Category: Beer Reviews
-
Wreck Alley – Beer Review
Wreck Alley is Karl Strauss’s big bad imperial stout, and the name is a promise. Brewed with cocoa nibs and Ethiopian coffee beans, it is built for people who want their dark beers to hit hard. We had opinions about this one, and they were not all the same. The basics What to expect This… Read more
-
Valar Dohaeris – Beer Review
Valar dohaeris. All men must serve, and this beer serves a serious pour. Part of Brewery Ommegang’s Game of Thrones series, Valar Dohaeris is a Belgian-style tripel that stands on its own well beyond the novelty of the label. It might be the best beer to come out of the entire collaboration. The basics What… Read more
-
Milagro – Beer Review
Milagro is Pure Project’s take on the Irish dry stout, served on nitro and brewed with organic shade-grown coffee from Costa Rica plus Madagascar vanilla beans. On paper it is everything we like. In the glass, it left us a little wanting. The basics What to expect Poured on nitro, Milagro looks the part: near-black… Read more
-
Murky Poetry – Beer Review
When two San Diego breweries team up, you pay attention. Murky Poetry is Karl Strauss’s collaboration with Pure Project, first brewed in 2020 and brought back as a limited re-release for San Diego Beer Week. Two of the city’s most respected names on one can is a pretty good starting point. The basics What to… Read more
-
Unseen Things – Beer Review
The Lost Abbey built its name on Belgian-inspired and barrel-aged beers, so a tropical rye IPA might sound like a curveball. It is not. Unseen Things is one of the best arguments that this San Marcos brewery can do anything it wants, and it earned one of the highest scores we have ever given. The… Read more
-
Full Contact – Beer Review
Full Contact is Elysian’s bigger, bolder take on the hazy IPA, and the name fits. At 8.8% it is firmly in imperial territory, but it drinks with a sneaky smoothness that makes the alcohol easy to underestimate. Respect it, and enjoy it. The basics What to expect Full Contact pours a medium straw gold with… Read more
-
La Fin du Monde – Beer Review
La Fin du Monde means “the end of the world,” and it might just be the end of your search for the perfect Belgian tripel. Brewed by Unibroue in Chambly, Quebec, this is one of the most decorated beers in North America, including a gold medal at the 2024 World Beer Cup. It earns every… Read more
-
Pliny the Elder – Beer Review
Some beers are famous. Pliny the Elder is the reason an entire style exists. Russian River’s double IPA, first brewed in 1999, basically wrote the blueprint for the American double IPA, and it is still the benchmark everything else gets measured against. The basics What to expect Pliny pours a brilliant, clear gold with a… Read more
-
Victory at Sea – Beer Review
Surprisingly not a stout, this imperial porter is truly a taste of victory. Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea has been a San Diego icon since 2007, and it remains the beer we point people to when they say they do not like dark beer. Then they try it, and the conversation changes. The basics What… Read more
-
Cali Creamin’ – Beer Review
Mother Earth’s flagship is the beer that made cream ale cool again, and one sip tells you why. Brewed with real Madagascar vanilla bean, Cali Creamin’ drinks like the grown-up version of cream soda: pale gold, soft, and dangerously easy to finish. It is brewed right up the road in Vista, which makes it taste… Read more