As you may or may not know, November 4-13 was San Diego Beer week. I went into this week thinking that I knew a pretty good amount about beer and San Diego breweries. As it turned out, I learned more during San Diego Beer Week than I could have ever imagined. So rather than do a bunch of write ups on every beer I tried during Beer Week (there were a lot), I'm going to do this post on the beers that changed my perception about either San Diego breweries or beer in general. So here's what I learned.
Myth 1: Green Flash doesn't make a bad IPAThe Place: Churchill's Pub in San MarcosThe Beer: Green Flash Brewing Co.- Green Bullet (9th Anniversary)I have always loved Green Flash's IPAs. I may not have tried all of the IPAs that they make, but I really like their West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red (a red IPA) and their Imperial IPA. I've also heard great things about their Palate Wrecker Double IPA. So when I heard that their 9th Anniversary beer was a Triple IPA, I knew I had to give it a try. I got the chance at Churchills on the second night of beer week, which also happened to be my birthday.
The beer looked good enough, but the smell was where it started to get weird. I picked up a bit of citrus hops at first. But then I started to smell an overwhelming amount of cantaloupe and melon.
Unfortunately, the taste didn't get much better. A small amount of citrus hop flavor was quickly run out of the picture by a ton of melon and sweet malt flavor. Green Flash makes some great IPAs and I hope they continue to try and make new ones but, sadly, this one should be chalked up as a big miss.
Final Grade:
CMyth 2: I only like "big" stoutsThe Place: O'Brien's PubThe Beer: Dogfish Head Craft BreweryI'm an absolute sucker for a good stout and things have been that way for a while. But as I've tried more and more stouts, I've been finding that thinner stouts just don't do it for me anymore. Or so I thought. Then I met Dogfish Head's Chicory Stout.
Chicory Stout pours black with a 1/2 finger tan head and leaves some great lacing down the glass. I picked up roasted malt, a slight bit of nuttiness, wet earth and some coffee in the aroma.
At 5.2%, this is not a big stout by any means. But somehow, the flavor feels big. I picked up a slight chocolate sweetness upfront followed by some chicory, roasted malt and espresso. The mouthfeel was noticeably thin but there was a creaminess to it that really kept the flavors of the beer from feeling thin. I have a new favorite "small" stout.
Final Grade:
A
Myth 3: I'm not a fan of geuzes
The Place: Ballast Point Brewery
The Beer: Ballast Point Brewing Company - Beachwood Blend (Hout Series)
A few weeks ago, I tried my first geuze: Drie Fonteinen's Oude Geuze. It wasn't a bad beer by any means, but it had an aroma of cheese that I couldn't get by. I didn't write off the style completely, but I assumed (as Drie Fonteinen's Oude Geuze is one of the best in the style) that the geuze style just wasn't for me. Then I was lucky enough to try Ballast Point's Beachwood Blend.
Beachwood Blend pours a hazy amber color with a thin white head. The aroma is big and sour with some nice blackberry and currant notes. As the beer warmed, the barrel aging began to come through more and I started to get notes of freshly cut cedar.
The taste was incredible. Lots of dark cherries, red currants and vanilla work perfectly with the perfect amount of carbonation to make this a tasty, tasty beer. I didn't think a sour beer would be my favorite beer at Ballast's Barrel Aged Day, but this was by far the best thing they had on tap that day.
Final Grade:
A
Myth 4: Beer for breakfast is a bad ideaThe Place: ToronadosThe Beer: Alpine Beer Company - Bourbon Barrel Aged TokenWe went to Toronados last Saturday for the release of a beer I've been wanting to try for a long time: Lost Abbey's Cable Car. As it turned out, the beer was only available for sale by the bottle and it was running $50 per bottle. So we decided to get some food and see what else they had on tap. As it turned out, they had an awesome lineup that was too good to pass up, even if it wasn't yet noon. The first beer I had was a bourbon barrel aged version of Alpine's Token Porter.
Bourbon Barrel Aged Token pours a very dark brown color with a thin tan head and some pretty nice lacing. Sometimes aging a beer in bourbon barrels can result in a beer that smells like nothing but bourbon. This beer didn't have that problem. The bourbon was there, but it was tucked away behind some notes of toffee, chocolate and some toffee.
The bourbon led off the flavor, but wasn't overpowering at all, allowing some lighter notes of coffee, toffee, and roasted malt to really come through. The mouthfeel was a bit too light for me, but this was one of the better barrel aged beers I've had.
Final Grade:
A-
Myth 5: Beer + Rum = Gross
The Place: Pizza Port CarlsbadThe Beer: Avery Brewing Company - RumpkinOn the last day of Beer Week, we went to Pizza Port and I spotted Avery's Rumpkin, a 15.9% pumpkin ale aged in rum barrels. I'd never seen a beer aged in rum barrels before, but something told me that there was no way this could work. Pumpkin beers are delicious but my experience with them has been that if the beer is high in alcohol, any pumpkin flavor gets wiped out. Still, I wanted to give this beer a fair shot.
Rumpkin pours a dark honey color with almost no head whatsoever. I picked up notes of rum, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin, vanilla, golden raisin and caramel. Maybe this beer wasn't going to be so bad after all.
Even though the high alcohol was evident, this beer was amazing. The sweetness of the pumpkin paired perfectly with the sweetness from the rum and there was a nice subtle spiciness to the beer as well. The heat from the alcohol almost made it feel like you were eating a warm piece of pumpkin pie. This beer was a complete surprise and the perfect way to end Beer Week.
Final Grade:
ATop 100 Beers Tasted: 33
