liquid sustenance

I spent yesterday afternoon at the Stone 11th anniversary bash, a highly worthwhile adventure. $30 bought a ticket into the festival, which included 10 3-ounce samplings, with over 30 breweries and well over 100 brews to choose from. I also opted to take the O'Brien's bus up to the festival (a friend drove us back) meaning that several additional beers were added to the day's sampling...

Here's what my day consisted of:

9:45 (on tap at O'Briens) Blind Pig IPA (Russian River Brewery) one of the best of the best, as far as I'm concerned. A classic and near-perfect double IPA, inspired after the very first of its kind-the first of its kind being a double IPA brewed by Vinnie Cilurzo of the (now defunct) Blind Pig Brewery in Temecula, CA (Vinnie later moved on to become head brewer of Russian River, hence the homage). And, ok, a little more San Diego beer history trivia: legend has it that the very last growler of the very last batch of Plind Pig IPA was sold to Greg Koch, aka Stone Brewery's founder. (My late afternoon investigating skills - read: confronting Greg Koch- confirmed the rumor to be true). Anyway, the Blind Pig IPA set the standards high for the rest of the day.

10:15 am (on the bus) Alpine Ale (Alpine Beer Company, Alpine, CA) Alpine is best known for their Pure Hoppiness, and seemed a fitting brewery to begin the day (especially as they were not represented at the anniversary celebration. The Ale was the first taste of other Alpine offerings I'd tried. It's an extra pale ale, pretty tasty--well worth sampling if you come across it!

11:00 (still on the bus, waiting for the line to die down) Lightning Pilsner (Lightning Brewery, Poway, CA) This was apparently reserved for the bus ride home, but got tapped early. While Lightning is local for me, I had not yet sampled their wares. I have a fond place in my heart for pilsner (having spent a semester in the Czech Republic, home to the original Pilsner Urquell and Budvar), and this one did not disappoint.

11:15 Dorado IPA (Ballast Point Brewery, San Diego, CA) Probably my favorite local brewery; this is one of their most solid Double IPA's, well received by many. (I was hoping for a sampling of Sculpin IPA or Victory at Sea, but no such luck)

11:15 Lightning IPA (Lightning Brewery, Poway, CA) My goal throughout the day was to sample beers I had not before tried (with exceptions for some of the good ones) This one was a bonus--it was also local!

11:45 Koningshoeven Trappest Quadrupel (brewery De Koningshoeven, Holland) I was determined to step outside of my hoppy comfort zone, and settled on the sweet nectar from this Dutch brewery.

12:00 Stone 11th Anniversary on cask with Chinook and Amarillo hops. Hands-down the best beer I sampled all day.

12:15 Pig Dog Pale Ale (Port Brewing, San Marcos, CA)- I loved the description-full of hops but not that full of alcohol. At the moment, it hit the spot.

12:30 Avery White Rascal (Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO) Wow. THE perfect beer for a hot summer afternoon. Spiced with coriander and orange, it was refreshing with every sip.

12:45 San Diego Brewing Hypnotic IPA (San Diego Brewing Company, San Diego, CA). Another local brewery that I had not yet had the pleasure of sampling, and another that I'm now looking forward to visiting.

1:00 Ommegang Abby Ale (Ommegang Brewery, Cooperstown, NY). I admit it, I'm a hop head, and prefer IPAs to Belgian-style brews. That said, this was still worthy of sampling.

1:20 Stone 11th Anniversary on cask with Simcoe & Summit hops. Delicious, but not as good as the Amarillo and Chinook version!

1:30 TAPS Fish House & Brewery Thomas Jefferson Ale (Taps Fish House & Brewery, Brea, CA). So, I encountered these guys, (arriving separately, both sporting tshirts from Charlottesville institutions) and was instantly reminded of Virgina. TAPS claims this style beer is akin to one TJ himself brewed at Monticello 200 years ago.

1:45 Alesmith IPA (Alesmith Brewing, Mira Mesa, CA). Ok, so faced with dwindling tasting tickets left, toward the end of the session I abandoned my plan of sampling beers I hadn't before tasted and opted for guaranteed satisfaction. I was hoping for Summer Yulesmith, but in its absence, Alesmith IPA will always do.

1:55 Stone IPA on cask- a fitting end to the day.

Also sampled throughout the day were Mike's Beer Cheese, made by Stone's webmaster with Stone beer, and Arrogant Bastard smoked almonds, from San Marcos Trading Company.

Sometimes San Diego seems like such an amazing place to be.