Friday, September 30, 2016

Vegas Spot Worth the Trip

Hey! Who's up for a trip to Vegas? Me neither. The city didn't click for me in the whole two times I visited, for a number of reasons: gambling, while thrilling when you are winning, becomes a math-to-life equation as soon as I start losing. "Well, I lost at that hand of 21, so that's X amount of hours I'll have to work to make up for it..." Algebra comes in handy after all! And you try to get away from the gambling and look for a good beer on the strip, but no dice. Yeah, there's the place in the Monte Carlo with a ton of taps, but the best thing you're going to find is Union Jack or Sculpin that has been sitting in kegs forever. And pools are fun for awhile, but laying out at one all day? You ever see that video of the people at the resort at like 6 in the morning, waiting for the lounge chairs to be put out so they can stake their spot near the pool? It looks like the Cabbage Patch Doll rampages from the 80's. Just to lay by chlorinated water. There is, however, something rational-minded people like you will should find appealing if stuck in Vegas: CraftHaus, an up and coming brewery that you should visit instead of the "beer bars" with a chef's name attached. CraftHaus recently celebrated their 2nd anniversary, and with it came a 13% Triple IPA named Hop Bomb, a Mosaic heavy beer that somehow managed to feature the hops prominently without being overly sweet (hear that, Devil Dancer? What have the stores reduced the price on that one to, like $10 a four-pack now?). CraftHaus has a couple of canned offerings, with Resinate IPA and Evocation Saison available in stores around the city and state. Seek this brewery out instead of that four-foot tall bong of Jack and Coke!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Stone's Enjoy by 14 Years Ago

Once upon a time, Stone Brewing Co. released a Belgian Wit style beer. On February 2nd, 2002, to be exact. Brad Meltzer can have a field day looking into the significance of that date, but it did start a yearly event for Stone: releasing a Belgian-inspired beer each year through 12.12.12 (03.03.03, 04.04.04, and so on), known as the Vertical Epic series of beers. Some old-timers in the beer world even had the foresight to save that 02.02.02 and on to drink in a vertical tasting at the end of the series. The bottles were few and far between by the time 12.12.12 rolled around. I knew a couple who had a bottle that got stolen when their house was robbed. I came across a few bottles of the 03.03.03 Vertical Epic in a liquor store in San Diego just last year. But that 02.02.02 was elusive with only 300 cases produced, and though novel in its appeal to acquire to drink each year in order, it was not exactly a beer I was going to give up a lot for by the time 2012 arrived. A 7.5% Belgian Wit with ten years on it is really only worth drinking in a situation like the Vertical Epic tasting. It's not going to win prize pig at the state fair...aannndd I tried but couldn't get a damn bottle, ok?
But Stone has rolled back the clock to let you see what the 02.02.02 was like if you had been old enough to drink at the time(though you probably would have been drinking Icehouse) as part of their 20th Anniversary Encore Series. At 7.5%, the 02.02.02 encore is higher in ABV than a typical Wit, and Stone puts their signature hoppiness into the beer with the addition of Centennial hops, along with the requisite orange peel and coriander. And a 22 oz. is $7.99, not far off what you would have paid back in 2002. I think. What were we even doing back then? Watching Malcolm in the Middle? Driving with both hands on the wheel and our eyes on the road?