Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale & Bitch Creek ESB & a Special Bonus beer!

I've had a seriously late post, I know, but you guys got the last post early last week. Plus it's been pretty hectic lately, all I know is it's FRIDAY! As far as the video blog goes, my camera took a dump on me and decided that it wasn't going to cooperate. So once I figure out what's wrong with it, or obtain a new one then we'll have to do a video blog.

In beer news, I don't know how many of you are familiar with the site, Beer Advocate but if you want to learn about beer styles, where breweries or pubs are in your local area, beer in general, and even trade for something you really want (for you hard core brew junkies)--you need to check it out. I have an account under the name 38rakia, pretty much the same name on this blog, so if you find me on BA, drop me a friend request or whatever. They publish a magazine which you can subscribe to, or you can just explore the vast reviews on beer given by people like you and me, and that beer fanatic. I'm currently trying to trade for some Irish stout stuff with a guy in Delaware but I'm having a hard time finding Pliny the Elder down here, so if someone knows where I can get it, Bevmo does not carry it, I asked. Apparently Russian River doesn't wanna do business with them, so whatever. But anyway, if your looking for THE LAST BOTTLE OF DISSIDENT 2010! Or something along those lines, you can probably make a sweet trade for it. Reviews are helpful too.

Also, remember the Review on Baltika Number 9 last week? My mommy bought me this...

It's a pack of 3 Baltika's, Numbers 5-7, with a swanky glass! And it was like 8 bucks at Sunland Produce. So if you want to try Baltika and you need glasses for your new house/apartment or you collect glasses, then go buy it! Now, I had 5 and 6, but this isn't a review about them. Sorry.


Bevmo was where I went to get the Kona and Bitch creek, although they've got a five cent wine sale going on and it was pretty packed last night. However that didn't dissuade my dad (who wanted to stock up on wine) and I from going there. Bevmo had a sale on Bitch Creek and a few other things, including Kona.

Moving onto tastes...

Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale is a reddish color when it pours, hardly any head, it's a grassy hoppy smell. It's got this cool smooth finish at the end that makes it perfect for people who loathe the overload of hops in pale ale. It's got a mild hoppy flavor that's just right for what it is. I've noticed I'm more a Saison person, preferring Belgian Farmhouse style over anything else. But for a Pale ale, I'd drink this more. The brew is from Hawaii, which the island chain also hosts Maui Brewing too (which makes fine brews such as Coconut Porter and Beach Blonde) and I gotta say, the Hawaiians know what they're doin. Kona Fire Rock is a perfect summer beer, especially if your gonna be hanging out on the beach or having a bon fire or something. I had some Buttoni with this, which Pasta and Pale ale don't always work, but the Chicken and Prosciutto tortellini go great with this beer. Oddly enough. The company also makes Long Boarder and Pipeline (which is supposedly a limited release but it's still at Bevmo in huge amounts) which I gave out as a Christmas present this year after I got home from my brewtour. I like this beer, for the price, like 8.99/7.99 for a six pack, and you can find it at Ralphs of all places. Seriously. In La Crescenta, go to Ralphs, go to the beer section. Top shelf, next to Sam Adam's and Stone. Why it's over there I don't know, but it's there.

Bitch Creek ESB, the last part standing for "Extra Special Brown". It's from Idaho and it's brewed by Grand Teton, why it's called Bitch Creek, I have no idea and I suppose I could look it up but I'm feeling rather rushed considering it's supposed to SNOW here and my office is cold. It smells sweet and hoppy, now there's a fine layer of sediment that needs to settle after you pour it. At first I thought maybe I had gotten a bad batch of Bitch Creek but for whatever reason I remembered if wine has sediment, then beer could potentially have the same thing. I overlooked it and I'm glad I did, because it's basically just sediment, you'll live. Now the name, Extra Special is true. This beer is extra special and should be treated as such. It's a brown ale with a brown sugary taste which combines with IPA somehow, it's seriously the best of both worlds (a brown ale and an IPA) in a bottle. Which that beer is bottle treated, so you know it has to be perfect. Yeah if your sketchy about the residue because your a hypochondriac or you like jumping at shadows when it comes to food, then stay away from it because it'll just scare you. But you're seriously missing out. I have no idea what "bottle conditioned" means but I like it. I like it a lot. And I will save this six pack for special occasions. Seriously impressive. To me.


Now, my dad picked up a four pack of Coconut Porter from Maui brewing, because well, I wanted to try it. HOLY SH*T. So you're gettin a bonus review!

Yeah I'm drinking out of a Russian Standard Glass, so sue me. I buy Russian Standard from time to time and one time, they gave me some glasses. Yes, it's not a proper beer glass, but I wanted to see the color of the Coconut porter and you can't exactly see thru an aluminum can. For 8.99 a 4 pack, you may think that's pretty steep, and yeah, your probably right. BUT! You haven't had a porter until you've had this porter. Now, you'd think a coconut beer would be disgusting, sweet and creamy and just bleh. Not at all. It smells like a coffee coconut explosion inside a glass, it's a dark brown/black color. It tastes coffee-esque with just a hint of coconut. Not overpowering and not sickly sweet, it's a great form of Yin and Yang. Put this baby in the freezer and wait 10 minutes, you'll have a cold epic beer. It seriously exceeds expectations with it's quality and robust taste. It's like drinking a toasted coconut cream pie. It is pretty creamy, but not gross, it's just right. Like I said earlier, yeah the price is WOAH but it's totally worth the money. Especially if your going to the beach and you want to impress someone who loves coconut and beer, it gets cold fast and it's insanely good. This is more of a chick's beer though, which I don't think I've ever said that of any Porter. But this Porter is perfect for bitches who like they're little fruity cocktails, hand some socialite with no appreciation for beer a can of this. Teach them.


NEXT week Grasshoppa's...

Mississippi Mud! Porter & Pilsner! So I guess it's a Porner or a Pilster? Anyway, it was on sale at Bevmo in this ridiculous 1 quart container that looks like a moonshine bottle. Oh yeah, bringing out the Southern Roots!

And for the BG's, I'm going to attempt to find something. Since it's Martenitsa next week and such. Oh yeah, and those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, crash course in culture. Only involving beer. WOO!

See ya'll next week. Preferably Wednesday or something.

Baltika & Bigfoot & Tony's Darts Away

I know, I know, the blog came a day early but deal with it, you will all get to see me on Wednesday for the first ever Video blog along with some friends of mine. I checked the stats and was incredibly surprised to find traffic from Bulgaria and Poland, India and Malyasia. 6 people from BG, just for that, I totally have to do a Bulgarian beer in honor of Martenitsa (if I can find one other than Astika which is now made by the Anhauser company, which I personally think messes up anything it touches, even if the Germans did buy it. SUGGESTIONS please), which I'll give everyone who isn't familiar with it a little culture lesson. Who knows, you may need it for Jeopardy someday.

My dad left me down in So Cal so he could go up to Portland for my grandmother's birthday and revealed to me last night that my cousin is unveiling his Bourbon barrel aged beer on Friday. I'm incredibly jealous that I can't be up there for that because my cous puts out the best beer around (by far, you haven't had beer until you've had his, I really think he should start a business but that's just me). Some other time I'll have to go up there and taste the epic beer that he puts out, sooner rather than later. Anyway, my dad and I went to Tony's Darts Away last week. My third time there, so I figured I'd start off with a review of the place in the event anyone decides to come to Los Angeles on holiday anytime soon...

Tony's Darts away is on Magnolia Blvd in Burbank, CA, if you ever come to visit Los Angeles, you seriously need to go to Tony's Darts Away. They only serve Californian beer, as in, made right here in this fine state. If you have money to spend and time to kill and you happen to be hungry, you seriously need to drop by. At night it's a little packed, even on weekdays, I don't even wanna know what weekends are like. But during the day practically no one is there and it's a better time to experience some very fine and very good mircobrews. The bar tending staff is incredibly helpful, flights start around 8 bucks but they'll give you samples for free. On my flight (which is 4 samplers basically) I had Alesmith IPA, Blind Pig (out of the Russian River brewery which is Nor Cal), Old World Hef (Bootleggers), and Requiem Vanilla Coffee Stout (Gentleman Scholar). I rated them, 1. The Hef, 2. Requiem, 3. Alesmith, and 4. Blind pig.
The menu is broken down into IPA and non-IPA, so if you don't like IPA in particular, I'd turn to page two. I also had Pliny the elder, which is an IPA and reminds me of what good dank bud smells like only transformed magically into taste. I had a German Rye beer, which my bar tender didn't care for but I really enjoyed it. And something called "Yellowtail" which was a lager, surprisingly much like every other Lager available in the US but 100 times better than commercially produced swill.
The food is incredibly bomb. Seriously, the home made chips and the chili con carne are to freakin die for. If you live in California, anywhere near Burbank or Los Angeles, you need to go here. They serve the UK style pints, which my cousin from Belfast says "is a real pint". No pitchers from what it looks like, but I suppose you could ask. Anyways Tony's has a website, which is here. It includes a menu, a facebook page, a twitter page, and a few other goodies for you tech savvy people.

Getting onto what we're really about, which is reviewing this weeks beer selection. I wasn't really thrilled with this one, though the Baltika came as a surprise. Here's the break down...starting with Baltika.

Baltika is out of St. Petersburg Russia, has won an award for superior taste by the International Institute of Taste & Quality in Brussels. You can find it at Bevmo for 2.19 for a 22oz bottle. Now this beer was sort of bipolar, I actually had to crack another one open today (which is next to me) because the first time...I was sooo not into this beer at all. It smelled to me like apple cider with a beery feel, it's a nice color and hardly bubbly but in the very beginning I was very surprised at the apple like taste but then it went down hill. I kid you not, the aftertaste was like that of a rubber tire. I nearly dumped it down the drain but I gave some to John (my stepdad) who rather liked it and said I was full of shit. So I gave Baltika another chance. This Russian Bad ass packs 8% ABV (alcohol by Volume), which is just 1% shy of how alcoholic the Old Rasputin is. After half a glass the beer judo whooped my taste buds into accepting it for what it was and actually enjoying it. After a quarter of the glass, the initial gnarly aftertaste went bye bye and I found myself wondering how the Russians managed to make a decent mass produced beer without compromising. Baltika is NOT watered down like Budwiser or the other mass produced swill, it actually has a pretty unique taste that wins you over after beating your tongue up, putting cement shoes on it, and making it sleep with the fishes. Oh yeah, and there's even a little "K" to let you know it's Kosher. Not my favorite but certainly interesting. I thought for sure I'd end up hating it after the first couple sips but I kept drinking anyway. Russia outdid it self on this one and I'm a fan of their Russian Standard Vodka (it's the only one I'll drink, you know that guy who made the periodic table, yeah, he came up with the recipe for that), I can now say I'm a fan of their beer. For how inexpensive this is, you need to go to Bevmo and try it yourself, especially if your a big fan of Russia. I'd recommend drinking it while playing Tetris.

See last weeks blog if you want a picture of it, I believe it's the Russian version which looks exactly the same in English only readable to non-Russian speakers/readers.


Bigfoot Barleywine style Ale...Seriously, wtf was this. I've had Barleywine before (homemade via Oregon fams) which I liked a lot, but this...this was IPA. It's a reddish color and not really too foamy but seriously, it tasted like IPA. If I wanted IPA, I would buy it. It has a nice grassy aftertaste after the initial hoppy-ness you find in an IPA, but it lingers for a second. If you want a sub IPA, then I guess you could buy it. It's 11.99 + tax for a 6 pack, which you might as well buy a 12 pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (which is pretty much an IPA). Don't get me wrong, I like what S.N puts out, and I liked this, but it was a let down as far as wanting something different. I thought maybe it would be sweet but it's actually rather bitter. I'd drink it again if offered, or at a party, but I wouldn't buy this again for any reason other than for a friend who loved it. If you like IPA, you'll like this. If not, stay away from it. My cousin still makes the best Barleywine and so far the best beer, but I doubt anyone could take that title away from him. The label is a little cartoony for my taste, but I suppose that's what makes it adorable in certain ways, I wanted to love it but it let me down the way Robot Unicorn Attack did.

So a hit and miss as far as beer is concerned, be on the lookout Wednesday for the first ever Vlog in which we'll review all 4 of the last 2 blog posts beer.

Next week it's...

Grand Teton Bitch Creek

&

Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale

And if I manage to find a suitable BG brew for Martenitsa other than Astika, look for that at the very beginning of March.

Moose Drool & Stone Smoked Porter

Hey everyone, I must admit I didn't think this blog was going to be read by so many people (32 page views over the week) and I'm very appreciative of the interest it's taken.

Last week was hectic, what with surprise yard sales, planning my mother's 50th birthday party and some retard shooting off a high powered multi-round rifle at 9am in the neighborhood. However, as promised, I have procured the beer for this week as well as next week.

I didn't think Bevmo had a great selection, and frankly it's sort of like a starbucks-esque chain. There's tons of them close to the house. However, I went here here to their website and found myself very surprised at the amount of selection. There's another place in Los Angeles which boasts and even MORE impressive selection of both import and domestic beers, called Beverage Warehouse. Prices between the two are roughly the same, the only difference is the amount of selection as well as the huge quantities of other things; e.g hard alcohol and wine. I emailed them to ask about other lesser known beers, which they failed to carry and Bevmo failed to have stocked at the moment, they ended up messaging me back with a ridiculous amount of distributors that would have it. Of the two, if you want incredible selection; beverage warehouse is a good bet. If you want prompt fulfillment of an online order, Bevmo.

I ended up ordering 3 stone 22oz's, 4 Baltika's, a 6 pack of Moose Drool, and a 6 pack of Bigfoot Barley style for around 45 bucks on the internet. Within 10 minutes I received an email confirming my order for pick up, pretty fantastic. You can also order by shipment, which isn't nearly as quick, but it helps if you don't exactly have a plethora of Bevmo's in your area. Now, the Moose drool and Stone were almost exactly the same price at the Warehouse, however, you cannot order from their online dealio--but you can have it delivered!

Onto the beer however...

Moose Drool is by Big Sky Brewing, a company based in Montana. It honestly reminded me so much of Newcastle that for a moment I wondered if I had been duped into buying it rebottled and repackaged. Frankly, with the price of a 12 pack of Newcastle versus a 6 pack of Moose Drool, you're better off buying the Newcastle price wise. Taste wise, it's pretty much Newcastle (then again Moose is also a brown ale) with the picture of a moose that my friend Ara and I believe has taken sick. If your into Moose puke, by all means, buy the beer for the label. If your a broke college student, I don't recommend spending 8.99 on a 6 pack anywhere. I was actually kind of disappointed to be perfectly honest, it's a good substitute in areas where you can't get Newcastle, but frankly it's sort of a waste of money really. Don't get me wrong, if offered it, I would accept and drink it quite readily--but as a party staple or a personal choice--no.

Stone Smoked Porter is by Stone Brewing which is LOCAL! Well, sort of. It's in San Diego/Escondido, you may also know them for their Arrogant Bastard beers as well. For roughly 3.99 a 22oz bottle, this stuff is amazingly good. It's a dark brown color (it looks black in the photo but I assure you, I had one today and it's dark brown, so don't be afraid) tastes sort of stouty but it doesn't kick your ass like stout might. It's good a sort of bready taste to me, like sourdough maybe, it reminds me of the Old Rasputin--only minus the creepy pedo lookin Russki on the label and without the long lasting stouty flavor. The taste is strong at first but it's not crazy overpowering, it's definitely worth a try if you don't know whether or not you'll like or enjoy Stout. I'd repeatedly buy this, not only for the price but for the taste. I mean it really blew me away. Now, my stepdad seemed to think it tasted like Newcastle as well, but he usually enjoys a N/A Beck. If you're a broke college student and you can't afford Old Rasputin 4 packs, pick up some of these babies, I'm tellin you, it's a good buy at a good price. One of these days I'll have to visit their brewery and sample their assortment of beer, bottles of it are similar but nothing beats what the brewery tap's up. Yes, tap beer is similar but different to it's bottled siblings, which is good if you can afford a keg or an afternoon in Escondido, if not--stick with the bottle and save the extra money for a trip down there. Good buy, glad I got to review it and plan on sharing it with some friends tonight.

Speaking of friends, I have had an interesting idea to sort of promote a more homey down to earth feel for this blog. You see, everyone's tastes are different--while I may not be a raving fan of the Moose drool, someone else might love it to death. So a few of my friends and I have decided that every 2 weeks, there will be in addition to the regular blog, a vlog or "video blog" (in case you are not familiar with the term) with some of my friends. After all, beer should be shared with everyone and not just enjoyed alone after work. You'll get to hear different opinions on 4 different beers every two weeks from average joe's like myself and like you.

If you have any suggestions on beer choices, places to go to in Los Angeles, or a brewery in your state you think people would like, leave me a comment.




Next Week!

Big Foot Barleywine

&

Out of St. Petersburg Russia, the Baltika No.9 Extra Lager
(btw, you can find numbers 1-9 at Bevmo for very cheap

See you all next week!

The main purpose of this blogging adventure

I'm no connoisseur of brew, I simply have a taste for good and relatively inexpensive beer. I'm your average twenty something beer drinker, but that didn't always use to be the case.

Growing up in a tiny little quiet community, there was not much to do if you were a teenager. You could buy weed with relative ease, get a pack of smokes, and you could get shitty beer as long as you knew the right people. Having little to no decent bars around and no nightlife to really speak of (unless you count all of us rejects of society hanging at a doughnut shop that's open 24/7, oh yeah, we were hard core) there wasn't really much for a teenager to do except throw a surprise kick back at a friend's house or maybe smoke a couple bowls while studying. The beer you always got was the cheapest nastiest forty ounce that you and your friends could buy with your ration of lunch money. Bud, Miller, Coors, PBR, Mickies, whatever--it came in a huge bottle and tasted like piss. You drank it because everyone else was.

I'm not trying to knock the basic " All-American" commercially produced exported beer that this country knows and loves, although the Europeans are probably laughing at us because that's the kind of horse urine swill we're so proud of. I used to drink the mass produced grog we're all used to, I was a fan of the lighter beers though and the only decent thing I thought was amazing was Sam Adam's, I knew nothing of the insane selection and fine brews we have in this country until recently. My favorite beers before were: Red Stripe, Pacifico, Hefeweizen, Corona, Blue moon, and Sam Adam's winter lager. I still have friends who insist on drinking things that taste like beer flavored water or like Seabiscuit's drug test. I can still drink a Red Stripe or any other normal beer that's taken up the supermarket shelves, exceptions being Coors and most of the domestics we have, when I have little money to spend on going to Bevmo and buying up some beer that I know trumps all others.

In November of 2010, I went to Oregon to see the family and enjoy my cousin's extraordinary home crafted brews. Being of age in the states, I could now go to the many bars and pubs and drink with my relatives. In Oregon I was introduced to many fine things, including the beer isle at Haggen's. This beer isle is the one to end them all. There were the basic "All American" and recognized brand names, but then the shelf went on...and on....and on...with hundreds of different bottles and types of beer. In Southern California, even Bevmo's beer isle isn't nearly as selective as Haggen's. My dad suggested I pick out a beer I wanted to try but I, having been a "girly girl" of beer drinking, went straight for the Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. I picked it simply for the label, I'd seen the movie with Alan Rickman and read a biography on Rasputin (he was one hell of a dude, so I figured with a party animal like Rasputin on the label and named for him--it had to be pretty good). Turns out, I was right. If you do not like dark beers, do not drink this, it's a stout. If you've ever gone to B.J's and had Tatonka stout, it's about as black if not blacker with a whooping 9% alcohol by volume.

I meet a long lost relative who is the grandson of my grandmother's brother, either way he's my cousin, and he's setting off on a road trip to see Oregon and California. After a long holiday with the family and drinking my cousins home made beer (NOTHING RIVALS IT! It is the best pint you will ever drink, or hope to drink) among other new brews like The Dissident. If you ever go to Oregon around Thanksgiving, go to the Deschutes Brew Pub in down town Portland and order up a Dissident. It's like nothing you've ever tasted. It's...it's like an orgasm in your mouth and brain at the same time with a hint of cherry. Anyways, Oregon has a lot of really fine quality American beers, crafted to near perfection. Eugene hosts Ninkasi, which puts out some really amazing beer, the only one I didn't enjoy when I went was the "unconventionALE". Too strong, it made me want to drop balls and grow a beard, not many beers can do that but this one can. On our adventures we went to many different places, visited different breweries, and had a great time.

You come back from a brew tour like that though, where it's brewery after brewery for about a month, and you have a couple extra pounds.

This blog is more about how the love of beer brings people together, whether it's family or friends or just strangers at the bar. You don't need to be an expert and you don't need to be a connoisseur, you just have to enjoy beer, if you can do that then you can use this blog to open your tastes to something new and different. I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer sharing it with someone. I'll be promoting different beers every week or so, from the American to the European, some of them you might already know and enjoy but for the rest of you, it'll be an experience.


Next week's Beers of choice, as recommended by my friend Braggster:
Stone Brewery's: Smoked Porter
Big Sky's: Moose Drool