Category Archives: Beer

“He was a wise man who invented beer.” – Plato

I Need a Beer: Appreciating Autumn

calvin_hobbesI’ve been asking a lot of people about what their favorite time of year. The almost unanimous response is autumn/fall. And you know what – I’m going to go on record saying that this time of year is underrated. autumn is fricken’ awesome:

  • Weather cools down but things don’t get dreary and rainy.
  • If you live in a place that has seasons, the colors blow your mind.
  • If you live in a place that has seasons, say bye-bye to humidity and bugs!
  • If you live in CA, the heat becomes more bearable.
  • It has my personal favorite holiday: Thanksgiving (You eat and you give thanks. How is this not more popular?).
  • You get the best sleep. It’s cold enough that you don’t have to remove the covers but not so cold that you’re shivering when you get in.
  • And the most important reason: NBA season begins!

I repeat. Autumn is amazing and underrated.

Another great thing about autumn. You get to start drinking heavier beers. Today I’m looking for what might be my favorite type of beer: the barley wine. Continue reading →

I Need a Beer: My Top 10 of 2014

Just another evening of drinking...

Just another evening of drinking…

It’s now a month into 2015 and it’s time to reflect on all the delicious beer that was had in 2014. That’s right people, welcome to my 10 Favorite Beers of the year! Any of these beers would certainly be good enough for me in a moment of brew-neediness.

But before I get to it, I want to at least acknowledge some really great beers that just missed the cut. Some of these are probably better than the beers that made the list but again, these are my favorite beers, not the beers I think are the most well-made or objectively the best. So to these beers, y’all were awesome, you just weren’t my favorites…

Continue reading →

Coffee Milk Stout by Stone Brewing

Stone Coffee Milk Stout

 

Name: Coffee Milk Stout
Type: Milk Stout
Brewery: Stone (Escondido, CA)
Year: 2014
ABV and/or IBU: 4.20

Review: It’s weird to think of stone for a light beer, much less a stout. While there is GoToIPA, I know them better for their heavy and stronger beers. The Milk Stout has the appearance of something stronger but has a sweet taste and has a light mouth feel. I wish the coffee was more prominent in the smell and taste, but it’s enjoyable as is.

Rating: 3.5/5

For What Ales Ya 2014

10151819_10203191742987709_291503470294888604_nFor What Ales Ya is a yearly event that occurs in the Inland Empire. It is a beer festival/bottle share that brings together local beer enthusiasts to sample some of each other’s and local breweries’ favorite beers. It’s very much a grassroots effort. MBP attended this year’s event and I wanted to share some thoughts and highlights about the experience. Continue reading →

Alpha Overdrive: The Quad

Alpha Overdrive

Brewery: Valiant
IBU: 220
ABV: 14.3%

Valiant’s Alpha Overdrive is I think I would say Alpha Drive’s bigger, stockier, younger brother. Don’t let this description fool you this boy can handle himself, and when his big brother starts fights little brother will finish them.

Continue reading →

Shaolin Fist, Will Get You in the Kisser

Shaolin Fist

Monkish Brewing Co.

Shaolin Fist

ABV: 7.0%

On a recent Beer Crawl, I had the opportunity to taste Monkish Breweries line up. I was not disappointed for the most part, and the one that stood above all the rest was Shoalin Fist. It is brewed as a Belgian Style Saison with a kick. It is brewed with Sichuan peppercorns and gives it a spice that was very nice. What I expected to be another brewery’s attempt to do another “refreshing” pepper beer turned out to be the kick in the mouth I needed to get me revamped for spicy beer.

Continue reading →

I Need a Beer: Peanut Butter Edition

lawyer-dog-peanut-butter
I love me some peanut butter. One of my favorite snacks growing up: a spoonful of peanut butter and a glass of milk. One of my favorite sandwiches: peanut butter and banana. Favorite ice cream mix-in: vanilla ice cream with peanut butter, banana, and chocolate syrup/fudge. If you don’t like peanut butter or, even worse, you’re allergic; this is going to be a pretty useless post (actually, one of the beers in question does NOT have any peanut allergens in it, so keep reading, I was just kidding).

But that sounds like a personal problem to me! Without further ado, I bring you the next installment of “I Need a Beer”, a battle between two pretty damn delicious peanut butter stouts. Because sometimes, I just need some peanut butter in my beer.
Continue reading →

Sucreversary

Sucre

As a member of the Bruery Reserve Society, I was fortunate enough to get invited to their annual beer festival. With their anniversary beer being called Sucre, it was aptly named “Sucreversary”.

Here are some of the event specifics:

  • Venue: The Phoenix Club in Anaheim, CA
  • Invitees: All Reserve Society and Hoarder’s Society Members plus their guests
  • Breweries: The Bruery plus 26 Guest Breweries (Check out the list here along with what was poured)
  • Food: Provided by Beachwood BBQ and Chunk N Chip Truck
  • Perks: Glassware and unlimited 1 oz tastings
  • Cost: $60/person

So at $60 a person, this is not a cheap event. Going into this beerfest, I had high expectations. Fortunately, the Sucreversary did not disappoint. Continue reading →

Go To IPA, Intrigued?

Stone Brewery, 
Go To IPA
Style: Session IPA
IBU: 65ABV: 4.5%

Stone Brewing Company, a brewery that has a lust for hops and hoppy beers released Go To IPA.  Stone has crafted an IPA for an everyday experience instead of their heavier Arrogant Bastard, Stone IPA and their Stouts. Go To IPA is Stone’s answer for a daily beer that won’t leave you inebriated when you go back to work. Continue reading →