Beer There, Drunk That

Bootlegger's Brewery finally opened its newest location in Costa Mesa, CA and you better believe Steve and Joey skittle-skattled on over to test the new digs! How did this newest take on one of their oldest favorites compare to their Fullerton locale? Were these brand new taps pumping out the same quality Knuckle Sandwich, Rocco Red, Pumpkin Ale, Valencia Orange (and more!) that the boys were used to? Have their hazy IPA's benefited from a change of scenery or are they still lackluster gut busters? As a bonus, the guys throw in their review of Bottle Logic's Harry Potter-themed Tri-Wizard Trivia Tournament! It's the brewery's third, and the boys' second, go-around with this event, and there was an amazing assortment of exclusive beer to be had, from Butterbeer to The Grim to Paisley Cave Complex, Fundamental Observation, and their always solid New England IPAs like Roots of Muir. How did teams Patranus and Mung-dungus Feltcher fair in the contest? Guzzle down, listen, and find out!

Joey’s back from his Italian honeymoon where he sampled many a beer from the land of noods and sauce. He shares his thoughts on the burgeoning Italian craft beer scene - aka “birra artigianale” - as it’s said with your fingers together and hand moving back and forth with each syllable. He went beyond the pale...ale...during his stay in Zurich, Lake Como, Venice, Florence, and Rome and sucked down many a brew in each little corner of the homeland of his heritage. How is Italian Craft Beer different from American Craft Beer? How is Italian Craft Beer different than Southern California’s suds, specifically? It’s all a very “bene” conversation I assure you - and as a big wet treat for you listeners out there, he and his wife packed away six different Italian brews that he guzzles down with Steve on the air, so that the sexy, single Signore can also get a taste of the hops that sprouted throughout Joey’s honeymoon.

The boys bro-down in sailor-ville this week: Southern California’s import/export mega port, San Pedro, to visit recently exploded (haven’t we all been there before!?) Brouwerij West! Formerly only known for sours and wild ales, this quirky, yet consistent brew house is riding a new wave of popularity thanks to excellent local distribution and dipping both feet into the world of Hazy/New England IPAs. What sets them apart is equally obsessing over their malts as well as their hops, and an amazing set of flavor shapes thanks to running these cloudy bad boys through a centrifuge so they’re all killer and no filler. What did Steve & Joey think of their massive former military warehouse brewery space and subsequent suds like Tahiti Substation, Dig My Earth, FA Really, Picnic Lightining, Super Collider, Popfuji, and a smattering of stouts and sours? You’ll have to guzzle down with us to find out, sailors! Yankers awaaaaaay!

Things get dark and infected (what else is new, huh?!) on this week’s episode, as the boys welcome their favorite trade mule, Dillon - aka Thrillon - back to the show with a bevy of brews from Ohio’s Jackie O’s Brewing! Each barrel aged stout has the potential to be infected by wild bacteria due to a 2017 snafu, which apparently pissed off a lot of their fans, since their stouts are highly coveted and generally delivered a high quality brew. But Steve & Joey are just stoked to be guzzling down some suds they’ve never sipped before, and telling you all about the potential tongue-tang that are the telltale signs of tainted beer. Grab your balls and get ready for the long haul, babyyyyyy!

Ol’ Stevey-poo took one for the team and procured a goodly amount of decidedly UN-local brews from Berkley’s Fieldworks Brewing Co and Salinas-based Alvarado Street Brewery on a recent trip to the Bay Area. The boys settle in for an on-air “Taste of the Bay” event the likes of which the world has never seen, sampling Hazy Train IPA, Cloud Control, Champagne Hopi, Shred Red, Grower’s Pale Ale, and All Absolutes Triple IPA. Do the brother-proclaimed “Hazy Boys” appreciate their bay area brew brethren over their sumptuous socal suds...or do they shit in the very bay that produces overpriced real estate, today’s top tech, and the world’s most presumptuous people. Let’s gear up and guzzle down these pretty cool cans!!!

The boys take a trip to old town Pasadena - just like a little old lady they might have met along the way - for Alien Con 2018. But beer, as always, was at the forefront of their minds, so they sought out the small Stone Brewery tasting room/filling station at the Pasadena train station to sample more of the mammoth craft brew giant’s consistent selection of west coast IPA’s, including the new Impeach and Idolotrous. Night 2 we prayed at the altar of the Cathedral-themed Congregation Ale House - a small franchise in southern California that brews its own beer, serves fine sausages (which you know we love sucking down) and has a plethora of guest libations to pour over. Is Pasadena worth a visit when playing the craft brew game of life? Is the Stone gargoyle petrifying in it’s risk averse offerings west coast styles during the hazy revolution? Do we truly understand bacon canyon udder sputter from grammy’s old teets? Guzzle down with us and find out!

The boys are back in town after their Northwest excursion, and hit up the newest location of one of their favorite beerarias: The Downtown LA based Dankness Dojo from Modern Times Brewing. They sip on some crazy hazies, of course, like Atomic Drop, Mortal Cloak, Game Impact, Fountains of Paradise, Mountain Voice, Dual Monarchies, and more; plus, they’re pleasantly surprised by the drinkability of the usually-divisive Barley Wine: Oblivion Ring, as well as the sheer yumminess of Deads and Exploits and raspberry Devil’s Teeth stouts! The boys also chat about rat sex, tiny pee pees, and how you eat your Reese’s mixed in with all the brewy gooey goodness - so let’s get started and guzzle this fucker down!

Description: Bachelor party weekend part deux is finally catalog on this cream-filled episode! After their day trip to Eugene, the boys head back to Portland, OR and hit up lots of brew pubs and eatin’ holes, but most notably Oregon standout Great Notion Brewing and Modern Times new Belmont Fermentorium - with a few quick shoutouts to Deschutes Brewery, Burnside Brewing, Sparky’s Pizza, Sizzle Pie, Hele Pele Tiki Bar, Pine St. Biscuits, and many other touristy-ass spots around PDX. Many beers were drank, with the most notable being Modern Times Outside Worlds Hazy Double IPA, Great Notion’s Juice Box and Super Ripe Hazys, and Hoof Hearted’s Girth Brooks - perhaps the best stout we’ve ever guzzled! Let’s brew down, boys and gals!

The boys are out in Eugene, Oregon as part of a two part Oregon Brewery special, with the 2nd part: Portland, coming at ya soon! Joey’s Bachelor party was a brewhouse buffet, and they kicked if off in Eugene by visiting a long time favorite of the Italian groom-to-be: Ninkasi Brewing! There weren’t many surprises at the teal-hued home of great beers like Vanilla Oatis Oatmeal Stout and Tricerihops IPA, but Ninkasi is truly geared for quality and widespread distribution, so it was still a great bucket list checkmark. After a big pastrami bonanza at Falling Skies Brewery (filled with old world styles and cask ales) the gaggle of greasy geezers set off to Oakshire Brewing. A new logo and a great open environment set things off right, and Joey might have found one of his new favorite beers of all time! And, as always, the great search for Hazys was in full effect, and we sure found some doozies in the Pacific Northwest!

Steve & Joey head to Huntington Beach once again to hit up RIIP Beer Company, nestled virtually sand-side right off the famous Pacific Coast Highway. RIIP represents your classic home-brew rags to riches story, with too friends (Spencer Colman and Mike Baccaro, in this case) starting with some basic equipment in their garage, then having the innovative idea to become the “milkmen of craft beer” by buying, and delivering with, a 1931 Helms Bakery Coach van, to now having a permanent - and expanding - spot surf city, USA. The boys get flights of almost the entire tap list, including Chok Ya Later American IPA, ShiQi American IPA, Iron Lung Dry Stout, Dan-k IPA, Gate Keeper Nitro Porter, Rye OG Pale Ale, and Jetty Water Blonde; but does RIIP manage to carve its own beer-scented path...or does it simply rip off ideas from better brew-houses?