Rock & Roll Happy Hour

It's been a desert island beer for me since they first started making it 5 years a go! McIlhenney's Muntz New Zealand Rye is a hazy looking beer that it all craft and no hype. It's murky appearance is 100% derived from the insane amount of Nectaron and Nelson Sauvin hops infused in this easy drinking Rye IPA. It also pairs really well with bread and butter pickles and BBQ sauce if you find yourself in Flinn Springs.

The Pinberries taste like Pineberries! A recent addition to the McIlhenney line-up and a new favorite in the tasting room. Pineberry West Coast IPA is an intensly pine-forward beer that almost does a 180 on your palate with a berry-like finish. It's truly a beer that will wear your elbow out as you'll want to experience that flip over and over again.

Memorial Weekend is upon us and that means it's time for a McIlhenney Brewing Anniversary! Year 5 bring all the festivities you'd expect from our East County friends like a easy drinking triple IPA, but before that gets underway on Friday we've got a few other beers to enjoy like Jamie's external favorite, Brite Light Helles. She and Shawn explains what makes this beer so special.

We wrap up the week with Culture Brewing and a truly one of a kind collab with Coastal Roots Farm in Encinitas. A Spring seasonal beer that features handpicked elderflower from Coastal Roots creating a fruity and floral IPA. Best part, a portion of the proceeds from each beer goes to support Coast Roots efforts.

Taking a break from the hops for a truly South of the border inspired beverage. Jason and Larry from Culture Brewing show off their Hispanic flare with La Cerveza Mexican stytle lager.

A hazy Wednesday needs a hazy beer and Jason and Larry from Culture Brewing brough Coastal Haze! A hazy not like some of the other tropical bombs out there, there is something distinctly more dank about this beer and it just might be because of current head brewer Jasons' past.

You might have heard the phrase "a little bit country and a little bit rock & roll." Today's beer follows that being a little bit old school and a little bit new school. Culture Brewing's Mosaic IPA has all that upfront flora aroma you'd expect with a beer with Mosaic hops but also hides a subtle bitterness that dries the beer up on the backend like an OG West Coast IPA.

There has been a lot brewing at Culture and it's more then just the beer! It's been forever since we've had anyone from the brewrey swing by and we're fixing that this week as Jason and Larry drop by all week to talk about what's happening in their tasting rooms and their brew house. We start light and crisp with their interperation of a Blonde ale called Solana Blonde.

Closing the week with Chris and Ryan from SouthNorte with a drink that has become more and more popular as more premium tequilas hit the market. With tequila, lime and grapefruit soda the Paloma is a refreshing and less sweet alternative to a margarita. IMO it's a perfect way to kick off a weekend with your friends.

Chris and Ryan from SouthNorte might have brought my new favorite go-to spirit and soda beverage. After the introduction of the Hibiscus Lime yestrday, today's Tequila Soda with Orange has no right being this good! Subtle tequila flavor with a hint of orange essence that it's more akin to expressing orange peel over an old Fashioned then drinking tequila and orange juice and that's just the way I like it!

With a warm weekend on the horizon Chris and Ryan from SouthNorte brought the ultimate refreshing cocktail a Hibiscus Lime Tequila soda. If a vodka soda is your go to this is a beverage you need to try, like a carbonated glass of agua de Jamaica with a suble hint of tequila...this might just become you new summertime cocktail.

It's Cinco De Mayo! Time to celebrate with a drink that draws its origins back to Ensenada Mexico! Ryan from SouthNorte who once lived there bring all the inspirations of a freshsly made South of the border margarita to a can near you!

It's Cinco De Mayo week! That means we're going to explore some of the locally made RTD cocktials with a South of the border flair. SouthNorte joins us all week to show off their popular line of beverages. We start with the Matador, big on pineapple flavor with a surprising lack of boozyness given the 7% AVB.

Our final pepper beer of the week, designed not be punishing but almost like a desert. Nickel Beer Co's Serrano Stout features both roasted and raw Serrano peppers aged in a bourbon barrel. Dark complex with a subtle pepper flavor and almost no heat, this is the kind of beer you want to let warm up just a little to experince all the flavors it has to offer.

This is gonna be the one that hurts! Tom alluded all week that there was going to be one beer that would light me up and today he's brought Nickel Beer Co's Death Tongue IPA. Made from locally grown Devi's Tongue peppers, this IPA is very curious because it drinks very much like what you would expect from an IPA and then you get hit with the heat. It's a wild ride that will have you coming back for sip after sip after sip.

Not a San Diego beer, but a former San Diego brewer and now medal winner, 603 Where There Is Smoke There Is Fire is Tom's atempt to get me to enjoy a pepper AND smoke beer. I'm notoriously not a fan of smoked any beer, we'll see if this beer and some O'Brien's wings can sway my opinion.

It was a beer we had last year, but this year it has some gold hanging around it. As Tom Nickel continutes to torture me with pepper beers, he's brought OB Brewery's Couples Therapy. An odd duck at first glance being a Belgian Saison with roasted and green jalapeno peppers but once you taste it, you understand it's subtle complexity and how amazing it goes with food....like Fish Tacos from O'Brien's .

What first started as a way to tortue me, I've come to look forward to the time around Cino De Mayo and Tom Nickel's Pepper Beer Challenge. All week Tom tries to burn out my tast buds with a variety of pepper beers from around San Diego. We start light with a cult classic from Nicke Beer Company, Jalapeno Gold.

An 11% ABV stout has no right to be this smooth but as Tomme Arthur from The Lost Abbey puts it, they release the beer when it's ready and it's guaranteed to only get better as it ages. As we wrap up our Friday, we pour out one more beer, the deceptivly dangerous Serpent's Stout.

It's a beer that's almost as old as The Lost Abbey and as Tomme Arthur proves it's a style that stands the test of time. Carnevale Brett Saison is a Spring seasonal offering from the soon to be 20 year old brewery that is as good now as it will be years from now.

In true Tomme Arthur style we've skipped IPA and went right to Double IPA. Moral Codes takes Tomme's 30 years of brewing experience and 20 years of running The Lost Abbey and put it into liquid form. Strong, hoppy, with a gentle kiss of malt.

While San Diego is a hop driven city, it can't always be super floral and tropical...sometime you just need an easy drinking light beer. For the Lost Abbey, Noble Tendencies wasn't even a beer on the board in the tap room, it was a beer on tap for the brewer's to have a shifty. But good beers never stay hidden for long and soon it became a must-have tap room offering. One sip and you'll know why.

Another San Diego Brewery celebrating a landmark anniversary, The Lost Abbey turns 20 with a big party on May 9th! All this week we catch up with the man who's direction and vision has helmed the project from the start, Mr. Tomme Arthur. Our first beer an Italian Style Pilsner called Mopeds in Milan. Why that name? Tomme has a great story about that.

This beer should come with a warning label. Bay City's Jucci Gang Hazy Double IPA is a very deceptive drink because up front it's jucy and tropical with hints of candied oranges that drinks super smooth. Then you try and stand up after downing a pint only to realized that this beer is hiding 8.5% ABV among all that haze.

Sour beers can be an aquired taste and a little daunting for someone getting into craft beer. Where a lot of sour beers focus on the acidity, Bay City takes a different approach and hones in on the fruit for a more balaced sip. Ziggy Sourdust Passion Fruit Sour is a beer that has been in the tasting room for a while, it's now making its way into cans around San Diego just in time for Spring!

When you want an IPA that somewhere between an Non-Alcoholic version and the standard 6% faire, Bay City has you covered! Getaway Day IPA is a 3% ABV beer that deleivers on all the taste, aromas and expectations you have for a standard San Diego IPA but with half the alcohol.

Austin and Rob from Bay City Brewing brought a treat to wrap up a Tuesday! A beer that has been around but is now been dialed in and canned up, Peninsula Lager is an Amber Lager that pays homage to our neighbours to the South. Smooth, roasty and easy drinking this beer belongs next to tacos and some San Diego sunshine.

Baseball season is back and Bay City Brewing has one of the top spots in East Village to be at before a game! All week Austin and Rob stop in to talk about what fantastic liquid they'll be serving at the Faithfull prepare for another winning year. We start with a beer that for the first time ever is being poured at games, Fiesta Island Pilsner.

It's finally Friday and time for the beer that Mel and Tori promised at the beginning of the week! Last week they launched thier Rebelution Colab Courage to Grow IPA with a secret parking lot show with the band. In addtiton to the colaborative effort with the band; what makes this beer special is the usage of all organic hops along with it benifiting organic farmers.

Perfect for the start of Spring Baseball or to cover up why you smell like you just hot-boxed your car. Burgeon Beer dips into the terpene beer world with Faithful Fade, a Double Dry Hopped Hazy IPA packed full of Mosaic, Krush, Simcoe and Pineapple Express Terpenes. Yep! It smells like your uncle Nick's 'secret stash' but is ohh soo drinkable.

It's coming down the mountain! The latest in the Burgeon Beer Adventure Series, Mountain Mode IPA makes it mark onyour palate with a strong pine and citrus edge that gives way to the kind of IPA that will wear your elbow out because it'll keep you sipping over and over again.

Tori and Mel from Burgeon are back with a fresh twist on one of their brewer's favorite styles, the West Coast Pilsner. Named after brewer Anthony's Twin Fin obsession, Twin Fin West Coast Pilsner is thin and light easy drinking hoppy Pilsner that if incredibly deceptive when it comes to ABV.

Coming off some big wins during the SanDiegoBeer.News Awards and a big colab launch with Rebelution, Burgeon Beer has been crazy busy! This week Mel and Tori drop by to show off some of these beers they've been working on but first we get things started with ole' faithful, Carlsbad Crush Mosaic Pale Ale.

Save the biggest for last! Brendan from Coronado Brewing is back one last time with the biggest of the three beers in the Weekend Seriese. Big Weekend is a decietfully easy to drink Double IPA that as Brendan puts it is "very efficient" at almost 9% AVB. Release the weekend!

This beer you won't even find in the tasting room until tomorrow. The very latest in Coronado Brewing's Chasing Waves seriese, Bonanaz Mango IPA pays tribute to a Canadian surf break. But don't worry, there's no notes of maple syurp in this beer, it's a true mango fruit bomb that will have you coming back, again and again and again.

This is the crown jewel of the week! The latest addition to the Coronado Brewing Weekend Seriese, Hazy Weekend Hazy IPA. This Hazy monster is chalked full of Pineapple Express Terps (no THC) to give it a very distinct aroma and flavor. If you didn't think weed and hops were cousins before this beer? You'll know after you drink it!

Same long standing San Diego OC beer, but with a new look! Brendan from Coronado Brewing brought an old classic, Orange Ave a wheat beer that backs big notes of Orange and honey at a very drinky 5.2% ABV. The big twist comes in the new packaging that makes the beer jump off the shelf as much as the flavor does.

I've been trying to nail Brendan from Coronado Brewing down since the launch of their latest edition to the Weekend Seriese. This week he finally drops by the show to talk about Hazy Weekend, but before we get there we need to set a baseline for where the Weekend Seriese started, Weekend Vibes Hazy IPA. A San Diego style IPA packed with Mosaic, Citra and Simcoe held up by a light bodied beer makes this 6.8% AVB an easy all weekend crushing choice.

We wrap up the week with a beer that is a riff on a staff favorite. From Circle of hops the Burning Beard team amped up the hop profile to 11 and gave us Circle of Creeps! You'll want to get your hands on this beer first at the anniversary party this weekend because chances are the staff will make sure all the kegs of this blow first.

It's only appropriate that we sandwitch this beer between St. Patrick's Day and the next full moon, Burning Beard Full Moon Madness Irish Stout. In true Beard form this beer has a little more kick then your standard export stout and that's just the way Nicole likes it!

Gotta tease Dylan a little bit over this beer. His hatred of Hazy IPA's is known far and wide. But, today he's drinking happily. What flavor profile could make this stalwart loather of Hazy beers drink up? Listen and find out what makes Burning Beard Dreamer Deceiver Hazy IPA different.

Because a person can not survive on beer alone, sometime you need a hard seltzer like Burning Beard's Thin Fizzy! Created specificly for Nicole because she wanted a beer alternative behind the bar, this hard seltzer is light a bright with a perfect kiss of raspberry and a hint of lemon. With this beverage in hand you my be inspired to start up the mosh pit during a yacht rock cover from YARP during the Burning Beard 10th Anniversary party!

Who knew that the punks who startred a brewery in an industrial park in East County San Diego could make it to 10 years?! Well if you've seen the family they've built around them it's easy to understand why Burning Beard is celebrating thier 10 year anniversary this week and and are now looking forward to the next 10 years! The BB crew are marking the occation with a Yacht Rock Anniversary complete wtih bands and beers like today's Yacht Mata IPA that reflect the spirit of the people who make the beer, so strap in!

One more beer to wrap up the 6-pack of beers that Harland Brewing created for this years SanDiegoBeer.News Awards. A collab with the man himself, Mr. Brandon Hernandez! What style does this pillar of local beer choose? A West Coast Pale Ale! Once again letting the hops shine bright with just a little more malty backbone.

Here we go with "the big show" the West - West Coast IPA from Harland Brewing created for the SanDiegoBeer.News Awards. A fantastic example of how the West Coast IPA has come from a piney-reinous amber IPA to a bright-citriusy light bodied crusher!

Brandon from SanDiegoBeer.News bought this one as a tribute to his new favorite local watering hole, the brand new Harland Brewing 4-S Ranch. The beer 4-Simcoe Ranch IPA celebrates everything that is a form of Simcoe hops from Pellets to Dynaboost. If you think all that Simcoe would make the hop profile on this beer overpowering, you'd be wrong.

It was a spark of genius on the part of Harland brewers to break up the style by region. Today we try another beer from the SanDiegoBeer.News Awards 6-pack. Central - West Coast Pilsner, tapping breweries in the central area of San Diego to create a truly San Diego take on a hoppy pilsner.

It took someone like Brandon Hernandez who's been writing and promoting San Diego craft beer for years, to come along and put in the leg work in for an awards ceremony that acknowledges all the amazing hard work that goes into the local beer scene. Now in it's 6th year the San Diego Beer News awards are a highlight of the year where brewers and fans of beer can come toghter at a free event! This year Harland Brewing, the hosts of this years even put together a special 6-pack of beers that showcase all the different parts of San Diego. We start today in the North with a malty, let light and crushable Dark Lager.

This music is playing but the mics are still on, Tom Nickel decided to whip out a BONUS BEER for a Friday. As we sip on a nite cap of Nickel Beer 1348 Black Death, a barrel aged stout straitght out of the mad-mind of Tom and his assistant. This beer is not one to be drank too cool, let it sit and watch the flavors open up. The reward is a bourbon barrel aged beer that taste more like it came out of wine barrels.

We started the week with a Double IPA, we end the week with a Double IPA. As Tom and Tyson from O'Brien's has officialy kicked off thier St. Patrick's Day Weekend, we still take a break for Corned Beef Rubens and Irish Tot-Choes to toast with Pizza Port Brewing's Mongo Double IPA.

With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, Tom Nickel from Nickel Beer Co has brought in a cousin to the famous Guiness, but not the frothy nitro version you find in your local Irish pub but the squatty bottled Export version of Guiness. More ABV and a more robust drinking profile, if you want to drink something dark at O'Brien's for the holiday...this is it.