Tag Archives: beer sampler

Orcutt Beer Adventures

I’ve been going through withdrawal symptoms after not traveling for my job for over two weeks. Yesterday, I got my fix.
Commander Matt from Enegren Brewing and I went up north to Orcutt, California to explore the beer world and pick up some brew equipment.
After working our way up the coast, we stopped for a beer from the local brewery. Interestingly enough, the Orcutt Brew Company doesn’t have any of their own beer on tap. The brewer is “on hiatus”. Exactly what I was hoping for from a brewery that took two hours to get to – guest beers that I can get anywhere else.
Neither Matt nor I were very pleased. Somehow, we survived and finished our beers. Dedication right there.
Either way, the “brewery” is set in a nice area. It’s very serene and has lots of character.
I think all breweries should have seating available on the walls. That and their own beer. I’m not bitter…
We went next door to Rooney’s Irish Pub to meet with Dan, the owner.
Just my size! I’m a vertically-challenged half-pint and owning it.
Dan gave us a tour of the brewery as well as a sampler of all their beers.
I fell head over heels for the porter. He was kind enough to give us a growler to go. Want. Now!
After picking up some brewing equipment, we worked our way back down, stopping at Figeuroa Mountain Brewing Company in Lompoc. This place is HUGE and gorgeous! The tasting room overlooks the brewery and has a great, cozy feel to it. It was pretty busy considering where their location is, and that it was a Tuesday.
We had a sampler of four of their beers: Paradise Rd Pilsner, Danish Red Lager, Hoppy Poppy IPA and an espresso stout (can’t find the name on the website). I think this is the first pilsner I’ve actually enjoyed! It has a sweet aroma of honey and none of the funk I’ve come to expect from pilsners. The lager was also very clean and the IPA was more in the style of a traditional IPA – hoppy with some sweetness to balance it out, instead of the hopbombs we usually get from a lot of American craft brewers.
We traveled further down the coast into Santa Barbara and checked on my Vanilla Porter (which at the moment is just a porter until we add vanilla beans into secondary). Apparently my beer has been incredibly happy in my absence! I sliced a few vanilla bean pods open, scraped out the seeds and soaked the seeds and pods in a splash of bourbon to extract the flavor. Grayson will be throwing those in for me later today since I’m back down south.

We didn’t end up visiting as many breweries as we’d planned (partly because Orcutt Brew Co. isn’t officially a “brewery” anymore), but a good time was had by all, necessary brew equipment was acquired and quite delicious brews were consumed.

I’m on another road trip today up to Ojai! I am a slacker extraordinaire…

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LazyChiveFace

I have no idea how or why, but I was featured on TheChive yesterday amongst their Daily Afternoon Randomness (Check out number 26 to see ME! And ignore all the semi-nude pics surrounding it. Unless you’re into that sort of thing… I ain’t judgin’!). Not sure who put me on that, but THANK YOU! I’m enjoying all the lovely comments and views from fellow beer lovers! NOW onto today’s post!

I was out of town for Fathers’ Day this year. It’s completely impossible to make it live up to last year’s anyway, but I did my best!
We began last night at Lazy Dog Cafe. Yes, it is a chain, but they serve Firestone beer, so I’m willing to let the whole “chain” thing slide on this one.
We also had to take our own Lazy Dog with us. She enjoyed her complimentary water and $3.95 (!!!!) hamburger patty.
I started with the sampler. They had a blonde, American hef (which they served with a lemon slice – destroyed any semblence of head and overpowered the true flavor of the beer) , Bavarian hef, pale ale, red ale, and the seasonal – Somersault from New Belgium. My personal fave was the Bavarian Hefeweizen – a slightly smoky aroma with sweet aftertastes of banana and vanilla. I liked it so much, I ordered a FULL glass!
Yeah, you could definitely say I liked it…
We split the Mediterranean Pizzetti, which is something I get every single time I’m at Lazy Dog. Make me ANY dish with goat cheese and balsamic syrup and I will fall in love with you… It’s just a fact.
The celebration carried through into today. Originally, we were going to gorge on Indian food in Ventura and hit up the local Irish pub, but plans fell to the wayside and we decided to stick with some local eats. FirstĀ  up: Karma Indian (owned by The Taj Cafe in Ventura) and then…

LADYFACE.

If you didn’t guess that right off the bat, then you just don’t know me…
I tried the firkin of the week: Vitamin C. This is the Chesebro IPA infused with orange peel. Now, I LOVE IPAs, but I think the orange peel took this a little TOO much into the bitter side for me. Ugh, never thought I’d say that.
I told you guys earlier this week that I’d like nothing more than to enjoy a chilly glass of Derailleur on the patio while reading a good book. Which I kind of did… To be fair, we STARTED on the patio, but since I was the generous one who offered to sit in the only sunny spot, we soon moved inside. I’m a big whiner when it comes to skin cancer. My Derailleur was enjoyed in the air conditioning instead.
It’s in print, therefore it’s official: Next month at Ladies at Ladyface: Janelle and my suggestion! Bottle sharing and glassware! Every lady will bring in her favorite bottle of beer, or personal homebrew, along with the glass it’s meant to be served in and we’ll be learning the purpose of specific glass shapes.

Oh yes, and there will be FOOD.
GET PSYCHED!
For now, I have some Twisted Sisters Zinfandel that needs to be enjoyed in this beautiful 75 degree weather.
Happy Makeup Fathers’ Day to my wonderful, youthful and handsome pops!!!

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