Category: Beer Reviews
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Ace Pineapple Cider – Beer Review
Ace Pineapple Cider has a real claim to fame: it was the world’s first pineapple cider, created by California Cider Company in 2013. Fresh pineapple juice is blended into a fermented apple cider base, which sounds simple, but it launched a whole subcategory that dozens of cideries have since copied. The basics Brewery: Ace Cider… Read more
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Hazy Dreams – Beer Review
Hazy Dreams is Abnormal Beer Co.’s hazy IPA, formerly known as Hazing Freshman. The name changed, but the idea stayed the same: an aggressively hop-forward hazy beer that leans on oats and wheat for a soft body instead of bitterness for its punch. The basics Brewery: Abnormal Beer Company (San Diego, CA) Style: Hazy IPA… Read more
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Sextant – Beer Review
Sextant is a draft-only Ballast Point beer, which means most drinkers will only ever meet it on tap at a bar or taproom. That scarcity is part of its charm: it is a nitro oatmeal stout built for the slow pour, with a creamy texture you cannot get from a bottle. The basics Brewery: Ballast… Read more
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Mosaic Session IPA – Beer Review
Mosaic Session IPA comes from the days when the Mosaic hop did not even have a name yet. Karl Strauss got its hands on the experimental hop known then as HBC 369, and this beer was the result: a lower-alcohol IPA built to let one hop do all the talking. The basics Brewery: Karl Strauss… Read more
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Oktoberfest – Beer Review
Karl Strauss has poured an Oktoberfest every fall since 1989, which makes this one of the longest-running seasonal traditions in San Diego beer. It is also one of the most old-school beers the brewery makes: a German-style Marzen built on Vienna and Munich malts, with no modern hop tricks and no gimmicks. The basics Brewery:… Read more
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Shorthorn American Pale Ale – Beer Review
Old Bust Head is a solar-powered farm brewery on a historic military site in Virginia, and most of its lineup leans English in style. Shorthorn is the outlier: a bold American pale ale dry-hopped with Amarillo and Simcoe, and by all accounts the hoppiest beer the brewery makes. Our tasters could not agree on it,… Read more
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Leisure Lagoon Hazy Pale Ale – Beer Review
Coronado Brewing built Leisure Lagoon as a deliberate hybrid: West Coast hops fermented with English yeast for a softer, juicier take on a pale ale. Named for an inlet in Mission Bay, it is positioned as the brewery’s crushable lower-ABV hazy option. The idea is sound. The execution, according to our tasters, is decent but… Read more
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Longfin Lager – Beer Review
Ballast Point built its reputation on aggressive West Coast IPAs, so a faithful German-style helles is an interesting move. Longfin Lager is brewed like the classics: pilsner malt, German Noble hops, nothing else to hide behind. It has even picked up multiple gold medals in competition, which raises the question of what two regular drinkers… Read more
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Frank the Dank – Beer Review
Frank the Dank is Karl Strauss leaning all the way into the name. This is a West Coast double IPA built around dank, resinous hops, and at 8.5% it does not hide its intentions. The question is whether it stands out in a San Diego scene that invented this style. The basics Brewery: Karl Strauss… Read more
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Proper Porter – Beer Review
Fulton Brewing made its name in Minneapolis on easy-drinking, unpretentious beers, and Proper Porter follows that playbook. It is a porter that leans on chocolate and toffee rather than aggressive roast, which makes it approachable but also caps how exciting it can be. The basics Brewery: Fulton Brewing Company (Minneapolis, MN) Style: American Porter ABV:… Read more