I hosted the California edition of Barley's Angels tonight with a few beers brought back from our recent trip (the shareable bottles) and a couple that I was able to find here locally:
I gave a quick synopsis on the chapter about California from the beer and food pairing book we've been working our way through this year (Real Beer And Good Eats: The Rebirth of America's Beer and Food Traditions), gave a few stats on California and showed the ladies a map so they could better visualize them, and talked a bit about why California is such an interesting and impressive state.
I served clam chowder and sourdough bread with butter, bourbon and stout marinated grilled chicken kebabs, and BBQ potato chips (there is a recipe to make your own BBQ chips, but I cheated and went with Kettle). The American River Brewing Company Fire Break red ale was my favorite (I LOVE a red ale, and this one was a little different, more malty than I'm used to, but I like malty), followed closely by the Lagunitas Night Time (an American black ale). Next time we're in California, I definitely want to visit the Lagunitas brewery (it's in Petaluma, where my grandparents used to live), the Sudwerks brewery (in Davis - we tried multiple amazing bottled beers by them while we were there, but couldn't find any at the end of the trip when we were purchasing bottles to take home), and the Sierra Nevada brewery (since I never went on my few visits to Chico many years ago, and I know Jay would love it). Stone Brewing Company's Ruination IPA was also REALLY good (and strong), and I hear they have some other varieties that are even better (I'll be on the lookout in case I ever see them locally). Nectar Ales Humboldt Brown hemp ale was definitely different, and definitely sweet - I'd buy it again. So, overall a successful meeting with 6 ladies in attendance. Until next month...
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