Down By the Sea

Day #568 Boardwalk Black Rye IPA / Karl Strauss Brewing Company, San Diego, CA
Previously from this brewery: a sampler review, Boardwalk Black Rye IPA, Big Barrel Double IPA, more Big Barrel Double IPA, Red Trolley Ale

It's another early morning post, because there's no better way to start your day than by thinking about beer. Well, I guess I can think of other ways, but beer is definitely a good way.  So, we kick off a (hopefully) relaxing Sunday with a review of Boardwalk Black Rye IPA from Karl Strauss. This bottle was a gift from a friend who made a road trip out to San Diego, and when you pour it in the glass you see a dark black color with an off white head.  Your nose is greeted by aromas of malt, rye, and spice, and when you drink it down you find a malt heavy beer, with a fair bit of toasting.  There's bitterness throughout, with good amounts of pine and lemon, and prominent rye spiciness.  I can sometimes not be a fan of the black IPA trend, as some breweries tend to overdo the toasting/roasting, but Karl Strauss definitely gets this one right.

Sunshine and beer

Karl Strauss has a brewpub outpost in La Jolla, CA that is across the street from a Brooks Brothers store. That's pretty much my dream neighborhood right there.  Sunshine + brewery + Brooks Brothers = AWESOME

Thing to Think About Today:
Curious... yesterday we were thinking about the beach, and now today's beer gets us thinking about the boardwalk.  The obvious thing to close out this post with is Under the Boardwalk by The Drifters.  I'm sure that was a romantic place in the 1950s, although now I'm fairly certain if you went under the boardwalk, you'd find actual drifters (not the band) or people selling meth.  I'd actually really avoid going there, if I were you.... be safe people.  Enjoy your Sunday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjD0Ne3CuaY

"On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be"

Day 559: Karl Strauss Boardwalk Black Rye IPA

If I had any words left today, this is where they would go. But I don't. So now there are words here but they really aren't a good post at all. Maybe a very tasty beer from Karl Strauss will make up for that.

Tonight's Karl Strauss beer is the Boardwalk Black Rye IPA. It pours an almost black color ale with a tan head. It smells of roasted malt, dark bread and lightly of chocolate. The flavor is toasty, roasted coffee with just the hint of burnt coffee. There's undertones of a big bold IPA--lots of hoppiness hiding out beneath all that rich, roasted flavor. It finishes big with lots of hop bite. I noticed a little nuttiness coming out as it warmed a bit. And even though it had a nice, thin mouthfeel, I felt like it was definitely a sipping beer.

In the link below to my review of the Karl Strauss sampler, I reviewed a bonus pour that I got of Boardwalk Black Rye IPA. They had it on cask that day and threw it in with my sampler for free! I love a good deal! I noted that it had a creamy, almost lactic consistency which surprised me at the time. After having it bottled, it's now dawned on me that the cask pour itself lends the creamy texture. So now I know.

Beer stats

Style: Double IPA
ABV: 8&
IBUs: 80
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Karl Strauss
My review of a Karl Strauss sampler from a trip to San Diego last summer
His review of Big Barrel Double IPA, Red Trolley ale

Day 498: Perfect Weather, Perfect Beer, Karl Strauss

The first time I experienced a Karl Strauss beer was on the great beer-cation of 2012 when we stopped by their outpost in La Jolla (California). La Jolla is beautiful. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it.

Today's weather reminds of that gloriously sunny day last summer, although I admit that it's about 15 degrees cooler right now. And then there's the obvious lack of the Pacific Ocean lapping in the distance. So totally the same, right?

The Big Barrel double IPA was a gift from my good friend Kelli, who had the wherewithal to smuggle several bombers home in her luggage. It poured a lovely apricot color. It had a full but quick to disappear ivory head.

It's aroma is fruity hops--pineapple specifically. The flavor is amazing. Great fullness. Bready. Good amount of malt. It finishes with a strong hop backbone.

Beer stats
Style: Double IPA
ABV: 9%
IBUs: 90
Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed from Karl Strauss
Gary's thoughts on Big Barrel
My review of our visit in 2012
Gary's review of Red Trolley ale

Aloha, Mr. Hand

Day #495 Big Barrel Double IPA / Karl Strauss Brewing Company, San Diego, CA
Previously from this brewery: Marci's zany look at their sampler, and my un-zany take on their sampler

Today marked my last day at work before a three day weekend, where I'll be heading to State College to watch Penn State's spring football game.  Perhaps, even have a beer in the parking lot.  Maybe.

Tonight was a basketball night (we won!) and it's getting late, but duty calls, so here's your beer review for the evening.  I'm drinking another gift from a friend who thought of us during a visit to the west coast, a bottle of the Big Barrel Double IPA from Karl Strauss.  This beer has an amber orange hue with a thin, lingering white head.  There's a rather big grapefruit aroma, with noticeable pine scents as well.  When you take a sip, you find even more citrus fruit; grapefruit and lemon, and it's dry from start to finish.  There's a hint of some sweetness in there, but be advised this is only for the hop heads out there.  Sadly, they don't distribute to the East Coast, so unless you're heading west, good luck finding any.

Big!

Karl Strauss has a number of brewpub locations; I've been to the one in La Jolla (right across the street from Brooks Brothers. Score!), but thankfully before the odor of bird poop took over the otherwise ritzy town.

Thing to Think About Today:
If I'm thinking about San Diego, I'm thinking about one of the greatest movies of ALL TIME.  Based on Cameron Crowe's experiences while in a San Diego high school, Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a hilarious look at high school in the 80s.  Starring a young Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli, stoner philosopher extraordinaire, this film had huge star power: Forrest Whitaker, Nicholas Cage, Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Anthony Edwards, and Eric Stoltz, to name a few.  While the comedy was outrageous, there were serious themes as well, most notably teenage pregnancy.

The dialogue spawned great quotes that I like to drop into conversation to this day, and I'm pretty sure the fantasy scene with Cates climbing out of the pool kick started puberty into gear for me (and most other red blooded Americans of a certain age).  If you've never seen this film or if you haven't watched in ages, it's a classic that should be watched immediately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKov1lmq_OU

"Hey, you guys had shirts on when you came in here."
      "Well something must have happened to them."

Beer 210: Why Hello There, Karl Strauss!

On Day #2 in San Diego, we ventured due north to visit La Jolla.  It was a great trip.  We saw some contemporary art...

...then I was attacked by a shark.  It was touch and go for a bit but I made it...

...fortunate for me because the final stop in La Jolla was the Karl Strauss Brewing Company.  There was a delicious sampler awaiting my arrival.

And a good time was had by all!

I know you're wondering what was in that sampler. For that information, you'll need to visit Gary's review on our visit.  Those are his beers! And yes, it took me awhile to figure out why none of them looked like a Russian Imperial Stout.

Here is my sampler in various stages of consumption.  (Note the bonus beer!)

From left to right...

Not pictured:  Wreck Alley Russian Imperial Stout weighing in at a solid 9.5% ABV.  It poured black with a tan head.  Smelled of coffee and roasted malt.  It drank with a thinness and had a nice sweet-tinged flavor that finished with a great roasted-ness.  There were hints of licorice in there as well.  It was named for the area of ship wrecks off the coast of Mission Beach...lots of mystery in those depths.  Lots of great flavor in this beer!  

Pictured above but not below:  Windansea Wheat.  A hefeweizen.  Lovely hazy straw color with very little head.  Smells of banana with citrus notes.  It drank with a full, creamy body with flavors of peppery spice, citrus and banana ester.  Exactly what is expected in a hefeweizen.  Best part of this beer?  THERE WAS NO CITRUS WEDGE SERVED WITH IT!  5.1% ABV.

Next up is the Amber Lager. It's the first beer ever brewed at the brewery.  It is a solid lager that I thoroughly enjoyed.  If this is what I was making, I'd certainly open a brewery!  It's made with caramel and Munich malts and is double-filtered to give it that bright and beautiful color.  It's just slightly biscuit-y and there's a bit of caramel roundness to it.  Easy to drink.  4.2% ABV.

Then came the Flan-Diddly-Anders Flanders red ale.  5.5% ABV.  Honestly it wasn't the greatest Flanders red ale I've had but it was good.  It was tart and earthy but still  retained a malty profile.  I tend to like this style of beer when it's punch-me-in-the-chops tart and sour.  Maybe this one is best described as a gateway to bigger and bolder versions?

Finally there was the bonus pour -- the Boardwalk Black Rye IPA.  It was on cask and looked like coffee in the glass...dark opaque brown.  It had a thick tan head that lingered.  It was creamy, almost lactic, which was surprising for an IPA.  There were roasted notes, but it was definitely hop dominant.  

Hopefully as the Karl Strauss empire expands, I'll start seeing it on the east coast.  I can't say that I've ever seen it and that makes me kind of sad.  Until next time, Karl...

Cheers!

Shake It Baby

Beer #188 Red Trolley Ale / Karl Strauss Brewing Company, San Diego, CA

Today is a busy day; wrapping up things in San Diego then jetting off to San Francisco, so we'll keep it short here.  The beer for the day is from Karl Strauss Breweries, another local brewery.  I drank a flight, so here's a run down on all five pours:

- Windansea Wheat, a hefeweizen with nice banana and clove flavors

- Flan-Diddly-Anders Ale, flavorful and awesomely named, but not as tart as I was expecting it to be, picked up flavors of tea

- Red Trolley Ale, which had a rich malt background with toffee and caramel. My favorite of the ones I sampled

- Pintail Pale Ale, light hop flavors, and Marci said it had flavors of marigolds

- Boardwalk Black Rye IPA, which was a bonus pour from the bartender, had a good toasty flavor, and reminded me of the Tommyknocker Black IPA

The beer menu.  Delicious.

Everything we sampled was solid, so I'd definitely recommend this if you find it.  Haven't seen it on the East Coast yet, but it's a popular option around San Diego. 

Thing to Think About Today:

Sure, Tupac was originally from New York, but he moved a town north of San Francisco with his family when he was a kid.  You can't spend time in California without thinking about their official state anthem, California Love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKtMiCD_oqk

"In the city..... city of Compton....."