I now mourn the limited availability of a beer I have never had: Exponential Hoppiness by Alpine Beer Company. Brewer Pat McIlhenney has stated in an e-mail that he will never sell this beer in growlers or bottles again because of the eBay secondary market for it. I have some mixed feelings about this as it will make it harder, if not impossible, to get to taste this beer since it is a fairly long drive for me to get out to Alpine just to have a glass on tap. If I'm gonna drive out there I want to make it worth the trip and be able to pick up some bottles or a growler for myself & ny beer family (Greg and Warren). I do see Pat's point, that all this crazy hype has got to stop with folks waiting in line for hours to buy beer that they are just going to turn around and sell for a profit.
Excerpt from ABC's e-mail on the subject: “Since I previously stated if I ever saw a growler of “Exponential Hoppiness” for sale on ebay there would never be another growler sold again. Don’t blame me, but you can see who to blame on the above link. As for bottles of “Expo” on ebay, I’m seriously considering never bottling it again. This is not just a personal issue, it’s illegal. The fact that people drove down from LA to make a quick buck and denying the locals the chance to buy some is also just plain wrong.”
Now, Pat sounds a bit extreme in his "locals only" vibe, but I think a lot of people are forgetting that he has always been this way. I can't remember the exact year Greg and I got introduced to ABC's beer, but it was probably about 2004 or so and we only heard of it because Greg's son was living out in Alpine. At that time you had only a few ways to get their beer - either at one the few San Diego beer bars that was getting it (Liar's Club in Mission Beach was one) or you could drive out to Alpine and get bottles from the local liquor stores or growlers direct from the brewery. Hell, half the time you couldn't buy bottles at the brewery as Pat wanted to support the stores selling his beer and refused to sell some stuff direct. At that time it seemed he didn't give a damn if anyone outside of Alpine was drinking his beer - forget about LA and OC! Thankfully I can now find Alpine beers in shops like Bottlecraft, and at many of my local haunts such as Ritual Tavern, Toronado, and Small Bar as we don't drive out to Alpine on a weekly basis anymore.
I do see how this sort of limiting can make demand go up and will freely admit that we got the royal treatment at the San Francisco branch of the Rogue Public House by giving the bartender a bottle of Pure Hoppiness - this was back in 2007 and we just happened to strike up a conversation with a patron who had been to San Diego and had some Alpine beer. He started telling the bartender what great beer it was and we had some in our car so we went and grabbed a bottle and gave it to the bartender (who had never had it before). But, in my defense, I'm not selling it on eBay or even trading with other beer collectors online.
Bottom line: Pat brews the beer and can sell it however he wants to (within the confines of the law). And if you think you are having a hard time getting Alpine Beer now, well, it could be a LOT worse.
More info at: West Coaster, San Diego Beer Blog, Brewery Rowe
Edited to add - check out Charlie Blevins' comment on Alpine's Facebook page as he sums it up pretty well for the Alpine residents who have supported Pat from the beginning.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Hooray for Brewbies!
On Saturday February 11th the Epic Hijinks crew* went to the Pizza Port Brewbies festival in Carlsbad. Overall it was a positive experience, but I am learning that I have some sort of mild agoraphobia and can't stand being in overly crowded places which made the festival an uncomfortable place for me to be.
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We rode the Coaster up from Old Town to Carlsbad instead of driving which was great as we could just relax and talk instead of being stuck in the car. We got to check out some great scenery and had a nice short walk over to Pizza Port from the station.
There were a lot of friendly people at the event, we ended up talking with a couple who were at the same table as us and passed around our glasses to share samples of the different beers. It was great to get beer recommendations and discuss tasting notes with them.
Great beer selection with quite a few special beers, including Pliny the Younger which I probably wouldn't have gotten to taste if it wasn't for this festival.
I was lucky enough to win a "goodie bag" in the raffle and got some cool swag from the Blair bars (Hamilton's, Eleven, Small Bar) along with other assorted stuff.
Inside the bottle shop there were free chocolates that were quite delicious, and Alecakes that were frosted to look like boobs.
Bad: as the festival got crowded I started feeling ill, but when I left and walked around the block I felt OK. Guess I just couldn't deal with the crowds - at times it felt like being in a polite mosh pit.
Since it was so hard to move around we missed out on the food which made me extra sad when I realized it was Nate from Toronado doing the cooking.
Motorboat was the ugliest beer I have ever drank, my pour was cloudy brownish-pink and looked like stomach bile. It tasted just fine, but I had to wrap my hand around the glass to avoid looking at the beer.
I had gone to the NCTD site to get Coaster times but there was no mention of the fact that they were having a special "Love Train" promotion for folks to ride 2 for 1 so we ended up all buying tickets for the train when we could've just bought two.
Coaster times sort of suck on Saturday, we had to leave Old Town before 10am to make sure we were at Pizza Port before noon. We ended up there about 11, so we had an hour wait to get into the festival - but then we turned it into a good thing by having pizza for lunch. We also didn't have a lot of choices for return times, we just lucked out that about the time we were ready to leave there was a train coming soon.
Pizza Port's bottle shop wasn't selling beer so we couldn't grab something to drink on our train ride back to San Diego - because being able to drink on the train is just too cool!
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*Epic Hijinks is the name of our drinking "guild" that currently has 3 members - me, Greg and Warren. We are actively recruiting more members as we could always use more fun people to go on drinking runs with us. We run DrinkAbout every third Wednesday of the month and generally start at Ritual Tavern and end at Toronado. We also regularly attend Friday Afternoon Club at Hess Brewing, and any Beer for Breakfast events at Small Bar. Oh, and keep the glass events - your cabinets will end up full of glassware if you raid with us.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Know your job
I have been out a couple of times this week and was stunned and amazed by working people who, to my way of thinking, did not know their jobs very well.
Thursday night we go out for a special beer promotion at Toronado. Brasserie d'Achouffe has a representative there to promote their beers. She looks really cute in her gnome hat and is great at handing out keychains to everyone... but she can't tell me a damn thing about the different beers they are promoting. The most descriptive she gets is saying that the Mc Chouffe is a "dark beer" and that she likes dark beers. She can't tell me that it's a Scotch ale (which I was able to surmise from the name) or anything else about it. Greg overhears someone asking her about the beers later and all she tells them is that they are listed up on the board. Now if I worked for a brewery, I would KNOW what the beers were that we were selling in case someone asked me about them. Hell, even if I just had a cheat sheet with name, style, ABV and IBU on it... I would damn well have some info about the beer in case someone asks me! Now, I know that this girl might have just been hired from a temp agency or something, so this may be the brewery's blow it for not getting her more informed on the beers, but it is bad form either way.
Next we went for Beer for Breakfast this morning at Small Bar for another glass giveaway, this time for Brewery Ommegang. First we have one bartender tell us it's keep the glass - one glass per Ommegang beer purchased, then another bartender takes Greg's empty glass from him. The bartender that took the glass asks Warren and I if we want another round and she tries to take away our glasses. I ask her "isn't it keep the glass on these?" and so she verifies it with the first bartender. She comes back and takes our glasses, fills them WITHOUT RINSING THEM, spills a beer while setting it down and does not top it off, and gives Warren my glass and vice versa. None of these things are real big mistakes, but it is not the usual level of service that we receive at Small Bar. I am used to having the bartenders give me a fresh glass for each pour, or at least rinsing the glass before refilling it. Things did get all sorted out at the end and we each got 2 glasses to keep (since we had each ordered 2 Ommegang beers) but I am still a bit peeved. Even if Greg, Warren and I always taste each other's beers it still doesn't make it OK to bring my beer back in Warren's glass. You are probably thinking, "why didn't you guys just swap the glasses when she gave you the wrong one?" and the reason is that I didn't notice until we started drinking that Warren's glass had my lip prints all over it. I know this may all sound like we made a big deal over nothing - but if I am paying for something I expect to get what I paid for, and I expect that my beer will not be polluted by the flavor of the last beer that was in the glass.
Bottom line: know your job. Try to be ready for the questions people might ask you, and know before coming on shift what is happening in your establishment. Commitment to quality is what will keep customers coming back. ( And glass giveaways. I'm a sucker for "keep the glass" events.)
Thursday night we go out for a special beer promotion at Toronado. Brasserie d'Achouffe has a representative there to promote their beers. She looks really cute in her gnome hat and is great at handing out keychains to everyone... but she can't tell me a damn thing about the different beers they are promoting. The most descriptive she gets is saying that the Mc Chouffe is a "dark beer" and that she likes dark beers. She can't tell me that it's a Scotch ale (which I was able to surmise from the name) or anything else about it. Greg overhears someone asking her about the beers later and all she tells them is that they are listed up on the board. Now if I worked for a brewery, I would KNOW what the beers were that we were selling in case someone asked me about them. Hell, even if I just had a cheat sheet with name, style, ABV and IBU on it... I would damn well have some info about the beer in case someone asks me! Now, I know that this girl might have just been hired from a temp agency or something, so this may be the brewery's blow it for not getting her more informed on the beers, but it is bad form either way.
Next we went for Beer for Breakfast this morning at Small Bar for another glass giveaway, this time for Brewery Ommegang. First we have one bartender tell us it's keep the glass - one glass per Ommegang beer purchased, then another bartender takes Greg's empty glass from him. The bartender that took the glass asks Warren and I if we want another round and she tries to take away our glasses. I ask her "isn't it keep the glass on these?" and so she verifies it with the first bartender. She comes back and takes our glasses, fills them WITHOUT RINSING THEM, spills a beer while setting it down and does not top it off, and gives Warren my glass and vice versa. None of these things are real big mistakes, but it is not the usual level of service that we receive at Small Bar. I am used to having the bartenders give me a fresh glass for each pour, or at least rinsing the glass before refilling it. Things did get all sorted out at the end and we each got 2 glasses to keep (since we had each ordered 2 Ommegang beers) but I am still a bit peeved. Even if Greg, Warren and I always taste each other's beers it still doesn't make it OK to bring my beer back in Warren's glass. You are probably thinking, "why didn't you guys just swap the glasses when she gave you the wrong one?" and the reason is that I didn't notice until we started drinking that Warren's glass had my lip prints all over it. I know this may all sound like we made a big deal over nothing - but if I am paying for something I expect to get what I paid for, and I expect that my beer will not be polluted by the flavor of the last beer that was in the glass.
Bottom line: know your job. Try to be ready for the questions people might ask you, and know before coming on shift what is happening in your establishment. Commitment to quality is what will keep customers coming back. ( And glass giveaways. I'm a sucker for "keep the glass" events.)
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Bad Dog!
First, my disclaimer: I'm a cat person. For years I thought all that dog person/cat person stuff was a crock of shit... but now I get it. I used to own a dog, but I am no longer a dog fan.
What is it with all the bars/restaurants that allow you to bring your dog? And WHY do people bring their dogs to them? Seems every place I go in South Park people bring their dogs. Really? Does your dog need to come to the Stone store with you while you taste beer? Does your dog need to go to Station Tavern with you while you are munching on tater tots? Does your dog really need a night out at Hamilton's just so I can trip over him on my way to the bar?
I want to start bringing my cats with me to bars. I will teach them to drink beer and sing along with Cherry Bomb on the jukebox over at Toronado. I want to see business start advertising themselves as "cat friendly" and give out free tuna and saucers of milk for my feline friends. Viva le chat!
What is it with all the bars/restaurants that allow you to bring your dog? And WHY do people bring their dogs to them? Seems every place I go in South Park people bring their dogs. Really? Does your dog need to come to the Stone store with you while you taste beer? Does your dog need to go to Station Tavern with you while you are munching on tater tots? Does your dog really need a night out at Hamilton's just so I can trip over him on my way to the bar?
I want to start bringing my cats with me to bars. I will teach them to drink beer and sing along with Cherry Bomb on the jukebox over at Toronado. I want to see business start advertising themselves as "cat friendly" and give out free tuna and saucers of milk for my feline friends. Viva le chat!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Recipe: Jolie's Mexi-Can Chili
This is a super easy chili recipe that I came up with one day when I wanted to use up some chorizo and other stuff in my pantry. The best thing about it is you don't need to add any seasonings, just cook the chorizo and open a few cans. This is what I used when I made chili yesterday, feel free to make subtitutions to taste.
Makes about 6 bowls of chili.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5-8 hours
1 lb Beef Chorizo
16 oz can Old El Paso Fat Free Refried Beans
15 oz can Bush's Seasoned Black Beans
14.5 oz can Hunt's Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
10 oz can Old El Paso Medium Enchilada Sauce
8 oz can Ro*Tel Zesty Tomato & Green Chili Sauce
1 cup Trader Joe's Frozen Cut White Corn
Brown the chorizo over medium heat for about 10 minutes. While chorizo is cooking, drain and rinse black beans. Open other cans and throw everything in a crock pot (mine is 3.5 qt, that size or larger will do). Add frozen corn and cooked chorizo, stir and let cook on low for about 5-8 hours. Serve with your favorite chili fixings: shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips.
Notes: This chili could easily be made vegetarian by using Soyrizo in place of the chorizo.
It is thick because of the refried beans, if you want a thinner chili use whole pintos instead of refried.
I adjust the heat of the chili using the enchilada sauce, so go with hot or mild to your family's taste.
This dish is also light on tomatoes compared to other chili recipes - my family isn't big on tomatoes so if yours is you might want to add an extra can of tomatoes.
Brand names are just the particular ones I used this time around and they worked out so well I wanted to keep a record of the specific brands used in this batch of chili, feel free to use you own favorite brands.
Makes about 6 bowls of chili.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5-8 hours
1 lb Beef Chorizo
16 oz can Old El Paso Fat Free Refried Beans
15 oz can Bush's Seasoned Black Beans
14.5 oz can Hunt's Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
10 oz can Old El Paso Medium Enchilada Sauce
8 oz can Ro*Tel Zesty Tomato & Green Chili Sauce
1 cup Trader Joe's Frozen Cut White Corn
Brown the chorizo over medium heat for about 10 minutes. While chorizo is cooking, drain and rinse black beans. Open other cans and throw everything in a crock pot (mine is 3.5 qt, that size or larger will do). Add frozen corn and cooked chorizo, stir and let cook on low for about 5-8 hours. Serve with your favorite chili fixings: shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips.
Notes: This chili could easily be made vegetarian by using Soyrizo in place of the chorizo.
It is thick because of the refried beans, if you want a thinner chili use whole pintos instead of refried.
I adjust the heat of the chili using the enchilada sauce, so go with hot or mild to your family's taste.
This dish is also light on tomatoes compared to other chili recipes - my family isn't big on tomatoes so if yours is you might want to add an extra can of tomatoes.
Brand names are just the particular ones I used this time around and they worked out so well I wanted to keep a record of the specific brands used in this batch of chili, feel free to use you own favorite brands.
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