I was recently amazed and amused. Well, maybe amazed is a little much for what occurred and it was more a pleasant surprise. But, let me start from the beginning…
Lost Abbey - Carnevale Ale
My neighbor had a good size get-together with family and friends on Sunday, to celebrate a birth in the family…and I was invited. Food, food, food…and beer, well….sort of. Not being a fan of “Coor’s Light”….I chose to bring my own and brought enough to share just in case I was able to convince someone that, yes, beer was meant to me enjoy. You do not need to torture yourself by drowning your internal organs with pressurized cans of swill.
When I got home this evening, my neighbor yelled a greeting, so I headed over to say hello. He said that he had a few bottles of the beer that I had brought over and wanted me to take them home, as he doubted they would be consumed at his house anytime in the near future. I told him to keep the unopened bottles so that he had something he could offer when he or his family had guests. I loaded them into his garage fridge and took the partial growler and an open half-full 750ml bottle to dispose.
I got home, set them on the drainboard, prepared some food and flipped on the TV. Low and behold….”Raiders of the Lost Ark”..the part towards the end of the movie when Indiana Jones is threatening to blow up the Ark and his nemesis, Rene Belloq, is calling his bluff…”go ahead, blow up the ark!” The actor, Paul Freeman, is a complete professional…completing his lines, consuming the fly DURING his dialog and even completing the scene with the fly is IN his mouth. I mean…you saw it…right?? There was no cut…or break…the guy ATE it. Bravo…standing ovation. I enjoy watching it, and am amused, every time.
A second later…maybe less…I was pouring the open 1/2 bottle of beer down the drain…and noticed…it was carbonated. Carbonated…still…it had been open since Sunday evening when I poured a half glass. Now, 3-days later it was still carbonated? It sat in a cooler of ice along side 5 unopened bottles, a partial growler and many cans of swill, how could it still be carbonated? The beer was Lost Abbey’s Carnevale Ale…and it tasted awesome. F-ing amazing. OK…I was amused and THEN amazed…but…who’s keeping track?
Too bad the last of the growler didn’t fare as well….I used it to water my ferns. They, the ferns, seem to be enjoying the Helles. Cheers.
Wild Thing
I recently picked up a bottle of Wild Thing from Haand Bryggeriet. The label proclaims it to be a Norwegian Ale with Cranberries and Currants Added. Hmmm…sounded promising. I’m not familiar with Norwegian Ale, but the tartness of cranberries and currents sounded like it would be a slightly tart fruit beer…and it was. But it also had the unmistakable flavor of ashtray. I’m not saying I have licked an ashtray, but I have taken a sip from a bottle that someone has used as an ashtray…and have done so on more than one occasion. At no time have I intentionally sipped ashtray beer….but…Haand Bryggeriet have somehow bottled that distinct flavor and have sent it into distribution. Maybe the ashtray flavor is the Norwegian Ale distinctive trademark, and I just didn’t know.
I took a mouthful, swished around…swallowed…grimaced…and quickly followed it with a water chaser. I picked up the bottle, read it…again…took another big sip, swallowed….then poured the rest of my glass down the sink. yuck.
But…hey…if you like that flavor, this may be your beer…and you don’t even have to fish out the cigarette butt with a fork to enjoy it. Cheers.
BreweryOmmegang Hennepin Farmhouse Saison
Well into American Craft Beer Week, and to show my support, I opted for the Hennepin Farmhouse Saison from New York’s Brewery Ommegang to enjoy with my bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado sandwich at Toronado San Diego. It was not an easy choice when they had so many great beers on tap.
Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge from Belgium’s Brouwerij Bockor is never easy to pass up. Lucky me my friend order that and didn’t mind sharing.
David, our server, said that Toronado San Diego is celebrating their 2nd anniversary this weekend (wow…has it be 2 years already??), in addition to celebrating American Craft Beer Week. He went on to say that they have been sitting on some awesome bottles and kegs for just this occasion. You can bet I’ll be back this weekend to raise a pint or two to Toronado. Cheers.
The Pizza Ports
After a long delay (I heard once that it was opening in October 2009), Pizza Port is opening their fourth, and perhaps most anticipated, location in Ocean Beach tonight, May 14 at 5pm.
Here’s the announcement as it went out Pizza Port cousin Port Brewing/Lost Abbey’s Facebook page:
Word just came from Gina that our Pizza Port cousins will finally be opening the new Ocean Beach brewpub tonight (Friday, May 14) at 5pm. Be one of the first to pick up a pint of Pizza Port brew and you can get a
“I drank the first brew T-shirt”
for only $10!Pizza Port Ocean Beach is located at
1956 Bacon St. San Diego (corner of Bacon and Santa Monica)
Tel number is (619) 224-4700.
We’re a good 40 minutes from Ocean Beach, but knowing the area, I can’t help but think this is going to be a very, very popular location. If you get a chance, you definitely need to check the place out.
Here’s the location on Google Maps:
I’ve been in Seattle for the past week on biz with zero chance to grab a beer. So when I finally got on my plane to go home I was glad to see Alaska Air has Alaskan Amber available on the beverage cart.
Alaskan Amber on Alaska Air
While the $6 for a bottle is kinda steep, it beats the hell out of the usual fizzy crap they serve on airplanes.
A beautiful spring day calls for some good beer with lunch. Molly’s got a Speedway Stout from Alesmith and I have a Union Jack from Firestone walker. Molly is also sporting a new doo.
Alpine Beer Company's Duet
With a small pile of dishes needing to be washed, I can’t think of something better to sip while performing the task, Duet from Alpine Beer Company. Oh…is that Family Guy on TV..hmmm…looks familiar…I think I have seen it. I need to step a bit closer…oh…might as well sit…right? Oh hell…the dishes can wait. The pile is really not that big and there is always tomorrow.
