A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Dear Loyal Reader(s), 

This weekend was spent in San Diego with family, friends, food, and beer.  It was awesome.  The Lonely Beer Nut reunited with some of his old beer buddies (some not so nerdy in the beer scene, but with excellent taste buds, and another that geeks out just as much as I do on beer) and had a wonderful time.  I miss them.  

-The Lonely Beer Nut

Weekend Beer Line-Up (one/split one of most, multiples of others) and Thoughts:

1. Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout* (pre AB-InBev sellout)

2. Karl Strauss Big Barrel IIPA**

3. Ballast Point Big Eye IPA***

4. Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale****

5. Stone IPA (forgot how tasty this is)*****

6. Coronado Orange Ave Wit******

7. Two Bear-Panther Brewing Home Brews: Saison and Mexican Chololate w/ Chilies (?) Stout*******

The biggest surprise of the weekend was the Big Barrel IIPA.  Karl Strauss makes a bunch of ho-hum brews, but this one was a damn fine example of a IIPA that I recommend if see it.  The $5 for a 22oz price tag is appealing as well.  Bear-Panther (aka Daniel 1.0 and George) have been cranking out great beers since they started and the two I had were no different.  The Bourbon County Vanilla Stout is beautifully crafted - heavy on the bourbon, thick, sweet, and awesome.  It will most likely be my last GI beer, since they sold their soul to the devil recently (read me).  The others were what you expect, with Stone IPA reminding me that I need to buy more Stone IPA.   The only disappointment of the weekend was the Coronado Orange Wit.  It was real heavy on the Coriander, which is a flavor I am just not fond of, so it is more of a personal taste thing than it being a "bad" beer.   

Stats:

*Imperial Stout, 13% ABV, 60 IBUs, 100% Bourbon Barrel Aged w/ Vanilla Beans Added, Brewed Once (maybe again?  who knows...)

**American IIPA, 9% ABV, 90 IBUs, Limited (not sure what that means) 

***American IPA, 7% ABV, 85 IBUs, Year-Round

****American Pale Ale, 5% ABV, 40 IBUs, Year-Round

*****American IPA, 6.9% ABV, 77 IBUs, Year-Round

******Wit, 5.2% ABV, Very Low IBUs, Year-Round

*******Saison and Stout - One time, super limited, super awesome beers, possibly to never be found again

Edit! Up Next: I've got Hair of the Dog Adam in the fridge (spoiler alert: I love, love, love this beer) and a Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown (a new one for me).  I'll probably open the Undercover Shutdown Thursday, 4/28, if you'd like to join me.