Beer #816-883 / Day #138-150: Floor, Fermenting, Flights, Food, Friends, Fine Folks, and Fullerton

BREWING IN HIGHLAND PARK

Yep, I'm totally into grind.

As mentioned previously, I’ve spent years hemming and hawing about homebrewing.  I was determined to do it, but always found an excuse not to follow through.  A piece of equipment was missing.  Or I was too skittish about everything being properly sanitized.  Or the weather was too hot year round in SoCal for anything to ferment properly in my garage.  Or flat-out I was just too much of a goddamn scaredy cat.

The day arrived for me to finally Man Up, thanks to an agreed-upon collaboration with Ryan Harkins from Grill Em All and Eagle Rock brewmaster Lee Bakofsky.  Hell, if it wasn’t for Lee offering to show us the ropes I’d still be making weak excuses.  And we’re using all of his gear.  And he supplied the ingredients.  And he created the recipe.  So, when I say “collaboration” I actually mean I’m dead weight, but Lee has been gracious enough to drag my carcass along through the process, for which I’m thankful.

My cohorts in action.

As much as I’ve attempted to comprehend the brewing process by reading about it, taking a homebrewing class many years ago, and tagging along with multiple brewery tours, a lot of it never really sank in.  Nothing like hands-on experience with an expert to bring it all home.  I ground nearly all of the malt and barley by hand.  Measured the hops.  Stirred the mash.  The tactile experience, and the sights and smells of all of the source ingredients lead me to a greater understanding of just what the hell I’m smelling and tasting in other beers.  I thought I knew, and know I’m aware I’ve only been partially correct on some of my assessments.  Frankly, next to the beer itself, that’s my favorite thing about being so dorky about beer… there’s always something new to learn.  There will never be a finite number of beers to try.  There will always be something new, and brewers will always find ways to push the boundaries, good or otherwise.

Bottom line, we brewed an oatmeal imperial stout.  I prefer not to go into too much detail, only because I’m not sure what to expect.  I don’t have a solid concept of what the combination on the front end will produce on the back end.  For now, I’m generically expecting some semblance of a stout.  This rookie will post more once our fermentation is done.

More important than brewing: What toppings do we want on our pizzas?

MEMORABLE BEERS OVER MEMORIAL WEEKEND

The Wife and I hit a Cajun & Blues Festival in Simi Valley over Memorial Day weekend.  I’ve only stopped in Simi Valley maybe three times since I’ve lived in SoCal.  The name of this town alone maintains a negative association in my psyche thanks to the Rodney King verdict.  Despite my preconceived notions, I conceded to attending this Fest on Saturday and it was definitely worth the trip.  The entrance fee was reasonable.  Parking was free.  Plenty of room to spread out.  We could bring our own chairs and an ice chest.  Music was top notch… and when Guitar Shorty walked thru the crowd in the middle of a song, I even managed to snap an awkward selfie with him.  Gator On A Stick could have been chicken, but it was toothsome either way.  The beer selection was just a half-notch above abysmal.  I wasn’t expecting much, but I thought a Cajun fest with an abundance of jambalaya, gumbo, and gator parts would at least sell Abita beer.  We were stuck with the array of offerings from the Anheuser-Busch family.  Drinkable, but not memorable, of course.  At least it was an excuse to check a few more off my Big Year list.

Selfie with Guitar Shorty mid-song

The following day I headed down behind The Orange Curtain for a nephew’s birthday party.  Considering LA area traffic, the drive was smooth sailing, aside from a carsick dog.  Donnie puked everywhere in the backseat.  Do we have the world’s first dog with motion sickness?  Anyhow, my nephew was turning 1.  Early afternoon parties for babies tend not to have beer.  The party was over by 3:30pm, and when the rest of the family headed home, I stayed in The OC to conduct my own mini beer tour.  Aside from serious beering, I also stayed in the area to meet up with some friends from the band FLOOR, from Florida, in Fullerton…. That sounds like the beginning of a limerick, or a really easy tongue-twister.

Completely Logical.

Beer “tour” is synonymous with bizarre routes through non-descript industrial parks, but once found, these breweries appear like tiny, bustling oases in a mirage of tan-colored, shoebox uniformity.  First stop, BOTTLE LOGIC in Anaheim.  This brewer has only been open since January, but they were doing business out the door.  And the hype is justified.  I first sampled their beers at the Sabroso Festival, and they made such a solid impression, I had to make this the first stop on my field trip.  Despite the long line (I don’t do long lines), I waited semi-patiently and ordered my sampler of 7 new selections.  While there is no set “rule” that beer needs to be tasted in a particular order, Bottle Logic was smart to put the EMP: Extremely Mellow Porter and the Mother Heifer Milk Stout first, because once I hit their IPAs, I realized what true palate wreckers they can be (apologies Green Flash), especially the Alpha White IPA.  All selections were excellent, the service was helpful & patient despite the impatient long lines of thirsty Anaheimians.  I can’t say enough good things about this place.

Cali Gold: Huell Howser would be proud

Next, I cruised slightly North to the TAPS BREWERY AND FISHHOUSE.  To my knowledge, they’ve never bottled any of their beers.  They have an impressive roster that occasionally makes its way to SoCal beer bars.  I’ve always liked them, and was chomping at the bit to visit ground zero.  I planted myself at the bar, and while I was thankful for the mercifully small patronage, I was saddened that their tap selection wasn’t the endless conga line of beers listed on their website.  I thought for sure I could keep the conveyor belt of samplers going, but I ended up only ordering one flight.  No worries.  They rotate beers through on a regular basis, so that’s the perfect excuse to return often.  I had already claimed their Mocha Stout this year, but I had to order it and sample again because it was so freakin’ great.  All pours were tasty, the Cali Gold IPA and Helles being my favorites.  I was feeling frugal so I resisted the temptation to pig out on everything from their menu, but fortunately I did treat myself to the awe-inspiring Dragon Eggrolls. I’ll be back.

I headed back South to NOBLE ALE WORKS, hoping to stumble across some unique small batch, oddball brews, which is one of the many things they excel at.  Then the kind-hearted gal behind the counter informed me they close at 6pm on Sunday.  It was 6:11pm.  I forgot… even on holiday weekends, places close earlier on Sunday.  Shit.  But she took pity on me, sold me a bottle of their newest release, Rakau Showers Imperial IPA, and mercifully poured me a 16 ouncer of their mighty Man’s Milk Stout.  Indeed, I felt like a comforted man-baby suckling on this.

Portrait of a Man and his Milk. Diaper optional.

There was still an hour before my buds would be arriving, so I hit PROVISIONS in the heart of Orange.  This bottle store / taproom was originally run by The Bruery, then closed, then reopened under new ownership by HAVEN, one of my favorite brewpubs in the lower half of this great state.  The concept is still the same, however, the bottle selection has dwindled considerably, and half of the beer has been replaced by wine.  Regardless, it’s still a solid spot for a brau & a snack for the throngs who have endured a grueling, laborious day of antique shopping in Old Town.  Provisions still carries a wide variety of styles on tap, and are savvy enough to offer samplers.  As much as I wanted to keep pushing my own boundaries, I still had a long night ahead of me, and decided to limit myself to only four tasters… two fine selections from Pasadena’s mysterious Craftsman Brewing, the more elusive Lagunitas Waldo’s Special Ale, and the liquid Christmas tree overload of the Brouwerij Lupus Wolf 7.

Gettin' FLOORed!

While I still had my wits about me, I high-tailed it to downtown Fullerton to meet up with my pals:  Unabashed music geek, hardcore screenprinter, and graphic designer extraordinaire Jack Barfield, and Steve Brooks, guitarist / vocalist for Floor.  Floor is currently touring to support their new album “Oblation”.  This part of town is geared primarily towards the college crowd, boasting rows upon rows of restaurants and bars for the frat folks to exchange phone numbers, fluids, and fisticuffs.  Floor was booked at the Slidebar, which joined the ranks of the other non-descript hangouts in town.  A huge plus is the Slidebar is located directly next door to one of my favorite newer brewpubs in the area, HOPSCOTCH, so our trio patronized it for our pre-show indulgences.  Mr. Brooks is “known” (read:  “somewhat infamous”) for his antics when he drinks and refuses to stop drinking.  Were we in for the genuine Steve Brooks tonight or the reincarnation of Darby Crash?  Jack and I ordered beer.  Steve ordered iced tea.  He was keepin’ it real tonight.  I started with an 8 oz Goose Island Bourbon County Stout.  I’m such a nerd, I was actually excited when I saw this on the taplist.  This beer has always been elusive to me.  It’s release is always limited, and highly sought after.  I don’t wait in lines, and I don’t race all over town to collect rare beer, so having this fall in my lap was like Charlie unwrapping the golden ticket.  It was as dense, inky, and complex as I had hoped, but I should have had it for dessert, not as an appetizer.  I ordered the burger for dinner, and nearly doubled over from overstuffing myself, but I couldn’t help it… this is one of my favorite burgers since Grill Em All, and I couldn’t justify NOT eating the whole damn thing, no matter how high it was stacked.  Additionally, I ordered a sampler flight, the highlights being the Green Flash Hop Odyssey Black IPA and the 6^th Anniversary Wheat Wine from Fullerton’s own Bootlegger’s Brewery.  Well satiated, we headed back next door just in time for Floor to set up.  This three-piece unit absolutely crushed the room.  Their sludgy, down-tuned anthems are thick as molasses… the musical equivalent of that Bourbon County Stout.  Doomy, monolithic, powerful beyond belief.  I would have headbanged and whipped my hair around if I had any.  This was the pinnacle of an already great day.

All told, a top notch weekend, but how would it hold up compared to the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival a week later?  Stay tuned to find out.

The tally continues...

Well, it wasn't. Thanks to Total Wine.

5/18 – Chillin’ poolside

816 - SUDWERK BREWING MAIBOCK SPRING LAGER – Floral, well-rounded, refreshing

817 - MARIN BREWING TRIPEL DIPSEA BELGIAN STYLE ALE - Mandarin orange esters, golden yeasty goodness

818 - SANTAN BREWING DEVIL'S ALE - Musty malts, very tasty

819 - MARIN BREWING SAN QUENTIN'S BREAKOUT STOUT - Not an oatmeal stout but tastes like one, Delish!

5/19 – Homebrew Day

820 - NEW BELGIUM BLUE PADDLE PILSENER – Crisp pils, OK, but not much depth

821 - EAGLE ROCK BREWERY BOTANY BAY ESB – Killer!  Enjoyed from brewer Lee Bakofsky’s secret stash in an unlabeled bottle, awesome malt character.  Freakin’ yum!

Lee's homemade sour: Perfection!

822 - GENESEE BREWING GENESEE BEER – A midwestern regional shit lager I’ve never had.  Kinda like Natty Bo.  What you’d expect.

823 - LEE BAKOFSKY HOMEBREW OLD PROCRASTINATOR BARREL AGED SOUR – Treat of the evening… Barrel-aged in a Highland Park garage, room temp with no carbonation yet, and seriously phenomenal.

5/20 - home

824 - NEW BELGIUM SKINNY DIP - Forgettable , in fact I don't remember drinking it

825 - GRAND TETON BREWING LOST CONTINENT DOUBLE IPA - Heavy citrus , perty good

826 - NECTAR ALES RED NECTAR - Reds often disappoint, but Nectar Ales does not disappoint. Ever.

5/21 - home

827 - FIRESTONE WALKER OPAL DRY HOPPED SAISON - Major tart citrus bomb, grapefruity, dang tasty

828 - MAD RIVER BREWING STEELHEAD PORTER - Excellent chocolatey malt attack

Donnie approved.

5/22 – A quick after-work flight at Tony’s Darts Away, then home

829 - GOLDEN ROAD / THREE WEAVERS COLLABORATION CROSS THE POND IPA - Finally get to try something from Three Weavers (well, partially). Smooth, mild caramelly, almost buttery session ale

830 - CISMONTANE BREWING COFFEE CITIZEN – This beer and the next three are from a Cismontane tap takeover at Tony’s.  I got in on the tail end of the leftovers.  Cali Common infused with roasty coffee goodness, golden amber, doesn't look like it tastes, total breakfast beer

831 - CISMONTANE BREWING SCHWARZHOP AMERICAN BLACK ALE - Nice black ale, served @ room temp @ Tony's Darts Away, if it was too cold the subtle malts would be hidden, mild & bitter mouthfeel

United Colors of Cismontane 

832 - CISMONTANE BREWING DOUBLE RAINBOW DIPA - Double Rainbow? What does it mean? It means an all out superior hop assault, a delicious, deep amber, incredibly rich brew

833 - CISMONTANE BREWING 4TH ANNIVERSARY DOPPELBOCK - Decent doppelbock, heavily grain-like and wheaty on the palate, mild

834 - GOOSE ISLAND TEN HILLS PALE ALE - Has a good story behind it for these unique hops they source. Didn't do much for me taste-wise though. Sorry.

835 - CALDERA BREWING IPA - Potent, pungent hoppiness. Good stuff.

5/23 – A brief BevMo Burbank tasting, then home

836 - GOLDEN ROAD HEFEWEIZEN - Orangey deliciousness, way better than yer average Hef

837 - GOLDEN ROAD WOLF AMONG WEEDS - Slightly skunkified, danky goodness, a classic

838 - SIERRA NEVADA OVILA SAISON - Subtle citrus goin' on, didn't love it as much as I expected, but it was probably too cold

839 - BEAR REPUBLIC HOP ROD RYE - Crazy good marriage of rye and heavy hops

Real Cubans. Time for jail.

840 - ALASKAN BREWING ESB – I haven’t encountered many ESBs I love overall, but I heart this one. Deep caramelly malts. So damn tasty!

841 - MENDOCINO BREWING IMPERIAL BARLEY WINE ALE - Crazy rich, deep caramel flavors, semi sweet, all good.

5/24 – Two crappy beers at the Cajun & Blues Fest, then two great beers at the house

842 - MARGARITAVILLE BREWING LANDSHARK LAGER - What I expected

843 - SHOCK TOP BELGIAN WHITE - What you'd expect

844 - CORONADO BREWING SOCK KNOCKER IMPERIAL IPA - 20 megaton hop explosion

845 - STRAND BREWING BEACH HOUSE AMBER - Roasty malts, easy sippin

5/25 – Beering behind The Orange Curtain

846 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING EMP: EXTREMELY MELLOW PORTER - Extremely Mellow Porter, maybe considered an English style, light roasted caramel malts, easy drinking

847 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING MOTHER HEIFER MILK STOUT - They describe it as "velvety smooth"... that's an understatement. Ridiculously good.

848 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING JOULE THIEF KRYSTALWEIZEN - Light but complex wheat beer, glad I had this before their IPAs got to my palette.

849 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING RECURSION 2.0 IPA - Tart cantaloupe hoppiness. Yum.

850 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING PREQUEL ALPHA WHITE IPA - Excellent Citra hopped IPA... got that skunky, armpitty eucalyptus funk that we love

851 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING DOUBLE ACTUATOR DOUBLE IPA - Creamy imperial IPA, I'm tasting everything from subdued caramel to flowers to a veggie eggroll. It's a romantic dinner in one glass.

The many taps of TAPS

852 - BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING TATTERED PRINCE SAISON - Wild yeastiness and a good amount of spice

853 – TAPS CALI GOLD IPA - The Columbus & Amarillo hops give it a major crunch, serious hop bite. California's Gold.. Huell Howser would be proud.

854 – TAPS SEAWARD PALE ALE - Cascade hops, kinda piney

855 - TAPS POSEIDON 2.0 DOUBLE IPA - Nelson Sauvin & Cascade hops give it a deep citrus, slightly acidic hop bite, but nicely balanced as well.

856 - TAPS HELLES - Mild malts, golden goodness, great everyday beer. Everyone should replace Bud with this. Perfect with the TAPS Dragon Rolls as well.

857 - NOBLE ALE WORKS MAN'S MILK STOUT ON NITRO - Creamy, chocolatey, the name says it all. Bad ass. Finally a stout that does NOT taste like coffee. Thank you!

858 - CRAFTSMAN BREWING BAY LAUREL SOUR - Noted as a sour, but not cloyingly tart.  Liquefied tropical fruit trail mix (sans raisins).

859 - CRAFTSMAN BREWING POINT FIVE IPA - Tastes more like a pale ale, not distinctly hoppy, not like that’s a bad thing as this is mellow, easy sippin’.

860 - LAGUNITAS WALDO'S SPECIAL ALE DIPA - Excellent, hop-forward DIPA, Love it!

861 - BROUWERIJ LUPUS - WOLF 7 BELGIAN STRONG PALE ALE - Crazy Xmas potpourri spice, heavy cinnamon, clove, slightly cough syrupy, a good "winter warmer"

862 - GOOSE ISLAND BOURBON COUNTY STOUT - America, fuck yeah!  I finally get to taste this bad boy. 

863 - GREEN FLASH BREWING HOP ODYSSEY BLACK IPA – In a word: Killer.

864 - HOPSCOTCH TAVERN HEFEWEIZEN - Brewed for Hopscotch Tavern by Golden Road, citrusy goodness

865 - ROUGH DRAFT BREWING AMBER - Malt & caramel, good stuff

866 - BOOTLEGGER'S BREWERY 6TH ANNIVERSARY WHEAT WINE - Like a barley wine, a little less sweet, full bodied and damn good. One of their best.

5/26 - Home

867 - PIKE BREWING COMPANY PIKE PALE HEIRLOOM AMBER ALE - So-So. Least fave Pike brew.

868 - AVERY BREWING COMPANY ELLIE'S BROWN ALE - Nutty, tasty, and nutty

5/27 – Home, and a few at The Office, Burbank before Infest practice

869 - NOBLE ALE WORKS RAKAU SHOWERS IMPERIAL IPA - Nice oily hops, and it really opens up at room temp.  I wouldn’t drink it so cold next time.

870 - DUVEL MOORTGAT DUVEL - Heavy citrus esters, slight musk of a "corked" white wine, in a good way

871 - NORTH COAST BREWING COMPANY OLD RASPUTIN RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT - Chocolate malt overload, so good

872 - WIDMER BROTHERS HEFEWEIZEN - Like Brach's butterscotch, ech

5/28 - Home

873 - BIG SKY BREWING MONTANA TROUT SLAYER ALE - Didn't love it, tasted sweet for some reason, the description sounds like a beer I'd want though

874 - BIG SKY BREWING MOOSE DROOL BROWN ALE - Spittle never tasted so delish

The Dodges never met a tasting they didn't like

5/29 – Small tasting at Vendome and a couple at home

875 - BALLAST POINT PIPER DOWN SCOTTISH ALE - Low hopped but the hop subtleties are still present, roasty and malty, this piper should be down my gullet

876 - NEW BELGIUM GRUIT: LIPS OF FAITH - Wormwood? Thankfully I didn't turn into a lunatic and cut off my ear. But I did finally cut some slack to the LOF series. Floral golden yum

877 - NEW BELGIUM RYEPA - Hoppy, rye-ey, rustic, with a creamy mouthfeel. I'm a sucker for rye.

878 - STRUBBE'S FLEMISH RED - Tangy, heavy pomegranate, a bit too sweet, slightly funky, interesting, aged in Bordeaux barrels

879 - BRASSERIE DE BRUNEHAUT THE CLOAK OF ST. MARTIN BELGIAN QUADRUPEL - What a trip! Crazily complex. Heavy musky and musty barrel presence, highly raisiny, dank like an ancient old world stone dungeon

880 - EEL RIVER BREWING RAVEN'S EYE IMPERIAL STOUT - Excellent oily chocolate bomb, like any great imperial stout should be

881 - BRAUEREI SCHLENKERLA AECHT SCHLENKERLA EICHE DOPPELBOCK - Liquid smoke, like the charred remains of hobos from an apartment fire

RODRIGUEZ: Live at The Greek on the big screen. Sounds great. Looks like The Cryptkeeper.

5/30 - A few before heading to The Greek to see Rodriguez live:
882 - BALLAST POINT PALE ALE - Formerly known as the Yellowtail Pale Ale, now it's simply "Pale Ale". Still the ol' standby. Got to sample it at BevMo Burbank on the way home from work.  Ballast Point never disappoints.
883 - INNIS & GUNN ORIGINAL BARREL AGED BEER - Smooth and sweet, like a pimp rollin' in a Cadillac Brougham

Beer #740-775 / Day #128-135: Week or Weak? The Craftiness of ACBW

American Craft Beer Week.  We’re in the thick of it now.  I didn’t even know this was a real “thing” until I read a post about it last weekend.  Another excuse to drink good beer?  Well, twist my arm, but OK!

I launched into this brew-centric week properly by meeting up with my pal Ryan Harkins from Grill Em All, and Lee Bakofsky from Eagle Rock Brewing to talk about creating our own collaborative beer.  And by “collaborative”, I mean Lee is doing all the work. He’s the mastermind, and we’re brewing at his house, with his equipment, using his ingredients, based on his recipe.  Ryan and I have never brewed before, and Lee, being the expert, has generously agreed to show us the ropes.  I’ve been itching to delve into homebrew for many years.  I took a class several years ago at Culver City Home Brewing Supply, bought some (but not all) of the gear, but then I chickened out. 

What if I don’t sanitize everything correctly and my beer spoils? 

What if it doesn’t ferment properly since my garage is hot year-round in LA? 

What if my starter recipe is bland and pointless?

Eventually, I had “What if’d” myself out of giving it a try.  I decided to wait until someone experienced could give me a hand, or at least some guidance so I didn’t completely blow it.  I hit up a few homebrewing friends, and we talked about getting together “next time”.  But “next time” never arrived. Months became years, and I didn’t do a damn thing, except throw away my malt.

Fast forward 5-6 years, when I finally reached the point where I was sick to death of making excuses NOT to do it.  Ryan is a self-made man, who co-owns the coolest culinary outfit around, completely DIY and on his own terms.  I hit him up to be my brewing partner.  Like me, he’s unfamiliar with the process, but he’s tight with Lee, and Lee ended up being super cool & willing to school these two greenhorns on the “how-to’s”.

Our initial meeting was to review the process, understand what’s involved, discuss the recipe, commit to a time to brew, and best of all, hang out, socialize, and enjoy a few.  I supplied a Cismontane T.J. Slough barrel aged brew, and Lee cracked out a few Eagle Rock standbys, the Solidarity Black Mild and Manifesto Witbier.  This cat knows what he’s doing, so I’m very excited & honored to be working on our first beer.  D-Day (or maybe its B-Day) is next Monday, and I’ll be posting all the sordid details.

So, we’re still celebrating American Craft Beer Week, but what does it mean?  Nothing really.  The purpose is obviously to draw more attention to the beer world, raise interest, and increase revenue.  Do I really need a reminder to drink more beer?  Not exactly.  Do I need to drink more beer?  Always.

If anything, ACBW is an excuse to blow the moths out of my wallet, and go out more during the week, especially as this is a week for select tap takeovers, many of which feature rare selections, new releases, and oddball variations of familiar gems… Think: A boatload of barrel-aged brews.

The only real problem I have with this so-called event is the phrase “Craft Beer” itself.  It’s one of my grammatical pet peeves.  It’s a catch phrase that stirs up negative memories of the 1990’s when “Alternative” was used to describe everything, mainly as a marketing tool to move more units of anything from music to beer… Anyone remember those incessant Moosehead Lager radio ads?  “Moosehead is your Alternative Beer for your Alternative Lifestyle for your Alternative Summer!”  Blech. 

I think of “Craft” Anything in the same light.  Craft is the new Alternative.  And when the Alternative itself becomes mainstream, the phrase loses all meaning.  The word Craft implies something made by hand, lovingly created with care and attention.  So how else am I supposed to react to pallets of the Kirkland Signature Craft Beer Selection at Costco, comprised of some third party, mass produced swill?  The beer fests I attend inevitably have some sort of Shock Top, Blue Moon, or Widmer Brothers table.  When Everything becomes Craft, then NOTHING is Craft.  Will someone please start a campaign to bring back the term “Microbrewery”?

On a more positive note, even though ACBW is the equivalent of a Hallmark holiday, I’ve had some damn fine braus the past few days, most notably at the Drake’s tap takeover at Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank.  The new 7 x 70 IPA was unveiled, their awesome, seasonal Alpha Session IPA was reintroduced, and they busted out a few barrel aged specialties:  the Brandy Barrel Aged Drakonic Stout and the Whiskey Barrel Aged Rakish Rye Wine Ale.  Superb!  After this quick tasting, I headed up to meet Matt Domino at Newhall Refinery, where we shared a ton of shit-talking, and more importantly, a ton of beer tasters. Newhall Refinery serves tumbler sized samplers of everything on tap, so I went for a taste of everything I haven’t already tried in my Big Year. Great service, great environment to chill, decent rotating tap list, not to mention it’s the only game in town when it comes to the greater Santa Clarita area.

American Craft Beer Week will officially wrap up in a couple days.  Am I bummed?  Hell no.  For me, every week is Beer Week.  And next week will be even better than this one.  Cheers!

The tally continues…..

5/8-10 – Hangin’ at home, and trying a few mediocre in-store samples:

740 - UINTA BREWING HOODOO KOLSCH STYLE ALE – Hoodoo you think is really into this beer?  Well, I really dig all Uinta beers. This one is on the bottom rung of the ladder though. 

741 - MENDOCINO BREWING TALON SMOKED DOUBLE PORTER – Perty good, not too smoky, standard roasted barley flavor.

742 - EPIC BREWING SOUR APPLE SAISON – Had a quick sample at BevMo in Burbank; spiced, tart, would be better around Xmas time, I’m glad this was just a sample, a full glass is not necessary.

743 - SIERRA NEVADA NORTHERN HEMISPHERE HARVEST WET HOP ALE (2013) – Subtle hop goodness, didn’t club me over the head like most West Coast beers with “hop” in the name.  I’m gonna try it again soon side-by-side with the Southern Hemisphere Harvest.

744 - SPOETZL BREWERY SHINER BOCK – Stumbled upon a tasting at Total Wine in Northridge, CA. Glad I got to taste it & claim it without drinking more than a thimble full.  This bock blows, but you all know that.

745 - FIREMAN'S BREW BLONDE – Tasted these Fireman’s brews at Total Wine as well.  S’OK… not great, OK.

746 - FIREMAN'S BREW REDHEAD ALE – Best of all three offerings, still only about average.

747 - FIREMAN'S BREW BRUNETTE GERMAN DOUBLEBOCK – Decent doppel, wouldn’t order it though.

748 - INDIAN WELLS BREWING COMPANY WHISKEY BARREL BREW BARREL AGED AMBER – Mild vanilla woodiness. Fair. Not as husky as most barrel-aged beers you’ll find on the market. Indian Wells isn’t known for awesome brews, so at least this is a step in the right direction.

749 - GREEN FLASH BREWING ROAD WARRIOR IMPERIAL RYE IPA – Goddamn, this is tasty. I would drink this daily. And I dig the different packaging, a nice departure from their usual boring font & one color labels. I’m ready to get a mohawk and cruise the wastelands with the Feral Kid. 

750 - MISSION BREWERY DARK SEAS RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT – Best Mission brew by far. Awesome chocolate & licorice bomb.

5/11 – Mother’s Day

751 - MAD RIVER BREWING STEELHEAD DOUBLE IPA – Doesn’t taste like a double, but still a good ‘un. Creamy hops. Easy.

752 - HEINEKEN PREMIUM LIGHT – Horrifically bland.  I have a sense memory of trying beer at age 13, and it tasted like stale pee.  I think I need to see a therapist for this resurgence of suppressed memories.  Or maybe I can just sue Heineken for mental cruelty.

753 - STONE BREWING SMOKED PORTER WITH CHIPOTLE PEPPERS – Nice heat, not as complex as other recent chile beers I’ve enjoyed, but still worthwhile, especially when it’s closer to room temp.

754 - LOST COAST BREWERY 8 BALL STOUT – Decent stout, maybe closer to an English style, not super full bodied, but middle of the road, with good subtle maltiness.

5/12 – Monday, start of American Craft Beer Week

755 - COORS BANQUET BEER (1970 ORIGINAL RECIPE) – Turns out Coors was pretty shitty in 1970 as well.

756 - EAGLE ROCK BREWERY SOLIDARITY BLACK MILD – Classic, easy-drinking.  Power to the people!

757 - EAGLE ROCK BREWERY MANIFESTO WITBIER – Wow, somehow I haven’t tried this Eagle Rock brew til now.  Probably because so many Wits are underwhelming.  This is the exception… What a great beer!  Mildly citrusy, but full bodied.  Thanks Lee!

5/13 – Starting at Tony’s with Drake’s Tap Takeover; Finishing with numerous tasters at Newhall Refinery:

758 - DRAKE'S BREWING ALPHA SESSION IPA – The old favorite is back, from one of the few breweries to make a session IPA long before the 2014 surge. Mild, skunk hop bite.

759 - DRAKE'S BREWING 7 x 70 IPA – OK, so 7x70 = 490.  What’s that?  Couldn’t find it.  Then I looked up 7 x 70 on the internet and found it’s a Biblical reference. Something about Jesus saying peeps should be forgiven seventy times seven, which infers forgiving someone for eternity. Brand new IPA unveiled here… mild flavors, decent, admittedly it might be my least favorite Drake’s offering.  Must they now beg for eternal forgiveness?

760 - DRAKE'S BREWING BRANDY BARREL DRAKONIC RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT – “Barrel” and “Stout” are like Peanut Butter and Jelly in my book… they belong together forever. 75% barrel aged for 2 years blended with fresh Drakonic. As complex and crazily delicious as it sounds. Fruity wine-like character paired with dark chocolate berries.

761 - DRAKE'S BREWING RAKISH RYE WINEALE BARREL AGED – Half of it was aged 4 months in whiskey barrels then blended with 50% fresh brew; Rich as any respectable barleywine should be, like a vanilla caramel taffy, I just need some high quality vanilla bean ice cream to pour this over.  Awe inspiring. 

762 - LADYFACE ALEHOUSE BLIND AMBITION BELGIAN STYLE STRONG ALE – Haven’t had this one since last summer, still solid output from these Agoura Hills mavericks.  This brewery gets better every year.

763 - STONE BREWING SPROCKETBIER BLACK RYE KOLSCH –  With a name like this, I can’t help but picture Dieter on “Sprokets”. Dammit, what a great beer.  I have a new favorite Stone offering.  Should we listen to Kraftwerk now?

764 - STONE BREWING DELICIOUS IPA – It is!

765 - LOST COAST BREWERY WATERMELON WHEAT – Quite possibly The Worst Beer I’ve Ever Tasted.  Rogue Voodoo Doughnut beer now has some serious competition.

766 - BAVIK PETRUS OUD BRUIN – Oh yeah, what a pleasant sour. Finishes clean. I could sip this baby for a while.

767 - NEW BELGIUM RAMPANT IMPERIAL IPA – I seem to be alone in this, but I’m not the biggest of New Belgium fans.  However, I like this one a lot. Maybe having it on tap makes a big difference.

768 - DOGFISH HEAD 90 MINUTE IPA – The standby.  You gotta dig it.

769 - DOGFISH HEAD APRIHOP IPA – Very good, mild apricot flavor, doesn’t overpower it & make it a fruit beer, just more of a well-rounded IPA.

770 - AYINGER ALTBAIRISCH DUNKEL – Not great, but not Scheisse.

771 - OSKAR BLUES TEN FIDY STOUT – The most wonderful of all motor oils. I see this everywhere, but I’ve forgotten what a truly great stout this is.

5/14-15 - Wed & Thurs at home:

772 - GREAT DIVIDE BREWING RUMBLE OAK AGED IPA –  With a name like “Rumble” the label should depict a showdown between leather jacketed 1960’s hoodlums holding switchblades.  Good, but I’d like to try another one.  I have yet to try any aged IPA that I love.  But I do love most Great Divide releases, so I think it deserves another shot.

773 - INNIS & GUNN RUM AGED –  Cor Blimey!  Like a couple other recent beers, heavy vanilla and caramel, a rich dessert-like beer.

774 – CALDERA BREWING HOP HASH IPA – A tasty hop blend from the ever-reliable Caldera kettle.

775 – EEL RIVER BREWING ORGANIC PORTER – When it comes to wines, the word “organic” always scares me. Organic wines suck. Not so with beer. Organic beers have just as much of a chance as “normal” beers of being good.  Bold malts, underlying chocolate flavor, thumbs up.

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 # 601 - 610 (or "GRAND FINALE OF MY FIRST BIG YEAR")

After fighting off a cold through the middle of the week, my sinuses cleared and my taste buds returned just in time for a last minute Big Year In Beer finale.  Friday, November 15th was my last day of my first Big Year.  And just by chance, it came full circle, ending exactly where I started a year ago.

In preparation of wrapping up my Big Year, I've been copying over my beers, in order, to an Excel spreadsheet.  And in doing so, I discovered that Untappd actually tallied my "Unique" beers incorrectly.  Contrary to my previous post, Hair Of The Dog Blue Dot was NOT my 600th beer... it was actually Beer # 601!  Woohoo!  I was starting off the day ahead of the game without even drinking anything!

To kick off my actual tasting for the day, I hit Congregation Ale House in Pasadena.  Many years ago before the huge craft beer explosion, this building was occupied by a brewpub called Crown City which had 100 beers available.  They used to give you a card to keep track of each beer, and you got a plaque on the wall when you reached 100.  Unfortunately, Crown City closed their doors before I got my plaque.
Congregation took over this great location a few years ago, offering an impressive tap list and excellent food.  In my book, the only drawback for Congregation, and the only reason I don't frequent this location more often has been the service.  I think they have improved service-wise over the past year, but prior to that, the waitstaff were frustratingly uneducated and clueless about the beer on their own menu.  No joke, nearly every time I ordered a beer, the cashiers would give me a blank expression like I was speaking Martian, and I would need to walk over to their huge tap board and point to the beer I wanted.  Honestly, I don't give two shits how cute you look in a Catholic schoolgirl outfit, I want a goddamn beer without playing a game of Charades (one syllable, sounds like 'trout'). I think management finally caught on, and during my last couple visits this year, the staff seemed more up to speed and actually knew what I was ordering.

This time I opted for their house burger, which is consistently one of the best around, and a DESCHUTES BREWERY flight.  The flight was a winner, especially with the inclusion of a few limited brews.
*JUBELALE 2013 - Beer # 602: A comforting winter ale that would have been even more comforting on a colder day (which we don't get much of in LA).
*BLACK BUTTE XXIV IMPERIAL PORTER - Beer # 603:  What you would expect in an imperial porter. Solid.
*GREEN MONSTER SOUR ALE - Beer # 604: The first Deschutes sour I've seen available. Like most American sours of late, a good amount of pucker but still very drinkable. Apparently, this one is super limited.
*CLASS OF '88 SERIES BARLEYWINE - Beer # 605:  A limited collaboration with GREAT LAKES BREWING, one of the most easy-drinking barleywines I've had in recent memory (along with maybe SANTA FE BREWING CHICKEN KILLER)

Later that evening, The Mrs. and I met up with Ryan Harkins from Grill Em All and his wife Kevine (newlyweds!) at GOLDEN ROAD.  This has been a local favorite for the past few years, based in a funky industrial part of LA, across the tracks from Glendale. It was packed like I've never seen it.  Then again, The Wife and I tend to visit breweries during "off" hours, usually in the 2-5pm range. We were introduced to Tara who worked at Eagle Rock Brewing, and Cole who is one of the head brewers at Golden Road.  Like most beer people, they're super cool, and I somehow refrained from bombarding them with endless mega-nerd beer questions. Every time I visit Golden Road, they have something new to offer, and this time they had more offerings than I've ever seen.
I started with the 99 KNOTS TO LA SAISON - Beer # 606.  This is the first time I recall a true saison on the Golden Road list.  Damn good!
I followed that with the SURFLINER PALE ALE - Beer # 607. I recall having a Surfliner IPA last year, and I never saw it again.  This time Surfliner was available, but it was a Pale Ale instead of an IPA.  Huh???  Brewer Cole was nice enough to explain "Surfliner" is actually a blanket name they give to experimental new batches of various brews, all of which are available that one-time only.  Ha!
Next up was the new PONCH'S PORTER - Beer # 608.  This porter freakin' rules.  Their flagship Hudson Porter is good, but I love this one!  Ponch's is a more rich, more dense, inky porter, which I gravitate towards... although if I were smart I'd just stick with imperial stouts since that's what I really have in mind when I order porters.
A couple more friends arrived, and after additional drinking, eating, and merriment, we were treated to a late night tour behind the scenes of the brewery.  The facility is beyond impressive, especially the safeguards implemented to ensure consistency and high quality.  We were lucky enough to taste CABRILLO KOLSCH straight out of the tank, unfiltered.  And no, I can't claim it, because I already had it earlier this year... Beer # 333.  Also fun was cracking open a rejected can (rejected because the fill wasn't exactly 16 oz) of GET UP OFFA THAT BROWN - Beer # 609.  It was canned earlier that afternoon, and even at room temperature it was perfection. In fact, I think I like it even better unrefrigerated... I could taste a lot more of the roasted malty goodness.  Could it be the Europeans have actually been right this whole time about not serving beer ice cold?  Nawwww....

We hit a backroom where the BRANDY BARREL AGED HUDSON PORTER was on tap (which I had already claimed a few days prior as Beer # 596).  One of my favorite Golden Road beers to date.  And I was pouring it myself.  If there's a Heaven, I picture it resembling this moment in time. 
On tap next to the Brandy Barrel Porter was the TROUBLE AHEAD RED - Beer # 610, and the last, unique, claimable beer in my Big Year.  This was a keg from a batch not ready to be released in the brewpub until the following Monday.  Yep, I felt smug as hell, a total baller, even if only for a couple hours.

As we wrapped up the evening, profusely thanking our gracious hosts, I had the startling realization that my first attempt at a Big Year In Beer concluded exactly where it began.  It was a year ago I was sitting at an outdoor table at Golden Road, enjoying a BURNING BUSH SMOKED IPA with Dave Witte, and he told me about Untappd.  I signed up for an account, started logging my beers, and my Big Year was underway.  Here I was a year later, having the best time ever, concluding my Big Year in the exact same spot.  The date as well as the location of my 365 day, 610 beer journey had truly come full circle.  There was something very zen about ending my year with a tour of Golden Road.

Bizarre.
Poetic.
Tasty.

CHEERS!