Nick Larson and Jake Devincenzi
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Kinesiology senior Nick Larson and aerospace engineering senior Jake Devincenzi are Mustang News beer columnists.
According to a survey we made up for the sake of this sentence, 98 percent of the people reading this column are poor college students. For the sake of our parents potentially reading this, we won’t say how much a typical craft beer run costs us … but it is quite a bit more expensive than a run to the corner store for a 30-rack.
Luckily, the beer gods invented one of the greatest ways to consume craft beer, short of owning your own craft brewery: festivals. There are beer festivals for all sorts of occasions. San Luis Obispo has multiple craft beer festivals every year, often hosted at the Veterans Memorial, Madonna Inn or Avila Beach. They showcase beers from many different craft breweries, and you can try dozens of different beers in a single day for the cost of a few nice bottles. One big beer festival we sadly missed out on this year was Sour Fest. It was an entire week dedicated to the delectable barrel-aged, wild yeast-fermented beers we love so dearly. At the time, we had only had one sour beer and, to be frank, it tasted terrible.
But when we heard about Eureka! Burger’s 2nd Year Anniversary party, we were quick to jump on the incredible craft beer opportunity. It isn’t exactly a beer festival, but it’s the same idea. Oftentimes establishments that pride themselves on their beer selection will have tap takeovers or special events in which various breweries supply them with fresh kegs and/or cases of limited release beer. Not only is Eureka! one of our favorite places to enjoy a nice craft beer (a bit pricey, but fantastic selection), but they had a lot of good beers brought in for this event.
And when we say “a lot” of good beers, we more accurately mean “DEAR GOD ARE YOU KIDDING ME THESE BEERS ARE INCREDIBLE HOW DID YOU GET THESE?” But before we get to the beers we enjoyed on this past Wednesday night, here are a few tips for your next beer festival/takeover/event experience:
Roll deep!
Get together a crew of beer-lovers, and go to the event together. The more people you get, the more beer you can try without enormous hits to your wallet. We went to Eureka! with seven people and were able to try 14 different beers.
Pace yourself!
Remember, you are here to taste limited edition beers, not get drunk (though that will inadvertently happen). We ordered one “sipping” beer, a lower alcohol delight served in a pint glass to tide us over between tastes of the heavy hitters.
Get crazy!
We’ve mentioned sour beers a few times in this column, so as you may know, we didn’t like them very much, at first. It wasn’t until we tried sours by the famed Russian River and The Bruery that we realized how fantastic these beers can be. Try something new. If a beer has been deemed worthy of making a “special occasion craft beer menu,” it can’t be too bad.
Live a little!
Don’t get us wrong, it’s not a good idea to spend $15 on a 6-ounce glass of beer every time you go out (remember: poor college students). That being said, on occasions when you are sharing the beer with four to six other people, it is often worth shelling out an extra dime to see what all the hype is about. We did, and boy oh boy were we rewarded for our curiosity.
Don’t choose based on name … Don’t NOT choose based on name! Do a little research on each beer before you try it. Don’t just go down the list picking and choosing, at random. Have some idea of what went into the beer you are ordering, so that you can pay attention to and appreciate the subtleties that make your beer unique. That being said, when you’re deciding between two beers that both sound delicious, but aren’t quite at the state of mind or wallet to try both, go for the crazy one! It may surprise you.
Weekly beer recommendations
Alright, enough with the life lessons (just kidding, that’s what this column is all about), let’s get to the beer. Here are reviews of some of the expertly crafted specialty beers we enjoyed.
Central Coast Brewing (CCB), Deep Dark Bourbon Stout: New rule: Do not try local beers at events such as this. We have nothing against CCB; in fact, their beers are continually delicious. However, compared to the Bourbon barrel-aged beers featured on this menu, the Deep Dark Bourbon Stout just couldn’t quite stack up. It was still an enjoyable glass, but we’re going to leave local beer tastings to local brewery trips.
Rating: 4/10
The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Double Trunk IPA: Mainly ordered due to the name of the brewery, we weren’t sure what to expect. We could be wrong, but it seemed as though it was brewed using extract methods other than all grain. It had that sort of taste. It wasn’t bad, but not something we will be seeking out.
Rating: 6/10
Drake’s, Son of Hedro: It seems as though Drake’s won’t put their name on something that isn’t great. Son of Hedro continues their reputation of quality beer, as the Barleywine-style ale was not overbearing, but still had all the qualities you’d want out of this style.
Rating: 9/10
Deschutes, XXIV Anniversary: Call us fanboys, but we are yet to taste a Deschutes brew that let us down. If you asked us for a brewery that continuously delivered in each and every beer they put out (and oh man, do they put out a lot of beers), Deschutes would definitely be a contender. This 24th anniversary ale was no exception. A barrel-aged version of the near-perfect Black Butte Porter (if you haven’t had a Black Butte Porter, put down this article and go to your nearest liquor store, stat), this 10.8 percent Reserve Series Porter delivered in every way expected. All of the chocolate and coffee undertones of the Black Butte were complemented by the wild yeast and sweet alcohol that can only come from years of aging. If you want to try this beaut (pun oh so intended), most liquor stores in San Luis Obispo carry it.
Rating: 9/10
Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales, American Beauty: This took the cake, for me. I have this thing where I try to determine my favorite “beers done right” for each brew variety. I describe these beers as the ones that don’t necessarily do anything crazy with ingredients or combinations or anything like that. These are the beers that you drink and think, “Yes, sir. THAT is how a pale/IPA/stout should taste.” Prior to this night, the only beers that had found their ways into this category have been Deschutes’ Obsidian Stout and Russian River’s Pliny the Elder (IPA). However, I am proud to say that this 9 percent American Beauty was made its way to the throne of “Pale Ale done right.” Sorry, SLO. I bought the last bottle on Monday night.
Rating: 10/10
Green Flash Brewing Co., Genius Lab NZ Single Hop: This baby was a doozy. At only 4.5 percent alcohol by volume, it had very minimal malt or yeast flavor. In fact, it had almost no flavor at all … except for the unprecedented earthy hoppiness unlike anything we had ever experienced. We have had IPAs in the 150 IBU realm (more than double the bitterness of a normal IPA), and this beer was a whole different demon. Served in a 16-ounce pint glass, this beer lasted us awhile, and was a refreshing floral break from the intense Barley Wines and Imperial Stouts that adorned this hearty lineup.
Rating: 7/10
The Bruery, Bottleworks XII: Remember that tip above about buying the expensive beer despite the price? Yeah, this is what that was referring to. This is what a sour should taste like.
Rating: 9/10
The Bruery, Praecocia: Fantastic! It had a very complex taste, with not only hints of apricot and bourbon, from the bourbon barrels it was aged in, but also had a slight hint of sour, possibly from some wild yeast getting involved in the fermentation. Whether it was intentional or not, it worked out well.
Rating 9/10