Beer Makes it Better

I drink a lot of beer and i take pictures, then write about it.

[beermakesitbetter]

Cream Ale Kick I have been on a major cream ale kick lately. It all started when I picked up a bottle of Mother Earth Brewing's "Cali Creamin'" Cream ale and loved it. The strong vanilla taste combined with the smoothness had me hooked, so I went on a mission to find more cream ales. I could be missing some big ones, but I found Anderson Valley "Summer Solstice", Hess Brewing "Vienna-Style Cream Ale" and I was referred to Coachella Valley Brewing's Kolschella, because it was similar in brewing process. All 3 beers were awesome. Full of taste, creamy and satisfying. I highly recommend every single one of them. Coachella Valley Brewing company "Kolschella" 4 out of 5 stars for being a solid, good beer Hess Brewing "Vienna-style Cream Ale" 4 out of 5 stars for being delicious Anderson Valley Brewing "Summer Solstice" 4.5 out of 5 stars for being so smooth and creamy Mother Earth Brewing "Cali Creamin'" 5 out of 5 stars for being my favorite cream ale and having a strong Vanilla flavor. Amazing beer. Go get it!!!

[beermakesitbetter]

Better Beer Through Science! Science!!!

I don’t know if it’s necessarily better because of the science, but Lightning brewing make a damn good Lager. Their Ionizer Lager has a very smooth, clean taste that very much satisfies. Even with a relatively high ABV of 8.3%, this drinks like a much lower alcohol content beer. It’s almost like all the extras have been taken out and just the important stuff to make a good beer is left, leaving a very clean, clear, crisp taste. Good stuff.

Lightning Brewery Lightningbrewery.com Ionizer Lager 8.3% ABV 4.5 stars out of 5 - very clean tasting lager.

[beermakesitbetter]

I'm back. I neglected my beer writing and picture taking for a good cause. I'm back though, and don't anyone worry, my beer intake was not sacrificed. The above picture is only a microscopic portion of the beers I ingested. Some highlights include but are not limited too: Stochasticity grapefruit slam IPA Mondo's cream ale Coachella Valley Brewing Desert Swarm ( Great local brewery in Coachella, where i was working) Belching Beaver Dammed double IPA. The only uncomfortably bad beer was the Megadestroyer Stout. It had a very heavy taste of black licorice, and was just plain hard to get through. The bottle is cool though. Those are just the highlights I can think of. There were also all of the wonderful beers at the Craft Beer Barn at Coachella. I spent a lot of time "working" in there. Good fun, good beer.

[beermakesitbetter]

Wicks Brewing Company on VDay I somehow convinced my girlfriend with a ring to go to a brewery for Valentines day. Maybe that's why she does have the ring... Anyway, I had 6 of the 7 tasters available of Wicks brewing beers, all except the brown ale. The beers that stood out exceptionally to me were the Paladin pale ale, which was nice and hoppy, the Squire Cream Ale, very smooth, and the Freight Crane chocolate milk stout, which was pretty tasty. I didn't enjoy the MidKnight Raid black IPA much. It had a strong aftertaste that I found to be unpleasant. Not saying I didn't drink it all, but it wasn't my favorite. The GF with a ring and I also had the "wicked good" roast beef sandwiches, pretzel bites and apple tart, all if which were delicious. If you are in the inland empire and craving some beer, check out Wicks Brewing Company. Good stuff. Wicksbrewing.com

[beermakesitbetter]

Beerventures!!! I went beer tasting at Total Wine in Brea on Thursday 2-6 and as usual, it was a lot of fun. We had 13 different beer tasters in about 2 hours for $15. They provide the beer, pretzels, usually some pizza and waters. This particular beer class was on IPA's, my favorite style of beer currently. There were black IPAs, west coast, east coast, English style, doubles, imperials, and a few others I can't quite recall. It was interesting and fun to taste all the different beers at one time and really pay attention to the details and learn about them at the same time. It is also an easy way to try 13 different beers for cheap. Good times. Next month, the class is on Belgian beers and I am looking forward to this one already.

[beermakesitbetter]

Stone Brewing Lilliputian IPA & Double Dry Hopped IPA

I was recently able to fill up two of my growlers at Stone Brewing Escondido, and they had quite a few special releases on tap.  I had heard about the Double Dry Hopped IPA and knew that i wanted this beer, but i was unsure on the second.  I asked the bartender/checkout person what they recommended, and they said the Lilliputian.  It was described as a "session IPA", which sounded pretty good to me.  These two beers ended up being two of my favorites i have ever tasted.  

The Double Dry Hopped IPA tasted extremely fresh and piney, with a very dry finish.  It is based on Stone's wonderful IPA, so i knew it would be good to start with, but i did not expect how much the Dry Hopping would add to the overall taste of the IPA.  This is a damn good beer

6.9% ABV

4.75 out of 5 stars for being an almost perfect IPA

The Lilliputian IPA lacked some of the bite and piney qualities of the Double Dry Hopped IPA, but was still immensely fresh tasting.  This beer was very easy, smooth and refreshing to drink, and then drink more, and maybe another for good measure.  It kept me wanting more at the bottom of every glass, which is what i think makes an amazingly great beer.  Great work Stone Brewing!

4.9% ABV

5 out of 5 stars for being a perfect beer in my opinion.  I could go for another...

DISCLAIMER: I really like IPA's, so i am biased.

[beermakesitbetter]

Beer Adventure to Stone Farms

My latest "Beerventure" took me to to Stone Farms in Escondido.  As my girlfriend with a ring said, "Its like a park with beer!".  We had a great time walking around this real working farm and enjoying a beer.  The GF with a ring had the Stone Pale Ale w/ Lavender and i had the latest Stone 'Enjoy By'.  This 'Enjoy By' tasted exceedingly fresh and piney, and left me with a bit of a buzz. I cant remember if the ABV on the other 'Enjoy By's', but i think this one was at 8.7% or so, and it was damn good.  The GF said the Pale Ale w/ Lavender was excellent and had a very pleasant floral smell and taste.

Back to the Farm. We had a wonderfully relaxing walk around the farm, looking at the crops, chickens, goats and other farmy type things.  It was very interesting to see where some of the food that Stone Brewing serves in their restaurant comes from.  

[beermakesitbetter]

Boulevard Brewing Company - Tank 7 - Farmhouse Ale

TRY THIS BEER! It is delicious.  I had never heard of Boulevard Brewing Company before, but i saw the bottle at Costco of all places and decided to try it.  I was blown away by how much i enjoyed this beer.  Everything from the opaque, unfiltered straw color to the citrus and hoppy aroma, all the way to the taste.  Let me tell you, the taste was unlike any other beer i had ever had.  The hop bitterness collided with a fruity, dry sweetness to form a complex taste that i found to be truly great.  For having an ABV of 8.5%, it did not have a strong alcohol taste, nor was it heavy.  It almost reminded me of a lager.  I highly recommend finding this beer anywhere you can and trying it.  You wont be disappointed.  I will be keeping my eyes out for more beers from Boulevard Brewing Company.

8.5% ABV

$7.99 at Costco

5 out of 5 stars for being delicious

www.Boulevard.com

[beermakesitbetter]

Ninkasi Holiday Pack

I received the Ninkasi Holiday variety pack as a gift this last XMas.  Total Wines had a big display on an end cap and i had been curious to try it out, so i was excited when i received this treat.  4 different beers were in the pack; Imperiale High Gravity Stout, Vanilla Oatis oatmeal stout with vanilla, Total Domination IPA, and Sleighr dark double alt ale. The following are my thoughts on the 4 beers:

Imperiale High Gravity Stout - This had a malty flavor with a mild hoppy bitterness.  The label describes it as having a "big roast hit up front" and i would agree.  Pretty good dark and heavy beer.

9.1% ABV

2.5 stars out of 5 for being drinkable, but not amazing

Vanilla Oatis - Oatmeal Stout with vanilla - Just like with the Stone Brewing Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla, I expected more of a vanilla taste.  I mean, vanilla is the first word in the title, so i want to taste some vanilla.  Overall it was a very smooth drinking beer with a slight coffee taste.  It had a slight bitter taste to start and then smoothed out considerably, just hinting at the vanilla.

7.2% ABV

3.5 stars out of 5 for smoothness and i really like vanilla

Total Domination IPA - Meh, tasted like a lot of other IPA's, everyone has one, and this didnt come off as anything too special. Good, but not great.

6.7% ABV

2.5 stars out of 5 for being really average

Sleigh'r Dark Double Alt Ale- This is Ninkasi's seasonal release.  It had a pleasant mahogany color in the glass and had a very strong malty taste. I wasnt too into this beer, but it wasnt horrible.

7.2% ABV

2 stars out of 5 for not really keeping me interested in the taste.

Overall i liked the Ninkasi holiday pack, even though the individual beers didnt blow me away, i still felt it was a strong winter style beer gift set.

[beermakesitbetter]

Angry Orchard Hard Cider & Fireball Cinnamon Whisky

Absolutely Delicious! I know that this isnt beer, but it is still alcohol and so good that i feel the need to tell people about it.  I am unsure what the exact recipe is and i dont really care.  I have been mixing about 60/40 hard cider to Fireball whisky cause i like cinnamon, but feel free to change the ratio however you want.  The only thing that matters is that it is amazing and will fuck you up fast.  Go try it NOW!!!

Im not going to grade this cause it really isnt beer, but its damn good.

Fireball whisky costs vary depending on the size. Maybe $10 for a small bottle.  Angry Orchard Hard Cider is about $8 for a 6 pack. Whatever, Im now drunk on this grand concoction..

[beermakesitbetter]

Stone Brewing - CRIME

Honestly, what the fuck? who thought this beer was good? drinkable even? and then to put a $20 price tag on it! What the SHIT Stone? 

This Stone Brewing Lucky Bastard Ale with peppers added and aged in bourbon barrels brought to mind what burnt dirt might taste like in liquid form.  Then, for an added bonus, you get the burning sensation starting from your lips and going all the way down your throat, to your stomach, where it causes a ruckus there for a bit, then proceeds out of your body at a rapid pace.  I love spicy food.  This beer should have a Scoville rating though with a warning label.  It is undrinkable! i tried my hardest, especially since i didnt want to throw away $20, but 4 sips and i was done, or at least my body was telling me in no uncertain terms that it was done. Horrible.  Avoid this beer!

9.6% ABV

$20 for 500 ml bottle

0 out of 5 stars for being compared to burnt dirt.

arrogantbastard.com/500ml

[beermakesitbetter]

Stone Brewing Growler Fills - Suede Porter & 2013 Double Bastard

I was fortunate enough to visit Stone Brewing in Escondido before the end of the year and filled up 2 of my Stone Growlers.  They didnt have anything special on tap, so i chose the "Suede Porter" and 2013 "Double Bastard Ale", both aptly named. The two beers are a bit dark and/or strong for my normal drinking but, i was in the mood for dark, stong beers.  Some quick notes: The "Suede Porter", as its name suggests, is a very smooth, velvety beer and is not overpowering.  The 2013 "Double Bastard Ale" is a strong, heavy, kick your ass ale that does not apologize for kicking your ass.  Damn good.  If you are able to, it is always a good time to visit Stone Brewing in Escondido, get your growlers filled with fresh beer, and just walk around their grounds.  Its beautiful.

Suede Porter - 9.6% ABV

2013 Double Bastard Ale - 10% ABV

www.stonebrewing.com

[beermakesitbetter]

Rogue Ales Voodoo Doughnut w/ Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate

Its a beer in a bright pink bottle...what could go wrong, right?  I tried the Maple Bacon ale, and that bordered on undrinkable in my opinion, so i was hesitant to drink this latest collaboration between Rogue Ales and Voodoo Doughnuts.  I was pleasantly surprised. The dominant taste was definitely chocolate, but with a faint salty note on the end.  I even ate some pretzels with the beer to try to enhance the pretzel taste. I didnt get much of the raspberry, but that may just be a testament to how well Rogue Ales melded the tastes together.  Did i mention its in a bright pink bottle?

6.75% ABV

$13 for a large bottle

3.5 out of 5 stars for being drinkable and having a pink bottle 

[beermakesitbetter]

Stone Brewing "Southern Charred" (2012 Double Bastard Ale)

I was pretty excited to try this beer, especially with what i had read about it and especially the price tag for it.  I can now say that this beer is worth every penny.  The only description i have for this beer is complex.  Your tongue is assaulted with intense tastes from the tip of your tongue all the way down your throat. There is a strong smoky flavor throughout.  If you can get your hands on a bottle of this very limited release, i highly recommend it, even though it is a bit pricey, this bottle is well worth it.  Check out the picture of the back of the bottle for all the info on the bottling process.

12.6% ABV

$20 for a 500 ml bottle.  (Definitely could have used more...)

4.75 stars out of 5 for being an amazingly complex ale.  Good stuff

[beermakesitbetter]

Wicks Brewing Company - Cha Cha Cha Stout The description of this beer intrigued me. "Brewed with cherries, cocoa and chipotle peppers". I just couldn't resist! The tastes of the cherries and cocoa hot first with their sweetness, then once the brew goes past the back of your tongue, you get the spice of the peppers. It was a great combo and very well put together beer. I highly recommend visiting Wicks Brewing and trying this limited release. 6.8% ABV $5 for a 12 oz. glass Wicks Brewing company 11620 Sterling ave. Riverside, CA 951.689.2739

[beermakesitbetter]

Stone Brewing Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean

Stone Brewing is my favorite Brewery.  They make some great beers, are extremely creative with their beers, have a very strong brand and marketing team, and i feel they support and promote the whole craft beer community.  With that said, i was disappointed with this beer.  It was hyped up through eblasts, Stones website and Facebook.  Stone fans supposedly voted for this beer to make a return, but it just didnt do much for me.  It was a great smoked porter in its own right, but i wanted more vanilla bean, damnit!  I didnt taste or smell any vanilla at all in this beer, which was a bit disappointing for me.  The beer did have a very smokey flavor, with a slight bitterness to start.  it was smooth and fresh, as you expect all Stone beers to be.

5.9% ABV

$5.99 at Total Wine for 1 pt. 6 Fl. oz.

3.5 stars out of 5 for being a great Porter, but not having any vanilla

[beermakesitbetter]

A look at some beer tasting to come! Some early XMas gifts to myself...