Two weeks now. Run out of all the new, cheap supermarket brews I could find; so my overall drinking is slowing down, but the quality is getting better.
New rates = 53, 35 being Californian. High number because of ‘flights’ and the aforementioned cheap supermarket hits.
Place reviews = 5, plus 1 update.
Two days without alcohol (both Monday’s).
Weather begining to get warmer and less wet. Hopefully hitting some new brewpubs/taprooms soon. Rating pace could go either way depending on which places we visit and our granddaughters mood!
Every time we come to California I am allowed one day to use the bus system for a pub crawl. Today it’s Orange County Bus 91. Laguna Hills to San Clemente. It costs $1:50 for an all day ticket if you over 60. Three places in the plan, hope to get into double figures of new rates (I know two of the places do flights) if all goes well. Sunny and warm, some walking involved, photos to follow.
Currently sat in The Cellar, which is an upper class wine bar with a decent beer list.
I am drinking a Masons Charley Hustle surrounded by ‘Painted Ladies’ and I mean both types. The annual Butterfly migration is in full flow as thousands of Painted Lady Butterflies head North to Oregeon from Southern California. The bar is full of beautiful tall long haired blondes and a fat bloke from Shropshire. Only one of us drinking beer!
Looks like a great way to have spent a few hours when non-babysitting. And great way to display what’s on, adding ‘try before its gone’ versus ‘try while it’s freshest’. Like that.
Granddaughter duties combined with hosting a post production party for the cast and crew of Hamlet (daughter was Ophelia) on Paddy’s Day has limited my ratings of new beers somewhat.
Managed to find over 50 Californian rates though, plus beers from another 12 States and 7 different countries. Weather has picked up and with the play now over my duties should calm down and some serious drinking could prevail for me.
If money was no object I could have walked out of there with 100 new beers, happy with my 11 though. I also visited a Deli near my daughters and found two new Argentine beers and a monster bottle of El Salvador Lager I’d not seen before. So a good day for adding to the house beers and my nights in on duty.
I have now managed 100 new beer rates and 1 cider tick since arriving in the USA (23 days ago)!
64 of those rates are Californian, the other 36 have come from 8 different countries and 14 different American States. I always look at the overseas selection in stores as they are usually beers that don’t export to the UK and I can get ‘cheap’ rates while adding to my country totals. No new country or states so far this time though.
In bars I tend to drink the draft stuff from other States before the local beers if there is a choice, but there are so many Californian breweries it’s often local beers on tap (usually new to me) and just one or two out of state options.
