3 Year Blended Speedway Stout at Ritual Tavern and Firestone Walker Night at Toronado

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barrel aged speedway stout, double barrel ale, oak dba, oak double barrel ale, san diego beer week preview weekend, san diego beer week'nd, san diego beer weekend, speedway stout, union jack ipa

3 Year Blend of Alesmith Speedway Stout at Ritual Tavern

With plenty of bars pouring all sorts of special beers for San Diego Beer Week Preview Weekend it was  hard to decide where to go and what to drink last night. But I found myself at Toronado and Ritual Tavern, and certainly wasn’t disappointed.

Toronado was hosting a Firestone Walker showcase with seven Firestone brews on tap and one on cask including Parabola the much sought after Imperial Stout. On cask was 100% oak fermented, unfiltered DBA, which was the first beer I opted to try. While I certainly don’t have any complaints about DBA, I’m also not a huge fan of it. I enjoy it but it’s not one of my go to beers. The oak, unfiltered DBA on cask was good, and I’m glad I tried it, but I didn’t order a second pint. Instead I moved on to Firestone Walker’s Union Jack IPA, a beer which I had never tried before. With a name like Union Jack IPA I was expecting a British IPA, but was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. It’s loaded with American hops, Warrior, Simcoe, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo, Chinook to be exact, and had a nice citrus hop flavor and aroma. No wonder it won back to back gold medals at the GABF in 2007 and 2008. At 7.5% it’s on the fence between a standard American IPA and a Double/Imperial IPA. This is certainly a beer I’ll be drinking again.

I made my way down to Ritual Tavern to try the three year (two of those years barrel aged) blend of Alesmith Brewing Co.’s Speedway Stout. Speedway Stout is one of my favorite beers, so I had high expectations for this, and while it didn’t disappoint, I don’t think it lived up to all the hype I let build up in my head either. It felt a bit “warmer” than standard Speedway Stout. And I’m not exactly sure what I mean by the word “warmer”, it didn’t taste stronger alcohol-wise, but was a bit less sweet and the coffee didn’t come through at all. It smelled a bit like a port wine. Again a good beer I’m glad I tried, but for the price and taste I’ll stick with the standard Speedway Stout.

Last night was just the beginning of San Diego Beer Week’nd. There’s plenty more great beer on tap throughout the weekend.

More San Diego Beer Week’nd Events

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chocolate rain too, san diego beer week'nd, san diego beer weekend

While there are sure to be plenty more beer events going on this weekend than I’ve listed below and in my previous post, I just wanted to update with a few events that came in since I posted. The info below is from each of the respective bars. So get out there any enjoy some great beer this weekend.

Blind Lady Ale House

Let’s talk BEER first: Friday we’re gonna have Friday Night Flights. How is that for vague? Basically they are “style showcase flights”– we will pick six beers that are good examples of six different styles. Then, we’ve got a Green Flash Showcase going down on Saturday, including a cask of something tasty and GF. And we’ve got a New English Showcase + Pitcher Giveaway on Sunday. New English beers are local and tasty and make great Sunday drinking beers. We have a limited number of Blind Lady etched pitchers to GIVE AWAY with a purchase of a pitcher. Also, we will have cheaper re-fill prices if you want a second.

In addition, BLAH will have a five gallon keg of their newest brew Chocolate Rain, Too on tap at 9pm tonight (Thursday the 10th).

O’Brien’s Pub

Friday is Alpine Night at the pub featuring 9 full size kegs from this little mountain brewery.  We have two very special kegs – Good, the non-barrel aged version of the Great Barleywine that is 14.1% alcohol.  We will be doing 10 ounce pours only of this massive beer unless you are 6 foot nine or taller.  The other special keg is much anticipated Ned, which is a Flanders Red that is ooh so drinkable.  The sour cherry notes blend well with the barrel flavors making you feel like you are in Belgium.  The other 7 beers will all pretty much be hoppy – Duet IPA, Nelson Rye-IPA, O’Brien’s IPA, Hoppy Birthday, Alpine Ale, Pure Hoppiness and we will have the release of my latest collaboration with Alpine, Red Card Ale, made just for the World Cup.  Unlike the Alpine Irish Red, this 6.2% beer has a high bitterness at 50 IBUs and plenty of aroma hops.  Most of the Alpine beer will be on tap all day, certainly all kegs by 5 pm.  I expect most of the kegs to last past Saturday.

Saturday the 12th we will feature some great new hard to find bottles that we just got in today.  We will have beers from De Molen in the Netherlands, Struise, Haandbryggeriet, Fantome, Amager, De Ranke and more.  All of the bottles will be 10% off all weekend as well and all of these new bottles will be available for purchase to-go.

Toronado

Firestone Walker has been a veritable juggernaut on the medal circuit the last few years, picking up accolades and brewery-of-the-year awards at an alarming (to the other guys, I suppose) rate. So, very pleased are we to have a night of their beers. 8 beers, that is. Like:
DBA- 25% oak fermented pale ale
Pale 31- Gold at the 2010 World Beer Cup
Union Jack IPA- ’07 & ’08 GABF Gold
Summer Solace- Farmhouse Saison
Bavarian Hefeweizen- Gold 2010 WBC
Extra Pale Ale- Bronze 2010 WBC
Parabola-13% bourbon barrel Russian imperial stout (5 gallon keg; don’t miss it)
And a cask of 100% oak-fermented & unfiltered DBA.

It all starts at 6 pm this Thursday. Don’t miss it!

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

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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.

Ten Beer Related Reasons I’m Excited to Return to San Diego

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BLAH, dog friendly bars, grand cru, keg n bottle, la jolla brew house, old viscosity, pizza port real ale festival, quaff, quality ale and fermentation fraternity, san diego beer week'nd, san diego beer weekend, san diego festival of beer, san diego international beer festival, speedway stout, stone anniversary and international beer festival, stone bistro and world gardens, stone late night movies, stone sourfest, tap hunter, taphunter

Durango, Colorado, where I’ve lived for the past year and half, isn’t a bad place to be a beer geek (check out my old beer blog from Durango). But it’s not San Diego. It’s also in the middle of nowhere. Durango has four breweries and but it’s also about 300 miles from Denver, which means the many beers brewed in the Front Range, and those from out of state breweries that get distributed in Colorado often don’t make it down here. I don’t mean this as a complaint about Durango but rather a way to show how excited I am about returning to San Diego. Below are ten (of the many) beer related reasons I’m glad to be back.

Hanging out on the patio at the La Jolla Brew House with my dog. The patio at La Jolla Brew House isn’t a bad place to drink a beer, and it’s made all the better because I can bring my dog. Firehouse Brewing Co.’s beer garden is also dog friendly so I’m sure we’ll be enjoying some pints there too. Before I left San Diego Hamilton’s allowed dogs, if anyone knows if they still do please leave a comment below.

Festivals and Events: Summer typically means beer festival season no matter where you are, and because of the number of breweries and beer lovin’ folks in San Diego, there are plenty of festivals. Pizza Port’s Real Ale Festival, Stone SourFest, San Diego International Beer Festival, San Diego Festival of Beer, San Diego Beer Week’nd and Stone’s Anniversary and Invitational Beer Festival. I’ve probably left a few out, but those are the first that come to mind.

QUAFF: Quality Ale and Fermentation Fraternity is a San Diego based home brew club. Their member’s beers have won numerous American Homebrewer Championships over the years. I’m excited to check out and join the club and hope I can learn some skills to further my home brewing.

Beer Box Tijuana. Sure Tijuana isn’t San Diego, but to me they’re inseparable. I came across Beer Box Tijuana while visiting friends and was amazed at their beer selection. In Tijuana terms (where Tecate pretty much rules to the city) they have an impressive beer selection. They have a good selection of San Diego craft beers, but of more interest to San Diegans they have plenty of Mexican craft beers that don’t get distributed in the US and many beers from Europe. In addition to all that the folks at Beer Box Tijuana are homebrewers and often host homebrew club meetings and tastings.

Beers: Regardless of everything else, beer blogging is about the beer. And there are plenty of beers I haven’t been able to easily get out here in Durango that will be much more accessible in San Diego. Here’s a short list of some I’m most looking forward to: Alesmith’s Speedway Stout and Grand Cru, Port Brewing’s Old Viscosity, and so many Lost Abbey beers I’ve never tried.

Stone Bistro and World Gardens: This is one of my favorite places to have a beer and eat dinner. And since it’s all the way up in Escondido I don’t make it up to often, which keeps is special and ensures it will never become ordinary. I’m hoping to make it up for a few movie nights this summer as well.

The beer bars that have opened in the last year or two: Blind Lady Ale House, Small Bar, The Station, Ritual Tavern, Toronado just to name a few. I’ve been to BLAH, Small Bar, and Toronado but I’m looking forward to spend far more time at each.

The Liquor Stores: South Bay Drugs, The Best Damn Beer Shop and Keg N Bottle just to name a few. The beer selection at these stores is phenomenal. I’m like a kid in a candy store every time I walk in.

The Newer Breweries: I’ve never had any beers from Airdale Brewing Co., New English Brewing Co., or Mother Earth Brew Co. There are plenty of other small breweries that have opened tasting rooms or expanded their lineups recently. I’m excited to try them all.

Tap Hunter: Tap Hunter is one of the coolest ideas and websites around. I’m sure every San Diego beer geek already knows and uses it (if you don’t click the link above to check it out) and now I’m happy that I’ll be able to also. Tap Hunter launched shortly after I left San Diego last year. What Tap Hunter does (in a nutshell) is crowd source a list of what beers are on tap at various bars and restaurants. You can check the website before you go out to see what is most likely on tap and use your smartphone to report corrections if a new beer has gone on tap or a keg is empty.

10306 San Diego Mission Road