Feb. 1. Beer Adventure! It was Pliny the Younger release day and much beer adventuring was in the offing. Last year, we were first in line and this year many of the same crew were set to do it again. Sadly, I had to work on this morning, so I was unable to join the Pliny crew. However, I did drive up with my buddy Rano to join the afternoon adventures. After meeting with the rest of the crew in Santa Rosa, we headed south to Lagunitas. This is one of my favorite beer sites ever. The way they have the beer garden set up is very nice – it is like a southwest desert beer garden. There was live music going and plenty of new beers to try. I also love Lagunitas’ sampling options. They allow a choice of 4 selections of your choice for $5. Such a deal for a pint’s worth of excellent selections. I had the WTF (hard not to have it since it is one of the greatest beers ever), the Hairy Eyeball 2011, the Sonoma County Stout, the Filmore Fusion, Doppleomyces, Etwas Kolsch, Fusion 11, and the 3B Gnarly Wine. All wonderful beers. Though the Filmore Fusion and the Gnarly Wine were the best selections. Though the WTF and Hairy Eyeball were close seconds.
A quick rundown:
WTF (2013) (Pub): A perennial favorite: brown, caramel,
citrus, hoppy, with a hint of licorice.
Doppleomyces (Pub): Dopple with sour yeast. Cloudy honey
color. Brown sugar sour. Hint of winter spices. Like a Trader Vic’s hot
buttered rum.
Hairy Eyeball (2011): All malt all the time. Sweet, dark and
caramel – so delicious. One of their best.
Sonoma County Stout (Pub): Stout with bret yeast. Like sour
raisons. Good, but not really a stout.
Filmore Fusion (Pub): One of the greats. Floral citrus
hoppiness. Sweet and Glorious. Like an IPA. Crazy good beer – close to Pliny.
Etwas Kolsch (Pub): This one was described as the Sumpin
Sumpin as a kolsch. It has a banana
scent and flavor. Cloudy and sweet.
Fusion 11 (Pub): Good solid dark malty beer with rye spicy
notes. Turns out it does use rye. Delicious with a hint of pine.
3B Gnarly Wine (Pub) The winner of the night! Chocolate and
cherry liquor. Parts were aged in Bourbon, Brandy, and Rye barrels and mixed.
Complex sipper. Most delicious.
After leaving Lagunitas, we stopped
in downtown Petaluma for dinner at Taps. I tried a 101 North Heroine IPA. It
was solid if unspectacular. 7% ABV. More of the earthy hops.
The last stop was Bear Republic in
Healdsburg. Tried the Peter Brown, the Cafe Racer 15, Old Saint Chongo, Big
Bear Black, Baba Yaga, and Old Scout Barley Wine.. It isn’t Lagunitas in terms
of the atmosphere, but the selections were excellent and the variety of
offerings impressive.
I tried:
Peter Brown (Pub): Brown, hoppy, and sweet. Earthy hops.
Strong alcohol flavor. 6.3%
Old Saint Chongo (Pub): Coffee flavor. Somewhat astringent.
Cocoa. 7.6%
Café Racer 15 (Pub): 100IBU. Double IPA with Citra hops.
Golden color, and super hoppy. 9.5% ABV.
Big Bear Black (Pub): Deep black, smoky and sour – excellent
stout! 5 IBU. 8.1% ABV.
Baba Yaga (Pub): aged in cognac barrels. Imperial stout.
With banana essence and sweet licorice. 11.5% ABV and 115 IBU. Very tasty.
Old Scout Barleywine (Pub): Sweet with sour and smoky notes.
Roasty, smoky malts. 9.85% ABV and 100 IBU.
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