Lizard's Lair

Blind Lady Ale House and Pliny the Elder

A wonderful double IPA during the San Diego Beer Week at the Blind Lady Ale House.

Pliny the Elder is brewed by Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, California.

Their story on the name, who it is and about the beer:

Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer. Although not considered his most important work, Pliny and his contemporaries created the botanical name for hops, "Lupus salictarius", meaning wolf among scrubs." Hops at that time grew wild among willows, much like a wolf in the forest. Later the current botanical name, Humulus lupulus, was adopted. Pliny died in 79 AD while observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. He was immortalized by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, who continued his uncle's legacy by documenting much of what he observed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

8.0%ABV, 1.071 O.G

Gold Medal, 2006 World Beer Cup (Double IPA Category)
Gold Medal, 2005 GABF (Double IPA Category)

Bronze Medal, 2004 GABF (Double IPA Category)

Blind Lady Ale House and Pliny the Elder

A wonderful double IPA during the San Diego Beer Week at the Blind Lady Ale House.

Pliny the Elder is brewed by Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, California.

Their story on the name, who it is and about the beer:

Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer. Although not considered his most important work, Pliny and his contemporaries created the botanical name for hops, "Lupus salictarius", meaning wolf among scrubs." Hops at that time grew wild among willows, much like a wolf in the forest. Later the current botanical name, Humulus lupulus, was adopted. Pliny died in 79 AD while observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. He was immortalized by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, who continued his uncle's legacy by documenting much of what he observed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

8.0%ABV, 1.071 O.G

Gold Medal, 2006 World Beer Cup (Double IPA Category)
Gold Medal, 2005 GABF (Double IPA Category)

Bronze Medal, 2004 GABF (Double IPA Category)

Happy Halloween

Happy B-Day to Frank L too!

Hot Manzanillo Tea, shot of Captain Morgans and a shot of Jim Beam. I'm not sick now...feeling good!

Oppigards Golden Ale

At O'Briens with my brother Dave. A hoppy lager with a slight sour Belgian beer taste. 4 stars

More Beers in Japan

I decided to write a new blog post versus updating my original beers in japan post.

Another stout Japanese beer. Smooth malty taste, very good, 4 stars.

This was odd in that the menu said Hoppy Black, so it sounded good. I was given a mug with ice and some liquid on the bottom, maybe a little less than 1/4 of the glass. I thought it was water. The waiter explained that I should pour the bottle into the glass, I complied. I poured it in and stirred. Never had a beer like this, but it was OK. 3 stars.

Not only do I experience brand new Japanese beers, almost on a daily basis, sometimes, I run into a special place like Haldous Belgium Beer Bar in the Ginza district of Tokyo. I asked the bartender for a hoppy beer and this was it, Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor. It's a Belgian style IPA, 8% Alc.. It was delicious. 5 stars.

I next had a Hoegaarden Forbidden Fruit. Another super tasty beer. I want to point out that this beer bar in Tokyo took their beer seriously. They took great car how a beer was presented. I was given a matching glass, matching coaster, and the cap was given also. They took great care in pouring, I had to have patience to let them do their job. It was quite an experience. Great beer, pizza, and service. 8.5% alc. 5 stars.

My night cap. A Trappistes Rochefort 10, 11.3% alc. Wow, another great beer. Note the matching glass and coaster. These guys are great. 5 stars.

Wrapping up a great evening in Tokyo. Thanks for reading my blog. I have a great time writing it!

Beers in Japan

This Kirin Draft in a can was my first in Japan. I bought it from a vending machine inside Osaka Kansei Airport. Tasted like your average American lager. They use rice as one of their main grains too. 3 stars

Asahi Black, a great find at the first Japanese restaurant. A typical Osaka eatery serving Okonomiyaki. It's a mixture of eggs, a batter, vegetables, cheese, and shrimp or something similar. A cross between an omelette and a pancake. This is a typical grill-it-yourself place, where the waitress/cook comes to your table with the raw ingredients of your order, mixes it up in front of you and places it on the grill in the middle of the table. It starts cooking and you take care of it, flipping it until it's done. Fun, good food, and good beer, both the food and beer - 4 stars.

 

A Kirin draft served at the Osaka Hilton. I love the Japanese crackers. The pink ones were shrimp flavored.

 

This Suntory Premium Malt cost about 10% more than the regular beers at the AM/PM store next to the hotel. There wasn't a lot of difference in taste, maybe just a bit more malt taste. There's a lot of 7-11 stores in Japan too.

 

On the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo, I bought this beer at the station. The big cans are 500ml. It's a good size and stays cold on the train ride. Asahi "Super" Dry has a crisp lager taste. Easy and average - 3 stars.

 

The beverage cart girl was passing by my seat. I picked up this Sapporo. Average tasting lager - 3 stars.

The cart comes back again, this time it's a Kirin Beer. It says "Brewed for Good Times". You can see my adventure hat and Canon camera. Most of these beer shots are with my iPhone.

Yebisu, The Hop was another lager with bit more hops. I'll give them an extra star for trying - 4 stars.

 

While in Tokyo, I found another store with a bigger beer selection. Here's a Tokyo Black, it's a porter style. Very black, rich taste, delicious - 5 stars.

Lizard at the Alibaba in Yokohama

The picture is a little blurry, but I'm sure you can tell we are having a good time. Clockwise from me, Yoshiko, Miyuki, and Kawamura-san from our Yokohama office.

Kampai!

Sierra Nevada Empire Strikes Black

Extra black color, velvety taste, sweet malty, plum flavors with a hoppy tart finish. Delicious!!

O'Brien's Pub in San Diego specializes the local brewery's best beers, plus west coast breweries, and Belgium style beers, with an over 200 bottle selection. One of the best beer bars in one of the countries best beer cities, San Diego.

Taurino from El Salvador

An El Salvadoran beer that tastes pretty plain.

Ooh, ike a light beer, yuk!

Stone Pale Ale @ Petco

Padres winning 3-1, 9th inning, Peavy pitching.

Pliny the Elder

Light citrus taste, light golden color, hoppy tart bite, clean aftertaste.
At Hamilton's in San Diego.

Yokohama Brewery Weizen

Traditionally cloudy, unfiltered, very Belgium like. Citrusy.

Does This Look Healthy?

Post your comments, please.

2008 Alaskan Smoked Porter

Dark chocolate in both aroma and first taste. A hoppy nose and balanced malt makes for a delicious beer. Hooley's Irish Pub, La Mesa. Just opened.

Steelhead Double IPA

A delicious beer at my newest favorite bar, Press Box in Rancho San Diego!

Stone Black IPA

On a Sunday Morning...

Black Magic Stout - Oggi's

Oggi's Whiskey Stout

Pitch black color with a small creamy head. Smells is malt and alcohol. Smooth malty sweetness with a notable whiskey aftertaste.

Super Bowl Party, Spring Valley, California

Woo Hoo!

Big time party in the neighborhood. My best friend Greg brought a keg of Oceanside Ale Work's Pale Ale.

 

That's Greg in the Charger jersey. Greg's a grill  master. I have what's left of a rib. I'm wearing one of my favorite t-shirts, Stone Brewery's Oaked Arrogant Bastard.

There were only 3 serious beer drinkers at the party, Greg, myself, and my brother Dave.

 
We did our best to empty the keg.

I had left my 3 liter bottle of Oaked Arrogant Bastard at my friends  house from the last party. It needs a refill!

Last beer!

Seau's

Stone IPA at Seau's Restaurant in the Mission Valley area of San Diego. I'm with my cousin and nephew.

Savanna's Grill

Finishing off a great tasting Stone Brewing's Stone India Pale Ale. A 99 rating at RateBeer.com.

This brand new restaurant/bar has just been built and open since New Years. It hasn't had it's grand opening yet. This place is right around the corner from my house, overlooking Cottonwood Golf Course. It's very upscale, super nice inside and has a terrific bar and patio overlooking the golf course. My brother and I also had a bowl of their hearty vegetable soup and a calamari appetizer. Both were delicious. I'm coming back!

O'Brien's Pub revisited

One of my favorite beer bars in San Diego is O'Brien's Pub in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood.

View Larger Map

This is close to my work, and on an occasional lunch time, you will find me there. Above is a picture of Russian River Brewery's Pliny the Elder. A delicious double IPA with a funny name. RateBeer.com has it listed with a 100 rating!

O'Brien's proclaims itself the "Hoppiest Place on Earth". It always has the best beers on tap and bottle.

Friday Finca Family Fun!

Corvacier?

La Pinche Finca

Ummm, good!

Double Dead Guy Ale

Another great beer at my favorite beer bar in San Diego. This beer had an initial malt sweetness. There was no strong alcohol taste, though at 9% it was served in a 10 oz goblet. Totally smooth, like the Dead Guy Ale I love. 5 stars! Are my ears getting hot?

Victory Hop Devil @ San Diego Brewing Co

Deep golden color, strong hop aroma, balanced malt taste with a crisp hoppy bitterness finish. 4 stars

Firehouse Brewery

On New Year's Eve, my brother and I visited the new Firehouse Brewery near Quallcomm Stadium in San Diego. This brewery was started by firefighters who perfected their hobby in between saving lives. I like their Pale Ale and they have a good lineup.

Award winning!

San Diego Brewing Co.

Stone Brewey - Self Righteous!

Merry Christmas!

An excellent festive beer!

Brew House at Eastlake

Fresh IPA! & great food!

Hamilton's tavern

Awesome beer bar found!

A Smorgasbord of Beers!

All this in my ice chest!...empty now

Maximus!

Mmmmm...delicious!

En Fuego, Del Mar

Bar hopping!

Wild River Brewery

San Diego Brewing Company #2

I stopped there today with Greg to go over our road trip and sample some tasty beverages. It's my favorite beer bar for many reasons, but today they were out of my first two choices, their own brew Hopnotic and Bear's Republics' Racer 5 IPA. dammit...

The beertender poured 3/4's of my pint when the keg of Racer went out. It took her a while to figure out a solution to my thirsty situation. I finally asked her about what she was going to do with that 3/4 full pint of Racer IPA just sitting there. She said she'd give it to me and she was instantly my favorite person of  the moment.

The Racer was OK, definitely not exceptional. It's been knocked down a notch on my list today.

I scoured their bee selection looking for a winner. I spotted a Special Brew tap from Ballast Point Brewery, San Diego and asked about it. It was for their Sea Monster.

Aged in Jack Daniel barrels? It tasted knarly! Yuck!

R U Serious!!

 

I M Sirius!! Very much so. A very rich beer with a tangy malt taste.

OG 1.072
IBU 40.63
Alc 7.0

The Kronik!

 

Lagunitas Censored formally known as The Kronik.

I accidently put it in both beer and car shopping categories, but it kind of fits as it's one of my latest refreshments while I car shop on the Net.

It's got a rich dark copper hue, a sweet malt aroma and a nice balanced hop taste to make it a winner!

Try some today!

Blind Pig IPA

Enjoying lunch, beautiful day, good food- Mexican roast beef sandwich, Blind Pig IPA from Russian River Brewery was tasty too.

O'Brien's Pub

Hooley's

My favorite local irish pub.

Brewhouse at Eastlake

Went there with the family on Friday night, July 18th. Wife's idea for a dinner place to go. No complaints from me. I have been there a few times including their opening week. I drank their IPA and had their Shrimp Scampi, a pasta dish.

The IPA had a good hops aroma and a clean, crisp taste that left satisfaction when I sipped, then gulped it down. The shrimp scampi was regular, average. I'll come again.

San Diego Brewing Company

My current favorite beer bar in San Diego.

Beer of choice: Hopnotic, a great example of a San Diego style of an IPA!