Hamburg Brewing - Hamburg, NY

For my 30th birthday I had a beer bus travel to 3 different local breweries. This was our second stop, out in Hamburg.  Out in the middle of no where was Hamburg Brewing. Plenty of parking.
Once we went in, there is a walkway, bathrooms and then you enter the taproom/restaurant.  It almost felt like a winery...very upscale looking..and with 25 semi-drunk people it almost seemed like we were out of place.

I got the 4 beer sampler that had the IPA, No Lux IPA, OMS Stout and the Derailer.  The two IPAs were good but nothing WOW.  The OMS Stout at only 5.3% didn't have much to it.  The Derailer was the stand out here.  It was a bourbon barrel stout and was fantastic!! It sticks to it's name since the next 2 hours was a blur and definetely derailed me. 

I would like to return here to eat, but great scenery outside even though it was a cold chilly early spring day, I can imagine in the summer it is beautiful! Very unique looking brewery. Check them out! www.hamburgbrewing.com/‎

Pizza Port - Carlsbad, CA & Solana Beach, CA

My last trip we hit up Pizza Port in Solana Beach and I was a big fan so this time we returned AND hit up the Carlsbad location also. 

Solana Beach was basically my same feelings as years ago.  Great location basically on the beach, good amount of space, great beer list. 

Carlsbad we spent much more time at.  We ordered two different pizzas..a ham/pineapple and a pepperoni.  Both were fantastic! Really fluffy and lots of flavor.  Was a big fan!

My one complaint about this place though is how crazy crowded it gets which I know isn't their fault! But lots of kids and arcade games.  Plus I wish they would have a better way of serving a sampler tray...it's literally a tray with 4 small glasses so it is very awkward to move through a bunch of kids.  Plus the ordering beer and ordering food stations bleed into each other, so that causes issues.

As for the beer, between both locations we had the following:
Poor Mans IPA
Raceway IPA
Pants Optional Pale
Grapefruit Puncher
Night Rider Stout
Z-Man Stout
Sippy Cup DIPA
Citra-R-Ama



The standout here was Citra-R-Ama, we went home with three growlers for the night and enjoyed every last sip! Lots of citrus taste and one of the best citra based IPAs I have ever had, highly recommend this beer if you can get your hands on it! The rest of the IPAs were all good, but none touched this one.  The stouts also were pretty good, but nothing too different then what I have had in the past.





This is a must see place when in San Diego. Any location will really do, but each has a different tap list which is updated online almost daily so be sure to check ahead of time! www.pizzaport.com

Belching Beaver Brewery - San Diego, CA

We were killing time walking around San Diego, so after the Poor House, we stopped around the corner at the Belching Beaver Brewery. They were just opening, so it was dead. Really nice inside with lots of space. 

Bartender was real helpful and nice.  I went with the 4 beer sampler, there was a choice for 6 but 4 was enough for me at that point.  I tried Dammed! DIPA, Rabid Beaver Bite Rye IPA,  Ivan The Terrible Belgian Session IPA, and Hop Highway IPA.  I didn't take notes, but none were TERRIBLE.  I recall Hop Highway was my favorite of them all, it was light and hoppy.  I also had a taste of my brothers beer which was their Peanut Butter Stout which seemed to be one of the hits at the brewery...not that was what a peanut butter stout should taste like! For that flavor of beer, they killed it!




I bought a t-shirt for my girlfriend, they had a somewhat limited selection.  But with open garage doors, sunlight and pretty good beer it is a great local brewery! Same as other San Diego breweries however...it doesn't match up to some of the best ones.  If this brewery was in most other cities, it would be fantastic, but being in San Diego it has a lot of stiff competetion! But definetely worth a visit..belchinbeaver.com

Poor House Brewing - San Diego

On a day with time to kill due to San Diego brewery and bars awkward schedules we found ourselves in the Poor House Brewing neighborhood to decided to drop in.  They had just opened. This place really is the "poor house."  There was a curtain covering the adjacent room (which the bartender said is under construction to expand the bar).  The tasting room was very small with just the bar with some stools, some window seating and a shuffle board table. 

Our bartender was very nice and seemed to enjoy working there.  She said they are currently trying to expand the tasting room, but it is a work in progress..long progress. 

As for the beer I got a 4 beer sampler and had the Experimental Batch no. 6 IPA, Bitter Side Imperial IPA, Cluster Fukk IPA, and 30 Hop IPA.  None were HORRIBLE, but none were AMAZING.  The stand out for me was either 30 Hop or No. 6. 

Just like Mike Hess Brewing, minus the ambiance, this place is cool to check out another San Diego brewery, but with some many in the city this wouldn't be my top of the list.  But hey..check them out if you have the time! www.poorhousebrew.com

Mike Hess Brewing - San Diego, CA

We were in San Diego to try some of the best beer in the country! While we were killing time til a local bar opened with a great tap list, we stumbled upon Mike Hess Brewing and checked them out. Apparently it used to be called simply Hess Brewing, but Mike I think wanted some more attention. 

The facility itself is beautiful. You walk down a narrow bridge that overlooks the brewing process.  Upon entering the tasting room, you see lots of seating and a giant bar in the corner.  The seating and the ambiance is quite nice. 

I ordered a sampler, which came with 5 beers AND you get a free beer glass, great deal! I had the Unite Pale Ale which was sweet but tasty, Habitus Rye IPA was okay a little too sweet for me, Solis Occassus IPA was the best beer I had...pretty hoppy, Deceptio Black IPA was good, and the Umbrix Rye Imperial Stout was shockingly VERY good (the bartender recommended this one).

They bottle a lot of their beers.  The prices are low, they're open early, the ambiance is great, great location, good merchandise, their beer for me just didn't match up to some of the better San Diego breweries...but as a local hang out place heck yeah! Check them out...www.hessbrewing.com/‎

Societe Brewing Co - San Diego, CA

Hands out, best brewery in San Diego (in my opinion).  We got to visit the brewery twice.  This place has already made it's spot in my top 5 favorites of all time.  Leading into this trip, we already knew this place would be awesome. Their beer, The Pupil, had already made it into the top 10 IPAs on beeradvocate. 
So we headed there our first day in town, very exciting, and got to visit once more on our last day there. The building itself is in a business park area. The first day we went parking was scarce because so many people were there for work around the area.  But when we went back it was a Sunday and barely anyone in sight.

When you walk in, you just see a giant open space.  They have a nice L shaped bar with a massive chalkboard beer menu above the taps. 

For food, they do not make any, but they have food trucks very often and have food menus that allow you to order out from local take out places.

Their awesome art work for each of their beers.

But now onto the most important part...the beer! They serve their beer in 12oz glasses.  Each beer is $4. You also can get 2 tasters at a time that are $1 a piece.  I either tasted or had a glass of just about all the beers. Let me review them one by one...

The Pupil...as good as expected. A very hoppy, 7.5% IPA that was just incredible.  I can see why it is top 10.
The Apprentice...same as The Pupil it is 7.5%, it has a different taste to it but in my opinion it is just as good as The Pupil.  I loved this beer!
The Publican...5.5% pale ale, very hoppy and very good!
The Dandy...6.2% IPA, we got a growler of this along with The Pupil that first night and loved it! Which leaves us now with 3 IPAs that I had no complaints about...hence why I love this place.
The Pugilist..5.2% Dry Stout, for the % it is fantastic! Very tasty.
The Haberdasher...5.2% English IPA, I never really like any beer with the word English in it and unfortunately even Societe couldn't change that. It was okay, but my love for their other beers was too much to enjoy this whatsoever.
The Bellowsman...6.2% Smoked Stout, definitely got the smoke taste but wasn't overpowering, a GREAT stout.
The Butcher...9.8% Imperial Stout. Fantastic Imp Stout. No complains at all, this was a great beer.

They had a few others but I am not a fan of strong ales and belgians.  But if you can't tell, I tried 8 of their beers and only 1 was OKAY. The rest ranged from good to very good to amazing and that is rare for a brewery.  This place in the next couple years will be extremely well known! As long as they keep doing what their doing.
As for merchandise, they sold 2 types of glasses..a goblet and a 12oz tall glass.  Stickers, and stainless steel growlers. Visit them and check them out...www.societebrewing.com/

San Diego Beer Trip 2014

My brother lives in San Diego and me, and my other brother, took a 5 day trip to visit him in April.  Now I must say before I start reviewing the breweries we visited..hands out the best beer city for hopheads! We went to a couple AMAZING breweries and then a couple average...but even the average are as good or better than then the majority of breweries I have visited across the country.  Now if you read my blog, you will know I have already posted many San Diego breweries when I went a few years back.  We went to Stone, Ballast Point, Pizza Port and Alpine.  But I did not have the appreciation for beer then that I have now.  I got the chance to revisit Alpine and Pizza Port, on top of many other great breweries that I will now review.  But if you like hoppy beers and nice weather, visit San Diego!