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.