Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Hidden Brew Pub

A few weeks ago I found a brew pub that is not on BeerAdvocate. It is a Stuft Pizza in Thousand Oaks, California. Stuft Pizza was a local Southern California chain of brewpubs. It went corporate and changed its name to Oggi's. The Stuft Pizza in Thousand Oaks did not make the switch and its beers are now contract brewed by Firestone. It is tucked into a strip shopping mall, behind a Mimi's Cafe, on Moorpark Road. It is about a quarter- to half-mile east of the 101. I did not eat there, but did get a growler of Firestone's new IPA. Not bad, but not a hop monster either. There were also guest beers on tap. When I was there it had Sierra Nevada's Anniversary Ale.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Stone XI

Wooa. This is a good beer. Pours dark like a porter but drinks like a double IPA. It is very mellow, if you can apply that adjective to a DIPA. The head was average sized and had the color of a porter or stout. The beer left no lace on the glass. There is a faint, roasted taste that emerges as you work your way down the glass, but it stays faint even as the beer warmed allowing it to keep its DIPA structure. It did not have the stick-to-your-mouth high alcohol taste like some DIPAs and last year's Stone Anniversary Ale (which also was a DIPA). In all a most enjoyable beer and a tribute to Stone's craftsmanship.

I am going to pick up a couple more as they will go well with the cooler weather. I bought mine this morning at South Bay Drugs in Imperial Beach, a great beer store in the most unlikely place - a beat up strip shopping center a stone's throw from the Mexican border. I picked up a couple of other beers in addition to Stone XI that I hope to write about later.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Michael Jackson

When I grow up I want to be a beer writer and traveller like Michael Jackson. I received one of his books for my birthday last month. It was sad to hear of his passing. Todd and Jason Alstrom, the founders of BeerAdvocate, have a thoughtful article on Michael Jackson that has many links.

Punting in Portland

I took a working mini-vacation to Portland, Oregon with the family in mid-August and passed on Portland's craft beer offerings. My wife did not want me to drag her and my girls to a brewery so I did not push the matter. I did make a late night trek to a Whole Foods and picked up a Pelican Pub & Brewery IPA that I have not drank yet. (Ironically, my one chance for a detour involved Pelican Pub. We went to the coast and my wife was up for the detour to Pacific City, but I passed, partly due to not wanting to be tempted to drink (as I had to drive the two hours back to Portland) and partly due to not wanting to force the craft beer issue. A buddy brought some Pelican beers down from Oregon last year I really enjoyed them.) There will be other chances to visit Portland so I am not that disappointed.

Stone World Bistro and Gardens

I went to Stone Bistro and World Gardens for my birthday. I love this restaurant. It is not a brew pub, but a fine restaurant with a focus on local, organic and sustainable food. This means the food tastes good (and with a little more consistency it will be great). I had a Stone Ruination with appetizers and lunch and a Lost Abbey Devotion to finish the meal. Outstanding beers. I probably did not drink them in the proper order, but it was my birthday so who cares.

Were are the Posts?

The posts have been light the past month. And I have beer news and finds, too, so I am going to try to catch-up over the next several days.