Category: Where to go…

bottle shops, pubs and breweries

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38 Degrees Alehouse

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Last night I had a great beer conversation with Clay Harding from 38 Degrees Ale House in Alhambra. It will be appearing either in next weeks FoodGPS beer blast or the next. (Depending upon my writing speed).

In the meantime, I highly suggest making the trek to Alhambra. Clay has a some really good draught beers and some amazing bottles. Victory at Sea from Ballast Point is on there. Also be sure to ask if there are any special bottles not on the printed beer bible. As you can imagine it is hard to constantly update a list in this ever growing beer world.

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Italian Beers & BBQ

The hot brewery country is still the ever re-imagining US but if you haven’t tried Italian craft beer yet then you are missing out on something amazing. It is influenced by Slow Food, Belgian beer and food. And if you are in Southern California between the 6th and 9th you can taste some truly imaginative beers that Celebrator writer Tomm Carroll has selected along with Gabe Gordon from the great Beachwood BBQ

Two Great tastes that taste great together.
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Mikkeller Beer Bar

I do not know how a person can brew across the world and have another job and now provide enough beer for bar dedicated to his excellent concoctions. Mikkel must work 27 hours a day. I am glad he does though.

“The grand opening of the Mikkeller beer bar in Viktoriagade 8BC, Vesterbro, Copenhagen will take place on wednesday May 5th at 17:00.
The opening will feature a huge number of new beers from Mikkeller and beers from the best brewers in Europe and the US. The opening events will go on and new beers will be tapped from May 5th-May 8th.”

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Beer Dim Sum

Don’t be confused. This is not pairing craft beer with Chinese food. (That’s an idea for another day). No, this is a great beer tasting idea that the Belmont Station folks created. They rummaged around their excellent store and bier cafe, which you must visit. They pulled out some aged beers. What follows is a list that should blow your mind…
Stone Oaked Bastard 2006 & 2007
Stone Vertical Epic 07-07-07
Stone Vertical Epic 08-08-08
Stone Double Bastard 2006
Stone IRS 2006
Full Sail Top Sail 2008 & 2010
Full Sail Black Gold 2009
Full Sail Imperial Stout 2008
Full Sail Wreck the Halls 2006
Bridgeport Old Knucklehead 2009
Roots Epic 2008
Deschutes Abyss 2007, 2008 & 2009
Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood 2006 & 2008

They named it Vintage Beer Dim Sum and each beer cost a different number of $1 tickets– from one to five tickets, depending on its rarity. Part of the proceeds went to charity.

This is a great idea. I am kicking myself that I did not think of it. You bought your tickets and the beer would come around. You could choose to use your ticket or tickets, or not. It wasn’t a tasting where you could feel cheated because you are the one choosing!

This is exactly how I am going to hold my next tasting event.

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Hair of the Dog tasting room

I saw this quote from Alan Sprints (who is a great guy) about HOTD floating around and since tomorrow is May, thought it might come in handy

“I will be open this May and will have a tasting room with a small food menu and regular hours. The new space is very close to downtown Portland and will provide Beer lovers with a chance to taste Beers still in the experimental stage.”

For more information and beers check out the Hair of the Dog Brewing Facebook fan site.
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Stuffed Sandwich

One of the forerunners of craft beer in Los Angeles is the Stuffed Sandwich east of Pasadena tucked into the corner of an uassuming little mall. Sam and Marlene Samaniego moved from the distribution side to the restaurant side and haven’t looked back.
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from their website: “Everyone was so excited about trying new beers that Sam decided to go for a selection of 100 beers. Since then it has not stopped! They now sell over 700 bottled beers from 40 different countries, specializing in Belgian Ales (over 130) and American crafted “Micro” brewed beers.”

Due to the vagaries of liquor laws, you have to (poor us) buy some food to go with the beer.

Their theme for the month of April is anniversary beers. Here is a list of what they may still have pouring:
AVERY BREWING COMPANY’S 16TH ANNIVERSARY 2009 (Saison brewed with Jasmine, Peaches & Honey)
KONINGSHOEVEN’S 125TH ANNIVERSARY 2009 (La Trappe Isid’or Trappist Ale)
ROGUE BREWERY’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY 2008 (Rogue St. Red Dry Hopped Red Ale)
CORONADO BREWING COMPANY’S 13TH ANNIVERSARY 2009 (Smoked Brown Ale)
LAGUNITAS BREWING COMPANY’S 13TH ANNIVERSARY 2006/2007 (Red Ale brewed in 2006/ keg released in 2007)
ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING COMPANY’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY 2007/2008 (Imperial IPA brewed in 2007/ keg released in 2008)
SIERRA NEVADA BREWING COMPANY’S 28TH ANNIVERSARY 2008 (Hoppy Anniversary Ale)
FLYING DOG BREWPUB’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY 2010 (Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA)
MAD RIVER BREWING COMPANY’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY 2009 (Wheat Wine Barleywine Style Ale)

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Baird Brewery

Now this is a brewery that I need to sample from. Baird is a Japanese brewery that has some really unusual ingredients in their beers. Yuzu in particular goes great with spicy saison in my mind.

For instance:
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Temple Garden Yuzu Ale
“The spicy aroma and tart flavor of Japanese yuzu fruit, picked at a local temple garden, define this other-worldly brew. A luscious kiss of malt sweetness serves as a wonderful balance to the citric tang. This inspired ale surely is proof of the existence of a higher being.”
ABV 5.5%
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Shizuoka Summer Mikan Ale
“Brewed with fresh Shizuoka summer mikans (natsumikans) and citrusy American hops, this original ale is aromatic, effervescent, dryly acidic and unabashedly refreshing.”
ABV 5.5%

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Zipp’s Liquors

Beer store day goes from sunny SoCal to the wintry climes of Minnesota to highlight Zipp’s Liquors.
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They have a very spot on mission, “Zipp’s strives not only to keep you content and happy, but also to help you exlpore the ever expanding and changing world of craft beer.”

Need Surly Smoke or Goose Island Night Stalker? They are the place to try.

2618 East Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55406-1188
(612) 333-8686