Six pounds of hops per barrel! A good looking beer which definitely lives up to the hype of being a hop bomb. For as bitter as it is, it is actually very drinkable.

We will be tapping it today!

If you are a hop head, this is the one for you. $6 for a 13oz pour.

This is a fresh as it can possibly get. Taste the true flavor of the hops before they degrade. We just tapped it this morning, Tuesday the 26th of February. It was bottled on the 22nd of February just four days ago. It is $6 for a 13oz pour.

From the Stone website:

• Style: Double IPA
• ABV: 9.4%
• Bottled On: 02.22.13
• Enjoy By Date: 04.01.13

You have in your hands a devastatingly fresh double IPA. While freshness is a key component of many beers – especially big, citrusy, floral IPAs – we’ve taken it further, a lot further, in this IPA. You see, we specifically brewed it NOT to last. We’ve not only gone to extensive lengths to ensure that you’re getting this beer in your hands within an extraordinarily short window, we made sure that the Enjoy By date isn’t randomly etched in tiny text somewhere on the label, to be overlooked by all but the most attentive of retailers and consumers. Instead, we’ve sent a clear message with the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right now to enjoy this IPA.

I am very proud to announce that our keg of 2012 Double Bastard Ale has just been tapped.

Double Bastard Ale received a rating of 100 from beeradvocate.com.

“Ye shall know the Bastard, and the Bastard shall set you Free.” So warns the label.

This Bastard begins with fulminating foam that shimmers and shines atop a cloudied copper body. What little light gets through isreflected along the bottom ridge of the glass.

The nose is distracted with quick whiffs of cider, grass, honey and raisin – it’s as if a farmers’ market farted. The paltate is washed out in a thin veneer of oat, malt and tangy hay that is supported by an intense backing of alcohol. The finish is sharp enough to cut your tongue.

There is thick and chewy mouthfeel that numbs you with an oily, yet gummy, maltiness.

No sessional quaff is this: it is for adult palates with enough sophistication to endure the complexity. At the end, this is a damn good beer that is worth the workout. Think of it as taking your palate to the gym. Note: it took two hours to finish a bomber of this magnificant Bastard.

It will be $6 for a 13 ounce pour.

We are excited to have tapped the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale at Pizza Lounge Huntington Beach. This beer definitely reminds you of October. It is crisp and refreshing with a hint of spices and pumpkin.

It is a full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar. Delicious balance of spices (nutmeg and cinnamon), fresh pumpkin, and roasted malt. Hints of brown sugar, sweet malt, and hops.

So come on down and get it while it lasts! It is $6 for a 16oz pour.

We will be serving Spaten Oktoberfest Beer the entire month of October at Pizza Lounge Huntington Beach. Spaten is the world’s first Oktoberfest beer. The only authentic way to drink this incredible seasonal beer, is to enjoy it from a one liter or half liter stein! The one liter beer will be $12 but you get to keep the stein. Refills are only $9. That’s a whopping 34 ounces of German fun. The half liter will be $8 with refills for only $5. The half liter equals 17 ounces of chicken dance accordion magic.

Supplies are limited, but we will try and order as many of these awesome souvenirs as you feel you can stuff into your cupboard.

We have been looking long and hard to find the perfect Double IPA to tap once the Drakes Denogginizer keg blows and we feel the Mission Shipwrecked Double IPA done in the San Diego style fits the bill.

The Mission Shipwrecked is a piney, citrusy DIPA that is very well balanced and easy to drink given the high ABV of 9.25%.

Here are the tasting notes:

Style: San Diego Style Double IPA
ABV: 9.25%
IBU: 75
Rate Beer Rating: 93

Appearance
Pours a slightly hazy dark orange amber with about half a finger of white head that dissapates slowly and leavs some spots of lacing.

Smell
A mix of piney and citrus hops right up front, with huge hints of sticky caramel sweetness. Slight hints of tropical fruit, mostly pineapple.

Taste
Huge blast of piney hops up front, quickly swallowed by a generous caramel and malt sweetness. The end offers a touch of citrus hop bite, also leaving a sticky resin feeling in the mouth with lingering sweetness from the malt.

Mouth Feel
A medium carbonation mouth feel, a bit slick and oily, coats the mouth with slight resiny bitterness. The alcohol is fairly well hidden here

Overall
It’s a big juicy hop bomb that delivers on what you want out of a DIPA.

I just has one the other night and it was really delicious. Here are some tasting notes:

Style: American Porter
ABV: 10%
IBU: 48
Rate Beer Rating: 96

Appearance
Pours a deep coffee brown, near black, with a finger of dense mocha colored foam. Head showed great retention with nice lacing.

Smell
Huge notes of vanilla extract, chocolate, and coffee with light hints of molasses.

Taste
Starts off with a mix of roasted chocolate malts with some caramel malts, vanilla, and a hint of dark fruit. Through the middle, some roasted coffee come through with some earthy hops, a touch of bitterness, and some more vanilla. The finish is a mix of roasted chocolate and coffee with vanilla, a touch of dark fruit, and a hint of booze.

Mouth Feel
Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth and a touch thick with a sweet, roasty, and warming finish.

Overall
Good vanilla, coffee, and chocolate flavors and they mix well together. Not super complicated, but a very solid porter.

Be the first of your friends to come down and try the latest concept in brewing from Stone. We have one very special keg of “Stone Enjoy By 09.21.12 IPA” arriving tomorrow, Tuesday the 21st and it will be tapped immediately. It is a Double IPA at 9.4% ABV.

This is a new concept in brewing. The hops in this beer will start to loose their hoppy flavor as the beer gets older thereby changing the intended taste of the beer. The keg we are getting was brewed on the 17th of August and we will be serving it four days after it was brewed! Once September 21st hits, we are instructed to pull it from the tap, making sure no one gets a stale sip of this stuff! Really cool concept.

Here is some info from Stone: “You have in your hands a devastatingly fresh double IPA. While freshness is a key component of many beers – especially big, citrusy, floral IPAs – we’ve taken it further, a lot further, in this IPA. You see, we specifically brewed it NOT to last. We’ve not only gone to extensive lengths to ensure that you’re getting this beer in your hands within an extraordinarily short window, we made sure that the Enjoy By date isn’t randomly etched in tiny text somewhere on the label, to be overlooked by all but the most attentive of retailers and consumers. Instead, we’ve sent a clear message with the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right now to enjoy this IPA.”

So there you have it, get down to Pizza Lounge in Huntington Beach for a rare opportunity to try the future in hoppy yummy-ness. I personally can’t wait.

We have tapped our one and only keg of Stone 16th Anniversary IPA. Come down and get yourself a glass before it is gone! Here is some information from Stone:

“The amount of rye malt we used isn’t quite enough to warrant the appellation “Rye IPA,” but it still adds hints of spiciness that contrast deliciously with the tropical fruit flavors and aromas of the Amarillo and Calypso hops. Add a few European specialty malts, some lemon verbena, and three more hop varieties to the mix, and you have a highly complex brew melding both bitter and fruity hop notes with rich toasted malt character punctuated by nuances of spicy rye and subtle lemon.”

As always with our limited special edition beers, it will go quick. It is $6 for a 13oz pour served in a Belgian tulip glass. Come down for happy hour Monday-Friday from 3-6 and you can get it for $5!

The lemon verbena adds a unique flavor to this style of beer and I highly recommend giving it a taste!

I just tried an amazing Belgian Strong Pale Ale last night. It was the AleSmith Horny Devil. Our friend and Stone distributor rep came in last night, smiled, and revealed a beautiful Champagne style bottle with red foil and the words “Horny Devil”. He presented it, popped the cap and poured what was a pale clear orange amber liquid with an amazing snow white one and a half finger head.

My first impression was “wow”! It had an incredible nose that contained a perfect combination of the Belgian spices that you would expect like coriander and notes of lemon zest. That was followed by a light body with full refreshing carbonation. Then I took a glance at the bottle and realized it was 11% alcohol by volume! I could not believe how well it masked all that alcohol with the smooth well balanced taste! This was definitely an excellent interpretation by a San Diego brewery of the Belgian Style made popular by Delerium Tremens.

Delerium Tremens has always been my go to Belgian Strong Pale Ale but I have to say, that the Horny Devil is now my favorite! So with a heavy heart, I have made the decision to continue carrying Delerium Tremens, but it will go back to being available in bottles while the Horny Devil takes its place on the draft beer line-up. I highly recommend you come down and try a glass once it is tapped.

From the cool Huntington Beach appropriate name “Horny Devil” to the 11% alcohol by volume, AleSmith Horny Devil is hands down one of the best Belgian Strong Pale Ales I have ever tried. Stay tuned for when we make it available!

Another great thing is that it is made in San Diego, making it much more affordable than Delerium. The Delerium currently is offered as an 8 ounce draft and we sell it for $7. The Horny Devil, is 2.5% higher in alcohol and will go for $6 per 13oz serving!