Thursday Happy Hour: Cocktail Recipes, Drinks, Music, and Good Times

Cantillon Iris

A Beer to Remember

I’ve made a few journeys to beer country. (That’s Belgium in my book.) So as I flipped through the Facebook pics of friends that are currently over there enjoying all the sights and tastes, I was instantly brought back to a few of my favorite experiences.

One was my introduction to gueuze and lambics -- those funky ales that hardly taste like beer at all.  And the best place in the world to get them is at the Cantillon brewery in Brussels, Belgium.

So I was super psyched when I found a bottle of Cantillon’s Iris 2007 vintage at a local Whole Foods recently.

Lagunitas Brown Shugga

Sunshine on My Shugga

Even in a city like San Diego where the sun never sleeps, it can be hard to find that perfect combination of great beer and good outdoor atmosphere. One of my favorite places is Downtown Johnny Brown’s.

Look up, and you see blue sky framed in high rises. Look out and you see the fountain-filled plaza in front of the Civic Center. Look around you and you see brightly tiled tables and potted palms.

Look in your glass, and you’re bound to find something tasty in there. On this particular day, I was savoring a Brown Shugga from Lagunitas Brewing.

Kern River Citra Double IPA

A Taste of Spring Fever

East coast or West coast, about this time of year everyone is itching for spring. And a string of rainy days had made that itch worse here in San Diego.

So I was disappointed to find the patio closed at one of my favorite beer joints recently.

But I quickly recovered when I heard my friend rave about the beer he was drinking – a very citrusy IPA from Kern River Brewing, aptly named Citra.

This beautiful orange beer has an aroma that instantly transports you to citrus groves and the fresh outdoors. And the slightly viscous body is soft and smooth and absolutely heavenly going down.

We sat inside on our bar stools, sipping our tastes-like-the-outdoors beers, and continued to dream wistful dreams of the coming spring.

Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene

A Not-So-Sour Split

The final day of a great visit is never easy. But a special beer can help soften the blow. 

So before I left Wisconsin, my host and I shared an almost champagne-split-sized bottle of an almost-champagne-tasting beer – Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene.

A gueuze is a type of lambic beer where they blend old and young lambics. Expect to feel your lips pucker, because these ales tend to be dry and sour.

The Cuvee Rene is actually a touch fruitier and sweeter than most of the other gueuze I’ve had.

No pucker, but a nice combination of funky sours and champagne fruits, like apple and citrus. And all very bubbly.

New Glarus Cran-bic

A Berry Good Beer

No doubt, my favorite thing about visiting Wisconsin is the company I keep there.

A close second may be the beer.

On my most recent visit, I got to try a hard-to-find new offering from the folks at New Glarus: Wisconsin Cran-bic.

Even better, my host was wise to snap up every bottle he could find when it was released, so I enjoyed several bottles during my stay.

Bell's Winter White Ale

Let It Snow

A visit to Wisconsin in the dead of winter? Yep, made-to-order for cross-country skiing.

We had a fresh four inches on the ground to work with, a few more promised on the way, and a beautiful, empty-of-people nature reserve.

As we broke the first trail through the winter white, I took a deep, cold breath and let the workweek finally fall away.

And when we got back to the house and the fire, I kept that change-of-pace feeling going with a Bell's Winter White Ale.

Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball

Time to Get Lost

It had been months since I’d seen my old friends at ABC – Sawyer, Jack, Kate, John, Hurley and the gang. The premier episode of their final season had been months and months in the making. And it required a friend’s big screen TV, lots of snacks, and a really good beer.

I settled into the couch with some crudite and some spinach artichoke dip. And a Hairy Eyeball.

A Hairy Eyeball isn't a ghoulish snack. It’s a big, brown malty beer from Lagunitas Brewing.

Pizza Port Hop 15

Surf's Up

With the recent rain storms that had passed through southern California, I was itching to see the big waves that always follow. But there was a football playoff game going on, too.

What to do? Watch waves crashing into pylons or watch grown men crashing into one another?

I hopped in my car and headed for a pier. I chose carefully, selecting one that is mere steps away from a great pizza and beer joint.

The Duck-Rabbit Barleywine

Duck, Duck, Duck, Rabbit

I love it when people give me beer. Especially when it’s beer I can’t personally get my hands on here in southern California.

As great as the selection is here, I always have a sneaking feeling that the beer of my dreams is waiting patiently for me in a faraway land . . .

My most recent beer present: a very fine barleywine from some stellar brewers in North Carolina, a state I’ve never even driven through on the way to somewhere else.

Southern Tier Cherry Saison

Winter's Ale Tale

The scene: a suburban home in wintery western New York.

The cast: nine people at a dinner table, ages 2 to 63.

The plot: meeting the family.

Hollister’s Pinot Noir Aged Belgian Quad

A Grapes and Hops Jackpot

It’s not unusual for beers to be aged in port barrels or whiskey barrels. But recently I was fortunate to try a beer that had been aged in Pinot Noir barrels during a Hollister Brewing night at a local pub.

Just like the places we grow up have a huge influence on us, the place where a beer grows up and ages is equally important.

And for this Belgian Quad-style beer, growing up in Pinot Noir barrels means a nice, gently sour fruit-and-wine flavor added to a really stand-up dark, strong Belgian beer.  A mighty fine result.

The Champliny

Beer and Champagne? Yes We Can!

Who can ring in the New Year without Champagne? Not this beer lover. So I was really excited to learn of a local pub’s signature New Year’s cocktail – the Champliny.

It’s part champagne, part Pliny the Elder double IPA (from Russian River). In a land known for super hoppy beers, it’s the perfect southern California compromise for beer snobs and Champagne lovers alike.

A little fruity, a little bubbly, a little hoppy -- the tastes blend surprisingly well, with neither really dominating. It is an extra bubbly, fruity beer? Or a hopped up glass of champagne?

Make one yourself and you be the judge.

Scaldis Noel

California Dreamin' . . . of a White Christmas

My trip to the northeast has been planned for months, and I'm really looking forward to trading in palm trees and sandy beaches for a little snow and some mistletoe.

But in the meantime, feeling festive is a tough task. Sunny and 70 degrees does not the Christmas spirit kindle.

Thank goodness the local pubs have packed their taps with holiday ales to help us all get in the jingle bell mood.

I've found three great holiday beers on tap. My favorite so far: Scaldis Noel.

Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Favorite Haunts, Friendly Faces, and New Beers

It had been awhile since I’d hung out at my favorite watering hole, so I spent a recent evening there with the Thursday regulars. Good times, great people, and a football game on the big screen to boot.

But I decided to shake things up a little and try a new beer -- a Ballast Point Victory at Sea.

I’m not a porter drinker typically, which is probably why I had avoided this great local beer until now. But all the rumors had me intrigued. (“It’s like chocolate in a glass!” one friend assured me). Plus, it was on cask tonight. An extra special treat.

I sipped my pint and by the second swallow was wondering why in the world I had waited so long to claim my first Victory at Sea . . .

Alpine Duet IPA

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

I’m a little afraid of heights. But I wasn’t going to let it stop me from checking out the wild and wonderful (and safe, they tell me) world of indoor rock climbing.

My climbing partner has skills, so I felt I was in good hands. Plus, there were all those belts and hooks and ropes and things to keep me from plummeting back to the ground . . . right?

As I neared the top of my last line for the day, my arms gave out and off I fell. I didn’t even have time to panic before my harness and line caught me. And my partner on the ground gently lowered me back down.