Bear Republic Brewery: Racer 5 IPA

7.0% ABV  -  75+ IBU's

I have to admit up front that Bear Republic Brewery's Racer 5 IPA is on my short list of consistently great IPA's.

Straight out of the bottle you get hit with a great citrus hop aroma. It pours out a bit lighter than most IPA's and is just a tiny bit light on maltiness for me, but that makes the hopiness really crisp and in your face.

The other thing that really gets me excited it the price. At around $4 for a 22-oz. bottle at most places it can't be beat!

Stone Brewing Co.: Ruination IPA

7.7% ABV  -  100+ IBU's

No need for an introduction for Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA). These guys produce consistently great beers year after year.

Ruination IPA is one of my favorites. It pours out a clear golden color, but don't let that fool you. This one has some serious maltiness and a whole lot of lingering bitterness. The hop aroma is strong from start to finish.

I look forward to every opportunity to take on a Stone Brew!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.: Celebration Ale

6.8% ABV - 65 IBU's

Last season I tried to grow some of my own hops without too much to show for it (maybe this season will be better...), so I haven't had a chance to brew with fresh hops yet. Usually hops are harvested (Oct.-Nov.), dried, and then pelletized to preserve them for freshness. One would think that brewing with fresh hops would be the equivalent of fresh vs. frozen meat, but from what I've read pelletized hops aren't supposed to be that much different. They are necessary though because fresh hops don't preserve well and we like to brew and drink beer year round!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, CA) produces their fresh hop Celebration Ale each year after harvest time. It's been a few months since harvest, so I was wondering how fresh it would taste and I was delightfully surprised. It pours out a nice amber color with good carbonation. It has a nice hop aroma, but the really nice part is the bitterness. It's got a good bit of bitterness, but for some reason it seems smoother than usual... Is it due to the use of fresh hops??? As always, Sierra Nevada's product is well balanced and easy drinking. I'm a huge fan of their Pale Ale too.

Golden Road Brewing: Point The Way IPA

5.2% ABV - 60 IBUs

The cool thing about having friends over for a Super Bowl party is that you end up with a bunch of beers that you might not otherwise choose at the store.

I have seen Golden Road Brewing (Los Angeles, CA) at the store for a while. Maybe subconsciously, I have never purchased any because it is in cans and to a certain extent I don't think I have gotten over great beer coming in cans even though I know that it is way better for the beer and for the environment. I need to get with the program because it seems like it's becoming more common all the time. I'm getting there though, one beer at a time!

Anyway, enough about the can. Point The Way IPA has a great citrus hop aroma. I was a bit surprised though with how little carbonation it had (caused by the can???). It's a bit lighter in color than a lot of other IPA's and I could use just a bit more malt profile. It has quite a bit of bitterness.

Since this one is a bit light on the maltiness, not super high ABV, and comes in a can I think I will give it another shot this Summer when it warms up. In the meantime, next time I am up in L.A. I will definitely try to make it by their brewpub because it looks awesome.

OC Breweries: Valiant Brewing (Grand Opening), Old Orange Brewing, and Noble Ale Works

This last weekend was the grand opening of the newest brewery in Orange County, Valiant Brewing Company (Orange, CA). I had a chance to check out their website before going over there and it seemed like their beers listed were primarily strong ales.







I got to Valiant just a bit after the doors opened at noon and the place was packed. I had heard about these guys a while back, but then things were quiet for a while. It's great to see that they got things up and running. Upon entering you immediately noticed that they have put a lot of time and money into their whole setup. Everything is still brand new and shiny and it looks like they have quite a bit of room to expand.

For the grand opening they only had 3 brews on tap: Mavericks Mighty Ale (Bitter), 31 King's (IPA), and Veranda (French Ale). They all had a nice malt profile, but not too much hoppiness. I think the Veranda was my favorite. It was a bit sweet and masked the alcohol well. I can't wait to get back there once they have more on tap!






They serve all their beers in branded glasses!

FYI, the industrial park where they are located in is a bit tricky to find. Look for this sign when you are on Batavia and then follow the driveway back along the drainage ditch. They are tucked away back on the left.

Since Valiant was super busy that afternoon, we made our way down to Old Orange Brewing Company (Orange, CA). It's literally two blocks South on Batavia. I like Old Orange because they always have a wide variety of brews on tap.

With tasters at $1 ($2 for some of the strong/special beers) I usually just make my way right down the menu.I think my favorite was the Thumb Master Double IPA.










After a bit it seemed like a number of people from the Valiant grand Opening had filtered over to Old Orange so it started to get packed too. The only solution was to hit another brewery just a mile or so away!

Noble Ale Works (Anaheim, CA) is a cool little spot to hit before an Angels or Ducks game because it is right near the stadiums (Valiant and Old Orange are really close too). They usually have some interesting stuff on tap.








The most memorable was their Good Time Imperial Stout with Morita chilies and yellow curry (2nd from the right). It was pretty hot.











Looking forward to some warmer weather to visit all of these places again!

San Diego Trip: Alpine Beer Co. and Pacific Beac AleHouse

A couple of weekends ago my wife were down in San Diego County, so we took a little extra time to visit some brewpubs. If you've got to go somewhere to eat, it might as well have some great beer!

On Friday night we made our way down to Alpine Beer Co. (Alpine, CA). This place was highly recommended by a friend and we weren't disappointed.

It's a tiny little place in town and has a really cool mountainy cafe character. It was pouring rain outside too, so that added to the feel!

We got started with the six sampler of Willy Vanilly, Alpine Ale, Mandarin Nectar, Duet, and Pure Hoppiness. My wife liked the Willy Vanilly the best due to the fresh vanilla taste and I enjoyed the Mandarin Nectar the most as the honey used as a fermentable gave the beer a unique taste.








The food at Alpine Beer Co. was killer too. We started out with the pulled pork potato skins (special) as an appetizer and then finished off with a spicy chicken sausage sandwich. Both were great.

The next day we were down in Point Loma and randomly selected Pacific Beach AleHouse (San Diego, CA). It was right down on the beach and I can imagine this place gets crazy in the Summer.

I went for their standard taster of Good Times Gold, White Wash Wheat, Crystal Pier Pale Ale, Promiscuous IPA (in place of Amber Wave that was tapped out), and PB Porter. My favorite was the Pale Ale.

For food, the Rattlesnake Flatbread was very good. The lobster mac and cheese was way too pricey.