Beer #959-1,001 / Day #153-157: Rarefied Air - The Quest For Beer #1000

"They’re men, dear. If they stop competing, then they die.” – JoBeth Williams in “The Big Year”

Upon the conclusion of my original 2013 Big Year In Beer, I publicly laid out the ground rules for the Big Year which I would again be pursuing in 2014.  At least two of my friends, that I’m aware of, accepted it as a challenge and successfully kept pace ahead of me for the first five months of this year.  I blogged my frustrations about trailing behind two men who I considered to have substantial advantages over me:  1. Randy Carncross for working at a brew pub and attaining endless access to new beer all day every day.   2. Chris W. who quite honestly can afford to purchase every beer in the Western Hemisphere, and has the temperament to stow them all away in his stomach in mass quantities... kinda like a Conehead except he’s not as pointy. 

The original Three. Too bad there's no breweries on Attu.

After this past weekend in Paso at the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival, and a few additional tastings along the way, I greatly increased my numbers.  I was sure that I had finally pulled into the lead ahead of both Randy and Chris, and before I knew it I was 42 beers short of the magical milestone of 1,000. 

1,000 different beers. It’s an arbitrary number, and there’s no prize, so why does hitting 1,000 seem like such a big deal?  I have no idea.  It just does.  

Another selfie? I thought you'd never ask!

Being the first to reach quadruple digits is like Neil Armstrong stepping onto the lunar surface.  It’s uncharted territory, and many will follow, but there is a certain satisfaction knowing you’re the first. 

With this milestone in mind, I pushed myself this week to sample more than I ordinarily would on an average week.  The last thing I need is some pesky pal sneaking up and hitting 1,000 before me.  Each day I was focused on my goal, with the eye of the tiger, and the belly of a hobo.  Establishments serving affordable flights and tasters were my only chance to barrel through 42 different beers during the week. 

I launched my attack:

*Tony’s Darts Away, Burbank – Two visits, some of the best beer around and one of my favorite spots which constantly rotates their selection.

*Infest practice – My weekly band practice. I asked Matt Domino to bring a couple singles of what he brands “American Shit Lager”. He brought some shit, that’s for sure, but I still sampled it, and it was new to my list.

BJ's: Turns out the name is false advertising

*BJ’s, Burbank – They serve a long list of proprietary brews.  I dropped in at 10:45pm on a Tuesday evening for a nitecap after practice, thinking it would be a quiet place for a couple flights. The place was packed, for no reason.  Apparently this is where Burbankeans go to party.  Bleached blonde whores, dumpy geeks, muscular bros in Affliction gear, old Armenian families, you name it… maybe everyone doesn’t need a beer as much as I do, but clearly everyone needs a Pazookie.

*Boneyard Bistro, Studio City – When the boss says he wants to take you out after work, you say “Yes”, but the deal is even sweeter when it’s at a place with constantly changing primo taps & incredible BBQ, and you’re watching your home team in the Stanley Cup. All of the planets were aligned in my favor.

*Vendome Liquors, North Hollywood – Harley the Cicerone is a saint for organizing multiple beer tastings that are both varied and affordable. He recently started a program of New Release tastings every Thursday.  Perfect timing for me.

With focus and determination, despite my woes and self-pity, halfway into the year I’ve now pulled into the lead.  I’m the first to reach Beer #1,000 in 2014. 

Am I the new Mozart?

Or Sandy Komito?

Or Sir Edmund Hillary? 

Maybe not. But the 1,000s are rarefied air, especially this early in the year.
Follow me if you must, but be sure to hire a Sherpa.

The beering continues....

6/2 – Tony’s Darts Away samplers, and one at home

959 – LAGUNITAS SF FUSION DOUBLE IPA – Full bodied with a lingering hoppy finish.

Tony's is No baloney

960 – CORONADO HOPPY DAZE IPA – After SF Fusion this one almost tastes rural, like a hoppy wheat field.  Great stuff.

961 – GOLDEN ROAD GET UP OFFA THAT BROWN WITH COFFEE ON CASK – Cask conditioning seems to take the acidic bite away from the coffee, resulting in a cleaner coffee beer. Dangerously easy to drink. I could chug this all day.

962 – MODERN TIMES BLACK HOUSE BOURBON OATMEAL COFFEE STOUT – First off, a Modern Times beer not from a can?  Cool.  Second, Tony’s Darts Away serves this at the perfect temp… not too cold, and not as warm as the cask beer above. I’m tasting the subtleties of everything in the name of this beer, and I’m guessing they would be buried if it was served too cold. Truly an outstanding beer.

963 – GOLDEN ROAD DART’S AWAY IPA – Nice one! Crisp hop bite, heavy dense orangey citrusness

964 – HAVEN BREWING UNFILTERED IPA – Mellow mouthfeel, sharp hop presence. I haven’t had any of Haven’s proprietary beers in over a year, and clearly they’ve stepped up their game. The best Haven beer to date.

From the sublime to the ridiculous

965 - STRAND BREWING HARVEST BALL ORANGE WITBEER – Deep orange color, refreshing, I had this while swimming on a hot summer’s eve.

6/3 – A good one at home, two bad ones at Infest practice, eight decent tasters at BJ’s

966 - HUMBOLDT BREWING 500 B.C. DOUBLE IPA – As majestic as an ancient redwood, this is a mighty imperial that towers over the rest

967 - KING COBRA MALT LIQUOR – I feel like I should be wearing baggy shorts and spray painting graffiti

968 - MILLER BREWING STEEL RESERVE 211 – Unparalleled excellence in brewing… but enough talk about Three Floyds…

969 - BJ'S JEREMIAH RED – Mildly fruity for a red.  So-so.

970 - BJ'S HOPSTORM IPA – Maybe more of a light sprinkle, but mildly hoppy and better than expected.

971 - BJ'S HAPPY SCOTSMAN – Limited release, served too cold, but it’s a much better beer when it warms up. A mild Scottish ale with barely detectable hops.

972 - BJ'S TATONKA STOUT – Again, decent when it warms up a bit, chocolatey smooth maltiness, would make a nice ice cream float

Boneyard frivolity

973 - BJ'S GOLIATH IMPERIAL RED ALE – Their best offering, hop forward and wonderfully dense mouthfeel

974 - BJ'S PIRANHA PALE ALE – moderate hop definition, pretty good

975 - BJ'S NUTTY BREWNETTE – heavy roasted malts, perty good

976 - BJ'S PM PORTER – on nitro, smooth and roasty, as nutty as the brown

6/4 – First Kings/Rangers Stanley Cup game, happy co-workers, many samplers at Boneyard Bistro

977 - HESS BREWING JUCUNDUS WHEAT ALE – Decent wit, nice & orangey

978 - MONKISH BREWING GALAXY DEFENDER PALE ALE – Tasty Belgian style pale ale

979 - EL SEGUNDO BREWING HOP TANKER DOUBLE IPA – El Segundo just keeps crankin’ out the superior IPAs. This one is a Double. Keep that conveyor belt rollin’, guys…

980 - DOUBLE MOUNTAIN MOLTEN LAVA DOUBLE IPA – Didn’t really dig their standard IPA, but this Imperial wins some Brownie points.

981 - NOBLE ALE WORKS ENGLISH 101 – Solid, nutty English strong ale

Boneyard samplers in front of actual bones

982 - EL SEGUNDO BREWING STATION NO. 1 AMBER – Shit, they just keep releasing all good stuff. I need to get off my ass & visit El Segundo already.

983 - BROUWERIJ ST. BERNARDUS ABT 12 BELGIAN QUAD -  Sweet, fruity, malty powerhouse of a Belgian quad.  Too good.

984 - ALESMITH RAMBLIN' RYE – Superior, rich, malty, deep brown rye beer.

985 - THE BRUERY HOTTENROTH – Supposed to be a Berliner Weisse, but I’m not getting the typical sourness. There’s some pucker from the heavy lemon, but it’s more like a summer shandy.

986 - ALESMITH SUMMER YULESMITH – The mother effin’ bomb of Double IPAs.

987 - HESS BREWING HABITUS RYE BEER – Very grain-forward, if that makes any sense. Tastes like a field of rye being stone ground for the bread maker. Very good.

988 - CUVEE DE JACOBINS ROUGE – Whoa, good and SOUR, mildly funky like an old red wine.

989 - SCALDIS NOEL – A nice, muscular Belgian Strong.  Super sweet malts, anise, chocolate.

990 - REISSDORF KOLSCH – Excellent! Damn rich for a kolsch. This is what beer should be.

God bless you Harley the Cicerone

991 - ST. LOUIS GUEUZE FOND TRADITION – Horrifically weird.  Major pucker with a blender full of green beans. Super odd. Can’t shake the funk and the spicy green veggie aftertaste.

6/5 – Vendome, Harley the Cicerone’s excellent new release beer tasting, and a so-so bottle at home

992 – BELCHING BEAVER RABID BEAVER BITE RYE IPA – Great bite, creamy mouthfeel, evenly balanced hops and rye, love it!

993 – STONE ENJOY BY 7-04-14 DOUBLE IPA – As perfect as all others in the series.  Enjoy NOW!

994 – BOULDER BREWING 35TH ANNIVERSARY BLACK IPA– Big, roasted malt and hop collision.  Excellent!

995 – STONE STOCHASTICITY QUADROTRITICALE – Slightly sweet, slightly fruity, rich quad that isn’t too heavy or syrupy, just right

996 - OMMEGANG GAME OF THRONES FIRE AND BLOOD RED ALE - I dunno, I don't really dig it. The previous G.O.T. beers were solid, but this one has some wobbly legs on it.

#999 - A pint of Alpiney perfection

6/6 - A few more at Tony's and a big finale at home with the family on a Friday night. This is how it should be:

997 - BEAR REPUBLIC CUVEE DE BUBBA - A sour that lies somewhere between a Sweet Tart and bubble bath soap. I don't love it.

998 - SIERRA NEVADA HOPTIMUM - Their seasonal Double IPA that I look forward to every year. One of the best.

999 - ALPINE HOPPY BIRTHDAY - Never had this one, and never seen it on tap until two days ago. Thanks to Green Flash helping them boost production their Southland distribution is much wider. That said, who knows if this one will end up as limited as most of their other famous IPAs, so instead of a sampler glass, I ordered a full pint at Tony's.  It's on par with their other A-List IPAs. 

1000 - ALPINE PURE HOPPINESS - Complete & utter hop supremacy from SoCal's most sought after brewery.

1001 - INLAND EMPIRE BREWING PEPIN THE SHORT PORTER - Never heard of this brewer before, and I bought this on a whim because it was something new, and it was inexpensive.  I wasn't expecting much, but thankfully I was proven wrong.  Like, really wrong. Big time.  This is a fantastic, well-rounded, full-bodied, deliciously roasty, chocolatey, portly porter.  Now I'm determined to seek out their other releases.

You mean someone beat 732?

Beer #667-739 / Day #120-127: Sabroso, Sam Adams, & Sobriety

The Man... serving The Ladies.

The end of last week was close to wrapping up, and it couldn't have concluded any better than having my pal Ryan Harkins, co-owner of burger mecca GRILL EM ALL, inviting us down to hang out for the evening with him, his awesome wife Kevine, and some of their old Chicagoland pals Emily, her husband Brian, and his sister Maggie.  The invite was all I needed to show up, but Ryan further sweetened the deal by informing me they have the somewhat elusive HUMULUS IMPERIAL PALE LAGER from THE BRUERY on tap.  This is by far one of my favorite local beers.  Legend has it that The Bruery has sworn they will never produce an IPA.  Their way around it?  Create a hop-bomb lager... the very first IPL that I was ever aware of, and since then several larger brewers have stolen the IPL thunder... Sam Adams, Widmer, and a few others.  Humulus is a modern day classic.  But I digress...

While it was an unusually slow evening at Grill Em All's location in the heart of downtown Alhambra, Ryan and his business partner Matt were busy hosting a bevvy of friends and fans, not the least of which were a contingent of old school execs from Metal Blade Records.  In the meantime, my wife Camille and I made fast friends with the Windy City cohorts and engorged ourselves with the greatest, most filling, ridiculously over-the-top, decadent burgers in existence.  Their special burger with ghost peppers and birria was seriously tempting, but I knew realistically I wouldn't survive, so The Mrs and I split a Cowboy From Hell burger topped with BBQ chicken.. Ryan treated our table to every possible combination of fries, all incredible, and my favorites being the No More Mr. Nice Fries topped with chili, and the Anvil Fries topped with duck confit and duck gravy.  Everything was delicious beyond words, and the only thing missing was a stomach pump to remedy our gluttonous overindulgence. 

She has a new shirt, I'm just bad at selfies

After a few pints of Humulus and the Iron Maiden Trooper, an English bitter that was even better this time than I recall, we stumbled a block over to 38 DEGREES, a beer bar with arguably some of the best taps in LA.  They manage to wrangle some of the rarest kegs around, and know their shit.  Ryan's pal Phil Merkow, a fellow mega beer nerd, joined us as a kindred spirit in our communal love for the brau.  Camille and I  ordered a flight to share, and generously, our entire table of eight all passed around each others goblets and tasters.  I ended up trying much more than anticipated for a Thursday night, and it was all outstanding.  Now that ALPINE has recently upped their production thanks to GREEN FLASH, I was able to get their stellar NELSON IPA on tap for the first time ever.  Great peeps, great times, great beer.

After going through the motions of Friday, Saturday had finally arrived... the day I had been anticipating… the day of Sabroso Craft Beer & Taco Festival.  I had been looking forward to this day for months.  What I wasn’t looking forward to were the 90+ degree temps that SoCal had been experiencing all week.  My Wife’s MS has been bad lately, and the heat affects her adversely, so she decided to stay home rather than risk collapsing in some remote hillside park in Orange County.  I tried to find a last minute drinking buddy, but no luck.  I had to eat the extra ticket.  Rather than dwell on the loss, I focused on the positives… there was an extraordinary number of new beers waiting to be tasted, and I intended to make my way through as many as humanly possible over the course of this four-hour session.  But my Wife was going to be the designated driver.  Now what?  I had nightmarish visions of being too tipsy to leave, and a gauntlet of unavoidable DUI checkpoints. 

At the last moment, I remembered a link my overseas pal Randy Carncross posted: Jim Koch, founder of Sam Adams Brewery, talked about a method he adopted to avoid getting drunk at extended beer tasting sessions:  Consuming active dry yeast.

Brilliance or idiocy?

Since reading this a few weeks back, I had been meaning to give this a shot, and today was the perfect occasion to see how effective, or how completely ridiculous, this idea would be.  The more I drove and lingered on the idea, the more I envisioned all possible bad outcomes.

What if the yeast makes me violently sick? 

What if a loaf of bread forms in my gut and I can’t poop it out?

What if the yeast blows up my stomach and I end up expanding like Veruca Salt in “Willy Wonka”?

What if this yeast story is an elaborate prank, purposely planted in the media to ensnare beer geeks into trying something absolutely absurd?

En route to the fest, I stopped at a Ralph’s supermarket in Orange.  In the baking aisle I found the intimidating packets of Fleischman’s yeast.  Koch said he mixed yeast with yogurt to make the taste more palatable.  I opted for a small container of chocolate pudding.

Yum.

Traversing the country road out to Lake View Park out in Silverado, I reached the parking lot 15 minutes before the start of the session.  Enough time to prep my buzzkill formula.  I couldn’t help thinking this is either the dumbest thing I’ve tried, or the smartest thing I’ve tried.  Considering all of my preconceived fears about active dry yeast, I kept my initial intake small… less than one packet.  To my surprise, it wasn’t bad at all.  In fact, it tastes like Grape Nuts cereal.  Hell, I’m a beer drinker, and I love yeasty beers, so it should have occurred to me sooner this wouldn’t be a big deal.  I speedily scarfed down the concoction, then unsuccessfully asked around the parking lot if anyone needed an extra ticket.  No dice.  In fact, several other folks had extras, too.  I had to accept the fact that I was going to take a bath on the second ticket if I wanted to start tasting on time, so I semi-reluctantly ventured into the tasting area.

The location itself as well as the layout of the event couldn’t have been better.  Plenty of room to spread out.  Plenty of trees for shade.  Live music.  Masked lucha libre Mexican-style wrestling.  Even a few non-beer vendors for those who needed a break from all things brewish. 

This does NOT suck.

And most importantly, the range of breweries represented the pick of the litter of establishments from California's Lower Half.  Many old favorites, many I’ve seen but never tried, and a couple I’d never even heard of.  While I was not in the loop with any hype for the day, it was clear that the buzz was all about the newest Anaheim-based brewery BOTTLE LOGIC.  Neighboring tents catered to lines of 2-3 patrons at a time, while the Bottle Logic tent had a line that doubled back and stretched so far I didn’t even realize the end of the line was actually a line for anything.  I had perused many recent positive write ups about this establishment, but I also don’t have the patience to wait for anything… especially in a park that was teeming to the seams with countless available taps (and on a separate topic to rant about another day, “fuck, no” I’m not waiting in any freakin’ line, even if it's for Pliny The Younger!). 

As expected, this fest, like most, was heavy on the IPAs overall, although 85% PIZZA PORT ORDER IN THE PORT, EL SEGUNDO HYPERION’S STOUT WITH VANILLA BEAN, BACKSTREET SANTO MOLE CHILE STOUT, and the TAPS MOCHA STOUT, although top honors and Beer Of The Day go to BOTTLE LOGIC… once their line finally died down, their premium offerings were still available, and I was lucky enough to sample the next-to-last tasting of their off-the-charts LECHE BORRACHO MOLE STOUT AGED IN TEQUILA OAK CHIPS.  Every BOTTLE LOGIC beer was unique, and although I’m not a hob-nobber or social butterfly in general, I had to shake the hand of their President Steve Napolitano for his innovative and just effing delicious beers. 
of them were damn good.  A surprising number of stouts were available, which made me a happy man, the most memorable being the

Still does NOT suck.

This day was full of continued pleasant surprises.  All of the BLACK MARKET brews were terrific, but I’ve never had an imperial brown ale until I tried their outstanding EMBARGO IMPERIAL BROWN.  The gregarious Phil Thomas repped the excellent CLOWN SHOES SPACE CAKE IMPERIAL IPA. NOBLE ALE WORKS blew me way with their spicy PISTOLA CHILE PILSNER and their complex ROSALITA HIBISCUS PILSNER, both being wonderfully tweaked offshoots of their standard PISTOL WHIP’D PILSNER, not to mention the guys at their tent were the only dudes besides Phil who knew what my SURLY hat was. 

I enjoyed nearly everything I tried, but my runaway favorites for the day were the kick-in-the-pants chile beers... aside from the aforementioned brews, IRONFIRE BREWING HABANERO PALE, BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING ANAHEIM, CA CHILE PALE WHEAT ALE, and VALIANT BREWING HOT & KOLSCH did a fine job of kicking my posterior.  Such a wide variety of unique brewing approaches, from IPAs to Kolsch to Stouts, and I loved every single one of them.
I spent four solid hours consuming delicious tacos from HAVEN and THE KROFT, gulping tons of water, asking for half-pours and getting full pours, and pouring more than half of them out, and in the end I managed to make my way through 44 new beers for my Big Year.  For nearly all of them, I sampled them in three sips and moved on, although a couple were way too perfect to pour out, so I drank the full pour, not knowing when I’d get another chance… most notably the BOTTLE LOGIC LECHE BORRACHO and the NOBLE PISTOLA.

In every way, this does NOT suck.

All of this was achieved without my stomach exploding.  Did the yeast trick work?  Possibly.  I should have consumed even more yeast to really see if I could even keep the mild buzz at bay.  But being a cautious first-timer, it still seemed to help, although it could have equally been attributed to my mass agua consumption, eating well, and sampling small amounts albeit from a large number of taps.

Either way, it was a prosperous, brau-filled day, and I'm looking forward to attending the affiliated annual OC Brew Ha Ha event for the first time this September. 

In the meantime... Viva Sabroso!!

The tally continues....

Sippin' at home with The Mrs.:

667 - ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING KEEBARLIN' PALE ALE HWY 128 SESSION SERIES - Delicious session pale ale

668 - GRAND TETON BREWING SWEETGRASS AMERICAN PALE ALE - Can I get a "yum"?

Thurs nite partying at GRILL EM ALL and 38 DEGREES:

669 - THE BRUERY HUMULUS INDIA PALE LAGER - Legendary, at least in my book

670 - ROBINSONS TROOPER - On tap @ Grill Em All, I don't remember it being this good. Maybe I'm High On Fries?

671 - ALPINE BEER COMPANY NELSON IPA - The hard to find classic, now more readily available thanks to a partnership with Green Flash. First time I've had it on tap, @ 38 Degrees.

672 - BAIRD BREWING DARK SKY IMPERIAL STOUT - I see my handful of Japanese beer buddies posting about Baird, now I finally get to try it. Sweeter than most American stouts.  Different.  And different is good.

World's worst cell phone pic of cool peeps

673 - CRAFTSMAN BREWING 1903 LAGER - Easy drinkin' local. Will Craftsman ever expand? I'm seriously doubting it.

674 - THE BRUERY BOIS BOURBON BARREL AGED - Incredible old ale / barleywine. Not sure 100% what style it's considered but it's crazy heavy, complex, thick... like a decadent dessert.

675 - BIG SKY BREWING OLDE BLUEHAIR BARLEYWINE - Rich, like any barleywine worth its weight, served in a freakin' goblet! 

676 - SAINT SOMEWHERE BREWING E'TE' SANS FIN SAISON - Tasty Florida brew, thanks to Ryan for the taste.

677 - SMUTTYNOSE IMPERIAL STOUT - Goddamn solid, like all Smuttynose.  Lucky to have a few Smuttys on the east coast last month, but I didn't have this one.

678 - BOULDER BEER COMPANY SHAKE CHOCOLATE PORTER ON NITRO - Like Chocolate Quik, but on Nitro

679 - NORTH COAST BREWING COMPANY GRAND CRU - Bourbon barrel aged Belgian style golden strong ale, slightly tart, all delicious, better than I remember from last year.

Friday nite at home, the calm before the storm:

680 - FLYING DOG BREWERY WOODY CREEK BELGIAN STYLE WHITE - Basic Americanized Belgian-style white, but a winner.

681 - ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING EL STEINBER DARK LAGER - Tasty black lager in a tallboy can, I heart Anderson Valley overall

682 - LAGUNITAS CENSORED RICH COPPER ALE - Great amber, Lagunitas rules, didn't realize until this time that the censored name is actually THE KRONIK

Sabroso Saturday... 44 tastings in one afternoon session... que bueno!

683 - RITUAL BREWING HOP-O-MATIC IPA - The name says it all

Wrestlin' honky hangin' out in pink tights

684 - EL SEGUNDO BREWING HYPERION'S STOUT WITH VANILLA BEAN - Thick, rich, delicious

685 - CISMONTANE BREWING SMOKIN' SANTIAGO SCOTCH ALE - Smoked scotch ale. Had it last year and found it to be OK. Same reaction this year. I'm a huge fan of Cismontane, but this isn't my fave on their roster.

686 - CISMONTANE BREWING THE CITIZEN CALIFORNIA COMMON - Refreshing on a hot afternoon

687 - HANGAR 24 SMALL STOUT - An unexpected, but most-welcome entry from this brewery. Smooth American style with heavy roasted barley, not as dense as I like, but still flavorful

688 - HANGAR 24 BELGIAN SUMMER ALE - Crisp and mildly tart, possibly my favorite Hanger 24 output

689 - TAPS NUESTRA SENORA - medium bodied, deep amber colored Mexican style lager

690 - GREAT DIVIDE BREWING 20TH ANNIVERSARY BELGIAN-STYLE ALE - Poured by the Haven booth at Sabroso, brewed with grape juice, like a less-sweet shandy, light & fruity, paired well with Haven pork tacos.

691 - TAP IT BREWING I PI A BELGIAN IPA - They use the "pi" symbol on their tap, brewed with Belgian yeast but it's not discernible because this is one crunchy-as-hell hop attack, excellent but nothing Belgian about it.

692 - TUSTIN BREWING RED HILL RED - This Red Hill Red is red. Some mild hops. Would definitely order this again.

693 - TUSTIN BREWING JACKSON'S IMPERIAL IPA - Excellent hop crunch

694 - BOTTLE LOGIC / TUSTIN COLLABORATION AGED OAK CHIP IPA - Walked up to the Tustin tent right when they were tapping this keg... Mildly woody, all good, lucky I got to try this rarity, one of the few Sabroso pours where I drank the whole thing

Black Market. They'll put you to shame.

695 - BELCHING BEAVER EASY BEAVER SESSION IPA - Jumping in on the Session IPA craze of 2014, and coming in strong

696 - BEACH CITY BREWERY SWEET CRUDE STOUT - Tastes like a liquid cookie, brewery grand opening is next weekend in Huntington Beach, glad I got to check em out early

697 - BEACH CITY BREWERY PCH PALE ALE - Solid pale, looking forward to checking out more from this new brewery

698 - TAPS MOCHA STOUT - Total mocha bomb, but a thick, oily stout... just how I like em

699 - BOOTLEGGER'S BREWERY CHANGO LAGER - Crisp, clean, grapefruity goodness

700 - LEFT COAST BREWING DEL MAR ST. LAGER - Dortmunder style export lager.... not sure what that means, but I like pretending that I do. Clean, simple, OK but I'd go for Bootleggers first

701 - LEFT COAST BREWING TRESTLES IPA - It's an IPA

702 - CLOWN SHOES SPACE CAKE IMPERIAL IPA - Everybody does an IPA, yet true to form, Clown Shoes rises above mediocrity... caramelly malts and strong hops

703 - VALIANT BREWING HOT & KOLSCH - Masterful, spicy kolsch infused with chiles, one of my favorites of the day

704 - FIRESTONE WALKER EASY JACK SESSION IPA - Session IPA with mild crunch, wouldn't expect less from the Masters

705 - SAINT ARCHER BREWING WHITE ALE - Yeast, major citrus, perfect hot day beer

706 - NOBLE ALE WORKS PISTOLA CHILE PILSNER - Their Pistol Whip'd Pilsner infused with serrano chiles, my new favorite! Plus the Noble guys were the only ones who knew what my Surly hat was... bonus points!

Ironfire: Killed it!

707 - NOBLE ALE WORKS ROSALITA HIBISCUS PILSNER - Pistol Whip'd Pilsner infused with hibiscus, pink in color, looks like a rose wine. I'm sure the Brewbies would support this one!

708 - PIZZA PORT (SAN CLEMENTE) ORDER IN THE PORT STOUT - Commanding imperial stout... excellent as expected. I love all Pizza Port beers, but this is their best stout, hands down.

709 - I & I BREWING HIBISCUS XPA - Not bad, not particularly distinct, curious what else they have that might be more impressive

710 - PIZZA PORT (SAN CLEMENTE) EL CAMINO IPA - Crunchy crunchy crunchy IPA, like healthy cereal... in a good way

711 - IRONFIRE BREWING HABANERO PALE - Another great chile beer at Sabroso, nice kick, slow burn on the finish, but still easily drinkable, so good!

712 - BLACK MARKET BREWING 1945 SOUR WHEAT ALE - Not too sour, puckery with a hint of sweetness... an aperitif beer?

713 - TAP IT BREWING SNAFU DOUBLE IPA - 11.1% ABV, thick like an imperial but totally drinkable, not overwhelming, just right

714 - BLACK MARKET BREWING EMBARGO IMPERIAL BROWN - Best brown I've ever tasted. Have I ever had an imperial brown? Is this the world's best kept secret? So rich it could be a nutty stout.

715 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING LECHE BORRACHO STOUT - Best beer of the day @ Sabroso, Leche Mole with tequila oak chips, freakin' unique, can't be compared to anything I've ever had. Innovative!

716 - BACKSTREET BREWERY SANTO MOLE CHILE STOUT - Imperial coffee stout with habanero, major chocolate, an unexpected favorite, super sweet with a major kick.

717 - BACKSTREET BREWERY TOMAHAWK DOUBLE IPA - Eh.

718 - J.T. SCHMID'S HEFEWEIZEN - I thought this would be a cheezy brewer like BJ's, but this hefe is a treat, I'd order this anyday.

Food photos are dumb. So here's one.

719 - RITUAL BREWING MONK'S LUNCH BELGIAN GOLDEN - Belgian single / blonde - low ABV, estery, mildly floral, a goodie.

720 - OLD ORANGE BREWING STREET FAIR SUMMER ALE - No.

721 - IRONFIRE BREWING THE DEVIL WITHIN DIPA - Really damn potent, what a DIPA!

722 - MISSION BREWERY ZYTHOS IPA - Rye IPA, I'm a sucker for anything rye

723 - MISSION BREWERY ARMADA COLLABORATION SAISON - Farmhousey goodness

724 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING RECURSION IPA - I'm burnt out on IPAs but Bottle Logic gave me renewed hope. This one is superior.

725 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING ANAHEIM, CA - Pale wheat chile beer, an unexpected but welcome surprise, top of the line!

726 - J.T. SCHMID'S ANAHEIM IPA - Eh!

Bottle Logic will always be better than you

Enjoying brews at home with my Wife, Sat nite thru Wed nite:

727 - LAGUNITAS BREWING CAPPUCCINO STOUT - Finally get to share one with The Wife after tasting 44 straight @ Sabroso

728 - THE LOST ABBEY RED BARN ALE SAISON - Saisony, taste that faint hint of tart farmhouse wildness

729 - OMMEGANG HOP HOUSE BELGIAN PALE ALE - S'OK, least favorite Ommegang output

730 - ALASKAN BREWING FREERIDE APA - S'OK, least favorite Alaskan output

731 - DRAKE'S BREWING AMBER - Really really good, roasty, malty, caramelly

732 - UINTA BREWING ANNIVERSARY BARLEYWINE - A good 'un

733 - BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON BEER WORKS THE RAVEN SPECIAL LAGER - I've said it before... always prepared to write this off as a novelty brewer, but I truly enjoy EVERY beer I've had from Baltimore-Washington Beer Works.

Action photo of bottles on a table

734 - DRAKE'S BREWING HEFEWEIZEN - Drake's is pretty much flawless. Accept it.

735 - BIG SKY BREWING IPA - Good, solid hop crunch

736 - CLOWN SHOES CLEMENTINE WHITE ALE - Belgiany goodness, heavy on the orange

737 - BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON BEER WORKS PENDULUM PILSNER - Band practice beer, enjoyed during the first TO THE POINT rehearsal in nearly a year, trying not to hurt myself yelling like a madman. Nice beer... wheaty, barleyey

738 - MAUI BREWING MANA WHEAT - What you'd expect from a wheat beer... went quite well with our oniony salsa tonite.

739 - PORT BREWING OLD VISCOSITY ALE - Old Reliable stout.

Beer #596-666 / Day #108-119: Brewfest, Black Sabbath, and Beer 666

 

About six months ago, my pal Jack Kahn solicited a large group of old friends to attend Black Sabbath at the Hollywood Bowl.  Legendary longhair John Scharpen, myself, and Mrs. Dodge were in.  Everyone else chickened out.  And thus, it’s April 25^th and Jack & John made the trek from out of town, from the San Diego and San Jose areas respectively, to spend the weekend at my place in LA.  John brought his 13 year old stepdaughter Eva to join us.  Turns out she’s a Sabbath fan.  And for someone who is at an age where she’s supposed to be snotty, confrontational, and clueless, Eva seemed unphased hanging out with middle-aged, punk/metal ex-scenesters who spent hours trading stories about the ‘80s. 

Jack brought an impressive selection of brews from the SD area, heavy on the Belching Beaver which were all tasty, all of which were new to my Big Year.  He also brought one of his old friends Bob Schriner to hang out.  Bob is a comedian and restaurant/hotel blogger who knows all the angles to getting freebies.  I could learn a few tricks of the trade from this fella.  The problem is I want to support any brewery that is truly great, so I have no issues giving them money.  In fact, I prefer it. 

John doesn’t drink, so it was me, Jack, Bob, and the Mrs. popping open bottle after bottle… starting with three from my stash, then digging into Jack’s stack.  Snacking and yakking, we jumped from IPA to porter to stout (Jester King Black Metal Stout, appropriate for Sabbath Eve) and back to IPAs for days.  It was a late nite spent blabbing about the old days, playing serious catch up with a group of fellas who haven’t all shared the same room more than once over the past 20+ years.

Saturday.  Sabbath.  We kicked off the morning with brunch in Downtown LA at Little Bear, an accessible Belgian-themed spot with all Belgian-style taps, and toothsome but not-necessarily-Belgian food options, even more delicious if you’re not a vegetarian.  Braised short rib benedict?  Yes, my friends, I’m home.  I kicked off the morning with an Ommegang Glimmerglass saison.  Delicious, even if drinking something floral out of a tulip glass isn’t necessarily the most manly of moments a fella could experience.  Knowing a long eve was ahead of us, we opted to chill at my house for the afternoon, sharing a few more SD County offerings.  We polished off the Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Stout, and split the Belching Beaver Dammed Double IPA.  Refreshing, although it may have not been the best of ideas since early drinking makes me sleepy, and I didn’t want to be the one guy yawning during “Behind The Wall Of Sleep”.

In an instant the afternoon was over & it was time to regroup, cram into my Wife’s tiny Honda Fit …picture the stereotypical ‘60s college prank, smashing as many students as possible into a phone booth.  After wrestling with traffic, and snagging one of the last three spots in our favorite stack parking lot (yes, “favorite stack parking” is an oxymoron), we joined the steady stream of black-clad, pot-smoking, brain surgeons, while deftly avoiding bootleg T-shirt vendors hawking their substandard tees for $20.  20 bucks?!  Those bootleggers have got major balls swangin’ to shake us down for that much.

We told Jack to get the cheapest seats, as far back as possible.  He succeeded.  The Bowl is massive and sprawling, and if you’re not in the box seats up front it’s just a matter of whether your seat is a mile from the stage or two miles from the stage.  In other words, it doesn’t matter where you sit.  The band will always be a tiny, blurred speck on the stage.  Out of the eight million rows at this venue, our seats were in the very last row, all the way at the top of The Bowl, cozy and surrounded by hedges.  And being in the last row, Murphy’s Law determined the largest leviathan of man, out of all the attendees in this venue of six hundred trillion people, was assigned the seat in the second-to-last row, directly in front of my Wife & I.  Thankfully, being in the very last row with no one behind us to complain, we were able to stand for the whole show.  I conceded to one $10 Heineken at the beginning of the show, but after that determined overpriced everyday beer was unnecessary.  Although some other form of heavy mind-alteration clearly would have been to my advantage during this concert.

After a lengthy set by the unfortunately-named Reignwolf (hours of comedic mileage on the name alone), nighttime descended on cue. 

Sabbath Freakin’ Sabbath.  Ozzy.  Tony Iommi. Geezer Butler.  Some guy who isn’t Bill Ward.

The set was even better than expected, with several deep cuts dusted off, albeit with a few strange choices… “Dirty Women”, but no “Hole In The Sky” or “Sweet Leaf” or “Symptom Of The Universe”?  Another friend later put it into perspective by reminding me that the missing songs I wanted to hear were probably all way out of Ozzy’s range.  And I think that’s absolutely true.  Ozzy struggled a bit to stay on key, but it really didn’t matter… it’s freakin’ Ozzy!  There was untold bellyaching about Bill Ward’s exclusion from this tour.  It would have been awesome to see him play, but I also heard from someone who saw Ward in recent years that he was taking hits off an oxygen tank between songs.  The fill-in drummer was spot on, and crushed his set like a Cro-Magnon.  Geezer’s bass riffing was awe-inspiring, and made me ashamed of what a lazy bassist I’ve become.  I was slightly discouraged that no tracks were played from my favorite album, but then Tony Iommi teased with the opening riff to “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, only to stop suddenly and launch into the predictable (and unnecessary for me) “Paranoid”.  Although I sound like I’m being critical, I’m just nit-picking because that’s what self-absorbed bloggers are supposed to do.  In Reality, the Masters leveled The Bowl, and this was one of my favorite shows of the year. 

Post-Bowl.  One hour wait for our “favorite” stacked parking lot to clear out, but being entertained by the drunken, and even bloody shenanigans of fellow B.S. fans.  Late night.  Serious stop ‘n’ go traffic.  Midnight burritos.  Black Market Aftermath Pale Ale.  No expensive official merch to gloat about, but no expensive bootleg merch to regret either.

Sunday morning, the party’s over.  Well, for our guests at least.  They all had long drives ahead of them.  For Camille & I the party was continuing full swing.  We hit the first-ever Brewfest OfThe Foothills hosted in the parking lot of Congregation Ale House in Pasadena.  Admittedly, I’ve previously sworn off patronage of this location… great taps, best burgers ever, but service that never failed to piss me off… however, I made an exception for this fest, mostly because I wouldn’t be reliant on the house staff for anything, not to mention it was a great deal.  $25 for unlimited pours, including food, plus a portion of proceeds went to the Ronald McDonald House charity (although doesn’t McDonald’s have infinite billions more than Congregation Ale House… just sayin’).  What’s to complain about?  In this case, nothing!  We had a great time!  

We met our BFFs Linda and Jordy Mitchell.  Jordy is a willing accomplice when it comes to mass consumption of beer, and happily keeps pace with me.  The cream of the crop of SoCal breweries were in attendance.    And in many cases folks from the actual breweries were there to discuss what they were pouring.  Nothing bugs me more at a beer event than trying to nerd out about a beer with a Volunteer who has no idea what they have on tap.  Thankfully I got my nerd on, especially during an extended conversation with Los Angeles Ale Works brewmaster Kris "Kip" Barnes, an energetic and savvy guy who is enthusiastic about all things beer.  He also wrote "Beer Lover's Southern California", a solid guide book on breweries & beer bars worthy of patronage.

Standout new breweries (meaning new to me) were Pacific Plate Brewing, Los Angeles Ale Works, and Claremont Craft Ales. Local favorites who continued to prove how outstanding they were included Strand, Smog City, Noble, El Segundo, Bootleggers, and Beachwood.

A huge plus to this fest, as opposed to the last fest I attended a few weeks ago in DC, there was water everywhere!  I ate early, drank a tanker truck of water, asked for half-pours, and managed to make my way through 33 tasters in 3 hours.  And I wasn’t drunk when I left. 

Well done, Congregation!  Now, ditch the fake Catholic schoolgirls who know less than zero about beer and I’ll really be a fan….

It struck me a couple days later that the comedic timing of my Big Year was way off. 

Saturday 4/26 I saw Black Sabbath. 

Tuesday 4/29 I hit Beer #666.  

Think how much more impact Beer #666 would have had if I enjoyed it at the same time as Sabbath.  Instead I sipped it while watching the chick flick version of reality TV with my Wife.  Then again, perhaps this was Satan’s ultimate ruse…  sipping my Undead Party Crasher Imperial Stout to Tori Spelling instead of Ozzy.  Curse you, Dark Lord! 

Which serves as a painful reminder I also missed Dark Lord Day out at 3 Floyds Brewery, but that’s another story to complain about another day….

The tally continues:

Pre-Easter Saturday with the Wife’s family

• 596 - PORT BREWING SHARK ATTACK DOUBLE RED ALE – Great beer, one of the better reds out there, hoppy with some depth

Easter Sunday 4/20 tasting at Vendome, still can’t believe they were open:

• 597 - DAVE'S HOME BREW PALE ALE – bottle share, brewed by a Vendome regular, very tasty, malty & citrusy
• 598 - SURF BREWERY SHAKA MOSAIC SESSION IPA –2014 is the year of session IPAs, and this is a great one. Single hop. Delicious. Best output from Surf Brewery to date.
• 599 - BARRELHOUSE BREWING PALE RYDER – mellow goodness, slight mango, great Central Coast Cali brewer
• 600 - DESCHUTES BREWERY FRESH SQUEEZED IPA – Excellent, heavy hops
• 601 - WIENS BREWING TYPE 3 IPA – Malt heavy, and caramel heavy, interesting for an IPA
• 602 - BARRELHOUSE BREWING IPA – A deep, dank, herbal IPA
• 603 - SPEAKEASY VENDETTA IPA – Bitter aftertaste, but not in a good way
• 604 - WIENS BREWING BIG COG DIPA – Intense and skunky... And yes, today was 4/20!
• 605 - VALIANT BREWING COMPANY ALPHA DRIVE DIPA – I'm a huge fan of Valiant, but this one didn't sit well with me. Maybe the bottling?
• 606 - ROUGH DRAFT BREWING HOP THERAPY DIPA - S'OK. Not great, but OK.
• 607 - STONE BREWING ENJOY BY 05.16.14 IPA – My favorite IPA series. Last round was Enjoy By 4.20.14.  Today was 4.20.14, so it's appropriate we sampled the next in the series.
• 608 - BOULEVARD BREWING GRAINSTORM BLACK RYE IPA – Heavy oaty, ryey happiness in a glass
• 609 - MIDNIGHT SUN BREWING XXX BLACK DOUBLE IPA – Malty, thick coat wrapped around hops.
• 610 - KNEE DEEP SIMTRA TRIPLE IPA – That just happened!
• 611 - GOLDEN ROAD BACK HOME GINGERBREAD STOUT – Growler share, courtesy of a fellow Vendome regular. Excellent, bready, yeasty, and not an awful novelty beer like I was expecting. Gingerbread is extremely subtle and not a gimmick. Highly recommended.

All enjoyed throughout the work week at home:

• 612 - CISCO BREWERS SANKATY LIGHT LAGER - Capped off the evening at home after the big Vendome 4-20 Easter IPA tasting. Cisco is a great brewery.  All of the simplest styles are given a spin to make them seem brand new.  Can't compliment them enough.
• 613 - SUDWERK BREWING MARZEN AMBER LAGER – Das ist goot, yah?
• 614 - BLACK MARKET BREWING RYE IPA - Rye not?  I love it.
• 615 - PIKE BREWING COMPANY MONK'S UNCLE TRIPEL – Split with the Mrs. and her sis Sarah, great Belgian style sipper
• 616 - DOGFISH HEAD CRAFT BREWERY INDIAN BROWN ALE – I’m finding more & more browns I actually like. Add this to the list.
• 617 - VICTORY DIRTWOLF DOUBLE IPA – Imperial goodness.  Shouldn’t Dirtwolf be a band name?
• 618 - PIKE BREWING COMPANY SPACE NEEDLE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 2012 VINTAGE IPA – Never figured out if this just a super old bottle or a new brew based on a 2012 recipe.  I think it was the former.  Not great.  IPAs are like Kathleen Turner, they don’t age well.
• 619 - PIKE BREWING COMPANY SPACE NEEDLE GOLDEN IPA – Delicious redemption for the failure of Beer #618.

Old friends visiting from out of town, drinking on a rainy Friday night, getting psyched for Sabbath tomorrow… Black Sabbath, that is:

• 620 - ALASKAN BREWING JALAPENO IMPERIAL IPA – The kick from the pepper is a subtle burn that finishes clean thanks to the hops.  Que bueno!
• 621 - PIKE BREWING COMPANY POST ALLEY PORTER – Pike has been batting around .800 on the year.  This puts ‘em up to .825
• 622 - JESTER KING BREWERY BLACK METAL FARMHOUSE IMPERIAL STOUT – Appropriate pre-Sabbath warm up.  Oh Jester King, why must thou brew in jest?
• 623 - OCEANSIDE ALE WORKS DUDE DOUBLE IPA – Jack thought the scruffy dude on the label looked like me, until he got to my house & realized it didn’t look like me at all.  Is the Dude a Lebowski nod?  I’m one of the few who doesn’t care for the movie, but this DIPA is worth investing the time
• 624 - BELCHING BEAVER PEANUT BUTTER FLAVORED MILK STOUT – I claim not to enjoy novelty beers, then I have one like this that I love.  I’m a goddamned hypocrite.  But at least I’m a goddamned hypocrite who got to drink this.
• 625 - BELCHING BEAVER HOP HIGHWAY IPA – Everyone does an IPA, but somehow this still stands out, even after drinking for a whole evening.

Sabbath Day:

• 626 – OMMEGANG GLIMMERGLASS SAISON – Great way to start the day.
• 627 - BELCHING BEAVER DAMMED DOUBLE IPA - Insert pun about this being dam good… get it?  Dam? Heh heh…. Well, actually it is.
• 628 - BLACK MARKET BREWING AFTERMATH PALE ALE – Refreshing post-Sabbath, midnite burrito accompaniment. Black Market does not disappoint.

Brewfest Of The Foothills tasters, followed by a saison chaser at home:

• 629 - BEACHWOOD BREWING HOP NINJA DOUBLE IPA - Beachwood is flawless. Their IPA roster is endless, and all are benchmarks of what IPAs should be.
• 630 - ALOSTA BREWING SPADRA IPA - ...eh.
• 631 - THE DUDES' BREWING COMPANY KOLSCHTAL EDDY - Beer Name Of The Month, and one of the better kolsches I've had in recent memory.
• 632 - STRAND BREWING BATCH 100 STOUT - Awesome, malty with a bite. Haircut 100? Thumbs down. Batch 100? Thumbs up.
• 633 - STRAND BREWING 24TH STREET PALE ALE - Had this for years on tap down in the South Bay area of LA. Old reliable.
• 634 - PACIFIC PLATE BREWING COPA DE ORO BELGIAN GOLDEN - Most pleasant surprise of the Brewfest was finding these guys outta Monrovia. They take some classic styles and own them! Fresh, flavorful, it's about time someone shook up the beer scene.
• 635 - PACIFIC PLATE BREWING DUNKELWEIZEN - See above. Great dunkel. Rich. Impressive.
• 636 - SMOG CITY BREWING MAKE OUT SESSION PALE ALE - Woo, that's got a hoppy bite, the beer that bites back!
• 637 - NOBLE ALE WORKS PART OF A BALANCED BREAKFAST OATMEAL STOUT - Love this one. Not to mention I love any excuse to claim that a "breakfast beer" is an acceptable option for starting the day.
• 638 - CLAREMONT CRAFT ALES JACARANDA RYE IPA - First time trying this brewery, they know what's up
• 639 - CLAREMONT CRAFT ALES DOUBLE DUDE DIPA - Double goes for what I said above
• 640 - CONGREGATION ALE HOUSE DARK OF THE COVENANT STRONG ALE - Not bad. Malty, mildly fruity.
• 641 - CONGREGATION ALE HOUSE IPA - Everyone on the planet brews an IPA, so yours needs to stand out. Didn't make a love connection with this one.
• 642 - MONKISH BREWING FEMINIST BELGIAN STYLE TRIPEL - Excellent golden brau
• 643 - MONKISH BREWING ROSA'S HIPS BELGIAN STYLE DUBBEL - Good one, but their Tripel wins, hands down
• 644 - GOLDEN ROAD 329 LAGER - I heart Golden Road, but I don't heart this. I know they're trying to appeal to everyday Bud drinkers with a light, easy-drinking lager, and I completely get it.  But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

• 645 - EL SEGUNDO BREWING BLUE HOUSE CITRA PALE ALE - El Segundo has been blowing it up for a few years now.  Consistent, and truly great.
• 646 - OHANA BREWING SURF SHACK SAISON - The best Ohana brew I've ever had. They had a reputation for constantly changing styles, and jumping from brew to brew without focusing on one to perfect it.  This one is damn good.  And I need to check out the tasting room they just opened in downtown Alhambra.
• 647 - NOBLE ALE WORKS GOSEBUSTERS - Nice pucker. Tart. Linda Mitchell says "sparkly". Jordy Mitchell says "effervescent".
• 648 - SMOG CITY BREWING GROUNDWORK COFFEE PORTER -Exactly what it says it is. A carbonated coffee depth charge.
• 649 - LOS ANGELES ALE WORKS GAMS-BART ROGGENBIER - Like a hefe, but brewed with rye. One of the most unique beers of the day. Really impressed by this brewer.
• 650 - OHANA BREWING ACORN AMBITION AMBER - A coffee amber. I've had acorn soup before. It was horrific. I'm glad this beer didn't follow in its footsteps. Delish!
• 651 - THE BRUERY TRIPEL TONNELLERIE - The Bruery has raised the bar ridiculously high. At least they make it easier for me to limbo.
• 652 - STONE BREWING SAISON - Straight forward, I'd make this the house saison, no problem
• 653 - WOLF CREEK BREWERY DOGTOWN DUNKELWEIZEN -.... eh.
• 654 - BEACHWOOD BREWING ALPHA GALACTIC WEST COAST PALE ALE - The alpha male of pale ales.
• 655 - EL SEGUNDO BREWING TWO 5 LEFT DOUBLE IPA - Hard to pick a favorite from El Segundo, but this might be it.
• 656 - BOOTLEGGER'S BREWERY KNUCKLE SANDWICH DOUBLE IPA - Great imperial IPA

• 657 - LOS ANGELES ALE WORKS DAMPFMASCHINE CALIFORNIA COMMON - A seemingly simple style, but a boatload of complexity goin' on here. All hail LAAW!
• 658 - GOLDEN ROAD 2020 IPA - New in the Golden Road IPA wheelhouse. Great one, as expected. This wasn't "officially" being poured at their table, but I won a game of "rock, paper, scissors" to get a sample.
• 659 - ALOSTA BREWING SALLY BLONDE -.... meh.
• 660 - BOOTLEGGER'S BREWERY GOLDEN CHAOS - I consider Golden Chaos the classic for this brewery.  Always good. Consistent. Dependable.
• 661 - WOLF CREEK BREWERY YELLOWSTONE PALE ALE -.... bleh.
• 662 - ALLAGASH BREWING SAISON - In spite of the massive Allagash tasting I attended recently, I still found one I haven't previously tried. Delicious farmhousey goodness.

Chillin’ at home Monday & Tuesday, hittin’ #666 three days too late.  Sorry Ozzy….

• 663 - LAGUNITAS NEW DOGTOWN PALE ALE - Lagunitas always comes through, Dawg!
• 664 - NIMBUS BREWING PALE ALE - Love this AZ brewery. Their yeast makes this taste like an oatmeal cookie.
• 665 - BOULEVARD BREWING DOUBLE-WIDE DOUBLE IPA - Not as strong as I remember. Old bottle? Single wide?
• 666 - CLOWN SHOES UNDEAD PARTY CRASHER IMPERIAL STOUT – Appropriately enough “holy water” is listed among the ingredients. Holy mackerel, what a stout!  One of my favorites in recent memory.

Beer #195-241 / Day #39-44: Serious Sippin'

Saturday started with a slow recovery from our night out with GasThai, a viewing of the film "The Big Year", and a reluctant, and extremely strenuous hike in Griffith Park. After a quick lunch, including an awesome Tenaya Creek DIPA and a Mammoth Real McCoy Amber, then a longer-than-expected nap, it was showtime.  Infest was playing the Echoplex with a line-up almost too staggering to be believed:  Local lads Cave State, SD County thrashers Suspect and Impulse, South LA legends Despise You, and the untouchable Los Crudos. 

Serious ordering; not so serious beer

I rolled up early for load-in.  The room was bigger than I remembered, and the stage was higher, but I was ready for action.  The Mrs and I roamed Echo Park in search of good food & grog.  We settled on Xioa, a Vietnamese-Mexican fusion style joint, across the street from The Echo. Very tasty, reasonably priced, non-pretentious vibe. We shared a couple Vietnamese bottles, Saigon Export and Hue Beer, the latter being tastier than the former, but both were as expected, extremely simple lagers meant to refresh you & cool the heat from too much chili oil.

INFEST: a rare non-beer related moment

With plenty of time to spare, we walked down a few doors down to one of our favorite spots in LA County, El Prado.  They serve beer and wine, a couple snacks, and that's it!  Low lighting, cool '70s lookin' wood & brick decor, and a short but broad selection of mostly SoCal specialty beers. Camille and I shared The Dudes' Juicebox Blood Orange ale, and the Highwater Campfire Stout, but the real winner here was the El Segundo Mayberry IPA, a killer, classic West Coast style hopfest.  I didn't want to get tanked before playing so we hit the Echoplex, and checked out the great line-up.  Well, I don't get tanked before we play, but when we set up on stage and Domino was missing, I called him and he answered with that familiar laugh that says "I've been hitting Fireball shots and I can't remember how many."  In spite of that, we made it through the set intact, and gulped some hipster PBR tallboys while Crudos closed out the evening & absolutely killed it. Instead of partying all night, The Wife and I headed home.  I needed some beauty rest because Sunday I had a long day ahead of me, with a long drive and two more shows in San Diego.

Domino's PBR con Los Crudos. Que lastima!

On Sunday, Infest and Crudos were playing again at the Che Cafe in the La Jolla area; an afternoon show & an evening show.  I wasn't about to hit San Diego County and ignore the endless brewery options, and I also didn't have much time to explore since the first show was at 3pm, so I left a little early, and stopped first at Pizza Port Carlsbad. Part of the extensive Port Brewing family, this spot is located in Carlsbad Village which can described in no other way than quaint.  It's a "cute" beach community.  Fortunately, Port Brewing brings something cool to the area.  Excellent pizza, and outstanding beer, much of it brewed on-site. Their Attrition IPA was one of my favorite brews of 2013. Sadly it wasn't on tap today, but no matter. Every beer they brew stands on its own. In spite of the bustling throngs of thirsty patrons, the staff was all upbeat, quick, and helpful.  I enjoyed a brunch of two pepperoni slices and two flights with a total of eight beers, all world class, my favorites being the Thruster Triple IPA, Bourbon Barrel Aged Night Rider, and Claudie's IPL which is the best Imperial Pale Lager this side of The Bruery's Humulus, which is my benchmark for any of those rare IPLs out there.  In short, I can't rave about this place enough.

Pizza + Beer = Breakfast Of Champions

To improve upon a good thing, Pizza Port Carlsbad has now opened a bottle shop next door, offering a brag-worthy selection of 700+ beers to take home. Despite my lack of fridge space, I couldn't help picking up a few things, including a few cans of Pizza Port Carlsbad's own creations, which I enjoyed at home these past few evenings. Yes, they sold singles. And this made me a very happy dranker.   

Culture shock

For my next stop, I cruised down to Solana Beach to check out Culture Brewing. When I turned down Cedros Street it was packed with douchey rich types. This whole area reeked of overpriced overindulgence, and I was expecting to be disappointed, in fact I nearly left the area immediately, but I figured I may as well give it a shot since I bothered schleping out there in the first place. Thankfully, as usual, I was wrong again! I sampled all 12 beers offered at Culture, and enjoyed them all. Their Matt Courtright Barleywine, Black IPA, and American Strong Ale were especially memorable.  Then again like a frickin' fool I asked for all 12 samplers to be poured at once. I asked for them in order of what was listed on the board, but it occurred to me after the first four that this was clearly not the case. This actually made it more fun, to challenge myself and see if I could identify which was which. I'll never know for sure but I'm confident I guessed at least 80% right.  And out of those, 92% were excellent. The area has that upscale, expensive vibe so I was expecting something overpriced yet run of the mill. Thankfully, Culture is down to earth enough to know what they're doing with the multitude of styles across the board. Several have an earthy base to them, and a few had a wheaty, sweet, almost cookie dough aftertaste.

The Hunter, Beer, Denunzio = TLF

Time to sober up, and hit the Che for the afternoon show with Crudos, Impulse, and Piglife.  Good times, good friends, good tunes, even without distortion.  After a quick one, it was time for a quick one.  I headed down a few blocks to Rock Bottom La Jolla with Denunzio, Domino, and The Hunter.  I've never expected greatness from Rock Bottom because I have preconceived notions about any establishment that's a chain.  That said, I've patronized locations in Chicago, Denver, and La Jolla and always found something I enjoyed.  Each location seems to carry a selection of the standard, flagship beers that they're probably contractually obligated to pour, but then dig a bit deeper and you'll find the unique beers brewed only at that location, and there you can find some real gems.  Naturally, I ordered the sampler, partially out of curiosity, partially out of a desire to up my Big Year numbers. The usual corral of beers was decent, as anticipated, but the Bourbon Barrel Aged Samurai Imperial Stout and Mary Jane IPA made the visit worthwhile. With a mild buzz, and some solid downtime, I was rejuvenated & ready for the second show:  Liberate, Suspect, Crudos, and Infest.  Crudos played early in order to head down to Tijuana for an additional midnight gig. The Infest set was one of my favorites, good vibes, kids hanging from the rafters, full distortion.  I felt like we nailed it.  Then again, maybe eight samplers at Rock Bottom swayed my opinion.

Despite being on-the-go the whole time, and the fact that I needed to work on Monday morning after getting home after midnite, the whole weekend was top of the line.  And since then, I've spent each weeknight keeping a fraction of the pace but still making progress on my New Beer numbers:

2/8 - Saturday's tally:
*TENAYA CREEK TANDEM DOUBLE IPA - Beer #195, so good, I can't believe they're outside of Vegas
*MAMMOTH BREWING REAL MCCOY AMBER ALE - Beer #196, this brewery is near infallible.  What I really want is a bottle of their Farmhouse Saison.

*SAIGON EXPORT - Beer #197, You're eating spicy food? You need a non-intrusive lager to cool off your taste buds.

*HUE BEER - Beer #198, see above, except this one's better than Saigon Export.

*THE DUDES'  JUICEBOX SERIES: BLOOD ORANGE - Beer #199, we decided this is a sangria beer, fruity and mildly spicy, strangely sweet, but still drinkable & satisfying

*EL SEGUNDO BREWING MAYBERRY IPA - Beer #200, wow, sooo freakin' good.

*HIGH WATER BREWING CAMPFIRE STOUT - Beer #201, liquid s'mores

*PABST BLUE RIBBON - Beer #202, total shit beer for hipsters, but still drinkable when the club puts out a plastic barrel of free tallboys

2/9 - Sunday's San Diego Country exploration:
*PIZZA PORT VERBENA BELGIAN STYLE ALE - Beer #203, Belgian style ale with lemon verbena

*PIZZA PORT THRUSTER TRIPLE IPA - Beer #204, the usual SoCal hop bomb, but one of my favorites of the day.

*PIZZA PORT STATE BEACH IPL - Beer #205, Touted as an IPL, not super hoppy, but still crisp, refreshing

*PIZZA PORT BOURBON BARREL AGED NIGHT RIDER - Beer #206, I'm a freak for anything barrel aged, this one's a Russian Imperial Stout in bourbon barrels.  The pic of David Hasselhoff on the tap helps tremendously, as well.

*PIZZA PORT SHARKBITE RED ALE  - Beer #207, a hoppy red ale

*PIZZA PORT CLAUDIE'S IPL - Beer #208, now THAT'S the IPL I was hoping for.

*PIZZA PORT PONTO'S SESSION IPA - Beer #209, great, one of the few excellent session IPAs I've run across, along with Angel City All Day Session IPA and Drakes Alpha Session IPA.

*PIZZA PORT DEATH STAR AMERICAN STYLE STOUT - Beer #210

*CULTURE BREWING AMERICAN STRONG ALE - Beer #211, amazing right out of the gate

*CULTURE BREWING AMBER - Beer #212

*CULTURE BREWING NEW STYLE TRIPLE IPA - Beer #213, Great! Yes, I'm one of those boring hopheads.

*CULTURE BREWING DUNKELWEIZEN - Beer #214, damn good. I feel like visiting Bavaria after this one.

*CULTURE BREWING BLACK IPA - Beer #215, one of their best offerings.

*CULTURE BREWING  BLONDE - Beer #216, pretty light, not much going on. Then again, that IS the stereotypical "blonde" so maybe these brewers are even more brilliant than I thought.

*CULTURE BREWING  IPA - Beer #217, Yum!

*CULTURE BREWING NITRO MILK STOUT - Beer #218, Double yum!

*CULTURE BREWING MATT COURTRIGHT BARLEYWINE - Beer #219, another one of their best.

*CULTURE BREWING  IMPERIAL STOUT  - Beer #220, honestly I don't remember.  Could I still feel my taste buds at this point?

*CULTURE BREWING BLACK LAGER - Beer #221, purty good.

*CULTURE BREWING AMERICAN BROWN - Beer #222

*ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY KOLSCH - Beer #223, eh.

*ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY BELGIAN STYLE WHITE ALE - Beer #224, good barley and orange in this one

*ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY IPA - Beer #225, decent

*ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY RAGTOP RED ALE - Beer #226, erp.

*ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY MOONLIGHT PORTER - Beer #227, now you're talkin'

*ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY LONGBOARD BROWN - Beer #228, meh.

*ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY BOURBON BARREL AGED SAMURAI IMPERIAL STOUT - Beer #229, OK this is what I was waiting for all along, very sweet, still a good 'um.

*ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY MARY JANE IPA - Beer #230, better than their standard IPA, hop forward, I'd order this again.

2/10 - Starting off the week right at home:

*PRETTY THINGS AMERICAN DARLING PALE LAGER - Beer #231, good one, should have saved it for a sunny weekend afternoon by the pool

*SIERRA NEVADA FLIPSIDE RED IPA - Beer #232, been holding a few of these since last Fall, I don't remember it being THIS good, but it is!

2/11 - Tues band practice nite:

*NEW BELGIUM BREWING SPRING BLONDE - Beer #233, what you'd expect in a blonde, not much substance.
*STONE BREWING PALE ALE - Beer #234, @ The Snug. Didn't realize this was still unclaimed in my Big Year.

*STONE BREWING ARROGANT BASTARD - Beer #235, same as above.  Another tap I didn't realize hadn't been claimed yet. I had the Oaked version recently, but not the "classic" one til now.

*ALESMITH BREWING EXTRA PALE ALE - Beer #236, another brewer that is incapable of creating a bad beer.

2/12 - Wed nite home with The Fam:

*CISCO BREWERS INDIE PALE ALE - Beer #237, awesome, and very different from West Coast style. This reminds me of a limerick: "There once as a beer from Nantucket..."

*PIZZA PORT SWAMI'S IPA - Beer #238, a superior IPA

*BOULEVARD BREWING LONG STRANGE TRIPEL - Beer #239, I love this one.. thanks Larry McQuaide!

2/13 - Thurs nite home with The Fam:

*PIZZA PORT CHRONIC ALE - Beer #240, a brown ale which I mistakenly was expecting to be an IPA. Derrrr...

*AVERY BREWING OUT OF BOUNDS STOUT  - Beer #241, Avery is king of stouts, and there's no doubt.