2016 Beer Year in Review

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2016 was an incredible beer year.  The most significant change was likely a significant increase in my beer trading, which has opened my world up to countless new and incredible brews.

The Year of Haze

The clear trend of 2016 was the complete dominance of New England-style IPAs.  Mostly, New England is no longer the only place to find these so-called “juice bombs.”

Monkish Brewing (http://www.monkishbrewing.com/) came out of the gates swinging and firmly established itself as the West Coast’s challenger to Treehouse and the rest of the New England haze brewers.  Monkish’s releases became somewhat of a spectacle, with people lining up at 2 AM or earlier for the 10 AM IPA can releases.  Crazy.  Midway through the year Monkish got their own canning line and started randomly announcing releases, quelling the midnight lines but not necessarily making the cans any easier to get.

Fortunately, I have a few different trade partners in the LA Area that have been faithfully sending me Monkish’s killer IPAs.  I cannot say I have gotten every one, but i have been fortunate to get many of their best beers.  In no particular order, my favorite Monkish brews of 2016 were:  Foggier Window, My First Canning Line DIPA, JFK to LAX, Really Real and Atomically.  That said, I can honestly say each Monkish beer I had was top notch.

That said, Monkish is not the only California brewery embracing and succeeding in the Haze game.  My two favorite Bay Area breweries, Cellarmaker (http://www.cellarmakerbrewing.com/) and Fieldwork (http://fieldworkbrewing.com/) are no strangers to the haze.  That said, both have their own unique take on the style.  One thing I love about both of these breweries is that they have their own unique style that is present in almost every one of their IPAs.  It is difficult to describe, but even if I have never had a particular beer from either brewery, I am confident I could determine if it was one of theirs.

Cellarmaker has made a few beers that I consider hybrid East/West Coast brews.  I have written about Ger off my Lawn! before, but every time I think about my favorite beers of the year it comes to mind.  Super flavorful, juicy hazy IPA, but most importantly, a huge hop kick.  It is basically my perfect beer.

Other standouts from Cellarmaker this year include Wicked Juicy and Double Dobis.  I look forward to more killer beers from Cellarmaker in 2017.

My favorite Fieldwork hazy IPAs from this year were King Citra, Broken Clouds, Pulp and St. Monroe.  King Citra absolutely nailed the style, whereas Broken Clouds was more of the hybrid I love.

Two other Northern California breweries that are killing the haze game are Alavarado Street (http://www.alvaradostreetbrewery.com/) and Moonraker(http://www.moonrakerbrewing.com/).  Both have been putting out killer beers, especially in the second half of the year.  Alvarado’s Contains No Juice, Opaque Minds and Vengeful Barbarian were all excellent.

Moonraker is relatively new on the scene but killing it.  They recently started canning their beers and if you can get your hands on them, you should.  I recently visited the brewery and it was also very cool.  My favorite juice bombs they put out this year were the somewhat now-famous Yojo and Dojo, but my personal favorite was the most recent release, The Holy Hermit. I cannot wait to see what they do in 2017.

Overall, I initially did have some hesitancy about the hazy IPA rage.  However, I am now fully on-board.  I can never say no to any of the beers above, or any of the “original” NE IPAs (ie Treehouse, Tired Hands and Trillium).  I am also enjoying many of the other options popping up from all over the country.  The haze game is not going away, and I am OK with that.

Was 2016 the Last Year of West Coast IPA

Nah.  NE style IPAs are still the rage, but there are plenty of fantastic West Coast IPAs still out there and people who love them, like me.  Russian River (ie Pliny and Blind Pig), Kern River, Noble, Highland Park, Beachwood and the local boys (Fieldwork and Cellarmaker) are still cranking out awesome West Coast IPAs.  Some of my favorite West Coasters this year were Kern River’s Citra, Noble’s Galaxy Showers and Highland Park’s Hello LA.

I am hoping that 2017 brings a revitalized approach to West Coast IPAs and maybe some innovations.  With all the great breweries we have I am hopeful it can be done.

Other Highlights from 2016

2016 was not just about drinking great beers, it was also about finding them.  As we traveled the world this year, the influence of craft beer on the rest of the world is palpable.  Years ago, I would not have imagined that a vacation can be centered around craft beer.  Now, however, that is a reality.

In 2016, we were fortunate enough to spend a couple weeks in Italy, a week in Cancun, a week in Sedona/Phoenix, and countless weekend trips, including to Tahoe, the North State and coast.  One thing was consistent on all of those trips, and that was finding local beer.

I was shocked at the growing craft beer scene in Italy (see my posts on that from earlier this year).  The resort we stayed at in Cancun HAD A BREWERY at it!  Arizona was full of great craft beer and breweries.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIoMuRohwu5/?taken-by=californiaipa

Conclusion

It is difficult to imagine having a better beer year than 2016, but I will try.  2017 is looking to be a very exciting year for my wife and I, but we will keep hunting down the best beers we can and ways to enjoy them with the beagador Sara.

Happy New Beer!

Beers of the Month – November

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Another month with some fantastic beers.  Here are my favorites.

First, the local boys Cellarmaker bottled what probably was my favorite of their beers in recent history.  This version was even better than I remember.  The nose was insane, nice juicyness with a great hop bite.  Hope it comes back.

Not a month goes by without a fantastic Monkish or three.  Foggier Window was killer.  If it was the best Monkish I had in the month, it must have been great.  It is nice to see Monkish bringing back spinoffs and old classics…

Dojo, the big brother of Yojo, was also great.  Moonraker is really bringing it right now, and I cannot wait to get up there.

Curiosity 27 was the first of this series I have had, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It seemed to have more of a hop bite than the typical Treehouse offering, which is perfect by me.

Alvarado Street is also on fire right now.  Haze of our Lives was a thick and smooth IPA milkshake on draft.

On the last day of the month, I enjoyed what may be my favorite Tired Hands release yet.  Alien Church looked amazing, and the taste did not disappoint.

Overall, it was a great month.  I am not sure I will be able to beat it in December, as I have a feeling trades will die down as people hunker down for the holidays.  This may mean more local beer, which is probably a good thing as I have been neglecting them recently.

Craft Brew in Italy – Part 3

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We recently took a 12 day trip to Italy.  Looking back, we should have done longer, but the amount we accomplished in the time we were there was staggering.  Although finding craft brew in Italy was tough, it was not impossible.

Our visit included 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Cinque Terra, and 2 nights in Rome (travel time knocked off essentially 2 days).  We also had a 7 hour layover, which allowed some time to hop into London and get a brew.

In short, Rome had the best beer scene, Florence seemed to have a growing one, Cinque Terre had one good beer bar, and Venice was…tough. I will go through each city in the order we visited.

Rome

Rome was our last stop of beercation 2016. We had somewhat tempered expectations and feared Rome would be too touristy and hectic, and so only had 2 nights in town. However, we were pleasantly surprised.

Rome is an incredible city. The tourist sights are obviously a must-do, but we had what was probably my favorite night of the trip once we got outside the sights.

The first thing we did after our five hour train ride from the coast and checking in the hotel was eat and grab a drink. Options were abound, and Rome clearly had some of the more diverse food options available. We were pleasantly surprised to find many food options we would expect to find in San Francisco. After traveling for two weeks and eating rich and heavy food constantly, we were craving something on the healthier side, and Rome had plenty of options.  We strolled through the Monti neighborhood along Via Urbana and were able to get a decent beer and healthy lunch at a place I now cannot remember the name of or find, doh!

We then proceeding to try and squeeze in all the main attractions we could. Over the next 36 hours, we visited The Roman Forum and surrounding sights, did a guided nighttime tour of the Colosseum, visited the Vatican City and toured St. Peter’s Basilica and up to the top of the duomo (unfortunately the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel were closed), saw the Spanish steps and Trevi Fountain, went inside the Pantheon, and popped our heads in countless other churches (many of which would have been incredible on their own if you were not comparing to the basilica or duomos we had already seen)

In order of preference, of the “major sights,” my favorites were as follow:

1. Night tour of the Colosseum.  It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.  We started with a guided tour around the outside of Palantine and Capitole Hills and the Forum, then around and inside the  Colosseum.  We were in a group of about 20, and there were only a few groups allowed in. The night tour was more expensive, and did not include a tour of the Forum, but you can do that separately. The night tour was relaxed and had so many less people. Moreover, you got to see the “underworld” of the Colosseum where the gladiators and animals stayed until they fought. This was only available in the night tour and very cool.

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2. St. Peter’s Basilica. We went to Vatican City on a Sunday so the museum and Sistine Chapel were closed. However, still worth heading over just for the basilica. It is insanely huge and stunning. The artwork and sculptures inside are amazing, but the sheer size of the place is the star of the show. We also went up to the top of the duomo, which was…an experience. We chose to walk (elevator was an extra few Euros but I was ok working off the beers and pasta) but in either event, you had to walk up the stairs of the dome itself. This was intense. The stairs are steep and circle around he dome. For a 6’5″ guy this was brutal. I was hunched over the whole way. Worse, it was hot and claustrophobic. People were freaking out, and the would try to walk against traffic to leave. It was a disaster, as turning around made it ten times worse for everyone. However, when (if) you made it up top, wow.

3. Pantheon. Most people think of the Pantheon and see the exterior.  I imagined it to be out on its own somewhere and you looked at the outside and moved on. I was way off. The Pantheon is in the middle of a walkable and vibrant neighborhood and piazza.  The interior is amazing, with an open ceiling.  Totally surprised by how much I liked it (and it is free!).

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4.  Other worthwhile stops:  Trevi Fountain and the Roman Forum were my other two favorite spots.  The Forum is fascinating.  We did not have a tour guide for this (since we did the night tour of the Colosseum, it did not include the guided tour of the Forum).  Trevi Fountain was beautiful and the highlight of a great walk we took between several sights. (note, the Spanish Steps were being worked on when we were there, so it was underwhelming).

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Nightlife

Somehow, even after walking and sightseeing all day, we made it out both nights in Rome.  Our second night was much more memorable.

The first night saw us cruise around the Via Urbana area.  There were a ton of people partying in the streets and full bars and restaurants.  It was fun, but nothing special.

The next night, we went out in the Trastevere.  Trastevere was about a 15 minute ride from our hotel, away from the typical tourist sights (this was the first time we had taken a cab all trip, mostly because it was raining!).  As soon as we got out of the car, we knew it was our kind of area.

Trastevere contained many small, winding streets filled with bars and restaurants.  We wanted to stop at Ma Cha Siete Venuti a Fà, a well regarded craft beer bar.  Unfortunately, it was packed and as it was pouring, drinking a beer was not a desirable option.  So, we proceeded to Bir & Fud, which was the best beer bar we visited in Italy.

Bir & Fud had pizzas and great homemade chips.  More importantly, they had at least 30 beers on tap, including several IPAs.  It was pretty slammed, but we scored a couple seats at the bar.  Bartenders were attentive and friendly, and the beers were the best beers I had on our trip.  It was a fantastic find on our last night.

After Bir y Fud, we headed to dinner at Grazia & Graziella. Despite the pouring rain, it was packed.  We sat outside under cover and stayed dry.  The servers were having a great time, singing and clearly ready to party.  We loved it.  The food was also phenomenal.  We had a killer salad with buffalo mozzarella, delicious pasta, and this crispy artichoke which was unlike any other fried artichoke I have ever had.  I can’t really describe it, you will just need to go taste it.

Overall, the Trastevere neighborhood was my favorite neighborhood of all the places we visited.  This came as a surprise, as I had heard very mixed reviews for Rome.

Conclusion

Overall, our trip to Italy was the best trip we have ever been on.  The sights were incredible, the food was amazing, the wine was great (and SO CHEAP), and the people were amazingly hospitable.  It is evident beer is becoming more popular, and I would guess by my next trip, there will be even more options.  I am looking forward to that!

Rare Beers for Days

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I have been slammed the last couple months with work and some family trips etc etc., then when I have had free time I have been (a) drinking delicious beers and (b) writing for http://www.porchdrinking.com.  So, I have neglected CaliforniaIPAs.com.  Time for a little love.

The beer trade game has been on point recently, and I have been fortunate to have a slew of hard to find beers, many of which were fantastic.  Here is a recap of a few.

Starting locally, Cellarmaker obviously has killer beers.  They have begun bottling about once a month, but a few months back they have a double IPA that I thought was some of their best work, Get of My Lawn! DIPA.  I hope it makes a return, soon.

Altamont out of Livermore recently did a killer collab with, you guessed it, Cellarmaker.  Dank of America was short lived but while around it was a hoppy, dank bomb.

Monkish has been the “it” West Coast IPA recently with their approximately every-other weeks releases that see people line up before the sun rises.  The hype is real as all their NE style hazy IPAs have been fantastic.  My personal favorite was Spock It, a particularly juicy IPA.

Monkish’s style was arguably invented, if not perfected, by Treehouse.  The most hyped recent Treehouse beer was King Jjjjulius.  I was fortunate to get my hands on one, and it did not disappoint.  About as murky and thick of an IPA as you can find.

Tired Hands is one of the other most difficult to find East Coast IPAs, especially the recent Milkshake series.  Most are being canned now, but I was able to get a growler of the Pina Colada Milkshake.  It has been my favorite of the series.

Maine Beer Co.’s Dinner is a beer I have wanted to get my hands on for a few years.  It was worth the wait.  Super balanced, super smooth, just a delicious beer.

Finally, Trillium has also become one of the must find beers.  They are now canning (before was mostly bottles) which has made them easier to come by.  However, a couple months back I scored a bottle of Dialed In with Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer grapes.  We have all heard of beer aged in wine barrels, but infused with wine grapes?  Sounded odd, but it was fantastic.  The wine was way in the background but there, and I enjoyed it.

Because of the trading I have done, this list is way less California IPA than it should be.  I will hit on the best California IPAs soon, but if you can come across any of the brews above, do it!

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – Livermore

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I love good beer. I also love enjoying good beer with my wife and dog. I therefore really love doing both together. Unfortunately, that is not always possible (unless done at home). Hence, the following series.

I cannot profess to know every single dog friendly brewery in the state, but I do believe I have a pretty good grip of the best ones in a few different areas, namely SF, the Bay Area and north, and the Central Coast. This series will pass along my knowledge on this ever so important topic.

Some of the prior articles in these series are here:

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – San Francisco Part 2

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – North SF Bay Area

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – San Francisco

This blog looks at some dog friendly breweries in Livermore.

Livermore has recently gained popularity for its vineyards, however do not sleep on the breweries in town.

Altamont Beer Works

I have had many of Altamont’s beers, but until this weekend, had not actually visited the brewery.  Their recent collaboration with Cellarmaker for the Dank of America DIPA was reason enough for a trip.

Altamont is in (as expected) an industrial area off of Research Dr.  The tasting room is a bit on the small side and mostly standing room only.  It was pretty jammed when we were there, with several dogs.

Altamont is a hophead heaven.  Hella Hoppy is a solid brew, but the Dank of America is the best of their beers I have had.

Altamont has caught on to the crowler craze, which is a welcome sight (especially for us beer traders, way less risk of breakage).

No food, but apparently they have food trucks some nights. Still a must stop of the beer.

http://altamontbeerworks.com/

Working Man Brewing and Eight Bridges

Welp, I have not been to either of these, but understand they are both dog friendly.  Another trip to Livermore is needed to check these out.

The problem (if you want to call it that) with Livermore is the wineries.  It is very difficult for me to drag my lovely wife and pup out there and not visit some wineries.  For all the breweries I drag them along to, we have to make some winery trips.  So, only Altamont on this trip.

http://www.eightbridgesbrewing.com

http://www.workingmanbrewing.com

Other Stops!

Everytime I have been in Livermore I have eaten at the same spot, First Street Ale House. No real need to go anywhere else though, as they have great food and brews.

First Street has nearly 30 beers on tap.  Some are always on tap (Hella Hoppy, Sculpin, CL smoothies, Guinness), and then they have several more on rotation.  Last time they had some Knee Deep and Mission Brewing.  Typically at least 5 solid IPAs to dive into.

Food is standard pub fare but with a bit of variety and flare.  I always go for a Cajun burger, and am never disappointed.

Most importantly, they have a fairly large back patio which is very dog friendly!

 

http://www.firststreetalehouse.com

There are also countless wineries that are dog friendly.  Our favorite is Wente (the one in the hills, not closer to town).  Wife loves their wine and it is beautiful.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHsmKiAB3ej/?taken-by=californiaipa

All in all, Livermore makes for a great day trip WHEN it is not pushing three digits.  It was 82 today which was actually perfectly comfortable.  Will be heading back to try the other breweries in town.

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Dog Friendly Brewery Series – Santa Cruz Area

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I love good beer. I also love enjoying good beer with my wife and dog. I therefore really love doing both together. Unfortunately, that is not always possible (unless done at home). Hence, the following series.

I cannot profess to know every single dog friendly brewery in the state, but I do believe I have a pretty good grip of the best ones in a few different areas, namely SF, the Bay Area and north, and the Central Coast. This series will pass along my knowledge on this ever so important topic.

Some of the prior articles in these series are here:

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – San Francisco Part 2

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – North SF Bay Area

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – San Francisco

This blog looks at some dog friendly breweries in the Santa Cruz area.

Sante Adairius Rustic Ales (SARA)

SARA is making quite a name for itself and quickly become a beer nerd destination.  I was stoked to get down there last weekend, and even more stoked that i could bring the pooch.

SARA is in a somewhat industrial area in Capitola, close to the freeway and a few minutes from the beach.  SARA is definitely focused on making unique small batch brews.  Some of their more popular beers are Belgian style or farmhouse and saisons.  They do, however, typically have at least one IPA or a good pale ale.

The brewery is unsurprisingly a bit small, and apparently can get quite crowded.  However, we arrived right at noon when they were open so there seemed to be plenty of space available.

The staff/owners are very pro-dog and our Sara was welcomed with open arms.  We really enjoyed the beers, and purchase bottles of the special release they had that weekend (Quality of Life).  There is no food, but apparently they have BBQ out front many days or you can bring your own food.

Overall, a very cool place.  We went for the beer, but would go back just for the atmosphere.  Look forward to many future trips, the brews alone are a reason for us to make the 1.5 hour drive.

http://rusticales.com/

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing is organic brewery in the new(ish) and very cool Swift Street Courtyard.  The area has been transformed into a mostly winery haven, but as any reasonable human would do, we went to the one brewery.

I have been here a few years ago, but it was just as I remembered.  Decent beer, but fun atmosphere and very dog friendly.  Plenty of outdoor seats overlooking the courtyard.  You can order food from the cafe next door, and they have a few wine options as well.

I got the Giant DIPA, which looked juicy and a bit hazy.  It was a beautiful beer, although the taste did not match the looks.  No complaints though, I would certainly go back.

http://www.scmbrew.com/

New Bohemia Brewing Co. (NuBo) and Santa Cruz Ale Works

We have not been to either, but the rumor is they are both dog friendly.  We will make another visit and provide an update once we have visited….

http://www.nubobrew.com/

http://www.santacruzaleworks.com/

There are obviously plenty of beach options, but apparently the only one that is technically off-leash is Its Beach, right on West Cliff drive north of the lighthouse.  Small beach, decent waves coming in, but Sara was in heaven.

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We will certainly make another trip down to try out some more of the breweries in town, as the beer scene certainly is growing in the area.

Craft Brew in Italy – Part 2

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We recently took a 12 day trip to Italy.  Looking back, we should have done longer, but the amount we accomplished in the time we were there was staggering.  Although finding craft brew in Italy was tough, it was not impossible.

Our visit included 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Cinque Terra, and 2 nights in Rome (travel time knocked off essentially 2 days).  We also had a 7 hour layover, which allowed some time to hop into London and get a brew.

In short, Rome had the best beer scene, Florence seemed to have a growing one, Cinque Terre had one good beer bar, and Venice was…tough. I will go through each city in the order we visited.

Cinque Terre/Vernazza

The second half of our trip began in Cinque Terre, and specifically Vernazza.  I did not have high hopes for finding any craft beer in Cinque Terre but was pleasantly surprised.

Rick Steves has apparently hyped Cinque Terre so much that it has been ruined and overrun by tourists, but fortunately we were not there in the peak of the high season so it did not seem to bad to us.

Cinque Terre is remarkably beautiful.  The 5 tiny towns all have their own individual charm and unique attributes, but Vernazza (where my wife made sure we stayed as it was her favorite town when she visited years ago) was the best.  Vernazza was not the largest city, but the most charming.  The food was fantastic, and it was fun to see the same locals every night when most of the tourists were gone.

We stayed in the La Marina Rooms, and specifically the Apartment Piazza Marconi.  We really wanted a balcony here, but even when booking 4 months in advance all the good balcony rooms were booked up.  However, in the end I think we lucked out, as our apartment was ideally located (very close to town, only a few flights of stairs) and had an incredible view of the piazza and harbor/bay.  It was a good sized room as well, comfy bed, and Cristian (the host) was great.

We only had 2 nights in CT, so we immediately got to work on hiking.  For those that do not know, CT is a series of 5 towns with hikes between each town (many of which skirt the ocean).  The first afternoon we did a hike from Vernazza to Monterossa, which was incredible.  The view looking back at Vernazza is one of the more famous sights in CT for good reason.

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The hike was a decent one, apparently the longest distance of all the hikes between towns IF the main trails are open.  Incredible views all along and some decent climbs, especially at the beginning.  The two unique parts of this hike were the random cat “homes,” where several cat houses with pictures and names of the cats posted, and the gregarious Italian man selling homemade limoncello and wine out of a tiny, basically fenced in cage right off of his property along the trail.  The wine and limoncello were actually very good, and after traveling in the morning and hiking a few miles, gave a little buzz.

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The hike ended in Monterossa, the largest town, and considered the “resorty” one.  As it was early evening, the crowds had died down.  However, we were getting hungry so did not stay long, only grabbing a beer right by the train station while we waiting for a 3 minute train tide back to Vernazza.  The view was not bad!

Evening in Vernazza was our favorite time.  The cruise/day trippers were gone, and the town was quiet but had enough restaurants and bars open to have some variety.  Cinque Terre/Liguria is apparently known for their pesto and trofie, which is a sort of pasta/gnocchi hybrid.  We ate at Trattoria de Sandro the first night, on the main drag, seemingly built into the hills.  The food was phenomenal.  We got the trofie with pesto and a ravioli in walnut sauce that was unreal.  https://www.yelp.com/biz/trattoria-da-sandro-vernazza

We followed dinner with a few drinks at the Marlin Bar, which has a younger crowd, lively and entertaining bartenders, and locals.  Nothing special on the beers, so I went with the local grappa (well, I had one then went to beer, it was not my jam).

The next day had our serious hiking.  We intended to hike from Vernazza to Riomaggiore and back.  In normal conditions, this is apparently doable, however the main trails were closed between all Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, meaning we had to hike a much tougher path.  We are regular hikers and in pretty decent shape, but the hills between some of the towns were intense!  It was a great day of hiking, but going there and back was not going to happen, so we ended up training back to Vernazza from Riomaggiore.

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(the distance was not the bad part, the floors were!  This only counts floors up, and at times going downhill was just as tough)

Some of the highlights were a sour lemon granita in Corniglia at Alberrtos (https://www.yelp.com/biz/alberto-gelateria-corniglia?osq=granita), a pesto foccaccia in a little shop in Manarola (which was my second favorite town), and just the incredible views while hiking through vineyards.  It was a fantastic day, despite the overcast weather (doing this hike in the heart of summer would be brutal though).

That night we wanted to go to Belforte, the restaurant on the rocks above the bay in Vernazza, but weather forced it to close.  Again, Vernazza had plenty of options, so we were quite alright eating elsewhere.

However, before dinner, we had the  biggest surprise of our time in Vernazza, finding a bar with a big selection of craft beer!  Right on the main square was Burgus, a small bar with just a few seats inside and a few more outside.  However, they had at least 10 different Italian craft beers in bottles, which was a rare find.  I enjoyed a few that night and could not have been happier with our pre-dinner drinks (https://www.yelp.com/biz/burgus-vernazza).

The Canediguerra American IPA was possibly the best beer I had in Italy, and the view was not bad either.  The other beers were ok, but at least I was able to try some new stuff!

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Beer selection!

We finished our last night in Vernazza with dinner at Gambero Rosso, which was apparently the “expensive” restaurant.  Well, we polished of two carafes of excellent wine, I went with the lobster pasta which was out of this world, and the wife got the trofie again, which was excellent, again.  Throw in a salad and appetizer and our bill was still right at $100.  This would have cost twice as much in SF.  The atmosphere was great, and all in all a fantastic meal.

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mmmmm, lobster

Two nights in Vernazza ended up being the perfect amount of time.  Some relaxation, beautiful hiking, and excellent food.  One night would not have been enough, 3 may have been a bit too many (especially given the weather was a bit hit and miss while we were there).  We set off early for our 5 hour train ride to anticipating 2 hectic days.

A few (of our countless) pics from the hikes:

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Craft Brew in Italy – Part 1

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We recently took a 12 day trip to Italy.  Looking back, we should have done longer, but the amount we accomplished in the time we were there was staggering.  Although finding craft brew in Italy was tough, it was not impossible.

Our visit included 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Cinque Terra, and 2 nights in Rome (travel time knocked off essentially 2 days).  We also had a 7 hour layover, which allowed some time to hop into London and get a brew.

In short, Rome had the best beer scene, Florence seemed to have a growing one, Cinque Terre had one good beer bar, and Venice was…tough. I will go through each city in the order we visited.

Venice

Venice is kind of insane.  We arrived late night out first night, so in reality had 2.5 days to explore.  For me, that was enough.

Venice is strikingly beautiful.  Literally around every corner you have a completely unique, beautiful setting.  I found this to be especially true the further out you got from the main touristy areas (ie St. Mark’s square).  Maybe this was because there were way less people.

Each day we were there we walked about 16 miles.  To us, that was the way to actually see and experience Venice, as many of the more tourisy things here did not hold much appeal. Part of the reason we put in so many miles simply had to do with the fact that you are constantly lost.  I tend to have a pretty good sense of direction, and can get around most cities within a few hours (I am a bit of a planning nut and so spend many hours looking at maps of where we go), but this was far from true in Venice.  At first, I struggled with the lack of control, but by the second day, this became part of the fun.

We stayed at an incredible AirBnb.  The hosts were unlike any AirBnb host you will find.  They gave us detailed instructions before we arrived, met us at the boat station and walked us to the apartment, gave us a quick tour of the area and detailed instructions on a map of where to go and what to see.  I would highly recommend staying in any of Maurizio’s apartments.  Here was ours:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1005660

As mentioned above, Venice was tough for beer.  The  bar scene is fun, just not for beer, especially craft brew.  This is made more difficult by the aforementioned propensity to get lost.  Meaning, even if I could find a place that looked good for beer online, actually physically finding the place was easier said than done.  Given this, we simply walked around and if we saw a place that looked good, went for it.

Fortunately, on day 1, we found Birraria La Corte in the Campo San Polo.  We had not researched this place, but I saw “Birraria” and had to go.  Apparently, this was the first local brewery in Italy!  The building also at one point housed the bulls for the bullfights in the Campo.  There is a huge patio that overlooks the Campo, and the best beer selection we found in Italy.  I had a few Brad IPAs (from Bradipongo brewery, a little north west of Venice) to go with my pizza, which were not bad.  I would absolutely return here if in Venice again (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187870-d793024-Reviews-Birraria_La_Corte-Venice_Veneto.html)

The only other bar we found that had more than the usual Forst, Peroni ot Birra Moretti was the Corner Pub.  We stumbled across the Corner Pub as part of one of our 16 mile death marches.  The Corner Pub was just as it sounds.  We actually sat outside at a little to-go counter and enjoyed a beer just before noon (do not judge, we were on vacation), overlooking some solid scenery.  I cheated, and had an Irish IPA (McGargles Knock Knock Neds IPA) which was OK.  They had a few other beers on tap, as well as wine and a full bar.  Basic food that looked good as well.  https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187870-d1953035-Reviews-Corner_Pub-Venice_Veneto.html

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Other than these two spots, nothing else really stood out for beer.  I drank a good deal of wine, and bought an IPA in the grocery store to enjoy at our apartment as the gondoliers floated by, many times singing.

One of the more enjoyable things to do in Venice definitely was to enjoy the Cicchetti. Each night we bar hopped, had a few small plates (cicchetti is essentially Venizia tapas)  and tried some interesting dishes (lots of fried seafoody dishes).  You could typically score a glass of wine for 1-3 euros (yep!) and go to a few different spots.  This made for a smaller dinner, which was fine by me.

The one touristy thing we did do that I recommend is a sunset cruise along the Grand Canal on the vaporetti (Water bus).  Cheap but beautiful, and by this time the city has quieted down so we were able to score outside seats and just enjoy the views.

I am not sure if I would have Venice high on my list of places to go back to.  I cannot imagine it in the high season, as even when we went it felt overrun by tourists.  By far, I enjoyed Venice the most after 8 PM and before 11 AM.  The middle of the day is crowded and the charm is gone.  That said, it truly is a remarkably beautiful and unique city.

Florence

We had 3 full days and nights and Florence, but I could have spent way more time here.  Florence was a city I would live in in a heartbeat.  I am a water person.  Since I was about 10, I have not lived more than 15 miles from the ocean.  Florence has no ocean, just the Arno River.  Still, I loved it.

Florence is rich with history and beautiful.  The duomo and cathedral, the Palazzo Vecchio,  Ponte Vecchio, Piazelle Michelangelo, Piazza della Signoria and it goes on.  Yet, at the same time, it is a modern city with great, diverse food, beautiful people and BEER!

We scored again with Airbnb in Florence.  We stayed in the Oltrano (the “other” side of the Arno) about a block away from the Ponte Vecchio.  Our apartment was certainly older, and up a step set up stairs 6 floors up, but my goodness, the rooftop deckS (yes, two rooftop decks) were unreal.  Literally 360 degree views of all of Florence.  All the sites visible, cool breezes, and a brew or glass of wine?  Unreal.  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1482355

(the pics do not do the view justice)

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Our first stop when we arrived in Florence was Il Mercato Centrale.  This is somewhat akin to the Chelsea Market in NYC or the Ferry Building Building in SF.  The first floor is an assortment of butcher, cheese, olive oil, and pasta shops, with a few coffee shops and a solid amount of produce.  You can walk around and have cheese samples for free, or pay for an olive or balsamic tastings.

The second floor is full of essentially to-go restaurants that you order at the counter and find a seat.  There are a bunch of awesome options.  A place with fresh made cheese and sandwiches, butcheries, a place with all truffle dishes, a vegetarian spot, pasta and it goes on and on.  There is also a bar in the middle with a birreria, and a wine shop.  The bar had a somewhat disappointing selection of beers.  Most of the beers were Birra Moretti, and I ws hoping for more smaller craft brews.  That said, the food made up for it.

The third floor has a sit down restaurant, but the second floor to me was the place to be.

Outside was a large leather and trinket gift area.  Fun to walk around and buy a few gifts.

Close by is the BrewDog Firenze location.  I have had a few of their beers before, but wanted to pop in to see if they had the Born to Die IPA.  Unfortunately, they did not have it on tap, but rest assured, they had a (large) bottle.  It was an astounding $15 euros, but I had to pull the trigger.  It was worth it.  Fantastic, hop bomb with a smooth crisp finish.

Florence has two other breweries, Archea and Mostoldoce.  Give the slew of things we wanted to do and see, we only had time for one, Archea.

Archea actually did not brew the beer on site, and actually brewed it several hours away.  The tasting room was a great little pub, with several of their own beers and a few guest taps.  I actually really enjoyed their Hydra IPA.  The bartender was great, good people inside, and overall a great stop.  Highly recommend dropping in.

King Grizzly was a solid beer bar. Probably around 15 beers on tap, seemingly all or mostly from Italy.  Good scene, good beer options, the kind of place I would go to on the regular.

On our last day in Florence, we hired a private driver to take us down to Siena and then through the Chianti wine district.  No beer, but an absolutely fantastic time.  Lot of wine, great food, olive oil and sites beyond belief.  You can read more about our day on my Tripadvisor review of our driver, who was fantastic.  https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187895-d4331380-r375836127-Alessandro_Cammilli_Private_Tours-Florence_Tuscany.html#REVIEWS

Overall, Firenze was incredible.  I could write 20 more pages about our time there.  We had a few fantastic meals (our lunch at Liberia Brac was one of the best meals I have ever had – https://www.yelp.com/biz/libreria-brac-firenze).  The David was amazing, the duomo and surrounding area was overwhelming, the Oltrarno neighborhood was lively and welcoming.  If I could only go back to one place in Italy, Firenze was it.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which will recap Cinque Terre and Rome.

 

 

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – Tahoe Part 2

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I love good beer. I also love enjoying good beer with my wife and dog. I therefore really love doing both together. Unfortunately, that is not always possible (unless done at home). Hence, the following series.

I cannot profess to know every single dog friendly brewery in the state, but I do believe I have a pretty good grip of the best ones in a few different areas, namely SF, the Bay Area and north, and the Central Coast. This series will pass along my knowledge on this ever so important topic.

Some of the prior articles in these series are here:

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – San Francisco Part 2

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – North SF Bay Area

Dog Friendly Brewery Series – San Francisco

This post is a continuation of a prior post, linked here: Dog Friendly Brewery Series – Tahoe and Auburn

The first blog dealt with North Lake Tahoe.  This post touches on the breweries in the South Lake Tahoe area.

Stateline Brewery

Stateline Brewery, is, as expected, right near Stateline.  Technically it is in California in Heavenly Village.  The brewery itself is basically in a huge basement.  It is a large space that can get pretty busy for dinner.  However, the best part of the brewery is probably the outside seating right on Highway 50.

The outdoor sitting was plentiful when we were there (Memorial Day Weekend at about 4 in the afternoon).  There were good happy hour deals, even on Saturday, for drink and apps.  Unfortunately, there is no lake view, but there is solid people watching.

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I had an Acclimator IPA, which was better than I remembered their beers being.  They also had a variety of beers from other breweries, which was nice to have as they only had a few of their own beers on tap when we were there.

The service when we sat outside was solid (when we went for dinner it was pretty slammed and the service was not as great).

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http://www.statelinebrewery.com/

Brewery at Lake Tahoe

The Brewery at Lake Tahoe is not as conveniently located as Stateline Brewery if you are staying in the more touristy area.  The Brewery is a little over a mile away from Stateline on Lake Tahoe Blvd on the California side.

The Brewery has a decent sized dog friendly area, albeit with no real views and not as great of people watching as you get at Stateline.

Beers are good, nothing too exciting but drinkable.

I have not eaten here yet, but plan to do so next trip up and will give an update.

http://www.brewerylaketahoe.com/

MacDuff’s Pub

Although clearly not a brewery, MacDuffs has one of the better beer selections in Tahoe and a large, comfortable dog friendly patio with a peak of a lake view.  The food is also better than average pub food, with great (and huge) burgers and fish and chips.

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It is a must hit when in Tahoe, and the owner, as evidenced by their glasses, is a dog lover (that is actually his dog on the glass).

http://macduffspub.com/

Where to Drink SF – Cellarmaker

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Cellarmaker is making some of the best beer around right now, and all it takes is a visit to see how many people are there at any time to realize this.

The Cellarmaker space is an exposed brick, semi-industrial space in SOMA.  It comes across of more of a bar than a brewery, partly because it is always pretty packed and partly because they tend to have the music going pretty strong.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, and if a bar-feel is more your thing, you will love Cellarmaker.

They are constantly changing their beers, and with a few exceptions, there are almost always predominately new beers on tap.  According to their website, they say there will be at least 3-5 hop forward beers on tap at any time.  This has been true whenever I have gone.

Their Pale Ales tend to come off as more of IPAs, which works great for me.  I have had a few good stouts as well.

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The Tiny Dankster and the Quad Dobis (a beer week special beer) were some of the better beers I have had in the last year. That said, I have liked everyone of their beers I have had.

As of a couple months ago, they have been selling bomber bottles the first week of the month, however they sell out quick (ie one day), so if you want one, get on it.  Growler purchases are always an option.

Only bad thing I can say about this place is no dogs 😦

It will be very interesting to see if they try and grow or stay the size they are.  The quality is supreme right now, so one has to wonder what may happen if they try and expand…

http://www.cellarmakerbrewing.com/