Category Archives: Beer

OC Beer and Wine Week Kick Off Party

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OC Beer and Wine Week is a special event where restaurants offer prix fix menus that pair a dish with the appropriate glass of wine or beer.  Many restaurants offer these special menus at more affordable prices so everyone can try something new with the right wine/beer pairing.

The Englishman and I attended the OC Beer and Wine week kick off party where the wine was a flowin’ and the beer pours were plenty.  Held at the District in Irvine, the party had various beer and wine stations across the District promenade where you could have up to 8 beer or wine pours of your choice.  Restaurants from the District and other vendors provided nourishment to go along with the beverages.

When we arrived we were given nice OC Beer and Wine week commemorative glasses and a wine opener along with our punch card for our 8 free pours.  As in true fashion, the Englishman headed straight for the beer and I went straight for the wine.

I started with the Reserve Estate Zinfandel from Hammersky Vineyards and loved the smoothness of this wine.  It had no weird aftertaste which was a bonus in my book.

The Englishman started with the Shocktop Pumpkin Ale, which he enjoyed although he said was quite “syrupy-sweet.”  And while it was a good beer, it didn’t hold a candle to the Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale we have at home.

For round 2, I went with the Veedercrest Cabernet Sauvignon, which wasn’t nearly as nice as the Hammersky Zinfandel.  I ended up pouring some of it out because the flavor was just off.

The Englishman’s second round was a beer from Laguintas, which wasn’t his favorite either.  So round two left us feeling a bit disappointed.

We decided to venture to the other section of the promenade where we were pleasantly surprised to see my aunt handing out loaves of Sadie Rose bread (she works with the company) so we chatted with her and my uncle while quickly scrounging loaves to take home with us.  And for the record, Sadie Rose has quite delicious bread that can be found at many restaurants so be sure to check them out.

By this point, I had decided to slow on my wine consumption as I was our driver for the evening, but the Englishman decided to spend some time over at the Noble Ale Works stand and ended up trying almost all of their beers.  He thought they were the strongest of all the beers that were offered, but didn’t think they were too bad overall.

Overall it was a great night!  We got to try some new beer and wine, catch up with family, and came home with 3 freshly baked loaves of bread.  Quite the successful evening if you ask me.

OC Beer and Wine Week is running until October 8th!  Be sure to check it out!

Getting to Know Smuttynose Pumpkin Beer

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A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this article on the Huffington Post that had the ultimate guide to fall pumpkin beers.  Since I am a lover of all things pumpkin, I knew I had to check this list out.  Many of the names and flavor profiles on the list definitely sounded intriguing, namely the Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale.

Ever since I found out about my food allergies, I have had a bit of a complicated relationship with beer.  Many large beer distributors use corn as a “filler” in their beers, thus preventing me from enjoying any.  To be honest, it’s no skin off my teeth since I prefer craft brewers and try to support them as often as I can (the Englishman is also a big craft brewer fan as well).  So when I saw Smuttynose listed on the Huffington Post list, I decided to shoot them an email to ensure that their beer was free of any unnecessary “filler.”

I was delighted to learn that not only was their made with all natural ingredients (ie: not corn), they used ACTUAL pumpkin in their beer too!  Now this is a beer I can get on board with.  The only possible obstacle in my way was the fact that Smuttynose only distributes to states in on the East Coast (they are located in New Hampshire).

After some extensive internet research, shipping fees, age verification and a trip to the UPS shipping center, I finally had the prized Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale in my possession. And yes, this beer was definitely worth all of the shipping trouble.

The pumpkin ale was smooth with the hint of pumpkin and other spices and didn’t have any sort of bitter aftertaste.  The Englishman even said this was one of the better craft beers that he’s had (and that’s saying a lot from him).

After having a couple with the Englishman, I felt so inspired by Smuttynose that I decided to make a Pumpkin Beer Bread in its honor.

So to all the nice brewers at Smuttynose Brewing in New Hampshire, this bread’s for you.

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale Beer Bread (inspired by this recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons sucanat
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup water
1 12 oz bottle Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale
Honey for drizzling

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F and grease a 9×5 loaf pan.

Combine all dry ingredients – flours, baking powder, salt, sucanat, ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and mix well.

Add in pumpkin and 1/2 cup water. Slowly add in the chopped pecans and fold all ingredients together. Once all is blended, add in your beer and stir well until it is no longer foamy.  Place in 9×5 greased pan. Drizzle top with honey and sucanat.

Cook for 50-60 minutes (depending on how warm your oven runs)

Slice, devour, enjoy!  And have another Smuttynose Beer!

A Day at Stone Brewing Company

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The Englishman loves beer (you know being from London and all) and loves trying new brews.  So for his birthday it only made sense that we took a little day trip to one of Southern California’s most well-known breweries: Stone Brewing Company.

For those of you who are not familiar with Stone, they are the brewmakers behind such beers as Arrogant Bastard, Stone Ruination IPA and Stone Imperial Russian Stout to name a few.  Their beers are bold, strong, and have character.  I figured this would be the perfect place to take the Englishman so we hopped on the train and headed south to Escondido.

Stone is located in a very industrial part of Escondido with nothing but buildings and factories surrounding it.  But step inside the brewery and you’ll find a bistro, beer garden and outdoor patio that will make you feel like you are anywhere but in an industrial park.  After discovering the brewery tours were sold out, we decided to do our own little beer tasting and relax in the beer garden.

Lovely Summer Day for a Beer

Despite the fact that it was quite hot out, I LOVED the garden.  There are lots of benches and tables so you can just sit outside and enjoy the scenery while drinking your beer.  There’s plenty of room back there so you don’t feel like you are crowded in at all.

To begin, the Englishman went with the Arrogant Bastard Ale:

Three Cheers for Beer!

The verdict?  He liked it, even though it was quite strong (definitely too strong for my liking).  It had a lot of “character” as promised and was definitely strong.  I rolled with the Stone Pale Ale but thought it was a bit too bitter.

*Disclaimer: I can be a bit of weenie when it comes to beers – I usually stick with the pale ale or wheat types, so take my reviews with a grain of salt.

We had made reservations to dine at their bistro, and with tummies rumbling we sat down to lunch inside with a nice view of the gardens. Given that there is not much else around near Stone, the bistro was PACKED.  I did like how they stated on the menu that there was no High Fructose Corn Sryup used in any of their dishes.  Score for me.

For his next beer the Englishman went with the Stone Imperial Russian Stout which was his favorite of the day.  Even me, the beer weenie, really enjoyed this beer also.  It’s quite heavy and would be the perfect drink during the winter.

Blurry Stout Picture

I went with a Hefewizen for my 2nd beer and also had a strawberry-infused iced tea that was absolutely delicious.

Now this is more my style

On the food front, we started with the Spud Buds – mashed potatoes deep-fried in an Arrogant Bastard Ale batter.  Clearly light is not the name of the game at Stone.

Little Fried Balls of Happiness

The spuds were good – they had nice flavor and the mashed potatoes inside were nice and creamy.  Another favorite of the day.

On the entrée front I decided to roll with the Bruschetta BLT Sandwich with Applewood Smoked Bacon, Arugula and Blue Cheese on a Ciabatta Roll.

This doesn't look like ciabatta...

Honestly it was just alright.  They must not have had Ciabatta in-house because the sandwich came on a Hawaiian Sweet Roll which kind of threw off all of the flavors.  I was a fan of the additional mashed potatoes on the side though.  I had high expectations for this sandwich and it just fell kind of flat.

The same could be said for the Englishman’s entrée of Artisanal Sausages and Cabbage.

Artisanal Sausage aka Spice magnets

He loved the cabbage but found the sausages to be a bit overseasoned and way too spicy.  The spicy polish sausage was the high point of the dish.

We finished lunch and headed back into the beer garden to let our food digest and enjoy more beer of course.  By this point the gardens were packed.  After hanging out in the sun for a while we decided to purchase a souvenir for the ride home: Stone’s Ruination IPA (we wanted to try the double dry hopped version but they were out) and hopped on the train home.

Overall, we both enjoyed Stone Brewing and both agree that you definitely want to go there for the beer, not the food as it was expensive and not memorable.  Pack snacks or a lunch to enjoy with your beer instead.  The train was also a great way to get to the brewery – highly recommended.

Thanks for the memories Stone!  We will definitely be back, especially to get more of that Russian Imperial Stout.

Stone Brewing Company

1999 Citracado Parkway

Escondido, CA 92029