Every good brewer has a miss now and again, and unfortunately, that's how I'd rate Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic.

It's tough to do lambic well, even tougher when you're not actually located in Belgium. So I'll give Sam Adams props for trying. And, they were brewing this beer as early as 1990, largely before the notion of "lambic" was even in the American consciousness.

This was one of the beers that came in their seasonal holiday pack; all of the others I rather liked (particularly the Black Lager), but this one, while not undrinkable, is certainly not a lambic. It's different.

Appearance: Very clear, golden honey color. Rising bubbles remind me of champagne, though there's not much of a head.

Smell: Sour cranberries. Almost a musty fruit. Hint of wheat; lactic sour dominates.

Taste: Definitely character of musty—almost moldy—berries. Slight sweet over the sour... could be maple. Neutral wheat. Not bad as a standalone cranberry ale, but definitely not a lambic.

Mouthfeel: Light, like a cider... bubbly. Odd feeling from musty character.

On BeerAdvocate, this only scores 75 out of 100, with reviews an even 50/50 split on approval. On RateBeer, it scores 2.52 out of 5 and is only in their 18th percentile.

Stone Brewing's Old Guardian is a serious barleywine: it comes in at 11.26% alcohol and is vintaged by the year it was brewed. I had the "early 2007" release.

Appearance: Lighter than expected—a pinkish orange, nice and deep. Murky. Head didn't last long, but it's lacing the glass nicely.

Smell: Cloying brandy-sweet, caramel and brown sugar. Alcohol—not biting. Some hops, but they're really a backseat to the sugary malt.

Taste: There's a punch here, from the alcohol, no doubt. Then the hops, a flood of herbal bitterness, strong but quite good. Bracing! Sweet, very malty—a caramel/biscuit malt. Almost a plummy/date fruit character. Very complex, like a cognac... slightly harsh but since it is a 2007 release, it will mellow very nicely.

Mouthfeel: Very full-bodied—syrupy, almost. Biting from the alcohol and hops.

Overall: Simply, another great beer from Stone.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 88 out of 100, with 98% approval. On RateBeer it scores 3.84 out of 5 and is in their 97th percentile.

The version of Jenlain Ambrée that I found locally was actually labeled a bit confusingly: "Jenlain French Farmhouse Ale." Unable to find anything definite referring to this online, I was clued in by RateBeer, which had a pointer and a note that it's an alias of the Ambrée. My assumption is that it's simply an import name change, probably cashing in on the foreign factor; "French Farmhouse Ale" sounds more impressive than "Amber."

Anyway. This is a classic Bière de Garde, and from the line of what I would consider quintessentially French beers (this one is brewed in northern France). Most of the time when I've seen similar beers in the store, they are in the champagne-style 750ml bottles, corked and all, but this was standard 12-ounce bottle size. Expensive—a four-pack for eight or nine dollars, but ultimately worth it.

Appearance: Cloudy orange with brown-copper smudging. Head is the color of old bone.

Smell: Malty sweet, overripe plum, cut grass, musty berry, sweet dough.

Taste: Sweet grains—almost cloying—almost a brandy character. Leather. Some sort of fruit... old blackberry? Root vegetables. Dry. Sour just enough to be refreshing. A nice toasted wheat bread. Very complex.

Mouthfeel: A hint tangy and dry, you taste it after. Light but not thin or watery, and softly effervescent.

Overall: A great example of the Bière de Garde, very drinkable and worth trying. The price tag'll get you, though.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 83 out of 100, with 100% of all 15 reviewers approving. On RateBeer, it scores 3.35 out of 5 and is in their 73rd percentile.

Ah, the elusive, mysterious Josephs Brau Brewing Company... really a front for some of the Trader Joe's line of beers. I'm sure there's more of a story there somewhere. But what's more curious is the source of this particular beer, Josephs Brau Winterfest (a "double dark Bock"); apparently it's too new to have shown up on the web anywhere yet. The usual sites still refer to it under it's (older) nom-de-plume of "Trader Joe's Winterfest," so that's what I'll point to.

I imagine they're just trying to diversify their line a bit. It's all good. This is a 7.5% Bock style of beer, at the unbeatable Trader Joe's prices. The packaging has been updated from the images that are showing up on the review sites, too.

Appearance: Deep mahogany red, very clear. Thick tan head.

Smell: Malty, some molasses, dark but not burnt/roasted. Sense of alcohol. There's something vegetable-y too; maybe the off-aroma of cooked corn.

Taste: Malty with some alcoholic bite. Black toast. Corn (creamed?). Mild hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Thin, light. Fairly smooth, but not the body you'd like to feel here (for a Bock).

Overall: It's decent, but not great. Like with their Oktoberfest, though, you absolutely can't beat the price, which makes it worth it.

The version of it that shows up on BeerAdvocate scores 82 out of 100, with 94% overall approval. On RateBeer it scores 3.19 out of 5 and is down in their 59th percentile.

Now that's a mouthful of a name for a beer. The Hefeweissbier Dunkel ("dark hefeweizen") from the Weihenstephaner brewery in Germany is one of the foremost wheat beers of the world from the world's oldest brewery.

Appearance: Light copper, hazy. Head foamed up a lot—it's light tan. Color is actually more brown apple with light copper highlights.

Smell: Phenolic sour in the nose—clovey and fruity. Whole wheat bread.

Taste: Lighter than expected. Doesn't have the raw wheatiness that a non-dark(?) weiss has—but still wheaty for sure. Sour with a hint of citrus. Fruity—like a light grainy berry.

Mouthfeel: Light, very carbonated. Tangy on the tongue, with residual tang. Very clean.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 89 out of 100, with 98% approval from reviewers. On RateBeer, it scores 3.53 out of 5, in their 85th percentile.

It's the ongoing dilemma: you want to drink well, but are on a budget. Sure, you could always bite the (silver) bullet and go with the always-cheap "American macro lager" a là Budweiser or Coors. But notice the headline says "inexpensive" beer and not "cheap" beer—the distinction is important because all too often, "cheap beer" means those very same American macros I'm hoping to avoid—and of course when I write "drink well," I mean not drinking those industrial pilsners.

Seeking out those inexpensive "step up" beers can be a bit of an adventure—often you'll come across beers you've never heard of before, some of which will just barely be a step up from MGD and some which will be jewels in the rough. Sometimes you'll find some excellent, well-known microbrew for a really good deal, too.

But be warned: if you have to have that really good bottle of Rogue or Dogfish Head, most of the time you'll just have to suck it up and pay the premium price for it.

Read more...

Roots Organic Brewing, Oregon's first organic brewery, opened up in 2005 in Portland and made a name for themselves brewing up locally-acclaimed beers. I say "locally acclaimed" because until recently (to the best of my knowledge, anyway), the only way to drink any of their brews was to visit their brewpub in Portland.

However, our local good beer store—Newport Market here in Bend—started carrying their Woody Organic IPA. I snapped up a bottle when I found it. You can see where they came up with the name for this from my notes...

Appearance: Hazy copper orange. Light tan head was slight and slow to form.

Smell: Hoppy—woody and grassy and twiggy. Sweet sugar—candy. Almost a fresh hop character. Slightly (grape)fruity like a Cascade hop, but not entirely... one of the other similar varieties? (Their website says Magnum.)

Taste: First hit is the hops—oily strong and very woody—very bitter. Hops definitely dominate this beer. Malt—what you can taste of it, anyway—is a pale ale base with some sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Nicely bodied, a bit thick without being chewy. Hop oils(?) are strong on the mouth—very coating, you taste them well after.

Overall: One highly hopped and bitter beer, this one. They want to get your attention for sure. It's not bad, especially if you like hops, but I do think it's overbalanced in their favor. It'll be off-putting to the casual beer drinker.

On BeerAdvocate, of the 10 reviews so far, it scores 3.58 out of 5 (not enough for their 100-scale scoring) and nine out of 10 approved. On RateBeer, it scores 3.67 out of 5 and is in their 89th percentile.

Back in January I reported on how the OLCC was banning minors and families from the Oregon Brewers Festival this year. Definitely a misstep, and cast a pall over the OBF for its 20th anniversary.

Today, though, I'm happy to point to a post on the Realbeer.com Beer Therapy blog: Minors welcome (after all) at OBF.

Common sense has prevailed and minors will be allowed into the Oregon Brewers Festival, as they have the previous 19 years.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission previously indicated they would not be. After receiving a new OBF compliance plan, the commission granted permission for minors/parents to attend the event. The festival runs July 26-29 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland.

Minors will only be allowed at the OBF with a parent; guardians are not acceptable.

So it's a little more restrictive than it was before, with the distinction between parent and guardian, but at least they're back on track. The OLCC gets a cookie, this time.

The final brewery review for our San Diego trip (skipping over Oggi's, since I originally reviewed them here and it pretty much is the same) is for Pizza Port in Solana Beach. This is the original Pizza Port, though it has since branched out and there are several Pizza Port/Port Brewing locations around the area (including the notable Lost Abbey):

Pizza Port was established in March of 1987 when we started making pizzas in our present location in Solana Beach! We started brewing beer as a hobby and as we began brewing more than we could leisurely drink, we really wanted to share some of the incredible brews that we created for fun with our customers too. We installed a 7 barrel brewery and served our first handcrafted beer brewed on the premises in October of 1992.

Pizza Port is really more of a restaurant first, brewery second. It's a first-come, first served classic pizzeria with picnic tables and bench seating (indoor and outdoor), arcade games in the back, and standing room only when they're busy. Which seems to be often.

We were able to snag one of the four outside tables and enjoy the nice weather. The restaurant is located right on Highway 101 but that doesn't detract from the outdoor dining experience—it's kind of cool, actually.

There are a number of beers that they produce, but I only tried two: a pint each of the Swamis IPA and the Dawn Patrol Dark (an English Brown ale). In addition, I bought a case of the Sharkbite Red to go (which I'll review separately later).

The Swamis IPA: Very bitter and hoppy—definitely a hophead's ale. Nice medium-thick body, full and rich. According to their website,

This is the original San Diego IPA. We have been brewing this beer since we installed the brewery in 1992. Big and Bitter like the Wipeout. A true beer lovers beer.

One thing I've noticed in general about the beers in San Diego: they do like their hops. Quite a few of them were fairly to very hoppy.

The Dawn Patrol Dark: On cask, so very smooth and creamy. Malty, a hint of fruitiness... a bit dry. Sweetish and a bit roasty. Yes, I know "sweet" is the opposite of "dry" but that's my impression.

The pizza was very good, too. We got a large Pizza Lahaina (Hawaiian style: Canadian bacon and pineapple and green peppers and onions) and it fed the six of us (four adults, two kids). Besides pizza, their menu is pretty standard pizzeria fare: salads, chicken wings, cheese sticks, etc. I can only vouch for the pizza, but if the rest of the food is as good, then there's nothing to worry about.

All in all, a good place to go for good beer and pizza. Give yourself plenty of time, though—you could be in for a wait.

Pizza Port
135 N. Highway 101
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(858) 481-7332

This is the second free beer from the PR package I received from Flying Dog (the first I reviewed already). Heller Hound is a Maibock, a spring beer that is traditionally brewed for consumption in the month of May. Also known as a Helles Bock (literally, "Bright Bock"), the style, according to BeerAdvocate, "tends to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often has a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as a traditional Bock."

I found this to be a pretty drinkable beer at 6.2% alcohol by volume.

Appearance: Very clear golden orange—the color of honey. Head is just off-white and crisp.

Smell: Rich and malty—caramel and toffee-sweet. Some spiciness (from the hops, I think).

Taste: Sweet malt and slightly bitter with the abrupt edge of a clean lager. Steel-cut grass, toasted grains, a hint of rye, crystal malts, hop spiciness, some alcohol strength. This might sound odd, but it reminds me of a well-rounded appetizer... not quite a meal but the potential is there.

Mouthfeel: Nice body, refreshing, a bit bubbly, clean.

Overall: A decent Bock, even though it doesn't look like what I'm used to as thinking of a Bock. Reminds me of the Full Sail LTD Bock I reviewed last month. I'd enjoy more of these.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 82 out of 100, with 92% approval from reviewers. On RateBeer, it scores 3.03 out of 5 and is in their 45th percentile; not a glowing recommendation from them.

This seems familiar, but I don't seem to have blogged about it yet: the 25 Best Beers in America, from Men's Journal. (It's dated from October 2006.) You might remember they listed their Best Beers in the World back in 2005, which I did blog about.

Interesting list. I've only had six of the 25, so I can't speak to the merits of the other 19... but it's a solid six. The other thing I'll give them credit for is they've definitely put some thought into their picks. Check it out.

Aventinus is one of the beers I recommended in my 50 Beers to Drink Before You Die series. This wheat Doppelbock (a Weizenbock, actually) is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and has "original bottle fermentation." Truth be told, I'm not actually sure what they mean by this, other than allowing it to naturally carbonate in the bottle; some beers are actually bottled with an infusion of fresh yeast and sugar to bump up the alcohol and carbonation though, so perhaps that's what they mean.

It's a nice strong beer at 8.2% alcohol by volume, and about as German a beer as a beer can get.

Appearance: Nice fluffy head, slightly tan. Beer is cloudy and brown with gold and copper highlights.

Smell: Fruity phenolic weiss-bier; sour but not citrusy. Light, grassy wheat, a hint of grain.

Taste: Lemongrass, lightly toasted whole wheat, refreshing sour hefeweizen. Slight toasty bitterness. Some darker malts—nothing burnt or roasted though. Crisp. Yeasty but light.

Mouthfeel: Light and a bit effervescent; not thin. Refreshing and crisp (yes, I'm aware I'm repeating myself)—quenching.

Overall: Well-balanced, malty, lemony-fruity, delicious. Would make a great summer session beer if not for the strength...

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a cool 91 out of 100 with 99% approval. On RateBeer, it scores 4.02 out of 5 and is the 99th percentile—the highest score I've seen there for beers I've reviewed, I think.

Jay at the Brookston Beer Bulletin is hosting the next installment of The Session, and today he's announced the topic for May: Mild ales. More specifically:

The theme will be “The Mysterious Misunderstood Mild” to coincide with CAMRA’s May promotion Mild Month. Saturday the 5th will also be National Mild Day on the other side of the pond. For those of us here in the colonies, we may have a harder time finding a mild to review. But several craft brewers do make one, even if they don’t always call it a mild. So you may have to do a little detective work to find one, but that should prove to be half the fun.

I like the choice, though as Jay said, acquiring a Mild will be interesting, since I don't live in England. It occurs to me that I could brew a Mild this weekend and have just enough time in the bottle (a week or two, almost) to drink and review it. If I were to do that, I'd follow Al Korzonas' "Wolverhampton Mild" recipe from his Homebrewing Vol. 1.

Don't let the name fool you, Milds have a long and varied history in English brewing. For some style notes, BeerAdvocate lists two, Dark Mild and Pale Mild. The Dark Mild is the traditional version most people will be thinking of. Wikipedia's article is also very good.

Looking forward to it!

Just before we left for San Diego a couple of weeks ago, I got a PR shipment from the good folks at Flying Dog Brewery containing two beers to sample and review: the Wild Dog series of their Gonzo Imperial Porter, and their Heller Hound spring seasonal.

Strangely enough, I haven't had any of Flying Dog's beers prior to these, though I see them all over the place and by nearly all accounts are good. Oh well, time to rectify that now and start seeking out their other offerings.

Tonight I drank the Gonzo Imperial Porter. Being of their Wild Dog series, it would ordinarily come in a 750ml corked champagne style bottle; however, for the PR sampler it was a specially-labeled 12-ounce bottle. What makes this batch of Gonzo stand out as a Wild Dog beer is the fact that it was aged in whiskey barrels. According to the PR sheet that came with it:

[This beer] was brewed and transferred into charred White American Oak whiskey barrels that the neighboring Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey had aged their whiskey in for a minimum of two years. After aging in the wood barrels for three months, the Imperial Porter was hand bottled, corked and labeled and conditioned for another six weeks before being shipped.

Apparently there are only 5000 bottles being produced, so I'm pretty lucky to have received one for free. Thanks guys!

So, let's check out my tasting notes...

Appearance: Foamy! Very dark brown—almost black—dirty motor oil color. Head is big and thick and creamy and chocolate espresso foam brown. (The head really lasted a long time... I have to wonder a bit if the excessive foam is the result of an infection...)

Smell: Roasted grains, dark coffee, a hint of sourness—lactic, sour mash? There may be a hint of wood (from the barrel) but that could be my imagination. There's some bittersweet chocolate and an undercurrent of bitter hop.

Taste: Strong and dark—I feel the heat of it going down. Burnt coffee bean, cocoa, some whiskey/brandy character (that's the heat). There's a bit of that lactic sourness I detected in the nose. Woody, oaky. Dry. You don't taste the alcohol so much as feel it.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and dry—smoother than I'd expect, actually. Medium-thick but not chewy. The high alcohol is noticeable in the afterbite.

Overall: Despite my initial concern about an infected bottle, I think it's rather good. I haven't had the original Gonzo to compare to, but I think there's definitely a charred barrel component at play here. Would pair extremely well with any semi-sweet chocolate dessert.

This limited series version hasn't hit BeerAdvocate yet, so I'll point to the regular version instead. It scores 89 out of 100 with 97% approval there. On RateBeer, it is there, albeit with only five reviews thus far; it scores 3.84 out of 5 on those reviews, but there's not enough to calculate a percentile for it yet.

I wanted to subtitle today's Dubbels Session, "Dubbel Dubbel Toil and Trouble," but out of respect for Alan's running the show this month I abandoned my Bardly-themed title and went with his title. Mine was probably too nerdy, anyway.

Dubbels are somewhat under-represented in my beer repertoire, so when I was at the store I decided to do a (wait for it...) double tasting (har) and picked up two: New Belgium Abbey and St. Bernardus Prior 8.

(When is San Diego I looked for a locally-brewed Dubbel but had no luck; Stan had informed me that The Lost Abbey brews one but sadly I never made it up there to try it out. Next time!)

Some references for the style: BeerAdvocate, Wikipedia. Let's get to my tasting notes.

New Belgium Abbey

Appearance: Nice clear brown with red tints. Thick big dense off-white head, slow to break.

Smell: A hint of fruit, lots of sweet candy sugar, some gamey aromas that remind me of a farmhouse ale. Sour cherries or currants.

Taste: Sugary-sweet (not cloyingly saccharine, though), a bit of brown sugar, honey-ish, biscuit malt, a bit of alcohol warmth. Some plummy fruit, maybe some under-ripe cherry. Wet cut grass. More complex than I would have guessed. Herbal, almost.

Mouthfeel: Nice and chewy without being overly thick; still a nice lightness from the carbonation.

Overall: As I said, this was more complex than I would have guessed, and I was pleasantly surprised. Enjoyable. New Belgium's page suggests this pairs well with dessert, and I'd believe that.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 88 out of 100 with 99% approval. On RateBeer, it scores 3.7 out of 5 and is in their 93rd percentile.

St. Bernardus Prior 8

Appearance: Chestnut brown with deep amber red when held up to the light. A tad murky. Beige head is big and thick, though not quite as big as the New Belgium.

Smell: Malty and sweet, but less of a candy sugar sweet and more of a honey sweet. A bit of fruit... musty grape. Raisin? Spicy and herbal.

Taste: Belgian all the way. Candy, alcohol, musty dark berry, herby, some spices, some peppercorn, raisins, figs. Very nice, very complex.

Mouthfeel: Nice thick yet medium body—not as chewy as the New Belgium but not as light in the carbonation either. Feels like a nice sipping beer.

Overall: Though a bit higher in alcohol than the New Belgium, this one is both mellower and more complex at the same time. More subtle, and very drinkable.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 90 out of 100, with 99% approval. In fact, it's the #3 beer in their Top Dubbels list. On RateBeer, it scores 3.88 out of 5 and is in their 97th percentile—high-scoring there as well.

More than any other brewery in San Diego, I wanted to visit Stone. (Sorry, others—not a sleight against you. I'll get to you too, someday.) Part of the reason is that Stone is more well-known around here than the others, and (this sounds a little dumb) they have a kind of "celebrity brewery" cachet about them. For me anyway. So I was thrilled when we made it up there.

The brewery and their restaurant—their World Bistro & Gardens—is located up in Escondido, about 30 miles north of San Diego. Their location (as we discovered) is a little out of the way, but it was totally worth it: they have the best facility of any brewery/restaurant combo that I have yet been to. And yes, this time I have some pictures.

When you get off the freeway, you weave around the auto sales district of Escondido a bit, and through what looks like the business and industrial district—not someplace you would expect to find a brewery. When you hit the Citracado Parkway, upon which it's located, you come around the curve from the industrial section onto a road surrouded by bare, grassy lots and open space.

Stone Brewing appears just over the rise, a lone large stone and concrete building surrounded by—nothing. It's a big facility, with a lot of parking. It's rather incongruous considering what you've come through to find it.

They have the area all to themselves, and they've really made the most of it. We entered through the gift shop/brewery tour entrance, and the guy behind the counter was immediately personable: he related a story about how people were always coming in with little kids (like ours) and wanted to buy a kid-sized Arrogant Bastard shirt (which we didn't). They always have to turn them down.

The main entrance, just off the gift shop area and fronting the restaurant, is centerpieced by a giant stone in the middle of the room. Appropriate!

You then enter the restaurant, which is huge, with very high ceilings, a wall of windows on the left fronting the brewing tanks and operation, and another wall of windows on the right overlooking their patio and park-like area. Did I mention it was huge?

Everything is worked up in raw natural wood and lots of stone and concrete, and looks very new and very well thought out. You see the right side wall has large garage-style doors built into the windows so they can open right up to the patio in nice weather. Fortunately, it was a beautiful hot day and we got to sit outside.

The bar is in the middle of the interior restaurant space:

You can see just above and to the right there's another level with more seating. I didn't go up there, though.

They have an incredibly large beer menu with literally dozens of beers on tap and in bottles—many of which are local from the many breweries in the area besides their own. I started with the Stone sampler—their Pale Ale, Smoked Porter, IPA, and Arrogant Bastard. I've had them all (or nearly all of them) before, so it wasn't anything new, but I come all this way to Stone Brewing and don't have their beer? I think not.

After the sampler, I got a pint of AleSmith Nautical Nut Brown, and my brother got the AleSmith IPA. Both on tap, both excellent.

Nut Brown: Chocolatey and rich... slightly roasted... nutty, like roasted nuts—hazelnuts? IPA: Strong hoppy aroma, equally strong in the mouth. Smooth and crisp. Woody from the hops.

The food was awesome. My buffalo burger came with a side of the Arrogant Bastard onion rings and I swear, these were the biggest onion rings I'd ever seen. They were amazing, too. I couldn't even finish my meal.

The patio area was very well designed; lots of propane heaters built in, an outdoor bar (not in use), and as I mentioned, it drops down to a park-like area: a lawn with stepping stones, landscaping, and a small stream running behind things. The kids loved that; they got to go run around while waiting on the adults.

And finally, last picture: Stone brewing, from the lawn, towards the patio and building:

Bottom line, this place is amazing and simply the best brewery facility I've visited. The location is a little out of the way but the result is totally worth it. If you're in the San Diego area and you don't visit Stone, kick yourself. And then kick yourself again and throw a few slaps in for good measure. I need to go back just so I can spend a few days at the brewery.

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens
1999 Citracado Parkway
Escondido, CA 92029
760-471-4999

Coronado Brewing Company is located in Coronado, the "island" across the bay from San Diego. Located on the east end of Orange Avenue (the main drag), we had lunch there while taking in some of the Coronado island atmosphere.

It's a very picturesque brewery from the outside, though once again I was a total flake with pictures. The best picture I was able to find comes from its BeerAdvocate page:

Photo from BeerAdvocate

You can see (sort of) that it's a cool brick building. They have some outdoor seating, and it all looks very inviting. There's a good view of the bay and downtown San Diego, and it all has a bit of an historic feel.

Inside it's very comfortable. To the right as you enter is a long room with tables and a fireplace and big screen television at the opposite end. To the left is the more immediate dining area and bar, and when I saw it I immediately thought of it as the "Yacht Club Room." It has that kind of feel—nicely upholstered booths, dark wood and stone decor, the wraparound bar. Definitely some great high-end atmosphere.

Here's an odd thing, though: they no longer sell a sampler tray of their beer. Instead, you can buy individual five ounce tasters for $1.50 each. When I asked about this policy, they told me it was because people were ordering the samplers and then not finishing them; they would stop at a beer that they liked halfway through and order a pint of that instead.

Yes, I think this is a very dumb reason to not sell sampler trays, too. If the person pays for it, who cares if they finish it all? It's just as easy to buy a pint and not drink all of that as well...

Another thing: they have a three pint maximum. (Or three glasses of wine, if that's what you're drinking.) Just so you know ahead of time.

So I ended up ordering five tasters in all:

USS Reagan Rye: Nice toasty grain and malty—slightly bitter. Crisp. Kind of a red ale quality. A little grassy (hops). Pretty refreshing with a bit of bitterness.

Bay Bridge Bock: Slightly fruity and malty rich. A hint of burnt sugar. Very decent amber bock.

Islander IPA: Nice and hoppy! Twiggy and resiny... almost a wet hop. A bit light in malt and mouthfeel... a little unbalanced with the hopping, but still nice and hoppy and refreshing. Citrus hops?

Nutter Brown: Chocolate and dark malts—darker (charcoal) than I'd expect for a brown... nice medium body. The black/roasted malt makes it dry.

Outlet Stout: Dry and dark—an Irish stout with more astringency. Very roasty—with a creamy texture. Burnt wood/soot? (That sounds grosser than it really is.) Nice and dark, smooth and dry.

Food was tasty. I had the special for that day, calamari tacos. They were good and filling, but spicy. Service was decent, too. Not as attentive as at Karl Strauss the night before, but helpful nonetheless.

It's definitely a good place to try out, and the Yacht Club atmosphere is worth a repeat visit. It would be nice to sit outside, too, on a warmer day.

One last photo: they have humorous signs posted around the place, adding to the fun. The only beer one we saw, though, was this one:

So true, so true.

Our first night in San Diego we visited Karl Strauss Brewing Company for dinner. They have several locations, and the one we went to was their downtown one, which is something like four blocks from the water. It's a picturesque building too—but stupidly, I didn't take any photographs. Hey, I'd been driving all day, I was a bit frazzled.

So instead, I grabbed their own image from their site:

It's very cool, with the ivy growing all over the building like that.

Inside the decor is very "modern brewpub" (lots of natural-colored wood), with plenty of seating (tables and booths) and a full bar. Clean, nice, comfortable, well-lit. It was a Sunday night, and it wasn't too busy; we were seated right away, and the service was good.

Naturally, I ordered the sampler, and took notes on each beer as I tasted:

Woodie Gold (4.6% classic Pilsner): Wheaty, a tad sour. Fairly clean, a bit grainy. A bit hoppy—spicy.

Windansea Wheat Hefeweizen (5.1% Bavarian-style hefeweizen): Spicy and clovey up front—phenol aroma. Good weiss. Sour, a bit.

Amber Lager (4.2%): Biscuity, sweet malt. A noticeable lager character—ok but not terrific. Their notes say "caramel" and there's a little... roasted. Neutral hop.

Red Trolley Ale (5.8% American red ale): Oooh, not bad—mild and malty and a hint of toasted malt. Very drinkable, a good mild amber ale.

D.A.D. Brown Ale (5.3%): "Downtown After Dark"—black malt is prominent. Some biscuit. Creamy and dark—darker than I'd prefer for a brown. Otherwise light in body and drinkable. (Bitterish—astringent—burnt from black patent.)

Stargazer IPA (4.9%): Resin-hoppy up front... nice spicy hop. A little low in alcohol for an IPA, but good. Nicely malty but the hops dominate. They're not citrusy... spicy and twiggy.

In addition, I had their seasonal Oatmeal Stout: Dry and burnt roasted malts... nitro tap based on the creamy head. Light in body but very much an Irish stout character here. Heavy on black/roasted malts.

The food was very good. I had that staple of brewpub food, fish and chips, which were quite tasty. The slaw that came with them was really good. Everyone else (including the kids) enjoyed their meals quite a bit, too.

And the bread pudding dessert was great. You won't find it (or any desserts) on their online menu, but my wife ordered it and I shared a bite or two, and wow. Really, really good.

Our waitress was helpful and personable; when she saw that I was writing notes on the various beers, she gave me a handy info sheet covering their standard brews.

All in all, a good experience, one that I would repeat.

Karl Strauss Brewing Company - Downtown
1157 Columbia Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 234-BREW

Well, despite my wish list of breweries in San Diego I wanted to visit, the realities of a family trip changed opportunities somewhat, but I still got to visit a good number. Mind you, I'm not complaining at all—I got to drink good beer everywhere we went, so that's a good trip.

I'll write up more detailed reviews later, but here's the list of the places we visited, in order:

• Karl Strauss Brewing Company
• Coronado Brewing Company
• Oggi's (again)
• Stone Brewing
• Pizza Port in Solana Beach

The good thing about having a wish list is, there's more to try next time I'm in San Diego!