Enegren Brewing Company’s beer was being poured at the Library Alehouse in Santa Monica yesterday. Naturally, I had to attend to show my support! Their beer was set to be tapped at 6pm. I got there at 4pm for a little… extra support? In any case, beer was the final outcome.
My pops was my date for the evening. We grabbed a table next to the window and set to work deciphering the 29 taps behind the bar!
The Library Alehouse is set in a narrow space on Main Street, but extends all the way back into a cozy patio. We opted to stay inside where all of the action was.
The menu included the majority of their beer on tap, but left out the a few of the delicious newbies to the bar like La Folie by New Belgium and Denogginizer by Drake’s Brewing.
PUNKIN ALE? Well, it IS technically mid-September…
And that beauty on the far right is, indeed, Punkin Ale by Dogfish Head. Lovely and spicy, full of the aroma of pumpkin pie, a smooth, sweet malty sip and a warm boozy finish. Fall has arrived! Now going from left to right: Drake’s 1500 Pale Ale, Houblon Chouffe by Achouffe (heehee, Ah-choo-f! I’m twelve.), Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout by North Coast Brewing, Jamaica Red by Mad River Brewing, and back to Punkin Ale. I enjoyed the 1500 Pale Ale and the Jamaica Red best, so I ordered a glass of the Houblon Chouffe. Makes sense, right? Turns out we weren’t given a list of the beers so I ordered what I thought was in the glass on the far left (it was sipped dry by then)…
Well, Houblon Chouffe it is! This one’s quite a bit higher in the ABV than the 1500 Pale Ale (9% vs. 5.2%), and full of delicate bittering hops and the flavor and aroma of banana thanks to the use of traditional Belgian yeast. I wasn’t complaining after the first sip!
My dad got a full pint of the Old Rasputin in a slightly not-beer-clean glass. He didn’t mind too much.
We split the Local Burger – bison purchased at the Santa Monica farmers’ market, topped with sharp gouda, arugula and served on a soft bun covered with opium poppyseeds. The sweet potato fries were the true stand-outs of this – crispy on the outside, soft and sweet inside and covered with flakes of salt and fresh herbs.
6 o’clock rolled around, the candles came out, I ordered my pops an Old Chub Scotch Ale by Oskar Blues, an Alesmith IPA was randomly placed in front of me in a pint glass, and who should walk in but two Ghostbusters men in brewniforms! (They never get tired of hearing that, I’m sure…)
They even wore the boots – that’s dedication. My dad and I grabbed a taster size of their Valkyrie California Alt (we had been there since 4pm…), spouted off how amazing it was to the sitters-by, tried some of the Alehouse’s mocha torte which turned out so dry that we had to send it back, and then slowly, lazily rolled off our tall chairs, meandered down Main Street and headed home.
Aaaaah, life is glorious!
Tag Archives: Dogfish Head
Library Alehouse
Filed under Alehouse, Uncategorized
So. Much. Beer.
I have my Cicerone test to become a Certified Beer Server on Saturday, so my day was spent like this:
Healthy monsta to start! We had a peach that was about to pass its prime, so I threw it in the Vitamix. Nothing like getting two cups of spinach in before 9am!
Then I got down to business.
My plan was to start studying at 10am, and not stop until all fifty-six of these styles’ ABVs, IBUs and SRMs were memorized!
But then I started posting pictures of what I was preparing to study for on my Bites ‘n Brews Facebook page and forgot to actually BEGIN the studying part… (I was even wearing my Odell IPA sweatshirt to mentally prepare!)
Eventually, I DID get down to business! I spent a good three hours learning about the off-flavors you can encounter in beer, how adding oats to the brew creates an oily or silky texture to the mouthfeel, that lowering the mash temp will create a thinner, crisp finish, that umami surfaces in beer with a taste of soy sauce, that having DMS (Dimethyl Sulfide) present in the beer creates a canned corn taste…
Yeah. And that’s just a small part of the perception of flavor section.
Luckily for my sanity, I had plans to meet up with Janelle and her hubby, Andrew at Wades Wines for a beer flight night!
There wasn’t a style setup this night, unlike the previous beer tastings we’ve been to, but an introduction to some new beers they have on tap. I’d already tried both of the Heretic brews at Ladyface with Janelle last month, but needed another look.
Any brewery that has their own coasters AND temporary tattoos has made it!
Of all the four beers, the last two stood out most to me. Heretic’s Evil Twin is HOPPY! The Bruery’s Humulus Lager is… different. Big hops on the nose and taste, but they fade immediately after the swallow. Here’s the confusing part: Evil Twin = 45IBU. Humulus = 70IBU. Whaaaa? There’s a HUGE difference in the bitterness of the Evil Twin vs. the Humulus. Evil Twin almost bowled me over, but Humulus seemed pretty tame. I had to come home and find out how IBUs are rated.
I came home, ready to research how IBUs are determined, but I opened my fridge to this:
That’s not including the Dogfish Head Sah’tea and Labyrinth Black Ale I picked up after the tasting tonight… Needless to say, I opened a Boont ESB and promptly forgot about IBUs. Until tomorrow…
Random catch-up time! I asked on Twitter yesterday if pairing a CoCoNut PorTeR from Maui Brewing Company with a super spicy butternut squash and leek soup was a bad decision. Two people responded to me, recommending that I stick with an ESB instead…
I received those recommendations halfway through the bowl of soup and glass of porter. Oops. I’m happy to report that the coconut porter does NOT overwhelm the soup! In fact, I couldn’t detect any of the “hand toasted coconut” in the porter. It smelled like a dense, rich coffee porter stuffed with chocolate malts. I enjoyed a can (or two) to soothe my blazing mouth while I watched Black Swan.
It was an intense night.
And now, I’m going to retire to the soft couch that beckons me from the living room, and rot my exhausted, beer fact-riddled brain and watch a stupid comedy. G’night!
Filed under beer, beer tasting
Happy IPA Day!
Please tell me you knew it was International IPA Day today, because our waitress at Sierra Nevada Brewery had no idea. NO IDEA!
International IPA Day was founded by Ashley Routson (aka The Beer Wench) and Ryan A. Ross of Karl Strauss as a grassroots social media effort to celebrate craft beer. As of 5:30pm tonight, it was a trending topic on Twitter in Seattle, Denver, San Diego and a crapload of other cities that I’m much too technologically challenged to find. IPA Day: A genius idea!
Sierra Nevada seemed like a good place to spend IPA Day! While we were too late for a tour, I got to take a look around at their brewing equipment – these are actual copper mash tuns from a defunct German brewery!
Delicious amounts of mass fermentation pipes!
The only Sierra Nevada beer I’ve tried before was the Torpedo Extra IPA. How the heck am I supposed to choose from 16 different beers??
Ooooh, 16 tasters! Why didn’t I think of that? Oh yeah, because I weigh 110 and I’m not completely insane. Oh well, here goes nothing (or here goes 16)!
Yeah, that oughta do it for me…
We ordered to the garlic fries as a cushion for the beer. A helpful hint: When tasting beers, if you want to be able to appreciate the aroma and flavor, DON’T ORDER GARLIC FRIES! Before even touching them, the garlic smell overwhelmed our little table.
One of my favorites: Tumbler. First off: I love that they describe this beer the same way I describe beer. “Light wisps of smoke delicately balanced with a gentle touch…” Awesome. This beer was a beautiful brown-amber, malty and smokey, with just a “gentle touch” of hoppiness on the end. I was tempted to order a pint.
But then I saw Life & Limb. A collaboration between Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada? Look, I know it’s IPA Day, but I had to go for this baby. In my defense, it’s 50 IBU, so it’s technically in the IPA range of hops! It. Was. Epic.
Brewed with maple syrup from the Calagione family ranch. Bottle carbonated with birch syrup from Alaska! 10% ABV. Dude. This beer was heavily scented with maple syrup, full bodied with a warm, boozy essence up front. While you could sense the bite from the hops, it was in no way overwhelming and the caramel/maple malts melted through my veins and pulsed with joy and wonder. No wonder they only offer 10 ounce pours.
I balanced it out with butternut squash ravioli topped with grilled vegetables. Sweet and spicy butternut squash wrapped in a luxurious pasta, topped with a zesty garlic dressing. I had two pieces before I had to stop. Half a basket of garlic fries will do that to you.
After I managed to roll out of my seat and out the door, I waddled around the building to check out the well-lit rooms that displayed their whole-leaf hops. So many hops! I was tempted to break a window to steal them, but I decided to leave them be for the good of mankind.
I be a happy girl!!!
Delicious food, amazing beer (I DID sample two IPAs today, thank you very much!) and a great way to celebrate International IPA Day!
Filed under beer
Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA
Yes, this beer deserves its own post.
Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA actually glows from within.
It tastes even better because it’s made right across the water in Seattle. All those little tents in the lower left of the picture? That’s where I’m working this weekend.
This IPA is extremely low on the IBU – 40, so it’s on the lowest end of what an IPA can be (not really what I’d prefer in an IPA), but it is definitely an amazing herb/spice beer! I got it on tap at Chantanee Thai tonight – the food was good, but the beer! OH THE BEER! The rich head retained for the entire glass and left a beautifully intricate lacing down the sides of the glass. The aroma is an elegant floral jasmine which overwhelms any hop essence. The sweet jasmine flavor is very prominent in this beer, followed by warm malt and a lasting bitterness that translates back to a soft kiss of jasmine on the back of the tongue. It’s not a beer I would order regularly, but paired with Thai or Chinese food, pour me a pint!
With the beautiful views…
…and the hundreds of rare craft brews that line the shelves of the local grocery stores, I think I’m starting to love this place.
PLUS, I got this letter and I’m going to get rich from helping this woman “carry out her charity wish in which I will help her carry out her charity project as her wish” in exchange for three million dollars! MAN, this town is lucky!
Maybe I should move here once I’ve helped her carry our her charity wish and get the three million dollars she’s offered me…
Filed under beer
Things I Love: Part II
We’ve already covered this in Part I: I love bread. So very, very much. I love it even more when there’s cheese in that bread. I love it when there’s chocolate in that bread! I love it so!
I also love: BEVERAGES.
Coffee = Life!
Coffee + Ice + Sugar = LIIIIIIFE!!!!!!
Green Monstas!
Green Jasmine Pearl Tea. Zen.
Mango Lassi. A necessity for any Indian buffet!
Watermelon Rosemary lemonade from Lemonade.
Soy chai in GIGANTIC mugs!
Thai tea with boba!
Beer tastings!
MORE beer tastings!
Cheap, paper-wrapped red wine.
Expensive red wine.
Margaritas with real lime juice – none of that sweet and sour crap.
Dragon Eye Mojitos with strawberry puree!
Magners Cider on the back patio on a warm summer’s eve.
Ice cold Anchor Steam in the Santa Barbara Harbor.
Old classics from New Belgium in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Pumpkin beer in October!
I repeat: pumpkin beer in October!
Organic beer!
ANY beer from Ladyface!
Dos Beckis!
I just realized that most of my favorite beverages are beers. Who would thunk???
I love Beverages.
The end.
Comments Off on Things I Love: Part II
Filed under Drinks, Uncategorized