Long over due post

It's been nearly a year since I updated this blog.

For Christmas my Pops got me in the holiday spirit by purchasing a significant gift card from Bevmo which was used almost immediately.He also gave me a rather large book called "Tasting Beer" by Randy Mosher. Which I've been flipping through from time to time. I call it my "beer drinking bible". If you really want to get into craft beer, buy this book. It's about 20.00 USD but seriously a great read.

I purchased Saison De Lente (which was organic), Kwak (recommended by a friend), Gulden Draak (itty bitty bottle but it packs some serious taste and alcohol content), and more recently a beer by the name of "Terrible".

Now unfortunately I took no tasting notes when drinking these, so I'm going off memory. As always I'll allow you, the reader to decide for yourself.

The Organic Saison I bought was limited edition at Bevmo. Not sure where else one could find it. For a saison it was sweet, for me a saison is perfect because it reminds me of Champange. At Tony's Darts Away they have 2 Saison's on tap. Red Barn, which embodied what a Saison should be. Light colored, sweet, spicy. Excellent. And High Five, which while not a particular favorite of mine, is worth a try. The Saison De Lente Organic reminded me very much of Red Barn. Sweet, with herbal and spice notes. I even had my roommate (a strict Jack Daniel's man) try it, he said "This is American Beer?"

Yes, in America we can actually make amazing beer.

Kwak was an excellent beer. Oh it's pricey at Bevmo, and comes in a rather large bottle with a cork. It's a meaty tasting beer. What I mean by "meaty" is that when you drink it, you immediately want a steak to go with it. It's not heavy like a stout but it does have a weight to it. It's a little salty but totally worth the buy.

Gulden Draak is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. True to it's name this beer was also a little Meaty in the mouth but I found after drinking it that I was getting a buzz! I don't recall the percentage but it was much higher than Kwak's 8 percent. It came in a tiny bottle but don't let that fool you. This beer is STRONG. Which isn't bad for it's taste, which was a rich and bold powerful that lasted more than a few moments on the tongue. Be sure you eat something before this beer. It's also VERY expensive for how itty bitty the bottle is. I got it for about 15 dollars. I saw a gift pack with 2 bottles and 2 glasses for 60.00. Oh. My. God.

Now Terrible was something I spotted last night. It's got a pretty plain brown bottle with silver writing. You can find this one at the La Crescenta Ralphs. It calls itself a "Dark Ale on Lees". I have no idea what On Lees means, but it's something good based off how this beer was. Brewed by Unibroue and out of Chambly, Quebec, Canada. It touts a 10.5% ABV. This isn't a heavy hitter like Gulden Draak but it is a thicker more robust beer. It's meaty, and I began to crave a steak (medium rare) to go with it. It's a little salty too, but it goes so well with all the flavor in this beer that you'll wonder why it's called "Terrible" when it should be labeled "Not Terrible". It's a stronger beer and I'm a Saison, Witbeer, and Rye IPA kind of girl--it's actuallly a lot like Chimay Red Label. For 10.99 (Ralphs discount = 8.99) this is one of those more "expensive" beers worth drinking. Eat a steak while you drink it, you'll feel like royalty.

Now, I've been frequenting craft beer bars (and even applying for jobs at them) and I have to say if you live in the L.A area or plan to visit...

Wurstkuche is a real "hipster" (trendy people who are only trendy because they liked a place, band, whatever first and now it's "overrated". They carry big cameras and photograph everything.) Location in the heart of Little Toyko. Now I applied and unfortunately didn't get the position, but hey, with great beer comes great responsibility. They have a variety of beer and sausages (and soda for you non drinkers). I enjoyed a Rattlesnake and Alligator sausage with roasted red peppers with a beer I can't recall. It's bench seating, huge. If you don't want to sit on benches, you can sit in a booth. It's beer selection is most of it's menu, and the menu is huge. It's cafeteria style, so you order at the counter and take a number. They will grab your drink order in line though, and it's ALWAYS packed. They have mostly European Beers, for you ladies they have a Raspberry Lambic. It's pricey but worth a visit.

Tony's Darts Away...I love this little bar. They have a patio in the front now and a brunch special. Vegan and non Vegan food. Did I mention they had ON TAP the legendary "Victory At Sea" by Ballast Point. I've been looking for that beer for 2 years. I've been in almost every night and the beer selection always rotates. The owner also opened Mohawk Bend in Echo Park (Which recently made a list of the Top 10 Beer Bars) and Golden Road Brewing in Atwater Village. Currently Tony's offers a Witbeer from Eagle Rock Brewing that is astounding. You can always taste test a beer you see as well, so you don't order something you don't like the taste of. They always have a large selection of beers. Now, some beers come in what my cousin called "true pints" and others in goblets, snifters, etc. They are not trying to cheat you by doing this. There are certain glasses for certain beers. Now a "true pint" of something like North Coast's Rasputin will be harder to enjoy because of 1. It's crazy alcohol content and 2.It's a Stout, it takes forever to pour. So don't feel like just because some beers come in Pints and others don't. Truth is, if you really love the beer, you can always go to it's brewery and buy a growler of it.

This Friday I'll be heading to 38 Degrees in Alhambra (they follow me on Twitter and it makes me happy inside) to check out the place. There will be a full review. Tasting notes and all!

If you live in California or elsewhere and you have a beer you want reviewed, leave a comment. You can also follow me on Twitter if you so desire for links to this blog and retweets from some local breweries. Or if you have a good local brew pub or whatever you would like a review on, leave a comment or hit me up on Twitter.

Yes, the blog is back, and I'll try to be good about posting every time I get a new beer or a review.

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