I remembered enjoying the double IPA from Mission Brewing the last time I was there so I couldn’t resist the idea of two 32oz cans when I saw them at Costco. The beer pours thick and amber. First thought on tasting it was “where are the hops?” I can taste some strong caramel flavor followed by some tropical fruit and citrus hops in the background.
Mission Brewing Shipwrecked Double IPA
I’m not sure what it is that leads double IPAs to be made so malty but this one is far too malty for my tastes. If you enjoy the flavors of Green Bullet I would stay far away from this one. I can’t believe I bought two 32oz cans of this. It is a bit too syrupy sweet for my flavors. Glad I had someone to share this can with. I couldn’t even drink a pint before I was ready to move on to something else.
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.
Alesmith has some delightful beer names and labels inspired by horror movies. I really enjoyed the Evil Dead Red last year so I was excited to see similarities listed for this one. My Bloody Valentine is a delicious dark beer with a hoppy after taste. At times it is smoky and a little caramel flavor. The hops are on the floral side and are balanced with it nicely. Light flavor of bittersweet chocolate rounds it out nicely.
My Bloody Valentine
The fresh batch was just released this week so make sure you grab some before it is done. It might hang around a little bit after Valentine’s day but probably not too long. I was quite satisfied with the first bottle and look forward to trying it on tap at the brewery soon.
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.
I am not exclusively including beers that were first introduced in 2013 but I limited this to San Diego beers because otherwise I would never be able to come up with 10. I also excluded any specialty versions of existing beers. This means cask or nitro versions of certain beers are not eligible, nor are barrel aged beers that are only available on tap for a day or two and then gone.
1. Green Bullet – Green Flash (Triple IPA)
This is my new gold standard for insane hops in a beer. I was lucky enough to try this when it was first debuted in late 2012 for a very short time at the brewery. For most people though, this is a 2013 beer because it was made much more broadly available in bottles. It is pure New Zealand hops all the way and gives me all the hop flavors that I am addicted to.
Green Bullet fresh at the brewery.
2. Stone Punishment (Double Bastard barrel aged and infused with spicy peppers)
This is the only barrel aged beer on the list and it counts because it was bottled and made widely available. Though it would be a favorite simply because of how spicy it is what gets this on the list is the complex flavors that it has besides the heat. Some sweetness is present from the barrel aging as well as all the complex flavors of double bastard itself. Though this was the most expensive beer I had all year it was totally worth it.
Stone Crime and Punishment.
3. Stone Enjoy by IPA (Double IPA with a clear enjoy by date)
Though half of what makes Enjoy By so good is that it is going to be fresh when you have some, it is also just a deliciously balanced double IPA. The brilliant thing about this beer is that the batches are kept small enough so that it sells out pretty quickly. The next batch comes out pretty soon so make sure you grab a bottle of the first Enjoy By batch of 2014.
Stone Enjoy By IPA 2013.
4. Humbly Legit IPA – New English Brewing
I wasn’t expecting this to blow me away as much as it did. When I first had it on tap I just loved the hop-forward flavor of this beer. For a brewery that originally focused on English styles of beer, this one is up there with the best IPAs in San Diego.
Humbly Legit west coast style IPA.
5. Perseus IPA – Intergalactic Brewing
One of my favorite IPAs comes from a newer brewery that knows how to satisfy those who prefer a lighter colored IPA. Because the brewery is fairly small, it doesn’t last long enough to become skunky. I had quite a few growler fills of this beer throughout the year and can’t wait for the next batch to show up.
Intergalactic Perseus IPA (right).
6. Blazing World – Modern Times (Hoppy Amber)
I left the brewery with a four pack of cans as soon as I tried this one and I already bought a few more since then. The nelson hops are prominent and give this a delicious flavor that would satisfy any hop head.
7. Evil Dead Red – Alesmith (Imperial Red with some strong hop flavors)
It was a toss up between this and the Winter Yulesmith. Both gave me plenty of hops in a satisfying darker brew. I ultimately gave the spot to Evil Dead Red because it was so unexpected. If you liked this one, make sure you get out and buy a bottle of My Bloody Valentine, already in stores.
Evil Dead Red
8. Hop Therapy Double IPA – Rough Draft
I really enjoy a lot of the IPAs Rough Draft makes but I ultimately gave the spot to the double IPA because it is nice to see a solid double that is always around. There is a huge difference in taste if you have this one fresh so if it doesn’t have enough hop flavor for you give it another try.
9. Ballast Point Victory at Sea Imperial Porter
Though I love a lot of different Ballast Point beers, this one got the spot because the coffee flavors were just what I needed. Another favorite that almost made this list was the Fathom India Pale Lager, which has now become a mainstay.
Devil’s Share Victory at Sea (Left), Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Marlin Porter (right)
10. Green Flash Symposium IPA
I’ve always found the West Coast to be a bit too heavy on the malts so this lighter colored IPA was just what I needed. I hope to see it available in bottles with a fresh batch in 2014.
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.
Living in Mira Mesa I haven’t made my way up to Temecula to visit breweries yet. Thankfully, some of them have been bottling and distributing beers down to stores near me. I’ve seen the beers from Black Market before but haven’t given them a taste until I grabbed a bottle of the Rye IPA. I am glad I did.
The Rye IPA has plenty of caramel up front with some citrus hop flavors on the back. It has everything I used to love about the Green Flash Rye IPA before it disappeared. I can tell from the flavor that I had this one fresh and it was very nice. It pours a nice amber color and is well balanced so that you get just enough of each flavor. Make sure you pick up a bottle if you like some rye in your IPA.
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.
NOTE: Wet N Reckless has closed for some time because of a fire at the brewery. It is still unclear if they will open again later.
I had visited this brewery a few times before starting this blog but I wanted to make sure to wait until they had some stuff I enjoyed before writing an entry. Like many smaller breweries, the lineup changes pretty regularly and the beers are sometimes hit and miss. Wet N Reckless doesn’t bottle any of their beers for sale in the grocery store and they still use plastic cups for the tasters. If you want to have a glass to use to enjoy your pints, you have to buy one and put your name on it. Despite all that, when you find something you like there, it is usually quite good.
Wet N Reckless Inside.
From the outside it is your typical small brewery in an industrial area. When you get close, the breweries signs help guide you to the parking lot. Otherwise you might miss it and wonder where you went wrong.
As you can see from the names, Wet N Reckless likes to use creative names for beers. The selection is broad and has something for everyone. Though I don’t appreciate some of the beers heavier on the malts, the honey badger, or the mead, these beers are what sets them apart from other breweries. If you like honey in your beer or are gluten intolerant, you might find something to love about some of the different brews here.
I went with three tasters, the Floral Pleasure, Harmless Fun, and More Cowbell. Floral Pleasure is an interesting beer that is different from what you might expect. It is not an IPA and it isn’t an IPL. Instead, it is a beer with heavy floral hops on the front end. This is the closest beer you will find here to a traditional San Diego IPA. While they have an IPA, it is too malty for my tastes, so I prefer floral pleasure. The Harmless Fun has a nice wheat flavor but not enough hops for my tastes. It is described as a wheat beer dry-hopped with Citra hops. I don’t taste enough citra to give it the flavor that I would like to taste.
Pint of More Cowbell.
Then we are up to the most interesting beer of the night, the More Cowbell. Somehow I hadn’t tried this beer before today. I always love a good double IPA and this one was just what I liked to see. At first I was a bit unsure if I would like it but by the time I finished my taster I was ready to order a pint, and then another one. Made with exclusively with Summit hops, this is a grassy IPA and at times I was ready to call it too malty but I could taste enough hops in the beer that I was hooked. As I could tell, everyone else who was visiting knew exactly what they were getting and was back for more.
To show how addicting this beer is, there is a cowbell on the bar that has a sticker on it reading “More Cowbell” I was ready to ring it a few times though after two pints I was satisfied. I saw a number of people ordering multiple pints of this delicious beer while I was there. Clearly, I had missed something and I will be back to try some more. If you love your hops, make sure you keep an eye out for Floral Pleasure and More Cowbell. Follow Wet N Reckless on Facebook to make sure you get notified when the beers are available.
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.
