Finals week is coming, students are probably all exhausted by all the projects and final exams. Fortunately, I found a good place to chill out a bit and to get away from the stressful atmosphere for a while. 38 Degrees Ale House & Grill  is located in Alhambra; it is a restaurant serves food and craft beers.  The reason why it is called 38° is because it has 38 taps, and also the beer is served at 38°. According to beeroftomorrow.com, 38° Ale House & Grill opened in 2009 by Clay Harding  and his partners, the lively restaurant and bar has become one of LA’s most well-regarded beer-centered eateries, and the reputation is well deserved.  If you are looking for a place to get away from all the school works, then this is a good place for you to release your stress and enjoy some beer.

 

Also, this place is a good news for football fans; they have special NFL Sunday Brunch, and all games are available in the restaurant all season long. Sadly, I am not a big fan of football, but I am a fan of beer. Every time when I am stressed out from school works, I like to go out and have a beer, watch people passing by the doors, enjoy the street views, and watch people interact with one and other.

 

They do offer tap samples if you cannot decide what beer you want to order; they also have 5oz. tasters of all taps.

I ordered a flight of four tasters.

1. 4 Hands/ Bale Breaker Sorry Not Sorry. Double IPA, 9.3% ABV
2. Russia River Pliny The Elder. Imperial IPA, 8.0% ABV
3. New Belgium (Lips Of Faith) Le Terroir Dry-hopped Sour Ale. American Wild Ale, 7.5% ABV
4. Deschutes Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale. American Pale Ale, 6.1% ABV

I also tried some samples.

1. Ironfire Judge, Jury And Ex American IPA, 11.2% ABV
2. Beachwood BBQ the Hops of Brixton. Ordinary Biter, 6.1% ABV
3. Angel City Jameson Barrel Aged Imperial Irish Red Ale. American Strong Ale, 15% ABV
   

   Finally

I like the Angel City Jameson Barrel Aged Imperial Irish Red Ale the most; I usually do not like sweet favor beer but this one is a must try. The taste spread out on your tongue when you drink it, and the taste of malt remains in your mouth for a while. Because I was going there alone and I have to drive so I did not order it. I will carpool with my friends next time so I can order this beer when I visit here again.

After tasting the beer and having lunch in such an amazing place, it is time to get back to the reality, finals and projects. My experience at 38° Ale House & Grill was terrific. It did draw me away from the finals and projects for a while.

Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill  has its own signature beer, Wood Ranch Honey Blonde. The Honey Blonde is a perfect match with their garlic bread. And also, they have their popular original sauce to serve with the garlic bread, which sets off the beer with sweetish taste when you pair it up with the garlic bread.

I decided to have thanksgiving dinner at Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill rather than having dinner at home this year, because the thanksgiving dinner takes so much time to prepare. It would not disappoint if you are looking for a place to have a thanksgiving gathering with friends and family.

The Bruery is a great place for beer lovers to have a gathering with friends or family. It is a boutique craft brewery located in Orange County, and  I would like to call it a hidden gem in Orange County; the reason why I called it a hidden gem is because its location. It is located all the way back of an industrial complex, and if you are paying enough attention, you should able to see one of their brewing tanks when you exit on S57-Orangethrope.

This place has over 30 beers on tap, and they also have a daily rotating food truck outside of the Brewery. The beer menu is listed from low intensity to high intensity, which is convenient for people to choose the level of intensity they would like to drink. If you are a first timer, I would recommend to get their beer flight and try five different types of beer at one time. The price is affordable. The small glass range from $1 to $3. I bought two rounds of flights and it only costed me around $20. They are also having canned food drive in November; people have to bring a can in order to purchase a special beer. Or you can donate $1 for charity instead of bringing in a can. I think this idea is great, people can drink and do charity at the same time. Their beers rotate regularly, so make sure you check out their website to see what they have available at the time before you hit the place.

It is always crowded here, especially during weekend. You can immediately experience the lively atmosphere when you walk into The Bruery. People are having a good time while they are drinking and socializing. They do not serve food, but they do sell snacks and give out free pretzel. You can see people are bringing food from the food truck, and the place is covered by the smell of beer and food.  They also provide tours for customers who are interested to in knowing more about their beer-making-process.

My first flight:

1. Hottenroth ABV: 3.1%
2. Levuds ABV: 9.6%
3. Autumn Maple ABV: 10%
4. BBA smoking Wood ABV: 13.3%
5. Ukulele ABV: 13.5%

My second flight:

1. Mischief ABV: 8.5%
2. Qude Tart 2015 ABV: 7.5%
3. 8 Maids-A-Milking ABV: 11.3%
4. Bottleworks XII 2013 ABV: 8%
5. Melange #1 2013 ABV: 11%

The interesting thing is the ABV does not reflect the intensity of the beer; the intensity reflects the beers’ deepness and richness.

It was an amazing experience at The Bruery, and I will definitely visit here again. I love all those beers I have tried on that day, and my favorite one was the 8 Maid-A-Milking, it was an Imperial Milk Stout . I will definitely check their website next time before I go there; they often have limited beer or new release beer on specific days.

All pictures taken by Chadwick Lo

Women tend to have less passion for beer than men do. They prefer white wine or mixed drinks rather than beer. Here is an option for women who want to drink beverage with low alcohol content. Lambic is a type of Belgian beer brewed with raw wheat and wild yeast in wooden casks.

Lindemans Pêche Lambic is a beer mixed with peach juice. And it is yeasted at least for a year. It tastes like fruit juice, but it comes with a little bitterness.

There are various fruits used to flavored lambic. Choose your favorite fruit lambic and share it with your friends.

**All pictures taken by Chadwick Lo

Every time I walk into a liquor store I tell myself to try something new rather than having the same beer over and over again. This time I picked Arrogant Bastard Ale, and hope it would surprise me. The reason why I chose this beer was because of its name, and the label. The label says “This is an aggressive ale. You probably won’t like it,” and it seems challenging to me. Apparently, everyone likes challenges, so I chose this beer without any hesitation. I also picked another beer, which is called Stone Cali-Belgique IPA. I picked this one because of the same reason I picked the first beer. On the bottle, it says “‘Cali’ hints that it is California-style IPA, and ‘Belgie’ (which is how ‘Belgium’s Dutch speakers say the name of their country); the French-speaking Belgians say ‘Belgique’”. It makes me curious what does a California Style IPA mixed with Belgian yeast taste like.

 

 

Arrogant Bastard Ale is different from all the ales I have ever tried. Its taste is stronger; however, it only contains 7.2% ABV. It tastes deeper and richer than the most beer I have ever had. It is a customized strong ale for the American, and it is the Stone Brewing Company‘s masterpiece to challenge the most popular mass-produced American Style Light Lager. I have to admit that the warning on the label is somehow true. It is an aggressive beer, and it’s not suitable for everyone. I bought it home and asked my sister to enjoy the beer with me, but she refused because she said the label is not attractive enough to bring up her curiosity. So I begged her to drink with me. Surprisingly, she started to drink the beer after I forced her to drink a first sip of it, and it turned out she kept drinking the beer. She said even it gets warmer but the taste still the same. I think she started to like stronger beer after I forced her to drink it. A quote from the CEO of the Stone Company Brewing, Greg Koch, “Fizzy Yellow Beer is for Wussies!”

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA is influenced by the Belgian style, and it contains Belgian yeast to create a new taste of IPA unlike any other regular IPA. Even though it adds the Belgium yeast but it still remains the taste of California style IPA, fruitiness, spiciness and sweetness. This Stone Cali-Belgique IPA tastes so different from the IPA from other brands. I decided to try the other beers of their brand and seek for more surprises after tasting the products of the Stone Brewing Company.

My sister and I enjoyed these two beer which I picked so much, and we plan to try more products of the Stone Brewing Company in the future. The beer actually tastes better when you acquire a company to enjoy it together.

All pictures taken by Chadwick Lo

The summer is about to end.  If you are trying to hold on the last days of late summer, a biscuit-like, sweetness malty beer FAT TIRE AMBER ALE might be a good choice for you.

Fat Tire recipe was delicately produced by Kim Jordan, and it was created during his bike trip to Europe. I love this beer except for its over popular name. Every time I look at the beer it reminds me belly fat or spare tire, which is exactly the problems of drinking beers.

The joyful moment of drinking beer is priceless. Therefore, my conclusion is to work out a lot when you drink too much Fat Tire!

All pictures taken by Chadwick Lo

Most people like drinking beer while they are having food or snacks, but for me, I like to drink IPAs beer by itself and enjoy the moment between me and IPAS. If you are looking for a strong beer the Hangar 24 Double IPA might be a good choice for you.

The IPA became one of my favorites beer a few years ago when my friends asked if I wanted to try some beers that are not as cold as a regular beer we used to have. I can still recall the first time I tried the IPA. It was an unforgettable experience. It tasted so much different than a domestic beer; it tasted richer and with flavor. I fell in love with strong beer after I had my first taste of the IPA. The difference between IPA and Double IPA (also called as Imperial) is the IPA usually has approximately 7.5% ABV. The Double IPA contains approximately 10% ABV and comes with malty flavors.

I check the forecast on daily basis, and it says that this weekend is raining, so I decided to go grab an IPA beer and stay at home and watch the rain drops and write my blog at the same time. So I went to BEVMO and picked up a Hangar 24 Double IPA beer to enjoy my weekend with this beer, and put all the stress away.

The Hangar 24 Double IPA was first presented to celebrate American Craft Beer Week in 2010. It was definitely good news for those who love IPA beer. And because it is all brewed with local orange blossom honey, it became a favorite of Southern Californians. It received three awards between 2011 and 2012. According to hopandwine. The IPA was invented by the British during the colonization of India. The intention for the IPA was to help the troops to overcome the sea voyage.

The IPAs are different from the domestic beer or any other lager. It does not have to be served in ice cold temperature. According to craftandbeerrestaurant ,  its recommend temperature is around 50° – 55° F. Even serve it at room temperature is also suitable for stronger beers like the Hangar 24 Double IPA. It is always good to have an ice cold beer in the summer, but the cold temperature of the beer might affects your sense of taste to enjoy a true beer. In other words, beers which have rich flavored, and high alcohol volume are suggested to serve at room temperature, and beers which have less flavor and low alcohol volume are suggested to serve at cold temperature.

In my opinion I prefer stronger beer with malty sweetness and in low temperature than beer at low temperature that affects your sense of taste and you have no idea what you just drank except for coldness. If you have not tried an IPA beer, the Hangar 24 Double IPA may be worth a try. Cheers.

*All photos taken by Lo