5 Great Beers for an OC Summer, 2015 Edition
Photo by Cleo Tobbi Doesn't a nice cool beer just sound so.. pleasant?
If there's anything that can make this Orange County heat bearable, its Orange County beer. With each passing season, it becomes more and more difficult to narrow down a succinct list, not because of too few options but because there are too many. Alas, I sifted and slurped through the myriad of craft beers in Orange County for you, dear reader. I live to serve. Please take a gander at this curated list of OC brews you should become acquainted with in the near future. There's a little sweet, a little sour and a lot of swigging.
5. Hibisc-This--Artifex Brewing Company (San Clemente)
Cream ales often get a bad rap. Too many times, they're cast aside for stronger, hoppier, and "whalezier" brews. No more, I say. The cream ale deserves to stand tall and Artifex Brewing Co. shall hold their heads high for going above and beyond the humble cream ale line of duty.
Sure, you we expect vanilla and cereal when enjoying a cream ale, but Artifex brings us a fresh take on the style with their use of hibiscus and orange peel in Hibisc-This. Few beers have me searching for a straw quite like Hibisc-This. Great for the sun or, let's face it, an air conditioned room, this beer tastes like a beer cocktail without all the work. Leveling out and a friendly 4.5 percent ABV, this beer could coax a smile out of the carefree 21-one-year-old and the embittered brut alike. I dare you to take one sip without taking another.
919 Calle Amanecer Suite A, San Clemente, CA 92673. (949) 429-7805. http://www.artifexbrewing.com/
4. Kook D.I.P.A.--Pizza Port Brewing Co. (San Clemente)
Photo by Cleo Tobbi Kooky
Last year, Pizza Port gave us their beer in cans; this year, they give us more of their beer in cans. Enter, Kook D.I.P.A., Pizza Port's latest canned brew. This is the brewery's first canned double IPA and as of its recent debut earlier this June, it has done nothing but meet every desire for the hop fiend. It's no surprise that Pizza Port--known for their west coast IPAs--delivers a robust, tasty and still well-balanced beer that fits in any summer setting. Although, if you're not a hophead, this beer 8.7 percent ABV beer may intimidate with its alcohol content and firm bitterness up front but don't worry, it sweetens as you sip. If Kook and the other Pizza Port six-pack beers are any indication, I'm certain we can expect more canned goodness from down south in the years to come.
301 N El Camino Real, San Clemente, CA 92672. (949) 940-0005. http://www.pizzaport.com/.
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