SEBASTOPOL BREWING MAKES IT 2 FOR 2

We get up to Sebastopol, a small hippie town in Northern California’s Sonoma County, about every second or third month to visit some friends. Luckily for me, the patriarch of the family enjoys quaffing a high-quality beer or two, and has spirited me away to the SEBASTOPOL BREWING COMPANY a couple of times, the most recent being this past Memorial Day weekend. I wrote about the first time here. This go-round I opted for their ESB, having tried and enjoyed their WHITE OWL IPA last time. The ESB is delicious. It’s a fairly simple but spicy, tangy English bitter, with a lot more carbonation and a thicker mouthfeel than the thin-&-watery concoction I was half expecting. It might not be something I’d want to drink repeatedly – e.g. in an over-and-over-and-over “session”, but I like to mix ‘em up anyway, ‘cause that’s just how I roll. This brewery is a hidden local gem, and well worth a quick excursion down the 118 on your way to see the big boys (Russian River, Anderson Valley etc.). The ESB rates a 7/10.