The Craft Beer Apprentice

It's been forever. I know. But I've been busy hitting the weights and hitting the books on top of working. This is the first beer I've had in a long time, and though I almost went for a pumpkin ale, I decided to go with something dark and decadent: @ballastpointbrewing #thecommodore #americanstout. Tons of roasted malt character dominate the nose and palate with hints of chocolate, a bit of earthy hop character, and a subtle smokiness to lead into the dry finish. Leaves an aftertaste akin to espresso. Tasty! #craftbeer #ballastpoint #darkbeer #stout #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

Haven't been to this place in forever due to bad experiences with off notes. But a taster and pint in and it seems the issue has been remedied. Not too long ago, @bnsbrewinganddistilling took home a gold medal for their Revolver #IPA. Revolver is super lemony, grassy, and floral, finishing really dry. A slightly prickly mouthfeel makes this #beer a good thirst quencher. #americanipa #craftbeer #sandiegocraftbeer #bnsbrewing #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer (at BNS Brewery)

What a time to be alive: virtual reality gaming is coming to life, a new Jupiter mission is underway, a reality TV star is running for POTUS, and @arrogantbastard has released a #pilsner! Named #whoyoucallinwussie, the Bastard takes the maimed Pilsner style and adds to it its unabashed arrogance, delivering an aggressively hopped beer. This ain't your daddy's Pilsner. If you prefer Bud, Coors, or Miller, this beer may be too much for you to handle. The Bastard gave this #beer a heavy noble hop character, seeking to enlighten beer drinkers as to what a Pilsner with FLAVOR tastes like. Step aside, macro fanatics; this Bastard's NOT meant for you. #arrogantbastard #craftpilsner #craftbeer #stonebrewing #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

@ballastpointbrewing #victoryatsea #imperialporter Coffee Only edition. 2014 vintage. Normally VaS has a bit of heat on the back end, but age has smoothed over the booziness, creating an easy-sipping #darkbeer. Personally, I think I prefer this version of VaS without the vanilla bean, but then again, I've never had the standard version aged for two years. But hey, good to know this #beer ages nicely! #craftbeer #ballastpoint #ballastpointbrewing #sandiegocraftbeer #porter #coffeebeer #craftbeernotcrapbeer

Pulled another of my cellar beers out tonight. Had a rough night at work. This beautiful beer from @greenflashbeer @cellar3 is a red wine barrel-aged #saison fermented with brettanomyces and spiced with orange peel, ginger, grains of paradise, and plum purée. On the nose, we get hints of spice, grapes, wood, clove, plum, funk, acidity, and a bit of bright orange from the combination of spices. The beer tastes very tart and follows the nose, giving off a slight nuttiness akin to almonds. Though sour, the acidic nature of this beer doesn't linger and cause you to make funny faces. Being over a year old, this beer evolved wonderfully and the brett matured nicely, becoming nice and mellow. Well done, #cellar3. #naturamorta #greenflash #greenflashbrewing #barrelagedbeer #craftbeer #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

Here's the latest from @belchingbeaver. #herecomesmango is a mango-infused #ipa rising from supply & demand issues regarding Great Lei. A light-colored, unfiltered IPA, HCM starts off on the nose with big mango character followed by hints of orange, passionfruit, and a bit of tangerine. The taste follows the nose, blasting your mouth with juicy mango and finishing nice and dry. The sweetness of the mango gives a little bit of balance to the bitterness where the subtle malt profile falls short. Super tasty IPA. It also helps that this is a super fresh bottle (only 12 days old). #craftbeer #belchingbeaver #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

Stopped by @burning.beard.brewing earlier today to see how the place has evolved since the soft open when I last visited. The menu has expanded quite a bit since then. Pictured here is Circle of Hops, a San Diego-style #americanpaleale. At 37 IBUs, this #paleale has a little bite to it but remains plenty drinkable. Notes of lemon, grass, and pine swarm the palate with a super dry finish. Not a lot of perceivable malt character here. Sorry, malt lovers. This one's more for the hop heads! #burningbeardbrewing #craftbeer #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer (at Burning Beard Brewing)

The #paleale style has had a few tweaks to it in recent years, with newer variants being a little hoppier than the classic pale ales of the 80s and 90s. A few years ago, Stone reworked their Pale Ale recipe and gave it a hoppier recipe and AleSmith introduced .394. Then out of a homebrewing contest, @ballastpointbrewing brought upon the scene #grunionpaleale. Named after the local fish that come up on the shore to mate, Grunion is much hoppier compared to the pale ale-inspired Cali Kölsch, featuring bright notes of melon, lemon, grape, and berries with a pleasantly dry finish. You'll get a little bit of bitterness on the end, but it doesn't linger as long as an IPA. A super refreshing beer if you're looking for something a little milder than an IPA this summer. Definitely hitting the spot during this muggy heat wave happening in my neck of the woods! #ballastpoint #ballastpointbrewing #craftbeer #americanpaleale #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

Day drinking with zero shame at @helixbrewingco today. Noticed a newer #doubleipa on the menu called Aspersa, featuring Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops, giving off notes of mango, peach, pineapple, grapefruit, and a hint of dankness, sweetened up a little by a hearty malt backbone that doesn't get sticky or cloying, finally ending with a dry finish. Pretty well-balanced if you ask me. Check it out! #helixbrewingco #drinkhelix #craftbeer #sandiegocraftbeer #dipa #americanipa #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

The week is over. I'm having a beer to celebrate. Been craving an #ipa and tonight, @kneedeepbrewingco delivers with #breakingbud. Pretty citrus and fruit-forward hop profile with hints of tangerine, lemon, melon, and a clean, refreshing bitterness that does not longer very long. The malt balance is pretty superb. With this incoming summer heat, this may be the beer you're looking for to beat that heat and quench your thirst. #kneedeepbrewing #craftbeer #westcoastipa #americanipa #indiapaleale #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

After-work #beer with coworker's. Having a #darkbeer because I like to stand out in the San Diego bars (pretty much everyone drinks IPAs here). This is @kneedeepbrewingco #stoutella, a #sweetstout that reminds me of Cocoa Puffs. Not surprised that this beer is so amazing. #kneedeepbrewing makes really good stuff. #craftbeer #westcoastcraftbeer #stout #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

#irishredale is one of my top 5 favorite beer styles. I like those toasty, nutty, toffee-like malt flavors that leave a sweet finish. This one comes from @strikebrewingco, called Colossus of Clout. This beer pours a ruby red with an off-white head. On the nose we have hints of coffee, nuts, caramel, and toffee. To me, this #beer tastes a lot like a caramel macchiato with the way the flavors come together. The caramel notes are really rich and dance with the roasted malt character. The beer finishes pretty sweet, as you might imagine with this style. Overall, I must say this is an excellent Irish Red Ale in my book. I would definitely purchase more of this in the future. Well done, #strikebrewingco! ¡Salud! 🍻 #craftbeer #westcoastcraftbeer #redale #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

Two of my favorite hop varieties are Mosaic and Citra, and this @alpinebeerco Hop Boxed #ipa uses both! A pretty tasty IPA featuring notes of mango, pineapple, orange, grapefruit, and melon with a mildly floral character. Goes down super dry with very little malt character. #alpinebeerco #craftbeer #sandiegoipa #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer (at Alpine Beer Company Pub)

This should be a treat. @brewrebellion maple bacon #brownale. I've seen these beers around town before, but finally came around to picking up a bottle after hearing the beers aren't just a bunch of gimmicky products (unlike a certain other brewery who shall not be mentioned). This #beer pours a true brown color with a tan head well-retained by a decent amount of carbonation. Notes of smoke, caramel, chocolate, and maple make up the aroma. The first thing you taste is the smoke, the most prominent characteristic of this beer, followed by the maple, then finishing off a little roasty. The maple notes prevent this beer from being bone dry, and the smokiness lingers for awhile. After letting the beer sit for awhile, more of the maple comes through on the back end. Overall, I'm intrigued and even a little impressed by this beer and can't wait to review more #brewrebellion beers in the future. #craftbeer #darkbeer #maplesyrup #bacon #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

(Sorry for the copious amount of image edits. The lighting is terrible in my bedroom) I've tried @mikehessbrewing before and, to be honest, nothing was exactly impressionable save for a Vienna lager brewed with cold-brew coffee. But while at Costco earlier today, I came across this beer: #infinityplus1 #tripleipa. Triple #IPAs always get me curious and I've had three prior to this one, all absurdly hoppy with barely any perceivable malt character. This one, however, is interesting. On the nose we have a pretty decent amount of malt character, giving way to notes of caramel and toast, followed by a pungent floral aroma leading into layers of citrus. The malt character comes through fairly well when tasting this beer, with the hop profile giving way to a blast of grapefruit followed by an intense floral character, then ending with pine while leaving a rather resinous, lingering bitterness. Overall, I have to say I like the unique malt profile of this #beer. Whereas a lot of double and triple IPAs merely have a malt sweetness to combat the hop bitterness, this one has an actual malt flavor to keep this beer interesting. Not too shabby. #craftbeer #mikehessbrewing #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer

@stonebrewingco #xocoveza aged for six months poured into my favorite glass for dark beers, my @purebrewing brandy snifter. The alcohol warmth has pretty much disappeared. The beer is much more intense in chocolate and coffee character and the spice has mellowed a bit to support the aforementioned notes. Nice to see this beer gets a lot smoother and ages fairly well. #craftbeer #stonebrewing #darkbeer #agedbeer #sandiegocraftbeer #drinkcraftnotcrap #craftbeernotcrapbeer