What Was the Last Beer You Drank?

[DerekRx]

^Well, then you should check TPR more frequently. We've been mentioning our trip for quite some time, and others were interested enough to ask about it, you did nothing, so I figured you were busy. I'm not a teenaged girl, I don't hang out on the phone

 

Heading into San Francisco, our first stop was the #4 place to have a beer in America, and the top place in California, the Toronado on Haight St. It's not a brewpub, just a beer bar, but they've got some great stuff from all over the country, with a little more focus on the great California stuff.

We had a great time at Toronado. A little busy and noisy, but excellent brews, and people passionate about beer, well worth the visit. Onward to our final stop in San Francisco.

Finally Rick broke down, getting the Boont Amber Ale

Heath and I stayed California local as he went with the Anchor Porter on cask and I went with the Bombay By Boat IPA from Moonlight

Round 2 saw a Bubba-face as he tried his first Pizza Port brew, the Garibaldi, also made just for Toronado. This was a sort of rye ale we guess

they've even got a bottle list we didn't need to bother checking out, but they did have something from my hometown in bottles, Stoudts!

Loads of taps, lots of them from California breweries

I was lucky enough to score one of their anniversary brews made for them by Pizza Port Carlsbad, the 547 Haight Street (their address) which was a very Arrogant Bastard-ish Strong Ale

Even Bubba came out to see us, while enjoying some Pliny the Elder, while Heath had some Death and Taxes by Moonlight Brewing and Gwyn enjoyed Lindemans (Rick was just a poser at this moment)

There, a little closer so you can see what you missed out on!

A nice sized bar with some additional seating to the side. No food served, you gotta bring in your own stuff, but they've got you covered for beer. Check out that draft list!

Here we are at the Toronado, a very rowdy beer bar with some excellent stuff on tap.

[DerekRx]

After saying goodbye to Rick and Gwyn, it was off to our final stop in San Francisco, just a short couple of blocks away from Toronado. Magnolia Pub and Brewery is the only brewpub in the Haight district of San Francisco, and was definitely not what we were expecting. The place was very small and had a hippie vibe going on. We were going to try to hit up someplace else afterwards, but we weren't hungry for food yet, and Bubba had to catch a train home, so we'll save the rest of the SF breweries for the next time we fly out.

and with that, we better head out of San Francisco before that smug rolls in and destroys us all. Curse you, George Clooney!

This place seems Wally-approved with this in the other room

and they had a big mural on the back wall

The tap wall artwork looked pretty cool

and Kim went with the root beer because someone has to drive our intoxicated butts around SF

I should have gotten the other IPA, but chose the Prescription Pale Ale just because of the name and my profession. It wasn't bad, but wasn't the most amazing pale ale ever

Heath went with the Proving Ground IPA, but opted for the regular version, not cask

Bubba quickly jumped on grabbing the Russian River Sanctification. A really good Belgian Wild Ale

Their taplist, with a nice guest tap

Just a few blocks from Toronado we find Magnolia

This isn't a tilt house, it's just walking the streets of San Francisco

[PhishyBrewer]

^Well, then you should check TPR more frequently. We've been mentioning our trip for quite some time, and others were interested enough to ask about it, you did nothing, so I figured you were busy. I'm not a teenaged girl, I don't hang out on the phone

 

I don't get on TPR as much as I used to. Oh well... looks like you guys had fun. Maybe next time.

[DerekRx]

Trying to finish playing catchup, here's some more of our goodness.

I wasn't beered out, but I didn't care for the other stuff on the taplist, so I finally broke down and got the Bloody Mary at TDR. It was pretty darn good

Heath gets a little perkier when he ordered the Sierra Nevada Anniversary IPA on tap, as it briefly took him back to NorCal

and I'm not too thrilled about having a Left Hand Octoberfest instead of something from Russian River or El Toro, but oh well, all good things must come to an end

We're a little disappointed in being back on the East Coast to the same beers we get all the time. Heath goes with the Flying Dog Dogtoberfest since it's Oktoberfest month at TDR

On Tuesday, we actually got into Philly on time and decided to stop at The Drafting Room for dinner. Best of all, we were there during happy hour!

It's like 2 of my favorite things rolled into one fine brew: IPA and Inversions!

After dropping Kevin (Bubba) off at the train station, we headed back to the hotel to drink some of the stuff we picked up at BevMo but couldn't take all back with us. Deschutes Inversion IPA, your time is up!

[mcjaco]

^ I still love you Wally.

 

I haven't had enough time to drink, let alone take any pictures lately. Not that I'd post them anyway.

[Bubba83]

It was a lot of fun meeting up with Derek, Heath & Kim, and Rick & Gwyndolyn at Great America and the beer places in S.F.

 

We were trying to remember what sanctification was as far as the top 100. I guess we got it confused with Supplication since we thought it was in the top 20 on BA. It was actually tied with a bunch of other beers and sitting at #98. Of course, the only reason it was so low on the list was because despite the Average rating being very high, it doesn't have enough reviews for it to be legitimately rated that high in the top 100. So I did something about that and added another review, infact, my review jumped it up six spots to #92! I have to send a thanks out to Kim and Heath for buying that round of beers!

 

I enjoyed my pliny the elder a lot. It made me burp a ton! Garibaldi was a good change of pace too. I found a little more info on it at ratebeer.com, where it is listed as a Strong APA.

 

I am so jealous, a BevMo opened up in Chandler, AZ right before I left and was just getting into the craft brew scene. I never had a chance to visit and I didn't figure they'd have much compared to the BevMo here. Well my friend Ray from college is still in AZ and sounds interested to start trying different beers (he's a huge Miller fanboy) So I logged onto bevmo.com to see what they have in stock there. They basically have everything I can get, plus the stuff from Colorado I got in Nebraska, plus a lot more stuff from San Diego, like Pizza Port stuff, argh!

 

Anyway, I'm finally catching all the way up to last night with the beers I've had lately.

Still overwhelmingly piney, I love licking the roof of my mouth with my tongue after I swallow and just getting this extreme pine bitterness. Still my favorite IPA, and I really hope to find Racer X sometime.

And last but definitely not least, my first Racer 5 IPA after trying Pliny the Elder.

My best attempt at a Robb face? It's quite spicy and grainy. Has an off taste to it that keeps things from getting too sweet, but it's not really that sour either. Always leaves you craving more though.

North Coast's Pranqster. A Belgian Style Golden Ale. Mmm, smells horsey!

Yummy. It's a nice and hoppy imperial stout. A bit like rasputin, but maybe a little more mellow in both flavor and mouthfeel, very smooth and creamy. Thanks Heath!

Acquired in a trade with Heath, Great Lakes Brewing's Blackout Stout. #80 on BA.

Just as I remembered it. Sweet caramel/toffee front end with a nice highly bitter aftertaste.

They threw in an Inversion IPA for good measure. I guess they were going to have trouble taking all the beer they bought at BevMo home.

This deserved an extreme "bubba" face. The flavor reminded me a lot of their porter, but the mouthfeel is a whole lot sexier.

Next up, I finally get to try Obsidian Stout thanks to Derek and Heath. From one of my favorite breweries, Deschutes!

I guess it imparted a little limey character to it. Nothing too overpowering though, very nice and refreshing.

New Belgium's Skinny Dip. Hi saturday! This is a blonde brewed with Kaffir-Lime leaves.

This IPA was a nice surprise. I liked the sticky head and the nice balance of piney and citrus hops.

Followed that up with a Goose Island IPA, also from my trip.

It had a pretty nice belgian flavor but it was a little too watery. Nothing too exciting here...

New Belgium's Abbey. Another one that I brought back from Nebraska.

[DerekRx]

^Wow, you've been busy drinking good stuff all week. I'm slowly weaning myself off the good California scene and back to the East Coast stuff I'm used to. Wednesday it was back to the grind of hazy, hot, and humid here in PA, so better stick with the light stuff.

Lite and lemon flavored with some honey thrown in for good measure. And wow, this new Sam Adams glass really does help bring out more flavors in the beers

Reading Premium, it doesn't get more local than this for me!

[ParkTrips]

Just one beer tonight, but at 12%, all I needed was one

It was ok. Very high in alcohol and you could taste it - not quite "Salvation" like but still very strong. Overall it just wasn't a very good Belgian style ale. Maybe the Alagash sitting in my fridge will give me hope that an American brewer can imitate Belgians well

Victory's V-12, and surprisingly enough, I didn't get it from Derek!

[Bubba83]

^ Russian River brews Belgians better than the Belgians themselves! Neener neener neener...

 

My buddy Adam from Los Angeles drove up for this weekend so we just kinda hung out at my friend Michael's house. I brought a beer from Adam's favorite brewery...

I think maybe the temperature got too high when they were in the trunk at Great America. Perhaps some yeasts just can't handle that? The Blackout Stout was fine. It wasn't dominant enough to where I poured it out. I drank it because after the initial sip I still got the flavors... Pretty good, from what I can taste. Why is my shirt off? I have no idea.

Yep, pretty much the same deal. Took 15 minutes to pour, and the head was a weird fizzy consistency. Tasted a bit off too, much like the off flavor of the skunked Marin and Moylan's beers.

Uh oh... *Nightmares of Marin Brewing flash through my head*

It was a pretty good amber, but not nearly as good as Boont Amber or anything.

Rogue's American Amber Ale. Actually a new credit for me, but Adam had it before.

[DerekRx]

Thursday it was more local beer time.

Definitely my choice in pale ales, but bring on the Harvest Ale Season soon!

Back to the Shelter

[FlyingScooter]

Question for the beer drinkers here.

 

Has any of you tried J W Dundees beers and if so, how were they?

 

I'm pretty much a Great Lakes Brewery/ Sam Adams person, liking the variety of choices.

 

Thanks in advance.

[PhishyBrewer]

^Ahh... good old Dundee's!!! AKA Genesee Brewing Co. The Black and Tan is one of my favs. It's a cheap brand made by the same folks that make Honey Brown. Not bad, if you want to get your buzz on and not looking for taste characteristics.

 

Can't wait to head back to Ohio in a few weeks and get ONE Honey Brown for old time sake.

[DerekRx]

^^I think the only beer I've had from High Falls Brewing (JW Dundee's) was the Honey Brown, which I drank at Glutenfree's house after he found out he couldn't drink beer anymore. Wasn't bad stuff.

 

Last night after reading about Georgia's breweries being in trouble because of the states dumb laws, I decided to crack open another bottle from down there.

Definitely no Shelter, it still has a funky metallic taste to it. Next time I want to drink something from Georgia, I'll stick with Terrapin.

Atlanta Brewings Peachtree Pale Ale, an American Pale Ale

[FlyingScooter]

Thanks guys.

 

I figured I'd never tried it, and as you said: it's cheap.

 

Great Lakes around here shot up this summer. A case of Dortmunder Gold, which was 10.99 at Giant EAgle went to 14.99 a twelve. At other places it went even higher than that.

 

 

I'll try the sampler and give a report on it...

[Rugged One]

As far as I can tell Bubba, the Wake N Bake doesn't have a contamination problem. It's always poured that weird fizzy head and the off flavors could be from the fact that it's from last winter. I'll break out a bottle myself soon and see how it's doing. I've never had any problems with any of their other products.

 

See...

Whooo, wheee! I forgot how strong this was! Double the hops. Double the malt. Double the taste! Wow, just a fantabulously pungent beer. Makes me wish I had more than one bottle.

Lastly, one of my favorites from Terrapin. Their Spring Seasonal, The Rye Squared.

Awesome as always! I really love the hops/rye malt balance. Very nice. I'll have to pick up another sixer of this when we're back down South later this fall.

Time for some fresh Terrapin Rye.

[DerekRx]

Today while staying local, I decided to try something that just recently came out, the next in the line of Troegs Scratch Beer series.

Fairly good stuff for being brewed over here, lots of Belgian yeastiness and spices. Got even better as it warmed up

Troegs Scratch #3, a Belgian Tripel

[ParkTrips]

I'm lovin the Terrapin love... so yeah, its totally 8am, but Ive been up all night so it doesn't matter, I'm gonna go grab me a couple RPA's before I head to bed

[mcjaco]

Eat your heart out boys. I got my hands on Capital Brewery's Autumnal Fire. This is once awesome doppelbock that's a limited release. I grabbed one for a mix pack, but I'll be running back to grab a bunch more.

Makes mouth happy!

Check out the awesome color.

[DerekRx]

Yesterday, Nicole said to me "I could go for some beer right now". Of course, she had no beer at her house, and coming up with a 6pack in Pennsylvania is tougher than turning straw into gold, so we were forced to postpone that request until tonight. Hopefully I took her some stuff we both could enjoy tonight.

Nicole beat me in drinking, but then again she had the Bell's and was afraid Matt would come over and drink it when she wasn't looking

and to go along with dinner, some Atlanta Summer Wheat and Bell's Java Stout

parts of this brew were enjoyed on the sun deck

an intermission brew for me, Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, just pure awesome

Of course the 60 Minute was for me (Nicole compared her taste to glass cleaner) while she enjoyed the Reading Premium greatly. If she's gotta live here, she may as well like the local stuff!

Up first, some Reading Premium and some Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

[mcjaco]

^ I'm hiding in her closet right now.

 

Beerfest in Racine is this coming weekend. I WILL post pictures.

[PhishyBrewer]

So I got suspended from work again. But just for the day because I broke something that cost like $12K. So I'm sitting around drinking Leffe and playing poker. Thought I'd post a pic that way you guys remember what I look like.

[disneygurlz2s]

OMG!!

Where have you been, Wally?!?! I kept thinking I ought to ask.... I figured if it was anything too serious I would have heard about it!

 

Good to see you!

Shari

[mcjaco]

AHHHH! Wally has hair!

[Rugged One]

Something new from one of the few highlights of the Garden State beer scene.

Faint hints of herbs, spices, lemon and wheat. Seems kind of light and flimsy for a Saison. I think this works better as a Summer Ale and we'll leave it at that.

The Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale. A summertime Saison.

[DerekRx]

This week I'm gonna turn it up a notch with each beer I drink. Since it's Monday, I'll start off easy.

That's one tasty IPA, nice and citrusy, but with some piney flavors. Shame I'll run out of it soon!

Turning it up a little right from the start from a Pale Ale to an India Pale Ale, Sweetwater's IPA is next.

Yup, good stuff, especially on a hot day, easy to drink and not too high in abv

and easy for me is the Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale