Tustin Brewing Company

Last month our wives were doing a girls night so my buddy Brian and I went to Tustin Brewing Company here in Orange County.  Its on Newport Boulevard, just north of Irvine Boulevard.  We promptly ordered the flights of beer so we could sample a little of everything.

The flights come with (from lightest to darkest, right to left in the photo): Golden Spike Light Ale, Lemon Heights Hefeweizen, Americna Pale Ale, Red Hill Red, and Blimp Hanger Porter.

Brian had just given me the 33 Bottles of Beer book so we were diligently discussing each beer and creating flavor profiles of each.  As we were going through all this our waitress was intrigued.  We told her about these books and keeping track of all these beers.  She was either really weired out or impressed, but in any event, she brought us some Jacksons Double IPA on the house.  This is probably the only time in my life a place has given me a free drink.

Here's how the brews stacked up:

Golden Spike Light Ale - 22 IBUs, 5% ABV
Not much flavor, like a Coors light without the rice in it

Lemon Heights Hefeweizen - 18 IBUs, 5% ABV
My FAVORITE at TBC.  Great lemon flavor and very smooth.  It has much more citrus taste than a regular hefeweizen.

Ameircan Pale Ale - 45 IBUs, 6% ABV
Similar to a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but with a more distinct hop flavor.  I have more appreciation for this beer than the first time I went to TBC because I've branched out into different beers.  This is one of TBC's best ones in my opinion.

Red Hill Red - 26 IBUs, 6.8% ABV
Pretty malty but still has some hop flavor.  Its easy drinking with a toffee taste and a good body.

Blimp Hanger Porter - 26 IBUs, 5.4% ABV
This beer has a strong coffee taste.  Its light at first but then it has a heavy aftertaste.  Not my favorite but worth trying in a sampler.

Jackson's Double IPA - all I know is it was strong, and it was a special batch they don't normally do
Hoppy is an understatement for this one.  Its very floral with a long aftertaste.  If you like IPAs you'll probably like this one.  I'm more of a pale ale person so it was a little floral for my taste, but definitely worth trying.

Tustin Brewing Company is a great local brewery.  I had a burger that was pretty good.  Brian had a salad that was mediocre.  Really the best reason to go there is to enjoy a nice atmosphere and some good beer.  They have a nice brewing set up that's easy to check out since its right behind the bar.  They also have some casks going so I'm going to have to go back and check those out.

33 Bottles of Beer

For Christmas my bro-ham Brian got me 33 Bottles of Beer.  Not actual bottles of beer but little booklets where each page is a chart so you can keep track of the beers you drink, the states (IBU, APV, OG, TG), write notes, keep track of the serving type, keep track of a flavor wheel, and then give a rating on a five star scale.

The flavor wheel is pretty interesting.  It lets you rank beers based on alcoholic/solvent, dark fruit, citrus fruit, hoppy, floral, spicy, herbal, malty, toffee, burnt, sweet, sour, bitter, astringent, body, and linger.  The center of the wheel is 0 and the outside of the wheel is 5.  After you place all the dots you connect them and, BLAM you've got yourself a flavor profile.

Once you start ranking a bunch of beers its interesting to look back and compare how the flavor wheels compare to each other.  I've found that as I try more beers and reflect on their tastes I have more respect for the many varieties out there.  I know I've expanded my horizons.

These little books are pretty cheap.  Brian said he got them 3 for $10.  If you're a beer connoisseur of any level this is definitely a good way to explore, refine your tastes, and figure out what you really like and don't like.