Category Archives: Drinks

With the exception of Green Flash Brewing Co.’s Imperial IPA (American Double/Imperial IPA, 9.4% ABV), wifey and I had already tried the rest of the beers in the pictures below. It is always great to be able to share good beer with others.

As was the case during this past Thanksgiving with my parents and bro’.

And with my cousin who visited from the East Coast.

As much as I’m enjoying all the beer tasting and the ensuing learning aspects of the various beer styles and such, I’m beginning to realize that for me, these days, I enjoy the social aspect even more. Consequently, I suspect that in the near future, there’ll be an increasing number of pictures of people on this blog and not just beer and food photos.

Always Grateful,

~Andy

Having worked in a quarter-system college now for over 6 years, my usual time markers throughout the year are Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. With the busy beginning of the Winter quarter, plus several family projects and activities to participate in, it’s been a while since I’ve posted.

I still have a number of posts to catch up on, but for now, here’s a little of what I personally studied the first part of Fall 2011.

Wifey particularly enjoys these 21st Amendment Brewery beers, and I can see why. They’re very tasty.

Back in Black (American Black Ale, 6.8% ABV) and Hop Crisis (American Double/Imperial IPA, 9.7% ABV).

We also enjoyed the Lagunitas Hop Stoopid Ale (American Double/Imperial IPA, 8% ABV).

We also tried some pumpkin beers. We tried some last year and enjoyed them.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (Pumpkin Ale, 7% ABV) and Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin (Pumpkin Ale, 9% ABV).

But this time around, we enjoyed them less, which got us talking about the continuing changes in our beer tastes.

We liked these two beers from Pyramid Brewing.

Thunderhead IPA (American IPA, 6.7% ABV) and Snow Cap (Winter Warmer, 7% ABV).

We also liked the Hefeweizen (American Pale Wheat Ale, 5.2% ABV). But we were split on the Apricot Ale (Fruit/Vegetable Beer, 5.1% ABV) – wifey did not like the sweetness and the fruitiness, but I did.

We enjoyed Rogue’s Chocolate Stout (American Stout, 6% ABV) and Firestone Walker’s Velvet Merlin (Oatmeal Stout, 5.5% ABV).

And the following beers we also liked a lot.

Green Flash West Coast IPA (American IPA, 7.3% ABV), Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (American Double/Imperial IPA, 9% ABV), and Russian River Pliny the Elder (American Double/Imperial IPA, 8% ABV).

Yes. All this studying is, indeed, a lot of hard work.

Always Grateful,

~Andy

Earlier this summer, my brother treated the toddler and I to a meal at the Village California Bistro and Wine Bar in Santana Row. I took the opportunity to do a beer tasting along with my meal.

I went for the Firestone Walker Double Jack IPA, New Belgium Somersault, and Napa Smith Lost Dog Red Ale beer flight.

I hadn’t quite yet acquired the full appreciation for IPAs (let alone Double IPAs) when I tried this beer flight, so the Double Jack was my least favorite due to the bitter taste when compared to the other beers.

These days, I greatly enjoy the Double Jack, which reflects how much my taste in beer has evolved since the beginning of this year.

The meal itself was quite good.

Roasted 38 North chicken breast – rock shrimp & andouille sauce creole, white corn polenta, Coke Farms braised greens.

Pan roasted California sea bass with fava beans, chanterelle mushrooms and Borba Farms baby squash.

Earlier in the fall, I had the chance to check the Yard House, with their wide selection of beers. I wrote a separate post about our thoroughly enjoyable outing.

Early last month, I tried the beer and burger pairing special at The Counter in Santana Row.

The draft selections, few and mostly straightforward, paired nicely with their respective mini-burgers. A nice addition to their selection is the Full Boar Scotch Ale from Belmont’s Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company.

Lastly, earlier this month, we visited Pizza Antica, where I helped myself to a Trumer Pils, a German pilsener beer brewed in Berkeley’s Trumer Brauerei. This beer was crisp and refreshing. And the food was excellent.

Warm Brussels sprouts salad with bacon, hard cooked egg, caramelized onion, and croutons.

Heirloom potatoes, caramelized onion, and white truffle oil.

Kid’s cheese pizza.

We enjoy hanging out at Santana Row, and it’s nice to know that there’s some good beer to be had there.

Cheers! Prost! Gun bae!

~Andy

Back in October, wifey and I visited Mountain View’s Tied House Brewery and Café and Morgan Hill’s El Toro Brewing Co. Brewpub.

Tied House hosted a “Lupulin for Lupus” fundraiser organized by the folks associated with the BetterBeerBlog.

Proceeds from four donated casks were to benefit a lupus foundation.

Alpha Session from Drake’s Brewing and Hops on Rye from Firehouse Brewing.

Appetizer and raffles.

Mr. and Mrs. BetterBeerBlog.

We’re so glad to have been able to attend this event. We drank tasty beer, caught up with good folks, got to meet Tied House’s director of marketing, and did our little part in helping out a good cause. Tied House, for sure, is going to be a place we’ll be returning to often.

A few days after having visited Tied House, we stopped by El Toro Brewing Co. on our way back from a trip to Gilroy Gardens.

El Toro IPA and Deuce Imperial IPA.

The beers were excellent, and the food hit the spot as well.

El Toro Brewing Co. is another place that we’ll certainly be returning to.

Cheers! Prost! Gun bae!

~Andy