last thursday night, AP and I went over to alpine village for some legit german food and brews.

• ever since I dropped by AV a little while back, I was eagerly anticipating our return.  I knew it was going to be a great night right when we walked in the door, and were seated immediately and given a healthy serving of liverwurst and rye.
• thursday was swing night, and there was a full band in attendance along with an impressive singer.  we were definitely the youngest in the crowd by a few decades, but it didn’t keep us from cutting a rug in between courses and beers.
• ah, the beers – AP got one of her staples, hangar 24′s altbier, and I had weihenstephaner’s kristall weissbier.  well, I ordered it, and ended up with an unfiltered wheat instead, so who knows what I put down.  later AP chatted up the bartender and tried the kristall weiss after the fact, which was definitely tasty and probably the variety of the style that I would pursue ifwhen I brew another wheat.
• on sunday AP and I rang in the 4th with some heavy BBQ and great beers.  I’m talking a 10lb pork shoulder, 8lb brisket and two dozen brats in the smoker with all the fixins – it was definitely a good time.
• unfortunately, I was out of homebrew for the occasion, but the food was very well complemented with some firestone walker variety packs and a sixer of stone’s IPA, which was better than I remembered.
• I also snuck down to the basement for some bottles, including stone’s 14th anniversary empirial IPA (uncomfortably bitter with not enough aroma to balance it out, probably due to the hop selection), lagunitas’ hairy eyeball (killer as always, malty and delicious), and new belgium’s eric’s ale (definitely one of my favorites, the most drinkable sour I have come across).
• on saturday and sunday JF helped me out with some “brewery expansion construction”: using an angle grinder and some bootleg jig I threw together based off a modification of this idea from homebrewtalk, we cut the tops off of a couple of kegs that will soon enjoy long lives as an HLT and mash tun.  we also installed some weldless ball valves, thermometers, and sightglasses.  once the third keg makes an appearance and all my quick disconnects and other fittings come in, the setup will be revealed, but until then the project will remain shrouded in mystery.

AP’s go-to beer these days has been maui brewing co.’s coconut porter.

• we first tried this brew while on oahu a while back and she has been hooked ever since.
• in AP’s own words, the beer has a smoky, nutty aroma and is chocolately, rich and creamy with a subtle coconut flavor.
• I only wish I had grabbed her a bottle of aloha plenty, a collab between maui brew co and stone. in fact, I had a chance once at a liquor store in redondo beach, but for some reason the cashier refused to sell it to me.  go figure.

last week DH, AF and I rolled by church key in north beach for a round.

• DH had three philosophers from ommegang, which was on draft (see review of this quad here).
• AF and I each had one of stone’s sublimely self-righteous ales, which is a remake of their 11th anniversary beer.
• sublimely self-righteous is classified as an american strong on beeradvocate, but stone calls it a “black double IPA.“
• despite my previous ranting about the terminology of black IPAs, I definitely enjoy this brew – the strong hop aroma matched the roasted malts, and some residual sweetness tied it all together.
• this beer won’t necessarily be a go-to beer for me, but it was well-balanced and is a good representative of this new style.  now if only stone will remake their 13th anniversary brew next year…
• as for church key, the bartender was friendly and they had a pretty decent selection of beers on tap.
• although their bottle list did contain some winners, the selection seemed a little slimmed down from the last time I was there.
• my only gripe was the pricing – $8 for a pour of a stone brew?  that’s a little steep, especially with so many options available in the area.  their bottle list was pricey too, which dissuaded me from any experimenting.

I recently picked up a bottle of menage a singe black IPA while on a bevmo run and cracked it open last weekend.

• as noted by jay brooks in his article on the black IPA style, this beer is “a special release by the recent San Jose venture between the Tied House and Jeff Moses, former GM of Coast Range Brewery.”
• upon popping the cork, it was clear that this beer was very overcarbed.  it took a minute or two to get a decent pour, which was slightly annoying.
• the use of black patent or some other dark roasted malt dominated the flavor and aroma of the beer and overwhelmed any dry hop aroma that might have been present.
• in my opinion, calling a beer a “black IPA” doesn’t make sense.  how can a pale ale be black?  I think “dry-hopped porter” is more appropriate.
• overall, the beer was definitely interesting, but I wouldn’t buy it again.  if you are gung-ho on this “black IPA” kick, I would recommend something more like stone’s sublimely self-righteous ale.

I spied a bomber of rogue’s dry hopped st. rogue red on the shelf last week at bevmo while on a staple beer run (i.e., grabbing as many bombers of stone 13th and lagunitas little sumpin’ extra I could get my mitts on), so I figured I’d give it a shot.

• the brew had a great rocky head that lasted for quite some time, along with a strong ruby color.
• however, it had a mild, grassy hop aroma and flavor and a mediocre malt backbone (although the pacman yeast kept the overall beer pretty clean).
• I have a strong hunch this beer had been sitting around for quite some time before I got my hands on it.  I mean, a dry hopped beer with little hop aroma??
• I’ll have to try this guy again.  it was on draft at their pub last time I was there…

I had recently heard about a new place called amsterdam cafe in the tenderloin, so last night CB and I rolled by to check it out.

• I like the layout of this place – there is a covered outdoor patio area up front and a bar immediately behind it, with a few tables opposite the bar.
• the owners and bartenders were very friendly, as was everyone else in the bar.  the place has an honest, neighborhood feel to it.  prices are a little steep though.
• there were 14 or so beers on tap and quite a few bottles available – mostly the usual suspects, but there was a solid dogfish head showing and they carried quite a few belgians.
• I started the night off with stone’s oaked arrogant bastard on draft.  this beer had a great creamy mouthfeel and seemed to be much more drinkable than other oaked bastards I have had in the past.
• I them moved on to ommegang’s three philosophers.  the mouthfeel/body seemed a little light for a quad (probably due to the kriek addition), but it hides its alcohol very well, clocking in at close to 10% abv.
• I closed the night out with a bruegel amber ale from brouwerij van steenberge.  it was very drinkable, and I definitely liked the yeast profile, but it has to be the lightest amber I have ever seen and at 7 or 8 bucks a bottle here, there are plenty of other options available.
• CB picked up an oaked bastard as well as a gulden draak, again from brouwerij van steenberge.  gulden draak is a belgian strong that seemed a little too sweet to me – take away some sweetness (and toss in a little brett) and I would order this up in a heartbeat.
• note: I had grabbed a burger from pearl’s to take over there, but when I arrived I discovered that they had started cooking up sausages themselves, so keep that in mind if you want to grab a bite as well.
• overall, amsterdam cafe is a breath of fresh air in the area.  swapping out a couple of the usual taps and bottles for some more niche brews (e.g., a geuze, lambic, some russian river, or better yet, dutch beers to run with the namesake, etc.) would make this place exceptional.

this post is a continuation of the brew highlights from last year’s european adventure.

after a long trek out to holesovice and pivni galerie (review soon!) in the czech republic, AP and I were in desperate need of refreshment.  pivovarský klub definitely came through nicely.

• this place had a great bottle selection (200+ bottles) that included many american/west coast offerings.  it was pretty amazing to see some local bottles from places like stone brewing so far from home.
• the downstairs bar was amazing too – bottles lined the walls and the modest tap selection was top notch.  the traditional food was great too.
• I tried out the dum stepan from their house brewery, pivovarsky dum – it was a great czech pils that I wish I could get more often.
• I also had a svijany maz from svijany brewery – this beer doesnt seem to get much love on beeradvocate, but I remember it as hiding its 11%abv well and being quite drinkable and refreshing.
• AP had the lipan from these guys in drazic (I think).  she also had her now-favorite beer, the pivo svetly lezak from opat aka pivovar broumov, a brewery whose offerings have been impossible to find here in the states (much to AP’s disappointment).
• overall, this place was comfortable, relaxing, and had great service.  I will definitely make a point to stop by again the next time I am in the area.

view from the back bar

In Las Vegas for a close friend’s bachelor party, I happened to stumble across Burger Bar in Mandalay Place on the strip.  Well, more like “actively seek out as a result of BeerFly research” than “stumble across,” but you know what I mean.  This place emerged as an oasis in a desert of aluminum budweiser bottles and foot-tall plastic margarita glasses.

• don’t fret if mandalay place (the building between mandalay bay and luxor) seems far.  a tram at excalibur drops you off less than a 5 minute walk from where you need to be.
• when I got there, the place was packed, and there was a line to get in.  however, bar seating is first come, first served, and there were open bar seats the entire time i was there, so if you are in a group of 2-3 I would recommend that option.  they are also open until 2am on weekends, so you can always go in at an off hour to avoid the rush.
• if the front bar is packed, check out their back bar – it seemed less crowded to me and was where I got a seat the first time I was there.
• over the course of the weekend, I visited this place multiple times.  I started off with a favorite, stone’s 13 anniversary, while picking out a burger.
• they also have an impressive dogfish head selection here, bigger than I have found in SF.  I had a DFH raison d’etre with my burger, and had them pour a draft DFH 90 minute IPA in a cup to go.
• later that weekend, I rolled in for another burger.  I started off with another favorite, Cantillon Iris (in a 375ml bottle), and left with a DFH 120 minute IPA in a cup (ask for it, I don’t think it’s on the menu).  I think I can safely say that I was the only guy rolling through the casino with that beer in his hand.
• Everyone working at burger bar was very friendly (and incredibly busy).  I had a good conversation with Dean, the resident “beer guide” at burger bar.  He’s the guy to look for for good beer stories and recommendations.

Also, another burger bar will be opening in the city in macy’s sometime soon, so hopefully theire beer list will come with it and we can all enjoy yet more beer variety here in SF.

p.s. for some decent shots of the interior of burger bar go here.

stone 13th and friends at father's office

More specifically, I guess I went to Father’s Office Santa Monica, since there is now another (evidently bigger) one a little ways away.  A few years back, FO surprised me with some great beers and burgers, as well as an enormous crowd.  Well, the place didn’t disappoint in any of those areas on Saturday.

• I forgot that you order both food and beers at the bar, so have a friend claim a table (if there are any left) while you order up.
• this place is both small and popular, so try to come at an off hour.  i came with some friends at 3ish on a Saturday and my buddy grabbed the last table in the joint.  also, parking is a pain in the ass during the week, FYI.
• evidently, the bartenders pride themselves on beer recommendations.  One of them recommended a tripel to my buddy after he told her he liked his first pint of new belgium’s dandelion beer.  I found the recommendation odd at first but now i guess it was accurate enough.
• I started off with RR’s perdition.  Pretty decent, I’m not really a biere de garde fan but i figured i would give it a shot.  One BA review of this beer i relate with: “Like I can turn down a RR tap I haven’t had yet?… Those RR guys make very good beers, and really craft them. This was certainly not one of my favorites, but it’s still very well-made” (callmescraps).
• I finished off with stone’s 13th anniversary.  I LOVE this beer, it’s the quintessential “california beer” to me.  they should do like sublimely self-righteous and make it seasonal instead of a one-time deal.  time to stock up at bevmo in case that never happens.