Attacking NW hops!

I tried yet another new beer yesterday while watching the Syracuse basketball game...

Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Blast!
it's an Imperial IPA, they tout it as being a blend of the best of Europe and America using the finest ingredients from both.
This was actually pretty good, not great mind you but pretty good!
8.4% alcohol is on the high end of where I start to disfavor beer, but this one didn't taste too "boozy"
it was pretty smooth and had a nice hop taste to it (not for Randy). A bit earthy, a bit spicy...pretty good! Honestly, I think I prefer the American hops far more and it was the Euro hops that brought this down from what it could have been.

and yes, I enjoyed it in a GLASS, poured as intended, WITH a bit of a head!
(perfect pour = pour the first half at a 45 degree angle, finish the pour directly head on!)

Working through Red Hook Variety Pack: ESB, Audible Ale, Longhammer IPA, Winterhook

Probably all run of the mill good, nothing stands out, maybe more of a broad appeal craft brew set. Regionally Full Sail, Deschutes, and Bridgeport does all of they these styles better in terms craft beers readily available in stores.

I of course went with my usual minimum head pours as I'm a big fan of carbonation.

Ok, going to be in the USA in July next year. I will be hitting 40 (and we will be in SF that weekend, for some Anchor beers).

We have two days in San Diego (apparently a vibrant beer scene), three nights in Seattle. As yet we don't have definite plans for the four nights between Seattle and SF...

So, along the WA/OR/NorCA coast, where is good for beer?

Seattle and Portland are both great for craft beers, from Portland it's an hour drive inland to pop into Hood River. Those three cities should tie you up pretty well. Hood River might be a pretty place to stay overnight. Donut tourism is always a great option too if you want to suck the marrow from American experience, Voodoo Donuts and the like. And to balance it out there's really a lot of remarkable vegan food in Seattle and Portland.

The ultimate keep sake to take home is a bottle of Voodoo Maple Bacon Porter:

My daughter lives in san Diego and while visiting I have been to a few nice places (but do not recall the names, frankly, if you go to any of the taverns that promote craft beers located in the gas lamp district you should be just fine! San Diego is a VERY vibrant beer scene and they are wide known for their IPA's so get ready for the hops!

If you have the time, next door in Escondido is Stone Brewing and I went on a very good tour there, very nice place!! (and EXCELLENT beers!)

Thanks guys! In San Diego we (well, I) insisted on staying in Gaslamp, so good to know I can stagger between beer halls on IPA.

In the northwest, I was looking at a night in Portland or nearby, a night on the Oregon coast, a night near Eureka or perhaps Redding, and then somewhere near to SF (but not Napa as we have a trip there later).

Saw Voodoo donuts on Food Channel programmes but forgot which city it is in. That they have a Rogue tie in as well... Looks like Portland is a definite lock!

I tried to find the place I visited when last in San Diego and I think it was the Yard House, they have a pretty huge beer menu and even lay it out by style based on flavor. My daughters ex-boyfriend also raved about Karl Strauss though I have not been there myself.

A great San Diego experience should include the following:

1) Take the trolley to Old Town and then the bus into Ocean Beach (assuming you're avoiding taxis). Get off at Newport Ave. Walk down towards the beach and you'll find the best fish taco in the known world at South Beach Bar & Grill at the end of the street. Plenty of bars here (all on the grungy side) but I like Sunshine Company because they have outdoor bars, especially useful if you're a smoker. OB is an old hippy community although it's starting to gentrify - Starbucks… yahhh.

2) Also from Old Town, you can take a bus to Shelter Island and Cabrillo National Monument. Happy hour at the Brigantine & dinner at Miguel's is a great combo. Great views from Cabrillo which is at the opening to San Diego harbor.

3) There are some good Irish bars in the Gaslamp but other than that, no recommendations. Well, except one - keep away from Seaport Village as it is quite the tourist trap.

Have fun!

Oh yeah, if you run into a brew called Pliny the Elder, please let me know what you think. It's that elusive beer that always sells out as soon as it comes in and only available on the west coast.

Actually I'm kind of jealous, would love to spend an extended week touring the west coast.

Randy, Please READ what I wrote and not put words in my mouth that were not stated!
1) I did not say you must drink beer from a GLASS, a red solo cup is fine in a pinch. I did say I preferred glass so I could see the color and clarity of the beer I was sampling but any glassware (a solo cup falls into this classification) is just fine.

2) beer most certainly should be poured, no freaking doubt about it. Glass, goblet, red solo cup, as long as it is poured from the bottle/can/tap. To get the full flavor it most certainly should be poured. as stated, you are ignoring basic science of taste if you drink direct from the bottle, your nose is part of your taste. That isn't garbage, that's simple science. Try plugging your nose and what do you taste then? Beer trapped in the bottle also traps that full flavor from being released. You certainly can drink it direct from the bottle but if so, you can't make a real comment on a beer being good or not!

and the type of pour is less important than the pour itself but if pouring into a "glass" then why not do it correctly as was intended?

Your continual rants only make you look a fool!
Trying to claim the aroma plays no part in taste, are YOU @#$! serious yourself?
Further foolish comments, the whole citrus issue, again, not citrus FLAVORED, but rather hop flavored and some hops lend a citrus-like flavor. You want beer to taste like beer, all beer is to taste the same? Heck, you said yourself you don't like Cascade hops...why? Is it possibly too citrus or floral tasting to you? If so, geee, there you go making a point for me and the others who DARE comment on what a particular beer tastes like!

Please Randy, stop trying to pain me and others here as if we were clowns, we are not "hip" we simply enjoy beer and sharing our finds, you are not "cool" trying to paint us as sissies the one and only clown I see is the one trying to make others look dumb...it's making you look an idiot pal, it really is...

This exchange had me laughing to tears, epic Redscape stuff here.

Neal Anderth wrote:This exchange had me laughing to tears, epic Redscape stuff here.

I wonder if the poor spelling and malapropisms were deliberately put in for extra comic effect.

Randy, cool down and chug your PBR or whatever. Tom, don't rise to the bait.

I had more than my share of PBR back in college (it was always on sale)
Randy wants to paint us as "hipsters" hahaha, he hasn't met me! (right now I'm parked in front of the tv watching sportscenter, just saw the end of the Kentucky/Arkansas game. I'm wearing sweat pants and a sweaty old baseball cap and I beat up slippers on my feet, my hair has not been cut since September and I have not shaved since saturday ...hipster?, ME? I may have a white collar job but I act more blue collar than Randy wants to think.
I will drink just about any beer you put in front of me (except for porters and stouts) and I'm not going to complain about it. and guess what, if you give me a Bud, or Coors, or PBR, I will almost certainly be drinking it straight from the bottle (or can, nothing wrong with a can with those brews). When it comes to trying new beers though, to give it a fair taste, you simply need to pour it into some sort of glass/cup/slipper? and if trying something NEW, yep, I want to see what it looks like and give it a good whiff before tasting as well.

I aint no hipster, I aint no sissy pants, I do however enjoy my beer and drinking it to full effect is part of that enjoyment!