My recent trip was my second time visiting the sunshine state and first time that I got to explore options for one of my favorite beverages. One thing I recently learned that, according to the Brewer's Association, California is number one in the country for number of craft brewers in the US with 438. That is a lot of breweries and, unfortunately, I don't have enough vacation time to visit all of them in one go. However, I did get to visit a few.
The California Leg:
El Segundo Brewing Company:
The first stop of my beer tour was the El Segundo Brewing Company. It was not only a cool place to hang out but had one other interesting character (other than your's truly) that is supposedly Steve Austin. I didn't get to see him but pictures of one or two of his visits plus an action figure modelled in his honor decorate the bar.
While at El Segundo, I figure it was worth wrestling a flight to try not only my preferred style of brew, stouts, but a couple others.
The first that I was drawn to was the Hyperion's Vanilla Stout. This seemed to be a marriage between an Irish dry stout and a vanilla stout with much success. It was smooth and not too overly sweet.The others of the flight that was of note was the Pine Tar Incident (Black IPA) and Power Plant (Triple IPA). Normally I am not an IPA guy but something about both of these two drew me in and were quite tasty.
King Harbor Brewing Company:
The next place we drank was at King Harbor. It is a casual place to chill. The guy behind the counter that night reminded me a little of one of the members of the band The Swingin Utters for some reason, or at least a fan. The brew I tried was the Swirley. It claims to be a swirl of chocolate and vanilla but tasted more of a coffee brew.
Rock and Brew:
One thing the missus always mentions is that I should try a sample before I get a brew. Mind you I am a bit of a sucker for anything with an amusing or interesting name. Dragonstooth stout is one of those that caught my eye when we visted the Rock and Brew for a bite to eat, an establishment owned in part by Gene Simmons. The Dragonstooth turned out to be quite rich and heavy but delicious.
Later in the evening I decided that I wanted to get my hands on the following t-shirt:
The missus did not get the Pink Floyd references and felt quite embarrassed for her comment of "You know it has a rainbow on it, right?" I had to explain I like beer, Pink Floyd and remind her I like gay people.
The Dudes:
For anyone who is a fan of a good beer and the Big Lebowski may enjoy a trip to The Dudes Brewery. Though it did lack in a stout or porter selection, my go to's, it did have a good alternative with Gandma's Pecan Brown Ale.
It was a sweet beer that was flavorful with notes of pecans (of course) and smooth finish. The only thing that could have been better was a carpet to tie the room together.
The Strand Brewing Company:
The last brewery we tried was the Strand Brewering Company. When we visited, the brewery recently relocated and looked as if it had plenty of room to grow.
The Arizona Leg:
Barrios Brewing:
Often times a hole in the wall, or a place that seems unsuspecting is unsuspecting good. Barrios Brewing is such a place. It had an industrial facade but was comfortable inside.
I was worried that we had trouble getting there because, at one point it rained. And when it rains, the roads do get flooded. Fortunately, we got there safe. I got to share a flight with everyone and found a couple of brews worth a note.
On occasion, I do like to indulge in a fruity beer. T'aylor Jayne's Raspberry Ale hit the spot and was quite refreshing. I followed it up with a Mocha Java Milk Stout with lunch and it had the right balance between a coffee taste and smoothness.
BJ Brewhouse
The last leg of brews was at BJ's, apparently a nationwide chain. We visited the Mesa location and had myself a Tatonka Stout. I figured why not have for my last beer an Imperial. Was quite tasty although the food could have been better. Then again, it could be the fact it was a chain.
