Today I had a Pulp Free from Fieldwork out of Berkeley, CA. It’s a WCIPA version of their Pulp hazy NEIPA. Citra hopped, it has orange and grapefruit, some bitterness but not that much for a WCIPA, and overall tastes light and refreshing. It was great on a 92 degree day in San Francisco, currently the warmest day this year!
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Rrrrrrrrrrreissdorf Kölsch (yeah, I can roll that ‘r’ forever, trust 
) made for a great pairing with a spicy-ish stir-fry: light, crisp, floral. On its own, there’s hints of vanilla.
Quaffable. Prost 
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HH beers at Evil Genius brewery.
Pardon the glare, but I hope you can still make out what’s on offer.
I went with the Works on contingency? No, money now! papaya smoothie sour, which was tart & rather dry, less juicy than other sours I’ve had, but it grew on me. My PIC got Roxanne, put on your red light, the extra special bitter. I did not like that one at all.
We had time for one more, and I mistakenly ordered a 5oz pour each of the Trick or Treat Chocolate Pumpkin porter (for my PIC) & the Stop Looking at me, Swan Szechuan peppercorn saison* for me. The bartender found my cheering for a replay (d’oh 
) of the Mets’ tragic fuckup so endearing he gave me two more 5oz pours for free! 
I don’t care for porters & HATE pumpkin beer, but both the chocolate & pumpkin were detectable… in a good way.
The Sichuan peppercorn saison was much lighter than expected, and also very good. Might have to return for another game…
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We returned to Evil Genius last night — less so for the beer than the big screens (WHO AM I???) showing the game, and its vicinity to our dining destination.
We decided to do a flight and see if any of the remaining 8 brews flooted our boot, but since we’d already tried 4 Sunday, I had some trouble deciding what to pick for a flight.
I chose
Hoppy Pilsner: way too hoppy for me, but I suppose the name would imply that,
Hazy mango IPA: probz my favorite of the bunch for me, the IPA hater 
,
Pink Lemonade Ale: that’s a big fat nope from both of us — almost cloyingly sweet & mos def not a hair of the dog that would entice me to have a drink 
my PIC chose the final two — the extra special bitter & the Sichuan peppercorn saison bc he’d forgotten that we’d already tried those.
I liked the hazy mango so much I got myself another pint, and my dude got another bitter.
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I love this beer. Love the style and this rendition of it. I’m always afraid I’ll put down too many. This beer could make me quit drinking and switch to a funnel.
Don’t know if Gaffel is available in the states. I’ve never seen it here.
Good sized hearts.
It is. I am in the states and bought it from the beer purveyor down the road.
You can find it at smaller vendors but also at Total Wine
All Citra Everything Bagel by Cellarmaker Brewing Company (Oakland, CA) - Hazy DIPA
Quite citrus forward in the beginning (lemon, lime, grapefruit) with some mango in the background before it turns very dank and piney with a dry, medium bitter but very long lasting finish. Interesting and kind of “harsh” IPA which feels a bit unbalanced but is still easy to drink.
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I, too, generally dislike IPAs, and the citra hopped versions are only minor improvements, IMO.
However, if you ever get the chance to find/try Pandemic Haze from tiny Birdsview Brewing Co., I highly recommend it to you. They are far more famous for their Ditsy Blonde, but the PH causes me to drive the 60-mile roundtrip on a regular basis.
Birdsview normally refuses to fill Crowlers and Growlers with PH, because they know drinkers like me will travel for it (and the food). It’s that good.
Salted Watermelon by Fieldwork Brewing Company (Berkeley, CA) - Fruited Gose
Really good balance between watermelon flavor and tartness. Salt helps to accentuate the flavors. Simple, yet impressive gose.
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Haze Division by Great Notion Brewing (Portland, OR) - Hazy DIPA
Very smooth, very juicy NEIPA with plenty of tropical fruits (pineapple, peach) and citrus (tangerine, lemon) notes. Well balanced piney flavors and a dry, low-to-medium bitter finish. Simply a well made hazy IPA.
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Little Haus of Horrors by Great Notion Brewing (Portland, OR) - Hazy DIPA
The phantasm addition adds a strong tropical component throughout the sip whereas there are some hoppy bitterness and piney notes towards the finish. Quite juice-forward IPA which borders on too sweet but has still is quite enjoyable.
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Hanabi lager, $20/bottle - has anyone tried these?
https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/expensive-california-beer-hanabi-lager-19844866.php
This was an open bar work event. I started with the Alvarado Street Hotel Patique that is listed as a sour, but tasted like a watermelon Jolly Rancher, in a literal and terrible way. I generally like beers from Alvarado, but this was one of the worst beers I’ve had. So I moved on to Russian River Damnation Belgian Ale - solid Belgian, RR knows what they are doing. Finally, a Faction pilsner - good pilsner.
[PSA to anyone going to The Emporium on Divisadero in San Francisco -their cocktails are atrocious, learn form my mistaken avoid them]
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I bet they serve this on the Google Bus…
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Double Citra, Baby ! by Alvarado Street Brewery (Monterey, CA) - Hazy DIPA
With citra hops, cryo and oil this hazy DIPA is all about tropical juiciness with tangerine, peach and passionfruit. Some subtle grassy flavors in the background and low bitterness in the finish. Drinks a little bit too easy for a DIPA.
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Original Lupulo by Del Ciero Brewing Company (Martinez, CA) - IPA
Rather classic WCIPA - grapefruit notes which are getting dominated by piney, dank and resiny flavors and a dry, medium-high bitter finish. Overall quite sharp, bright flavors and reminds on IPA as they were very popular about 10 years ago - very enjoyable.
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Even More Jesus by Evil Twin Brewing (Brooklyn, NY) - Imperial Stout
Some imperial stouts can sometimes become too sweet and one dimensional but there is no danger with this one. Black and quite viscous, it has hardly any sweetness but notes of roasted malts, dark/burnt coffee, smokiness even tobacco with hints of caramel in the background and some healthy bitterness in the finish. As it warms up, some of the bitterness slowly washes out a bit but it remains a wonderful, complex stout - perfects for sipping
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