Healdsburg...Pumping Out Great IPAs and Doughnut Muffins

Wine Country in California is usually thought of for, well...wine.  However, some of the best beer in the world is being produced in this region, particularly when it comes to American IPAs (India Pale Ale).  These big, intense beers, also called West Coast IPAs, are exploding with in-your-face citrus, flower, and/or pine, all with a great bittering quality not suited for the faint of heart.

Healdsburg, located along US Highway 101 in the center of Sonoma County is home to Bear Republic Brewing Company.  I was actually in Healdsburg one summer afternoon in 2010 for a stop on an awesome West Coast adventure with my great friend, Blair.  However, I wasn't quite the crazed beer enthusiast back then as I am now, so the trip didn't include and brewery stops; don't get me wrong, we did have great beer throughout this trip.  Our brief time in Healdsburg did afford us a great lunch at Oakville Grocery followed by a snack at Downtown Bakery & Creamery, the buttery, cinnamon sugar covered treat shown below in Blair's lap.

Wait, isn't this a beer blog?  Well, yes, but I just wanted to share some connection to where last night's beer hails from.  Back to Barley's it was, and the selection would be Bear Republic's Racer 5 IPA coming in at an easy-to-drink (at least for me) 7.0% ABV.

With a gloriously golden pour into a standard pint glass, it had a lot of aroma from citrus (grapefruit mostly) and pine.  The taste mainly mirrored the aroma with more citrus, pine, and resin, all with a palate-pleasing bitterness that lingered for just the right amount of time.  Overall, this is a very solid American IPA, and I would probably race to have another.  While probably more for the hopheads amongst us, I would encourage anyone to give these West Coast IPAs a shot.  After all, food and beverage are about flavor, and these beers bring flavor in a big way.

Cheers!

Darkness Everybody, Darkness

The start of the week found me at Barley's, my favorite bar in Greenville, for a beer.  I took a seat at the bar with no particular desire, but my true loves of dark beers and IPAs were able to join forces in Stone Brewing Company's Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale with Espresso Beans.  This beer is a Black Ale (also known as a Black IPA or Cascadian Dark Ale), which is a relative newcomer in terms of beer styles.  As a definite high gravity beer coming in at 8.7%, it was the perfect nightcap in my opinion.

Poured pitch black into a standard pint glass, it showcased a perfect, creamy head.  Aromas were of chocolate, coffee, and alcohol, all relatively subtle.  As the flavors are typically somewhat different from the aromas, this particular beer was pretty consistent with those same notes and added a lingering, bittering aftertaste.  The mouthfeel was thick, maybe more so than I would have expected.

While I would probably like a little more from the espresso beans and a little less of the alcohol notes, overall, this is a delicious beer worth trying and one fitting to be having at a bar in contention for Stone's Most Bitter Bar.

Cheers!

Here we go...

Welcome to Southern Hopspitality, my foray into the world of blogging.  I've been considering a beer blog for quite some time, but recently some various life events have inspired me to finally pour my beer thoughts out for others to read.  The posts might be more interesting after a beer or with a beer in hand.

As for those life events that have given me that final push of inspiration to hop into the blog world, they both occurred over the past couple of weeks.  First, I've gotten my foot into the beer industry by landing a part-time job with Greenville's newest brewery, Quest Brewing Company.  For now, I'll be pouring beer on Thursday nights for the Thursday Concert Series, which features live music and a food truck.  Additionally, I'll be available to do any other tasks around the brewery in order to help out in any way that I can.  I can't express how excited and grateful I am for this opportunity to be working with such a great group of people. The second life event is that I have become a Certified Beer Server (level one of the Cicerone certification program) by passing an examination.  I had been preparing for this exam by taking classes from Blue Ridge Community College in North Carolina and doing a lot of studying.

So, what the hell is the purpose of this blog?  Well, I'm sure it is going to evolve with time, but I just want to share any cool beer experiences I have, any cool bits of beer information, and evaluations of different beers.  This is mostly to help me in my quest to further educate myself on beer, but maybe you might find some interesting bits of information as well.

Cheers!