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Tasting Room

Intergalactic Brewing Company Strong Ale Day 2014

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When I first read about Strong Ale Day my first thought was “This is going to be a bunch of malt-heavy beers like Old Ale and Wee Heavy.” Thankfully, there were a variety of beers available and we got to grab a solid snifter glass to go with them for not too much more. Having the right glass makes all the difference so it was interesting to check it out. There was one slight logistical problem with the setup in that everyone had to go back to try each of the six tasters included with the glass. So the line was much larger than it would have been if everyone took six beers with them at once.

Beer Selection on 1/25/14.
Beer Selection on 1/25/14.

I went with two friends so I didn’t have to have six tasters on my own of all these strong beers. It was good that I did because I prefer to let friends finish the ones I don’t really care for. We started with the 8% oatmeal stout called Dammit Jim Stout. It had a solid flavor but didn’t really stick out in any way. Next we went for the Imperial Porter that had some solid coffee and chocolate flavors. This one was quite nice and smooth though it still didn’t match the Victory at Sea from Ballast Point.

Intergalactic Strong Ale 2014 02

We then went for the Imperial IPA. It was my favorite of the set and quite deliciously hop forward. I couldn’t taste much malts but mostly nice tropical fruit and citrus hops. Next we tried two different barleywines. I’m not typically a fan of this style but both of my friends enjoyed them. The Black Barleywine was not as bitter but they were both pretty interesting. The flavors were both a bit on the sweet side for my tastes. Finally, we went with the Imperial Stout. I didn’t try the Old Ale or Wee Heavy because I don’t typically enjoy those style.

Overall, it was a fun experience and a great way to get people to recognize how important it is to use the right kind of glass for the right beer. With a snifter glass it sends the message that this beer should be savored slowly, which we certainly did. At times it felt pretty crowded, much more than I have ever seen here before.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Beer Reviews

Alesmith Robust Porter Review

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If there is one thing I find is missing when I stop by Alesmith it is a lighter beer to go with Speedway Stout. Speedway Stout is an amazing beer but also so strong that it makes me wonder what the brewers could do with a porter. Thankfully, some seasonal beers have been satisfying me lately as far as darker mid-range options both from the My Bloody Valentine and the Evil Dead Red. Still, both of those options are a bit on the hoppy side so for someone like my husband who hates hops, there is still not much to love.

Enter the robust porter and you might have a winner. The guys at Alesmith told me that this one was released first about a year ago though I seem to have missed it. This is only the second time it has been available and they brewed enough that if you aren’t in the area by the brewery you should find it on tap at some local bars for a little bit.

Cask Nut Brown (Left), Robust Porter (Right).
Cask Nut Brown (Left), Robust Porter (Right).

The robust porter looks like a porter and tastes like a porter. It has a light smoky flavor at the front end with a mild splash of chocolate and some plum flavors from the malts. The beer is right around 6.5% and drinks quite nicely. I went for a pint after finishing off my taster and it went down quite smoothly. This is the sort of beer that would be a great addition to the regular rotation. I would love to be able to buy this in a six-pack sometime as well. If you are hooked on the Speedway Stout you should absolutely check out the Robust Porter the next time you stop by Alesmith.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Tasting Room

White Labs, Experimenting with Beer

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White Labs 01

White Labs is an interesting brewery to visit because it is not your ordinary brewery. Most breweries will go with one beer in a specific style or two if you are lucky in an effort to brew the best beer they can. In certain cases breweries end up with an iconic beer like Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA. White Labs decided instead to focus on exploring the flavors of different strands of yeast. So while it has beers in a number of styles you might recognize they aren’t going to be like everything else you taste in San Diego.

White Labs 02

White Labs 03

 

I went with three sets of four tasters for a total of 12 tasters while I visited. I decided to go with the pale ale, the IPA, and the porter. I probably wouldn’t have been able to try all of them even though I was there with a friend. White Labs is exciting for two types of people; those interested in home brewing, and those looking to learn more about how beers are made. White Labs even has home brew classes available so that newbies can get a start by brewing their own beer. To help out those interested in brewing they allow you to download the recipes for any of the beers you taste.

White Labs 05

As far as the actual beers go, while I enjoyed comparing the four varieties of each style I tried I was not blown away by any individual beer. The pale ales were interesting because I could certainly recognize some of the yeast but they didn’t have the hop flavors I expect out of a good pale ale. Similarly, the IPAs were interesting because they weren’t dry-hopped like most San Diego IPAs are, and they were also un-filtered (pictured above). Flavor wise though, I didn’t really get any of the complex hop tastes I expect in a good IPA. This is to be expected though because their goal here is to educate by getting people to compare the strands of yeast. In order to taste the yeast you have to keep the hops slightly subdued. To finish things off I tried the porters. They were pretty similar to me and all on the bitter chocolate side. Anyone looking for something a bit sweeter out of their porter is not going to like these.

White Labs is an interesting brewery to explore if you are looking to learn more about beers. Though you won’t find any amazingly hoppy beers that will bring you back you might find a better appreciation for certain beers you enjoy at other breweries. For example, fans of Belgian styles of beers might not be familiar with the big part the yeast plays in the flavors. You can certainly taste the flavor in the Belgian Yeast pale ale. Similarly, one version of the IPA has similarities to Green Flash’s Le Freak and I appreciate knowing that this is because of the yeast.

 

 

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Beer Reviews

Stone Enjoy By 02 14 2014

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Stone’s Enjoy By Double IPA is a great way to educate the general public about the importance of freshness when it comes to IPA. A good IPA will last for about 2-3 months before it becomes skunky.  It can be so significant that a beer that was really well done at first is hard to enjoy six months down the road. With the Enjoy By series from Stone, Stone gets the beer out to stores within a week of brewing so that you know it is going to be fresh while you drink it before the enjoy date.

Stone Enjoy By 02 14 2014
Stone Enjoy By 02 14 2014

Rich grapefruit and citrus flavors from the hops come through good and strong. This beer is light on the malts compared to the ordinary Stone IPA that I find a little too strong on the malts. The delicious flavors are made even better because you know it is going to be fresh when you drink it. I buy this over other similar beers because I don’t always know how fresh my IPAs are. Hopefully this will get other breweries to start posting enjoy by dates on the bottles. Freshness is so important that I love to buy IPAs from smaller breweries that don’t last long enough to become bad.

If you love hops you probably already wait with baited breath for the next batch of Enjoy By. If you haven’t tried this beer yet, you will find it to be a delicious adventure in hops.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Beer Reviews

Wiens Brewing Company Descend Black IPA

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Temecula is a bit far for me to go to hit up breweries right now. I may eventually make it up to hit up the breweries there but until then I rely on breweries with big enough distribution to get beer down to San Diego. I couldn’t resist when I saw Descend Black IPA at Bottlecraft in Downtown San Diego. It was everything I hoped for and I will certainly keep an eye out for more from this brewery in the future.

Descend Black IPA
Descend Black IPA

I could smell the hops on the nose quite nicely though they don’t really show up in the flavor. To me Black IPAs have always been a strange beast. What separates it from a hoppy porter? Hard to say. This one certainly has a lot more in common with a bitter porter than anything else. On the front I could taste a strong bitter chocolate flavor. The bottle claims there is a malty caramel flavor on the back end. I could taste it but just barely. This would have been too bitter for my husband but totally hit the spot for me.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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