Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Random Beer Notes

I had a Stone Ruination IPA the other night. This is a great beer and in my opinion it is under rated. It should get more props when discussions turn to the best double IPAs. It is more drinkable than most DIPAs, has an excellent hop flavor, but is properly balanced. Many DIPAs are specialty releases so I tend try these rather than reach for Ruination. This is usually a mistake. I prefer Ruination to Stone IPA, and its my favorite of Stone's regular release.

The Lost Abbey's Avant Garde is a wonderful beer. I had not had this beer in a while and somehow forgot how good it is. I'll have to have this more often.

I had Shasta Brewing Company's Shastafarian Porter the other night. It had a sweet, rich roasted flavor. It paired well with some Chicken Piccata. This is an excellent beer on a cool Fall evening. I am not a porter expert, but I think Shastafarian would compare well against other porters.

Went to Corvette Diner, a San Diego institution, for dinner tonight. I had its Corvette Pale Ale that I was told was brewed by Coronado Brewing, but I don't think the waitress really knew. It was good, so I know it was not brewed by Karl Strauss.

It is getting time for the Winter / Holiday releases. I have already blogged on Sierra Nevada's Celebration, but over the next few weeks most of the winter beers should be available.

Thinking about the best beers I have had this year for year-end posts........

1 comment:

Steve said...

Agree with Ruination. During football season I drink it every couple weeks (it's a standard tailgate beer for me). Most of the time I don't think about it too much while I drink it, but yesterday the bottle I had tasted so damn good I had to appreciate it for a minute.

I haven't had Avant Garde since last Thanksgiving day and maybe I've forgotten how good it is too (although it wasn't exactly one of my favorite beers to begin with), but I think you've sparked a re-interest for me... I'll have to go pick up a bottle soon.