that's my boy

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Originally uploaded by gregandchristine.

This weekend we returned to the Holiday Ale Festival. Colin Lars and I went Friday afternoon but it was crazy busy and there was no way I could let Colin run around , so we had a couple samples and decided to come back today with Christine. Last year we went around noon on Saturday and the place was dead, I was one of maybe 15 people drinking... this year it is sunny and about 15 degrees warmer so the place was already jammed. We tried all the rare beers we could take and skipped all the widely available ones. There wer a few one-off beers made for the festival that were pretty impressive. HOTD Jim was particularly good. Colin chugged a few glasses of rootbeer and was runnin gaorund like a lunitic and giving a lot of hugs.... I fear for his college years.

Bastards

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Originally uploaded by gregandchristine.

Stone Brewing recently celebrated 10 years of brewing bold beers and bad-ass attitude. Making a living out of daring people to drink their beer is working pretty well for them. I didn't get to check out their new digs in Escondido on this trip, but I couldn't leave without checking out their 10th anniversary beer. They made a special IPA for the occasion (I was hoping they would introduce some crazy new beer, but this fits with tradition). The beer smells warm and sweet, the body is smooth and lush, the 10%ABV burns, and the mountain of hops that went into it pucker your face. It tastes a little young, and I'm sure in a few months (maybe a few years) it will be an absolutely incredible beer. The alcohol burn detracts from the experience just a bit, but otherwise it is pretty awesome-- and much more balanced of an experience than I expected.. Definitely worth checking out while you still can. Stone's image may be a little over the top, but they don''t shy away from backing it up.