Biggie’s Bogus Baja Bash by Alvarado Street Brewery (Monterey, CA) - Imperial Fruited Sour
Quite sour and tart sour from Alvarado. Mainly driven by the tartness of key lime and the sour base with some hints of sweetness from pineapple but very much in the background. Refreshing on a hot day but feels also too one dimensional.
I had some beer this weekend.
Wondrous Hell - a Helles lager from Wondrous Brewing out of Emeryville, CA. Crisp and crushable, great on a balmy 69 degree day in San Francisco.
Heady Topper from The Alchemist out of Stowe, Vermont. I saw that my favorite local beer bar (Toronado in SF) had this OG NEIPA in cans and had one. It’s unpasteurized and one of the first (the first?) New England IPA’s. In my slightly inebriated (one beer) state I completely missed the prominent directive on the can to drink directly from the can. Oh well, I will try that next time. How was it? Very nice! Fruit and also some dank pine. Rich (8% ABV) but balanced. I like it!
In the Wake of Desolation by There Does Not Exists (San Luis Obispo, CA) - Hazy DIPA
If you would have to describe a fruit bomb this IPA might be an excellent example - strong citrus notes of orange and tangerine with hardly any piney or bitter notes. The focus of this IPA is really about the fruitiness.
Contains No Juice from Alvarado Street Brewery out of Monterey, CA. I’ve had this before on draft. It contains no juice but sure is juicy. Imperial (New England) IPA that was not boozy. Juicy tropical fruit and refreshing with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. I like it.
Waimea Skaze by Alvarado Street Brewery (Monterey, CA) - Hazy IPA
First time trying pure waimea hops and they gave a very strong tropical flavor (pineapple, passionfruit, mango, papaya, watermelon) with surprisingly only hints of citrus. Some light piney notes in the second half but also surprisingly low bittersweet in the finish. Overall a bit too one dimensional with mainly tropical flavors but little else.
California Hello (Blueberry & Vanilla) by Dunloe Brewing (Davies, CA) - Fruited Berliner Weisse
Quite sour/tart Berliner Weisse where you can taste some funkiness from the oak barrels but very little from the blueberry and vanilla (hints of vanilla in the finish. Berliner Weisse are normally served with some fruit juices (often raspberry or woodruff) to balance it but this one tastes close to pure Berliner Weisse which makes it too sour and one dimensional.
Murkeley by Pure Project Brewing (San Diego, CA) - Hazy DIPA
Great example of a well balanced hazy IPA with tropical notes (papaya, mango, pineapple) in the front which never gets too sweet, followed by piney notes with herbal, peppery flavors and a dry, medium bitter finish. Very smooth mouthfeel.
Miami Weisse by Kettlehead Brewing (Tilton, NH) - Fruited Berliner Weisse
Outstanding Berliner Weisse with the right balance of tartness from the weisse but also from the pineapple (and little bit from strawberry in the background) but also some natural sweetness from the pineapple without making it overly sweet. The earthiness of the coconut in the finish nicely pairs with the funk of the weisse. Really refreshing and well made
Rennsteig by Schilling Beer Company (Littleton, NH) - Schwarzbier
Excellent Schwarzbier with notes of roasted coffee, toffee and light caramel but also more bready notes as you would expect from lager. Dry finish with low bitterness. Very well balanced with hardly any sweetness which sometimes creeps into some Schwarzbier
Chasing Darkness V4 (Vanilla and Coffee) by Timber Ales (New York, NY) - Imperial Stout
Interesting imperial stout - it starts as expected with some roasted malt and dark caramel notes with some stronger vanilla flavors. Then some more bitter bready, roasty tastes come in and the coffee addition brings in also some bitter notes. The finish starts out quite bitter but towards the end there is a long lasting vanilla flavor which becomes quite sweet and turn the stout too much into a pastry stout. Without the sweet finish this would have been a great imperial stout but the lingering sweetness makes it quite unbalanced.
The local brewery made another Czech-style pilsner. It was good, if a little hoppier than the first edition, which I preferred.
Nose Goblin by Ghost Town Brewing (Oakland, CA) - Imperial IPA
Kind of “classic” WCIPA with some hints of melon, citrus/lemon and malt in the start before strong dank and piney flavors take over but still manage to keep this IPA well balanced with a dry, quite bitter finish. Overall nice profile and kind of reminiscent of some older Stone IPA brews
Double Dreaming by Alvarado Street Brewing (Monterey, CA) - Imperial IPA
Another very nice WCIPA with a mix of citrus (grapefruit, lime) and plenty of dank throughout. Also hints of melon, peach and berries in the beginning and a healthy dose of pines towards the dry, medium bitter finish.
POG Frog by Great Notion Brewing (Portland, OR) - Fruited Sour
Fruited sours with POG are quite popular and range from complete fruit bombs to sour focused ones. This one is a refreshing sour with a stronger emphasis on the tartness of the sour with the POG more playing a supporting role and not overwhelming the overall profile. Very refreshing and crushable
Russian River Pliny for President WCIPA - seemed a bit relevant after today’s news.
Alvarado Street Cold Pressed NEIPA - very juicy, very good.
A Beer has no Name von Great Notion Brewery klingt wie ein tropisches Paradies im Glas! Die Betonung der Aromen von Ananas, Orange, Passionsfrucht und Mandarine lässt es unglaublich erfrischend und saftig klingen. Ich schätze es, dass es als leicht zu trinken und beschrieben wird.“ zerstoßbar, mit gerade genug Kräuternoten und einem trockenen, leicht bitteren Abgang, um die fruchtige Süße auszugleichen. Es klingt nach der perfekten Wahl für einen heißen Sommertag oder immer dann, wenn Sie Lust auf ein geschmackvolles, aber nicht aufdringliches IPA haben eins auf meiner Must-Try-Liste!
Hi Albercht. You might be getting more eyeballs if you post in this site’s vernacular, which is English 
War aber eine interessante Beschreibung.
Alien Church by Tired Hands Brewing Company (Ardmore, PA) - NEIPA
Very fruity NEIPA with loads of pineapple, peach, mango before some piney notes come in (but could have been more pronounced). Dry, low to medium bitter finish. Overall, a bit too fruity and could use some more dank/piney flavors and more bitterness in the finish.
I found some cans of Heady Topper at a local grocery (Gus’s in Glen Park, San Francisco). This time I drank it directly from the can as directed. Any difference? Maybe, requires more testing. It was probably more carbonated. Very good again.
