Sour, But Delightful

Beer #254 Tart of Darkness / The Bruery, Placentia, CA

Great day today, as I took a vacation day instead of going to work.  Managed to run some errands, get my car inspected (thanks, Berger Family Dealership!), make another batch of homemade pickles, and just take a breather from work in general.  Ended this day with an opening round win in the summer league playoffs, so I'm feeling pretty good right now.  I can't stop sweating, but I imagine that should eventually subside.  Right?

Another beer from the Sour Fest is your beer of the day: the Tart of Darkness from The Bruery.  It has a pitch black color, and a thin tan head.  I picked up aromas of plum and roasted malt, and flavors of sour cherry, roasted malts, and earthy dark fruits.  Very tart and delicious.  As readers of this blog may recall, I really don't drink many stouts or porters, but I can definitively say I'm always game for a sour stout, and this one was incredibly well done.  It reminded me a bit of Jolly Pumpkin's sour stout, the Madrugada Obscura, which Marci has previously reviewed.

The best kind of stout = sour stout

The Bruery cranks out some really enjoyable and unique beers, but every time I hear or see their name, I immediately think back to The Brewery, a legendary basement bar in State College (read: dark cave with sketchy bathrooms).  Many, many, many of my Tuesday evenings in college were spent in said cave for Pitcher Wars, where $1.75 got you a giant pitcher of any beer on tap, including my go-to option, Yuengling Lager.  You also got a mason jar to drink out of, although seeing people just drink from the pitcher as they rocked out to whatever band was playing was just as common.  Now, if they start serving beer from The Bruery on tap there, I'll gladly make a re-appearance next time I'm in town.

Two State College bar scene references in back to back posts?  Must be getting close to football season...

The Thing to Think About Today:
Sometimes the iPod goes above and beyond in its random selection of shuffled music.  Like today, when I was in the midst of having the day off, driving home from Hazleton, and heard a song about... a blissful way to spend your afternoon.  Yes, I'm talking about Afternoon Delight by the Starland Vocal Band!  Okay, so the lyrics are describing a more... ahem, shall we say... pleasurable way to spend the afternoon with your loved one than running errands.  Regardless, it's a great song for a sunny afternoon not spent at work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NUkhMq_iRo

"My motto's always been: when it's right it's right / Why wait until the middle of the cold dark night?"