Damn right

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reading CAN be fun

ever supportive of my beer addiction, angela got me this book. it's a great way of keeping a journal of all of the beers that i try. it's pocket sized, and has pre-printed sections, where you just fill in the info, stats, thoughts on each beer.

but my favorite thing about it, is the FLAVOR WHEEL. this is a neat little invention that allows you to basically draw a picture of how a beer tastes. the wheel has several different flavor categories on it, such as sweet, sour, burnt, toffee, hoppy, spicy, malty, etc. the more a beer encompasses that flavor, the further out on the wheel you put a dot. for lower values of flavor, the closer to the wheel's center you draw a dot. then you just connect the dots. i thought this was a pretty cool innovation, and perfect for a beer nerd like me.

here is a sample of my book:

i'm a dork

my book is already almost full (i blame San Francisco), so it's time to order more from the website.
3 for $10 ain't bad. i hope they get here soon, i'm thirsty.

i wish rain had a head so that i could punch it in the face

well, the Filthy Landlubber bike ride that i mentioned before is officially cancelled due to rain.

no! it's worse than cancelled, it's rescheduled for March 5th... when I will be out of state.
crap. i was really looking forward to it.

on the bright side. angela and i had already booked our timeshare for the weekend, so we are going to head down to the heart of beer country, and have a fun weekend anyway.

also, the Lost Abbey's Carnevale Masquerade is tomorrow night! so we are going to dress up and hit that. free food and amazing beer, can't beat it. also, Tomme Arthur head brewer at Lost Abbey, and one of the best brewers on planet earth, will most likely be there. i want to shake his hand i hope some of the magic rubs off on me.

Carnevale 2011!

so no ride, but look forward to plenty of beer pics and posts from fabulous San Diego beer country.

a Brewtal bike ride

yesterday i decided to take the Black Stallion over to Ladyface Ale Companie. Ladyface is a brewpub/restaurant in Agoura Hills, CA that the gf and i discovered about a year ago. we are regulars there, and it's pretty much our favorite thing about living in the Valley.
the ride is about 15 miles one way, and has a couple of decent hills along the way. the weather was partly cloudy and cool, perfect for a somewhat challenging bike ride.

the route


the Stallion


Ladyface (aka the best pit stop after 15 miles ever)


my preferred parking spot

nothing cures a sore butt better than a beer....or three. i started off with Avery's Dugana Double IPA. i love Dugana and lately it's really been climbing up my ladder of top 20 DIPA's. i had a bomber of it last week, awesomeness, but it was even better on tap at LF.
i love my West Coast IPA hopbombs, but Dugana achieves a balance between the hops and the malt, that frankly, some West Coast DIPA's just don't have. Dugana is a very solid brew, and tasted PHENOMENAL after 2 hours on the bike.

Dugana, so tasty

next i went with the LadyFace 1st Anniversary Ale. Dave, the head brewer at LF brewed this one to, as the name suggests, commemorate the one year anniversary since Ladyface opened it's doors. and apparently it was a successful first year, because they have already expanded the brewery, installed new brewing tanks, and doubled their capacity from 600 barrels, to 1,200 barrels. which is awesome because that allows them to keep Chesebro, (my hands-down favorite of their beers) available year round. wooo woooo!

the 1st Anniv. Ale is a Belgian-Styled Quadruple. it pours bright ruby red, and fairly cloudy. there is almost no head to speak of, and that's due to the alcohol content, this one clocks in at 11.2%. they did a really nice job with this beer. it has a great spice/banana aroma like all good quads should. the alcohol in the taste is hidden pretty well. yeasty, but not overpowering, nice sour finish, and great carbonation. thumbs up on this one.

the 1st Anniversary Ale, congrats Ladyface!

next i had to try LF's new Imperial Russian Stout, Russian Lullaby. this one is also a beast at 9.9%. it poured almost jet-black, some dark brown hints along the rim of the glass. not much of a nose, some coffee, caramel, etc.
upon the first sip, i was very underwhelmed, it just tasted like coffee and the body felt way too thin for an IRS. this was surprising as the bartender and some other folks at the bar had spoken highly of it.
then i figured out the problem. this thing was served WAY too cold. it was almost as ice cold as the my first beer, the Dugana, had been. so i decided to let it sit for about 20 minutes, while i played backgammon on my phone and avoided the gaze of the drunk older woman sitting next to me. taking breaks to put both hands around the glass occasionally, and give it some heat.

after awhile i gave it another shot. completely different beer! the nose had opened up. now i was getting chocolate and cocoa, roasted malt, and even some hops. the taste was way more complex as well. lots of coffee and chocolate, some bitterness, vanilla, and a slight bourbon burn finish. what was once very one note, had opened up to be a pretty complex, yet highly drinkable IRS. gotta let this one warm up.

Russian Lullaby, redeemed itself nicely

the LadyFace Big Board

after a few glasses of water and some time to get rid of the buzz, i headed home. and proceeded to freeze my butt off for the next hour and twenty minutes.

but still, pretty great day.

ps- i stopped at Susie Cakes to get Angela a slice of their FANTASTIC Celebration cake (and also to warm up). and the girl behind the counter threw in a free cupcake. high-five, universe!

quote of the day...

"Drinking beer doesn't make you fat, It makes you lean....against bars, tables, chairs, and poles.” -Anonymous

A Brewtal Yeti Beer Review

Mongo

brewer:

Port Brewing
San Marcos, Ca

style:
Double IPA

ABV:
8.5%

the gf brought this home the other night as a surprise, (did i mention that i have a really, really great girlfriend?:) ). i had never had it out of the bottle before, as it was just released bottled year-round, (replacing one of my all-time favs, Hop-15, a seasonal release now). but Mongo seems like a very worthy replacement. love it on tap, let's see how the bottle does....


appearance: pours golden honey colored. one-finger white head fades quickly. nice and cloudy. looks great in the glass. so far so good. plus, any beer that has a label of a cat surfing a giant tsunami wave gets points in my book.

smell: HOPS! crazy hops. citrus fruit (grapefruit, maybe even some tangerine), with a hint of some resiny pine, but mostly fruit sweetness. the aroma makes me feel like i'm sitting in a beer bar in San Diego county with a sunburn and sand between my toes.

taste: hops upfront, an awesome sweet grapefruit, resiny middle , and a crisp-dry finish. medium bodied. HIGHLY drinkable. big bold flavor, hides alcohol well.

the verdict: this is a quintessential West Coast/San Diego IPA. aggressively hopped, dialed back malt, high drinkabilty, huge flavor. everything you come to expect from a great West Coast DIPA. i don't really notice a difference between the tap and the bottle on this one, Mongo tastes great either way.
overall, a very solid addition to the Port line-up, a worthy successor to Hop-15, and a really nice tribute to Mongo the cat. R.I.P.

i give Mongo: 4 1/2 Yeti's

Bikes & Beer!!!

two of my favorite things!

from the creators of the 2010 Pizza Port Filthy Sailors Bike Crawl, comes the:



a 37 mile bike loop through San Diego county that makes stops at the following breweries:

1. Breakwater
2. Oceanside Ale Works
3. Mother Earth
4. The Lost Abbey
5. Green Flash
6. Pizza Port Carlsbad

i had a blast doing the Pizza Port Filthy Sailor ride over the summer and cannot wait for this!
for 35 bucks you get a beer at each stop, (or more on your own if you like), a FS t-shirt, pizza and the opportunity to kill a 15 gallon keg of delicious Pizza Port beer at the finish line.

sounds like a pretty perfect day to me. reeeally hoping the weather cooperates.

(pics coming soon after the ride!)

A Brewtal Yeti Beer Review

Serpent's Stout

brewer:
The Lost Abbey
San Marcos, Ca

style:
Imperial Stout

ABV:
11%

appearance: pours an opaque black. soapy mocha head lingers for a moment then disappears.

smell: roasted malt, oak, vanilla, molasses, slight toffee sweetness, chocolate, some coffee but not overpowering. slight bourbon? i got some dark fruit too, figs, raisins. like many Lost Abbey beers, there is a lot going on here.

taste: 11%??? what? where? this stout is smooth as silk. i taste almost no alcohol, but you definitely know it's there after the first glass. taste follows the nose, but with a slight hop kick. the drinkabilty is INCREDIBLE, especially for the style. so much going on here: coffee/cocoa, vanilla, sweet malt, dark fruit. i can find nothing wrong with this brew at all.

the verdict: this is world class beer. the word "perfection" comes to mind. if it wasn't for the ABV i could drink this all day and never get tired of it, (can't think of a lot of Imperial Stouts i could say that about). the smoothness, the fantastic balance and drinkability, the complexity of the flavors, the perfect carbonation make this one of the best Imp. Stouts on the market. if this beer is available in your area, GET IT!

i give Serpent's Stout: 5 Yeti's

SFBW Day 3: Town & Country

on sunday we headed into the city to do some sightseeing. the weather was great again, perfect for bumming around beautiful San Francisco.

The Rock (aka: awesomely terrible Nic Cage movie)


made a friend by Ghirardelli Square

the Ferry Building is a really cool indoor market place in SF. tons of cafes, shops, restaurants. we had a great lunch here at Boccalone.

The Ferry Building


mmmmm........pig


our muffuletta sandwich from Boccalone, AMAZING!


nice little beer shop inside the Ferry. lots of PTE is always a good sign

had to stop by Kara's cupcakes for the gf. she was so supportive of my beer endeavors all weekend, so it was the least i could do. if you like cupcakes, go to Kara's, they are AWESOME.

ohhh, yeeeeah

after Kara's we headed north out of the city. rural Northern California is home to some of the best breweries you can find anywhere. first stop, Lagunitas brewery, taproom, and beer sanctuary in Petaluma, Ca. i had always wanted to go here, and it did not disappoint! as you enter the brewery, you find yourself in the middle of a huge beer garden. there is also a bar area inside but we sat on the patio. i started off with a Fusion V, which was fantastic, and then moved onto a 4 beer taster flight. i should also mention that i ordered a sausage plate and was pleasantly surprised to learn that that came with a side of two taster sized beers as well...thumbs up.

if you are ever in the area, Lagunitas is a must-stop brewery, great beers, great staff, and very reasonable prices. also, their take-away growlers are 64oz mason jars. c'mon, thats just cool.

entering the 'sanctuary'

lots and lots o' beer

part of the beer garden (couldn't get it all in one shot)


my beer Vanna White


4 great beers for 5 bucks. can't beat it

next stop, Santa Rosa, Ca about 14 miles up the road. this is the home to Third Street Ale Works. i was really impressed with their 15th anniversary DIPA at the festival, so we popped in to check it out. this was actually just a pit-stop on the way to the brewery that we really wanted to hit, but Third Street was nice enough. i got the DIPA again and it was as good as i remembered. they also make a killer slider here. our server kind of sucked but whatever, you can't win them all.

the Third Street big board


the 15th anniv., a very solid double IPA

now onto the really good stuff. about a mile up the road is one of my all-time favorite breweries, Russian River Brewing Co. it is amazing to me how many world class beers come out of this little brewpub in the middle of tiny Santa Rosa. when we arrived it was packed, as every Sunday is all-day happy hour! my first beer was a Mortification, possibly the best Belgian-style quad i've ever had. this was followed by Rejection, a really spectacular Belgian dark ale.
everything about Russian River is great, the beer, the atmosphere, the food(pliny bites), the service, the prices. as far as brewpubs in America go, i'm not sure you could do much better. check it out if you ever have the chance.

this sight just makes me happy


decisions, decisions


Mortification, excellent!


Pliny bites!


my growler getting filled with Elder :)

at the Hampton Inn drinking PTE out of my Lagunitas jar. perfect end to a perfect day

SFBW Day 2

if you're like me, and love double IPA's, The Bistro's Annual Double IPA Festival is one of the greatest beer events you'll ever attend in your life....EVER. it is pretty much the flagship event during SFBW, and for good reason. they offer 55+ of the best DIPA's on planet earth, and they close down Main St. in downtown Hayward and let the hopheads run wild.
here is the list of participants this year:

(front)

(back)

some of my favorites of the day were, DFH Burton Baton, Kern River Citra, Avery's Double Dry Hopped Dugana IPA, Ninkasi Tricerahops, Third Street Aleworks 15th Anniv. Double IPA, and, Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum.

DIPA fest 2011!



one of my many (many) tasters that day



keeping score



Angela was very excited about the Frickles



pouring some PTY



the couple



not sure what this was, but damn fine lacing



happy boy

the results of the professional judging were (courtesy of the Bistro's website):

Gold : Firestone Walker - Double Jack - Paso Robles, CA
Silver: Moylans Moylander XXIPA - Novato, CA
Bronze: Drakes Hopocalypse, San Leandro, CA
Peoples Choice Award: Kern River Citra DIPA, Kernville, CA
(unseated Pliny the Younger -since 2005 has been the Peoples Choice Award winner a 5 year run! - we did go through 2 kegs of this fine beverage)

good to see Double Jack take first. i've been a big fan of that beer since it came out a few months ago. and Kern River's Citra is amazing if you can find it.

it was a great festival and the weather was perfect. can't wait for next year's!