Monthly Archives: June 2015

Barrel Republic Beer By The Ounce

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My friend told me about this place a while back, but I just now got to check it out. This place has like 40 beers on tap and charges by ounce. You show your credit card and ID when you get in, they give you a bracelet with a sensor in it, and you scan the bracelet before every pour. They have a wide variety of glasses available for different types and quantities of beer.

They have a wide selection, including Belgians, IPAs, pale ales, lagers, you name it. There’s something for everyone; I suppose that’s the point. You can pour as little or as much as you want, so if you don’t like it, you can quickly move on. The catch is that it’s not a great deal. Most of the beers on tap end up being $7-$8 a pint which is what fancier joints charge for beers.

They even have a few wines. Although, there was some Adam Corolla-promoted wine called “Mangria” and I’d pretty much rather die than drink anything recommended by Adam fucking Corolla. Oh, I get it – MANgria.  YOU ARE SO FUCKING WITTY ADAM COROLLA. No thanks.

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After trying a whole host of delicious beers, none of the names of which I can recall currently, I ran into Thing 1 while waiting for the Coaster. Not sure where Thing 2 was. Speaking of the Coaster, it sucks now because they have banned alcohol. Because freedom and shit. ‘Murrica.

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Ballast Point Little Italy

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Ballast Point makes Sculpin IPA, which is one of my favorite beers of all time. We used to go to their tasting room/Home Brew Mart in Linda Vista when we would go there to buy grains and other brewing supplies. I only recently went to the restaurant/bar they opened in Little Italy. The place is huge, which is great. It was fairly easy to find seating, even around lunch time on a Saturday. We easily found several seats outdoors on the patio for ourselves and a couple of friends. They also were showing a soccer game, and not one of the many other sports I don’t give two fucks about, so that was cool too.

I was totally unoriginal and ordered the grapefruit Sculpin. I posted about this heavenly beverage before; I didn’t think it was possible for Sculpin to be any better, until I had the grapefruit version. I have also heard about a mango version which I have yet to try.

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My second beer was the regular Sculpin, but I did also get a chance to try some other beers. The Tongue Buckler with lemongrass and ginger was lovely and interesting, but it’s probably reasonable to serve that in an 8-ounce serving. The Victory At Sea Imperial Porter was also fantastic – standard coffee and vanilla flavors, but really great.

Stone Farms

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I drink Stone beers all the time, and have been to Stone’s restaurant/breweries in Point Loma (Liberty Station) and Escondido, but they’ve come up with something new recently. Stone Farms is a 19-acre farm where they purportedly grow some of the food for their restaurant (I think I read that somewhere). On Wednesday and Friday evenings, they have live music until 7:30. They have a small bar there, though beers aren’t cheap ($7). You can bring your own picnic, or they have pizza.

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I’d been wanting to come here for a while, because I saw a random post on Facebook, it sounded neat, and I wanted to come here before it became cool. The grounds featured various types of flowers, cacti, and vegetables. There were several rows of squash vines, though I have far from a green thumb, so don’t quote me on that. There were a few picnic tables placed in dark recesses under the vines, which could potentially be quite romantic if you had a picnic basket and some wine. There was a chicken coop, complete with chickens (duh), roosters, and a token peacock. There was also a pigeon coop. I don’t know if they serve pigeons at their restaurant; I’m not quite sure of the purpose of pigeons. Maybe the pigeons serve as messengers and deliver messages to the brewery/restaurants as to what will be the special du jour.

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They were all out of Cali-Belgique when I tried to order it, but it was for the better since I drink that frequently enough. I had a “Delicious” IPA or some shit like that. They said it was not their normal IPA, which I also drink too often. You can’t really go wrong with any Stone IPA in any event, and this one was no exception (yum).

There was a an area with a small stage for the music. The stage is framed by a bunch of bales of hay (seating), and an enormous oak tree that provides a great deal of shade for the multiple picnic tables underneath. The music wasn’t bad. The performer looked like a total hipster. Hipster hair and beard. Tight-fitting flannel shirt and skinny jeans. His music was unexpectedly hippie as opposed to hipster though (not that I would have minded either way). He played some old-timey country, folk songs, and even threw in Friend of the Devil by Grateful Dead; I was super stoked about that.

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The hot sauce has nothing to do with the farm, but while we’re on the topic of Stone, I thought I’d mention it. I got it at the grocery store the other day because it was on sale. I love spicy foods and was looking forward to it. It’s not bad, and is excellent on some scrambled eggs. However, as a person who enjoys spicy foods that make me cry, this sauce oversells itself a bit. It’s not terribly bastardy and it doesn’t really “double burn.” You can do a lot of burn with habanero, but this was on the sweet and mild side.

Biking To Local Breweries

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After a hard week, a decision was made to bike to a couple of close by breweries to blow off some steam. The thing with biking to breweries is you can drink beer but feel like you deserve it because you are engaging in some kind of exercise. This was especially the case with some of the hills we encountered on our way.

First, we went to Latitude 33:

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I’d tried a few of their beers at various bars at some point or another. Their beers were not bad at all; however, they also weren’t really outstanding either. Each beer was a solid, well-balanced beer, but nothing that would blow you away.

American Wheat: It looks more filtered and clear than the usual wheat beer. It’s golden in color, and a little bitter at the end. It’s vaguely fruity. It’s almost got some lager tones, but enough to put me off (I don’t like lagers). It’s well-balanced, though not pungent or strong enough for my tastes. 5.0 ABV.

Belgian Witbier: Looks less filtered (more opaque), light yellow in color (think Hoegaarden color). It’s a little bitter on the end also. Some citrus and tartness in there. 4.9 ABV.

San Diego IPA: The pine smell is immediately apparent (a good thing). Citrusy, bright, with a very bitter finish. Fresn. 7.8 ABV.

Honey Hips Strong Blond: I have a friend who loves this. She specifically has said that it’s strong as hell, but doesn’t taste like it. However, I beg to differ. I can smell the alcohol before I even put it to my lips. It’s a deep golden color, with a slightly toasty/roasty flavor.

Vanilla Porter: Shit starts to get good around here. This one was far better than its predecessors. Creamy, but a bit tart on the end,

Breakfast Stout: I got preoccupied playing pool, because they have a pool table you can play for free. All I can say was I liked this a lot. Tasters were not cheap considering this is not a well-known brewery – $2 for the standard 4-ounce tasters. However, the pool made it worth it.

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Next, we made our way to Toolbox Brewing:

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This was probably a mistake, as we were unaware this place specializes in sour beers. Neither of us are sour beer fans. I hear it’s an acquired taste, but I’m not quite there yet. I tend to either like something immediately or dislike it. For instance, I immediately liked coffee and IPA’s, though for most people, these beverages are a matter of gradual liking. Anyway, I wasn’t in the mood for experimentation, and we ended up ordering Last Call IPA and the Mini Mudder Milk Stout. Last Call was a fresh and hoppy IPA (6.5 ABV), but quite standard. The milk stout on the other hand was quite exceptional. It was creamy, full, and had the familiar coffee taste. Beautiful milk stout.

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Lost Abbey

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Lost Abbey‘s very close to me, but I hadn’t been in years. I took my brother when he was in town for a wedding, and we had a few tasters. I was up in Orange County for work all day, and made it back down to San Diego around 4:00 p.m. I had a long day and didn’t feel the need to go back into the office. I picked my brother up and we hit up Lost Abbey. I don’t usually drink on Tuesdays, but apparently everyone else does. At 4:00 p.m. on a Tuesday, the place was bumpin’. Don’t people work? I wondered what I am doing wrong. I need to be drankin’ at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays…

The menu was extensive, including their own beers and that of Port Brewing, their sister company.

Carnavale: This is a French country ale, with an ABV of 6.5 percent. It’s fruity, tropical, and very Belgian-trippel-ish.

Devotion: This is a dry-hopped blond ale. It’s 6.5 percent ABV, and does have a “crisp hop finish” as described on the beer menu.

Lost and Found: This was an Abbey-style dubbel. It was a bit tart, fruit, and was not as thick as some dubbels. It had a hint of caramel, and was a malty, roasty beer. A bit red. It has a sweet finish.

Serpent’s Stout: I’ve had this one a few times, and it’s a good stout. It’s a double mash imperial stout, with an ABV of 11 percent. It’s bitter like espresso grounds, and tastes of vanilla, bourbon, and spices. It’s got a bit of heat, but is smooth.

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I also had some Wipeout IPA by Port Brewing. That’s a fruity, fresh, hoppy west coast IPA, 7 percent ABV, dry hopped with amarillo and centennial hops. To be honest, this is more my type of beer, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a decent appreciation for Belgian styles.