Beach, Burgers, and Beer

Beer #186 Linchpin IPA / Green Flash Brewing Company, San Diego, CA

First full day on vacation in the books, and it was awesome.  Spent some time on the beach, some time in Balboa Park, and some time working through some great beers.  Right down to business, as the battery on my laptop is near death.

Spent some quality time at Green Flash Brewery's tasting room today.  Unique space inside their production facility, with almost all of their beers available on draft.  Outdoor seating (always a plus when you have this weather) and an indoor space without seats, but with a view of the entire brewery.  I sampled three beers, and the first is the one I'll put on record here.  The Linchpin IPA is a white IPA brewed in collaboration with Founders Brewery out of Michigan.  I didn't bother to geek out with my beer notes, but the taste had flavors of citrus and bread with a nice peppery spice.  As expected, Marci didn't like it.

SOOOOO shiny and awesome!

I also had the Rayon Vert, a Belgian pale ale, and the Trippel, a Belgian trippel.  Both were good, but we'll give a slight nod to the sweet, almost floral characteristics in the Trippel.  Delicious all around.

Yes, that's the brewery behind my beer

If you're ever north of downtown San Diego, do yourself a favor and stop by.

Thing to Think About Today:
Real time intel: had a late lunch at Slater's 50/50 today.

No, not that Slater.

This Slater's, a burger joint not too far from the airport, in what appears to be an old military base being remade into a high end shopping, dining, and arts center.  Still a work in progress, but Slater's is absolutely, positively worth a visit.  It hits the three criteria I look for:
1. Good beer list:  CHECK, with a whopping 106 beers on tap.  Which totally explains why the guy at the table next to us ordered a Coors Light.
2. Good food: CHECK.  The name 50/50 comes from their house burger mix, a 50/50 blend of ground beef and bacon.  Oh yeah!  Plus, you can geek out and customize your burger with endless possibilities of combinations of sauces, cheeses, and toppings.
3. Good price: CHECK.  My burger cost $9.  I would have paid twice as much.

Amazing first day.  Many more to come.