Not-so-local Brewery Spotlight: Oxbow Brewing Company

 

At the unparalleled restaurant Lion's Pride (which will be getting its own post), Reed tried a few beers from nearby Oxbow Brewing Company which is only a few months old and, it turns out, just a couple of guys making beer in the woods of Maine. Their slogan is "Loud Beer from a Quiet Place" - classic. They brew farmhouse ales, which I understand to be Belgian and pale ale styles mixed together to the limits of their imagination, using saison yeasts and lots of hops. We visited on a late October day, just after the region's first snowstorm of the season, and found the guys working away in the brewery, which is currently an unfinished building (on the outside at least, inside the full set up of tanks, barrels and other equipment are churning away) along a rural road in Newcastle, Maine.

Snow-capped kegs.

A brewery kitty greeted us (or perhaps she was just judging us, you can never tell with cats) as we walked by a surprisingly large pile of labelled kegs. I didn't expect the scale of distribution Oxbow has considering they've only being open a few months. Perhaps because of the business plan itself, the geographic differences in Maine versus Southern California or maybe because no other local brewery is doing what they do - it seems these guys really get around. Hopefully all the way to the other corner of the country soon enough!

We walked in while they were conducting an experiment, mixing their Freestyle #1, a super saison (which as far as I can tell means they added as many hops as possible during the brewing process), and Freestyle #2, a smoked chocolate stout. It's good to be a brewer on days where this is what constitutes work. As you can probably guess, it was a bit too hoppy for my usual tastes but by this time we'd been beer-tasting for days and I had declared myself a beer snob less than 48 hours earlier (that story coming soon). Reed and the head brewer chatted for awhile and then we filled up a few growlers to take to a Halloween party and left. In Massachusetts there is no ridiculous law (I'm looking at you California) that limits growlers being filled only with the type of beer printed on the glass. I was told that the only growler Oxbow won't fill is a dirty one, so that's a nice perk.

Beer to go!

While we were traveling back east, so was Greg Koch, co-founder of Stone and I guess technically my husband's boss, who was promoting his book. I imagine he was being whisked around and didn't have as much time as he would probably like to check out local breweries and beer bars. So I like to think of us as filling that role, San Diego craft beer ambassadors - bravely traveling to the far reaches of this great country and bringing news of the many worthy shrines to craft beer back home with us. Reed has been sharing highlights with co-workers and friends no doubt, and I do it via this blog. Luckily for us both, I break out a pen and paper almost every time we order a beer because, especially in New England it seems, you can never have just one and details can be hazy by morning. Anyway, the point is that Oxbow Brewing Company is definitely on par with the better end of breweries we have in San Diego (I include in this list Stone, Green Flash, Alesmith, among others) and I cannot wait to see what they become. People within a 100 mile radius of them are lucky, and hopefully the rest of us will be soon enough when Oxbow gets recognized for the quality and inventiveness they possess. I think they're a perfect candidate for a collaboration with Stone - wouldn't an "opposite corners of the country" collaboration be great? Maybe get a Washington and Florida brewery in on it, just for fun. Reed and I can take on the daunting task of finding good candidates in those states too and report back.

New England Round-up

A selection of Harpoon (MA) and Long Trail (VT) beers keep cold in the first snow of the season.

I'm now on a research trip across the North Atlantic, I won't be back in San Diego until just before the holidays. It's weird to be gone for so long but Reed and I try to make the best of it. He came out to New England with me for a week to do some sight-seeing, hang out with friends and, naturally, drink a lot of local beer. The people we stayed with read my blog and were prepared for our visit.

A seriously excellent combination for a snowy day.

Needless to say we had a wonderful time and the region can definitely hold its own with San Diego for good local breweries and beer snob-friendly places. We visited everything from a 3 man operation in the woods of Maine to the grandaddy of all craft beer, Sam Adams, with a stop at Allagash, one of my favorites, along the way as well.

Add caption

This is my home for the next 5 weeks. A dry ship crossing the North Atlantic from Massachusetts to the Cape Verde islands off Africa. Wish me luck!

Isn't this a great idea?

 

After a rainy tour of Fenway Park, Reed and I ducked into Boston Beer Works to warm up with some soup and beer. Behind the bar is this sign, which has their beer list color-coded! What a simple but ingenious design, in my opinion. 

I had the Beantown Nut Brown Ale, which was quite tasty, and then we walked back to our hotel in the rain.

More New England posts to come, I've got 6 drafts just waiting to be hammered out but I've been busy getting ready for departure, which is now about 30 minutes off!

Not-so-Local Brewery Spotlight: Samuel Adams Brewery - craft beer at its largest

While preparing for our trip back east I asked friends for suggestions of things to do in Boston. Multiple people (and AAA) recommended the Samuel Adams Brewery tour. I'm not usually one for brewery tours because there is very little that is different from place to place. "Here's the fermenters, there's the bottling line, smell these hops, etc etc." But I also don't turn down free alcohol and it felt like if I'm going to really commit to this craft beer lifestyle (which, let's face it, I already have) then I should go to the source, the biggest craft brewery of them all.

Tasting room smiles.

A smaller than expected complex in a suburban neighborhood of Boston houses the original brewery which is now used mostly for small experimental batches while larger facilities in Philadelphia and Cincinnati do most of the production and bottling. The lobby area is also a trophy room with many cases of medals and even a large silver cup awarded for having the most awards by one brewery. The tour is standard, with a funny guide who shows you the basic operations and tells you why beer is an important part of American history. I couldn't help but look for the guys from the commercials, one of the brewer's beards may or may not have influenced Reed to grow his own. In no time we were whisked into the tasting room to sit down at long wooden tables while pitchers of beer were poured and the importance of drinking quality beer was explained through a series of steps to follow when drinking and evaluating beer. Turns out the tastebuds at the front of your tongue are going to deliver more of the sweet flavors while those at the back will pick up the bitter notes. How did I not know about this? I have since vowed to taste more beers at the front of my mouth in order to let the malty flavors be experienced before the bitterness of the hops takes over. 

We tried 4 of their beers, the Boston lager, Oktoberfest, Harvest Pumpkin and White, and I liked them all. Even Reed enjoyed the pumpkin one, which tasted of nutmeg but not in an overwhelming way. A quick spin through their gift shop, where I bought a 22 of their American Kriek which I had days later and thoroughly enjoyed. Cherry beers can go horribly wrong, often tasting like cough syrup - but this one was delightful. Afterwards we boarded a free shuttle to a local pub for lunch where we tried a few more varieties of their beer in their potentially over-designed pint glasses before being shuttled back to the T station.

All in all it was an enjoyable visit. I was worried that it would feel big, and maybe evil - the way I imagine a tour of Anheuser-Busch would feel. Sam Adams is the #1 craft brewer in the US which makes them feel like the enemy, but their sales still only make up 1% of the beer market compared to AB's 55%. I've seen the documentary Beer Wars, about the crazy market share discrepancy and how the already enormous companies continue to do everything they can to get bigger and bigger. It's very off-putting and made me an even stronger supporter of local breweries like Stone and the way they conduct themselves. So I wasn't sure what to expect from Sam Adams, but I got the same feeling being there as their commercials dole out - they care about making good beer and selling it to people who will appreciate it. I get the impression that Sam Adams takes being #1 very seriously, as it means that the line of people being converted from fizzy yellow beer to the good stuff goes through them.

Stone Brewing Co, making my life better since 2006

In my previous spotlight review, I hope I made it clear that I love Stone Brewing Company, even though I never liked any of their beers. Note the past tense "liked" because now I do like one, and need to recheck them all! It all happened one evening last month after a lovely (as always) visit to Hess Brewing. I had expected it to be Tri-tip Thursday, where they serve up free bbq, but it wasn't so after we closed the tasting room down we were starving! Mike S. suggested Bangin' Burgers, which is nearby on Miramar and has a great selection of burgers and local beers on tap. They have a food truck too that sometimes shows up at Green Flash. Anyway, Reed ordered a Stone Arrogant Bastard to go with our burgers and tots. I had a sip. I liked it! Both Reed and I were confused. I wrote it off as a one-time thing, I had already been drinking so perhaps my taste-buds were dulled enough to not be overwhelmed. That was the end of it, or so I thought.

I have been holding off on mentioning it here since I really do believe in jinxing things - but Reed now works at Stone as an assistant brewer! It's safe to say that this is the job he's been aspiring to ever since he started his job search 2 years ago. It all came about just the way I thought it would in the end - after a day of drinking beer, talking to people, and making the right connection. He did have to quit his part-time serving job at Green Flash and can no longer brew at Hess - but hopefully it will all be worth it. The schedule will take some getting used to since Stone brews 24/7, but it seems downright normal compared to mine sometimes (I leave tonight and won't be home again until December 19). Anyway, Reed brought home a growler of Arrogant Bastard last week, with this tag attached 

Ready made business card.

I had a small glass while cooking Thanksgiving dinner (I celebrated the holiday early since I'll be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for the real one) and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Perhaps, just as I'd given up on having a more mature palate it just happened. The other beer I drank during the weekend was Hess' Vienna Cream Ale, which I've always enjoyed. I think it may have been the gateway beer. There's something almost sweet to it, like a mix of a dark beer and cream soda. A friend took a sip from my glass and exclaimed "Wow, that actually tastes like beer!" I concede that it's a reasonable enough assumption that anything I'm drinking is more likely to taste like oranges or herbs than "real beer."
It feels like fate that Reed beginning work at Stone coincides with the discovery that I like Arrogant Bastard Ale; both are life-changing. Next up I'll have to go back and try as many types of Stone beer as possible. Like I said, I leave tonight and won't be back in San Diego for 2 months, and 6 weeks of that is spent on a dry research boat...but I have a new quest - even if it will have to delayed somewhat. You can be sure that I'll write about it here.

Weekend Roundup

I've been a mix of busy and uninspired recently, thus the lack of new blog posts. This in no way means that my life is not still completely ruled by beer. I went away for a quick trip to Anza Borrego Desert State Park this weekend with some girlfriends and returned to this in my garage.

No explanation from Reed, just a stack of cases of beer appear - like that's just a normal part of everyday life. Which it really has become at this point, and he and our beer loving friends are all quite spoiled.
On our way out to the desert we stopped in at Julian Hard Cider. I had spent some time at their booth at the Stone 15th Anniversary event last month; their cider is amazing, flavorful and dry. It's become part of the experience to stop and buy apple pie from Mom's on the trip out to Anza Borrego, and I wanted to check out the Julian Hard Cider storefront in Wynola as well and hopefully buy some Cherry Bomb. It's a cute little shop that looks straight out of the wild west (it was actually made using wood from old Julian buildings).

They'll sell you 2oz tasters for $2 (which comes close to setting off my rip-off alarm) and 22oz of their ciders, which you can also find in more and more bottle shops around San Diego. They did not, however, have the Cherry Bomb cider bottled and ready for sale yet (3 more weeks I was told), but we did have a taster which reminded me of its near-perfection. Cherry alcohol in general I find is prone to tasting either overly sweet or like cough syrup, neither of which is ok. Luckily this bucks that trend and my beer loving friends agreed that it is quite tasty and we need more of it in our lives.
Upon checking in at the cidery with Foursquare, I was presented with this summary screen.

This makes me very happy, especially when you consider that I've only been in San Diego for 3 out of the past 6 months. I think this shows a life well spent: traveling, quality drinking and the occasional movie with my husband.
I have some ideas for blog posts that require some research and that, frankly, is why they are not posted yet. I'll get to this soon, though not before next week. Sunday is my birthday. This coincides with the Great American Beer Festival and for awhile there Reed and I were talking about going out to Denver for it. Though not a difficult sacrifice on my part, this would have been further fodder for my self-imposed Beer Widow designation. I am not guaranteed to be at home or even on land for my birthday or holidays in general, I have been at work out at sea for Reed's birthday and our wedding anniversary in the past. So I decided to be selfish, and instead we're going to Las Vegas to party, relax, repeat. When I return expect to see posts about stupid laws relating to beer and a discussion on whether craft beer can be the great equalizer.

One of Us

Don't judge a liquor store by its exterior.

I was in Ocean Beach yesterday visiting a good friend. We walked to People's Co-op to buy some groceries for dinner and then stopped into the OB Quik Stop on Voltaire at Bacon. I had wandered into this place once before when I was in the area and starving; while I was waiting for my sandwich to be made I checked out the refrigerated beer section and was quite impressed with their bomber selection and made a mental note to tell Reed. So yesterday I decided to stop in and find something nice to pair with dinner; I had wine in mind. There is a full aisle of floor to ceiling wine bottles, all of which looked lovely. However, when we rounded the corner into the beer aisle we found this, and any thought of wine disappeared.

750mls of Duchesse de Bourgogne! I've never seen these on sale before, and to find it next to the assorted nuts in an inauspicious shop in OB completely blew my mind. If you've never had the duchesse before, it's a red ale that gets the balance between fruity and sour exactly right. Needless to say we bought one (why just one I have no idea) and it paired quite excellently with our gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade coconut chipotle corn chowder.
Apparently I am not the only one to notice the excellent selection here, as it has its own entry on Beer Advocate. Below is a quick picture I took of some of the bomber selection, as you can see lots of local breweries are represented. There are of course the standard MGDs and Bud Lights, but the shelf space taken up by macrobrews is the least I've ever seen anywhere.

As they say, everything we really need to know we learned in kindergarten. Don't judge a book by its cover. You'd never know this convenience store from any other just by pulling into the parking lot but the treasures that wait in its beer selection are really quite amazing, and a great find. I will definitely be back - especially since I just looked them up on Twitter and most of their tweets announce sales of 50% off wine and 22oz beers, sweet!

Local Hangout: Blind Lady Ale House

http://blindlady.blogspot.com/

Blind Lady Ale House, or BLAH, is an excellent place to hold court: people can come and go, there's usually an open table and you can grab a quick pint or order 3 courses and a bottle of wine in a busy-without-being-noisy environment. The draft list is reliably diverse and exciting, a who's who of craft breweries both local and international: Alesmith, Victory, Ballast Point, Lost Abbey and Avery were all represented on my most recent visit. I was tempted by a large variety of whites, wheats, sours and lambics - and the menu still had plenty of room for beers my friends enjoy (imperial IPAs for example) and even a few pilsners and lagers for the spillover crowd from nearby Triple Crown or Rosy O'Grady's. The food is all tasty, organic, local fare including salads, cheese plates and pizzas, with such unconventional toppings as eggplant, egg and chorizo. We have been disappointed with the desserts and usually just cross the street to Lestat's for cheap takeout treats that will rock your world as long as you get out of there before all the artistic angst has time to overwhelm you.

A place where we can all be happy.

I've been accused of being a hipster for frequenting Blind Lady. I'm still a little unclear as to what the qualifications are - I am not overly pensive or artistic and, despite my best efforts, I can't seem to get Reed into skinny jeans or guy-liner. There are some seriously bro-friendly bars nearby, where Corona is often the classiest beer on the menu, which is how BLAH gets a reputation for beer snobbery. But this is a good thing, and it's not intimidating. Choosing from their tap list seems daunting, but I've always found the pouring staff to be friendly and patient, offering tasting notes and a quick splash if you need a sample before committing. I tried some different sours on my last visit and learned from the server about Flanders reds, a style of aged red ale, that I really enjoy. It's always great to have a whole new style opened up to me and this is one I'm surprised I didn't already know much about, considering it's described as the most wine-like of beers.
Blind Lady is where I first heard about the honest pint, though I have since seen it at many establishments in San Diego, including Hess Brewery. The glassware is marked with a fill line listing the volume, so you know it's not a "cheater" pint glass, like too many are. This is one of Reed's pet peeves - have you ever poured a bottle of beer into a supposed pint glass and noticed that it's basically full? Bottles are 12 ounces, pints are 16. That's quite a difference. You know what you're getting at Blind Lady, be sure to check the board as the pour volumes vary (0.5 liters for most, but some are 0.25).

Overall, Blind Lady is an excellent place to eat, drink and be merry. The proprietor is a brewer who used to work at Stone and has now started Automatic Brewing Company, which admittedly I know very little about. I'll have to take one for the team, find out more, and report back. BLAH is also a big part of the community and has a lot of events and tastings. It's a stop along the Drinkabout, which is something I keep saying I'll do but haven't yet. Clearly, there will be some followup posts about Blind Lady as it's a big part of beer culture in San Diego and in my life.

Local Brewery Spotlight: Alpine Beer Company

 

http://www.alpinebeerco.com

Spoiler alert: you will leave this place full, perhaps uncomfortably so, due to their vast beer selection and tasty barbecue. Some friends and I piled into the car for the drive out to the brew pub and tasting room in Alpine, which really isn't as far away as you think it is. Reed and I had been there once before and returned home with two growlers, one each since we couldn't agree. It seems there are not many Alpine beers that novices like me enjoy that my beer snob friends do too, and vice versa. The friends I went with focused their attention mostly on the large (even by San Diego standards) range of IPAs including west coast doubles and even a triple (Pure Hoppiness and Exponential Hoppiness, respectively) and a golden rye (the apparently excellent standby Nelson). If you've read any of my other posts you will know that, for me, hoppiness does not equal happiness. However, that hardly slows me down at Alpine; Reed ended up being the designated driver because there were so many things that I really enjoyed, especially the Willy Vanilly, a wheat ale made with vanilla extract.
Reed and I did both enjoy the McIlhenney's Irish Red and we all enjoyed the Token, an imperial hazelnut porter, which Reed reported got even tastier as it warmed up and the bourbon flavors emerged. Mine was already long gone so I couldn't confirm it, but we did buy some bottles of this limited edition release so I can test this out for myself. There were 15 beers on tap out of the 29 listed in their descriptive handout, and some that were not offered the day we went sound amazing. You can bet that I will be checking back to find out when they've got Ned (a red ale aged in red wine barrels!), Crazy Hazel (a hazelnut brown ale), Odin's Raven (a Russian Imperial Stout made with Hershey's syrup, agave, brown sugar and molasses!) and their barleywines Good and Great (which is Good aged in whiskey barrels).
There's is the most ingenious way of keeping tasters organized - you make a numbered list of what you want ($2 each or 6 for $10) and they bring out the 5oz glasses in a numbered cupcake tin. This is easy on everybody as you don't have to remember what you ordered or which is which and the server doesn't get harassed when you inevitably forget.

Reed approves.

The brew pub is basically a bbq restaurant, with such staples as pulled pork, ribs and sweet potato fries, plus Alpine beers on tap. It is in east county so the average clientele is different from what I'm used to, what with the cowboy hats and pickup trucks, but we can all get behind the idea of well made beer, right? In addition to tasters, you can order pints and pitchers and they also do a bunch of mixtures which I find very intriguing. I had one that was their Mandarin Nectar (honey ale) and almond champagne that was fantastic and tasted like dessert. Other mixtures are of two of their beer varieties, for example there's the "Captain-n-Vanille" which is Captain Stout and Willy Vanilly and "The Red Head Bites" mixes Irish Red and Pure Hoppiness. 
Separate from the brew pub, but in the same building, is the brewery itself, where you can get small tasters for $1.50 and purchase 22oz bottles, growler fills ($10 for the glass, $10-13 for the fill) as well as goodies like t-shirts and pint glasses.
Many Alpine beers are on tap at the usual places (O'Brien's, Toronado, Ritual Tavern) so I'm unlikely to drive out to the brewery itself more than a couple times a year, but it is worth doing. I am really quite amazed at how many beers they make and distribute throughout the county, considering that the whole operation fits into a quaint little building out in Alpine. 

The gang, after a few.

Local Brewery Spotlight: Green Flash Brewing Company

http://www.greenflashbrew.com/tasting-room.php

I had never tried a beer from Green Flash before Reed started working there. I was missing out, it has by far the largest Melissa-friendly selection of any local brewery. It is also the creator of a few of my friends' desert island beers (if you had to drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be?). This is a place we can all be happy and carpools are carefully planned. Like most San Diego breweries they tend to get a little hop-happy for my taste, as in their popular West Coast IPA, which takes up 50% of their brewing operations, and the beer snob-friendly 30th St. Pale Ale. However, many of their beers are Belgian style, meaning an overall sweeter flavor due to the yeast varieties used. When San Diego and Belgian styles mix, as in their IPA Le Freak, my friends are huge fans but I dislike the flavor of hops more than I like the Belgian influences. Which at Green Flash still leaves me with plenty of options. In particular, I love the Belgian Brown (which they recently ran out of, making the growler in my fridge a hot commodity), Sugar Smack (a Belgian dubbel), Summer Saison and older barleywines. Reed remains suspicious of my love of barleywines, but has helped me determine that I only like them once they've aged a bit, removing that "sharp" flavor and replacing it with a smooth, savory, overall pleasing effect.
Green Flash's new digs are fantastic as well, the brewery and all its operations having recently moved to Mira Mesa. The tasting room is a large area sectioned off by wood bar-counters in full view of the brewing, aging, bottling and warehouse operations. It's a surprisingly intimate experience considering the sheer size of the place; you feel as though you're a part of this great achievement, the turning of solid ingredients into liquid awesomeness. I'm told that tours will be starting up soon, making a visit to Green Flash the best adventure into craft brewing you can get without a 3D simulator (though wouldn't that be awesome?).

Currently they're aging two different stouts (Silva and Black Freak) in bourbon barrels and barleywine in brandy barrels!

The prices are dangerously reasonable, with a 4oz taster of most styles for $1 and a pint for $4. Some are only 13oz pours, but that's for your own good as the ABVs quickly climb into double digits. There's also an outdoor area and usually a food truck parked outside to tempt you to stay all day. If you want to do a thorough tasting of what they have to offer, I highly recommend stopping by during a slower shift (earlier afternoons, Sundays) so that your server has time to give you tasting notes and offer suggestions. If you know what you want then busy times like Friday after work are fine, though you may be surrounded by men in polo shirts with phones clipped to their belts, a result of its location near the Qualcomm buildings I assume. But hey, that's better than having to trek up to Vista, which is where Green Flash started out. You can also take many of their beers home with you, bottled, kegged or in growlers ($5 for the glass and $12-17 for fills). They sell a huge selection of Green Flash gear, from growler cozies to beach towels to the usual suspects like pint glasses, bottle openers and t-shirts. I consistently see Green Flash beers on tap around San Diego, and we even saw it on sale in Japan, but you just can't beat a visit to the tasting room.

If this guy serves you a beer, say hi to him for me.

The Things We Do For Love

My first love, the ocean.

If I am a beer widow then Reed is an ocean widower. Since I was a child I have loved the ocean and been drawn to it. Whenever possible, at home and when we travel, I am in the water swimming, snorkeling or scuba-diving. Reed turns purple and gets out into the sun long before I’m done. I volunteer at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps and my favorite thing to do is wander the hall of fishes and say hi to the cuttlefish, abalone and giant sea bass. I chose a job that sends me out to sea all over the world for 3-5 months a year. Even when I’m out for months at a time, I still find my peace each day by spending a quiet moment gazing at the horizon, where the water meets the sky.

It’s important to involve yourself with your spouse’s passions. Considering what Reed has had to say “yes, of course dear” to, it really is only fair that I reciprocate. He stays home and takes care of the bills, the pets and our life here in general when I get sent off for work – so I can smile and nod when he goes on about mashing and yeast varieties. And there’s perks for both of us in this, proportionate to our sacrifices. I have been pleasantly surprised by how many beers I do enjoy. I never would have spent time on this sort of research if it wasn’t done in support of Reed’s hobby/obsession. And in the past 15 months Reed has met me in Alaska, South Africa and Japan for vacations scheduled around my work trips.

Support Your Spouse: Oktoberfest in Tokyo.

And so it was with his sacrifices in mind that I said “of course dear” when he proposed the idea of a kegerator. A full-sized second refrigerator now lives on our back porch and will supposedly have up to 15 gallons of beer in it at all times – from now until eternity. It required a small monetary investment - the fridge on craigslist, a carbon dioxide tank and a kit of accessories - and a couple of hours of work on his part to drill the hole and plumb the whole thing. And you know what? I kind of love it. It looks professional and Reed plans to make a custom tap handle for it, some sort of family crest or something. I told him he should just get a Miller High Life one; it's our last name, not our favorite beer or anything - but I think he just can't handle the implications. A friend pointed out to me that any keg could go in there, like perhaps a cider. I know better than to hold out any hope of that, but I enjoy pouring beers out of our new addition - even if I won't enjoy drinking any.

Local Brewery Spotlight: Hess Brewing

http://hessbrewing.com/findus.html

I am quite partial to Hess Brewing, a self-proclaimed nano-brewery, and not just because they were the first to help Reed break into the beer industry. It's true that this is where he started as a volunteer brewing assistant, usually at 4am on a Saturday, but it's also true that this is just an excellent place to be. The whole operation fits into 800 square feet in a nondescript warehouse area between Miramar and Mira Mesa. During tasting room hours (Wednesday-Saturday) they have to roll the brewing tanks outside to make room for customers.
Certain Thursdays are deemed Tri-Tip Thursdays and involve some truly excellent barbecuing free of charge in the hopes that you'll stick around longer and sample the beers. Needless to say on Thursday, September 15 this is where I will be. Once a month they host the Friday Afternoon Club with a band and food truck; the next one will be September 16. In the few short months since it began, it's turned into quite the scene and is not really a good opportunity for a first visit. A better way is to show up on a normal day and pay $10 for an honest pint glass and 5 tasters of your choice (they had 8 taps on during my most recent visit). Two of these were the stout, one with nitrogen instead of the usual carbon dioxide connected to the keg. There was an obvious difference in appearance and taste, so if you like sweeter stouts I recommend the nitrogen.

CO2 versus N2

They are a San Diego brewery which means their pale ale is a triple, their stout is an imperial and their IPA is black. I'm relegated to the crisp kolsch and the vienna cream ale, which tastes like a pleasing mix of cream soda and brown ale.
Hess recently celebrated their one year anniversary with a special bottling of a belgian IPA, but usually the only way to take home their beer is in one of their awesome growlers. Mike Hess is often around and the same guy, Mike Skubic, is pretty much always behind the counter. They are present at the local festivals and during San Diego Beer Week, there is talk of expansion, and they are currently barrel aging for the first time, so I expect good things from Hess for years to come.

Taking some to go!

Finish this sentence: If you ever see me drinking a Bud Lite Lime...

One of my most excellent friends sent me a link to this e-card, I assume in response to my "Our Friends, the Enablers" post. I hope you find it as hilarious as I do. Upon showing it to a few of my beer snob friends they decided that this will in fact be their signal if they are ever kidnapped. I've been watching a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer recently and it occurs to me that I would not have any trouble knowing my friends from demon impersonators, as long as I took them to a bar and watched what they ordered. So that's reassuring at least.

Local Brewery Spotlight: Stone Brewing Company

http://www.stonebrew.com/visit/

Having a review section on this blog seems obligatory, but it may be about the tasting rooms and special events more than it's about the beer since I am not the ideal candidate for that type of review. The logical brewery to start with is Stone, since this is where I began my (somewhat forced) beer education. I should start off by saying that I do not like their beers, they are too hardcore for my palate. It's just a fact, I am indeed not worthy.  In general, I do not need my hops with a side of hops, or my stouts to be imperial. That being said, I love the Stone Brewing Company itself. For their elegant bistro and its enchanting bottle list, for their summer movies in the garden, for their festivals, for their collaborations with other microbreweries both local and international, and for their general big-without-being-evil mentality. They truly are a tour de force, selling everything from bike jerseys to books to beer cheese. Plus I got to meet Wil Wheaton (just kidding, here's the link you should actually use if you want to know more about him) when he stopped by for a book reading and, I'm assuming, some Arrogant Bastard Ale.
My beer snob husband and beer snob friends all love Stone Brewery. A recent beer club evening was themed "labels with animals" with the clarification that gargoyles are in fact animals. Two of our good friends even got married at Stone World Bistro and Gardens, with the overdone unity candle tradition being replaced with the mixing in one glass of their two favorite beers. The bride also got to choose two kegs to be available that night, one of which she mercifully made a cider for us weaklings.

His (Alesmith X) and hers (Stone Cali-belgique).

On the way home from a recent trip to Disneyland, Reed appealed to my love of taking a different route home than I took to get there (this applies to everything from going to the grocery store to cross-country roadtrips) by suggesting we take Highway 78. As I made the turn he casually mentioned that in 40 minutes bottles of Stone's 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout would be going on sale in the Stone company store. This particular beer is one of his favorites and is now 3 years old and only getting better (or so I'm told). Releases of it are few and far between so of course we made the detour and were first in line to buy the one 22oz bottle each that was the limit. This is the really nice thing about living in San Diego, as if the weather and ocean weren't enough. Stone Brewing Company is a huge presence here and so many of the perks are available locally, including special releases, growler fills from their Escondido and new South Park locations, and some seriously big expansions coming up.
We recently attended the Stone 15th Anniversary Celebration and Invitational Beer Festival. Stone's anniversary happens to be very close to our wedding anniversary and so all-access passes were Reed's gift from me this year. The phrase "kid in a candy store" comes to mind. We were there for both of the regular tasting sessions and had wristbands that got us into the rare beer area as well. I have learned that in addition to the belgians and wheats that I like (don't judge me!), I also really like barleywines. This puzzles Reed. In this rare beer tasting area, I had 4 ounces of 2006 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine aged in bourbon barrels that changed my life. I savored it, which is probably a first for me and a beer of any type. I can neither confirm nor deny that "Dreamweaver" was playing while I drank from my taster glass in slow motion. Reed used up most of his tabs on beers from this area, including the 12th Anniversary he loves so much aged in bourbon barrels and two Stone releases I'd never heard of (and we actually had to google since the volunteer pourers could only tell us that "I think there's pepper in it or something") called Crime and Punishment, both of which apparently resulted from an over-abundance of chili peppers in the CEO's garden. I mean, who does stuff like this? Answer: Stone does. Because they're inspired and, I'm assuming, because in one of those cliche moments, no one told them they couldn't.
There were also plenty of other breweries represented in the rare beer area and, of course, in the festival at large. I was easily able to find beers that were to my liking and a couple of cider makers that impressed me; the nearby Julian Hard Cider's Cherry Bomb was delightful and Crispin's addition of sake yeast to its Cho-Tokkyu left me wanting more. The lines for Lost Abbey and Russian River breweries were consistently the longest, along with that for the Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale onion rings. Some of my beer snob friends were disappointed that the addition of a separate rare beer area meant that most booths in the regular sessions didn't have anything too different or exciting, making it hard for them to find even 10 beers "worth" a tab off their wristbands. I think this must be partially true, but is also a result of the amazing beer selections that we in San Diego can find at local restaurants and bottle shops. Because of places like Stone, its hard for the beer snobs in my life to find beers that they haven't tried yet. Oh boo-hoo.

Always a good time, at Stone bistro with friends.

Love means never having to say you're sorry

What a crock. I don't claim to have all the answers, but in my marriage love means never having to worry about a DD. When we go to a place with a large craft beer selection, I drive home. When I'm just back from  research trip that involves weeks of 12 hour workdays everyday on a dry ship, Reed is the designated driver for awhile. This applies to more than just my marriage, I see it in all our good friends as well. Our friends who got married at Stone were smart enough to rent a party bus to take us all to and from Escondido, so no one had to be DD. Lots of our friends choose where they live based on being within walking distance of 30th St. Love of each other, ourselves, and the random strangers we'd be putting in harm's way makes it an easy decision.
In college there were times that the supposed designated driver partied harder than anyone, forcing someone else to sober up and take the keys. That kind of thing doesn't happen to me anymore which, as much as anything, reminds me what a great husband and caring friends I have.
My dad often quotes a scene in Star Trek IV: The One with the Whales where Spock is speaking to his dad after the crew of the Enterprise has been reprimanded for their shenanigans. Sarek says "Your associates are people of good character" and Spock replies "They are my friends." Spock is basically saying "Well duh" in Vulcan, like why would he bother with people of any other level of character. I am not ashamed to admit that high quality science fiction has influenced who I am, and I've been moving more and more to this way of thinking during my adult life. There are some people I just don't bother with, and my life is the richer for it.

Live long, prosper, and make sure your friends are worthy.

Our Friends, the Enablers

Group camping trip at Joshua Tree National Park.

Reed and I have great friends. They've been supportive of us during tough times and always show up to my various "I'm leaving for 2 months!" and then obligatory "I'm back!" parties. I love them, I really do. But they are the biggest bunch of beer snobs I've ever met. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I love a complex glass of wine as much as any wine snob. But here's the difference - I also drink box wine. According to my philosophy, there's a time and a place for cheap booze in life. When I go into Green Flash to visit Reed I like to ask my server "So my favorite beer is Bud Light with Lime, which of yours should I try?" just to see the look of panic on their face. It's hilarious, I highly suggest you try it next time you're in an intimidating beer snob situation. I cannot imagine a situation when Reed or one of our friends would ever drink a Coors Light or Miller High Life. I am the designated driver when it comes to events like the Stone festivals and San Diego Beer Week, which always coincides with Reed's birthday. This year, for his 30th, I'm pretty sure I'll be renting a van and driving him and our friends around to various events all over the county in celebration of local craft beer.
Now I have been trying to get more into beer, mostly out of a desire to support my husband in his hobby of choice. For the better part of 2010 I ordered mostly beer when out on the town and tried all sorts. Mostly I learned what I don't like, with Reed teaching me the correct terms for those styles or ingredients I want to avoid - like bitterness (hops), a burnt flavor (roasted) and pretty much anything strong (imperial). My palate was advanced, but "only' to the level of lambics, wheat beers, belgian-styles, and the like. There's plenty of selection at local places like Ritual Tavern and Toronado to keep me happy, but for the most part I still prefer wine. With dinner or a piece of chocolate at the end of a long day and yes, sometimes even out of a box.

The first thing I want when I get off a dry research ship is a glass of red wine.
Here, with beer lovers, in Valparaiso, Chile.

And so it begins...

Two years ago I followed my passion and got a job at Scripps Institution of Oceanohraphy as a marine chemist. I work on research ships at sea for about 30 percent of the year, sometimes for months at a time. I had volunteered on a 10 day trip and knew that I had to find a way to get paid to be out at sea and travel. It was shocking the effect that a fulfilling job had on me, just telling people what I do feels like bragging.

Me on the ice in the Arctic during a research trip. Ignore the banana.

So in his new-found free time, I encouraged my husband to search for a job that would make him feel the same way. Write a list (this is actually my solution to everything) of five things that would seem a bit ridiculous to get paid to do. A quick aside, I gave this suggestion to a good friend recently who could only come up with two, sitting on the couch and scratching himself. Hopefully he's looking into a career as an underwear tester - I mean, these must exist right? Anyway, not surprisingly, the number one thing on Reed's list was "drink beer." Luckily we live in San Diego where there's a booming craft beer scene and this is a legitimate career path and possibly the only industry that is growing and adding jobs in this economy. So he started a job search to be involved in the craft beer industry in some capacity. A job search, I always say, that tops the usual ordeal. He went to all the tasting rooms, drank beer, and talked to the people behind the counter and in the brewery.
The other thing Reed loves is to know more about something than you - so he can drop some knowledge. It was a longer job search than he or I was hoping for or expecting, but he now works part-time at Green Flash Brewing as a tasting room server, where he pours beer and talks about it with customers. And the perks all come in liquid form. Living the dream.
Now something that I hadn't really planned on is just how much it's taken over our life. Stopping into every little brewery between Portland, Oregon and Homer, Alaska on a road trip last summer, trying out the vintner's side project brews during a day of wine tasting in Franschhoek, South Africa, tripping over the cases of beer that clutter my kitchen, and the recent purchase of a full-sized fridge to be converted into a kegerator and beer fridge - these are all parts of my life now.

Wine tasting in South Africa quickly turned into beer tasting.

No sip of beer is taken without his nose in the glass offering up such comments as "bananas!" or "coriander!" This from the man who only last year read wine-tasting notes off like they were part of a comedy routine, scoffing "leather?" "earth?" "black fruit, really?" while I swirled my glass and look apologetically at the server.
I can't take credit for creating this monster, but I sure as hell nudged him along.