San Diego Brewed: Manzanita Brewing Company Where There’s Smoke

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Where There’s Smoke is a fairly new release from Manzanita Brewing Company. I didn’t know much about it before picking up a bottle earlier this week at Bottlecraft ($6.75 for 22oz). I’m pretty sure Manzanita was pouring it at The Brewer’s Guild Festival last month, if I remember right a friend even mentioned that it was one of his favorite beers at the fest, but I didn’t get to try it.

All I knew about it before picking up the bottle was that it was a smoked beer, I didn’t know it was made with rye, nor did I know it was brewed with chili peppers. While I enjoy both from time to time, neither smoked beers nor chili beers are big favorites of mine, but since I’d heard good things I decided to give Where There’s Smoke a try. And I’m glad I did, it’s a delicious beer.

It’s much darker than I expected, I’m not sure why I thought it would be a lighter beer, but for some reason I though it would be more of a caramel color. The smell tells you right away that this is a smoked beer, there’s tons of smokey malt with just a hint of spicy pepper smell.

The first sip is all smoke, it’s not overwhelming but I didn’t get much else to begin with. The heat from the chili peppers was mostly non-existent until swallowing, when a pleasant spiciness emerged. Not a taste bud scorching heat, but a good flavor with enough heat. As I drank more I started to get a bit of spiciness up front that seemed different than the chili pepper heat on the end. I’m not sure if this spiciness was from the rye or if that was just my taste buds playing tricks on me. There wasn’t any grainy or bread-like flavors that some rye beers can have.

I’m not sure if Where There’s Smoke is a limited release, seasonal or if it will become a regular release, but I’d recommend trying it if you get the chance.

San Diego Brewed: Green Flash Double Stout

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

For some strange reason (that I haven’t really been aware of until now) I often pass up Green Flash’s Double Stout, a 8.8% ABV Double (Imperial) Stout in favor others. I’m not really sure why that is, Silva Stout, the bourbon barrel-aged version of Double Stout that was first released last year was probably my favorite new beer to come out of a San Diego brewery in 2010, but for some reason I passed over Double Stout regularly when looking to drink a bigger stout. Thankfully I picked one up recently and won’t be neglecting it any more.

Double Stout isn’t the biggest stout around, many Imperial Stouts are coming in upwards of 10% these days, but it is insanely drinkable. Double Stout is 45 IBU, but I don’t think many people would describe it as hoppy. It has a fair amount of roasty bitterness, but think dark chocolate instead of coffee.

Green Flash uses oats in the grain bill to give it a smooth, creamy mouthfeel which I think adds to the chocolate comparison. In addition to the dark chocolate roastiness there’s also some toasted malt flavors, not a grainy texture but tasting like toasted grains. This all adds up to a nice rich and easy to drink stout.

Double Stout comes in 4 packs (12 oz bottles). I picked this bottle up at Bottlecraft as a single for $2.05, well worth the price (that’s the equivalent of a $3.75 22oz bomber).

San Diego Brewed: Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

The most recent release of Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea (an Imperial Porter with coffee and vanilla) is my favorite batch yet. It’s a big beer, 10% ABV, but it’s dangerously easy to drink. Past years releases of Victory at Sea have always been good, but there’s something about this one that’s just great. Ballast Point uses cold brewed coffee from Caffe Calabria in North Park and the roasty coffee seems to come through much more than I remember it previously.

The vanilla is still present, and comes through mid sip along with some chocolate like flavors. There isn’t much hop bitterness, far more coffee roastiness, and the alcohol is there but pretty well hidden. Like I said it’s dangerously easy to drink.

Coffee flavor in beer can fade rather quickly. But big dark beers like this can age wonderfully. I highly recommend picking up a few bottles and drinking some fresh and aging some if that’s your thing. And be on the look out for Bourbon Barrel-aged version of Victory at Sea on draft popping up around town (especially at Ballast Point’s two locations) every once in a while.

Typically Victory at Sea is released once per year and usually sells out pretty quickly. I picked up a few 22oz bottles at Bottlecraft for $7.75 each (which I’m pretty sure was cheaper than buying at the brewery). Worth every penny.

Radio and TV

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

Shooting at Bottlecraft

Last week I was a guest on KPBS Midday Edition, along with Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens pastry chef Andrew Higgins, we talked about some of the things going on during San Diego Beer Week. KPBS put up a blog post about it and you can listen to the segment on that same page.

Tomorrow around 6pm (or today, Wednesday 11/9 if you’re reading this in your email) I’ll be on an NBC San Diego/Voice of San Diego segment called San Diego Explained about San Diego’s beer industry. I’m not sure exactly what will be discussed, and I think my interview will be a small part of the larger overall segment, but it should be interesting, even to people that know quite a bit about our local beer community.

Photo: Brian Jensen/Bottlecraft

San Diego Beer Week – First Weekend

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

San Diego Beer Week 2011 is underway and the first weekend is now coming to a close. I decided this year I needed to take things a little more slowly than I did last year (if I remember right I didn’t drink beer for about two weeks after SDBW 2010) so I missed a few things this first weekend (and surely will miss more events for the rest of SDBW) but here’s what I drank.

Golden Road Hefeweizen

I started SDBW a night early at Tiger!Tiger! for their Golden Road showcase Thursday night. Golden Road is a new brewery in LA that opened just a couple of weeks ago. From what I hear they have no plans to start distributing outside of LA at this time, but decided to bring a few kegs down to Tiger!Tiger! for San Diego Beer Week. Co-founder Meg Gill (formerly of Speakeasy Ales and Lagers and Oskar Blues) and brewmaster Jon Carpenter (formerly of Dogfish Head) were on hand but I didn’t get a chance to speak with them.

They currently have three beers and brought all of them down. Hefeweizen is a nice flavorful hefeweizen that’s easy to drink and won’t knock you down after a couple of pints at 4.6% ABV. It’s a beer I wouldn’t hesitate to order again (especially on a hot day) but I’m not sure that it stands out when compared to other craft hefeweizen’s.

Point the Way IPA stands out for being full of flavor and on the lower side of the IPA ABV spectrum at 5.2%. The aroma was fantastic and while the flavor didn’t quite stand up to what I expected from the smell it was still good.

Burning Bush is a smoked IPA that was pretty interesting. The smoke was there but not overpowering. At 8% ABV it’s stronger than Point the Way IPA and much more malty. The hops are there, but don’t jump out nearly as much with the smoke and maltiness. And while it’s a very different beer, it reminded me a bit of Rumble (oak aged IPA) from Great Divide. The smoke really is very subtle, it’s there if you look for it but doesn’t overpower the rest of the beer.

Friday night I didn’t go out, opting to spend the night with the family sharing a couple bombers with my brother. We had the recent release of Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea along with Stone Brewing Co.’s 11.11.11 Vertical Epic. This might be my favorite batch of Victory at Sea to date. I don’t have any tasting notes from previous batches, but the coffee seems much more prominent in this batch. The vanilla is still there but it has a nice roastiness to it.

11.11.11 Vertical Epic is an amber colored Belgian-style ale brewed with chiles and cinnamon. I felt like there was a bit too much going on with it. The chile flavor is delicious, it’s right up front giving plenty of flavor without a ton of heat. It’s one of the most flavorful and not overwhelming chile beer’s I’ve had. After that though it seems to drop off a bit. I get some toffee like sweetness from the malt but I didn’t taste much from the Belgian yeast. The cinnamon came out at the end and I really didn’t like it. It wasn’t overwhelming but definitely there and was the last impression with each sip.

Saturday was the San Diego Brewer’s Guild Festival at Liberty Station. There’s a lot to be said about the festival itself, but I’ll leave that for another time. I had a number of beers, one or two I didn’t like at all, quite a few I thought were good and a couple I thought were great. Barrel Aged Tourmaline Trippel from Pacific Beach Ale House really stood out. I think they get passed over quite a bit because of their location but brewer Erik Jensen know’s what he’s doing and makes good beer. This was inoculated with Brett and aged in a previously used bourbon barrel for a few months.

Mary Jane IPA from Rock Bottom La Jolla also stood out. I didn’t get the ABV but I’d guess it’s in the 6-7% range. It was easy to drink with nice pine and tropical fruit flavors.

Green Flash’s 9th Anniversary IIIPA (not sure of the official name, one handwritten sign said Green Bullet but I don’t know if that’s the actual name) was also very good. It was big and hoppy with plenty of hop flavor along with the bitterness. Brewer Chuck Silva told me they used hop extracts in addition to the regular hop pellets. If you get a chance to try this I’d highly recommend it as it might not be around too long.

Later that night I went to Assembly, the vegan beer dinner I helped plan with LoveLikeBeer and Sea Rocket Bistro. The dinner went well with great beer from Jolly Pumpkin and delicious food from Chef Chad White. Fuego del Otono, La Parcela, Bam Biere, and Bam Noire were all served.

Bison Organic Chocolate Stout and Barrel Aged Chocolate Stout

Sunday I stopped into Bottlecraft for the Bison Brewing event. They had Bison Organic Chocolate Stout and Barrel-aged Bison Chocolate Stout being served side by side. The barrel aged version was aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels (and I was told but didn’t confirm it with the brewer) that they were second use barrels. It’s been a while since I’ve had the regular Chocolate Stout but I was reminded of how much I enjoy it.

The barrel aged version didn’t quite live up to my expectations, it was good but I think I enjoyed the regular version more. Gone was the subtle chocolate sweetness, replaced with a mellow bourbon flavor. At 6.1% ABV it’s lower in alcohol than many beers that are aged in bourbon barrels so it didn’t have the same mouthfeel that one might come to expect from barrel aged beers. Still good, but I’m plenty happy with the regular Chocolate Stout.

There’s still seven days left of San Diego Beer Week. If you’re looking for some things to do for the remainder check out these guides for my take on some of the best beer events and the best beer and food events.

San Diego Brewed: AleSmith IPA

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

AleSmith IPA recently picked up a Silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category. It might seem weird that a beer called IPA and marketed as such would be entered in any category other than an IPA, but that’s one of the interesting things about beer judging, brewers get to choose which category to enter their beers in (although the American-Style Strong Pale Ale and American-Style India Pale Ale categories are very similar).

Until recently AleSmith IPA was bottle conditioned resulting in some sediment in the bottom of the bottle which could cause for a cloudy beer if not poured carefully. But AleSmith got a new bottling line this summer which allows them to force carbonate some of their bottled beers and results in a nice clean looking beer.

AleSmith IPA has a big hoppy smell and a taste to go along with it. There’s a lot of pine and citrus bitterness fairly well balanced by some slightly sweet caramel like malt and maybe just a bit of toastiness from the malt as well. In San Diego, the land of big hoppy IPAs this might be considered a balanced IPA, but that’s not too say that it isn’t hoppy.

At 7.25% ABV it’s a bit warm from the alcohol, constantly reminding you that it’s not a low ABV beer, but it’s still pretty easy drinking. It finishes dry with a bitter pine like hop finish.

This isn’t the hoppiest of West Coast IPAs, but it’s no slouch. No complaints here especially because it’s widely available and reasonably priced.

AleSmith doesn’t date their bottles so make sure to buy from a shop that has good turn over (I picked this bottle up for $5 at Bottlecraft and it was pretty fresh). The bottles still mention being bottle conditioned even if they’re from the new bottling line and were force carbonated, so don’t let that fool you into thinking you’re getting an old bottle. Just hold the bottle up to the light and look for sediment in the bottom, if it’s clear you can be fairly certain you’re getting a bottle from the new bottling line.

The Mixed Six Pack

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

I don’t buy many six packs. In talking with other friends that I would consider beer nerds most of them don’t buy six packs much either. I realize we’re in the minority among the general beer drinking public. Six packs of 12oz are a great bargain compared to buying individual bombers, but personally I like to try a variety of beers, not the same six beers in a row. Because of this the ‘mixed six pack’ is something I really enjoy. It’s a simple concept: instead of buying a six of the same beer, you can mix and match buying singles of different beers.

The term ‘mixed six pack’ is a bit of a misnomer, most shops that sell beer this way don’t actually require you to buy six beers, they’ll gladly sell you singles as well. Locally Best Damn Beer Shop and Bottlecraft are the only two shops that have really embraced this model that I know of. Olive Tree Market offers a few 12oz bottles as singles, but not many.

Bottlecraft doesn’t really market a mixed six pack, rather they just break up their six packs and sell them individually. They have empty six pack holders handy if you need one to help carry things but there isn’t really the suggestion of mixed six packs. That’s fine, it all works out the same in the end. The individual bottle prices I’ve looked at are generally 1/6th of the price you’d pay for a six pack of that beer at other stores so there isn’t much of a premium for building your own six pack.

Best Damn Beer Shop does market their individual bottles as a mixed six pack, but they won’t turn you down if you don’t want to buy six. Bottles are individually priced and from a quick look they appear to be just a bit more than 1/6th of the cost of a six pack of that beer. Many of the beers I looked at were $2 each (which would make a $12 six pack) but if you were to buy a sixer off the shelf of that beer the price would probably be a buck or two lower. To make up for this BDBS offers a ten percent discount for those buying a full mixed six pack instead of just one or two singles.

Whether you’re like me, and don’t want the same six beers in your fridge, or just want to try different beers you’ve never had without having to committing to a full six pack, the mixed six pack is a good way to sample various beers at a reasonable price.

Know of any other shops in San Diego that offer mixed six packs? If so leave a comment below.

Update: It was pointed out in the comments below that Pizza Port Bottle Shop up in Carlsbad offers mixed six packs as well.

San Diego Brewed: Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Until recently I can’t remember that last time I had Ballast Point’s Black Marlin Porter. I know I’ve had it in the past, it’s been around a long time and it’s around quite a bit it’s available year round and never too hard to find. Which means I’ve often overlooked it in favor of beers that might not be around the next time I’m at the bottleshop or pub. (I think I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my intentions with the San Diego Brewed column is to highlight some of the great beers being brewed here in San Diego that don’t get talked about much, maybe because they’re fairly ubiquitous.) To further highlight this point I know I’ve had Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Marlin, Black Marlin with Chocolate and Chipotle, and I think Black Marlin with Cocoa Nibs in the not too distant past, but it’s been a while since I had a pint of the regular Black Marlin Porter.

With that in mind I picked up a 22oz bomber at Bottlecraft for around four bucks ($3.99 if I remember right). In the beer geek world that’s a great price, not many beers I buy are that cheap. The bottle doesn’t list it, but Ballast Point’s website shows that Black Marlin is 6% ABV and 45 IBU. Black Marlin is pretty easy drinking despite it’s dark (sometimes intimidating) color.

The smell is roasty with more coming through in the taste. Roasted coffee flavors are an obvious comparison (probably due to roasted malts). There’s a light sweetness as well that’s a bit reminiscent of semi-sweet chocolate. The bitterness is more similar to coffee than hops until the very end when a long, pleasant hop bitter finish and aftertaste come along. One of my complaints about many porters is that they often feel thin (maybe due to the expectation that such a dark beer will be heavier) but that isn’t the case here, Black Marlin isn’t heavy but certainly isn’t thin and watery.

A solid beer at a great price.

San Diego Weekend Beer Events Thursday 9/29 – Saturday 10/1

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

I won’t be posting all events, and just because an event isn’t listed doesn’t mean it isn’t worth going to. I’ll just pick one or two a day. I try to keep the Events Calendar up to date, so check it for the full list of things going on around down. If you know of a beer event that isn’t listed send me an email, events@sandiegobeerblog.com

Instead of posting a weeks worth of events at once, I’ll be posting the weekend events on Wednesday night or Thursday and then posting on Sunday or Monday if there’s anything noteworthy going on Monday-Wednesday of a given week.

Thursday, Sept. 29th, 2011:

Getting a little self promotional here, my wife (San Diego CityBeat Arts and Culture editor Kinsee Morlan) and I have partnered up to put on an art show and beer tasting at Bottlecraft. From 7-10pm the artist Katie Scott will be on hand with plenty of her work showing. There will be three different flights available for purchase as well as all the rest of the great beer at Bottlecraft. More info here.

Friday, Sept. 30th, 2011:

It’s 30th on 30th and there are a couple great casks getting tapped Friday night. AleSmith Evil Dead Red will be at Ritual Tavern and Hamilton’s Tavern will have Grand Teton Wake-up Call Coffee Imperial Porter as well as plenty of other great Grand Teton and Big Sky Brewing beers on draft.

Saturday, Oct. 1st, 2011:

Grab your bike and head down to Golden Hill Park (technically part of Balboa Park but nowhere near where it was held last year) for New Belgium Brewing Co.’s Tour de Fat. The bike parade starts at 11am and other entertainment will run throughout the rest of the day.

San Diego Brewed: Alpine Beer Co. Ugly

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

This past Labor Day weekend I took a trip up to Alpine, CA and brought back with me (among other things) a growler of Ugly, Alpine Beer Company’s ~~Black IPA~~ American-Style Black Ale. The name of the style has caused plenty of controversy among craft beer drinkers. Some find ‘Black IPA’ to be the best descriptor, it’s an IPA that’s dark in color. Others see an inherant contraction in that name Black India Pale Ale just doesn’t work for some people. Some in the Pacific Northwest want the style called Cascadian Dark Ale, which Stone Brewing Co. poked fun at with their recent Escondidian Imperial Black IPA. But earlier this year the Brewer’s Association stepped in and officially named the style ‘American-Style Black Ale‘ (whether this put the name controversy to rest is a different matter).

In general I’m not a huge fan of this style. I don’t dislike it but if I’m going to drink an IPA I generally go for the good old fashioned pale colored kind. But when I was up at Alpine this past weekend I decided to fill up with Ugly ($12.99 plus $10 for a grolwer if you don’t already have one).

Ugly is black with a bit of mocha head. From looks alone this could be a porter or stout, but upon first sniff it’s obvious that it’s not. Pine and grapefruit like hops take front and center with just a little bit of roasty chocolate like smells coming through. The taste is very much the same, just a hint of roast in the form of chocolate and coffee, but the grapefruit and pine flavors from the hops dominate and leave a long bitter finish after each sip. As the beer warms and sits in the glass a bit more of the roasty malts come through, but don’t be fooled, this is first and foremost an IPA.

Ugly is only available on draft, which means if you want to enjoy it at home you’ll have to make the trek out to Alpine (which isn’t too bad of a drive, about half an hour from North Park without traffic- avoid the 4-6pm rush hour on weekdays). Toronado and O’Brien’s Pub often have some Alpine beers on draft. And even though you can’t get Ugly in a bottle, some of their other beers often show up at area shops and usually sell out pretty quickly. This past weekend when I stopped into Bottlecraft they had a few bottles of Duet in the cooler.

Viktor at Sentence Beer (one of my favorite beer blogs) published an interview with Alpine’s Pat McIlhenney just last week. Again they don’t discuss Ugly directly but there’s plenty there about their other beers and the brewery itself.

Photo: Chris Hammett

San Diego Beer Blog

Covering Craft Beer in San Diego

Category Archives: bottlecraft

San Diego Brewed: Manzanita Brewing Company Where There’s Smoke

San Diego Brewed: Green Flash Double Stout

San Diego Brewed: Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Radio and TV

San Diego Beer Week – First Weekend

San Diego Brewed: AleSmith IPA

The Mixed Six Pack

San Diego Brewed: Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter

San Diego Weekend Beer Events Thursday 9/29 – Saturday 10/1

San Diego Brewed: Alpine Beer Co. Ugly