Catchup Post

I just synced my iPhone, saw some beer pictures, and realized I needed to get some of these pictures and comments on the blog.  I had a cask version of Green Flash Hop Head Red at San Diego Brewing Company a few weeks ago.  The non-cask version is hoppy like an IPA with the rich malty characteristics of a good red ale.  The cask version is a different.  It is malty, but my notes say it had hints of chocolate and fruit, too.  The malt is on the front and the hops appear in the long bitter finish.  I have found some cask beers to be muted compared to their non-cask versions.  Not so with the Hop Head Red.

We had a Trumer Pils on Mother's Day.  When I see this beer on a tap list, I instinctively ask if its served in the proper Trumer glass (what a pain-in-the-ass snob).  The Fishery restaurant had the glass, and we ordered the beer.    This is an unremarkable beer, but there is no denying the glass is cool.

The Bay Park Fish Co. has a tap list that never changes, and I mean never changes.  Firehouse Pale Ale, Ballast Point Calico Ale, Stella Artois, and Dos Equis, have been permanent fixtures since the restaurant opened.  The bottle list, however, has expanded and occasionally  changes.   I saw that beers from Mission Brewing, the Blonde and the Hefeweizen, and Green Flash (West Coast IPA, I think) had been added to the bottle list.  We split a bottle of the hefeweizen.  I was taken aback at this beer.  I don't think too much about hefeweizens, as they are generally soft, easy drinking beers.  Not so with the Mission Hefeweizen.  This is a bold hefeweizen, with an up front tastes of bananas and clove, and it seemed spicy.  It had a full mouthful, almost meaty.  It drank much bigger than its 5% abv.  If you like hefeweizens but are tired of bland hefeweizens, like those from Widmer and Pyramid, which seem to show up in more than their fair share of restaurants and bars, look for the Mission Hefeweizen, even if you have to pick up a bottle and drink it at home.