Beer #242-261 / Day #44-49: Blog With A Dog

A new layer of complexity has been added to my Big Year In Beer...

It's not some brand new frou-frou, metrosexual adjectives to use as "tasting notes".
It's not a newly discovered pre-Mesopotamian yeast strain that Dogfish Head has unearthed through obscure molecular biology for a new line of Ancient Ales.
It's not a ridiculously crushing metal ale from Three Floyds, bottled with actual jagged shards of metal in each bottle.

It's a dog.

Donnie:  Dog With A Beer Blog.

His name is Donnie.  The Donster.  The Donmeister.  Donareeno.  Donnie Of The Dead.
We have no idea what breed he is.  He's a mysterious mix of random breeds we can only venture to guess.  Longhair Dachshund meets Cavalier King Charles Spaniel meets Papillon.  Whatever he is, he's ours.  And he's awesome. 
And now that we have another "boy" we're responsible for, we need to drink responsibly.  And by that, I mean we need to rewire our brains for how we approach beer bars.  And by rethinking, I mean aggressively locating all of the dog-friendly drinking establishments.
Previously, I didn't give much thought to which beer locales had outdoor seating, because The Wife and I are generally "bar people", meaning we drink at the bar, not at a table.  But now I find myself quickly scrambling to recall which thirst parlors are potentially pooch-accommodating.

Donnie has only been with us for a few days, but we gave the canine/beer combo a trial run last Monday with a trip to Link N Hops in Atwater Village, and aside from some obvious oversights ("Um... where do we put the leash while we're eating?"), it was decidedly a success.

Link N Hops N Mutts

So, here's to Donnie...  Our new mascot and brew companion for 2014!
He makes our outings more challenging, and our drinking at home infinitely more entertaining.
And if you're feeling philanthropic, please feel free to forward any suggestions for mutt-receptive brew venues in SoCal.
CHEERS!

The tally continues....

Valentine's Day 2/14:

*LOST ABBEY RED POPPY ALE - Beer #242, been sittin' on this one a while. Tasty with mild cherry flavors and a hint of sourness, but not enough to truly qualify as A Sour.  Nice one.  Took some effort to get the cork out.

*ALESMITH MY BLOODY VALENTINE ALE - Beer #243, a slightly morbid celebration of V-Day, but a truly toothsome red ale.  Alesmith does no wrong.

Saturday grillin' at home with The Beckers 2/15:

*STONE BREWING / KOOCHENVAGNER'S BREWING COLLABORATION - STOCHASICITY PROJECT: GRAPEFRUIT SLAM IPA - Beer #244, been reading a lot of hype about this collab.  Good, but not amazing. I'm not a grapefruit fan, but thankfully that part of it was subtle. Maybe I'll try a different bottle to figure out why my mind wasn't blown on this first outing.

*CALDERA BREWING RAUCH UR BOCK - Beer #245, very tasty Oregon smoked lager, pairing very well with my smoked whole-trout.

Sunday at home, adapting to dog ownership 2/16:

*BROOKLYN LAGER - Beer #246, decent, solid, lagers are not known for greatness, but I'd drink this any day.

*LA TRAPPE JUBILARIS - Beer #247, good one, but the La Trappe Quad is the one worth selling your kidney for.

*RIO GRANDE PANCHO VERDE CHILE CERVEZA - Beer #248, I picked this up in Reno, and I was expecting a chili beer with some kick. Instead it's a mild green chile flavor. Hence, "verde chile" in the name. El Duh!

*FIRESTONE WALKER PALE 31 - Beer #249, extremely common in LA, but don't let that fool you. This can be picked up in any grocery store in our fine state, but it's still better than 90% of the pale ales on the market.

*RUBY MOUNTAIN BREWING BUCKAROO BREW PALE ALE - Beer #250, Eastern Nevada represent! Holy shit... they're OUT THERE.  Out by Elko, NV.  If you've ever been to Eastern NV you understand.  If you haven't, go to The Boonies, and then keep going!  Not a life-changing beer, but decent.  Bet it's tasty on a frosty morning after corralling them "doggies".

President's Day holiday, celebrating at Link N Hops... because it sounds like "Lincoln" Hops.  But not really.  Then popping a few caps at home.  2/17:

*EPIC BREWING CO. HOPULENT IPA (on Nitro) - Beer #251, smooth, creamy, tasty.  IPAs on nitro are always interesting.

*CORONADO BLUE BRIDGE STOUT - Beer #252, good one, prominent with the coffee.  I love Coronado, and their Stupid Stout is my favorite.

*CISMONTANE BREWING DOS CONE ES - Beer #253, welcome back Old Friend, after an absence of what, two years?  Beautiful rye infused strong ale. New labels, same spectacular taste.

*PRETTY THINGS BABAYAGA SYLVAN STOUT - Beer #254, Boston area brewing, superior stout. Crazy layers of complexity goin' on. Above the bar, in a league with heavy hitters.

*CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE BREWING MAIN ST. VIRGINIA ALE - Beer #255, pleasantly well-rounded everyday ale in a can from VA, thanks to Mr.Witte.

INFEST practice nite.  Tinhorn Flats, Burbank.  Ogling slutty bartenders who look 21 and under, and enjoying beers $5 and under.  2/18:

*THE DUDES' BREWING COMPANY GRANDMA'S PECAN BROWN ALE - Beer #256, local brewers, like a brown/porter hybrid.

*BALLAST POINT SCULPIN IPA - Beer #257, The Legend.  Say no more.

*FIRESTONE WALKER 805 BLONDE ALE - Beer #258, honey ale, good for sessioning, surprised I found it on tap outside of the Central Cali area code.

Wed nite chillin' with The Wife and The Dog after a long day.  2/19:

*DC BRAU BREWING THE CORRUPTION INDIA PALE - Beer #259, thank you again Mr. Witte, I love this one.  IPA, but freakin' delish.  I'll be in DC mid-April, and damned if I'm not tracking down this brewer in person.

*BROOKLYN BREWERY LOCAL 2  - Beer #260, like a Belgian dubbel with more spice.  Really damn flavorful, when it mellows from fridge-temp to room-temp.  Picked it up in Reno because I can't find it in LA, but of course, brewed in NYC. I love all output from this brewer.

*FOUNDERS BREWING ALL DAY IPA SESSION ALE - Beer #261, another classic, consumed on the West Coast, thanks only to the deft shipping skills of Mr. Witte. Low alcohol means mass consumption if you're lucky enough to hold more than a solitary bottle (which is my situation out here).

Beer #179-194 / Day #37-38: Confessions Of A Male Beer Model

Are they trying to say I'm easy?

Last Friday started out wonderfully beery when The Mrs sent me a link to the tap takeover page for our favorite beer locale in Koreatown, Beer Belly.  We visited them for the first time maybe three years ago. At the time they weren't too busy & we hung out with the owner & his wife.  She was taking some photos to use for promotion on their website. They asked if we were OK with being photographed & included on their site. Naturally, we obliged. I checked their site a few times afterwards and never saw any pics of us from that day.  Dang!
Jump ahead several years, and there we are. I say "we" because my wife is the blurry one behind the text. But it's mostly me, a few years back, cheersing the owner.  Toasty.  Pleased.  And with a much shorter beard.
Wow, how cool. 

Full of octopus and proud of it

Then it occurs to me.  There's a pic of my face with the phrase "One Night Stand 2014" next to it.  Of course, it's Beer Belly's euphemism for monthly tap takeovers. But just the wording itself is the perfect analogy of my Big Year... being a complete beer whore for the duration of the year. Sippin' anything within arms reach, but refusing to go back for more. Like a goddamn tramp. My pal Sean Casey said it's a very '70s pic.  I'm just missing gold chains and a wider collared shirt.  Loose, drunk, and on the prowl for ladies to satisfy.  I've never been mistaken for a gigolo. Not once.  But for this one and only time, I enjoy the double entendre.
Cheers to Beer Belly!

Later Friday nite, we hit Honda-Ya in Little Tokyo with our friends Jim Gascon & Lily Thai, known from here on out as the celebrity couple GasThai.  This Japanese standby has been around for a while on the 3rd Floor of the shabby, dated, and mildly-depressing Little Tokyo Galleria Market. GasThai are regulars to this downtown LA spot, but it was our first time.  Seriously, one of the best dinners in recent memory, despite the lengthy wait.  Not an incredible beer selection, but a truly incredible food selection... raw wasabi octopus, deep fried octopus balls, skewers of beef tongue, pork belly, chicken heart... insanely, ridiculously delicious.  We'll definitely be back, as often as possible.
Even better, the restaurant was only one block away from Angel City Brewery.  This brewery is an enigma.  Since I moved to LA in 2001, I've been aware of Angel City, and I've randomly run across their beers in downtown restaurants & bars, but only in recent years did they open their doors, and only in the past year did they finally start bottling a handful of their brews.  Their tasting room is based out of a funky, industrial warehouse space downtown, the exact room that Jim Gascon's mom ironically worked out of, only a few years ago.  It's a large space, beer only, yet still comfortable and inviting.  I bought us a couple flights so we could sample everything.  Of course, flights are the best way to rack up numbers on one's Big Year, and Ms. Thai is just now starting hers.  No better place to kick it off.  Great beer across the board, friendly service, and they even pour a rare session IPA, their All Night IPA. Delicious & comparable to the other rare session IPAs I know & love, like Drake's Alpha.

Cuteness and beer, my two favorite things

After finishing pints of our favorites from the flights (mine was the All Night IPA, theirs was the Schwarzbier), we stumbled down to 3rd St, aka Hipster Central.  There's a semi-hip, but still down to earth bar / restaurant down the block from the eternally crowded Wurstkuche... we wrapped up our evening of over-indulgence at Americano. We were overly full from dinner, but the wafting of food smelled incredible.  Their tap & bottle list is very impressive.  Not crazy extensive, but just enough to cover all bases, and "exclusive" enough to please any serious beer nerd.  We all ordered something different & passed our braus around for tasting, like the faux-hipsters we claim not to be, but actually are. We drank, laughed, drank, and laughed even harder at the fact that our server graduated high school in 2008 and could easily have been our kid.
Downtown LA is The Shit.  But we decided to wrap it up, head home for rest & prepare for the coming manic weekend.

The tally from Thurs 2/6. Opening some bottles at home:
*RIO GRANDE DESERT PILSNER - Beer #179, picked this up in Reno. Great label, OK pilsner. 
*BOULDER BEER COMPANY HAZED AND INFUSED - Beer #180, mild pale ale, simple.

*IRON FIST VELVET GLOVE IMPERIAL STOUT - Beer #181, liked but didn't love this big boy.

The tally from Fri 2/7 downtown:

*SAPPORO DRAFT BEER - Beer #182, does its job. Average brew, non-intrusive, easy drinking and a decent companion to Japanese food.

*ANGEL CITY BREWERY EUREKA! WIT - Beer #183, yum

*ANGEL CITY BREWERY ANGELENO IPA - Beer #184, total yum

*ANGEL CITY BREWERY GOLD LINE PILSNER - Beer #185, refreshing, straight forward

*ANGEL CITY BREWERY WHITE NITE- Beer #186, the biggest surprise of the evening, a "golden stout". Looks like a witbier, tastes like a box of cocoa nibs

*ANGEL CITY BREWERY SCHWARZBIER - Beer #187, the first choice of my other three companions 
*ANGEL CITY BREWERY BERLINER WEISSE - Beer #188, oddest sour I've tried, but not too acidic or punishing

*ANGEL CITY BREWERY ALL NIGHT IPA - Beer #189, my personal favorite on the Angel City roster, awesome session IPA

*BROUWERIJ WEST SAISON EXTRA - Beer #190, great one from a West Coast brouwerij that doesn't disappoint.

*ABITA BREWING HOP GATOR - Beer #191, hoppy pale, not bad

*TRUMER PILS - Beer #192, I'm not the biggest pilsner fan, but after hundreds of years, this Euro implant to Berkeley is a tried & true favorite

*BLACK MARKET BREWING BAVARIAN STYLE HEFEWEIZEN - Beer #193, light, tasty, good for a summer's day by the pool

*ALESMITH BREWING GRAND CRU - Beer #194, a darker Belgian style treat with yeast obtained from a Trappist monastery.  All I know is I want to trap this in my stomach as often as possible.