Stone 10th Anniversary
A quick break from Oktoberfest preparations…Over the weekend I drove down to the Stone Brewing Co. tenth anniversary celebration in Escondido, California. They invited 38 other craft brewers to their new brewery location and threw a pretty good party. I got to sample beer from 11 different breweries and all I had to do was donate $25 to charity. A pretty good deal if you ask me! Check out this link for details on the festivities and a list of every brewer that was there.
Here is what I sampled (Thanks to Victor and Kevin for helping me remember everything after the fact!) Some of these were new to me and others are solid favorites I was sharing with friends.
Marin Brewing Co. – IPA
Russian River Brewing Co. – Blind Pig IPA
Craftsman – Black Smoked Lager
Pizza Port – Shark Attack
Avery – Imperial Oktoberfest
Besides all of the great beer, one thing really stuck out. Stone drinkers really know their beer and breweries! People lined up almost around the block for the Dogfish Head, a beer not even available in California. Worth the wait, though. Dogfish produces some very unique brews at the edge of “normal”. In fact their motto is even “Off-centered ales for off-centered people”. If you are on the East Coast or in the Midwest, you should make an effort to try some of their brews. Not in that locale? Then Stone and Avery can help provide a similar experience. And to the best of my knowledge they are available on the West Coast, the Southwest, and a few other spots. And be sure to pick up the Imperial Oktoberfest if want to really celebrate the next few weeks in style!
Also be sure to check out Stone co-founder, Greg Koch's vBlog on the event. I might even be featured plugging my blog once the footage of the event has been posted.
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