Beer!

So Tuesday night I was at the Crunch for their Oktoberfest. What a fantastical time. They had a ton of beers and the distributors there for us to taste all the different beers. I had a blast. The breweries included:

• Arcadia Brewing Company
• Atwater Brewery
• Bell’s Brewing Company
• Darkhorse Brewing Company
• King Brewing Company
• Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
• Michigan Brewing Company
• New Holland Brewing Company
• Rogue Ales
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
• Stone Brewing Company

They were all fantastic beers. I got a little drunk near the end, so its hard to remember, but I think I ended up getting close to twenty different beers that night. Here are some of the highlights in my humble opinion.

If you’re looking to finish off the Oktoberfest season, one I would recomend trying is Michigan Brewing Company’s Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale. It has a great cinimon and pumpkin flavor that reminds you of home made pumpkin pie. Fantastic!

Arcadia had two new brews for us to try. They had a brandywine that was bottled two weeks ago. This thing was amazing! They also had their new strong ale which was bottled the day before. It was pretty damn good too.

The hands down winner for the evening though had to be the Stone Brews. They ended up having for us to try:

Pale Ale: Our flagship ale, Stone Pale Ale is our Southern California interpretation of the classic British pale ale style. Deel amber in color, Stone Pale Ale is robust and full flavored. A delicate hop aroma is complemented by a rich maltiness. This is an ale for those who have learned to appreciate distinctive flavor. Stone Pale Ale is great by itself, or with food that requires a beer of character.

India Pale Ale: An “India Pale Ale” by definition is higly hopped and high in alchohol(Ours is 6.9{715831c98cd51704d8a8e049961b3c433c7d3a35f7efeaaa7c747028c68478a7} alc./vol.). Light-medium malt character with a heavy dose of over the top hops! Two full weeks of “dry hopping” give this beer its abundant hop aroma and crisp hop flavor.

Arrogant Bastad: The “blank sheep” of the Stone family of beers. The bottle’s “You’re Not Worthy” tag line says it all! Brewed in the style of a Strong Ale, this is the perfect brew for the confirmed beer maverick, but may put others into sensory overload!

Ruination IPA: Stone Ruination IPA is so called because of the “ruinous” effect on your palate! Based on the ever-popular Stone Anniversary IPAs, this massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious butterness on a big malt base. One taste and you can easily see why we call this brew “A liquid poem to the glory of the hop!” Those who seek, crave and rejoice in beers with big, bold, bitter character will find true nirvana in Stone Ruination IPA!

Smoked Porter: Stone Smoked Porter is dark, rich and complicated. A porter is substantially darker than a pale ale, but not as black or opaque as a stout. Our Smoked Porter has a captivatingly deep mahogany color, complimented by silky dark tan head. Rich, full bodied and robust. Smooth, with chocolate and coffee-like flavors balanced by the subtle “smoky” character of just the right amount of peat-smoked specialty malt.

Thats what Stone has to say about themselves. I say their beer is fucking fantastic! Their Pale Ale and IPA are great. If you like hoppy beer the ruination is god among beers. The smoked porter has a great taste, with a hint of smokey, and finishes smooth. The Arrogant Bastard is amazing! If you like beer you definately need to go out and find this beer. If you can’t find anywhere that has it. Yell at people till they do. They will thank you in the end I promise it.

I gotta send a shout out to Perry the Stone Regional Rep for spending time with us and bringing his amazing beers to us. Thanks again!

If you aren’t drunk yet, go get some beer and enjoy it!

gooseneck Dave