Sebowski

Has anyone tried any brews by the Bruery?

Picked up a bottle of Mischeif a little while ago, i'm hoping it will pair well with crabs.

I'm a member of their Reserve Society so I have a ton of their stuff. They make some killer beers. Awesome barrel aged beers and sours. They also some make some very average beers. Mischief is probably their best regular offering (their specialty is really their, well, special release stuff.)

---------- Post added October-27th-2012 at 10:28 AM ----------

I've passed on their beers, because if I remember correctly, the cheapest bomber they had was $30. C'mon man!

You probably run across their anniversary beer. Wax dipped bottle? Fruet? It is worth the $30.

I thought I'd share some reviews for some of my favorite local brews, specifically a few from Hill Farmstead. I just so happen to think their the best brewery in the country right now. And yes, I fully understand the weight behind that comment.

First up: Hill Farmsteads Society & Solitude #5 in my lucky Cal Ripkin Jr. glass. (The O's were still in it when I had this beer.)

http://i.imgur.com/vyRYel.jpg[/url

The one sentence description of this beer at the brewery was "Think grapefruit...", and that was very apparent from the first smell. Very fragrant, citrusy, and clean. Almost no malty taste or bitter after taste. Lightly carbonated and pretty dry in the finish. Virtually no taste of alcohol despite being 7.8%. Very drinkable.

I still like their Abner a bit more, but this is up there with my favorite DIPAs. I think it's my favorite of the Society & Solitude series so far.

And from this past weekend: Hill Farmstead Arthur

http://i.imgur.com/d5EVyl.jpg[/url

I'm a big fan of Saisons, but I'll be the first to admit that I don't have an expert's palette for them. The Hill Farmstead Ann is often called the best Saison in the world, but I'd still never had the chance to try it, so I'm giving one of their other Saisons a shot. I brought this down to VA this past weekend to share with my girlfriend (lives in Fairfax).

After pouring the beer and a funky tart and sweet aroma with a good fluffy head, as you can see it's hazy and bright yellow in appearance. The taste is quite citrusy with a lot of immediate spice, maybe peppery? I think I prefer the Saison Dupont over this one, its a bit more subtle on the tongue, but hey, I'm no expert.

:cheers:

I love the few beers I've had from Hill Farmstead. Would also love to try a lot more. Interested in a trading parker in San Diego? I don't think there is anyone in the world making IPAs like Alpine and Pizza Port. Be happy to send you some of those to test your "best brewery in the country" theory.

I am disappointed.

He took the fight and short notice while still waiting for his arm to heal.

Herman is bringing it.

C'MON Big Nog!

Which 1st row link is working best for you guys? Having some issues with #4

My aged Loose Cannon review:

Nice job on the review. I noticed you poured out the whole bottle of the aged one (sediment and all) and only part of the fresh one (no sediment). I always try to leave the sediment in the bottle. I know some people don;t. Just noticed a slight difference in the pour.

Oliviera via calf crusher part deux

Hamill via needs a few bucks

Mighty Mouse via saving the day

Stann via my signature

Jones via front kick to the face

(Click to watch UFC 152 weigh-in at 4pm ET)

I'm hoping to see 2 repeats of your sinature. Stann on Bisping and Vitor on Jones.

In San Juan right now and the craft beer scene is non-existent. Went to Old San Juan yesterday and hit a microbrewery, (Old Harbor), and, with the exception of one of the stouts, the beers are weak.

I'm so sick of Medalla Light and Magna right now..the Medalla is 4.2% and comes in 10oz cans...and the Magna is around 5.something%, but at least they come in almost 12 oz bottles...ugh!

You can get some decent craft beers in stores, but no way I'm paying $14.00 for six-pack of Magic Hat. First thing I'm going to do when we get home is run to the kegerator, stick my mouth under the spout, and pull the handle!!

....and the flip side...the weather, the beaches, the resort, restaurants and people have been fantastic!

I went to high school in PR. Great times/no good beer. I heard they have Ballast Point now though.

Have to pretty much stick to ****tails there. If you feel the "when in Rome" moment you can handle a Medalla or 3.

In HS we used to order Coronas, drink the neck, and then have them pour a shot of Bacardi Limon in instead of adding a lime. I call them Puerto Rican Coronas. Make sure you plug the bottle and turn it upside down so the rum doesn't sit on the top.

If you make it back to Old San Juan and walk by a bar called "El Batey" pop in there for a second. I spent my Junior and Senor year of HS there. My name is on the wall and my business card is hanging from one of their lamps.

I am going to try and put a serious dent in my 300+ bottles tonight. Invited a bunch of beer geeks over and told them all they better not bring any beer with them. My stash is out of control.

That old Loose Cannon is going to suck. My prediction is you don't finish the glass. IPAs or built to be drank fresh. The hops will be gone and the malt bill won't be string enough to really hold it's own after that long.

he wasnt playing good today too, but that assist was great at the end.

Madrid lost today so SPLiga is now over. Also PSG havent won either.

That is too bad. Even more surprising that he wasn't subbed out with a yellow in the books. Do you watch a lot of Roma? If you do I'd like to nominate you for weekly Bradley updates. TIA.

Bradley went 90 for Roma today despite getting a yellow in the 12th. He rewarded his new team with an assit to tie the game in injury time. Great long pass and amazing finish by Lopez

http://youtu.be/kvN1keV9GRw?t=5m41s

Okay, so the actual restaurant is called Pizza Port, but what is the bottle shop right next to it that I went to? Whats the name of the bottle shop and is it owned and operated as an extension of the Pizza Port?

I just always hear it called "Pizza Port Bottleshop" or "Carlsbad Bottleshop". Pretty sure Pizza Port owns it.

Yes! Velvet Glove was my favorite beer of theirs that I tried. I also liked Dubblefisted and Uprising.

We also went to this brewing company, which was more of a restaurant called Backstreet Brewery in Vista. That's where I tried the Ballast Point which I really liked.

Also tried Firestone DBA at a restaurant in Solana Beach which I thought was really good. I'm not sure if they are local?

I didn't get a chance to go out to Escondido to Stone and we nearly went to Lost Abbey in San Marcos.

There is this really cool "Port and Pizza" place in Carlsbad that we went to. Next to the restaurant is a store with a ton of bottled beer selections. You can buy the beer by the bottle and then walk out back and drink them there. Or you can buy them and take them home. I thought that was really cool since I haven't seen anything like that here in VA

Firestone Walker is in Paso Robles. North of LA. DBA is a great beer though as is almost anything else they brew. You should be able to find their stuff in DMV.

That little bottle shop you mentioned is really cool. The Carslbad Pizza Port is one of the most award winning brewpubs in the country. They also run festivals in that back area. Always good times.

"Pizza Port" is a local treasure. Great business and great story. A brother and sister wanted to open a pizza shop that made their own beer. They hired a guy to be brewmaster and opened Pizza Port in Solana Beach (North County San Diego). :time-lapse: Some guy who just started a brewery comes in their little pace with a sample beer and asks if they'd serve his little brewery's beers. They like the beer and decide to be the first place to put Stone Pale Ale on tap. :time-lapse: Pizza Port really starts taking off. They open another couple locations and decide they can branch a brewery operation off from the brewpub business.

Meanwhile across town....

Stone has gotten so big they need a bigger brewhouse, so they sell their small one to the Pizza Port people. The Port people give the keys to their first brewmaster, Tomme Aurther, and Port/LostAbbey is born. Port/Lost Abbey is now run as a separate business than the Pizza Port locations which each have their own brewmaster and are draft only brew pubs (for now. Plans are in the works to start canning Pizza Port beers).

On a side note, the newest Pizza Port is two years old and a few blocks from me and you can find me there 3+ times a week.

Helsingborg-Celtic Champions League playoff round kicking off in a few minutes.

If you need an excuse to watch US National Bodoya in the starting 11.

I tried it at a brewery/restaurant last week when I was in San Diego. It was damn good!

Sebowski, have you been to Iron Fist brewing company in Vista before? Its like a mile away from my parents house and I really enjoyed a lot of their selection

I haven't tried everything of theirs as they've ben hit and miss with me. Really like their Imperial Stout "Velvet Glove" Still need to head up that way and check out the brewery.

What else did you like while you were out here?

If you Hop Heads get the New Belgium "Lips of Faith" Series beers, go seek this one out.

*Action figure and glass sold separately

The brewery they made this with, Alpine, makes the best IPAs on the planet, and it isn't even close. This is a decent representation of what they bring to the table with New Belgium putting a twist on it.

I'm not debating Bones' personality as I do not care about it, i'm simply saying that a guy who gets choked unconscious by the champ should have to win more than 1 fight before he gets another crack at the belt.

That is how it works in a muddled division sometimes. Better than the champ just taking a 9-12 month break. And Machida may have only won once wince the loss, but he is a former champ. That counts for something.

Kinda has a point though. There was no ambiguity about the first fight. Machida shouldn't get a shot just because FOX executives wanted the fights on their card to have something at stake. Machida's 2-3 in his last 5 fights, including just one fight removed from being choked unconscious by Bones, he has done nothing to earn a rematch.

He was the only guy to win a round against him. He get caught with a vicious elbow in the 2nd and then he was done. He is a former champ who was also considered unstoppable not that long ago. He deserves the shot as much as anyway. Couture domintaed Liddel in their first fight, but Chuck still got a rematch and he KO'd Randy in it. Rematches are part of your gig if you are on a championship run this days.

And to qoute his PPV numbers? Give me a break, Pretty Boy. Rashad was right. This drunk driving DBag is a phony.

Every time Jon Jones opens his mouth I hate him a little bit more.

"I don't want to fight Lyoto Machida. He was my lowest pay-per-view draw of last year. No one wants to see me fight Lyoto Machida. I don't want to fight Lyoto again. Lyoto is high risk and low reward. He's a tough fighter, but no one wants to buy that fight. Between (Mauricio) Shogun (Rua), (Quinton) Rampage (Jackson) and Rashad (Evans), Lyoto was my lowest draw. Why would I want to fight someone where it's a lose-lose situation? I won't make money on it. And he's a tricky fighter."

What a DBag

so porters or stouts are smoother and easier to drink?

Sometimes.

Without scanning the whole thread, I am not a big beer fan but I enjoy wine, whiskey and just about any other kind of alcohol. Is there a recommended beer that I guess doesn't have that traditional beer taste that might appeal to somebody like me?

If you love whiskey and are looking for a non-traditional taste, try a Bourbon Barrel beer. If you are in DMV look for Williamsburg Bourbon Barrel Porter or Barrel Aged Gonzo. Both fantastic. CuClaw makes some too, but they have been hit and miss with me. I can give the two I mentioned my personal guarantee.

---------- Post added August-2nd-2012 at 11:36 PM ----------

So, as tough as this can be, if you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, which would it be?

Personally, I'd go with Sam Adams Octoberfest.

My runner up would probably be Weinstephaner

Surprisingly not a tough call at all for me. Alpine Nelson. Nothing like it. Incredible.

---------- Post added August-2nd-2012 at 11:51 PM ----------

what's the difference between Imperial Stout and a Porter?

Read once that Stouts have an emphasis on roasted barley and Porter on *chocolate malt. Generally speaking, porters don't have any roasted barley (stouts do use chocolate malt though). They are smoother and a little easier to drink because of this. Stouts use heavy roasted malt so there is more of a "coffee" flavor going on.

*"chocolate" refers to the color of the malt. It is roasted less than roasted barley so it has a chocolate brown appearance opposed to a roasted black appearance.

Like double said, "Imperial" generally means an almost double version of the style. More malt/hops depending on the style.

While we're talking differences in styles...

Foreign Stout is very like on bitterness/hops while American Stout means there's some hops in there. Same with Englich Barley Wine vs. American barley Wine. American version is always more bitter and hoppy.

Also: DIPA=IIPA=Imperial IPA. Same thing.

Brewed at work tonight. Right over the bay. Awesome night.

A few random things...

Patiently waiting now for Stone's 10 Anniversary Ruination to make it to S Florida. Anyone had it yet?

Really liked it right at the release. It has gotten a touch maltier and boozier since. Really heavy on the citra hops. That with the malt give it a juicy kind of flavor.

Can't wait for their anniversary Rye IPA