2014, A Year of Amazing Adventures

2014 was another year filled with amazing adventures, from attending concerts, visiting new breweries, beer events, and of course drinking delicious beers.  Listed below are just a few of my highlights from 2014!

Favorite Events

1.  Sabroso Craft Beer and Taco Festival
Drinking beer while watching luchadores in a picturesque setting, this event was so much fun!

2.  Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest  
Of course, once again, my favorite beer event of the year and one I always look forward to all year long!

Favorite Beers

1.  Ska Brewing's Mexican Logger
A great beer for a warm summer day, I love how light and refreshing this beer tastes!

2.  Firestone Walker's Oaktoberfest
A beer that until last year was only available on draft, so happy to be able to get it in bottles at my local grocery store!

Favorite Shows

1.  Pixies
A year when the Pixies tour is a good year indeed.  Seeing them at Humphreys by the Bay in San Diego was fantastic.  

2.  Weezer
Seeing one of my all-time favorite bands was so much fun, loved that they played both old favorites as well as their new album in it's entirety!

Additional Highlights

1.  Bottle Logic Brewing
Who would've imagined a brewery opening in February winning a medal at the Great American Beer Festival in October?  Pretty amazing if you ask me!  It's been exciting to see Bottle Logic Brewing's success in less than a year's time.  I can't wait to attend their first anniversary celebration!

2.  Bootlegger's Brewery
So excited that the first brewery that introduced me to craft beer won not only one, but two medals at the Great American Beer Festival!  

3.  A Visit to Club 33 and Le Salon Nouveau
Craft beer inside Disneyland?  Luckily, I was able to drink a local favorite, Bootlegger's Brewery's Rustic Rye thanks to a kind friend.

I had such a great 2014 and look forward to many more fun-filled adventures in 2015!

Third Annual OC Brew Ho Ho

Are you ready to kick off the holiday season?  The third annual OC Brew Ho Ho is less than two weeks away on Saturday December 13th.  The Brew Ho Ho is a great way to spend time with friends and drink some amazing beers! 


Admission to the OC Brew Ho Ho includes:

• A commemorative tasting glass
• Special seasonal, winter, and holiday beers
• Unlimited two ounce samples of beer
• Brewery merchandise expo and shopping
• Enclosed seating area
• Opportunity to have photos with the big guy himself, SANTA
• Music provided by Sirus XM and KROQ radio DJ legend Mr. Richard Blade

Ticket prices:

• $55 for those who will be consuming beer 
• $10 for Designated Drivers
• Purchase tickets here.

Location:

• The Phoenix Club in Anaheim
• 1340 S Sanderson Ave, Anaheim, CA 92806

Time:

• Noon- 4 p.m.
• Ticket processing will begin at 11:15 a.m.

Breweries scheduled to attend include:

• Avery Brewing
• Ballast Point Brewing
• Barley Forge Brewing Co
• Beach City Brewery
• Beachwood Brewing
• Belching Beaver Brewery
• Black Market Brewing
• Bootlegger's Brewery
• Bottle Logic Brewing
• Cascade Brewing
• Cismontane
• Coronado Brewing Co
• Einstok Brewing Company
• Epic Brewing
• Firestone Walker
• Four Sons Brewing
• The Good Beer Company
• Great Divide Brewing Co
• Hangar 24
• Hoparazzi Brewing
• Julian Hard Cider
• Knee Deep Brewing Co.
• Lagunitas Brewing Company
• Left Coast Brewing
• Mission Brewery
• Modern Times
• Monkish Brewing
• Newport Beach Brewing Company
• Noble Ale Works
• North Coast Brewing Co
• Old Orange Brewing
• Pizza Port Brewing
• Ritual Brewing Co
• Saint Archer
• Shmaltz Brewing Company
• Smog City Brewing Co
• Sierra Nevada
• Stone Brewing Co
• Tustin Brewing Company
• Valiant Brewing

Food options include:

• The Burnt Truck
• Brewcakes
• The Cut
• Devilicious
• Dogzilla
• Garlic Scapes
• Porko Rico BBQ
• Slater's 50/50
• The Slidebar

As in past years, a collaboration beer has been made for the OC Brew Ho Ho.  This year, Black Market Brewing and Valiant Brewing have teamed up to create a Russian imperial stout, Chernyy Medved.  Chernyy Medved was brewed using cherries, vanilla, and oak staves. It sounds like the perfect beer for a cold winter day!

If you like yummy beer, having fun with friends, listening to great music, meeting Santa Claus, and eating delicious food, then you definitely need to attend the OC Brew Ho Ho!

November Adventures!

The Red Trolley at Disney California Adventure is all decked out for Christmas!

To say that November has been a busy month would be a huge understatement!  I can't believe it's already coming to an end and that December will be here in a few days.  I've been lucky to hang out with some of my favorite friends, drink some amazing beers, gone to a couple of rad shows, and of course gone to some pretty cool places.  One of my favorite events during November is San Diego Beer Week, although it isn't just one event, but numberous events throughout the week.  I was so happy that I was able to attend both the World's Biggest Bottle Share, located at various locations along 30th Street in North Park, and Ballast Point's Victory at Sea event at Hamilton's Tavern.  

Snazzy booklet to go along with the Weezer show!

WEEZER!

Beachwood is one of my favorite spots to meet up with friends!

     

Sharing Beach City Brewery's PCH at SDBW World's Biggest Bottle Share

One of the signature tastings at SDBW World's Biggest Bottle Share

SDBW World's Biggest Bottle Share, Polite Provisions

   

Mike Hess Brewing is RAD, so glad I finally got to visit!

  

One of my favorite SDBW events, Victory at Sea, Hamilton's Tavern

   

Viva Navidad at Disney California Adventure is SO much fun!

Sometimes, getting stuck on an attraction isn't such a bad thing.

I beat the bots and can't wait to see the Foo Fighters next year!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, Disney California Adventure

  

One of my favorite beers, Pliny the Elder, Toronado, San Diego

A perfect beer for Thanksgiving, Ska Brewing's Euphoria!

Firestone Walker XVIII Anniversary Party

Although I've been to many Firestone Walker events, last month was the first time I've attended an anniversary event.  From the check-in, prior to the beginning of the event to the selection of beers, I was incredibly impressed with the anniversary celebration!  Every event I've attended that has been put on by Firestone Walker Brewing is executed flawlessly.  The organizers of Firestone Walker's events definitely take a lot of time in planning to ensure that all attendees have a fantastic time.  Having the opportunity to sample different years of the anniversary beers from 13 to this year's XVIII was great.  Of course, for me, my favorite beer of the day was one of my favorite beers, PNC.  Along with the outstanding selection of beers, there were also various food stations as well as sweet treats such as cupcakes baked with Firestone Walker beers.  Live music, a cornhole tournament, and a photo booth provided entertainment throughout the day.  If you've never attended an event by Firestone Walker, I highly recommend it!  I can't wait until the next event that I'm able to attend. 

Check-in for attendees prior to the event.

Always a good idea to arrive before the start time of any beer event!

Gorgeous day to celebrate an 18th anniversary!

Admission to the event included either 3 or 6 bottles of Firestone's XVIII

PNC!

  

Mr. Robert French loves Firestone Walker!

A mellow crowd and lots of room to enjoy beers throughout the event.

Firestone Walker employees are always happy to share their beers!

Cupcakes made with beer?  Yes, please!

  

Cornhole tournament

  

Vintage beers!

Happy people enjoying beers.

Photo booth props

Cheers to 18 years, Firestone Walker!