Tuesday, October 13, 2009

CRAFTSMAN BREWING’S “HEAVENLY HEFE”

There it is – my first-ever iPhone photo, taken with my brand-new phone. Right there, to your left. Nope, not a picture of my son, nor my wife, nor the tops of my shoes, but a snap of CRAFTMAN BREWING’s HEAVENLY HEFE beer, taken last week at a fantastic bar/restaurant called THE NEIGHBORHOOD in downtown San Diego (technically in a slice of downtown called, get this, “the East Village”). Before I talk about the beer, let me give some big kudos for the bar.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD is a clean, light-filled oasis in the middle of downtown, with a drop-dead fantastic beer selection. The bartender, a young woman covered shoulder-to-fingertips in tattoos, was about the sweetest, most helpful bartender I’ve had serve me all year. She poured me tastes of wonderful elixirs like ALESMITH SPEEDWAY STOUT; advised me well on good local beers; and broke the rules and served me half-pints (so I could taste more beers). All this while I was wearing a ridiculous monkey suit jacket & shiny shoes, having just come from a work outing that more or less required me to wear them. Talk about great first impressions – THE NEIGHBORHOOD is a must-visit in San Diego.

CRAFTSMAN BREWING have been on my must-try list as well. They’re the only Los Angeles-based brewery I can even think of right now, and beer lovers of all stripes have been loudly singing their praises this past year. Their HEAVENLY HEFE is a silky, golden wheat ale. It has all the hallmarks of a classic hefeweizen: banana undertones, spicy clove taste, and this one’s even slightly astringent as times. It really smoothes out as it warms – not that I gave it much time to before gulping it all. Another good first impression, I have to say, though the one I really want to try from these guys is called TRIPLE WHITE SAGE. 7.5/10 for the hefe.

2 comments:

Aaron said...

Just got an iphone myself and it has really revolutionized my drinking too:

#1. I'm no longer the weirdo at the bar pulling out a digital camera to photograph his beer (usually while alone)

#2. I can quickly look up on BA any potential beer to try before trying it.

Actually, #2 is kinda depressing come to think of it as now I always "look before I leap" and there's no chance for finding hidden gems that everyone else hates.

Steve said...

Cool! Looking forward to more pictures of your awesome beer excursions. Only bummer is that iPhone doesn't have a flash, so it'll be hard to do at night. I've put The Nieghborhood on the backburner, but you've made it sound like a real legit stop, so I'll have to check it out sooner than later.