I realized that I have never really done a post about my favorite beers. Why? No clue. I'm slacking, clearly. I was never a beer person, in fact the very smell made me a little sick to my stomach. Then one night I was at a get together and I had a beer, I actually can't even remember what kind it was...It was in a green bottle which leads me to believe that it was cheap and probably not something that I would order now. But I will be forever grateful to that beer because after that I fell in love. My family loves wine and I spent the last few years going to vineyards and tasting and learning about different wines. I enjoy it, but not completely. In fact, I'm actually sort of a wimp when it comes to wine--I favor the whites and blushes. But with beer, I just started trying different ones and completely fell in love with it. I can pick out the flavors and understand it so much more then I can understand wine. I came to realize the I love hoppy beer. If it's got a nice bitter flavor then I'm sold. I also really like stouts and porters which probably comes from my love of coffee...that's a completely different story. The only type of beer that I have tried and have yet to get into are the sours. I just can't enjoy them. I tried I really did...
I started home brewing which has been a great new hobby and really educational. I find that for me, I need to do something or make something if I really want to learn about it. It helps me understand it so much more and I can appreciate it better. I don't really know where I'll go with brewing, but for now I'm just enjoying new styles and slowly trying new things. Thus in a round about way, bringing me to the actual point of my blog post: Some of my favorite beers. Not an exclusive list, but more of a "this-is-what-came-to-me-off-of-the-top-of-my-head..list". It's not exactly well rounded because I don't have all of my favorite types included, but they are for sure my go to beers and a few new ones that I've recently tried and enjoyed.
#1. Three Philosophers. This beer is so enjoyable to drink and is really well rounded. There are no over powering flavors which makes it a great beer to enjoy with food in my opinion.
#2. Moylans Hop Sickle Imperial Ale. I about died and went to heaven the first time I had this beer. Oh man. Probably by far the hoppiest most hop-tastic beer I've ever had. A real kick in the pants.
#3. Pliny The Elder. This is a beer that I just recently tried. My friend and beer lover Jake told me about it originally. On Sunday I went to Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach, and noticed that they had it on tap...HELLO! Had to get it. It has a flavor that I can't quite pin point...but I like it. Maybe one of the best IPA's I've ever had. There's talk of a Pliny the Younger coming out soon and I'm pretty stoked to find it on tap somewhere.
#4. Bear Republic Racer 5 India Pale Ale. Juuuust had this beer tonight actually. They had it on tap at Belmont Brew Company in Long Beach. Jake told me about this one too! A really nice Pale Ale. The bartender had me try their house pale ale, but realllly wasn't digging it. The house Pale was very bitter but in a bad way... Now don't get me wrong, I love bitter but it didn't have enough flavor or aroma to back it up. It was almost watery bitter...ew. But this one was spot on. Really flavorful and enjoyable.
#5. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. HAD TO INCLUDE THIS! Probably up there in my top 3 all time favorite beers. So full and wonderful and chocolaty. I just brewed a russian imperial stout and I'm really excited to try it. I bought a 4 pack of Rasputin to taste with my home brew so I can compare and contrast. Pretty excited about that.
