Went to El Cajon Brewing Company recently to find only one of their beers on tap, Shady Lane Pale Ale, which was fantastic btw. I read on their facebook page that they were planning to launch a whole new line of beers because they are "always striving to make better beer." Awesome, good for them, I can't wait to try the new lineup. Then I saw the new website today with the descriptions of the new beers. http://www.elcajonbrewingco.com/our-beers/ Fuckin hilarious: Dirty Town Brown, Rowdy Redneck Red, Break Out Stout, Back Alley Blonde, At Large Orange Wheat, and Off-Duty IPA. The descriptions are classic, and I have a feeling they are making a point about something. Does it have anything to do with being located next door to the Superior Court in a town full of vocal teetotalers? Please chime in if you have any information on this whole situation.
They are quite confusing to me as well. They seem all over the map. The first time I went there a few weeks after their opening their beers were purely terrible. Gave them another shot a few weeks later and everything was much improved. Break Out Stout huh...I wonder if Marin will have anything to say about that. Their IIPA something-something del oro is pretty great. I remember the brown being pretty good, which is probably what the dirty town brown will be. But yeah, they are a confusing bunch. Pretty solid food for the price though I must say. Those hotdogs are awesome.
Hi there from ECBC! Just popped on to alleviate any confusion. The city did give a business loan, which is being paid back. All of the comments above on service, beer, and food are valid opinions, which is which for the past few weeks we have been focusing on all these aspects. Thursday,August 9th we are launching our new menu and our newest beers, listed on the new website ( www.elcajonbrewingco.com ). Our service team is is going through beer education and new procedures to ensure you get great service every time. As for the names, we love El Cajon, and embrace it's gritty reputation with open arms and a little wit. We hope these names will bring more customers to El Cajon to see what the names and history are all about, which is after all, why the city gave us loans in the first place. We hope to see you soon, and keep challenging us to do better!
I gave up on them after 5 tries to get a growler filled - wtf is the point of buying their mega overpriced growler if there is never any beer to fill it? It's a decent place, potential is there, but if you're a brewery you need to put your beer on a pedestal. I'll try again I guess, fool me thrice?
I don't buy it. The names and descriptions are hilarious if you're an outsider who doesn't have any ties to El Cajon, but for anyone from the place, it's just demeaning. Rowdy Redneck Red is kind of like having a beer called Bøsser Brown. Back Alley Blonde, named for the streetwalkers who have made the town famous since the 1960s? Again, hilarious if you're a foreigner, but embarrassing if you live in El Cajon. Dirty Town Brown? Makes me laugh every time I think about it, but wow, that's just a blatant insult. The description for "At Large" Orange Wheat sounds like you're taunting the police who swarm around ECBC like bees around a hive. If you seriously think the new names are not offensive, then there is something very wrong with your judgement. So what's the real reason for the new derogatory line of beers?
Didn't realize people took such offense to beer names. I would recommend you also email the Bruery about their 'random' beer name for Dirty Beaver Juice Weekend, which was an obvious stab at Cal State Fullerton The names could be offensive I guess, minus the Police/Jail references, since they are ACROSS THE STREET from El Cajon Police Department. I would recommend reconsidering 'Back Alley Blonde' since it looks like Marble City Brewing Company has the same name for a beer (http://untappd.com/beer/109950). I would imagine their new lineup and names do not specifically refer to anything offensive about El Cajon - but I guess no matter what, you will offend someone, just like Lost Abbey's issue with the Witches Wit label or Clown Shoes offensive labels/names. Other than that - ECBC has been improving the times I've made it out there, definately like their Cajones Del Oro
I thought they named this beer by pulling words out of a hat and putting them together at some party with the public.
They did just think the ECBCs names are just names might as well have been pulled out of a hat - its still beer underneath
I don't think Marble City would care about the name since no one would ever confuse their beer with ECBC's beer. The name Back Alley Blonde isn't inherently offensive, it's the context. ECBC is representing El Cajon whether they like it or not, and their entire line of beers highlight negative aspects of the city. And ECBC acts like they are doing El Cajon a favor, I just thought that was ironic. ECBC has definitely improved a lot from when they opened. I'm not complaining about the beer at all, I'm a fan. I just think they should respect the city a little bit after all the help they've gotten. As for Dirty Beaver Juice Weekend, I am not familiar with that reference. I'm with UCLABrewN84, sounds like something you would see written in word-magnets on somebody's fridge.
