Bootlegger's Brewery 6th Anniversary Celebration

I'll never forget the first time I had beer from Bootlegger's Brewery.  I was at a friend's birthday party and she told me she had some beer from a brewery that was just up the street from her house.  Of course, being at a party where the beer is free, I had to try some!  I may or may not have had more than my fair share of Old World Hefeweizen.  I was amazed at how flavorful the beer was and ended up liking it a lot more than my usual beer of choice.  My friend told me, in between my sips of all of her beer, that Bootlegger's was a small brewery that was located in what looked like somebody's garage.  I just kept thinking to myself, beer that's made in a small place like someone's garage?

Thanks to Bootlegger's Brewery, I had my first taste of craft beer all those years ago.  If it wasn't for Bootlegger's Brewery, I may never have found the light that is craft beer!  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the sixth anniversary celebration of Bootlegger's Brewery.  The event was located as it has the past two years at the lovely Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton.  The setting is beautiful, making you forget that you are in Orange County.  The event featured several local breweries as well as those from other parts of California and even some from out of state, like Ninkasi Brewing.  Besides glorious beer, there were a great selection of food trucks, games, live music, and of course a mechanical bull.  Cause, what beer event is complete without a chance to test your skills on a mechanical bull?

Since the Muckenthaler occupies such a large area, jockey boxes and beer pouring stations were spread out all over the vast lawns and garden areas.  Although over 1,100 tickets were sold, it never once felt crowded while mingling with fellow craft beer enthusiasts.  The lines at all of the various vendors were never more than a few moments long, which of course helped the day to run smoothly.  Bootlegger's brought 61 beers to share with their loyal fans.  Among them were variations of their standard beers as well as beers that were only available at the anniversary.  My favorite beer of the day was the 2011 Imperial Black Phoenix.  I've had this beer before and it definitely keeps improving with age.

Thanks to Bootlegger's Brewery for putting together another amazing event, I can't wait to see what the future has in store and to celebrate again next year!

Opening Day at Angel Stadium

Yesterday I had the chance to visit one of my favorite places, Angel Stadium for Opening Day!  Of course, I had to start off my adventure by visiting one of my favorite local breweries, Noble Ale Works.  Since Opening Day coincided with an Anaheim Ducks game, it was a bit crowded. But, I never mind waiting for good, local, craft beer!  I decided to have one of my favorite beers, Big Whig IPA.  I also had a chance to sample a newer beer made by Noble, Simcoe Showers, a tasty DIPA.  

Big Whig IPA

After a quick walk over to the Big A, I was eager to check out one of the craft beer stands in the stadium, Draft Pick.  Draft Pick is located on the field level of the stadium on the third base side of the stadium, near Gate 2.  Last year, I wrote about the craft beer options at the stadium, and was curious to see what changes had been made during the off-season.  I was pleasantly surprised to see so many more options available!  Last year, there were six craft beer breweries available at the stadium.  This year there are now twelve!  
The breweries available at Draft Pick include: Stone Brewing Co, Saint Archer Brewery, Hangar 24 Brewery,  Golden Road Brewing, Karl Strauss Brewing, Rough Draft Brewing Company,  Firestone Walker Brewing Company, New Belgium Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing, Bootlegger's Brewery, Goose Island Brewery, and Kona Brewing Co.  Even more exciting to me, is that nine of the twelve breweries are from California.
The prices of the beer are pretty reasonable, $12.75 for 24 ounces of delicious craft beer.

So many great beers available at Draft Pick!

After grabbing some beers, next stop was one of my favorite places to view a baseball game at Angel Stadium, the left field pavilion.  I love the great view this area offers!  Opening Day never ceases to amaze me with all of the special events, such as the amazing U.S. flag which nearly fills the entire field. 

I kept looking up in the sky for a flyover, but then realized instead of a flyover, there would be people parachuting!  The Navy Parachute team, the Leap Frogs arrived right before 7:00 and were awesome.  As a Navy brat, it made my heart so happy to see the Navy represented at Angel Stadium!  

All the feels.

Even though the Angels didn't win the game, I still had a fantastic time at the game.  I can't wait for the rest of the season!

Goodnight, Big A, see you next time!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Today is one of my most favorite days of the year, besides of course, my birthday.  In case you live under a rock, or are not a fan of America's Favorite Pastime, today is the Opening Day of the MLB season.

Opening Day, 2012

Even though I am now an Anaheim Angels fan (yes, I know officially they have another name...), I grew up in San Diego and am so thankful that my parents introduced me to one of the loves of my life from an early age.  I still vividly remember my dad taking me to our local Sears to purchase my first Padres hat.  I was so happy to wear that hat!  I'm pretty sure it's still at my mom's house because I save everything.  My mom used to always say that I loved going to baseball games because I was allowed to yell as loudly as I wanted to.  Where else can you tease other people because they love another team?  

Opening Day is of course, a new beginning for teams.  Although sports analysts make predictions as to who will have the best season, who will make the play-offs, and ultimately who may win the World Series, I don't really pay attention to those announcements.  Of course, I love when my favorite teams win games and when they are leaders in their divisions, but I also simply love the game.  Nothing beats grabbing a dog and a beer at my favorite stadiums and watching a baseball game.

Bottle Logic Brewing

Last night, I had the opportunity to visit Anahiem's newest craft brewery, Bottle Logic Brewing.  Located in a small industrial area, it is easy to find, located off of a major street, La Palma Avenue.  There is ample parking both on the street as well as a few spots directly adjacent to the brewery and tasting room.

Upon entering Bottle Logic's tasting room, I was immediately in awe of all of their careful attention to detail.  They obviously are big fans of science and gadgets, as is shown throughout the decor of their tasting room.  A small patio in the front of the building greets visitors.  There is also ample seating at the bar as well as at small tables throughout the tasting room.  Bottle Logic's tasting room is definitely someplace I can see myself visiting on a regular basis with my friends.

They had four beers on tap, and I was able to try each of them.  I thought it was great that they had four different styles of beer, to better ensure that there is something for everyone's diverse tastes.  The first beer that I tried, She Shot First, is a 4.7% ABV Pale Wheat Ale.  This is a beer that I can picture myself drinking on warm summer days.  The second beer, Double Actuator is a Double IPA, coming in at 9% ABV.  Although the beer is 9% ABV, it hardly seemed like it when I was drinking it.


The third beer I had, Tattered Prince, is a 7% ABV French Style Saison.  As with the previous two beers I tried, I really enjoyed the flavors of the Tattered Prince.  The final beer I tried last night, the Mother Heifer is a 5% ABV Milk Stout.  Milk Stouts are not generally a style that I find myself enjoying on a regular basis, but Mother Heifer is a new exception.

Overall, I found all four of the beers to be amazingly delicious.  While tasting the delicious beers, those in attendance also had the opportunity to check out the brew house.  It's always interesting to see where beer is made.

After last night's trip to Bottle Logic, I'm already looking forward to my next opportunity to visit.  Bottle Logic Brewing's Grand Opening is this Saturday, February, 15th.  They will be open from 12 p.m. until 11 p.m..  On Sunday they will also be open, from 12 p.m. until 8 p.m. and on Monday from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m..
I can't wait to see what Anaheim's newest craft brewery has in store!