I actually did it: travelled to a different place and went to a brewery. Namely, Burgeon Beer Co in Carlsbad (San Diego):
It had been almost two years since I did something like that when I went to Great Notion in Portland, November 2019.
Burgeon was great. Definitely one of those kind of taprooms where they figured out how to work in a drinking space amongst a brewery.
Then we went to Pure Project - Carlsbad Village:
This is one of Pure Project’s remote taprooms - no brewing on-site, just hanging out and drinking. Super clean and nice setup.
Two definitely different vibes when you’re talking a brewery taproom vs. remote taproom.
Brewery:
Loud. Lots of yelling and laughing. Things are a bit make-shift and we’re-making-this-up-as-we-go. Obnoxious in a good way.
Remote:
Chill. It’s built around getting you your beer so you can relax and check out the scene, hang with people.
Both have their place. Really like them near equally. It all depends on what you’re in the mood for. You are lucky if you’re in a town that has both.
Links To Beer
I kinda don’t understand what’s happening over at dcbeer.com but they ranked, like, 450 beers. I’m getting exhausted just thinking about reading all that so I won’t, but I HIGHLY respect the effort and thought you might want to check it out.
I Drank Buyout Beer And I Liked It?
Another thing I did last weekend that I had not done in forever is go to a music festival. Ohana Fest in Dana Point. I saw Beck and Pearl Jam (they were both damn good). A clip I took to get the vibe:
The ONLY beer there was Kona as it was the major sponsor of the festival.
Kona is independent in Hawaii but are owned by a large investment group, PV Brewing Partners, outside of Hawaii. So, it’s buyout beer when you’re having it in California.
Back in the day when Kona was Indie, I used to go through 12-packs of Fire Rock like a champ. Bells and I on Dorktown Podcast, almost exclusively drank them during the show for a long run.
So there is history for me. And it was the only beer. So I did it. I drank buyout-beer. Something I simply don’t do.
I confess, the Gold Cliff IPAs went down very easy.
Now to cleanse the palate, here is the next day with super Indie, Russian River and Burgeon and a plate of juicy tri-tip:
One Joke For The Road
Can’t beat a good Simpson character as a hop, bit.
Anyway, much appreciation for the read. Keep yourself safe out there and enjoy your beers and staring off into the distance with them.
-Mikey
Peace ✌️ Beer 🍻 and Metal 🤘
Remote tap rooms are often nicer as they can show more of the brewery personality as they are not limited on space due to brewing equipment. After more than four months at Sea, I would be happy to drink a beer anywhere.
Hopefully there will be some Celebration in a can left when I get home!