The Bruery 3rd Anniversary Celebration

On Sunday May 29th my beer bud Dale and I went to the Phoenix Club in Anaheim for The Bruery’s 3rd Anniversary, we had perfect weather for a Sunday beer outing, all part of the Memorial Day weekend. The event overall was great and we certainly had a good share of beers, lines moved fast and for the most part it was well organized. The events profits went all to charity and there were even a few beer gifts raffled off for all in attendance. We paid $50, $20 more than the regular tickets, but we had a chance to sample a few of the reserves that have not been available from The Bruery in quite some time; a nice touch were the cheese and crackers from The Bruery Provisions. I thought the VIP would be a little different than what I experienced, but maybe I might have had high expectations for paying $20 above the regular ticket price. Here’s what I thought would happen, they would see we had VIP wristbands, we would be seated in a lounge area, velvet ropes, you know, the whole shebang. I thought some of the brewers might be talking about the beers, like one of those Steve Jobs keynotes – “the beer you are being poured…” type of a thing. OK so I might be asking for too much, but it’s not a bad idea. The VIP line was the biggest line and although it moved fast, it just didn’t feel VIP, especially when it seemed like 90% of those in attendance had a VIP wristband. One good thing about the event was the fact that they had guest breweries in attendance. This is the thing I love about the craft scene, brewers have a brotherhood and are not threatened by other breweries, and they know they are not competing with each other because us craft beer drinkers don’t stick to one brand.

Below are notes from the different beers I sampled and of course I have pictures!

The Bruery ~ Gunga Galunga – sour, sweet, bit of alcohol burn – 3 Beer Caps

The Bruery ~ Iniquitous – strong Belgian ale tasted like a Hef, lots of citrus in it, not the sweet notes you get from a belgian – 2 Beer Caps

The Bruery ~ Humulus Lager (one of my favorites of the event!) great hop aroma and flavor in a LAGER! 5 Beer Caps!

The Bruery ~ Black Tuesday tiny sips is all I could do at a high 17% abv; unreal how sweet it is, not a pleasant beer to drink – 1 Cap.

The Bruery ~ Melange 1, sour and bitter; whoa! After so many beers, it’s like whatever.

Inland Empire Porter – roasted flavors, bitter, choc n roasted coffee – 4 Beer Caps

SoCal ~ Angelino – nice bitter and herbal from hop – 3 Beer Caps

Left Coast Brewing ~ Voodoo stout – 3 Beer Caps

Left Coast Brewing ~ Una Mas – amber lager, malty, smooth – 2 Beer Caps

Eagle Rock ~ Revolution EPA – citrus & hop aroma, bitter hop flavor 4 Beer Caps

Kern River ~ Double IPA – very bitter, extra hop aroma, just how I like’em – 3 Beer Caps

Cismontane ~ Black Dawn – Dark roasted notes; lots of coffee with a bitter finish – 3 Beer Caps

Packinghouse ~ Black IPA (don’t have notes for this one).

Cheese and crackers

Inland Empire Brewing Co

The VIP line!

Chillin’ on ice

So Cal Brewing – Angelino

They had lots of benches to sit and sip; good way to take a quick break.

Left Coast Brewing – Voo Doo Stout

They had a raffle for beer goodies.

Eagle Rock Brewery – Solidarity

Kern River – Double IPA

Cismontane

Ready to get it on; the usual alcohol happy shenanigans.

Left Coast

Packing House

Dale and I with Dr. Bill, Beverage Coordinator of Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens.

We drank responsibly and even had a few tickets left before we went home.

See you next time and remember to throw one back for me ~ cheers!