In many ways this week seemed as if it was one of the longest of my life. I drank more than I have in the past two months combined (I will be abstaining from beer until Thanksgiving to give my body a rest) and it's certainly done it's toll. I've gained at least 7 pounds and I'm constantly aching in places that don't usually hurt. But enough about the bad parts, what were the fun parts? Maybe it was because it was the beginning of the week, but Saturday was awesome. IPA Day at Toronado followed by the Automatic night. Saw a ton of friends and just had a generally awesome time. Kern River/Rip Current at O'Brien's was killer once Citra blew and the line went away.
You’re getting too old! This may have been my favorite SDBW ever, because I was really impressed by every event I went to. The Societe dinner was a highlight by virtue of being the very definition of unique and thoughtful. Loved that Blair changed the format of VaS flights to make it a much smoother experience. Kern River dinner at Ob’s was awesome since I firmly believe Tyson is the one of the best beer-food pairers in the county, and it’s fun to shoot the shit with the brewers. Meet the Brewer w/ Lee Chase was fun since I’d no idea the guy could cuss so much and I learned some mind-blowing facts about how he brews, and being served a half-liter of your first beer of the night ain’t bad. Did I mention I love SDBW?
Hamilton's 5th fling followed by barrel aged night at Toronado was pretty damn good. Our SDBW Kick-off bottleshare was pretty badass too.
It was an absolute delight seeing you trashed that night – you and Harvey had me in stitches. At this point, that feels like weeks ago.
kick off bottle share since it was the only event i could actually carve out time to attend! i mean being at work with sticky monkey and crooked stave wasn't so horrible either...
Ow my liver! I think I am up 10lbs, went out every single night of Beer Week which I hadn't done before in past years. I think my favorite event was the Toronado big Wednesday event; so many incredible beers and tons of beer geek friends, drunk Harvey, and breakfast for dinner. I wish I could've made one of the Crooked Stave events. Favorite recurring beers from the last 10 days were the BP rum barrel Victory at Sea, Rip Current's Caught in a Rip IIIPA and Rescue Buoy, latest BA Speedway, latest Societe Pupil, and the Modern Times Brett IPA. The new Benchmark "Belgian Table Beer" and PortOB sours were delicious new finds also. Now where do i get discount stomach pump and replacement liver...
Fav single glass of goodness......Bagby's Last Stand at pizza port OB. Least Fav event....brewers guild fest. Yawn fest.
You guys are crazy, I was out for just yesterday and my wallet, brain and liver are feeling it. We hit up Alpine for lunch and got a few pours of Chez Monus which was pretty epic. Not epic however was the fact our bill came out to over $300. Apparently that sour was $10 a pour for like maybe 4-5oz. Probably wouldn't have had 3 if I knew that. Lunch was awesome as always and fresh pitchers of Nelson were great, great was great and Odin's Raven was pretty solid. After that shared a Black Tuesday watching college football then headed out to TigerTiger and Toronado. Pinly on tap at Tiger, LoF Le Terrior and BA Bigfoot on tap at Toronado. Also decided to pay the toll and get a bottle of Cable Car. It was insane good. I still can't wrap my head around why someone can't make a bunch and let everyone enjoy it daily. All in all I drank dozens of top 100 beers. I can't imagine doing that for a week straight.
Rip Current shared their night at O'Brien's with the Kern release, but I went back to have a bunch of Rip Current tasters on Tuesday as most of their beers were still up. I thought that every one of their beers were good, and a few (including what you mention above) were excellent. I know a few here don't think they lived up to the hype, but I greatly disagree with them.
I know people say "every week is Beer Week in San Diego" but that was amazing 10 days of events around the county (especially the "official" SDBW Kickoff bottle share). Great seeing a lot of you around town. Hopefully some of you I will meet at some point.
Brewers Guild VIP was fun, and Toro Wednesday was fun sitting with Sage and Drunk Harvey. We bounced to Hawaii Thursday so I had a short SDBW. Also being too good for an Untpped badge was interesting.
Really enjoyed the Beer Garden fest yesterday. Fantastic food and a world class setting. Nearly no wait for food or beer the whole time.
Lost Abbey Dinner at Obrien's was pretty awesome. Great revisiting some of their vintage bottles. Track 12 has come a long way, and will probably keep improving. Also fun bs'ing with The Tomme and "Red The Fucker", as Tomme so kindly (and aptly) put. That was a fun table. My first Obrien's dinner and certainly won't be the last. Tyson made some killer dishes. The duck plate after a Duck Duck beer only course was a fun twist, not to mention one of the best plates of duck I've ever had. It was also pretty funny that half the beers were mislabeled on the menu in what vintage they were. Some not as old, some MUCH older. I think with their new facility and moving cold box storage Tomme had a field day yanking cases of old forgotten beers. No Veritas 012 though...kinda sad. Would really like to try/trade for it though (ISO). Societe Dinner was definitely my favorite, Obrien's Lost Abbey a close second. My least favorite part about beer week? Everyone going to Alpine and turning my relaxation time with Megan, Danielle, Laura, Bob, ect. into a madhouse! Had to leave with no dinner on Friday . Oh well, beer week is over, resume your standard drinking schedules (or maybe after a few days off). Doesn't help that two beer trades came in and new tastes are mocking me.
I missed most of the last two beer weeks because of family stuff but got to hit several events this year and had a lot of fun. The best events always involve hanging out with my friends and drinking good beers, and I got to do that at multiple places. Enjoyed the Million Schmillion Speedways and the BA Speedway release a lot. Wednesday at Toronado was great, too. The sour night at Pizza Port OB was terrific. I also was very pleasantly surprised to go to Amplified for a low-key pint or two with Mrs Riko and Baby Riko yesterday only to find out they had FW 17 on tap and bottles of BA Rare Form to-go. Very glad it ended on a holiday weekend. Good to have a day to rest up before going back to work ...
The Lost Abbey dinner at Stone was amazingly good; some of the best food I've ever had at a beer dinner and a reasonable price for 12 beers and 6 courses. Tomme Arthur was there to talk about the beers, which made it even more fun. The Alesmith Grand Prix was outstanding; the flight at the BA Speedway release party on Saturday was very nice: the latest BA Speedway (one of the best in recent memory to me), Kopi, BA Kopi, and Pinon. Enjoyed the Crooked Stave beers at Stone and the FW anniversary release. Too many good options to keep up with it all (though I think Sage covered most of the bases!). Fun seeing friends at all these events. Another great SDBW.
I will say though, my favorite events were not official events but the bottle shares that where either planned or unexpectedly happened.
