I wasn’t kidding when I said using Uber for beer tours was the best idea we’d had in a while. We had such a fun time last time, we did it again recently. Things took a somewhat unexpected turn and we ended up walking to a few places instead, but we still took Ubers there and back, beginning with Sublime Ale House:
The Alesmith Cream Ale was smooth, light, slightly nutty, and well-balanced. I tasted some vanilla in there. Pretty yum.
The Left Hand Milk Stout was a great follow-up to the cream ale. It was also smooth and nutty with some vanilla flavor, but was also smoky and reminiscent of coffee. It could have been a dessert (but not in a syrupy, heavy, gross way).
The DBA American Strong Ale was floral and nutty with a flavor in there that reminded me of berries, because it was a little tart. Citrus zest of some sort might have been in there too.
We tried a Chocolate Oatmeal Dry Stout (didn’t note the brewery, unfortunately) that was smoky, nutty, roasty, and malty. Chocolatey too, and bitter. I don’t think we intended to get a bunch of beers with similar flavor profiles, but it coincidentally worked out that way and I thought it was a good choice of a flight.
We then proceeded to try another flight (pictured above). The Alesmith Decadence was a lovely dubbel with licorice and fennel flavors. It was malty and rich. The Deschutes Jubelale 2015 is a nice winter ale with warm spices and tasted fruity and malty with hints of bourbon. The Ballast Point Big Eye IPA with ginger was a lovely surprise, because I don’t usually like the Big Eye IPA. While I’m a big fan of Sculpin (and especially the grapefruit one), Big Eye has always struck me as a bit of a bore. I did like this ginger version though, which was fresh, gingery, nutty, and a lot better than the original. Finally, we had a Caracole Saxo’s Belgian Golden Strong ale. This was a typical Belgian with citrus, coriander, floral, and orange peel flavors.
We then moved on to San Marcos Brewery. I had been here years ago and was not particularly impressed, but this time, I was very pleasantly surprised. I tried a few on their tap list and liked every single one. None of them were beers that punch you in the face with hops or flavor, but all were fairly smooth and well-balanced. I have resolved to return soon.
Next, we moved onto Dos Desperados, which I have described before. After that, even though everyone’s tastebuds were probably shot, we went to Rip Current. The beer tours ended there, but we returned back to our place for continued debauchery. Very appropriate for Thanksgiving weekend, because there are plenty of things to be thankful for, and beer is one of them.
