Rock & Roll Happy Hour

A good night out always starts with an Awarness Management plan and and Awarness Management Session IPA. Jim and the crew from Home Brew Mart have created a fantastic session IPA that cuts back on the ABV but none of the flavor and allows you to plan your evening accordingly.

The legendary Home Brew Mart in Linda Vista is bringing the Home back to Home Brewing! Jim joins me all week to talk about what they are brewing now that they have seprated from Ballast Point. We start by going back to Jim's Wisconsin roots with a homage to Spotted Cow, a beer they call, Dream Vacation in the Dells.

A porter in Summertime? Yep! Dan from Little Bird Brewing has flexed the balance in his beers and it shows with this Coco Bird Coconut Porter. With just enough coconut flavor and aroma to balance out the maltyness of the beer you get a perfect drinkabale balance in warm or cooler weather.

Warning: things are about to get a little heady into the brewing process, which is alright! Dan From Little Bird Brewing breaks down his thoughts an ideas when it comes to making the popular Hazy IPA with Hazy Bird Hazy IPA.

In today's beer world most people will reach for a light yellow beer when it's hot out. But a long time before now there was another light in body but flavorful and dark beer that people would reach for, the ESP or in this case an English Pale. Dark on color but huge on both flavor and drinkability Little Bird Brewing's West Kensington will transport you back in time where it would all "start in a tavern" and still keep you refreshed.

Community is a big thing for Little Bird Brewing, being right in the middle of a neighborhood. It's a meeting place, a place to tell stories, a place to get away for a bit or just get to know your neighbors. No surpise the people who are always there are just as important as the beer. Today's beer the Nestor IPA takes its name from a beloved regular who loved this beer.

That little space on the corner of Thorn St & 32nd has going through a lot of changes and it's currently being reinvented again. This week Dan from Little Bird Brewing talks about the transition from Thorn St Brewing and what to expect in the tasting room at Little Bird. We start with something he knows a lot about, a Mexican Style Lager called Solita.

Can a snooty cocktail like an espresso Martini be "pinkies up" but still uber-crushable? The way Smile Spirits puts it together it 100% can be. Wrapping up the week with another 7% ABV beverage that is lighter then your massive 15% canned cocktail. The Smile Espressso Martini isn't the end of the night, it's the start of your afternoon.

Don't let the "Spicy" in the Smile Spicy Vodka Mule put you off. A recipe that came from batching cocktails as fast as you could pour them out and realizing that when the peppers don't sit on the liquid for long you get all the flavor and none of the punch!

It's been a Summertime favorite for me the Lemonade Tea Vodka. When you're out and it's hot its just the right about of sweet to tea and at 7% ABV you can have a few with out worrying about taking a nap on the 12th hole.

It's harder then you think to put a simple cocktail in a can. If you've been to a bar ever, you know that a cranberry vokda is an absoulte staple. It's flavorful, delicious and gets you where you need to be. But, sometimes when you try and put a delicate flavor like cranberry in a can it can come off a little like cough syurp. Smile hits a homerun with with their Cranberry Vodka Soda, that taste like you just ordered it from your favorite hole in the wall.

Mitchell happend to be in the studios after a Last Call a few weeks back and we all "had a taste" of what Smile Cocktails was doing. Honestly, we all had a blast! So, this week Mitchell is back for a feature of his own. Smile fills that void between 10% cocktials and 5% seltzer and we start with the extremly popular Pineapple Orange Vokda Soda.

Coming from a background in coffee and beer the beer that Dan from TapRoom choose to end the week with its hitting home. The Breakfast Klub Vol. 2 is a beer with 4 different versions each sporting a different coffee varietal and I will tell you this 10% AVB beer could change the way you do brunch forever.

It's a West Coast IPA in the same way Moria was just "a mine." As Dan from TapRoom continues to show off what he can do with hops, he goes back to back with West Cost IPAs but MoonWabbler is most certianly in a class all of it's own. He digs into why and why this beer belongs on your table next time you're at TapRoom having a meal.

The hoppy love-fest continues today as we move from hazy beers to a Gold Medal winning West Coast IPA. A New Zealand hop focused WCIPA called Modern Love is a liquid love letter to San Diego's hop obession.

I should have been running the mics before we started today's beer, Dan from TapRoom is like having a secret brewers notebook filled with the best versions of past styles. Today we get into one of the most popular beers at TapRoom, PB Hazy. It' pays homage to the original Hazy beers that made their way to the West Coast from New England.

It's been 5ish years in the making to get Dan from TapRoom in the Alt 94/9 studios but we made it happen! All week we're diving into the beers he's cranking outta the North Park brewery. We start with a throwback collaboration with Living Haus Brewing outta Portland Oregon that takes inspo from a San Diego favorite from a few years back.

At the begining of the week Mo from Deft Brewing said they focused on three regions of beer styles: British, Germanic and Belgian. Up to this point we've yet to see a Belgian, so Mo is making up for lost time with a 10% ABV monster Belgian Quad called DeftCon 4.

It's one of the hottest days in July (so far) and Mo from Deft Brewing brings a Porter?! It's OK, Porters happen to be one of my favorite styles of beer and at one point in history more common then you're standard IPA. We get into a little history and a little style with Deft Brewing's Dawn of the Deft Porter.

Mo from Deft Brewing threw down the gauntlet AGAIN! What at first glance I thought was going to be another malty beer, he flipped the table and threw some hops at me. DeftHopt Red is one of three different inspirations for Deft Brewing's IPA offereings and like the beers showcased before is a real treat in a glass.

Mo from Deft is flexing the brewery's style prowess yet again with a beer I'm not sure we've ever had on the program before or at least not under the name Scottish Export. MacDeft is a oddly satifying malty summertime beer, malty sweetness on the nose but a dry a flavorful finish.

It's kinda of like the "secret beer garden" of San Diego, tucked away in a small corner of Bay Park, Deft Brewing has been cranking out fantastic beers for more then a few years and they aren't just all IPAs. This week we explore a bunch of differenmt styles coming out of Deft and we start things off with their best selling Bay Park Blonde Ale.

Just because it's Summer, doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy a nice bold Imperial Stout. Another Nickel Beer Co award winner Constantine Imperial Stout rounds out the week as Tom brought some Nibble chocolates to pairing along with this robust yet easy drinking stout.

With the roots O'Brien's has is Futbol it only makes sense for Tom and Tyson to team up for a Nickel Beer Company and San Diego Brewing colab, Raise the Cup IPA!

This beer seems to keep popping back up on the show and for good reason, a medal winner at the beer fest and magical anytime beer Carlsbad Crush from Burgeon is true San Diego favorite. SD Fair Craft Beer Experience Curator Tom Nickel even has a very surprising comparison.

Tom and Tyson drop by with another award winner that you can find at the San Diego Craft Beer Experience at the SD Fair this year. OB Brewing is not a brewery that will be pidgon-holed into a single IPA sytle of brewing, they make a vast array for styles one of them perfect for the fair or the ocean breeze, Rooftop Hef.

Summer is here along with the San Diego County Fair and with that a brand new Craft Beer Experience curated by Tom Nickel and Tyson Blake. All week these to icons of local beer will showcase what you can expect to enjoy when you head to the fairgrounds, starting with an award winning beer from Tyson's on San Diego Brewing Company, San Diego Gold.

Wrapping up a week worth of breweries you'll find at Rhythm & Brews this June 28th we end with "The Party Planner" Kylie from Pure Project! We get one more sample of what to look forward to with a crushable San Diego beer that is a staple for summertime, Tropical Mist.

The song goes the first cut is the deepest, but when you put you hand where it doesn't belong that cut might take a pinky. Atleast that's the case for Roadies head brewer Peter. To mark the event and give a little levity they named their latest Hazy IPA Deepcuts. It's balance makes this a perfect festival that you can enjoy at this year's Rhythm & Brews.

Another person who has seen their fair share of Rhythm & Brews Festivals Kris from Prey Brewing was a part of the SDBG and helping with the planning of the event before COVID shut it down. Today he drops by the studio to talk about his experiences and preview what Prey Brewing will be pouring June 28th!

Burgeon Beer just dropped a brand new tasting room in Vista, so it makes sense to feature them today for the Rhythm & Brews festival! Pouring a staple to their line up and a beer you'll find at the festival, we toast to a Tuesday with Carlsbad Crush.

It's finally back after a long post COVID hiatus the San Diego Brewers Guild has brought back the Rhythm and Brews festival on June 28th! All week we're featuring different breweries who will be pouring at the event. We start the week off with the brewery that originated the festival, Mother Earh Brewing.

This week has been all about Duck Foot Brewing's 10 anniversary on Satruday but it's also been about their breweries diversity. One of the things that head brewer Matt excells in making true to form fresh Belgian style beer in San Diego. His take on a Belgian double shows off why this is such a popular style of beer across the pond.

At first glance the baloon dogs on the label of Duck Foot Brewing's Sour on Love is innocent enough, untill you look closer....kinda like this beer a Berliner weiss style with a metric ton of fresh pink guava and mango.

What came first the can art or the beer? Matt from Duck Foot Brewing's answer is "yes." Today we get into a very cirtus forward crushable IPA that is big on flavor, low on ABV and comes with a Price is RIght kinda twist.

Isn't this a punny beer for a Tuesday...Matt and Brett from Duck Foot are back again as we draw closer to their anniversary this weekend. Another beer from the Duck Foot arsenal is a very unexpected brew in both style and name as they introudce us Bowling Knight American Stout.

Hard to beleive that this weekend celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Duck Foot Brewing! One of the very first breweries to feature a full line up of gluten reduced beers, Duck Foot flexes on a very diverse line up of beers. We start this week's journey with a beer as iconic as the can art, 2 AM Tacos Mexican Style Lager.

Cody from Michi Brew Co saved the most intriguing for last. Chelan West Coast IPA again bucks the trend of where IPAs are going and blends it where IPAs have been. Blending the best of the origins of the West Coast IPA and what the West Coast IPA has become makes this beer nostalgic and new with every sip.

True to form what Michi Brew Co has been offering up all week, their Hazy IPA called Memphre is an experience all to its own. Where many local breweries take a West Coast hop forwardness to their brews, Cody goes for something more to how Hazy IPAs started out.

Another light and crushable beer served from Cody and Michi Brewing! Today he deleivers his take on a Mexican Style Lager, but he's got a few tricks in the brew process that set his apart from others you may have tried. Listen to find out what they are.

Cody from Michi Brew Co continues to impress with his light and crushable beers! After the XPA yesterday he doubled down with a Rice Lager called Akita that checks all the boxes!

San Diego has a new brewery in North County and they've got a big idently. Tapping into the robust local tiki community Michi Brew Co has been met with raucous fan faire. But it's not just all imagery, it's a lot to do with the beer as all week we hang out with Cody and talk about how Michi came to be. We start with a perfect style for Summer in San Diego and their XPA called Mungo.

It began today! A Memorial Day Weekend in San Diego and the real party is in Alpine at McIlhenny Brewing as all weekend they celebrate year 4. Just like last year Shawn and Jamie have brought a BIG special beer to wrap up the week and kick off their party, a very smooth an easy drinking Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine with the name Malt Head Mayhem.

It's hard to make a good IPA, its even harder to make a lot of good IPAs that all taste different! Shawn from McIlhenny Brewing does it with ease! A beer that started out as a collab with Burgeon Beer, Parallel Paradise has taken over a life all of it's own.

It's the "gateway" IPA you'll find at McIlhenny Brewing. Wizards Wand IPA is the beer bar tenders give to people who say, "I don't like IPAs" and the turn them into fanatics. It's easy to see why, light bodied and easly crushable, with low bitterness and a lot of hop flavor makes this a must have IPA.

Appologies to Jamie and Shawn from McIlhenny Brewing for accusing them of poking the smot in the parking lot, but the studio smells like marajuna! That's the magic of this new beer they are rolling out just in time for 4:20, I mean summer, Is really is how amazingly drinkable Nectaron Express is with that kinda sticky-icky armoa.

It's Memorial Weekend in San Diego so it's time for one thing, the McIlhenny 4th Anniversary Celebration! It's a 3-day Weekend long party that honors the tradition of family beer making! We start things off a beer perfect for the warming weather and Shawn explains exactly why their Brite Lites Helles is so damn intriguing.

Down to our last beer as Tom Nickel from Nickel Beer and O'Brien's fumbled the ball at the one yard line and forgot the chocolate pairing! He did bring the most important part of the evening, a inspired Serrano pepper infused version on Nickel Beer's Stonewall Stout.

IT really is amazing how many of these local brewers that make fantastic pepper beers tie back to one place. Tonight we explore that commonality over a Chipotle and Pasilla pepper Porter called Dark Knight. It's also paired with a very unexpected taco from O'Brien's

With pepper beers, food provides a lot of inspiration. For today's beer from OB Brewery it was the want to make the perfect "taco beer" and they did it in a very sneaky way. Mixing both raw and roasted jalapenos in a traditional Belgian Saison base beer makes this a sneaky beer with a lot of flavor! Of course we had to pair it with the huge flavor of O'Brien's Ahi Nachos.

It's like a bonus Cinco de Mayo! Taco Tuesday and a Jalapeno Lager from Weir Beer called Double Dog Dare Ya! It's a light crushable lager with a subtle pepper flavor with zero heat. This beer begs to be paired with a fish taco from O'Brien's...so that's exactly what we did!