Saturday, March 30, 2013

Guatemalan beer and a bounce house

If you're a kid, nothing beats a bounce house at a birthday party.  If you're a parent of one of those kids, nothing beats cold beer at a birthday party.  Especially beer you've never heard of.  But everyone loves surprises...

Furo Cerveza

Remarkably good.  After doing a little research, I learned that this is an inexpensive beer which is apparently available in Arizona at Fresh and Easy ($6.99 for 12-pack).  I say this is a great warm weather beer with a lime in it.  Even better because it is inexpensive and comes in a can ... which makes it pool-friendly.  Would be a nice addition to any pool party for sure.  Just don't forget the limes!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Voluptuous stout

According to vocabulary.com, "voluptuous describes a woman that's large — but in all the right places. Voluptuous is a curvy compliment."  I think that the word voluptuous applies to this beer, and not just because of the cartoon on the can.

Ska managed to pack in all the qualities of a good stout into this can and then had a little extra room to add the surprise wine-like flavor just to keep you on your toes.  Man, I love Ska Brewing.

Hibernal Vinifera Stout (8% ABV)
Ska Brewing Company
Durango, Colorado

Rating:  4 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds rating system.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Eraser IPA

Scored this new one out of a box on the floor next to the goat cheese at Whole Foods a few weeks ago.  IPAs are not my favorites by any stretch but this one was drinkable by my standards.  In my opinion (which obviously most of this blog is), this is a solid west coast IPA but not absurdly bitter and hellaciously hoppy like the traditional west coast IPA.  

According to the brewery, the Eraser IPA is, "a bold and tasty reminder to always forget the bad and savor the good things in life."  I like the motto.

Eraser IPA (7% ABV)
Rough Draft Brewing Company
San Diego, California

Basketball watching beer

Saison de Lente (6.5% ABV)
The Bruery
Placentia, California
Went to school to pickup my kid and her teacher stopped me at the door to tell me she had a hard time falling asleep and so she was still napping.  She asked me to come back in 30 minutes to pick her up.  

So naturally, I went over to Whole Foods to pick up some beers for the upcoming weekend of basketball watching.  Got sidetracked by the TO-GO options at bar.  After much debate, I picked up a mini-growler (which, now that I've done the math, I realize was a pretty terrible economic decision.  Damn you silly unit costs!!!!) of the Saison de Lente from The Bruery, in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday.

Rating: 4 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds rating system.

Recommendations: I really should stop making bracket selections by not picking teams who have screwed me in the past (i.e. Kansas, Georgetown, Michigan State) and also stop not picking teams who I hate (mainly just Duke and Kansas).  I still have 2 teams in the running ...but I have no chance of winning anything in my pool.


*****
UPDATE:  I originally wrote this just after the Sweet Sixteen concluded.  A few weeks later, I finished last in a pool with over 200 entrants.  WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT WOOOOOT!     
*****

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

805 in the 480

According to the brewer, this beer is only available in the 805 area code.  But I bought it at Costco in Arizona.  Does this make me special or am I just supposed to feel special?  Not sure.

Regardless of how special I am or am not, I don't need to say much about this one.  It is a solid session beer.  And it can be summed up with the following words:  Easy drinking.  Clean.  Refreshing.

805 Blonde Ale (4.7% ABV)
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Paso Robles, California

Recommendations:  serve cold.  If you're not living in the 805 area code, find a friend with a Costco membership and get yourself a variety pack.

Rating:  great session beer. 5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds rating system.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Cask of continually disappointed

SanTan Brewery has so much potential.  But ever since the first time I went (shortly after they opened in 2007), I find that I am disappointed almost every time I leave.  The first time I went was with our brand new next door neighbors and their toddler son.  We were literally the only ones in there.  Our neighbor's son was like any other toddler and only had so much attention span.  He sat in a high chair at the end of the table with the 4 of us adults and at one point, the owner came by to ask us to keep him quiet because this "isn't a kid-friendly establishment."  Ummmmm ok, but you do know that you are located in the suburbs, right?  And people in the suburbs often have kids.  So....I'm not sure how this will work out for you.  Also, if you're not kid-friendly, why did you give us a highchair?

The location is great, the food is great and the crowd is great.  Notice I didn't say anything about their beer...

But I keep trying because I really WANT to like them.  It's one of the closest breweries to our house and they have french fries that are to die for.  Anyway, last time I went to SanTan, I saw this sign at the front...


...and I got a little excited at the idea of trying a Thin Mint cask beer because at the time, I was planning something similar for my next batch of homebrew.  I asked the waitress if they had any left and then asked for a sample.  She brought me what I asked for.  I tasted it.  It was good but I didn't detect any mint.  So I ordered one to see if maybe it just took more than a half sip for the full taste to appear.


I should point out that I am attempting this endeavor with a squirmy toddler in tow while waiting on The Husband to arrive.  On a side note: I ordered here a $5 kids meal of chicken tenders which came with 2 chicken tenders and a ramekin (thanks Avery) of applesauce with a soup spoon.  After figuring out how to fit a soup spoon in a ramekin, she plowed through the applesauce.  So I asked my waitress if I could have more applesauce.  Sure.  She brings out a slightly larger ramekin with applesauce.  On my bill....there's a $3 charge for extra applesauce.  What the hell?  Are you people nuts?  I'm drinking my  beer and still searching for the mint.  I'm convinced there is no mint.  But I confirm with my waitress that she brought me a Thin Mint and I order another one just to be sure I wasn't crazy.  Oh, and I might have had two coupons for $0.25 pints.  She brings me the same beer with no hint of mint.

A month or so later, I search for a description of this beer on the interwebs.  Straight from the SanTan website, I learn: "Thin Mint: We added some fresh mint leaves to Sex Panther, and the resulting chocolate/mint flavor is reminiscent of many people’s favorite annual cookie offering."

The Sex Panther is a double chocolate porter.  Does the photo above look like a double chocolate porter?  Nope.  I now am able to confirm what I thought previously ... the waitress brought me the wrong beer, TWICE.  

Come on SanTan.  Get it together.