BridgePort Brewing Company Café Negro Coffee Infused Porter

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is BridgePort Brewing Company Café Negro Coffee Infused Porter .  I’ve enjoyed other BridgePort Brewing Company offerings and decided that a coffee infused Porter sounded pretty dang good and knowing that BridgePort Brewing Company makes quality beers I thought I’d give it a try.

From the BridgePort Brewing Company website:” BridgePort worked with a number of Portland area coffee roasters to formulate its own blend specific to CAFÉ NEGRO that was then infused with the base beer during cold conditioning. The cold conditioning process helps retain subtle coffee aromas otherwise lost during boil and fermentation. CAFÉ NEGRO is brewed with the strong dark flavors of roasted barley and chocolate malt.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a very dark blackish brown with a small tan head and very good lacing.

Aroma: Coffee! Wow…the deep dark fresh ground coffee aroma combined with chocolate malt and a bit of roastiness is nothing short of amazing.

Taste: Very coffee forward (as one would expect) with a fantastic malty backbone.  The dark chocolate is very subtle and the hops are almost undetectable.

Overall: Well balanced and very tastey, BridgePort Brewing Company Café Negro Coffee Infused Porter at 5.5% ABV is very easy to drink, enjoyable and finishes very nicely.  If you like coffee Porters, check this one out.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

San Diego Beer Adventure

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's travelling beer reviews.

Recently I visited San Diego with my wife and got a chance to drink up some local beers.  There were more breweries and beers than I could get to on this visit, but I am certain I’ll be back. San Diego has a rich brewing history (read about it) and I was eager to drink in the sun and the brews while there.

First stop once we were off the plane was some lunch and beers at Yard House in San Diego’s Gaslamp District (here).  Yard House always has good food and great beers on tap.

My wife started with a Lost Coast Brewing Company Apricot Wheat (5% ABV).  Lost Coast is one of her favorite breweries and they consistently turn out great beers. Poured an apricot gold color with a small off-white head and nice lacing. Aroma was heavy on apricots with wheat and malt notes as well. Tasted fantastic – sweet apricot and malt and those flavored lingered.  Overall a very nice offering from Lost Coast Brewing Company…my wife wishes they would bottle it.

I started with a Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA (10.5% ABV) and it was fantastic.  Poured a deep dark black with a nice head and nice lacing.  Aroma was hoppy, roasty and earthy.  Tasted malty sweet, caramel, toffee, butterscotch and a little vanilla with a nice pine hop profile. Overall opinion of this beer is fantastic.  So glad I had a chance to try it on tap.  I have a few bottles of this at home and can’t wait to crack ‘em open.

My second beer came on the recommendation of our waiter.  I asked him about local beers and asked if there were any available that were not on the menu.  He suggested a Coronado Brewing Company Idiot IPA (8.5% ABV).  Poured a medium gold with a tight head. Medium lacing. Aroma was hop centric with grapefruit and pine. Tasted fantastic with a caramel malt base and huge flavors of tropical fruits, pine, citrus, and grapefruit.  At that point I knew I needed to go visit Coronado Brewing Company.

The next day we ventured all over San Diego and made it over to Coronado to check out the Hotel del Coronado. On our return across the island we stumbled upon the Coronado Brewing Company (here) so we decided to head in and try some of their beers. We started with their sampler which had Mermaid's Red, Island IPA, Coronado Golden, Orange Ave Whit and Frog's Breath IPA.  Since they were out of the Idiot IPA I thought I’d go with a pint of their Frog’s Breath IPA.

Coronado Brewing Company Frog’s Breath IPA (6.4% ABV) poured a hazy orange body with a small head and nice lacing.  Aroma was orange, grapefruit, pine and floral notes.  Tasted very good – much like the aroma with the addition of some bready pale malt. Overall very enjoyable and drinkable. After polishing off the samplers and the pint Charlotte the bartender offered some tastes of their Oktoberfest and Blue Bridge Coffee Stout.  Both were outstanding, but the Blue Bridge Coffee Stout was simply amazing. If you’re on Coronado you’ve got to get over to the Coronado Brewing Company.

The following day we headed over to La Jolla and to George’s at the Cove’s Ocean Terrace (here).  I asked our waiter Brian what he recommended and he suggested I try a pint of Ballast Point Brewing Company Sculpin IPA (7% ABV). Brian knows his beer and it is always refreshing talking beer with folks who enjoy and appreciate beer.  Brian was right; the Ballast Point Brewing Company Sculpin IPA was excellent. Poured crystal clear orange amber with a fluffy white head and excellent lacing.  The aroma was of grapefruit and pine. It tasted incredible crisp and fresh with citrus and pine and just a touch of malt sweetness.  Incredible balance and one of the best West Coast IPAs I’ve ever had. Check out all the great beers Ballast Point Brewing Company brews here.

Later that afternoon (and before dinner) I wanted to stop over at The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Company (here) to grab a beer and perhaps a shirt.  I did both and when asking the bartender there what he’d recommend he suggested a Lost Abbey Judgment Day Belgian Dark Quad styled Ale (10.5% ABV).  This is a MASSIVE beer.  It poured a dark brown with a nice head and nice lacing. Aroma was of raisins, biscuits, chocolate and caramel.  It tasted sweet with caramel, chocolate, vanilla, raisins, and candi sugar.  Liquid Heaven.  Overall I highly recommend this beer and I have a couple bottles at home to drink (and review “officially”).

Our next stop was for dinner and beers at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens (here).  This was an incredible place.  Walking up the path we felt like we were heading into some sort of Disney attraction. The inside was gorgeous and probably one of the best examples of a brewery/restaurant I’ve ever seen.  After picking up a shirt at the store we were seated and ordered a couple of beers. 

My wife ordered the Bruery / Elysian / Stone La Citrueille Céleste de Citracado (5% ABV).  It poured a dark mahogany with a decent white head and nice lacing.  The aroma was of caramel, pumpkin or yam, and spice.  It tasted incredible - perfectly spiced with pumpkin, yams, brown sugar, toffee, cinnamon, raisins and slight roasted nutty malt. Overall I thought this beer was incredible and I’ve been trying to find it at every bottle shop I visit (I think I may be out of luck).

I ordered a Double Bastard Ale (10.5% ABV) to go along with my fantastic duck tacos (served with their Double Bastard Ale Hot Sauce). The Double Bastard Ale poured a dark reddish brown with a nice head and sticky lacing.  Incredible aroma with pineapple, roasted caramel malt, hops resins, orange rind and alcohol.  The taste was like liquid magic – smooth, incredible balance, malts galore and a nice hop bitterness that makes this one of the best beers I’ve had.  Overall amazing and I picked up six bottles of it immediately when I returned home.

Our meals, beers, ambiance and everything about that night were as close to perfect as it could be.  If you are anywhere near Stone Brewing Company you MUST go.  YOU MUST!

On our final day in San Diego was ran around finishing up some souvenir purchasing and made it over to Greek Islands Café in the Seaport Village.  They had their own beer made by Ballast Point Brewing Company called Greek Island's Amber (5.5% ABV).  I can only guess that it is really Ballast Point’s Calico Amber Ale renamed for the restaurant.  Poured a clear copper with a nice head.  Aroma was of floral hops with sweet malt, caramel malt, biscuit, toasted sugar and candied dates. Taste just like the aroma with a lingering malt sweetness that keeps going on and on.  Overall a beer well worth trying.

Well, that was my trip to San Diego.  We had a fantastic time, got to try some new beers, good food and relax.  Next time I head down to San Diego I have a list of places I want to go to. 

Where’s your favorite place in San Diego?

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Drake's Brewing Company Pink Boots Saison

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Drake's Brewing Company Pink Boots Saison.  On a recent trip to Drake’s Barrel House to pick up a mixed case I knew I had to try this offering.  My friend Jade from HopTech is a member of the Pink Boots Society and I was eager to not only support their cause (the proceeds are donated to the Pink Boots Society, a non-profit organization for women in the beer industry, to fund a beer education scholarship for an aspiring female brewer) , but try the beer they created.
Check out the back story here.

Here’s a video of the brew day by Gail Ann Williams from BeerByBart.com

From the Pink Boots Society website:”Mission: The Pink Boots Society was created to inspire, encourage and empower women to advance their careers in the Beer Industry through networking and education. Our goals include beer education outreach to women beer consumers through our Barley's Angels division. Our Barley's Angels program was designed to foster beer appreciation in women, teach women's role in beer history, encourage women to homebrew, and inspire the next generation of potential women beer professionals to pursue careers in the Beer Industry.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Poured a cloudy golden orange with a frothy white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Sweet caramel malt and spice (cloves) and fruit.

Taste: Sweet caramel and pale malts, spice, fruit and yeast with a mild hop bitterness.

Overall: Fantastic! Extremely drinkable and at 6% ABV.  Very well balanced and one of the best American saisons I’ve tasted. I would suggest they add this to their already incredible list of regular offerings!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Stone Brewing Company IPA

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Stone Brewing Company IPA.  With so many fantastic IPAs on the market I had not ventured to review Stone’s IPA before my trip to San Diego in late October.  When I purchased beer for my room I decided to pick up a 22 for strictly educational (review) purposes.

From the Stone Brewing Company website:” An "India Pale Ale" by definition is highly hopped and high in alcohol - you'll find our Stone India Pale Ale to be true to style with a huge hop aroma, flavor and bitterness throughout. If you're a hop-head like us, then you'll love our Stone India Pale Ale! Medium malt character with a heavy dose of over the top hops! Generous "dry hopping" gives this beer its abundant hop aroma and crisp hop flavor.”

I decided to post a little IPA history lesson from Stone:” The History of India Pale Ales: Originally developed in the late 1700's, British breweries would send beer via sail to the troops and British expatriots in India. Problem was, there was no refrigeration and the ocean voyage took nearly five months. As a result, the beer would usually arrive in compromised condition. Well, the brewers of the time didn't know as much about beer as we do today, but they did know that both hops (where we get the bitterness in beer) and alcohol act as natural preservatives. So, they came up with a brew that was intensely hopped and rather high in alcohol --- thus the birth of the "India Pale Ale." You'll find our Stone India Pale Ale to be true to style with a huge hop aroma, flavor and bitterness throughout. If you're a hop-head like us, then you'll love our Stone India Pale Ale!”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours an orange amber with a great head, thin lacing and good retention.

Aroma: Pine citrus and floral hops…but mostly pine.  There’s a very sweet malt scent as well, but hops take center stage.

Taste: Taste much like the aroma with citrus and pine hops. Sweet pale malt and some biscuit maltiness round out this impeccable IPA.

Overall: Stone Brewing Company IPA is exceptional – no doubt about it and at 6.9% ABV Stone IPA is going to take you there.  Would I say this is the best IPA out there?  Hard to say (and I don't think I could argue against it).  I won’t hesitate to add this to my beer fridge arsenal from time to time. 

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Lagunitas Brewing Company Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Lagunitas Brewing Company Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale.  I’ve said it in review after review that I am a huge fan of Lagunitas and there’s no exception yet…

From the Lagunitas Brewing Company website: “A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale -
Sneaky Smooth with a Touch of What We Call Wheatly-esque-ish-ness. Crispy Wheat and Pale Malt flavors with a Big Round & Juicy Hop Finish. Everyone Needs A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Sometimes. You Can Get It All Year Now... in a Six-Pack!”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a hazy orange with a fluffy white head and some lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, pine and summer fruits dominate the aroma.  Peaches, grapefruits and malts…so aromatic!

Taste: Pine and citrus flavors jump out at first followed by some spice and a light malt and wheat backend.  Finishes sweet and well balanced.

Overall: Another fantastic offering from Lagunitas.  Like an American IPA mixed with a Weiss bier  and at  7.5% ABV Lagunitas Brewing Company Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale smells and tastes great and is a welcome addition to the beer fridge.  I’m very happy this is a year-round beer from Lagunitas!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Lagunitas Brewing Company New Dog Town Pale Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Lagunitas Brewing Company New Dog Town Pale Ale.  If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times – Lagunitas is one of the best breweries around.  Prior to writing this blog there were quite a few beers that I wouldn’t pick up just because they’re not the style of beer I would gravitate towards.  Thanks to my blog this has all changed and I am now adding new beers to my favorites list.  I’m still making my way through “all beers Lagunitas”. 

Pale Ales are not typically what I’d go after since why have a Pale Ale when one could have an IPA?  Well, Lagunitas Brewing Company New Dog Town Pale Ale (as well as Drake’s 1500 Pale Ale…and others) are changing my mind about Pale Ales and their place in my beer fridge.

From the Lagunitas Brewing Company website: “We at the Lagunitas Brewing Company hope you enjoy this genuinely handmade ale. A lot of hard work and enthusiasm go into every aspect of brewing this Mondo Ultra Mega Super Premium Ale. From building the brewery itself to putting the cap on each and every bottle, virtually every step was done by hand. Thanks for your trust and as always: Think Globally, Drink Locally.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a golden orange with a tight white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Floral, pine and citrus hops with hints of caramel and pale malts.

Taste: Bright and hoppy with citrus and pine that complement each other very well.  Solid pale malt flavors in the finish.

Overall: Hoppier than most breweries IPAs, Lagunitas Brewing Company New Dog Town Pale Ale at 6.2% ABV is amazing.  Balanced to perfection, I’d suggest this one to anyone who likes a good, well crafted American Pale Ale. Lagunitas does it again!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

North Coast Brewing Company Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is North Coast Brewing Company Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale.  North Coast Brewing Company is another one of those breweries that I dig completely (read about it) and so I am working my way through their line to cover the great brews they make.  I tend to drink their beer faster than I can photograph or review it so with some self control I’ll get them written up.

From the North Coast Brewing Company website: “Like a Belgian “Dark Strong Ale”, the beer is rich and robust with an ABV of 9.3%. The package is a 750 ml bottle with a traditional cork and wire finish or 12oz 4 packs and features a label picturing the jazz master himself.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a beautiful very dark amber with a big caramel colored head with thick lacing.

Aroma: Sweet dark fruits, brown sugar, dark chocolate, spice, malts and a slight hint of sweet alcohol.

Taste: Flavor just like the aroma with a bit more malt than I detected and a little hop bitterness that rounds out this incredible beer.  Brown sugar, dark fruits, malt and chocolate – how can you go wrong?

Overall: Nice and complex – North Coast Brewing Company’s Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale is a fantastically drinkable 9.4% ABV Belgian dubbel nice for slow sippin’.  This beer is SO good you’ll need more than one four pack to keep around and with the colder season upon us this is just what the doctor ordered.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Drake’s Brewing 1500 Pale Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Drake’s Brewing 1500 Pale Ale.  I hadn’t tried 1500 until I worked the Drake’s first Friday for my kid’s school (previous post). Tony (from Drake’s) suggested I try this (as well as Alpha Session) and I became an immediate fan.  I’ve been back to the Barrel House (here) a few times and I keep picking up 1500. I think I may need to stop by again soon…I think I only have one left.

From the Drake’s Brewing website : “An American Pale Ale. For batch number 1500, Josh & Brian decided to brew a big hoppy beer, yet make it quaffable by keeping the alcohol level down. Turns out everyone liked it so much, that it is now brewed year-round. Loads of Simcoe and Amarillo hops are blended in the fermenter, just after fermentation has finished, to impart a huge aroma of pine and citrus.”

Winner: Silver 2008 Great American Beer Festival and 2nd Place American Pale Ale 2008 California State Fair.

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a nice golden orange with a thick foamy off-white head and heavy lacing.

Aroma: Giant hop aroma – citrus, pine, light on the floral hops and a little spice.  Biscuit and sweet caramel malts.  Smells like liquid heaven.

Taste: Nothing short of amazing with LOTS of hop character (citrus and pine) and a fantastic malt backbone.

Overall: Well balanced and sessionable (at 5.5% ABV). Drake’s Brewing 1500 Pale Ale has quickly become one of my favorite beers. Impressed would under emphasize how I feel about this one. GREAT BEER – DRINK IT!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey