Pey-Marin

This past January we went up to Tahoe. Seeing as I'm not a winter sports guy I don't go to Tahoe very often. Maggie hadn't ever been and a bunch of friends were renting a house in Tahoma so we joined the party. We got really lucky that the biggest storm in years just happened to dump hella snow a couple days before we got there and then the weather... was gorgeous the entire time we were up there. On our way up, we stopped at Fifty-Fifty Brewing in Northstar Village for lunch and some delicious crisp beers. Their beers reminded me a lot of Maine Beer Company due to the crisp and bright flavors. I'm guessing they have a great water supply either a spring or snow melt. You can really taste the difference between breweries that use fresh water and those that are stuck with municipal supplies. We each got a flight of 5 beers. Maggie stayed on the lighter side ranging from a golden ale to pale ales while I started hoppy and ended dark and brooding with 3 IPAs, a porter, and a stout aged in a Cognac Barrel. I was a little apprehensive about ordering a barrel aged stout because the last few ones that I had tasted more than root beer than stout. The waiter talked me into it because apparently the brewery is known for their barrel aged stouts. Maggie loved all of her choices and there wasn't much sharing. I found the ale brewed with lemongrass to be interesting but much more of a summer beer than an its 30 degrees outside and I need something to warm me up sort of beer. The session IPA reminded me of Sculpin's Mango Even Keel so much it was uncanny. The Rye IPA was delicious. The porter was one of the best porters I've had in a long time with lots of vanilla and coffee notes. The stout was by far the best barrel aged beer I've ever had. Maybe its the Cognac barrel instead of the usual bourbon or maybe they have a superior technique. I'm not sure but either way its damn good. The Cognac isn't over powering it still tastes like a stout but with subtle notes that seemed just outside of my grasp. The only bad part of the ...Read More