Tag Archives: Pale Ale

Alesmith San Diego Pale Ale in Honor of Tony Gwynn

June 18, 2014 Paul McGuire Leave a comment

Alesmith released a special Pale Ale in collaboration with San Diego Padres baseball legend Tony Gwynn called San Diego Pale 394 in honor of his best batting average. The beer was officially released on Saturday June 14, 2014, just a few days before Gwynn’s untimely passing. When news spread widely on Monday June 16 of his passing I immediately wondered how Alesmith would respond. Through a post on their Facebook page, Alesmith announced that all proceeds from the beer would be donated to The Tony & Alicia Gwynn Foundation.

I previously wasn’t going to rush out to try the San Diego Pale but once Tony Gwynn passed, I had to support his memory and get as many friends as I could to join. When I stopped by yesterday Alesmith also had two other special beers I wanted to try, the Baltic Porter and the Ethiopian Coffee Speedway Stout. The San Diego Pale 394 is a 6% pale ale so it is almost an IPA.

Specialty beers available as of June 17, 2014.

I started with tasters of the San Diego Pale, Baltic Porter, Old Ale, and Ethiopian Speedway. The San Diego Pale immediately impressed me with its smooth low bitterness and delicious bright hop profile. The beer is very crisp sporting primarily pine and floral flavors. It is a nice light-colored pale that should satisfy fans of Alesmith’s X extra pale and IPA.

Tasters from left to right, SD Pale, Baltic Porter, Old Ale, Ethiopian Speedway.

The Baltic Porter was a bit disappointing to me compared to the previous small batch porter Alesmith had earlier in the year. The flavors of plum and ripe fruit dominate and leave any chocolate flavors hiding in the background. I didn’t review the Old Ale because I’ve already realized that I don’t particularly care for Alesmith’s heavy malt beers (besides the stout). The Ethiopian Speedway was a fantastic combination of nutty and chocolate flavors that came from the coffee itself. This is one of the more interesting varieties of Speedway that I have gotten to try up there with the Vietnamese Coffee version.

To go along with the beer, Alesmith had a number of images of Tony Gwynn around the tasting room. I especially liked the full size shot of Gwynn in his earlier days on the wall. Though I am not a big baseball fan, I do have many fond memories of Tony Gwynn from the few games I attended with my dad as a child. He was the one player that I always noticed and admired.

After finishing the tasters I ordered a pint of the SD Pale. I was surprised to notice that the Summer Yulesmith was already sold out on tap so only bottles remained. This made the SD Pale my favorite brew currently available at the tasting room. The extra freshness really makes the flavors pop. Come by the tasting room soon to taste this delicious pale and help support The Tony & Alicia Gwynn Foundation by having a few pints. If you can’t make it by the tasting room, the pale should eventually be released in 12 ounce bottles for you to enjoy at home.

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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Council Brewing, Impressive New Brewery

May 18, 2014 Paul McGuire 3 Comments

Council Brewing is currently in a soft opening phase but you wouldn’t know it from visiting. They are already offering a good variety of brews that will satisfy the majority of beer fans who show up and have a professional look inside.

With the gavels for tap heads you’d be excused for assuming it has something to do with the law. When I asked, I was told that the brewers wanted to set up a place for having debate and discussion. It just happened that the name made sense to include some gavels. They also have free Wi-Fi that is properly secured.

Beer wise, I was quite impressed with the lineup at Council. Small breweries come in all shapes and sizes but I think Council is going to become big very quickly. Not only do they have a fantastic stout and IPA but some of the other beers are very solid as well.

I decided to get a flight of six tasters so that I could try every beer currently offered. This meant that I had a taste of the Farmer’s Gold Saison, Lively Banter Hoppy Wheat, America’s Finest Pale Ale, Gavel Drop IPA, Imperial Oatmeal Stout, and Belgian Triple. Even though some of the lighter offerings didn’t blow me away, I was still quite impressed with the lineup on the whole.

Saison farmers gold
I’m not normally a fan of this style of beer but this is a tasty one. The beer has a little sweet flavor and not too sour. I think the higher alcohol content helps to mellow it out a bit compared to the typical Saison.

Lively banter (hoppy wheat)
Hop flavors come primarily from Centennial. This beer isn’t as insanely hopped as the modern times beer in a similar style. It won’t satisfy those looking for a session ipa style but it has some solid flavor. Flavors of the wheat still hang around, giving it a balanced flavor.

America’s finest pale ale
Delicious crisp flavor and not as heavy as the green flash pale. Great citrus flavor and not too heavy on the malt. The brewers said that this was supposed to be closer to 5.5% but ended up 6.1 by the time it was brewed so future versions should be a little lighter on the alcohol.

Gavel drop ipa
This beer has the quintessential San Diego IPA flavors from the Nelson hops. This beer was so popular that the brewery almost ran out of the first batch before the second batch was done. Hard to say if it is going to last much longer. If you aren’t familiar with Nelson hops this is likely to make you a convert. The grapefruit flavors it offers have become popular among hop addicts like myself. San Diego beer fans who can’t seem to find the Nelson IPA from Alpine Brewing should come by and check this out.

Imperial oatmeal stout
Thick and sweet this should satisfy fans of stouts and porters. Flavors of milk chocolate are clear and a little caramel. Little alcohol sweetness finishes it out. Very impressive. I left here with a 32oz growler full of the stout because it really impressed me. I think my husband would really like this one.

Belgian triple
Bright citrus flavors and a bit sweet. Not too heavy. Great flavor. Though it is a little sweet like you would expect from a Belgian beer, it isn’t overly so. This beer was also a bit different than the typical beer of the style you might see around San Diego.

In the end, I was quite impressed by Council Brewing and I think they will have great success once they officially open sometime in June. For now you should make your way over to try the stout or the IPA. Both are excellent and likely to draw large followings.

UPDATE New Beers on May 30, 2014
I returned to Council brewing a few weeks after my first visit to introduce some friends to the beers and I noticed they added three beers that weren’t available when I was last there. Here is what I thought of each.

Chazzam! IPA is a lighter colored IPA that uses a number of piney and citrusy hops in a deliciously crisp brew. It is also a little cheaper per glass than the Gavel Drop because it doesn’t use those elusive Nelson hops. The new Imperial Red is not what you would expect. This is not some overly sweet brew but instead a smoky beer with a light hop kick. I really enjoyed it. Finally the Belgian Dubbel was a solid representation of the style with plenty of plum malts and the spice flavors that come from the Belgian yeast. Some time soon they should be debuting their ESB so stay tuned and come back to Council.

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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Pacific Brewing Company a Solid Start for a New Brewery

March 29, 2014 Paul McGuire Leave a comment

I like to keep up with new breweries when they open. Thankfully, with Pacific Brewing they announced their grand opening on Facebook so I was able to check it out on the first day. There was a solid crowd for a new brewery and yet parking wasn’t an issue. Pacific Brewing presented a solid lineup that will serve as a good baseline as they expand into different styles of beers.

I started with a flight and added an additional taster so that I could taste all of the beers in one go. They offer a blonde, pale ale, IPA, strong ale, and rye double IPA. The blonde was a solid version of the classic style without much variation. It is up there with some of the best San Diego blondes. The pale ale is more towards the English style and has many similarities to the ESB style. The pale ale presents many caramel flavors on the front with a light hop flavor on the back end.

Left to right, Blonde, Pale, IPA, Strong Ale, Rye IPA.

The IPA has a powerful citrus nose. The flavors are heavy on citrus and pine, in line with other San Diego IPAs. I would estimate this beer has around 70 IBUs so it is fairly bitter. I really enjoyed the IPA and ended up with a pint after all the tasters. The strong ale is almost 8% and yet is very drinkable. The flavors are primarily in the sweet caramel range such that it might satisfy some who are mostly fans of porters and stouts.

The double IPA is a little low on the alcohol compared to some you might see in San Diego but not short on flavor. At 8% it isn’t that much stronger in alcohol than the IPA but the rye gives it a unique flavor. The rye manages to be mellow enough that it doesn’t overpower the hops. Most of the hop flavors are more on the back end and the citrus and tropical fruit flavors mix well with the rye.

Pacific Brewing has a similar feel to other small breweries inside though the wood used for the bar sets them apart with some distinct colors. Fans of hoppy beers will find a lot to love in the IPA and the Rye Double IPA. Fans of sweeter malt beers will enjoy the pale ale and strong ale. If the strong ale isn’t enough, you can always head next door to 2 Kids for some chocolate stout. I look forward to trying the different styles of beer that Pacific Brewing comes up with in the future.

UPDATE: Pacific Brewing recently released a stout due to the large demand. I stopped by on June 1, 2014 to try the “Simmer Down Stout” and thought it was solid. The stout is a dry chocolate stout that isn’t as sweet or as thick as the stout at 2Kids. It should satisfy my husband though I haven’t yet brought him by to try it.

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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Helms Brewing Company

February 7, 2014 Paul McGuire Leave a comment

To start off I want to mention that I did get my flight for no charge thanks to the generosity of the server. This is not going to impact my views as you will see here. Helms is an interesting brewery that most people probably haven’t been to before. Despite having an idea before where it was I was a bit surprised when I actually arrived at the brewery. A number of breweries I have been to were a bit out of the way but this one is pretty obscure and might confuse a few people the first time you go. Thankfully, the beers are so good that you won’t mind a little side trip to get there.

There were more beers on tap than I got to review here but I had already stopped by another brewery before and didn’t have the stomach or the interest to try everything. I include a picture of the rest of the offerings in case you like different styles.

Captain’s Pale ale

I was quite impressed by this one. It is a bit stronger than I might have liked for a pale ale (it isn’t a session like I have been searching for.) Still, it has some nice citrus flavors and has a nice balance despite the malts that are there like we typically see in an American Pale Ale. The tropical fruit flavors come forward nicely.

Wicked as Sin Rye IPA
This IPA hit the spot quite nicely. It has some amazing hop flavors with the Citra and mosaic hops. The rye balances it out nicely. This might be a new favorite of mine. I left the brewery with a 22oz bottle to enjoy later. The rye makes it taste somewhat similar to the blazing world from modern times and gives it a nice contrast to the hops. This is one of those IPAs that might interest your friends who hate IPAs, or in my case my husband. Though he typically hates all IPAs, he said this one was “not bad.”

Left to right, Imperial Stout, Imperial Porter, RIPA, IPA, Pale Ale,

Hop the RIPA
Though typically RIPA might stand for rye, this one stands for red. It has an interesting flavor but weighs heavy towards the malts. The flavors are based on an Irish red style, though for me it was a little too malty. The flavor is a bit on the syrupy side and sadly the hops don’t come through as much as I would like.
Beerucchino Imperial Coffee Porter
True to its name, this is a beer for coffee lovers. It has a nice smooth coffee flavor at the forefront with a light chocolate flavor on the back end. I wasn’t able to taste the pepper and almond wood that it says are in here but they might account for some of the mellow flavors it has. This beer really goes down easy despite its ABV of 7.2%
Chocolate night Imperial Stout
Hard to say what I don’t like here. The chocolate isn’t very prominent and the vanilla seems a little sour. Perhaps the malts were what got to me but I didn’t find that it had the flavors I like out of an imperial stout. Though my husband was quick to devour this one and thought it was nice because it wasn’t too bitter, I didn’t find the flavors hit the right spots.
Overall, I was quite impressed by the lineup and look forward to seeing some of these beers in a six-pack sometime in the future, especially the Pale Ale, Rye IPA, and Beerucchino. The Wicked As Sin has the types of hops I have come to love lately and would be worth picking up if you see it in stores near you.

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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Brewery/Restaurant

Karl Strauss Light and Hoppy Beers

January 30, 2014 Paul McGuire Leave a comment

Tonight I decided to stop by Karl Strauss in Downtown San Diego to see what they had on for Cask Night. I was excited when I saw that the cask beer was a mosaic session IPA. I always enjoy trying beers with single hops because it is a great way to familiarize myself with specific hop flavors. In this case, the mosaic hops were delicious and had a nice crisp grapefruit flavor that really gave some nice flavor to this beer.

After devouring this delicious cask, I went for the pale ale because I have been exploring local pale ales lately. I’ve already become quite familiar with most of the IPAs that Karl Strauss brews so I wanted to see if I could try something I might have overlooked before. I was pleasantly surprised with the flavors from the pale ale though it was still slightly more malty than I might have preferred. The hops give it a delicious amount of citrus bite that you can really feel in the mouth. Some of the hops go a little heavy on the piney flavors for my tastes though and so I wasn’t completely blown away. Still, it is one of the better San Diego pale ales out there.

If you are in the mood for something stronger, the Tower 10 IPA is always a great west coast IPA and they occasionally have some delicious double IPAs on tap as well.

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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San Diego Hop Addict

Tag Archives: Pale Ale

Alesmith San Diego Pale Ale in Honor of Tony Gwynn

Paul McGuire

Council Brewing, Impressive New Brewery

Paul McGuire

Pacific Brewing Company a Solid Start for a New Brewery

Paul McGuire

Helms Brewing Company

Paul McGuire

Karl Strauss Light and Hoppy Beers

Paul McGuire

Exploring San Diego's Craft Breweries