# I Wish They All Could Be California...



## chillihilli (28/1/10)

Hey Guys, just wanted to let y'all know that I just returned from a trip to the USA, and took the opportunity to sample some of the local brews. Here's some that I tried:

- Anchor Steam - The SanFransisco equivalent of VB
- Black and Tan - Mix a stout and and ale at the tap - wtf?
- Anchor Porter - Nice porter
- Haywire Pale Ale - Fruity Pale Ale - Really Fruity (hey its San Francisco right?)
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - Pale Ale Mega Swill - Loved it
- Wiedmer HeffeWeizen - Nice wheat beer
- Negro Modelo - dark, nice.... But served in a plastic cup :angry: at an NBA game

These were all tap. Both the Heffe and the Sierra Nevada were so nice they caused some serious hang overs.

I think I'll try a kit-based Sierra Nevada clone..

Anyways, just wanted to recount the trip to anyone who cares.. 

Cheers !


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## QldKev (28/1/10)

Sounds like a drinkable trip 

You picked the same two from the bunch I would have went. If you go a kit Sierra Nevada ensure you add plenty of good LDME.

QldKev


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## mjfs (28/1/10)

what nba game did you see?, that could have something to do with your experience.... <_<


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## Dazza_devil (28/1/10)

Never tried the Sierra Nevada, hopefully one day I will.
I have a sorta SNPA clone planned with an Ozzie twist.
I've got some Magnum and Cascade hop pellets and gonna try to ferment with recultured Coopers instead of US05.


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## jbowers (28/1/10)

Did you mean the anchor steam is the equiavalent to VB in flavour? Or availability? If flavour, man.......


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## Andrew Coleman (28/1/10)

I tried the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale the other day in St Kilda, I'd previously heard that they dont taste as good here but man it was still amazing, tasted very similar to little creatures what I had, so possibly less aroma then what I'd expected, did it taste like little creatures pale ale the one that you tried!? Cascade hops are amazing though, actual fact hehe! B)


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## browndog (29/1/10)

QldKev said:


> Sounds like a drinkable trip
> 
> You picked the same two from the bunch I would have went. If you go a kit Sierra Nevada ensure you add plenty of good LDME.
> 
> QldKev



And make sure you have a heap of the freshest Cascade hops you can get your hands on or you may as well not bother. Cascade flavour is the key to this beer.

-Browndog


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## Swinging Beef (29/1/10)

Drewcifer said:


> I tried the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale the other day in St Kilda, I'd previously heard that they dont taste as good here but man it was still amazing, tasted very similar to little creatures what I had, so possibly less aroma then what I'd expected, did it taste like little creatures pale ale the one that you tried!? Cascade hops are amazing though, actual fact hehe! B)


Of course SNPA doesnt taste as good here, you arent on holidays! 
Everythign tastes better on holidays
We known US brewers have referred to Little Cratures Pale Ale, as SNPA "but done completely right"


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## Pete2501 (29/1/10)

Drewcifer said:


> I tried the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale the other day in St Kilda, I'd previously heard that they dont taste as good here but man it was still amazing, tasted very similar to little creatures what I had, so possibly less aroma then what I'd expected, did it taste like little creatures pale ale the one that you tried!? Cascade hops are amazing though, actual fact hehe! B)




LCPA is totally different to SNPA. LCAP is much more floral while I found SNPA to have less floral hop flavors and leaned more towards a malt and biscuit flavor scale. 

I can't wait to get myself overs seas. I'm Jealous. 



Swinging Beef said:


> Of course SNPA doesnt taste as good here, you arent on holidays!
> Everythign tastes better on holidays
> We known US brewers have referred to Little Cratures Pale Ale, as SNPA "but done completely right"




Are you serious? It tastes like flowers in a bottle. LCPA is ok but it's not great. I want to taste hops not flowers in my Pale Ales. Now I had their Rogers that was dry hopped with a 16.x% topaz and that was mintox.


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## Swinging Beef (29/1/10)

Pete2501 said:


> Are you serious? It tastes like flowers in a bottle. LCPA is ok but it's not great. I want to taste hops not flowers in my Pale Ales. Now I had their Rogers that was dry hopped with a 16.x% topaz and that was mintox.


aaaaaaaaaaahahahaha.. Mintox
Yes, serious.
Guest speaker at last years ANHC


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## Frag_Dog (29/1/10)

I was in the states last month, and I found the Anchor Steam beer really nice. Definatly not like VB, except is avaliability maybe....but thats just my opinion.

I've had SNPA and LCPA and I much prefer SNPA.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is quite good. I'd have to say the best beer I had while i was there was is Lauganitas IPA. The annoying thing was I only discovered it on my last day in the Bay Area, and I was about 20mins away from the brewrey!!!!!


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## jbowers (29/1/10)

Frag_Dog said:


> I was in the states last month, and I found the Anchor Steam beer really nice. Definatly not like VB, except is avaliability maybe....but thats just my opinion.
> 
> I've had SNPA and LCPA and I much prefer SNPA.
> 
> Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is quite good. I'd have to say the best beer I had while i was there was is Lauganitas IPA. The annoying thing was I only discovered it on my last day in the Bay Area, and I was about 20mins away from the brewrey!!!!!



I find it weird that so many people love the Lagunitas IPA. The hop stoopid, sure, its a kickass beer. I found the IPA to be quite good, but compared to say the Sierra Nevada Torpedo - no way!

And yeah, thats what I was getting at with Anchor Steam. That's a freakin lovely beer.


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## chillihilli (29/1/10)

mjfs said:


> what nba game did you see?, that could have something to do with your experience.... <_<



It was the Golden State Warriors vs the Denver Nuggets. Great close game - went to the 5th quarter. Managed a few pints of Negro Modelo even though it was in plastic... Half time entertainment was a classic, not to forget the dancing girls who came out at quarter time.


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## chillihilli (29/1/10)

jbowers said:


> Did you mean the anchor steam is the equiavalent to VB in flavour? Or availability? If flavour, man.......


No .. hell no!! .. I meant it's in every bottle shop, on every tap.. It's a megaswill..


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## chillihilli (29/1/10)

Drewcifer said:


> did it taste like little creatures pale ale the one that you tried!? Cascade hops are amazing though, actual fact hehe! B)



Yes it was a little like LCPA, but in my opinion LCPA is very fruity, almost passionfruit like... SNPA was not this sweet, much more subdued on the fruity/floral side. It went down a treat.


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## chillihilli (29/1/10)

Frag_Dog said:


> I was in the states last month, and I found the Anchor Steam beer really nice. Definatly not like VB, except is avaliability maybe....but thats just my opinion.
> 
> I've had SNPA and LCPA and I much prefer SNPA.
> 
> Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is quite good. I'd have to say the best beer I had while i was there was is Lauganitas IPA. The annoying thing was I only discovered it on my last day in the Bay Area, and I was about 20mins away from the brewrey!!!!!



Awesome!! Thanks for the tip. I'm back there in March so will look out for both of these to be sure.


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## Snowdog (29/1/10)

MMmmm.. Anchor Steam & Anchor Porter.... gooood stuff them! So is Sierra Nevada Pale, though I think it is somewhat overrated.

Once upon a time in the 1970's all one could get in Washington state was 3.2% lagers. Rainier and Olympia waged a regional war against each other, with others pulling bits of the market. Before the laws got changed and homebrewers started selling their brews to pubs, we used to go to specialty bottleshops to get Watney's Red Barrel, or Anchor Steam & Anchor Porter. They were our 'gateway' brews for when the microbrews like Hale's, Grants, and Red Hook started the long road to acceptance in the lager-thirsty Seattle pubs. If I have to kill time at San Francisco Airport, I seek out an Anchor Steam tap ...


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## chillihilli (15/3/10)

So I was back in the good ole US of A last week. Whilst I didn't get around as much as I'd hoped, I did try a couple of new brews which is always worth a mention:

Steelhead (Microbrewery in an area near SFO airport called Burlingame) Bombay Bomber IPA. From memory it was 6.5%. This is a malty, big hop flavour, citrusy kind of IPA. I really liked this style of beer, so enjoyed it immensely.

- Redhook ESB Original Ale - This is a beer I could drink all day long. Hoppy, but not over the top. Slight bitterness. Real easy drinking. Oh look, the good people at redhook tell us how they make it:
Style: Amber

ABV: 5.8%

Malts: Pale, Caramel, Carapils

Hops: Alchemy, Willamette, Centennial, Crystal

Color SRM: 13

Bitterness Units: 28.0 IBU 

Original Gravity: 13.75 degrees plato

Brewed Since: 1987

Medals: 2008 North American Beer Awards Gold Medal Winner,

2009 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal Winner

I'm definitely going to bring a bit of this to my next Ale. 

Cheers!


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## Bribie G (15/3/10)

Steelhead? Shit give me Steel Reserve any day B) 

In the forty ounce bottle


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## bcp (16/3/10)

The widmer hefeweizen is a really great drop. Every next day i wasn't convinced so i kept going back to prove it. I came home and tried the weihenstephaner hefe weiss beer, and... i preferred the widmer (ok they're a little different, and the weihenstephaner was in a bottle).

I'm doing a clone of the widmer. Also don't mind the redhook ESB. Tried it years ago and was the first beer to begin my mind-change about american brewing.


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## Snowdog (17/3/10)

bcp said:


> Also don't mind the Redhook ESB. Tried it years ago and was the first beer to begin my mind-change about american brewing.




Redhook ... my 1981 craft-brew gateway beer ... changed my vitamin R from Seattle's own *R*ainier to *R*edhook! It was a beautiful cloudy brew akin to Cooper's Pale before they changed it and started to call it 'ESB in '84. Anyway, its a good go-to beer as moct pubs will have it due to their distribution agreement with A-B/Imbev.


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