Happy Thanksgiving!

Here we are, Thanksgiving is upon us once again and it’s time see the family and over-indulge in all sorts delicious treats, and that includes all sorts of fun winter specialties the breweries have started churning out.

Being a craft beer drinker/supporter/promoter and home-brewer in San Diego we definitely have a lot to be thankful for and as such I’d like to take a few minutes and name just of the things that craft beer enthusiasts in San Diego should be thankful for, not just for the holiday season but every day of the year.
So, in no particular order…
I’m thankful for… San Diego Breweries – Lets just get this one out of the way right off the bat. We are rapidly closing in on 100 breweries in the county of San Diego. There are so many that naming them all actually makes my brain cry. While the big guys like Stone, Ballast Point and Green Flash tend to get most of the attention one that I’m most thankful for is Societe Brewing. Those guys make great beer and there isn’t one that I don’t love on a shockingly intimate level.
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I’m thankful for… Craft Beer Bars – When out of town friends come to town and want to head out for a night of drinking, they are always surprised that we don’t head downtown or to Pacific Beach. Bottom line, over in those parts of town it’s amateur hour and as I’ve gotten older I no longer suffer fools lightly. The guys are very macho and want to fight.The girls are just over the line from being high class hookers. Instead we can go to North Park, or South Park or Normal Heights and a nice selection of other neighborhoods as well. Craft Beer bars are typically frequented by people who are just out having fun and know how to handle themselves when they get a little sloppy (It happen to the best of us) I can’t even remember the last time I saw a fight break out at Small Bar or Toronado or Hamilton’s. These bars have a great atmosphere about them and they aren’t filled with douch bags who are trying to slip roofies in to girls drinks. So that a bonus for all the ladies.
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I’m thankful for… Bottle shops – Maybe the bar scene isn’t for you, you’d rather spend your night at home sitting on the patio and relaxing with friends in the comfort of your own home where bathroom lines tend to be much shorter. This is why we are thankful to have such a  great selection of bottles shops as we do here in San Diego. Bottlecraft, Clem’s and Bine & Vine are just a few examples of truly outstanding shops where you can find a wide array of beers and styles from all over the world. The people in the shops are friendly, knowledgeable and make it really hard to find a bottle that won’t satisfy your refined palate.
I’m thankful for… Our local Homebrew supply stores. I’ve only been brewing beer for 6 months or so but it has quickly become something that I’m passionate about. While it’s great that there are a lot of local shops where I can find all ingredients and equipment a I need for making beer what I have enjoyed the most is getting to chat with the people who work in the stores and picking their brains for insights and their experience. The Homebrewer shop in North Park is quickly becoming a favorite.
I’m thankful for… All the really great people I’ve met and interacted with because of my blog and social media.
And finally,
I’m thankful for… my drinking buddies. I guess I can also call them my friends. Yes, this is completely sappy and mushy but that is what the holidays are for. I run with a great group of people and we tend to have way more fun than most people our ages usually do.  They are the best.
So let all go eat a ton of food and heed the wisdom of the great Louis C.K.
 louisck
Happy Thanksgiving!
Cheers,
Tom

A Real Trick R’ Treat : Gourmet Chocolate, Artisan Cheese & Craft Beer!

When we last spoke, I was busy extolling the virtues of pairing your favorite craft beers with as many varieties of foods and snacks as possible. The point being to further the idea that craft beer is an important compliment to foods on the same level as many people view wine. The topic was easily one of my favorite things to talk about and it garnered a favorable amount of feedback from folks who typically don’t drink craft beer outside of certain social situations and certainly not over a filet mignon from Donovan’s Steak House.

As I intimated towards the end of the post, this was all precursor to a little craft beer & food pairing that I had set in motion with my favorite foodie and fellow blogger, Megan, of Monkeybreadandsweetpea.com. We went into the planning stages with the idea to keep it relatively simple and at a restrained budget since we were literally eating and drinking the costs of the event. We quickly settled on the idea of five different cheeses and chocolates pairing with five different craft beers. Knowing ahead of time that our budgets would preclude us from indulging in buying any Gorau Glas and Bitto cheeses or bottles of Westvleteren XII (which I wouldn’t be able to provide without a trip to Belgium) we set out to design our menus.
I asked Megan to pick the five cheese and chocolates she would liked to see paired up with craft beer and I would set out to find beers that would compliment those choices. In theory I had the easier of the two jobs, but I set out to try and design a truly unique craft beer experience with some choices that would be slightly out of my comfort zone. Some of the rules I made for myself might seem a bit odd, but I wanted to try and push myself to think about the food and the beers in different ways than I typically would. That meant no San Diego beers. I can hear the gasps coming over the internet. The friends that would be at this mini event are my main drinking and eating buddies, we have traveled all over this county drinking beers from every brewer that would serve us. Why not take this opportunity to showcase how food and craft beer pair but also show some other great beers from around the country and even the world? The possibilities became almost overwhelming but in a fun way.
The second challenge I placed on myself had to do with the chocolate portion of the tasting. I was pretty confident in the beer pairings with the cheeses, but the chocolate presented a fun challenge. Typically when pairing beer with chocolate you can pick up a stout or a porter and hit a home run on your first swing. So that was the rule I placed on myself, I would not pick any stouts and would limit myself to only one porter, and even the porter I selected had more to do with the flavor possibilities of one of the cheeses.
With these rules in mind I now present the 1st annual Spooktacular (It was Halloween weekend) Artisan Cheese, Gourmet Chocolate and Craft Beer Pairing, as selected by myself and Megan
Pairing #1 – English Vintage Reserve Cheddar with Dark Chocolate Covered Cranberries paired with Ninkasi Brewing’s Total Domination IPA
Pairing #2 – Uniekaas Reserve (Aged Gouda) with Chili Infused Dark Chocolate and or Chuao Firecracker (Dark Chocolate w/ Chipotle, Sea Salt, Pop Rocks) paired with Drake’s Black Robusto Porter
Pairing #3 – Point Reyes Aged Blue Cheese with Dark Chocolate paired with Ommegang Abby Ale
Pairing #4 – Cinnamon Apple Goat Cheese with Dark Chocolate and Almonds paired with Ayinger Brauweisse Hefeweizen
Pairing #5 – Le Delice de Bourgogne Triple Cream Brie with Truffles (Godiva Milk Chocolate with Caramel, White Chocolate Ganache and Toffee, Or Chocolate Caramel or Dark Chocolate paired with St. Bernardus Tripel
Yum!

Yum!

Megan and I agreed that the only real rule was to have fun. We suggested that each person try the pairing as selected first and then start mixing and matching to find out what flavors and combinations they liked the most. A sort of craft beer, cheese and chocolate roulette if you will.

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I can’t speak for Megan on this, but I was very nervous when people first started sampling. I was asking a group of close friends who are die-hard hop-heads to drink porters and abby ales. This could have turned into a disaster. Luckily my worries were for not, I think starting with the IPA up front helped because once people took a bite of the aged cheddar with the Total Domination, you could see people’s eyes get a little bigger with the surprise of how good the sharpness of the cheddar played of the sharpness of the hops from the IPA.

The pairing turned out to be pretty darn good. We got some really great responses from our guinea pigs, er… I mean friends. Two that really surprised me were the Aged Gouda with the Drake’s Porter, we got a really great smoky flavor, and the Goat Cheese with the Hefeweizen, something about the creamy cheese mingling with the clove and wheat flavors that played off each other very well. Ommegang Abby Ale was also a favorite around the table with the big flavors from the aged blue cheese. Pairing a triple cream brie with a belgian tripel is always going to win folks over.
On the chocolate front, the Drake’s Black Robusto went well with everything but I was delighted by the flavors from the IPA with the chocolate and chipotle. I also enjoyed the milk chocolate paired with the Tripel, just delightful. I think it’s fair to say the results were a fun, entertaining and tasty night full of delightful palate popping experience.
I’m also very enthusiastic to say that we had so much fun that Megan and I are hard at work figuring out when we will be planning our next pairing event. If you want invited, you’ll have to talk to her as it’s at her house. So be sure to head over to her site and read her thoughts on the nights events as well.
I want to hear your craft beer pairing stories, so please share.
Cheers,
Tom

Creative meals with Craft Beer dinner pairings

It is a common misconception in the minds of the planet’s population that when you are enjoying a nice evening of fine dining at your favorite bistro, the first thing you should reach for when it comes to ordering your drinks is the wine list.

 You would be wrong.
All across the the country, and San Diego in particular, you can find amazing beer pairing dinners at restaurants. To be clear we aren’t talking about beer with pizza or hamburgers. We’re talking about gourmet quality dishes served up by culinary experts with a dazzling array of different beer styles and flavors, each one designed to bring something new to your meal in ways you weren’t expecting.
Just to whet your mind with the possibilities!

Just to whet your mind with the possibilities!

I first started to dabble my toe in the waters of beer pairings after reading through Randy Mosher’s “Tasting Beer” which is essential reading for any craft beer enthusiast. However, it wasn’t until my recent opportunity to learn directly from Stone Brewing’s Master of Beer Pairings and official Cicerone and Sommelier, “Dr.” Bill Sysak, that I started to see all the potential that beer pairings had to offer.
What I’m about to share is all information that is readily available from both Mr. Mosher’s book and “Dr.” Sysak’s section in “The Craft of Stone Brewing Co.” book. I will not be laying down information on how to construct a pairing menu. While I find the topic endlessly fun, I would humbly refer you to the books I have already mentioned by true masters at pairing as well as Garrett Oliver’s “The Brewmaster’s Table.”
The information I want to share is just to open your eyes and get you curious about having a craft beer adventure at your dinner table.
Craft Beer has a versatility in food pairing that wine doesn’t have. This is just scratching the surface but will hopefully get you thinking in the right direction.
First, beer has carbonation which can act as a palate cleanser. Giving a sip of beer a quick swish around your mouth will scrub your palate clean help ensure each bite of food is a great as the first.
Secondly, malt can make your tasting experience into something truly exceptional. This has mostly to due with the caramelization of malts matching well with what is called the Maillard effect from grilling and roasting meats. Malts will also interact with the heat from spices on your meal. Perhaps you added a little too much habanero to your glaze and the heat is too much to handle. Match it up with a particularly malty beer and all the sweetness from the malt will cut into that heat and cool down the fires. This may or may not have happened to me.
Third, hops. Hops can play a very interesting role in your meal. The bitter edge can help bring balance to fatty dishes while helping to spread the flavors around your entire palate. Try it with Carrot Cake! Another aspect of hops is what it can do to your spicy dishes – hops will bring spicy dishes alive. The hops might take a little edge (but not much) off the initial heat but it’s going to help accentuate all the flavors of that spice and give you a more well-rounded tasting experience. However, if you don’t want the heat accentuated, I’d avoid an IPA with your curry.
Fourth is where we come to consider all the specialty ingredients many brewers are using in their beers nowadays. Juniper, coriander, basil, peppercorn, even cucumber all these flavors are going to help give you a unique experience with your meal. Find something that you think will play nicely off your dishes.
Fifth and final is the yeast. We all know that different strains of yeast provide a beer with an assortment of different flavors. Bavarian yeast is like cloves, Belgian yeast is fruity with subtle spice, ale yeast tends to have citrus qualities, and you get the idea.
The point being is that with all the different beers at your finger tips you could easily make every meal a truly unique and  memorable experience. And the best part is, that there really aren’t any hard and fast rules that you must abide by. As long as you are having fun and enjoying what you eat and drink you will have a successful craft beer pairing dinner. And don’t just limit yourself to full meals. Craft Beer plays remarkably well with cheeses and chocolates as well.
Some friends and I will be having a cheese and chocolate pairingthis weekend. Pictures and results are sure to follow. If you’ve had a memorable beer pairing, I’d love to hear about it.
Cheers,
Tom

OB Noodle House – A gem of a bar and the food is great too!

I like soup. I really do. It’s one of those food items that I sometimes get a craving for and can eat it all day long. Chicken noodle, cream of potato, tomato, clam chowder maybe even a nice lobster bisque if I’m feeling fancy. But for reasons that I can only assume are based on preconceived notions, I never really had much interest in ever going out and trying pho. That dish just so happens to be the specialty at OB Noodle House, a place of which I’ve heard good things about for years but in times past when I would make an attempt to dine there I would quickly be defeated by the incredible long lines and wait times.

Emphasis on bar!

Emphasis on bar!

Well, I can say with all certainty, ‘that was stupid of me’. Everything that hit our table was instantly gobbled up by our party and met with rave reviews from all around. You can now consider me among the converted, pho is great and they have a pretty extensive menu of other noodle based dishes that I will hazard a guess and say are pretty delicious as well. In case you are wondering, I ordered the OB Special (XL) (as a former resident of Ocean Beach I felt obliged) that comes with rare streak, well done steak, brisket, flank and tripe. It was more than filling and pretty impressive as well.

That is a whole lot of meat!

That is a whole lot of meat!

But I’m not here to talk about the high quality food they serve up, I’ll leave the restaurant reviews to my friend Megan over at monkeybreadandsweetpea.com. Nope, I’m going to tell you about one of the most impressive rotating draft lists I’ve seen at a restaurant in a very long time.

The bar at OB Noodle house is legit. On the night of my visit I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but what I got blew the top of my head straight through the roof. As we rounded the corner to our table adjacent to the bar and I saw the large pink Delirium elephant, I dared to dream that maybe, just maybe, this bar was going to have a decent selection. When the bartender placed the draft list in front of me, a single tear rolled down my cheek. It was magnificent.

Aside from Delirium Tremens, you could find such delight as Petrus aged pale xtra sour, Gulden Draak Belgian Triple, Double Dog Imperial IPA on Niro, Lambic Peche Fruit Beir, St. Louis Gueze xtra sour, Avery “Czar Russian Imperial stout”, The Bruery “Autem Maple”, Dogfish Head 60 & 90 minute IPA, Cuvee De Jacobins Rouge Sour, Uinta Hop Notch IPA, Stone’s 17th Anniversary IPA, oh and a little favorite of mine known as Blind Pig from Russian River.

Blind Pig pairs well with pho

Blind Pig pairs well with pho

That’s just a fraction, they have 40 taps of awesome at this place and if the beer isn’t enough for you they also have sake, of which we saw several table doing sake bombs…of which I have retired from since after my last experience I’m pretty sure I talked to Jesus…or a homeless guy in an ally. It’s very fuzzy.

The place has a great energy and vibe to it. From the lighting to the music and martial arts movies playing silently on the giant TV behind the bar, this place is a really good time.

One of these day I’ll sit down and write more about the underrated craft beer scene in Ocean Beach, but until that day do yourself a favor and check out the offering from OB Noodle House. Go for the noodles and stay for the beers…or go for the beers and stay for the noodles. Either way you’re going to be more than happy with your choice.

OB Noodle House is located at 2218 Cable St San Diego, CA 92107. Reservation for groups of 8 or more are available after 6pm. Also look out for great happy hour deals every day of the week.

Cheers,

Tom

OB Noodle House on Urbanspoon

Say Hi to your Mother for me.

I’m going to spoil my own blog by telling you what I think right off the bat, Mother Earth Brewing is great. It has quickly become one of my favorite of the newer brewers that have joined the impressive list of San Diego breweries in the past couple of years. However, there is a slight problem. I have no one to blame for this but myself, I just don’t live close enough. Mother Earth Brewing is located in Vista, California which is a not-insignificant drive from where I live in Mission Valley. This is the same hindrance that I typically encounter when it comes to having the opportunity to check out any one of the great brewers located in the North Country area of San Diego.

Word to your Mother.

Word to your Mother.

However, when life gives you lemons, you just go out and find friends who live closer for you.
My good friend and home brewing partner just so happens to live in Escondido. We use his house as our base of operation when we are making beer and we have also been using Mother Earth Brewing’s homebrew supply store located in the heart of Vista on  Main Street. This has given me ample opportunity to check out the taproom located conveniently next door.
Depending on what our particular brewing goals for the day were, this would determine if we stayed for a draft or grabbed a few bottles or maybe a growler to go. This has lead to finding several exception IPA’s. Kismet, Auld Knucker, Thibodo (named for the street where the original brewery is), Hop Diggity IIPA and Big Mother IIIPA.
The Hop Diggity, an 8.2%ABV double IPA, has an impressive hops aroma from the moment you crack it open. Very light gold, almost pilsner-esque in color with nice clarity. The main hops used in this brew is Warrior, which gives it some distinctions from other double IPA’s and the flavors sort of rolls around along the contours of your tongue. I recommend giving this beer a try at your earliest opportunity.

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Another beer that stands out equally as well is the Big Mother tripe IPA. Brewed to celebrate their 3rd anniversary, this monster clocks in with an impressive 10.5%ABV that doesn’t overwhelm the palette. My main issue with many IIIPA’s is that fine line where the alcohol starts to overpower the beer flavors. The Big Mother sits on the right side of that line and a tasty beer is the result. The hops that hit your nose are bold and you get a rich golden color from the pour, the beer presents very well. This beer isn’t currently in production but I have a feeling you will see it again somewhere down the line. Or just be on the lookout for a new triple IPA from these guys.
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Aside from the excellent beers available at the brewery and the tap house, I’d also like to say that the homebrew store is pretty exceptional as well. An excellent selection of grains, malts, White Labs yeast, hops and a database that can help you reconstruct any of the beers that Mother Earth makes. Staffed by friendly and knowledgeable people they even offer free classes on the weekend for home brewers of every level. I highly recommend stopping by if you are in the area.

Mother Earth Brewing is well worth your time to try out, and not just for IPA’s. Go and tryout the Cali Creamin’, a vanilla cream ale, or the I.R.A., Irish Red Ale.
The Homebrew Store and Tap house are located at 204 & 206 Main Street Vista, CA 92084 you can visit the brewery at 2055 Thibodo Road Ste H Vista, CA 92081
Cheers,
Tom

Going for the hat trick part 3 – Entering circus Lagunitas

Well. That was a longer break than I originally had anticipated. Talk about delayed gratification, this is like waiting eight years to see if Frodo ever makes it to Mount Doom. (Spoiler Alert: He does) now with school behind me for the summer, until next week when Fall semester starts, I can conclude the tale of my epic adventure with a trip to the weird and untamed wilderness known as Petaluma, California and the circus known around the world as Lagunitas.

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It was starting to get late in the day and while my excitement was still high my wife was beginning to show some signs of beer fatigue. This was also our first stop where I knew things were going to be a lite on the crazy side. Especially at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon. “Little” turned out to be quite the understatement. The lone man who was in charge of directing people to open parking spaces, of which there were few, was only the first indicator.

Sure enough that place was bustling with people, music and awesome beer flowing.

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It was very evident that everyone was having a blast so we eagerly grabbed some seats at a table that we shared with a very nice local couple who shared some of the fun experiences at the circus but more importantly it was time to sample the wares.

One of the the neatest things about visiting these three brewpubs has been having the opportunity to sample a lot of beers that just don’t make it down here, bottles or kegs, and Lagunitas was no exception with a mighty list that included such tasty delights as a Nelson hop version of their IPA, Rye barrel aged Gnarlywine, the seasonal Wilco Tango Foxtrot (WTF), their Farmhouse ale as well as their Gueuze, and Kriek.

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We also ran into our new friends from Mother Earth Brewing as they continued their way back south to Vista. They had apparently saw a post on Facebook about the power outage and closing of Russian River so they had decided to skip ahead and hit Lagunitas. The wife and I were very happy to share the news that the power was back on and that would be opening again at 5:30pm. I’m not sure excited is an adequate description of their reaction.

Shortly after this we finished up our drinks and decided to call this the end of the adventure. So what did I learn? The Bay Area is home to quite a few quality craft beer breweries and much like San Diego, you need more than a day to fully explore and appreciate them, but I’d like to think I did a pretty good job of scratching the surface. Already counting down the days till my next trip to Northern California and a chance to find even more places to explore.

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It’s 66 days, in case you are wondering. Boom!

Cheers,
Tom

Pardon the interruption… Happy 1st Anniversary Societe!

I’m going to interrupt my current three part blogging epic for a brief but happy interlude.

Happy 1 year Anniversary to the awesome people at Societe Brewing.

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Always an impressive selection

Over the course of their first year in business, Societe has quickly climbed the ranks as one my favorite brewers in a town that has more than enough to go around. In fact you can read my first impression of Societe right here. From such awesome staples as The Pupil & The Apprentice IPA’s to phenomenal Belgians like The Harlot & The Madam, not to mention the treats that roll out for special occasions, like the Every Man’s IPA and The Roustabout DIPA. It’s insanely hard to find a beer that will not please your palette.

Did I mention the new hoppy ale, The Publican? It’s fantastic!

This past weekend, July 13-14, the good people of Societe hosted their 1st anniversary party at the brewery in Kerny Mesa and I was very excited to be able to join them in the celebration. I’m the type of beer enthusiast who tries his best to make it to multiple beer events over the course of the year. Some of those events are better than others and even the best have their fair share of problems. This event, however, might be the new gold standard to which all beer events you aspire to be. It was one of the most planned out, thought ahead and well organized events I’ve had the good fortune to be at.

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I saw how this movie ends…Travis should fare better than that other guy.

My wife and I attended the sold-out second session on Saturday with a coupe of friends who enjoy Societe beers but had yet to make it up to the brewery. From the moment we got there, these guys were on top of things, from the easy-ness of our checking in without having to pull up four different ticket bar codes on my iPhone, to the checking of ID’s, getting our wristbands and the distribution of our souvenir glasses. They had us lined up and ready to go when the clock struck 5 pm and our session began. The only hectic part was getting that first beer, which really wasn’t even an issue as they had plenty of people on hand to fill your glass. We were able to grab a table and I couldn’t help but notice as the line of patrons all filed in and got their drinks, that there was still room to move around, people were not packed in, and we didn’t have to yell to have a conversation. A beer event that wasn’t over-sold. Such a simple yet innovative concept that I wish more people would follow.

Societe also had a couple food stations going, including the Mastiff Sausage food truck as well as an old-tyme photo booth which, of course, my wife made us all do. Also of interest was that despite the dozens of times I’ve been to the brewery I had never taken the tour. We changed that on Saturday as we got a pretty insightful tour from co-owner and head brewer Travis Smith. He shared a lot of details about their beer making process as well as their plans for the first expansion at the brewery. I liked how he talked about “growing into the space” which again, is a simple concept but one I don’t see employed a whole lot. We also got to take a look inside the cold room, which was fun. I heard from a friend who attended the earlier session that he loved this part due to the heat during the early part of the day. Luckily, by evening everything has cooled down quite a bit, except for Travis who was decked out in his early 20th century outfit and was happy to kill a few minutes in the icebox. After swinging past the bar for refills we had the chance to go in the barrel room where they are aging their beers in a wide variety of barrels for the purpose of creating sours. Which, if they are half as good as what they already have on tap, are going to be pretty impressive.

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Travis and the Tower of Sours!

 

It was a fantastic event with fan had by all and best summed up by Megan “This is a beautiful event.” And that was before all the alcohol kicked in…I think.

So my congratulations to Travis, Douglas and all the super nice staff at Societe for having a great 1st year, I’m happy to keep enjoying your beers for a long time to come.

Cheers,
Tom

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Yeah…I’m in a band.

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Happy Anniversary Societe!