Rock & Roll Happy Hour

Sierra Nevada Harvest is universally accepted at the original wet hop IPA, but since they don't distribute that outside the brewery fans in San Diego have to make their own versions. Nickel Nickel from O'Brien's and Nickel Beer Co is one of those fans! Rolling out his own Harvest inspired beer, Children of the Rye plays on that Harvest inspiration but puts a little more kick in the malt bill with...

It's Wet Hop Season! Like grapes hops are harvest once a year and before they become pelletized, Cryo-ised and Dynaboosted growers will set a side a portion of the harvest to ship directly to the brewers so that the flower goes from cut to kettle within 24-48 hours. For brewers that like to play around with the different flavors that hops yeid, this is playtime! Tom Nickel from Nickel beer brings...

Peter from AleSmith teased us on Monday about this, a new cocktail in a can! Speedway Espresso Martini. A perfect nightcap for the evening; Vietnamese Coffee, vodka, demerara sugar and served under nitro makes this a classy way to wrap up the night or get one started.

AleSmith Speedway Stout is an iconic San Diego classic. Ominous dark color thanks to a hefty dose of malts and a healthy dose of coffee. This beer offers a wide open canvas for flavors and experiences. This variation features Vietnamese Coffee and Coconut!

AleSmith Party Tricks IPA on it's own is a fantastic IPA full of cirtus and passion fruit notes. During wet hop season you can take an already fantastic beer and kick it up a notch and that's what the brewers did! This brewery only Wet Hop Party Tricks IPA gives you all the expected flavor with this little added hint of lemon.

It always rises from the grave around this time, a beer so red that you might beleive it was brewed in blood. If you don't see it first you'll know it from it's intense aroma of pine and citrus, AleSmith's Evil Dead Red is back and we take a bite out of this hoppy seasonal beer that's perfect for your Halloween party.

It's been far too long since we've had Peter from AleSmith in the studio, so this week we get him to take a break and drink some beers as we get ready for the Rancho Beer-nardo festival this weekend. We kick things off with an amazingly crushable lager that might have you convinced that you're enjoying a Peach soda or maybe even a peach seltzer.

I'm my not so humble opinion I think I saved the best Oktoberfest beer for last. A brewery long rooted in it's German heritage, Karl Strauss' Oktoberfest offers the perfect balance of malty goodness, mixed with the perfect hop presence and a clean finish. If I'm holding a full stein at home, it's full of this beer.

So, I may have shopped a bit faster then I should have when picking up beers this week. I had originaly planned to feature a few Festbeirs and a few Marzen sytle beers. I THOUGHT when I saw Festival Lager on the can it was a Festbier, after opening the can and reading the rest of the label I was wrong...but in the best way possible. Let's get into Smog City's Smogtoberfest!

Take the godfather of Pale Ales and put them with a German brewer known for experimentation like Stortebeker and you're bound to get a beer that stands out from the pack! That's exactly what Sierra Nevada's Oktoberfest does. A traditional Marzen stytle Lager with all the matly/breadyness that you'd expect, mixed with a pronounced hop bitterness on the back end to help clean up all that perceived s...

Keeping with this week's quest to find Oktoberfest beers available at a store near you, I grabbed a sixer of AleSmith/AleSchmidt Oktoberfest Marzen Lager. For fans of more malt-forward beers, this traditional style Marzen always delievers in bolt and robust flavors but still light a very drinkable.

Flying solo this week due to a last minute brewery cancelation, I decided to dip into my own beer fridge and do a week of Okotberfest beers! There are a bunch of local options but I wanted to highlight some of the ones you'll find in the wild...today's I found just yesterday while shopping at Trader Joe's. Oktoberfest Festbier, brewered in Germany's own Flensburger Brauerei; this beer is a great j...

BONUS BEER! Not always does a brewery bring an extra beer, but when they do...we drink it! A super casual off-air conversation with Chris and Ryan from BattleMage over a Booze Bros. Collab Mexican Lager called Brujo Borracho or the drunken wizard.

Wrapping up the week of beers with BattleMage with a brand new core IPA, White Wolf. Packed with keep it simple hops and a dry finish, this beer is trouble because it makes you want to come back again, and again and again.

It's time for Pinball and Old Ales! Chris and Ryan are back with a 10% big ABV English Old Ale called Hooded Assassin. They also drop the detials about a rare pinball machine they have in the tasting room along with a weekly tournament!

Dungeons & Dragons is at the heart of what inspires BattleMage Brewing's creativty. That comes full circle with the inspiring Dungeon Masters who drink their beer and host campaigns at the brewery. So, brewers and DMs conspired together on a Hazy IPA that would become a pivotal moment and plot point in one of their latest games, roll initiative because your going into combat over this Angelic Betr...

Amber beers don't often take the main stage when it comes to beers of note, but BattleMage has crafted something truly unique with this award winner Amber called Summon Ifrit. Subtle toffee notes on the front end with a very dry clean finish aided by the right balance of hops makes this beer infinitely drinkable and a possible inspiration to summon a fire demon.

Ask any D&D player and they'll tell you any good journey starts in a tavern. For BattleMage Brewing, they built the tavern and coming in Ocotber their are "leveling up" to 8! All week Chris and Ryan from BattleMage join me in studio to talk about thier up coming anniversary, Octoberfest and collabs they've got coming out. We start with something, light, bright and crushable, Divine Light Blonde wi...

Its Santo Tequila Blanco turned up! Wrapping up our week with Ana from Santo Tequila, she is ending with a BANG! 110 Proof Blanco tequila that is an absolute creeper. It drinks just like their standard Blanco but with a little more perceived sweetness, mixing with this spirit will get you "there" fast. Exactly how fast? We'll have to ask Sammy.

They call it Mezquila First of Its Name. OK, maybe I added the last bit, but this one of a kind creation from Santo really does blend the best of both worlds. A Tequila with a "whisper of smoke" that adds depth to cocktails and could even woo whiskey drinkers away from their everyday sipper. Check out what makes Mezquila so unique.

Being a bourbon fan, this one had me at the nose! Of course, a tequila backed by Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri would have it cranked to 11! Spending double the required time in the barrel to classify it as an Anejo, this tequila offers all the depth of flavor you could ask for in a sippin' spirit with an unbelievable clean finish.

We're adding some barrel! Ana from Santo Tequila is back to up our I.Q. on what is "good" tequila. She points out what makes Santo part of only 30% of the tequila distillers out on the market and of course we do it with drink in hand, their Reposado is up on the tasting block today.

This weekend we party at the Adam's Avenue Street Fair with Santo Tequila at the Ould Sod! Ana from Santo Tequila joins me all week to give us a preview of what's to come! Being a tequila rookie, it feels kinda daunting, so Ana is taking it slow with their Blanco and a little info on what I should be looking for in the flavor.

We're no stranger to the Paper Plane, after being introduced to that cocktials years ago from CaseyHeartsCocktails, but Rich from Cask & Coast has put his subtle twist on the drink by changing up one ingredient. Find out what that is!

Rich drew the line at 5 incgredients, so today he just brought two. A simple mix of bourbon and ginger ale to highlight how easy bourbon is to get into and all the flavors in Batch 4.