1001 Beers

Beer No: 37/1001
Page No: 689
Category: Dark

So as you might have noticed, I have somewhat of a backlog to make up.  So while I'm writing this on May 3rd, it's still going to be April 30th's post.  I just had a really busy weekend, but it was pretty fun and amazing all at the same time.  Friday was great as a friend and I returned to my old college stomping grounds - good ol' San Diego.  First stop: Callahan's Pub and Brewery.  I haven't been in ages, but back in college, a large group of us from work would go ever Wednesday for $0.25 wing nights.  So I was pleasantly surprised to a) see it still standing and b) find the jalapeno beer cheese soup as good as ever.  However, I was not happy with their most recent addition to their list of home-brewed pours - the Callahans Peep Show Pale.  Made with Peeps candy, it was advertised as a "pink-ish" color with the taste of a pale and that's about all it was.  The Peeps were most definitely just a gimmick, and, honestly, it wasn't a good pale anyways.  I knew I should have stuck with the good ol' IPA or Red as I've had those countless times and they are usually pretty solid.

After Callahan's, we headed back towards Miramar and hit up AleSmith.  I was a regular back in the day, and one of my co-workers who was big into home brew back in college still works there.  He gave us a great tour around the newly expanded facilities and then we went over to the tasting area where we just missed Decadence by one day.  Since Decadence is one of the 1001 Beers, I will get back to it at some point, but I was disappointed they were out of it on tap and in bottles.  So I'm probably going to hit up BevMo later today (or maybe Hi Time Wines) to try and track down one of the last bottles of the season.

You'd think I'd be done drinking by now, but for shame - never!  After picking up a friend in Oceanside, we headed up to Pizza Port, San Clemente where we were greeted with an almost empty restaurant.  A few tables downstairs were taken over by a group of about 10 guys that all refused to sit within 5 feet of each other.  So we headed upstairs, got the Angels game on TV, beer buddies on our table, and a couple of pitchers to keep us busy.  And then all hell broke loose.  Apparently, Pizza Port is THE place to go after school or little league games or whatever because the whole upstairs turned into a kid's playground.  It was quite annoying as I was elbowed, kicked, and had random sticky toys come flying in my direction from the countless kids that were running wild all over the place.  It was a madhouse and I was not happy with the experience.  I really wish we had gone to one of their other locations that doesn't have the room for rowdy kids to run wild and unaccounted for...

But, the beer and pizza was great as always as we tried a few of the local Port Brewing brews on tap and finished the night with an AleSmith YuleSmith.  So, back to the beer...I didn't have this one until Sunday, but, like I said, it's my Friday beer since I'm a bit behind.  Somehow, after all the beer I had at AleSmith, Callahan's, and Pizza Port, I didn't get one from my book, but luckily, on Sunday, the Bruery had a "Beer Geek Show and Tell."  Basically - bring in 2 12oz. beers or 1 750ml (or 22oz.) and receive 10 tasting tokens.  So, I brought in a 2006 AleSmith Grand Cru which was absolutely wonderful - thankfully I have a couple of bottles still left in my cellar.  And then I donated a Stone 13th Anniversary for my friend who had crashed the night before after another crazy night (for tomorrow's post) and also 2 12oz. bottles of Arkh's English Pale Ale.

After a few people had arrived at The Bruery, the first thing to be opened was a growler of Newport Beach Brewing's Hop-Weizen - a nice mixture of hops and wheat which would make for a good session beer, but I just wasn't too impressed by it.  Upon returning to use my second token, I saw that someone had requested the AleSmith Grand Cru, so I immediately hopped on to that and also had my two other friends get a cup of it since it's just such an impressive beer that has aged incredibly well.  From there, I moved on to a Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine (have not rated), tastes of both the 2008 and 2009 Bells Expedition Stout, a Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza, HeBrew Origin Pomegranate Ale, Piccolo Birrificio Seson, Bar Harbor Cadillac Mountain Stout, Lightning Electrostatic Ale, Founders KBS, Goose Island Bourbon Country, and finally, AleSmith YuleSmith (yes, again after Pizza Port a couple days earlier).

All in all, it was a great time and many thanks to the Bruery for putting on such a fun event - and also, many thanks to the people who brought such a diverse and amazing range of beers.  I'm always glad to try new stuff and with a couple of exceptions, almost every beer was very tasty and a treat - the exceptions were the Piccolo Seson and the Chelado (yes, a joke beer).  As for the KBS, this was my favorite bourbon stout of the day.  It had a sweetness to it that balanced the bourbon and roasted malts perfectly.  It was just slightly above the Goose Island (though the Goose Island was quite tasty as well).  However, we all agreed that the Bay Harbor Cadillac Mountain Dry Stout was the winner on the day.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) from Founders Brewing Company

Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 17/20

Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

Bottle at the Bruery. Pours thick, black with no head and slight residual lacing around the edges. Aroma of strong bourbon, sugar, coffee, chocolate, and vanilla. Flavors to match. A very complex bourbon flavoring with a sweet, chocolate finish. Texture is smooth, yet a bit oily with a very sweet, dry, coffee aftertaste. Very well done, among my favorites.