYLE IPA – Clearly not a West Coast style IPA, mild bitter bite almost like the world’s most mellow but still noticeable chile pepper, clean and tasty.

902 - RAHR & SONS BUCKING BOCK – They were supposed to be pouring a barrel aged version at the FWIBF, but received the wrong keg. No matter, this straight forward Helles Bock is still awesome.  Solid.  Floral without being flowery.  You can still drink it like a man.

903 - ODELL BREWING 59ER OAK AGED GOLDEN ALE – One of my favorite sours to date. So drinkable I could go through a growler solo.

904 - KERN RIVER CITRA DIPA – Grapefruity, not too bitter but it has a ridiculous hop bite, in a good way. World class. Worth the wait in line.

905 - THE BRUERY HUMULUS LAGER WITH COCONUT – My favorite IPL from one of my favorite IPLs, given a brand new twist. Tastes like coconut weed.

906 - GOLDEN ROAD EL HEFE ANEJO – Hefeweizen aged in Anejo Tequila barrels. One of my previous favorites from Golden Road. This year’s batch is extra tequila-ey.  Whoa!  Serious.

907 - JESTER KING NOCTURN CHRYSALIS – Sour, barrel aged blackberry beer. Interesting.  I like it, but I’m OK with just a taste.

908 - NEBRASKA BREWING ROMANCING THE CONE IPA - Nice sharp IPA with a grease slick of hop oils.

909 - BEACHWOOD SYSTEM OF A STOUT – Intensely concentrated Imperial Stout with Armenian coffee. One of the best beer names. Super duper good. And you don’t have to live in Glendale to enjoy it.

910 - FUNKWERKS SAISON – Refreshing saison, not super memorable, but I dug it

911 - FUNKWERKS RASPBERRY PROVINCIAL – Too wine-cooler-esque for me.

ANOTHER selfie?  Give it a rest, Bub!

912 – BONEYARD NOTORIOUS TRIPLE IPA – Possibly the crunchiest mouthfeel of any IPA ever produced.  Whoa!  Pungent and delicious.

913 – LAGUNITAS NIGHT TIME BLACK IPA – Farckin’ stellar even in the daytime. I love hop-forward dark brews.

914 - SUN KING LONESOME DOVE BELGIAN TRIPEL AGED IN PAPPY VAN WINKLE BOURBON BARRELS - Vanilla-ey, creamy, fruity, rich... just kill me now.

915 - OMMEGANG GNOMEGANG – smooooth malt mouthfeel, fruity, yeasty. Your ceramic lawn decorations will approve.

916 - BELL'S OARSMAN – Decent, light, citrusy session beer

917 - REVOLUTION BREWING DOS OSOS IPA – So hoppy but not crunchy, one of my favorite IPAs of the year

918 - BEAVERTOWN HEAVY WATER IMPERIAL STOUT – Effin’ solid! Tastes like and American Imperial Stout. Black chocolate motor oil. Love it!  9 outta 10.

919 – TAPS REMY OOH LA LA RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT – Yet another 5 star beer today… too many to keep track of.  Stout aged in Rittenhouse Rye barrels.  I’m home.

920 - ODELL BREWING LOOSE LEAF – Floral, light, sessionable, great everyday beer

921 - TRIPLE ROCK CELLARMAN SAISON BARREL AGED – Sour, aged in red wine barrels, distinct. Killer!

922 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY SAN DIEGO SURPRISE PALE ALE - Carries as much hop weight as any of their IPAs.

923 - FIRESTONE WALKER UDBA UNFILTERED BRITISH PALE ALE – floral, easy to drink, sessionable

924 - FIRESTONE WALKER DOUBLE JACK DOUBLE IPA – Great hop powerhouse, I’d have no issues drinking this 365 days a year.

925 - FIRESTONE WALKER PIVO HOPPY PILS – Loved it last year.  Love it this year.  Can it still fall in the Pils category with this much hoppiness?  Don’t care.  Gonna drink it regardless.

926 - FIFTY FIFTY OLD CONUNDRUM AGED ON PAPPY BARLEY WINE – Read the name and you already know this is incredible. Bourbon barrel barley wine that is beyond 5 stars.  The only conundrum is whether or not I’ll ever enjoy this again.

927 - ALESMITH SPEEDWAY STOUT BARREL AGED WITH VIETNAMESE COFFEE – Proof there is a God in Heaven who made it possible for me to sample this beer again in my lifetime.

928 - TRIPLE ROCK CELLARMAN SAISON – Big citrus, but not tart.  Really different.  Really goddamn good! 4.5 stars.

929 - MOONLIGHT DEATH & TAXES BLACK ALE - Aggressively malt-forward, refreshing as hell

930 - DOGFISH HEAD NAMASTE WITBIER – spicey lighter beer, really nice

931 - ALESMITH GINGER LIL' DEVIL – So gingery it burns!

San Ho, represent, Yo!

932 - YO-HO TOKYO BLACK PORTER – One of the few rare Japanese beers I’ve had. A light porter compared to most American ones. Unfortunately my least fave of the day at FWIBF.

933 - PIZZA PORT AVA'S PALE ALE – Crazy hoppy, might as well be an IPA.  Flawless like 99.9% of Pizza Port brews.

934 - SURLY OVERRATED WEST COAST STYLE IPA – Best name for an IPA ever.  Best brewery as well.

935 - SURLY BITTER BREWER – Lovin’ it.

936 - SURLY HELL LAGER – Helles yes.

937 - BIRRIFICIO ITALIANO SPARROW PIT BARLEY WINE – Hoppy Italian barley wine, shared a bottle inside the fest with San Jose punx after The Man cut off the taps.  Wow.  Bad arse.

938 - SURLY FURIOUS IPA – The classic.

939 - MURPHY'S IRISH STOUT – Watered down, forgettable.  At the divey Fuel Dock, Morro Bay, CA.

940 - NEW BELGIUM RANGER IPA – Also at the Fuel Dock.  Not bad, but silly to even try after 55 world class beers at the FWIBF.

6/1 – Tasting at Firestone Walker Barrelworks, Buellton, then a tasting at the Telegraph tasting room in Santa Barbara:

Barrelworks: The Promised Land

941 - FIRESTONE WALKER ZIN SKIN – Experimental Barrelworks concoction using techniques from both beer and wine making. Bretta Weisse aged in oak with Zinfandel grape skins added. Like an acidic, mildly carbonated rose wine.

942 - FIRESTONE WALKER BCZAR BEANS – Russian Imperial Stout infused with coffee and aged in a single bourbon barrel for seven years!  What?  Who can wait that long?  I’m glad they did.  Unparalleled greatness.

943 - FIRESTONE WALKER STICKEE MONKEE (2014) – Belgian quad aged in spirits barrels with Mexican brown sugar added. As rich and complex as it sounds. A modern day classic beverage.

944 - FIRESTONE WALKER BRAVO BARREL AGED IMPERIAL BROWN ALE – Aged in spirits barrels, a real crusher.  In a flight of four perfect Barrelworks beers, this one was my favorite.

945 - FIRESTONE WALKER TAPROOM BROWN – Lighter and roasty, hard act to follow after tasting in the Barrelworks room, but still damn good.

946 - FIRESTONE WALKER HAMMERSMITH IPA – Maltier, more mellow IPA

947 - FIRESTONE WALKER WOOKEY JACK BLACK RYE IPA – A favorite of mine, real bite and wheat field goodness mixed with a hop attack

948 - TELEGRAPH BREWING LOS PADRES SAISON – I tasted cookie dough yeast. My wife didn’t. I’m probably wrong. We both loved it though.

Telegraph: Best brewery hangs in SB

949 - TELEGRAPH BREWING PRIME MERIDIAN ALE – Mildly hoppy, mildly tropical

950 - TELEGRAPH BREWING RAVENA STOUT – Roasty, lighter dark beer, more like a porter in my book. Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoyed it though. I’m unfairly comparing to the Firestone Walker Barrelworks stouts which are too dense to see any light source through.

951 - TELEGRAPH BREWING CALIFORNIA ALE – Mild esters, floral hints, their flagship Belgian style ale is a good ‘un.

952 - TELEGRAPH BREWING CIPHER KEY SESSION ALE – Mild, rye extra pale ale, s’good

953 - TELEGRAPH BREWING STOCK PORTER – Another standby

954 - TELEGRAPH BREWING WHITE ALE – Belgian wit, definitely getting some chamomile out of this.

955 - TELEGRAPH BREWING PACIFIC STANDARD TIME BELGIAN STYLE ALE – My fave of all 10 tasters. Very malty Belgian style with the fainted bit o’ pineapple, which isn’t very Belgian whatsoever.

956 - TELEGRAPH BREWING 1927 EXTRA PALE ALE – Heavy orange extra pale ale, really opens up at room temp.

957 - TELEGRAPH BREWING FLOTSAM LAGER - nice

958 - BUTTE CREEK ORGANIC PORTER – Capping of this amazing weekend at home. Even though “organic” scares me, this beer did not. Roasted & comforting.

Insect Porn is real.