Adventuring in Orange

You know you're deep in Orange County when you're in the city of Orange, it's a self-explanatory statement, redundant even.  With that stupid line out of the way, Alison and I found ourselves out in Orange since she had a fitting for her wedding dress in said city.  Whenever we have to travel to an area we haven't really been before, we like to take the opportunity to check out the offerings of these places which are alien to us.  Fortunately for me, Orange and it's neighboring city, Placentia, had some great food and beer treats awaiting our visit.

Our first stop was in the downtown area of Orange near Chapman College.  Our main objective was to check out Provisions Market, known for it's multitude of awesome beers on tap, bottled beer selection and wide assortment of meats and cheeses.  As we walked from our parking spot through the rustic, old-town USA streets, we commented on how the place had a warm and welcoming vibe with a touch of the old, new and different.  Store fronts varied from antique shops, to unique toy stores, clothing shops, bars and more.  Not a single chain or big name establishment along the way.  It gave the area a charm and sense of independent identity that I liked, much like my obsession with beer that is created by individuals that have different styles and personalities brewed into their delicious beverages.

Provisions also provided this warm and independent sense with an awesome collection of artisan dishes from the delicious Cuban Sandwich to the Radishes with butter and sea salt that Alison and I shared to the delicious beers we enjoyed from their taps.

Cuban Sandwiches are delicious, this one was the form of which all Cubanos should follow.

Velocity by Kenetic Brewing Company (delicious imperial stout)

Supplication by Russian River (crisp and rich sour)

With full bellies and a wet whistle, we headed to nearby Placentia to investigate the tap room of a very cool brewery called The Bruery.  These guys know how to create flavor-packed beer that is not only delicious, but well-balanced and magical.  While there, we had a few beers fresh from their taps.  I tried the Windowsill, which is an oak-barrel aged homage to a freshly baked rhubarb and raspberry pie.  They got that one right, a very tasty treat indeed that maintained the aforementioned flavors in the most natural of ways.  Al had the Tout Mais le Coller, which was a cream ale with the flavor profile of an orange creamsicle.  To say they nailed it is an understatement.  It's exactly what it sounds like and even more sublime and heavenly than you could imagine.  We really wanted to get a growler fill of this, but unfortunately you had to have a membership to their Reserve Society, which is a paid membership that comes with a few very rare bottles of some of their top beers as well as access to growler fills of beers that the general public can't take home with them.  It would be greatly worth the fee if we weren't so far away.

The Bruery

Our treats from Orange and Placentia

Humulus Lager by the Bruery (We got a growler of this hoppy lager)

Tumescence (Check out that color and lack of transparency!)

There's no doubt that we'll be back to both of these fine establishments and next time I'll take my nice camera to capture some pictures with a little better clarity, detail and in more quantity.

Tasting Notes - The Beginning

Prisoners of Carbonation

Alison and I love beer.  We drink quite a bit of it and have been drinking it since before we were even legally allowed to.  Who hasn't?  Beer is something that can be just what it is: bubbly alcohol water, or it can be something that can reflect a myriad of flavors, textures and adventure.  We've started down the path of craft beer and I think we're far too deep in the forest to find our way out, but I'm cool with that.

We've written about our adventures to Stone Brewery before, so we've been aware of craft beer and some of the breweries that are out there.  Lately, however, we've really been seeking out different beers, becoming loyal to certain breweries and finding liquor stores and tap rooms that specialize in beer brewed with more than mass production in mind.  It's become a bit of a compulsion.

Going through the process of selecting beer based on style, tasting notes or even by brewery is like hitting the Thrify's for ice cream as a kid, except now we have a bit more of an adventurous pallate.  We've substituted mint chip waffle cones in for a delicious vanilla-infused smoked porter.  Done away with our Heineken 12-packs and are now bringing home a half dozen 22-ounce bottles that cover the spectrum of beer styles from Saison to Stout.  Nothing can be more than vanilla than drinking a 6-pack or 12-pack of the same thing weekend in and weekend out, but let's be clear that we're not above an ice-cold Budweiser either.

I understand that some people like familiarity, but it's like having the same entree every time you go to your favorite restaurant or only enjoying pepperoni pizza.  I have stopped enjoying my beer as if I were a child who refuses to eat anything that is not 'plain'.  I like food that is seasoned, covered, smothered and drenched in flavor.  Therefore, I will take my beer in similar fashion.  If I'm going to drink beer on the weekends and spend my hard earned money on a mental vacation, I might as well be sitting on the beach rather than on a cruise-ship with the masses as they pass by said beach in a homogenous floating can.

I wanted to recant and write something about not being a beer snob, but I've come to the realization that I am.  I embrace that label and I know there are many others out there as well.  I'm not the most seasoned in writing tasting notes, but I do understand the vocabulary and styles of beer.  So instead of really explaining the nuiances, I'll just try and give a surface-level explanation of what each beer has to offer.

We haven't been updating this thing too often, but maybe if we start writing about the beer we enjoy, maybe we will start writing about the food we cook and the restaurants we visit again.  So here goes our attempt at sharing our beer tasting adventures of late.

Modern Times is a brewery that we've been seeing a lot of as of late.  With their clean and appealing graphics design and clear explanation of the beer inside, we've found these guys to do a great job at making a good beer.  Pictured above is the Black House, which is a coffee stout that we found very enjoyable.  Some coffee stouts tend to lack the flavor you'd expect or wind up being over-the-top in sweetness, but we found this to be nicely balanced with a rich stout body and smooth coffee finish.

Mikkeller SpontanGooseberry is a crisp and delicious Lambic with a light sour bite.  A lot of people that haven't tried sour beer find it off-putting, but once you give it a chance it will grow on you.  Kind of like how I didn't start eating salad until I was 20.

Another Mikkeller offering we enjoyed was their Milk Stout.  Whenever I try to explain a stout to someone, the most relate-able stout they know is Guinness.  Stouts can be much more just like this Milk Stout.  The glass is dirty in the above picture and it's pissing me off.

Le Trappe Jubalaris was a tasty Belgian Ale, which is actually the only Dutch brewery that makes Trappist beer.  There are only 10 breweries on the world that are allowed to use the term 'Trappist', which means the beer was brewed in a monestary and to specific standards.  Does that make the beer tasting experience better?  You bet it does!

Stone Cali-Belgique is a fun beer.  It's an IPA, but with a Belgian spin.  Basically a nice, hoppy presence with the spices that are familiar to a Belgian beer.

 Mother Earth Brewery has a handful of great beers, but Cali-Creamin' was the first beer we tried by them and were immediately in love.  Cali-Creamin' is a cream ale that has a sweet finish akin to a cream soda such as A&W.  It's a pretty cool flavor to find in a beer, but it's not overly sweet to where the beer itself becomes a novelty.  Whenever we see this one around we try and grab it, and more often than not it's the last one on the shelf.

There were a few more beers we planned to write about, but who has time to write about beer when there's only so much time in the day where one can drink beer?

Wyoming Adventure: Denver

The last night of our Wyoming journey brought us into Denver, Colorado.  I've heard a lot about their breweries, which were abundant near our hotel.  The first thing the concierge gave us was a set of drinking coupons for a handful of the breweries when we asked about good places to eat and drink.  Not a bad start to checking out the town.

Since we were pretty much in and out of the city in less than 24 hours, we really weren't too eager to hit every brewery and all, but we did manage to eat a bit and imbibe in some local suds.

The first place we hit up was a local pizza joint called Marco's Coal-Fired Pizzeria.  The place was packed and Zagat-rated, which is surprising for a pizza place.  Although, after dining we could see why it earned such accolades.  With a bountiful selection of local craft beers and gourmet pizzas, we were in the right place.  We got down with a few Great Divide beers, some apps and tasty pies.

Coal-Fired Limoncello Chicken Wings

The Hell's Kitchen

The Toscana

A Beer

After our dinner we wandered down the street to see what kind of bar we could saddle up to.  We saw a few dives, a whiskey bar that looked like trouble and then found our spot: Scruffy Murphy's.  Ol's Scruffy's had the normal approach to an Irish-themed bar planted in the middle of a downtown area.  Although the decor was a little more authentic than normal as well as the whiskey and beer selection.  We found ourselves at the bottom of a few pints here and then headed off to find our beds.

The next day, Alison and I had plenty of time to kill since our flight didn't head back to LAX until about 7 PM.  It was time to use our drink coupons.  I have been guilty of sitting on writing this article for a while now, but from what I can remember, the breweries that really stood out to me were Great Divide and Breckenridge.  Breckenridge actually stood out the most due to the fact we had a pretty cool bartender that I got into talking shop about film and video with.  He also kept our glasses full with delicious beer selections.

So, from Utah to Idaho to Wyoming to Colorado, the trip was now complete and time to head back to sunny Los Angeles, which was nice since we were leaving Colorado in the middle of a heavy downpour.  Almost as if the heaven's were mourning the end of our vacation.