Day 384: MacTarnahan's Spine Tingler

Austin is a fascinating place. It is equal parts hipster, cowboy, cool, bizarre and vagrant. I've never seen so many places to eat and drink that didn't include chain restaurants. The beer scene is awesome. The food is amazing. If it weren't so freaking hot for so much of the year, I could really love this place.

It comes in a close second to Portland. Speaking of Portland, I'm digging into my stash of old beer reviews for today's beer. It is the Spine Tingler from Mactarnahan's Brewing Company. This one was consumed on September 8, but instead on that date you got a review of Wild Onion's Jack Stout. Why, you ask? Because MacTarnahan's is brewed by Pyramid Brewing. Boo. But oh well. Life goes on and such.



Spine Tingler is a golden Belgian style triple. It pours a deep golden color with a nice white head. It has a strong candi sugar aroma. It has a thin mouthfeel but doesn't disappoint on the flavor front. It has lots of spice, cloves and nutmeg. It reminds me of roasted plums.

Beer stats
Style: Tripel
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 23
Rating: Great

Previously reviewed from Pyramid
My review of their hefeweizen
Gary's review of their Outburst IPA

Beer 203: Pyramid Hefeweizen and Sea Creatures

Sorry for the completely spastic report out on the beer-cation. Today I'm rewinding to San Francisco and our stop at The Eagle Cafe on Pier 39.  Pier 39 is a total tourist trap, but they have seafood restaurants and sea lions.  So that's good.  

Sidebar: I cannot for the life of me tell the difference between sea lions and harbor seals.  Those gelatinous, slightly furry creatures to the right are sea lions.  

The Eagle Cafe made one of the best fish sandwiches I have had in my life.  It looked like any other fish sandwich, but tasted far superior.  They also had cold, refreshing beer and I opted for Pyramid Brewing Company's hefeweizen.

It poured a hazy apricot color with a thick white head.  It was very lemony in the nose and  had general beer aroma.  The flavor is lots of wheat, light spice and a nice lemony tartness.  My one complaint is that despite the typical hefeweizen flavors, it felt watery as I drank it.  If it had more body, I would rate it better than average.  But it didn't so average it is.

Cheers!

Not pictured here: two dozen oysters
that didn't stand a chance against us!

Beer and Wine

Beer #192 Outburst / Pyramid Brewing Company, Seattle, WA

Today is our last day in Sonoma before we head to the airport to catch a flight to Portland.  Yesterday was spent back on the winery trail for some more tastings, and we paid a visit to Bear Republic Brewery for food & a beer.  We tried to hit Lagunitas for an in-person visit, but their tap room is closed on Tuesdays.  Things I would have known had I bothered to check their website.  Can't win 'em all.

The beer for today is Outburst, an IPA from Pyramid Breweries, which we bought in Sausalito a few days back.  In the glass, it shows off a dark copper color with a thin but persistent head.  You get a lot of grapefruit, with a good hop taste and bitterness, and a clean, dry finish.

Yes, I drank this in my hotel room.

Pyramid started in Washington, and now has brewpubs in a number of different cities, including Berkley and Sacramento.

Thing to Think About Today:
Real time intel - if you're in Sonoma, you're drinking wine.  Why not drink wine from a awesome winery with some cool people and fun winery dogs?  To do all of these things, you should head to Martorana Family Winery.  We were able to sample some really interesting varieties, such as their 2007 Merlot, and we took home a bottle of Chardonnay.  Thanks to the asinine laws regarding the shipping of wine to Pennsylvania, we can only bring home what fits in our suitcase.  Their Chardonnay definitely made the cut.