A Great Weekend of Beer

Tags

black market brewing company, black market rye ipa, deschutes, deschutes the abyss 2009, infected abyss, jolly pumpkin, Madrugada Obscura, nickel bag ipa, Red Poppy, san salvador saison, stone belgo old guardian barleywine, victory, victory golden monkey, Vrienden

San Salvador Saison

I usually make it a point to have a couple good beers every weekend, but for some reason this weekend seemed to  be all about beer. Maybe it was the rain on Saturday, what else is there to do when it rains? Regardless of the reason, I drank some great beer this weekend.

Friday night I had dinner at KNB Wine Cellars and somehow managed to only have one beer. Their tap list is so good it was hard to decide on what to drink but I had Vrienden, the slightly sour and a little sweet (thanks to hibiscus flowers) New Belgium/Allagash collaboration. This wasn’t the first time I had Vrienden and I’m still undecided on it. The first time I had it out of a bottle I thought it was good but not great. I had it on draft about a month ago and really enjoyed it. This time it seemed sweeter than I remember, the fruity hibiscus flowers were very apparent. A good beer but I didn’t like it as much as I remembered.

Saturday I started the day off watching the SDSU/BYU game and opened my last bottle of Deschutes 2009 The Abyss. It’s been reported that many of The Abyss bottles from 2009 were infected and had off smells and flavors which was the case with this bottle. (The last bottle I opened before this one was last summer and the off smell/flavor wasn’t nearly as prominent.) There was a strong Brett smell and some off flavors, it wasn’t terrible but didn’t taste right. I’ve heard some people say they really like these infected bottles, and others say they can’t stomach it at all and have to pour it out. I was able to drink about half the bottle but am glad I don’t have any more of these bottles sitting around.

A bit later in the day I went to The Linkery for their 6th anniversary where they had some nice beers on tap. I started off with Ballast Point’s San Salvador Saison, which now is about five or six months old. I had a small taster of San Salvador at the Ballast Point 14th Anniversary Festival when it was fresh and it was one of my favorite beers of the day. If memory serves me it has changed a bit, but it still a great beer. It has a much stronger yeast characteristic that gives it a bit of a sweet flavor up front. There is still plenty of spice in there but the yeast is what stands out. I also had Black Market’s Rye IPA on cask dry hopped with Cascade and Amarillo hops. This was only my second time having this GABF gold medal winning beer, plenty of citrus hops and a nice mouthfeel from the cask.

Later that night I ended up at Counterpoint where they had a keg of Lost Abbey’s Red Poppy on. This is one of my favorite sours but sadly it’s pretty rare. I heard they weren’t doing too many kegs of it this year, so far I’ve seen it at Eleven, Ritual Tavern and now Counterpoint. If you see this on tap I highly suggest it. Bottles have started showing up at some of the better liquor stores in town, but they surely won’t last long. I also tried a Victory Golden Monkey, a strong Belgian-style golden ale, it was slightly sweet and fruity and had some serious alcohol heat to the first few sips but was overall a good beer.

Sunday I had to go for a bike ride to burn off all these beer calories, but that ride took me right past Pizza Port Ocean Beach where I stopped in for a few beers. Jolly Pumpkin’s Madrugada Obscura is a nice slightly tart and sour but still good and roasted stout. If only this is what the infected 2009 The Abyss had tasted like. I haven’t seen this on draft before, but I know some bottles showed up recently at some local liquor stores, I highly recommend it. It’s sour, but not too sour, so give it a chance if you like stouts and are on the fence about sours. And being a Pizza Port, I just had to try Nickel Bag, the double IPA brewed with help from O’Brien’s Pub’s Tom Nickel. This was so smooth and easy to drink (for being 10% ABV) it could be dangerous. There are a ton of hops in there, but it’s not overpoweringly bitter, it has some citrus and pine flavors from the hops and a nice malt backbone to balance things out.

And for the final beer of the weekend I cracked open a 2011 Stone Belgo Old Guardian Barleywine while watching the Oscar’s. I would have loved to do a side-by-side comparision for the Belgo and the regular, but wasn’t able to do that last night (I’m sure I’ll get another opportunity in the future). I really enjoyed the Belgo OG. The Belgian yeast made it fairly sweet, but not in an overpowering or cloying and syrupy kind of way, which took a lot of the alcohol heat off. At about $6/22oz this is a solid beer. I can’t wait to try it along side the original OG and probably put some of both versions away to age for a while.

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San Diego Beer Events, January 20th- January 26th

Tags

awesome beer drinkers, awesome beer tasting, barrel-aged wee heavy scotch ale 2009, barrel-aged wee heavy scotch ale 2009 release, bear republic brewery, lost abbey expansion, lost abbey open house, miho gastrotruck, nickel bag dipa, racer 5 ipa, rob todd hamilton's, rob todd san diego, rob todd small bar, west coaster ipa

If you know of anything that isn’t on our events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday, Jan 20:

Stop into Eleven for a Bear Republic Brewery Racer 5 IPA and keep the glass. The first one, including glass will cost ya $4, after that it’s only $3 refills for the rest of the night.

Friday, Jan 21:

Two parties, one celebrating the old and one celebrating the new are happening tonight. West Coaster is holding their launch party at The South Park Abbey. They’ll have special West Coaster beer glasses, beers from Hess Brewing Co., including a specially brewed West Coaster IPA and some never before seen beers from Coronado Brewing Co. including a Black IPA, a Belgian IPA and more. Yes I do write a monthly column for West Coaster, sure I’m probably a bit biased, but there will be some great beer and this will be a fun time.

Up the road a little ways O’Brien’s Pub is celebrating their 17th Anniversary. They’ll have plenty of great beers from the various Pizza Port locations as well as some special bottles from Lost Abbey. Owner Tom Nickel recently helped brew Nickel Bag at Pizza Port Ocean Beach. This Double IPA was the last beer he brewed before leaving Pizza Port Carlsbad in 2005.

Saturday, Jan 22:

The Lost Abbey is hosting an open house from 12-6pm to show off their new space from their recent expansion. They’ll be doing tours of the new space and just might have something special on tap.

Saturday afternoon the website Awesome Beer Drinkers are teaming up with Best Damn Beer Shop to host an Awesome Beer Tasting. $35 gets you ten three or four ounce pours from their impressive list of beers. The tasting is happening at The Beer Company downtown and they recommend purchasing tickets in advance through their website.

Sunday, Jan 23:

Know of a great beer event happening? Email events@sandiegobeerblog.com

Monday, Jan 24:

If you don’t have tickets to Stone Brewing Co.’s Beer U: Strong Ales it looks like you’re out of luck as they’re sold out according to the website. But fret not, head down to North Park for some $3 beers. As always Toronado is doing their local night, all local beers are $3. This week Eleven is also doing $3 beers but there’s isn’t limited to locals. Any beer on tap, all night long, $3. I’m not sure if this will become a regular thing but I hope so.

Tuesday, Jan 25:

Are you a homebrewer? Thinking about homebrewing? The local homebrew club QUAFF holds their monthly meeting the fourth Tuesday of the month at the All American Grill in Hazard Center. Check out their website for more info.

Wednesday, Jan 26:

Alesmith is releasing their Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy Scotch Ale 2009 and bottle sales start at 2pm. But don’t think you can just waltz down there and pick up a few bottles. Sales will be limited to four per person and will sold based on numbers handed out at 10am. MIHO Gastrotruck will be around starting at 1:30pm serving lunch. From what I’ve heard this beer is worth taking a good portion of your day off work, if past barrel-aged bottle releases at Alesmith are indication this one will go quickly.

A bit later Hamilton’s Tavern and Small Bar will be hosting Rob Todd from Allagash Brewing Co. They’ll have plenty of his beers on tap at each bar. Todd will be at Hamilton’s from about 4-6:15pm and Small Bar from about 6:3o-8:30pm.

Know of anything going on Tuesday or Wednesday? Email events@sandiegobeerblog.com

San Diego Beer Events, January 6th – January 12th

Tags

10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale, beer 101: intro to beer, big sky brewing co., Delirium Tremens, hamilton's second saturday, toronado local pint night, Vrienden

Looks to be a bit of a slow week. But just because their aren’t a ton of out-of-the-ordinary special events listed here, doesn’t mean there isn’t great craft beer on tap at local bars and on the shelves of local liquor stores. If you know of anything that isn’t on our events calendar, email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday, Jan 6:

New Belgium Brewing Co. and Allagash Brewing Co. recently teamed up to brew a new sour beer, the 8.5% ABV Vrienden. According to O’Brien’s Pub, Vrienden is Flemish for Friends and was brewed with endive and hibiscus and then soured with lacto bacillus and brettanomyces. And O’Brien’s Pub just so happens to be tapping a keg of Vrienden on Thursday. They’ll have a few other New Belgium Brewing Co. beers on tap and some New Belgium globe glasses for sale.

Friday, Jan 7:

While I couldn’t find any special beer events going on this Friday. That doesn’t mean they’re not happening. If you know of something email events@sandiegobeerblog.com. Otherwise, I’d bet that your local bar has some delicious on tap.

Saturday, Jan 8:

For their Second Saturday this month, Hamilton’s Tavern is hosting Montana’s Big Sky Brewing Co. The draft list is mouthwatering – here are more than a few of the 20+ beers on tap that stand out: Cherry Bourbon Cowboy Coffee, Belgian Sour Brown Ale, All Souls Imperial Saison, 2008 Ivan The Terrible Imperial Stout, 2010 Ivan The Terrible Imperial Stout, 2009 Barrel Aged Slow Elk Oatmeal Stout, and 2008 Buckin’ Monk Cherry Tripel. They’ll also have Slow Elk Oatmeal Stout and Powder Hound Winter Ale on cask and some bottles as well.

UPDATE: According to the Missoula, Montana based beer blog Grizzly Growler, this will be the largest selection of Big Sky beers ever in one place.

Sunday, Jan 9:

Some people say that Stone Brewing Co.’s 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale tastes better on draft than it does in the bottle. I haven’t made my mind up for sure, but Stone will be doing growler fills of 10.10.10 VE this Sunday which makes it easy to do a comparison between draft and bottle at home — just be aware that this will leave you with 86oz of 10.10.10 VE. Come to think of it, that’s not a bad problem to have.

Monday, Jan 10:

Monday might be the busiest night of the week. I’ve noticed that Eleven seems to be doing fairly regular keep the glass nights on Monday’s. This week is Delirium Tremens, the glass and beer will set you back $6.50 (and don’t forget to throw an extra buck to your bartender) and and after that refills will run $4.50.

Or head on up to Escondido where  Stone Brewing Co. is teaching about beer, Beer 101: Intro to Beer will teach you the basics of beer. And the beer list for the class looks might fine. Tickets are $25.

And as always, Toronado does $3 local pints from 6pm-Close on Monday nights.

As always Toronado has $3 local pints all night.

Tuesday, Jan 11 and Wednesday, Jan 12:

Know of anything going on Tuesday or Wednesday? Email events@sandiegobeerblog.com

San Diego Beer Week: Blind Lady Ale House’s Brewmaster Series

Tags

blah sdbw, blind lady ale house san diego beer week, blind lady brewmaster series, chuck silva, eric salaza, mark jilg, patrick rue, rob todd, steve grossman

San Diego Beer Week is a big, diverse, decentralized event, which makes it mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. There are events with incredibly rare beers, events where you get to take a glass home, events with cheap beer, events pairing beer and food, you name it and there’s probably a bar or brewery doing it this week. But in my opinion some of the best SDBW events are Blind Lady Ale House’s Brewmaster Series.

For the Brewmaster Series BLAH invites brewers in to talk about their beer to a small group, typically less than 30 people. Everyone gets a tasting flight of six 5oz beers and the brewer guides them through each beer, discussing how the beer was made and answering questions people have.

I’ve attended two of these Brewmaster Series type events, one with Patrick Rue of The Bruery a few months ago, and one this past weekend with Mark Jilg of Craftsman Brewing Co. At $25 they’re incredible deals, not only do you get to drink great beer but you get to hear about the beers from the people that make them. I can’t begin to describe how much I’ve learned at each of these events that I wouldn’t have had I just gone out and had a few beers. The flight alone typically costs $20 at the bar, so an extra $5 to listen to the brewer is quite a deal in my opinion.

Blind Lady Ale House has four Brewmaster Series tasting flights left during SDBW:

• Tuesday, November 9th, 5pm Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. with Steve Grossman (brother of owner Ken Grossman and long time SN employee)
• Thursday, November 11th, 5pm New Belgium Brewing Co. with Eric Salazar (Lead Brewer)
• Friday, November 12th, 3pm Green Flash Brewing Co. with Chuck Silva (Brewmaster)
• Sunday, November 14th, 12:30pm Allagash Brewing Co. with Rob Todd (Brewmaster and Founder)

These tastings are a great way to learn an incredible amount about beer while drinking plenty of great beer with the folks that brewed it.

Head on over to BLAH’s website to purchase tickets for each tasting.

San Diego Beer Week 2010

Tags

75 minute ipa san diego, beer wars, black freak, chuck silva, craft beer lagers, craft brewed lagers, craft lager fest, dj claire, dr bill sysak, history of beer in san diego, just outstanding ipa, kern river brewing co., kopi luwak speedway stout, liar's club redux, lips of faith, Louis Mello, mad river brewing co., maui brewing co, natalie cilurzo san diego beer week, new belgium brewing co., one of eight, san diego beer history, san diego beer week event, san diego beer week event guide, san diego beer week guide, silva stout, super freak, swim party

We’re just a few days away from the second San Diego Beer Week. This year promises to be bigger and better than last year with over 300 beer related events. The SDBW website is doing a great job of listing all events on their website, so we’re not even going to try to list all the events. Below are a few of the events we’re most excited about, it’s not a comprehensive list, and it’s weighted pretty heavily towards the uptown neighborhoods but it’s a few of the events we’re most excited about. It’s not going to be possible to do every (or even half) of the beer week events, but read below, and browse through the full event listing on the SDBW site and drink some great beer. Be careful out there, write down the number of a cab company, stay safe and have fun!

As always, check with the individual bars/restaurants/breweries as events are subject to change.

Friday, November 5th:

Beer for Breakfast: Kick off the second annual San Diego Beer Week at Stone Bistro and Gardens with Dr Bill Sysak for the Rare Beer Breakfast. All you can eat breakfast and 15 3oz tasters for $55.

Weasel Poo: O’Brien’s Pub is hosting Night of a Million Zillion Speedways. They’ll have eight different versions of Alesmith Brewing Co.’s Speedway Stout including the infamous Kopi Luwak Speedway (which is made with Kopi Luwak coffee which passes through the digestive tract of weasels). In order for as many people as possible to get to try them, the eight beers will be served as 2oz tasters only, split into two different flights of four. But be careful, each flight is only 8oz, but each beer is about 12% ABV. It’ll sneak up on you.

Who Said Fresh is Better?: When it comes to some beers, fresher is better, but not always. Downtown Johnny Brown’s will host their 2nd Annual Barrel Aged Night with complimentary food and 21 barrel aged beers on tap.

Saturday, November 6th:

The Official Kick Off Event: Yeah, you’re probably nursing a hangover from the night before, but get down to Liberty Station for the San Diego Brewer’s Guild Festival, the official kick off event of San Diego Beer Week. The $50 VIP tasting starts at noon. General admission ($35) starts at 2pm and runs until 6pm.

Beer Brewed by an Ex-NASA Rocket Scientist: Forget the fact that Mark Jilg is an ex-NASA Rocket Scientist, the owner and brewer at Pasadena’s Craftsman Brewing Co. makes some unique beers. Blind Lady Ale House will have Craftsman Brewing Co. flights all day long, and will host a tasting with Jilg at 12:30pm. Seating is limited, purchase tickets in advance.

Sunday, November 7th:

Nothing Wrong with a Little Nostalgia: I’ll admit, I’m a little too young to fully appreciate The Liar’s Club. Sure I had been a few times and I greatly enjoyed it, but it doesn’t hold the same spot in my heart that it does for many others. That won’t stop me from recommending that you get yourself to Eleven at 3pm for Liar’s Club Redux though. I’ve heard that last year’s Liar’s Club Redux at Hamilton’s Tavern was one of the most popular SDBW events. Get there early (they open at 3pm) and re-experience the Liar’s Club.

The Beers that Put San Diego on the Map: San Diego brewers make a ton of great beers, but it’s hard to deny the fact that our fine city is known for it’s IPA’s. Toronado‘ San Diego IPA Blowout will feature of ton of San Diego IPA’s on draft available as pints or smaller tasters to sample more.

Monday, November 8th:

A Little History with Your Beer: San Diego history to be precise. You’re at San Diego Beer Week, you already know that San Diego is one of the premier beer cities in the country. Find out how we got here at Stone Brewing Co.’s Beer U: History of Beer in San Diego with special guest, Green Flash Brewing Co.’s Chuck Silva. Tickets are only $25, so if you have your heart set on this, we recommend purchasing them in advance.

Another Educational Beer Experience: If you haven’t seen Beer Wars what have you been waiting for? Delete it from your Netflix queue and get down to Sea Rocket Bistro where they’ll be showing it at 7pm with their 3 course Cooking with Beer Prix Fixe menu.

Barrel Aged is a Big Deal: If you haven’t noticed, barrel aged beers are a big deal. Hamilton’s Tavern and Small Bar will host a plethora of rare Avery Brewing Co. barrel aged beers and will have a shuttle running between the two bars. Many of these beers are barrel aged special versions of some of Avery’s best beers. Chances are they’ve never been on tap in San Diego before, and quite possibly never will be again.

Tuesday, November 9th:

Seriously the Best Double Stout I’ve had in a Long Time: It’s not a secret that I think Green Flash’s Silva Stout is one of the best Imperial Stouts I’ve had in a long time. Head down to the Regal Beagle where the beer’s namesake brewer, Chuck Silva will be pouring it and chatting with beer drinkers. They’ll also have Green Flash’s Yellow Fizzy Beer Bohemian Pilsner and 8th Anniversary IPA on tap as well.

Beer Flights with the Brewer: This isn’t the first beer flight with the brewer flight at Blind Lady Ale House we’ve recommended you check out at SDBW, and it’s not the last. These guided flights with the people who brew the beers are a great way to taste beer and learn more about the beer making process. They’re also really fun and you get to drink tasty beer. Check out the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Flight with Steve Grossman, brother of founder Ken Grossman. Get there early for a bike ride with Grossman around Balboa Park before the tasting.

Wednesday, November 10th:

Get on the Bus: The DrinkAbout this month has been moved up a week for San Diego Beer Week. Ride the free bus between Hamilton’s, Station, Sea Rocket, Ritual, Blind Lady, Small Bar, Livewire, and Toronado from 7-11pm. Most bars will have specials going on and a fun time is sure to be had by all. This is one of the most fun beer happenings each month and is surely going to be all the better during SDBW.

Beer for a Cause: The High Dive will tap One of Eight, a collaboration beer brewed by Coronado Brewing Co. and Ballast Point Brewing Co. in honor of women with breast cancer. This Amber Strong Ale was brewed with Belgium yeast, African Cocoa nibs, fresh ginger and Grand Marne.

Russian River Night at Toronado: Who needs a witty title when Natalie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing Co. will be on hand at Toronado with the following beers on draft: Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig IPA, Damnation, Damnation batch 23, Damnation batch 46, Supplication, Temptation, Redemption, Sanctification, Consecration, Porter, and Gaffer’s Bitter. They’ll also be bringing out some special Russian River bottles from the cellar.

Thursday, November 11th:

Lips of Faith: Eric Salazar from New Belgium Brewing Co. and namesake of the beer Eric’s Ale will be guiding a tasting flight of six beers from the Lips of Faith series at Blind Lady Ale House. Many, but not all, of the beers are sour.

Hang Loose: Get dressed up in your Hawaiian garb for Maui Brewing Co. night at Small Bar. They’ll have 8-10 Maui Brewing Co. beers on tap, some of which we rarely see on the mainland.

Just Outstanding: Yes, Just Outstanding IPA will be on tap at Downtown Johnny Brown’s Kern River Brewing Co. Night, but the whole night should be just outstanding as well. They’ll also be pouring Citra DIPA, Class V Stout, Barrel Aged Stout and more.

Friday, November 12:

Craft Beer Bonanza: There are so many great things happening at so many bars around the city why pick just one? Let the Park2Park Shuttle take you between great bars, restaurants and even a liquor store in the Uptown neighborhoods as well as downtown. See all the details and purchase tickets on their website.

Craft Lagers: Lagers are often overlooked in the craft beer scene. El Take it Easy will hold a Craft Lager Fest with Ballast Point Brewing Co. to showcase some of the best craft brewed lagers around. DJ Claire will be spinning some vintage soul to go with those smooth drinking lagers.

The East Coasts Most Experimental Brews: Dogfish Head Brewing Co. will be on tap and cask for Firkin Friday at Hamilton’s Tavern. 75 Minute IPA will be on cask with Punkin Ale, Palo Santo Maron, Chicory Stout, Sah’tea, Theobroma and more on draft.

Take Your Pick for the Best of Green Flash: Sit down at Blind Lady Ale House for a guided tasting flight (including Le Freak, Black Freak and Super Freak) with Green Flash’s Chuck Silva in the afternoon (or stop in anytime afterwards for the flight) or check out the 20+ taps of Green Flash Beer at Toronado later at night.

Saturday, November 13th:

Small Brewer of the Year: Mad River Brewing Co. just won Small Brewer of the year at the Great American Beer Festival. Check out many of the beers, paired with excellent food (and more likely available on their own as well) at The Linkery’s Mad River Serious Madness 3.0

Second Saturday: Hamilton’s Tavern pulls out the stops every month for the second Saturday, but the SDBW version will be just as good if not better. Marin Brewing Co. and brewmaster Arne Johnson will be in town with Brass Knuckle IIPA and Old Dipsea B-wine with Sherry Wood on cask and plenty of beer on draft.

More Green Flash: Didn’t get enough Green Flash last night? Well today is their 8th Anniversary Festival at the brewery in Vista. $35 gets you ten tasters and it all supports a good cause.

Sunday, November 14th:

One Last Flight: Blind Lady Ale House has hosted plenty of great flights and tastings during SDBW. The last one will be Allagash Brewing Co. with brewmaster and founder Rob Tod. Six great Allagash beers in a guided tasting flight and a small taste of the rare Allagash Blonde Ale after the tasting.

Relax, It’s Been a Long Beer Week: SDBW is coming to a close, it’s been a long ten days. Head to the Courtyard Cookout at Counterpoint in Golden Hill where The Linkery will be cooking in the courtyard and Counterpoint will have 15 taps of craft beer available.

San Diego Beer Week is Officially Coming to a Close: The Beer Garden at The Lodge at Torrey Pines is the official closing event of SDBW. $65 gets you tastes of local beer paired with food from local restaurants and chefs at the beautiful Lodge at Torrey Pines. Purchase tickets in advance here.

This post last updated 11/3/2010 at 8:07am

Click below to see the full event calendar courtesy of the San Diego Beer Week website. And again, click here to see their full list of events.

San Diego Beer Week 2010 Preview Weekend, June 10-13

Tags

bear republic brewing co., beer hall, black lightning porter, fairweather pale ale, firkin friday, hamilton's padres day, mission valley craft beer festival, san diego beer week preview, san diego beer week preview weekend, san diego beer week'nd, san diego beer weekend, speedway stout, speedway stout ice cream, suds for surgeries, the lodge at torrey pines, world cup san diego

Sure, it’s only Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean it’s too soon to start thinking about the upcoming weekend. Especially when that weekend just so happens to be the preview weekend for the 2010 San Diego Beer Week (sometimes cleverly referred to as San Diego Beer Week’nd). The first ever San Diego Beer Week took place last November, and the second year of the event will be taking place this year from November 5-14, but there’s just so much great beer around that they have decided to hold a special preview weekend.

San Diego Beer Week Preview Weekend events starts Thursday evening with a beginner brewing class at Home Brew Mart taught by Ballast Point Brewing Co. brewer Doug Duffield. Homebrewing is a great way to learn about beer and is fun and delicious. This class will go over the basics of brewing and will brew a 5 gallon batch. The class is limited to 30 people and costs $10. Call (619) 295-2337 to reserve a spot. And if a beginner brewing class would be too basic for you, stop by Home Brew Mart on Friday for a 10% discount on all products.

If you would rather drink beer than learn how to make it Thursday night both Ritual Tavern and Hamilton’s Tavern have you covered. Ritual Tavern will host a very special blend of Alesmith Brewing Co.’s Speedway Stout. Starting at 8pm they’ll have a 3 year blend of Speedway, 2008 and 2009 were barrel aged and blended with fresh 2010 Speedway Stout and Ritual Tavern will be pairing this with homemade Speedway Stout ice cream. This will be a unique beer, one you probably won’t ever get to taste again. Speedway Stout is in my top 10 all time favorite beers. I’m excited to try this.

Over at Hamilton’s Tavern they’re doing their Firkin Friday a night early on Thursday hosting Lightning Brewing Co. They’ll have Fairweather Pale Ale on cask and Elemental and Black Lightning Porter on draught.

Friday is Allagash Night at Downtown Johnny Brown’s (in case you missed the Allagash flights at Blind Lady Ale House this past weekend, or just want more). They’ll have Curieux, Victor, Victoria, Confluence, Wit, Interlude, Odyssey, Fluxus 09′, Four and Dubbel as well as BBQ brisket in a Curieux sauce. Also Friday night is Beer Hall at The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Seven chefs will join seven brewers to pair beer and food. It’s $60 per person and 10% of the proceeds will go to the San Diego Brewer’s Guild. Click here for the menu and beer pairings.

Saturday Ballast Point Brewing Co. will be hosting a tasting of their three beers that won the World Beer Cup Champion Small Brewery. That’s Sculpin IPA, barrel aged Piper Down Scottish Ale and Fathom India Pale Lager. Also on tap will be 3 Sheets Barleywine aged on 3 Sheets rum soaked oak chips. That all happens at Ballast Point Brewing Co. in Linda Vista from 1oam-5pm Saturday. After that head on over to Hamilton’s for 2nd Saturday with Bear Republic. There will be casks of Racer X Imperial IPA and Big Bear Black Stout and 18 Bear Republic beers on draught as well as complimentary BBQ from the kitchen.

Sunday wraps up San Diego Beer Week Preview Weekend with the 4th Annual Hamilton’s Padres Day (which as of this writing it appears as if there are still tickets available) for $45 you get field level tickets at Petco Park, a Hamilton’s baseball jersey, transportation from Hamilton’s to Petco and back, two drinks at the pre-game party at Downtown Johnny Brown’s as well as craft beer on the bus.

Sunday is also Suds for Surgeries, the first ever Mission Valley Craft Beer Festival at The Handlery Hotel. $30 gets you unlimited beer and food tastings.  Participating Breweries on hand will be: Airdale, Ballast Point, Coronado, Firehouse, Green Flash, Karl Strauss, Mission and Stone Brewing Co.

And if all that weren’t good enough, the 2010 FIFA World Cup gets started Friday June 11th. Plenty of bars around San Diego will be showing the games and offering drink and food specials. One game which ought to be pretty good and draw a crowd is USA vs. England on Saturday. If you know of any other beer events this weekend, or have a favorite bar (with a great beer selection) to watch the World Cup leave a comment below.

Allagash Brewing Co. Flights at Blind Lady Ale House

Tags

allagash black, allagash curieux, allagash dubbel, allagash victor, allagash victoria, allagash white

Yesterday I stopped by Blind Lady Ale House to taste some Allagash Brewing Co. beers. BLAH often has Allagash White on tap, but most of the other beers are rarely seen in San Diego. The beers included in the flight were:

• White, a traditional Belgian wheat beer
• Black, a Belgian style stout brewed with dark candi sugar
• Dubbel, a malty dubbel
• Curieux, French for “curious”, Curieux is Allagash’s Tripel aged for eight weeks in Jim Beam bourbon barrels
• Victoria, fruity and spicy, Victoria is brewed with Chardonnay grapes and Belgian yeast
• Victor, inspired by Victoria, Victor is brewed with chancellor grapes, hopped with Fuggles and Hallertau and fermented with a wine yeast.

These beers were all great and it was wonderful to be able to taste so many beers from the same brewery, that I had never been able to try before, all at once.

Unsurprisingly to me, the Black and Dubbel were my favorites, I would have easily ordered a glass of either after the flight if given the chance (but the beers were so limited at BLAH only White and Curieux were available outside the flights. I liked Allagash White as well although my brother Chris and my wife Kinsee both thought it had an after taste like hot dogs. I tried and tried but couldn’t find even a hint of hot dogs in the beer.

Curieux’s name explains it’s taste well. The color of the beer gives no indication of the whiskey flavor. It’s not an over the top whiskey flavor but compliments the beer nicely. I’ve never had a Tripel aged in whiskey barrels, and have rarely had a lighter colored barrel aged beer. Victor and Victoria were interesting, not in a bad sense of the word, but not like anything I had ever had before. The Chardonnay grapes in Victoria were very apparent, it’s a 9% ABV beer but hid it’s alcohol very well. The Belgian yeast also came through well and made the beer slightly spicy. Victor seemed to have more going on that I couldn’t pinpoint. I felt the hops came through far more than Victoria, but possibly because of the yeast I felt it had more wine like characteristics.

White, Black, Dubbel, Curieux, Victoria, Victor

Beer Happenings this Weekend (June 4-6th, 2010)

Tags

pizza port real ale festival, san diego beer week preview, san diego beer weekend, weihenstephan

This weekend is a full week before the San Diego Beer Week Weekend Preview, but that doesn’t mean there’s not plenty of beer to be had.

Starting this afternoon (Friday, June 4th 2010) is the 14th Annual Real Ale Festival at Pizza Port Carlsbad. From 4pm-11pm today and 11am-11pm tomorrow there will be 45 cask conditioned ales available. Admission is $30 which includes an imperial pint glass, and 8 taster tickets. Additional tasters can be purchased for $1. They say this is the largest cask conditioned ale festival on the West Coast.

Tomorrow (Saturday, June 5th 2010) Blind Lady Ale House will have Allagash Brewing Co. flights starting at 11:30am. Beers included are: White, Black, Victor, Victoria, Dubbel and Curieux. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never had a single beer from Allagash Brewing Company, but I was at BLAH the other night with some friends and four people were drinking Alagash White. I’m really hoping to make it tomorrow for this. There’s not a single beer on that list that I’m not excited to try.

Tomorrow evening, Hamilton’s Tavern and Small Bar will be hosting Weihenstephan Fest from 5-8pm during which there will be a shuttle bus running between the two bars. Small Bar will have Hefe, Lager, Festbier and Dunkel. Hamiltons will have Korbinian, Kristall Vitus, Lager and Festbier. They’ll be doing half liter keep the glass for happy hour for $5 with $3 refills. Weihenstephan Brewery is over a century old, it ought to be a fun time having so many of their beers on tap at once.