San Diego Beer Events, January 13th – January 19th

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

Thursday, Jan 13:

Celebrate American Craft Pilsners with Doug Hasker of Gordon Biersch and Lee Chase of Automatic Brewing Co. Blind Lady Ale House will have a flight of six American craft pilsners (Avery Joe’s Pils, Green Flash Fizzy Yellow Beer, Victory Prima Pils, Victory Braumeister Pils, Sudwerk Pils, and Gordon Biersch Pils) from 5pm-Midnight with Doug and Lee hosting a discussion at 5:30pm.

Alpine Beer Co. isn’t especially known for their dark beers which often get overshadowed by their stellar hoppy beers, that’s not to say the dark beers aren’t good (they are) which is why O’Brien’s Pub is calling Thursday Alpine Noir Night with Odin’s Raven Imperial Stout, Token Imperial Porter and Captain Stout on draft and Token Imperial Porter with toasted coconut and rum-soaked oak chips on cask.

Friday, Jan 14:

Didn’t get enough of Alpine Beer Co. at O’Brien’s last night? Hamilton’s hosts them for Firkin Friday. They’ll have Captain Stout with Cocoa Nibs and Vanilla Chai on cask with other Alpine beers on draft.

Saturday, Jan 15:

Pizza Port Carlsbad will be focusing on barrel aged beers at their Barrel Blast. From 1-5pm $30 gets you a custom glass and 5 3oz pours with additional pours only $1. They’ll have 20-30 barrel aged beers available. Sounds like a great way to try some of the more rare and expensive beers without too much hassle.

If you’d rather take home some barrel-aged beer in a bottle stop by The Lost Abbey for the release of 2011 Angel’s Share (aged in Brandy barrels). 375ml corked bottles are $15 and there’s no limit. The Lost Abbey is open 12-6pm.

Sunday, Jan 16:

Know of something going on? Email events@sandiegobeerblog.com

Monday, Jan 17:

A pint of Bear Republic Brewery’s delicious Racer 5 IPA will set you back $4 at Eleven and you get to take the glass home. Refills are only $3.

If your cupboard is over flowing with beer glasses or Racer 5 just isn’t your thing Toronado has local beers for $3 from 6pm-Close.

Tuesday, Jan 18:

Ladies, check out Chicks for Beer at the High Dive is hosting Coronado Brewing Company this month. $25 gets you 5 tasters, a drink of your choice and food pairings in a relaxed women only environment.

If that’s not your thing, Small Bar will have a Duvel Green Keep the Glass night. I haven’t had Duvel Green but I’ve heard some good things.

Wednesday, Jan 19:

Third Wednesday of the month means it’s time for the monthly SD DrinkAbout. A free shuttle runs between Hamilton’s Tavern, The Station, Ritual Tavern, Blind Lady Ale House, Small Bar, Live Wire, Toronado and Sea Rocket Bistro from about 7-11pm. Many of the bars/restaurants have specials for the night.

The Lodge at Torrey Pines will host Ballast Point Brewing Co. in another installment of their Craft Beer Dinner Series. Colby Chandler from Ballast Point will bring some of his famous chili pepper beers to pair with food from chef Kyle Bergman. They’ll have Bloody Abandon Ship Smoked Lager, Smokin’ Hot Habanero Sculpin IPA, Smoked Chipotle Cocoa Nib Black Marlin Porter and a few more. The full menu can be seen here.

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

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Holiday Beer Flight at Blind Lady Ale House

Tags

Affligem Noel, Avery Old Jubilation, christmas beers, delirium noel, holiday beer flight, holiday beers, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza, Santa's Little Helper, Scaldis Noel, winter warmer beer, winter warmers

Left to Right: Port Santa's Little Helper, Scaldis Noel, Delirium Noel, Avery Old Jubilation, Affligem Noel, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

Blind Lady Ale House put on six Holiday themed beers this weekend and offered a flight of the similar but each unique beers to make it easy to taste them all.

I’m not sure if the flight is still on at Blind Lady Ale House, but they surely will have many if not all of these beers available for at least a few more days. The beers in the flight were: Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza, Affligem Noël, Avery Old Jubilation, Delirium Noël, Scaldis Noel, and Port Brewing Co.’s Santa’s Little Helper. Below are some brief thoughts on each.

Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza is 9% ABV and a deep reddish brown color. It smells like it might be a bit sour but the taste isn’t too sour. There are hints of oak (it’s aged in oak barrels) and the alcohol is apparent. It’s slightly sweet and malty with tastes of holiday spices that I couldn’t identify. This was my favorite beer in the flight.

Affligem Noël The board at BLAH said this beer was 6.5% ABV, but everything I can find online says 9% ABV. Either way the alcohol wasn’t nearly as apparent as the previous beer. It’s fairly sweet with some subdued fruity tastes. There’s sweet spices (the board at BLAH said cinnamon). It’s malty but less caramelized than I had expected

Avery Old Jubilation, another dark and malty winter warmer, this one comes in at 8.3% ABV. It had the hoppiest smell of all the beers but the taste was very malty and sweet up front. It had a bit of a bitter hoppy aftertaste but was well balanced.

Delirium Noël this one comes in at 10% ABV and the alcohol was pretty apparent. It was malty with sweet holiday spices coming through. The Belgian yeast comes through as well in this beer and the hops were nowhere to be found. This isn’t a bad beer, but might have been my least favorite in the flight.

Scaldis Noel this is the only beer in the flight I had never heard of. At 12% ABV it was the strongest of the flight and the alcohol heat was apparent in the smell and the first taste. It smells and tastes fruity as well with malty caramel or toffee like sweetness. The finish was a bit bitter but not so hoppy.

Port Brewing Co.’s Santa’s Little Helper is about 10% ABV and was very different than the rest of the beers. I think all the others would be considered “Winter Warmers”, high ABV, malty beers. This one is an Imperial Stout. It’s hoppier than some Imperial Stouts but the roasted barley and high alcohol comes through as well to balance the hops out. It’s not too sweet but has some chocolate notes.

San Diego Beer Events 12/09-12/15

Tags

2nd saturday, Affligem Noel, Avery Old Jubilation, ballast point barmy ale, Barmy Ale, Delerium Noel, Epic Beer Tasting, fiji yogurt, food truck beer pairing, hamilton's second saturday, hamilton's tavern second saturday, holiday night on adams, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza, miho gastrotruck, o'brien's belgian holiday weekend, patrick rue, san diego Christmas beer, san diego holiday beer, Santa's Little Helper, Scaldis Noel, second saturday, tabe bbq, tap hunter, taphunter

Plenty of great beer related stuff going on this week. If you know of anything that isn’t on our events calendar, email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday, Dec 9:

Stop by Ballast Point in Linda Vista where MIHO Gastrotruck will be parked and serving food for a special pairing dinner with some of Ballast Point’s beers. They’ll also have the delicious Barmy Ale on tap for samples and growler fills. Fiji Yogurt next door to Ballast Point will also have a Black Marlin Porter based yogurt. Click on over to Westcoaster for the pairing menu.

Friday, Dec 10:

TapHunter recently held an online poll to determine their users favorite brewery. The votes are in and they’re throwing a party with the first and second place winners which are conveniently located just down the road from one another. The party starts at 4pm at Alesmith Brewing Co.’s tasting room and then heads over to Hess Brewing Co. from 6-8pm. After a few hours of drinking at two of San Diego’s best breweries you might need some food, so it’s a good thing that Tabe BBQ will be parked at Hess Brewing Co. And mention “Taphunter” to get a 15% discount on all merchandise – growlers, shirts, hats, and glassware at Alesmith. More details on Facebook.

Saturday, Dec 11:

It’s the second saturday of the month, which means 2nd Saturday at Hamilton’s Tavern! This month they’ll be hosting Alesmith Brewing Co. They’ll have dueling casks of Winter Yulesmith and Wee Heavy conditioned with Islay Scotch soaked oak chips. They’ll of course have plenty of other Alesmith brews on draft and some delicious sounding food.

Ready for Holiday Beers? Blind Lady Ale House sure is. Saturday night is the Holiday Night on Adams, where many shops on Adams Ave have Holiday themed specials. BLAH is tapping some great beers and is offering a flight so you can taste more. They’ll have Port Brewing Co.’s Santa’s Little Helper, Affligem Noel, Delerium Noel, Scaldis Noel, Avery Old Jubilation, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza and maybe more.

Sunday, Dec 12:

Didn’t get enough Holiday Beers at Blind Lady? O’Brien’s Pub is having plenty of Belgian Holiday Beers all weekend including Sunday. They’ll have at least seven on tap and more in the bottle.

Monday, Dec 13:

As always, Toronado does local pint night on Monday’s. Stop in for some of the best beers around from all over San Diego for only $3 each.

Tuesday, Dec 14:

Chicks for Beer at The High Dive is a ladies only beer group that meets once a month. This month they’ll be hosting The Bruery and Patrick Rue will be on hand to chat about beer. $20 gets you six tasters, a food pairing and a pint of your choice. But don’t fret guys, while the Chicks for Beer meeting will be women only, you’re still welcome to hang out at the bar and drink the awesome beers from the Bruery.

Wednesday, Dec 15:

The third Wednesday of the month means it’s time for the DrinkAbout. Free shuttles will be running between some of the best uptown bars. No word on what will be on tap yet, but we expect plenty of great Holiday beers.

Best Damn Beer Shop and South Bay Drugs have teamed up for what they’re calling an Epic Beer Tasting with 100% of the proceeds going to charity. Downtown Johnny Brown’s will host the tasting where $35 will get you ten 3-4oz tasters. The list of beer is seriously epic and DTJB’s will have more great beer on tap. Check out the Facebook Event page for all the beers and more info.

This post updated 12/12/2010.

San Diego Beer Week: Day One

Tags

American ESB, avery rumpkin, Citra Session Ale, coconut speedway stout, Fire Roasted Pumpkin Al, Fizzy Yellow Beer, green flash fizzy yellow beer, kopi luwak, kopi luwak speedway stout, rumpkin, silva stout, speedway stout, Traditional Porter, vanilla speedway stout, west coast ipa

The burlesque of Brews and Burlesque at The Ruby Room

And San Diego Beer Week 2010 is here! I will (hopefully) be blogging everyday about the various beers I drink and SDBW events I attend. If you see me out and about say hi (my picture is on the About page). I wasn’t good about taking picture of beer last night, and felt like a total perv taking pictures of burlesque, so thats the only picture today, but there will be more going forward.

The SDBW festivities were supposed to start at O’Brien’s Pub for Night of a Million Zillion Speedways, where they had nine different versions of Alesmith’s Speedway Stout on draft and cask. I got stuck at work a bit longer than I had expected and by the time I got to O’Brien’s there were at least 50 people in a line snaking around the building. I decided to pass and kept driving, but I heard things went smoothly and everyone got in after a short wait and all waiting got to try all of the different version of Speedway. One friend I talked to later said that her top three were Coconut Speedway, Vanilla Speedway and Kopi Luwak in that order.

My night ended up starting at The Ruby Room for the Green Flash Brewing Co. Brews and Burlesque night. They had six Green Flash beers on tap: American ESB, Traditional Porter, Citra Session Ale, Fizzy Yellow Beer, Fire Roasted Pumpkin Ale, and West Coast IPA, the last of which was already gone by the time I got there around 9pm.

I started with a Yellow Fizzy Beer, the only one I could imagine drinking right after I arrived at The Ruby Room by bicycle. It was crisp and refreshing, with a bit of hop bitterness and spiciness, this is what Budweiser should taste like. If I had a lawn to mow this would be my go to lawn mower beer were Green Flash to bottle it. I tried the Traditional Porter next, the first sip was full of intense chocolate flavors but it seemed to die down after that first sip.

I made my way down to Downtown Johnny Brown’s next where they had over 20 barrel aged beers on tap for their 2nd Annual Barrel Aged Night. I started out with Avery Brewing Co.’s Rumpkin, an imperial pumpkin ale aged in rum barrels. At 13.2% ABV this was an intense beer with a boozy pumpkin pie spice smell. The flavors from the rum barrel aging came through immediately upon first sip. It wasn’t overpowering in the least, but tasted very strongly of rum. This beer is definetly a sipper, I think it had the 8oz glass in front of me for about 2 hours before I finished it. Rumpkin will be on tap at Hamilton’s Tavern on Monday night for their Avery Barrel Run Experience

I finished the night off with another Green Flash beer, Silva Stout. I wanted to try it on draft to see how it differed from the bottled version but the comparison was difficult since I didn’t have both in front of me at the same time. I think I actually prefer the bottled version of Silva Stout over the draft, but either way their both amazing beers.

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.

The Avery Experience Magic Bus Ride, Thursday August 19th

Tags

2005 Beast, adam avery, avery 2006 samael, avery fifteen, avery ipa, avery seventeen, avery sixteen, depuceleuse, ellies brown, hog heaven, karma, Maharaja, out of bounds stout, salvation, White Rascal

The monthly Drinkabout is getting started as I write this, but if you missed it, or didn’t get your fill of craft beer drinking and free bus bar hopping, the folks at Hamilton’s have you covered.

Hamilton’s, Small Bar and the new Eleven (see our previous coverage here) are hosting Avery Brewing Co. night with founder Adam Avery on hand. Free buses will shuttle people between the bars and Avery beers will be on special for $4.50 with $3 refills and you get to keep the glass.

Word from Hamilton’s is that they’ll be getting started at 5pm. Checkout the beer list for each bar below and we’ll see you tomorrow.

• Hamilton’s: Avery Sixteen, 2005 Beast, Maharaja, White Rascal, Dryhop Keg conditioned IPA and Brabant small pour special!
• Small Bar: Avery Fifteen, Hog Heaven, Karma, Salvation, Maharaja, White Rascal, Seventeen and Depuceleuse small pour special!
• Eleven: Avery 2006 Samael, Out of Bounds Stout, Ellies Brown, Seventeen, Maharaja, White Rascal, Dryhop Keg conditioned IPA with different hop varietal than Hamilton’s.

This post was updated 8/19/2010