After two days of not quite indiscriminate drinking in Long Beach over Memorial Day weekend, we were prepared for an assault of the infamous Goat Hill Tavern in Costa Mesa. With 144 taps serving 137 different beers (they double up on Bud, Bud Light, etc.) it was the perfect location for Sunday lunch. We started out with a bottomless bag of peanuts, throwing the shells on the floor for the next couple of hours as we downed mug after mug. I began with Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard. Next up was Coronado Idiot IPA. Feeling hopped out for the day, I next opted for Kronenbourg 1664. My penultimate selection was Hangar 24 Orange Wheat, followed by Stone Spröcketbier.
We moved on to Pasty Kitchen in Los Alamitos. I know what you’re thinking – pasties go well with g-strings. Sorry to disappoint, but these pasties are meat pies. Bruce and I each had a large, stuffed with beef, potatoes, carrots and onions. We split sides of coleslaw and macaroni salad, enjoying the sunny day at a table outside. It was back to base camp for the rest of the day, to snooze, watch TV and rehydrate. We washed down our dinner pizza with the Lindeman’s Cassis Lambic we bought the previous day.
After three days of hanging around Long Beach and points south and east, we headed north and west up the PCH. I felt like a detox day, so I drained a Diet Mountain Dew Big Gulp during our journey. We must have passed 15 Del Tacos and 10 El Pollo Locos on our drive through Redondo Beach, Santa Monica and Malibu. Bruce’s off-key rendition of “Beach Blanket Bingo” was entertaining, but only to a point -- Frankie Avalon he ain’t! We headed inland up the scenic Malibu Canyon, then circled back on the Ventura Highway. Did we stop to see Hollywood? F*@k Hollywood!
Enough frivolity -- it was 4:00 p.m. and we hadn’t had a beer yet. What better place than Taco Surf in Belmont Shore? We split two pitchers of Dos Equis Amber and two baskets of chips with salsa. I downed four tacos -- one carne asada, one shredded beef, one pork and one chicken. Repeating our usual pattern, we returned to base camp to snooze and guzzle water. My project that evening was wrapping up four bomber bottles with bubble wrap for the next days’ flight home. The chosen beers were Stone Matt’s Burning Rosids Cherrywood-Smoked Saison, Nikasi Tricerahops Double IPA, Backstreet Brewery Ridin’ Dirty Rye IPA and Stone Rick and Robbie’s Spröcketbier Black Rye Kölsch Style.
Tuesday morning, the Brucemeister dropped me off at LAX for my flight back to San Antonio. Reflecting back, it was a great trip. I had a blast! I ate too much and drank too much, but even us old bald guys gotta let our hair down once in a while, so to speak. LA may not be the absolute Mecca for a craft beer connoisseur, but there are plenty of good breweries, alehouses and beer joints within easy driving distance. As Ahnold would say, “I’ll be bock!”
No comments:
Post a Comment