2011 - The Beer in Review

For all intents and purposes, 2011 was a pretty damn good year for me.  Looking back, I had the busiest music schedule I'd ever undertaken, with an abundance of gigs, rehearsals and recording sessions for seven (yes... SEVEN!) different musical projects generally taking precedence over beer-related travels.  Of course, the money generated from the aforementioned musical projects pretty much financed my beer travels exclusively in 2011.  Factor in a full-time desk job and going to the gym five to six times a week, and you can paint a vivid picture of how busy I'd been in 2011.  Yet I still managed to visit plenty of breweries and brewpubs, including our first-ever, much-anticipated trek to Seattle and Portland, a short San Diego fling, an awesome trip to Montreal with Deuane and Carolyn, and a pleasant New England jaunt with Dan and Kristen (part II here).  Additionally, I attended the always enjoyable Philly Beer Week and even hit up a few beer festivals along the way.  I even coordinated the inaugural Central PA bottle share event, dubbed "Imminent Liquidation," which proved to be an enjoyable event for all who attended.  Brewslut even attended Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison, WI for a third time.  Sadly, band commitments kept me from attending in 2011.  However, I am hoping to go this coming year (see my 2012 Resolutions below)!

And now, as The Pour Travelers beer blog turns a year old, I'd like to look back and reflect on 2011.  Like our first birthday, this year featured many "firsts," especially in the local beer scene.  Selin's Grove brewed its first sour beer.  Spring House started its first mug club.  Pizza Boy Brewing Co. put its first beer on tap.  A little goat named Peggy became the first-ever three-legged goat to win the Sly Fox Goat Races.  I'm sure there are countless other firsts, but those are a few that immediately come to mind. 

Peggy racing on to victory!

This past year, quite a few of my favorite local brewpubs experienced some big changes.  Spring House opened an awesome new taproom in downtown Lancaster, and Matt has been belting out some impressive beers, especially in the Stout department.  One of my favorite brewers, Terry Hawbaker, left Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport to pursue a new brewing venture in Philadelphia, PA at Farmer's Cabinet.  Bullfrog's new brewer, Nate, has been doing a fantastic job keeping up with Terry's standards and hasn't missed a beat.  Another one of my favorite brewers, Paul Rutherford, left Iron Hill Lancaster to become the head brewer at the brand new Iron Hill Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia) location.  But perhaps the biggest change in the local beer scene was Tröegs packing up and leaving Harrisburg for a much bigger facility in Hershey, PA.  In case you've been living in a bubble, Tröegs' new home in Hershey opened to the public in October 2011.  For a little taste, check out my inaugural 2012 blog, Three Times the Tröegs.  This new brewery is indeed the beer mecca of the Central PA beer scene!

Some highlights of 2011:
1. Witnessing Peggy's victory at the Sly Fox Goat Races!
2. Drinking fresh Nelson at the source... Alpine Beer Company in Alpine, CA.
3. Attending Deschuttes 23rd Anniversary party in Portland, OR.
4. The inaugural Imminent Liquidation bottle share event!
5. Winning Drunkie McGee at Ffej of July 9: Ffej-olution #9... by accident!
6. Judging the first homebrew contest at Al's of Hampden's/Pizza Boy Brewing Co.
7. Visiting Hopfenstark in Montreal, Canada.
8. The return of Olde Frosty IPA at Selin's Grove and the brewery's 15th Anniversary!
9. Visiting Hill Farmstead Brewery in Vermont.
10. Seeing the new Troegs brewery for the first time.

Resolutions for the coming year:
1. Finally host my long-talked-about stout tasting.
2. Return to Portland for a REAL beer trip.
3. Finally get to Selin's Grove's Hops and Vines festival.
4. Get Ffej of JulIPA brewed for the 10th Anniversary of Ffej of July.
5. Have a Troegs beer named after me (OK, a long shot, I know)!
6. Visit Barcade Philly.  Classic arcade games + beer = awesomeness! 
7. Make Imminent Liquidation an annual event.
8. Get back out to Great Taste of the Midwest.
9. Increase my overall number of beer blogs on this site.
10. SAN DIEGO... AGAIN!!!

To all of the followers of The Pour Travelers... thank you for reading!  I hope you all have a fantastic 2012 and look forward to bumping into you at the next beer event.  Cheers!

Three Times the Tröegs!

I would be remiss if I didn't include something on this blog to celebrate the opening of the brand spanking new Tröegs brewery, now situated in chocolate capital of the United States - Hershey, PA.  Well, after seeing the new brewery, Hershey just might become the beer capital of the United States... at least for this avid beer aficionado! 

Enjoying a Scratch #56.  Mmmm... Simcoe hops!

First off, let me begin by stating that I am already embarrassed that I have not included anything about the new Tröegs brewery thus far on The Pour Travelers.  Shame on me, indeed!  Not only is Tröegs responsible for introducing me to craft beer (R.I.P. Rugged Trail), they are perhaps my favorite brewery in PA and also brew arguably my favorite beer of all time, Nugget Nectar.  So, when I found out that they were moving the brewery from its original location at Paxton Street, Harrisburg to Hershey Park Drive in Hershey, I was ecstatic!  It seems also important to mention that Tröegs tripled its floor space from 30,000 square feet at the old brewery to a whopping 90,000 square feet at the new Hershey facility!  What does this hopefully mean for everyone?  More Tröegs beer, of course!

For the past several years, I have enjoyed going to Tröegs during my lunch break or after work for special releases, firkin events, etc. due to my office's close proximity with the old brewery.  (I worked on Erford Road in Camp Hill, and a quick shot over the Harvey Taylor bridge landed me at Tröegs in about five minutes, barring any unforeseen traffic unpleasantries.)  Lucky for me, I found out that my company's Camp Hill office was closing and I would be working from home, coincidentally around the same time that Tröegs would open its new brewery in Hershey.  Since I am situated in Annville, Hershey is only a stone's throw away at only seven miles or so.  And with the tasting room's expanded hours, you can bet that I will be a fixture there!

On the afternoon of New Year's Eve 2011 (also Brewslut's birthday), we headed over to Tröegs to snap some long-overdue pictures for the blog and to raise our glasses one last time and give salute to 2011, which was a pretty damn good year for us, in retrospect.  (Editor's Note: My next blog is going to be a recap and year-end review, so stay tuned!)  So what better way to cap off a great year than with some great beer? 

The Scratch brewing system.

When we arrived, I was pleased to see that THREE Scratch beers were flowing, including the outstanding Scratch #56, a single-hopped Simcoe IPA.  The T2 Ale and new DIPA were also on tap, but the Simcoe IPA was just too damn good to justify getting something else in its place... so I drank three of them!  I'd also like to give a quick shout-out to my good friend Vicki, who is now working at Tröegs.  She had been my favorite female bartender at Appalachian Brewing Co. for years and a huge herbie fan, so I was delighted to learn that she was now working at Tröegs!

Scratch #56 stats.

If you have yet to visit the new brewery, you really need to get there pronto!  In addition to the gigantic tasting room, they also have an expanded gift shop that now includes mix-and-match six packs, plus a bevy of merchandise including everything from glassware to clothing to accessories.  You can also take a self-guided brewery tour, which provides insight on the brewing process, barrel aging, the bottling line, and the science behind making great beer.  Don't forget to get a beer before the tour!

Josh and I behind the counter.

If you go to the brewery hungry, you might be in for a rude awakening, especially if you visit on a weekday.  Aside from a bowl of hard pretzels, your only option is a frozen Salisbury steak microwaveable dinner for $10.  If you visit over the weekend, chances are good that a food truck will be there peddling its wares.  However, word on the street is that Tröegs will likely be contracting out a local catering company to provide simple yet fresh sandwich offerings on a daily basis.  Hopefully this will go into effect shortly, but for the time-being, you can still BYOF (Bring Your Own Food) or use the food truck.

Tröegs' hours of operation are Monday to Wednesday from 11am to 7pm and Thursday through Saturday from 11am to 8pm.  They are closed on Sundays.  See you there!

Impromptu Hair of the Dog tasting

So on Tuesday night of this week, Brewslut and I headed over to Brass Rail Deli to get some KBS and Oak-Aged Pumking on tap.  Unfortunately, the Pumking was already kicked, so we had to "settle" for KBS.  My good beer friend, Dan, was also there, and he asked me when I would like to drink a bottle of Hair of the Dog bourbon barrel-aged Adam from the Wood.  "Ummm... how about tomorrow night!" I answered enthusiastically.

So last night the four of us (Dan, Kristen, Brewslut and I) polished off the aforementioned HotD beer as well as four others that have been aging (or festering... however you want to look at it) in my beer cellar: vintage '08 and '09 Doggie Claws, '09 Fred from the Wood and '09 Cherry Adam from the Wood.  Truly a nice line-up, indeed!

We started off with the BBA Adam from the Wood, which was by far the best of the evening.  I would have liked to cap off the night with this one, but Dan was anxious to try it, so I didn't put up a fight.  While this version was definitely less smokey and earthy than the traditional Adam, these attributes were replaced with a lush vanilla and tangy bourbon character that made this beer slide down my throat quite effortlessly.  This is definitely a beer to savor.  Unfortunately, we shared a 12oz. bottle four ways, but I enjoyed this one more and more with each passing sip.

Up next was Cherry Adam from the Wood.  While I enjoyed this one, it ultimately didn't live up to my full expectations.  I felt it didn't offer a lot of cherry character, which I was anticipating due to its namesake.  There was a tinge of soy sauce in the flavor as well, which typically does not agree with me, at least in the context of beer.  Still, it was quite smooth and subtle for such a high ABV beer and I am glad to have had the opportunity to try a bottle of this rarity.

Fred from the Wood was next up on the agenda.  If memory serves me correctly, I'd already had the '08 vintage of this (thanks Dan) a while back.  This '09 vintage was definitely brighter and sweeter than its elder counterpart.  The woody notes were quite subtle overall.  This was the perfect beer to place in the middle of our roster as it was much lighter than the previous two and ultimately more hoppy. 

We ended with Doggies Claws, one of my favorite barleywines on the market.  We decided to start with the '09 and work our way backwards.  Released from the depths of its dark and foreboding muddy body, the '09 vintage offered a complex nose of leafy hops, sweet caramel and tangy alcohol notes.  Doggie Claws definitely straddles the line between an English (traditionally maltier) and American (traditionally hoppier) style barleywine, but one this is for sure - this is a delicious beer any way you slice it!  The '08 was surprisingly a bit disappointing, or at least certainly not as fine as its more youthful heir.  The nose, as Dan pointed out, was a bit oxidized.  However, the flavor still delivered a pleasant experience overall, although it was Brewslut's least favorite of the evening.  She pointed out that it smelled like "split pea soup."  (For more of her amusing descriptions of beer aromas and flavors, check out one of my past blogs by clicking here.)

To read more about past Hair of the Dog travels, check out my previous blog, Tripping the West Coast-tastic - Part I: Seattle and Portland.

Pizza Boy Brewing Company update

Just a quick message to let you all know that Pizza Boy Brewing Co. is up and running with several "Test Batch" beers on tap at Al's of Hampden.  I stopped in last week and enjoyed a Citra dry-hopped lager on the hand pull and it was quite tasty.  According to the most recent tap list at http://www.alsofhampden.com/, all three beer engines are active, with two DIPAs and a hoppy pale on at the moment.  Additionally, there are two beers on tap - a Belgian pale and a lager.  So stop in to see what Al has been brewing!

Editor's note: Stopped in again on Thursday, December 22 and Al had THREE of his beers on the beer engines: a Warrior/Galaxy DIPA, a Warrior dry-hopped DIPA, and a cherry wood Belgian Pale.  I had a pint of the first and third mentioned above, and they were both very good.  The DIPA was nicely balanced with a pleasant nose.  The pale was intensely bitter with a huge Belgian yeast presence.  Al later told me that all of the bitterness came from the cherry wood and NOT from hops.  This was definitely an interesting take on a Belgian pale.  So stop in soon and try some of these.  I've been told that two more new beers will be going on around New Year's Eve, and they are sure to please the masses!  I'm definitely looking forward to more new beers from Pizza Boy!

French Canada - Part I: Oui oui, eh?

Thanksgiving 2011 marks the fourth anniversary of our annual beer excursion with our good friends Deuane and Carolyn.  Each year, we select a mutually agreeable beer destination and pack our bags for a few days of libations in a foreign place.  For our first trip, we chose the great state of Michigan, a first for Brewslut and myself, with its bevy of amazing brewpubs such as Founders, Bell's, Dark Horse, Short's, Right Brain, etc.  The following year saw us heading south to Asheville, NC, a small town steeped in arts and music with a kind of neo-hippie culture that appealed to me.  There is also no shortage of fantastic beer in Asheville.  Last year, we trekked to the college town of Athens, OH, that centered around drinking the amazing beers of Jackie O's, a relatively new brewpub on the U.S. beer map.  We got an amazing personal VIP treatment from Brad, head brewer at Jackie O's, including a tour of the cellar and a tasting of several sour beers that were still aging in barrels.  We also got to visit a brand new place in Zanesville, OH, called Weasel Boy Brewing Co. that I completely fell in love with for its quaint yet retro "Grandma's living room" atmosphere.  Their beer was pretty bangin' too!

Which brings us up to speed for our 2011 as we embark to Montreal, Quebec, our first trip outside the good ol' U.S. of A.  Day one (Thanksgiving Day) saw us venturing north toward Saratoga Springs, NY, where we crashed at a Best Western Plus.  After a relatively good night's sleep, we enjoyed a quick free continental breakfast of eggs, cereal, bagels, juice and coffee before we continued onward to our destination.

Our first stop in the city limits was Benelux, a small brewpub with a very urban atmosphere, where we met Tico, a homebrewer-turned-professional brewer who is also friends with Deuane and Carolyn.  The two beers I ordered were the Cactus IPA and a tasty Wheatwine, although we were able to sample pretty much everything from their tap list, because we all ordered different beers and tasted each others' selections.  Everything we had was solid to very good, and according to Deuane, Tico has stepped it up a bit compared to the old brewer and is brewing some interesting beers as of late.

Pleeps posing with my Wheatwine

Our next stop was L'Amere A Boire, a modern, multi-leveled brewpub that had a cafe-type atmosphere.  Deuane had informed me that their best beer was a Czech pilsner, and it was on tap, so I tried it.  It was quite good - crisp and hoppy, just as I like them! 

After a brief visit to L'Amere A Boire, we were ready to check into our townhouse.  Upon entering, I was extremely impressed with the upscale accommodations.  The three-level townhouse boasted 1 1/2 baths and two spacious bedrooms (Brewslut and I stayed in the upper loft area).  There was also a modern kitchen, fireplace, plenty of seating for guests, and a large dining room table.  Check out some pictures below!

For dinner, we decided to order some take-out across the street at a Vietnamese restaurant.  Brewslut and I each ordered chicken curry and shared an extra-large Pho (noodle soup) as well as a pair of spring rolls.

Perhaps the impetus for the trip was Dieu du Ciel, arguably the premier craft brewery in Quebec.  We had originally planned to rent the flat upstairs, but decided to go the route of the spacious townhouse instead (good thinking, Deuane).  We met Tico and Deuane's other friend from Montreal, Troy, only to find the place packed to the gills.  While we waited standing near the bar elbow to asshole with the other patrons, I enjoyed a 10th anniversary Peche Mortel, an special anniversary version of perhaps the brewery's flagship beer.  It was quite delicious, I must say.  After a good thirty to forty minutes of standing, then procuring some bar stools in the corner, we finally secured a small round table near the entrance.  We all squeezed around the table and enjoyed some nice conversation despite the cacophonous flurry of voices and dreadful techno music surrounding us.  Unfortunately, the place was too dark and too busy to get any pictures.  However, I did get to try the standard Peche on nitro, which I think I enjoyed a bit more than its stronger anniversary counterpart.  We discussed returning again the next day when things calmed down a bit (similar to our Founders experience on our inaugural trip to Michigan), but it wasn't in the cards and we ended up not returning.  However, better things were on the horizon.

Our next destination was Wices Et Versa (aka Vice Versa), a fantastic beer bar, perhaps the finest within the city limits.  I found this place to be similar to The Old Fashioned, an awesome beer establishment in Madison, WI.  Wices Et Versa is to Montreal as what The Old Fashioned is to Madison in that they feature Montreal beers exclusively on their beer menu.  Boasting some thirty-odd taps, Deuane thought that something from every Montreal brewery was represented.  (Later, we found that Hopfenstark was not on the tap list, unfortunately).  I enjoyed a hoppy IPA that reminded me of Stone Ruination but not quite as prickly on the palate.  Since I am on hiatus from reviewing beer, I did not get the name of the beer or the brewery.  M'wah!

After a few beers at Wices Et Versa, we headed over to Chez Claudette for a late night snack, and our first venture into "poutine" - a junk food delicacy (is that an oxymoron?) consisting of fresh-cut fries, cheese curds and chicken gravy.  While this is considered the "classic" version of poutine, several other variations are available, such as vegetable, sausage and onion, etc.  While the fries were quite good and the cheese curds were fairly squeaky and tasty, Brewslut and I found the gravy to be too thin and salty for our tastebuds.  Still, it was nice to try some local junk food.

After a good night's sleep, we went downstairs to the new coffee shop below the townhouse to get some coffee.  Deuane had gotten up early to get some Canadian bagels, which aren't as doughy as traditional New York bagels, and also don't need to be toasted. 

We typically have a tradition of purchasing a "shitty" beer at a convenience store on the way to our destination and drink it as our inaugural beer of the trip in the hotel room.  This is a tradition that we started on our second trip (to Asheville, NC).  Bud Chelada was the first, followed by Tilt Red and Tilt Purple (enjoyed on our way to Athens, OH, complete with video footage of an angry black man venting about white people responsible for getting caffeinated malt liquor banned).  This year, it was a honkin' can of Steel Reserve, an 8.1% high gravity lager brewed by Miller.  With such catch phrases as "slow brewed," "select hops for extra gravity" and "extra malted barley," I knew this was going to be a winner.  First whiff reminded me of creamed corn, an aroma befitting of the Thanksgiving holiday.  With tongue planted firmly in cheek, I poured my share of the beer into a stemmed wine glass.  While I've definitely had worse, I don't think I'll be revisiting this one any time in the near future.  I also picked up a 24oz. can of a local Rochester, NY, beer called Dog Bite Lager, but that will be discussed later.

Mmmm... adjuncts!  And check out all that swill in the background!

 After forcing down a wine glass of Steel Reserve, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and ended up at Le Saint Bock earlier than we'd anticipated, because their web site indicated they opened at 1pm but in actuality, they opened at 11am.  So, we decided to stop in early for cheese and beer.  I enjoyed a Goldings Pale Ale and American IPA, while Brandi and Carolyn loved the sweet stout with marshmallow garnish.  However, my favorite was a fine cask conditioned ESB that was spot-on and damn tasty.  The hot French waitress was nice eye candy to boot! 

I'll have some marshmallow with my stout, please!

Up next was a trek outside center city to Hopfenstark, a small brewery that we later found actually sells more beer in the U.S. than it does in Canada!  We had an awesome time talking with owner and brewer Fred and his friend, Bridgette.  I bought a shirt here, not just because I wanted to support the brewery, but also because I was surprised that all of the breweries didn't have much in the form of merchandise.  Even Dieu du Ciel, with its vibrantly colored, unique and artsy labels, didn't really have merchandise.  Oh well.  The beers were all solid to exceptional, especially the fantastic bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout that Fred offered to us that wasn't on the menu anymore.  We also enjoyed Captain Swing, a 9% barleywine that was quite stealthy in its strength.  Additionally, we sampled a fresh-hopped version of Post Colonial IPA, one of Fred's flagship beers.  One of my favorites was a tasty hybrid beer that was a smoked wheat saison with excellent drinkability, tons of flavor and quite refreshing.  Fred told us that he used a wheat malt base for the beer, added smoked malt that he smoked himself and tossed in a Saison yeast.  What resulted was a delicious, refreshing beer with a moderate smokey character and "poundable" drinkability.  Needless to say, I could have stayed there all night.  It was amusing to watch the Clint Eastwood movie "A Few Dollars More," the sequel to "A Fistful of Dollars".  I'd describe the decor of this place as Grandma's basement, with an old antique-looking dining room table with large, plush upholstered chairs, quite ornate but weathered a bit.  The bar appeared to be a large wooden plank with sparse amount of stools.  I just felt so comfortable at this place, and the fact that we had a great conversation with Fred and Bridgette made the experience all the more enjoyable. 

Stay tuned... Part Deux is coming soon!

The Stout King of PA

When I started drinking beer several years ago, I first began to test the waters with "safe" offerings: wheat beers, nut brown ales and pilsners.  Then, once I got my first taste of hops, I moved into pale ales, then IPAs and finally DIPA territory.  So where do you go from there?  The dark, foreboding style we've all come to know and love: the stout.  I'm not talking about that flimsy Irish guy named Guinness.  I'm talking about full-flavored, rich and robust stouts that go perfect with your breakfast!  So, without further adieu, I hereby officially bestow upon Matt Keasey of Spring House Brewing Co. the moniker "Stout King of PA".  Here's why...

His first stout offerings (Kerplunk and Planet Bean) were great right out of the starting gate, but over time he tweaked each of them, and they got better and better with each subsequent release.  Planet Bean has now pretty much reached legendary status among coffee stout fans all across PA and beyond (check out the beer reviews on BA - they stretch across the country)!  Brewslut likes to mix these into a concoction she has dubbed "Kerplunkenbean".  Not sure I spelled that correctly, but it is quite delicious nevertheless!

Then came Big Gruesome, an insanely delicious and aromatic Peanut Butter and Chocolate Stout that begged the question, "Who put their peanut butter in my chocolate?"  Conversely, one could also inquire, "Who put his chocolate in my peanut butter?!"  Either way you slice it, this was an amazing beer.

Right now, you can enjoy two of Matt's sickest creations: a Chocolate Mint Stout and an Imperial Pumpkin Stout.  The former smells and tastes like a liquefied York Peppermint Patty, while the latter is a bold and spicy Autumn treat that will make your Jack-o-Lantern grin ear to ear. 

So do yourself a favor and hustle down to Spring House's Taproom in Lancaster, PA and sample these two delicious stouts before the are gone.

L'Eggo my San Diego!

You know, I used to hate the beach.  That was, of course, before I’d ever been to the West Coast.  One of my oldest friends from Elementary school, Marc, has been living there for years.  After finishing his tenure with the U.S. Navy many years ago, he realized his love for San Diego was such that he decided to stay.  Marc and I were close friends between fourth and sixth grades, and then he moved to Bloomsburg (not a million miles away from Shamokin, but far enough when you are a kid without a driver’s license or the Internet).  After he moved, we continued to write letters to each other, and we occasionally visited one another over the weekend.  We remained in touch throughout high school, but then when I went to college and he enlisted in the service, we lost touch.  It wasn’t until many years later that we got back in touch via Myspace, when he informed me that he was residing in San Diego.  One of the first things he did was invite Brandi and I out to visit and stay at his apartment.  I had never been to California before, so naturally we took him up on his offer.  To my surprise, we were the first people to do so!  I must say that the first time our plane touched down in San Diego, I looked out the window to see the palm trees outlining the runway lights, and it just struck a chord with my inner soul.  I stepped off the plane and felt at home.

Then I found out how much it cost to live out there, and I came back to reality.  Lucky for me, I was very much into craft beer when I first visited San Diego, and I must say that it has since become my personal beer Mecca!

As soon as we got off the plane and picked up our rental car (a sleek black VW Beetle), we B-lined it right over to South Beach Bar & Grille, home of the tastiest fish tacos on the planet!  We were lucky to visit on "Taco Tuesday," so all of their delicious tacos were only $2.50 each.  And let me tell you, they are worth their weight in gold.  They also happen to have a pretty solid beer selection, so I was able to wash down my FOUR tacos with a pint of fresh Sculpin!  We're in San Diego for five minutes, and already we've peaked!  I mean, where do you go from there?!  If these pics don't make you start salivating, I don't know what will...

Across the Street from South Beach is the Newport Pizza & Ale House.  Their "no crap on tap" policy is still proudly enforced, I'm glad to report.  The names of their pizzas are quite comical as well, with Ron Jeremy being my favorite (a pizza with a lot of meat).  The place is small and kind of dingy, but we always make it a point to stop in for at least one beer, because they always have several great selections and the bartender is always cool.

The ceiling at Newport Pizza and Ale House.

Perhaps the thing I was most excited about our trip to San Diego this time was the opening of the new Pizza Port location in Ocean Beach, which is less than a five minute walk from Marc's apartment, where we were staying.  After we left Newport Pizza & Ale House, we took the short walk to the new Pizza Port and each opted for a sampler.  Mine included the following brews: O.B. Chronic (a hoppy amber); Jetty IPA; Tarantulas 2.0 (a black ale); and Bacon & Eggs (a "breakfast" porter). 

The brewpub is set up like their other brewpubs in Solana Beach and Carlsbad, with a surf theme and lots of big picnic tables scattered across the open floor plan.  There was a small deck too, which we were happy to occupy during both of our visits.
 

Pleepleus enjoying Brewslut's Cream Ale.

After chilling at South Beach, Newport Pizza and Pizza Port, Marc had an old Navy friend (who also happened to be in town) pick us up to meet at Coronado for happy hour.  Unfortunately, Idiot IPA was not on tap, so I settled for the lesser Islander IPA, which is still good but not as good as Idiot, of course.  Marc is a regular here, as well as a mug clubber, as he works at the Naval Base on Coronado Island.  So needless to say, he frequents Coronado's brewpub quite often.

 After enjoying a quick beer at Coronado, we hit up a place that Marc had recently been enjoying, The Regal Beagle.  His Navy pal Mark was also visiting San Diego during our visit, and he was generous enough to buy several rounds over the next few days.  I opted for an AleSmith Old Numbskull on tap.  It's not one of my favorite barleywines in the grand scheme of things, but it's solid.  When you order food here, they give you a TV character's name on a napkin and when your food is ready, they call the name over the loudspeaker.  So when you are there, expect to hear random names such as Arthur Fonzarelli, etc. which makes for a fun visit!

There's also a great little beer shop not too far from Marc's neighborhood called Olive Tree Marketplace.  It's part gourmet market and part beer store, actually.  The first time we stopped here (a few years back), they were very new and the beer selection was solid.  In recent years, they definitely stepped up their selection considerably.  They even have a "Beer Club," of which Marc is a member, and card-carrying members get bottle discounts and first dibs on rare, special releases.  If you visit here, expect to find offerings by such West Coast giants such as Alaskan, Avery, Deschutes, Firestone Walker, Grand Teton, Hair of the Dog, Midnight Sun, Russian River, as well as all of the San Diego breweries, plus some fine Belgian offerings by the likes of Cantillon and many others.  I picked up a heaping mass of Midnight Sun stuff, including Arctic Rhino Coffee Porter and Kodiak Brown Ale, as well as the obligatory bottle of Alaskan Smoked Porter.

During our last visit to San Diego, we missed out on a tour of the Stone brewery, unfortunately.  This time, however, we made plans to take the tour.  We got to the Stone Bistro a little early, so we perused the merchandise area and had a beer and snack (some tasty hummus) at the bar prior to the tour.  Also, the tour guide was one of the best we've encountered.  I could tell she was actually "into beer" prior to getting a job at Stone.  Her breadth of knowledge was also apparent in talking with her after the tour concluded.  She got a job at Stone because she loved beer; she wasn't just someone who had a good personality and needed a job.  So that was nice to see.  Brewslut took tons of pictures on the tour, and it culminated with a sampling of four of Stone's flagship beers: Levitation Ale, IPA, Smoked Porter and Arrogant Bastard (all of which I had before, save the Levitation Ale, for some reason unbeknownst to me). 

Bottling Arrogant Bastard bombers

One of the places that has eluded us on previous trips to San Diego is Alpine Beer Company.  Now, it's no secret that Alpine makes some of the finest hoppy ales... well, on the PLANET!  They offer a veritable laundry list of amazing hoppy beers: Nelson, Duet, Pure Hoppiness, Exponential Hoppiness.  All are amazing beers.  The aforementioned Nelson, brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops (a hop variety indigenous to New Zealand), was perhaps my beer of the trip.  I enjoyed this on draught at the brewpub.

Too many beers to try!

 Two doors down from the brewpub is Alpine's tiny production brewery.  I recently learned that Marc's friend, Cy Henley, was now working at Alpine as an associate brewer after a stint with Ballast Point.  We actually met Cy on our inaugural trip to San Diego through Marc when we visited Ballast Point's Brewer's Mart location.  I sampled some of his homebrews, and let me tell you, they were all as good, if not better, than the Ballast Point beers I had during that particular visit.  So needless to say Cy knows his stuff.  At any rate, we enjoyed a rather lengthy conversation with Cy and the other Alpine employees, mostly about music and concerts, although I had a few beer-related questions as well.  All in all, it was a fantastic visit, and probably my favorite beer of the trip was fresh Nelson on tap. 


Mmmm... fresh Nelson on tap!

We scoped out our master list of San Diego breweries, brewpubs and beer bars, and came up with one of the various Oggi's locations, which was on the way from Alpine and very close to Alesmith.  So we decided to stop in for a beer or two.  Known also as "Left Coast" (the brewers of Black Magic Stout and Hop Juice), I had heard of them before and even reviewed Hop Juice, a beer that I am on the fence about.  Still, we figured we'd stop in since we'd be driving right by.  Oggi's has a particular sports bar feel, with lots of televisions scattered about.  It also screams "chain," unfortunately.  I craved something light and refreshing, as it was uncharacteristically humid in San Diego on this particular day, so I opted for California Gold, a sessionable cream ale weighing in at 4.5%.  While I found it to be an average beer in the grand scheme of things, it nevertheless hit the spot.  Brewslut and I also shared an aforementioned Black Magic Stout, which I had anticipated to be an Imperial, or Russian Imperial, Stout.  Unfortunately it turned out to be an Irish Stout, or Foreign Export Stout, depending on your preference.  Again, not bad but just an average stout that falls somewhere squarely in the middle.

After a short visit to Oggi's, we decided to stop by AleSmith's tasting room for a few samples.  However, when we arrived, they were closed.  Apparently, they are not open on Thursday.  Oddly enough, I had their hours written down on my list of places to visit, but I guess I wasn't smart enough to consult the list prior to driving over there.  Oh well.  No fifty cent samples of Speedway for me this time!  M'wah.

Victory at Sea.  Sculpin.  Dorado.  Some of the best beers I've had from San Diego are brewed by Ballast Point.  They have two locations in San Diego: the official tasting room and Brewer's Mart, the latter of which has more experimental beers and also sells homebrew supplies.  Last time, we only had time to hit the Brewer's Mart.  However, on this particular visit, we made time to visit both sites.  Brewer's Mart had two very good ales brewed with peppers: one was a version of their Calico Amber and the other was a pale ale brewed with Serrano peppers.  Both were very tasty. Pleepleus agrees...

 Since we were only in town for a few days, we obviously tried to cram in as much beer as we could.  But alas, some tough decisions had to be made.  One was skipping O'Brien's (arguably the best beer bar in San Diego) in lieu of Toronado, which we hadn't been to yet.  When we visited San Francisco (home of the original Toronado) back on our epic 10th Anniversary California beer tour, we liked Toronado so much that we visited twice!  We had heard very good things about the San Diego location, so it was a no-brainer.  O'Brien's would have to wait until our next visit.  Cleaner, friendlier and more spacious than its San Franciscan counterpart, Toronado San Diego boasts an equally impressive tap selection and quite a mammoth bottle selection.  For example, I eyed up several bottles of Lost Abbey Cable Car, which were available for $40 each.  Where else are you going to find that?  (Well, maybe on eBay, where you can land a bottle for around $200... assuming you are drunk enough to pay that much!)  Anyway, Brandi and I were standing at the bar perusing the beer menu, while Marc scouted and secured a table near the back of the establishment.  While we were ordering our beers, I felt someone nudge me on the back of my knee (in middle school, we used to call this giving someone a "deadleg").  I though to myself, "Well, Marc is sitting back there and Brandi is in front of me... and I don't know anyone else in San Diego."  So I turn around, and to my surprise, there stood Cy and one of his homebrewer buddies.  I think Cy was already half in the bag.  After a quick exchange and introduction to his friend (Andy, if memory serves me correctly... of course, I was drinking all day, so I may be wrong), we found a bigger table to accommodate all five of us and enjoyed some general beer banter.  However, our visit to Toronado was short-lived, because Cy invited us back to his house for some beers and vinyl listening.  His long-time girlfriend used to work at O'Brien's but now is a manager at Pizza Port Ocean Beach.  I actually remembered her from our first visit to O'Brien's back in 2008.  We hung out on the back patio, and Cy broke out vintage bottles of Alaskan Smoked Porter and Hair of the Dog Fred and some other choice nuggets, as well as a growler one of Pizza Port's tasty IPAs.  Afterwards, we moved inside and enjoyed listening to some vintage vinyl and talking about everything from music and beer to dogs and East Coast life.  If we didn't have such an early flight back to PA in the morning, we could have easily stayed up all night drinking and talking with these awesome people.  It was one of the highlights of our trip!

Unfortunately, our visit to San Diego was all too brief this time around, but we plan on visiting annually.  There's just too much great beer out there to pass up!  Until next time...