I'm in Santa Rosa, CA, just north of SF, and the new WF here has an actual tavern in the back of the store. Better yet, their bakery is just behind the tavern, and they make amazing giant pretzels. Talk about heaven!
Stone Brewing, Lucky Bastard8.2%
Escondido, CA
This one's a combo of their other three popular "bastard," ales, and definitely as hoppy. A little bit of a cherry flavor. If you're a fan of Arrogant Bastard, you'll like Lucky Bastard. The bartender told me this was the last keg they had, and they only got two, as did most of the other "select" pubs in CA. I dont like hoppy beers, so this one wasn't a favorite, but I knew some of my hoppy friends would appreciate a positive review. This is a positive review :)
WOW. I would drink this more often if I could find it. One of the few kegs of the ABF12 in the US, I would imagine...and was told. This beer is very sweet, but just yeasty and deep enough to still taste like beer vs. a barley wine or some other malt. Really really really good. Mostly just mellow and smooth, nothing too distinct. This is a 10.5%, another WOW.
Anderson Valley, Winter Solstice
6.9%
Tasted vanilla right away...but wasn't identifiable as such at first, until a few of us tried it and agreed on what "that" taste was. Vanilla is a very warming, comforting flavor in beer, when done right. This wasn't too sweet, it was more of a dark vanilla bean flavor, added just the right hints of that distinctive flavor. Very good.
No comments:
Post a Comment