Mother Earth Brew Co - Hop Diggity

So it's Friday and if you didn't blow up your hands with some firecrackers yesterday, you're probably hungover and not really wanting to drink some good beers. Well, SUCK IT UP! The weekend is here and if you don't want to drink something good, I'll review something that could potentially be good. That's right, I'm doing this for you!

Tonight I'm drinking local. No really, like legit local... as in this is brewed a block from my home. If you're in or around North County San Diego, you know these guys. Tonight I'm drinking Hop Diggity by my good friends at Mother Earth Brew Co. in Vista, California. This is a DIPA that comes in at 8.2% abv and from what it reads at the brewery itself, 130 IBU!!! So in other words, HOLY SHIT! Let's get this DIPA poured and see how it stands up.

The Hop Diggity pours out a pretty hazy golden color definitely bordering on a copper/orange. There's a nice amount of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. There's a nice two finger fluffy white head very reminiscent of some beach foam or maybe even some clouds. The head is sticking around for a long time and leaves behind a really thick, sticky lacing. Definitely a nice looking DIPA. Let's get the nose.

First thing is some big hops. Not the big dank hops I was expecting though. Lots of citrus right away. Big grapefruit and fresh oranges. There's a lot of peach, like very ripe peaches. A bit of mango and maybe even some papaya. There's an underlying sugary sweetness here as well. Definitely more fruity and juicy than I was expecting on the nose. This is a really awesome smelling DIPA. Let's stop the bullshitting though. I'm ready to do some drinking.

Right away there's a nice punch of hop bitterness. For a DIPA it's not as powerful as I was expecting, but I kind of like that. That's immediately followed by some of that tropical fruits. A lot of mango and even some pineapple in the middle of the mouth. Sides of the palate I get that grapefruit and orange citrus. It helps to even out the bitterness of the hops. Back end of this beer I get some of that peach sugary syrup and a lot of hop bitterness. The finish is quite dry and I'm left with quite a lingering bit of bitterness. No hint of alcohol on this and honestly it drinks incredibly easy.

So overall, Hop Diggity from Mother Earth Brew Co is another winner. I'm not sure how fresh this bottle is but it still has all the components to make a good DIPA. With that said, coming in at 130 IBU I don't really get that level of bitterness. That's really my only complaint about this one. Otherwise, this is a solid beer and with the guys at Mother Earth if there's one thing they really nail, it's IPA. They make some of the best in the area. Check them out if you're in northern SD, hell, even in southern SD. It's only a quick drive up the freeway.

Rating: B+

Iron Fist Brewing Co - Dark Days

Oh blog, how I've missed you so much! It's not my fault I woke up on Saturday with an absolutely dreadful cold. One that I'm still slightly being bothered by. I don't know what happened. Honest!

So my wife is doing this beer of the month thing for me as I've mentioned a few times anyway. So since I was really miserable at the end of March, I couldn't really get into my March beer. I was really bummed about it. Not because it was time to drink beer, but because I could FINALLY get into a bottle of a beer I've been waiting to open for the last couple of months.

The March beer of the month is by a local (and by local I mean it's 2 blocks from my home) Vista brewery, Iron Fist Brewing Co. Tonight I'm drinking their Dark Days which is a 11.9% abv stout aged in bourbon barrels. So yeah, as you can tell just by the description, being bummed was warranted. But enough blabbering. I want to get to the point where I get to drink, so let's get this beast poured!

Dark Days pours out a completely pitch black. The name really fits the beer for sure. There was almost zero head on this thing. Maybe the absolute slightest dark brown head, but it was more of some bubbles than anything else. This thing looks like motor oil. Just absolutely viscus. I think it's safe to say that your average beer drinker is going to be terrified of this beer. And really, they should be.

The nose on the Dark Days is fantastic. HUGE bourbon right away. Several kinds of chocolate here too. Big dark chocolate, some sweeter milk chocolate, just more chocolate than I can really describe. There's a really nice raisin character too, I'd even say chocolate covered raisins. I'm picking up some more dark fruits but they're more subtle than the raisin. I'm getting a good bit of the barrel in the nose as well. I'm definitely getting a little alcohol on the nose here. It's blended in fairly nicely with the bourbon and chocolate characters, but it's definitely there. So enough smelling, let's embrace Dark Days!

Wow. This is a very good BBL stout. Right away there's big chocolate. Definitely more on the sweet side. There's the slightest hint of alcohol up front but it's quickly washed away by the chocolate. There is a HUGE, absolutely fucking MASSIVE amount of chocolate covered raisin in this beer. And you know what?It's delicious! The chocolate covered raisin coats the mouth. This is a thick beer. One thing I will say about Dark Days, it's incredibly smooth. Back end there's a nice sweetness, vanilla, oak, bourbon. It's really good BBL stout.

Overall, this is a very good BBL stout. Big chocolate, big raisin, big barrel characters.

Raiting: A-

I'd have liked to see a little carbonation in this beer. This bottle is entirely flat. It doesn't take away from the beer but I like just a slight bit of carbonation in my stouts. Reading a few things online it sounds like some have a little carbonation and others are in the same boat as me. I have another bottle that I plan on opening sometime in the future. Maybe next year. Maybe this year. Not sure.

Mother Earth Brew Co - Primordial Imperial IPA

Finally, it's Friday! Time to forget about the week, forget about work, forget about all the bullshit that goes on... it's time to unwind.

I wasn't going to do a review tonight but I said 'fuck it' and here we are. Tonight for Tastes Like Beer we're drinking another IPA from my friends at Mother Earth Brew Co. This is their super limited (7 kegs for the tap house, maybe a couple others for local bars, and bottles) Imperial IPA, this is Primordial.

Admittedly in the past, I wasn't a fan of this beer. I thought it was a little too unbalanced for my liking. Not enough going on. Just sort of a hop bomb. It wasn't terrible by any means, but it just lacked a bit of... something to really make it stand out.

This was until a couple of weeks ago when I got to try this on tap. HOLY SHIT. Best batch of Primordial to date. I've been drinking at MEBC for a couple of years now and this is by far the best batch of Primordial they've put out. So how does this really hold up in the bottle?

Primordial pours out an absolutely beautiful dark gold/dark orange color. There's a fluffy 2 fingers of white head that doesn't stick around too long, and leaves a really awesome sticky lacing on the glass. It's pretty clear, maybe just slightly hazy but that could just be my shitty lighting at my desk.

The nose on Primordial is absolutely wonderful. Big orange and papaya. Lots of grapefruit coming through too. There's a really nice sweetness that comes along almost a sticky sweetness. There's a very slight earthy hint as well, I'm guessing from the hops. But really, just a lot of citrus goodness. This really smells great.

Time to shut up and drink. Primordial's taste follows the nose. Hello Oranges! Big fresh orange coming through, or is it Tangerine? Hmmmm... reminds me a bit more of an Orange. Really fresh and sweet. There's some ripe papaya coming through maybe even a nice mango character as well. Not getting much other citrus than the Oranges but that's cool with me. Middle of the mouth you get a really gentle hop bitterness. It sort of tap dances on the tongue just to keep you honest. There's more of a sugary sweetness there in the middle of the mouth as well. Maybe some peach coming through? Back of the mouth there's a little bit of hop bitterness, some more orange, and that nice sugary... biscuit type of character. Reminds me a lot of a fresh orange scone actually.

Overall, Primordial is fucking awesome. Plain and simple. This is a fantastic Imperial IPA. It's not a hop explosion like a lot of Imperial IPA's out in the market. It's well balanced and really nice. Primordial comes in at 9% so it's not huge like some Imperial IPA's but it's definitely not going to let you off easy. You don't taste the 9% but I think after a couple this beer would come up and kick you in the teeth. This beer is super limited and brewed maybe twice a year if we're lucky. MEBC has a great lineup of IPA's and this might be my new favorite (Auld Knucker being my personal favorite for those who have been to MEBC.)

Rating: A

Wife absolutely hated this beer. Maybe hated it more than any other beer I've had her try. Oh well. More for  me!

Sorry for the poor photos/lack of photos. Having major lighting issues with the photo box.

Mother Earth Brew Co - Kismet IPA

Hey everyone! It's time for another beer review. Today's beer of choice is by my friends at Mother Earth Brew Co., and it's their Kismet IPA.

MEBC brews several IPA and I believe this is the first one they've bottled. They first bottled their Cali Creamin' ale and followed that up with one of my personal favorites, Pin Up Pale Ale. They actually just recently started bottling, so this being the 3rd beer to be bottled isn't exactly a surprise.

Kismet comes in at 7.2% abv and is brewed with New Zealand and Columbus hops. The beer pours out a real hazy golden color, almost bordering on copper and orange (it's orange in the picture but definitely a bit lighter in person). Can't see anything through the beer. There's about a finger maybe to a finger and a half of a bright white head. The head sticks around a bit and when finally dissipates leaves it's mark with some nice white lacing.

The initial aroma on this beer is fantastic. Big fruits. Papaya, a bit of Mango and some really nice Pineapple characters coming out. There's a piney scent, almost an earthy floral note that is coming through behind the fruits. Going back for a second opinion I get a bit of a Peach character, almost like the peaches you get in the snack cups with syrup. A bit sugary and sticky. Nothing wrong with that.

Finally deciding to stop drooling I take my first drink (of this bottle, I've had this before on tap). Immediate hop bitterness that is delicately cut by that fruit note - Papaya and Mango are immediate. Middle of the mouth there's more bitterness from the hops. Not a ton of bitterness, but just enough to keep your tongue tingling for a bit. Back of the mouth I get that sugary, syrupy peach flavor that I got on the nose. It's subtle and takes nothing away from the initial blast of hops and tropical fruits. Great carbonation on this beer with a perfect mouth feel for an IPA. It's a very good IPA all around from beginning to end.

Overall, this is very solid. Not overly bitter and not overly sweet. I'd say it's a very good blend of the bitter IPA and the more citrus/tropical IPA. As I continue to drink this I get a lot more of the hop bitterness in the back of the throat. It's pretty mellow and I like that. There's a time and place for the hop bombs and fortunately Kismet doesn't lose it's identity.

I recommend this beer for anyone who likes IPA. Kismet is a solid offering from MEBC. I highly recommend checking out MEBC if you're in San Diego especially up in North County where they're located (Vista to be exact). I give this beer a 7-7.5/10 for a solid B+/A-.

This isn't my favorite MEBC IPA but it's probably right up there. It's worth picking up if you see it in the stores or like I said, if you're in the area, it's worth getting if it's on tap. MEBC has a constant rotation of beers so hitting the tap house while Kismet is on isn't always a guarantee. Check out their website to see what's pouring. It's fairly accurate.

Rating: B+/A-

PS, my wife takes all the pictures for the blog. She's far better with a good camera than I am. I don't want to not give her credit but FFS, this blog is named after her opinion of beer... (which btw, Kismet tastes like beer)