And it's been a while since my last posting. Time to get back into the swing of things again and get caught up. There's a lot that has happened during the holidays and I've quaffed some really great beers!
First, I'll catch everyone up with some nuggets I was lucky enough to find around the holidays both just before and after. These are "top 10" or in some cases, "top 5" beers without a doubt. There is no specific order to these as I really don't believe in "numbering" my favorite beers. Why? Because I have found that my tastes tend to change from time to time based on a number of factors. First and foremost, I try not to imbibe in anything when i am not feeling well. That goes without saying. But there ARE those times when something is "off" on a particular day, such as my senses of smell and or taste.
Once in a while I do crack open a bottle and go for it anyway, only to realize later that something is not right, preventing me from enjoying the beer to it's fullest. This is in some ways good and bad -bad because an accurate review cannot be recorded, and good because that means I'll have to do it again in the near future when my taster and sniffer are "in sync" with each other and firing on all cylinders! But sometimes as luck would have it, I may only have access to a particular beer once if it's a certain vintage or extremely difficult to find. So care must be taken in consideration of tasting those.
To reiterate as in an earlier post, at this point I might point out several beers that I have found to be what I call my "holy grails", beers that from personal experience are "perfectly balanced" and have one of more qualities that stand out head and shoulders above the rest. And they do this consistently. Beers such as Stone 10th Anniversary, Doggie Claws, Hop Juice, Harmon Brewing's Rajah's Royal IPA, Stille Nacht, Gouden Carolus Grand Cru of the Emperor, Deschutes The Abyss and Mirror, Mirror, Green Flash Imperial IPA, Ballast Point Dorado and Sea Monster, Bourbon County Stout, and a few others you may or may not have heard of.
There will be reviews of some of these fantastic beers in future posts, as well as where to find them. In light of that, I must admit that we all have our "secrets" and I may or may not reveal some of these over time. So stay tuned and you might catch me leaking a few of these secrets so you can get your hands on a few of these "precious gems" you just can't get at your favorite local store or Bevmo. After all, that's what this blog is all about. Sharing my imbibing experiences and where I found them!
Ps. In all fairness, it should be noted that in certain situations, some of the beers reviewed or referred to in this blog cannot be found here in San Gabriel Valley -or anywhere else in Southern California due to the fact that they are not distributed here. Yet. So what do I do? NETWORK! For example, I have someone trustworthy (who also beers like I do) with whom I occasionally exchange a "box of goodies" via a well known shipping company. He lives in a completely different part of the country (west coast) and has access to certain beers that simply are not distributed here, and vice versa. So we both get to indulge in some of the best beers every crafted.
There will be reviews of some of these fantastic beers in future posts, as well as where to find them. In light of that, I must admit that we all have our "secrets" and I may or may not reveal some of these over time. So stay tuned and you might catch me leaking a few of these secrets so you can get your hands on a few of these "precious gems" you just can't get at your favorite local store or Bevmo. After all, that's what this blog is all about. Sharing my imbibing experiences and where I found them!
Ps. In all fairness, it should be noted that in certain situations, some of the beers reviewed or referred to in this blog cannot be found here in San Gabriel Valley -or anywhere else in Southern California due to the fact that they are not distributed here. Yet. So what do I do? NETWORK! For example, I have someone trustworthy (who also beers like I do) with whom I occasionally exchange a "box of goodies" via a well known shipping company. He lives in a completely different part of the country (west coast) and has access to certain beers that simply are not distributed here, and vice versa. So we both get to indulge in some of the best beers every crafted.
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