Takeout Rye IPA

Takeout hails from Squatters Craft Beers, a Utah institution since 1989.  It brings a solid 6.25% ABV in a 12oz bottle.  The label bears an old photo of some curlers, I think, going nuts over a stone knocked out of place.  The ale itself is multi-toned, pale amber in the glass with a tall head that dissipates quickly.  It’s clear filtered with plenty of bubbles.

The ale smells faintly of toasted malt with heavy hop overtones.  I’m drinking this in the wrong venue, my sunny backyard.  The bottle suggests using it to stay warm in winter.  Yet, the smell is inviting…something of brown sugar.  In the mouth it’s light at first, but the rye and hops combine forces to clamp down on my whole tongue.  The rye is at once sweet and spicy.  Abundant hops waits around the edges, lengthening the pleasant bitterness while leaving room for the bite of rye in the middle.  It feels like a firecracker.  It grabs the tongue in a bitter, fiery vice that gives way to a comfortable numbness, begging for another sip.

Overall, the bottle is right.  This is a spicy adventure of a beer that warms the palate and bites-but bites with flavor, not alcohol.  The rye and hops battle for supremacy on the edges of the palate.  It’s a rich, comforting sort of bitter.  Like the old guy on the front, ribbing his companion every time the throw is off, and his outburst the one time the stones connect, it’s all in good fun – the whole experience leaves one completely satisfied.

Total Domination Date Night

Those of you who know Ninkasi, know what I mean.  She won’t let you down, but don’t cross her-she always gets what she wants.  Appropriately, the TD IPA pounded my palate like a big breaker on the beach.  It’s a brash, commanding beer that lives up to its name…of course, when it was through charging down my throat, I looked at the bottom of the glass with dismay and immediately searched the horizon for the wait staff (It’s hard to get enough).  In this case, I had to make do with only one…the wife and had I slipped out for a mid-week date, but it had to be a short one on a school night.  We happened to stumble upon Maxwell’s half-0ff burger Tuesday, what a treat!  For the record, the burgers did a good job of dominating as well, satisfying even the most robust craving for a hunk of meat.  Thanks Ninkasi, and Maxwell, for setting the date night stage so perfectly.  I’ll leave the after party to your imagination.

Composition and California Brewing IPA, Baltic Porter

This place! I love sitting here, listening to music (often live) and watching the day fade away. The heat of the day mellows in to evening, and the mellow IPA compliments my repose. Occasionally the patio is packed with folks and I’m entertained to hear stories of life and travel. Sometimes I’m left to my memoirs. Either way the beer, brewed on site, is tasty and the atmosphere pleasant. As I have said before, you can’t get house food, local wine and house beer anywhere else in the area. Cheers, CBC, keep it up!

PS, I got a taste of the limited edition Baltic Porter and it was heavenly. It packs a wallop at over 8%, but you’d never know. Minimal carbonation gives it a cask feel, and the smooth caramel flavor is perfectly balanced with roasted malt character.

Firkin @ the Alehouse

Ah, cask ale. The tiny bubbles are so few and so tightly packed around the rim of my glass. This post also has a sub heading: Fall River’s Triple IPA, the Lip Rippa, full tasting. Let’s be honest, at 13%, Lip is a barleywine. Yet..it is disguised in warm tones. A friendly, mellow nose invites you in. The hops parade over my tongue gracefully, in huge number, but it’s not aggressive. There at the end is exposed a little bite of the true bite of this nectar, but just a hint. 

Beer Week Flash Pint

I got the random urge to get back out for beer week once again today. Alehouse Pub was having a Lagunitas tap takeover. I dropped in quickly for one pint…just for the feeling of having participated. What I didn’t know, and found out from a friendly patron, is that there is the opportunity to turn in my passport for a prize drawing- provided I get four stickers. This one and the ending ceremony will make 5!
This was Fusion 22, a strong and refreshing IPA. I don’t have tasting notes…just…gooood.

Redding Beer Week Lunch (Hump Day)

Ah, lunch.  That brief respite from the noise and chatter of business.  Redding Beer Week has been on my brain, and a little lunch date with myself seemed like just the thing…but business always seems to get in the way.  My wife took notice as I looked with longing at the schedule and read other blogs touting the joy of each Beer Week event.  As such, she offered to drop me at Carnegies for lunch-they boasted ‘all day’ pairings from Sierra Nevada.  By the time we arrived-strategically late to avoid the rush-they had closed the kitchen to prep for an evening event.  Sacrilege.  Want to see a grown man cry?  Take away his lunch plans!  Want to see him smile again?  Enter Mary’s Pizza Shack: they offered Wildcard Brewery pairings with a four course meal.  And I’m happy again.

But, you came to read about beer and/or food, not my memoirs.  Mary’s kicked it off with shrimp bruschetta paired with the Textbook Pale Ale.  The shrimp and sauce were flavorful, the beer cool and refreshing, un-complex but a good compliment to the rich appetizer.  Next, I dug in to Mary’s signature salad, and washed it down with the 530 Hometown Ale.  Hometown is another refreshing, light offering that sat like a quality canvass under the artistic Italian flavors mixed in to the salad.  The third course was my favorite-Double Down Imperial Red with Mary’s specialty Sopressata pizza.  The pizza is lively blend of arugula and strong meat flavors; the Red folded over it like a velvet blanket on a fragrant fall evening.  By this time, I was starting to slow down.  Course four featured Quattro Formaggio pizza-a simple classic, with the aggressive, hop forward support of Fresh Hop Double IPA.  As an avid IPA fan with a savory palate  finishing up in this manner was almost like having dessert.  After such a meal, nothing could remove the sweet smile from my lips.

Cheers!

“Anti” Redding Beer Week

An anti beer week event just for me: huge, reasonably priced Lagunitas at Jr’s Across the Way. It’s chill and close to home.  I’m not Anti Beer Week of course, but so many of these events are across town!  Looking over the schedule, I couldn’t find something compelling enough to make the weeknight trek and risk a cab fare.  Instead, my amazing wife said she’d drive me.  I chose JR’s because I could (potentially) walk home…which I did…more of a stumble really.  In any case, JR’s is nothing to sneer at-its a quiet, clean bar with friendly regulars and fantastic bartenders.  After all the many sample-size tasters I enjoyed at the beer week opener last Friday, this 22 oz mug was a welcome change.  As was the second.  And…well…you get the idea.

Cheers!

Miner Pints @Magnolia

During this week’s veritable heat wave in San Francisco, I was fortunate enough to be able to slip away for lunch with my sister. We walked to Magnolia through the veritable street fair that is The Haight. After dropping her mandolin at a music shop, we plopped down at the shabby chic brew-gastropub. There was a warm honey flavor to my Spud Boy’s cask IPA, refreshing on a hot day, it was smooth and pleasant. My sister described the Chez Panisse Farmhouse Belgian (from Calicraft Brewing) as having a fermented citrus flavor…also a perfect compliment to the afternoon sunshine. Prost! (It’s worth noting that our lunch was fantastic but…I’m a brew man, not a foodie.)

Shore Break on Sunday

The deceptiveness of this brew starts with the name which

implies a sunny beach origin while in fact the company is Wisconsin based.  It also sneaks up on you-I have no idea how I ended up tipsy sampling this brew on Sunday-after all, I forgot to eat breakfast and only put away five of the tall cans before sunset.  Two things about this offering make me smile: Pint sized packaging and aluminum cans!  The trend of putting good beer in cans is one that makes me happy because they travel so well.  I love to travel, but am challenged to pack light.  So far I’ve only seen Shore Break available at Fresh & Easy, but it’s a good buy so stop in and pick up a box of six pints for $10 whenever you get a chance.

Monday Night at Home with Torpedo

It’s robust enough to call itself an ‘extra’ IPA, though that’s not usually a word I use to describe my beer. Sometimes it’s all about context, though, and this one did happen to come to me because its owner had an extra. The hop character is as thick as a swarm of Green Bay defenders and every bit as confusing as the catch that ended tonight’s Monday night football game.  There is also a heavy undertone of alcohol, as obvious as a missed pass interference penalty, but also easy to deny in the face of other flavors. I’m babbling at this point of course, the effect of a direct hit from my second round of Torpedo, so I’ll sink to a conclusion-my feelings on this brew are similar to my feelings on replacement refs:  I’d rather have one than not, but it’s not my first choice.  Pick up a sixer if it’s on sale, but I would take a hard look at all the options first.