Hot on the heels of their strong beer event at the end of February, Slater’s 50/50 in Lake Forest is offering up an even bigger event this Saturday with their 2nd Annual Backyard Brewfest. Having experienced my first taste of Slater’s “excesstacy” during the strong beer event (think fried bacon, pizza poutine, and barrel-aged barley … Continue reading
Strong Beer Event at Slater’s 50/50
OC Restaurant Week 2014 runs from February 23 to March 1, and Slater’s 50/50 is kicking things off with “excesstasy” in the form of strong beers (starting at 11% ABV), delicious grub, and the promise of a fun evening. This strong beer event centers around their procurement of rare, hard-to-find, high-alcohol brews… as well as a sampling of … Continue reading
New Karl Strauss Tasting Room
In honor of the grand opening of Karl Strauss’ new tasting room at main brewery in Pacific Beach last night, I wanted to share a bit about our ‘sneak peek’ experience hanging out there a couple weeks ago. Here’s a little background: for the first time in its 20-plus year history, Karl is opening up … Continue reading
Extract vs. All Grain Brewing
We tried an all grain (no malt extract) recipe for the first time last week and learned some things. We still have yet to finish fermenting the summer wheat brew so we aren’t sure how it will turn out yet but I think our noble attempt could be improved, albeit our equipment was not really … Continue reading
Why We Keg Our Homebrews
By now we have had our home brewed ales going primarily into kegs for the past 6 months. It seems everyone starts with bottles and if they brew enough eventually finds the value in kegging and pouring home brews from a tap. Well there are some advantages that made the decision the right one for … Continue reading
Barrel-Aged Wreck Alley: Adding bourbon barrels to the already amazing Wreck Alley
Batch #1 in the new cask-inspired series from Karl Strauss: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wreck Alley Imperial Stout. Brewed with cold-steeped, locally roasted Ethiopian coffee from Bird Rock Roasters and Peruvian cocoa nibs from TCHO Chocolate Company in San Francisco, then barrel-aged in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels. Expect vanilla, espresso, and toasted oak with hints of bourbon … Continue reading
Valiant Brewing Company in Orange: the new, ale-friendly kid in town
OC beer lovers, there’s a new craft brewery in town! On February 9, Valiant Brewing Company in Orange opened their doors, offering the public the opportunity to taste their unique lineup of brews. Behind this exciting endeavor is the husband and wife team of Brian and Kelly Schroepfer, who are channeling their former drag racing … Continue reading
Fun at Karl Strauss 4S Ranch
Looking back at some pictures recently, I realized I never wrote about my tasty trip down to the newest Karl Strauss brewery in 4S Ranch (master planned community in north inland San Diego). Even with some rush-hour traffic, it took just over an hour to get there, and it was totally worth the drive. Karl’s … Continue reading
Cismontane’s Black’s Nocturne: imperial stout + bourbon barrels
For some reason, 2012 brought a penchant for bourbon to my palette that I had never experienced before. I blame it on a delicious mint julep I tried at happy hour once… in addition to my West Virginia upbringings. That being disclosed, Cismontane Brewing (one of my fave local breweries) has truly crafted a bourbon-drinker’s … Continue reading
The beginning of a new chapter: kegging our homebrews
Our New Setup… Happy Hour’s at our house!
occraftbeer 