Filed under: General | Tags: Damnation, Delerium Tremens, Fathers Office, Hennepin, La Fin Du Monde, Ommegang, Restaurant, Russian River, Unibroue
Just visited Fathers Office 2 in Culver City. For those that don’t know, this place has somewhat of a cult following for its great beer and great food. It is also considered somewhat quirky in that they don’t allow substitutions, changes, or ketchup in their restaurant.
I visited the original a few months back and had not complaints. The food and beer was pretty expensive, but a decent value for what you get. I manged to get a pint of RR Pliny the Elder so no complaints. Their famous burger was also quite good. Nothing mind blowing, but they did cook the burger the way I wanted it (every other place may ask you how you want it, but always cook it well done). The only downside with this place was that it was always packed as the place was so tiny.
In FO2, they had definitely upgraded to a bigger space, with double taps, outdoor patio seating, and more floor space in general. The thing that hasn’t changed is the menu or the beer selection. To me, everything looked exactly the same as it did in FO1. They probably just took the menus right from the original location. I can see how this uniformity is a good thing to a certain extent, but I think it would be a good idea to have a bit of variation between the restaurants, even if its a few rotating taps or specials. Of course the place just opened so all could instantly change leaving me with the bitter taste of crow.
Old Viscosity is a dark ale from the wonderful Port Brewing Company
Bottle is black. Thick layer of yeast sitting on the bottom of the bottle.
Pour is oily and thick. It looks like pouring 30 weight motor oil. Heavy pour yields a small head with low retention. No lacing to speak of. Beer is completely black, even under direct light, so gorgeous looking!
Filed under: Beer Review | Tags: Alesmith, Decadence, Imperial Evil Dead Red Ale
Another great beer from SD’s Alesmith. Found this gem at a local Whole Foods. Its an ‘06 vintage and they claim to only brew it once, but I saw a bunch at whole foods, and they were getting restocked. I am not sure if they are remaking batches of these, releasing them over time, or this Whole Foods just has a backlog. Either way its a good thing because I got to try this beauty.
Pours very cloudy with a very burnt amber/orange color.
I always said Rouge/Chocolate Stout is like a box of choklats… because it tastes like chocolate.
Rouge/Chocolate Stout has got chocolate flavoring added.
Poured from a 22 oz bomber into a Belgian glass. Aggressive pour yields a half finger tan head. Retention is pretty low and little to no lacing to note.
Color is black with a very small hint of dark brown around the edges. Almost completely opaque! Looks like a tasty stout.
Initial smells were chocolate and chocolate. Bottle notes truffles and I can definitely smell that as well. A hint of nail polish or alcohol creeps in there but not in a bad way.
Filed under: General
I wanted to take a quick second to muse on different kinds of beer glasses and their uses.
Personally, I have always felt that selecting the proper vehicle for anything (crab fork anyone?) is tantamount to snobbery. I mean look at all the wine snobs out there with their fancy stemware, who cares! Just drink the damn thing.
However, due to my slowly increasing awareness of beer (and subsequent snobbery) I have noticed that a proper beer class can really add to the look, feel, and smell of a beer. Drinking a Belgian in a proper Belgian glass tastes a lot better than a plastic cup. Looking at the opacity of a stout through a clear glass does wonders for the overall beer experience compared to drinking from a bottle.
Filed under: Snobbery
A beer snob only likes their beer ice cold.
Filed under: Beer Review | Tags: Belgian, Cuvee Van Di Keizer, Gouden Carolus
This beer is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S….
Yeah, so what if I can’t pronounce this beer? Does it make it any worse? Au contraire my friend, it makes it better. It nearly elevates me to the highest circles of beer snobbery. What better than to drink a beer that you yourself cannot even pronounce? It is seriously too good for words.
All self aggrandizing aside, this Belgian is a seriously good beer. Rick from the great Beverage Warehouse suggested it to me, and he was right on. On to the review….
IPA with a thick layer of yeast on the bottom. Pours thick a cloudy into a Delirium glass. Head is thick with nice sticky lacing.
Smell is very nice. Almost all hop smells to it. Not a lot of citrus or other florals. First taste hits with hops right from the beginning. The hops actually fade as it sits on the tongue compared to some other IPA’s that finish with a strong finish.
Thick body with heavy carbonation. Cannot even hold or swirl this beer in your mouth, the carbonation makes it too foamy. Leads to a nice finish on the palate, like drinking tonic water.
Filed under: Beer Review | Tags: Avery, Collaboration not Litigation, Russian River
Working together is fun!
This beer was formed when both Avery and Russian River realized that they both had a beer named ‘Salvation’. Instead of duking it out in court, they decided to blend their beers to get the best of both worlds. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside from reading that… or maybe its just the buzz kicking in. Review time.
Poured from a 22 oz bomber. Orange brown color, very cloudy. Cannot see through at all, but not dark. Head was light, looked good but dissipated quickly. Lacing decent, nothing special.
Smell was very mild. A bit of spice and yeast to it. Taste was good. Usually Belgian’s are a bit too sweet and syrupy for me. this one was thick but not syrupy at all. Head was not thick at all, but added a bit of nice carbonation to the overall mouthfeel.
Tastes of a bit of yeast, some spice, some pear also. Nice drink, clean finish with a touch of hops. Very very drinkable, hides the 8.72% alcohol well. Very refreshing.
Overall not a very challenging Belgian, but who cares? Sometimes you just need a great refreshing beer that doesn’t try to do too much. Very well made and will seek this out in the future.
Overall: A-
Beer snob would rather drink: Pear nectar
Instead of hot dogs, chicken dogs. Instead of pretzels, chicken twists. Instead of beer, alcoholic chicken. – Fake George Steinbrenner, Seinfeld
Alcoholic coffee. That is pretty much what this beer is. Lets get this started.
Poured out of a 750 ml bottle. Alesmith is another great brewery out of San Diego (noticing a trend here?). Black and sludgy, practically clumps its way out of the bottle. Completely black with a tan head. Head is not too crazy, but forms decently. Retention is weak and lacing is only so-so.
