Brew Review: Creekside Brewing Company; San Luis Obispo, CA

My friend and I literally stumbled upon Creekside Brewing Company as we were making our way back to our hotel.  It is a lovely, intimate place to go to enjoy a beer, I highly enjoyed the atmosphere in this place.

They have a seven barrel system with two fermenters. A sampler here consists of four beers, so here we go:

Honey Blonde 5.0% ABV: This beer had a beautiful golden color, a nice light aroma.  It has a light, slightly bitter forward presentation with an equally light honey finish.  According to the head brewer no actual honey was used, which threw me for a loop.  I enjoyed this beer so much I ordered a pint of it.

Check out the lacing on the glass!

Brew Crew Brown 5.5% ABV:  This beer has a nice dark caramel color, but weak head retention.  It has a very nutty, malty aroma and a very please roasted malt finish.  Another favorite of mine.

DBL Dark Stout 7.1% ABV:  As a stout should, this had a nice nice dark brown color.  It had a strong coffee/mocha aroma, but pretty mild in taste with a rough finish.

Guest Tap: Kern River Outstanding IPA 6.8%:  This beer had a nice golden color with very good head retention, very floral/ hoppy aroma, and very hoppy tasting, my palate couldn't detect much else.

I had a chance to speak to the brewer, who of course was intrigued by my note taking considering we were amongst the chaos that is a college bar.  He indicated that they normally have more house beers on tap, but demand has just been overwhelming.  So if you are in San Luis Obispo, look this place up and enjoy a pint.

Cheers everyone

Brew Review: SLO Brewing Company, San Luis Obispo, CA

SLO Brewing Company is located in downtown San Luis Obispo.  It is a brew pub and I'm told a good place to go see good live bands.  I couldn't keep the server around long enough to get much information on the place.

The offering board

These are not in tasting order:

Winter Brown: Big Malty Brown Ale 7.2%ABV
This beer had a nice caramel color, though minimal head but a nice malty aroma.  It has a good roasted, strong nutty taste with a slight malt finish, very well balanced, a favorite of mine

Dunkel Wizen: Stronger and Darker version of the Hefewiezen 5.6%ABV
When compared to the Hefeweizen, the color was to me, identical.  It has a light caramel color, a smooth, mild flavor, and a hint of banana to finish and a slight wheat aroma

Hefewizen: Traditional German Wheat Ale 4.4%ABV
When directly compared to the Dunkel the taste is considerably lighter with a much more pronounced banana/ citrus flavor

Reggae Red: no description available
Reddish caramel color a nice fine bubbly head, not much in terms of aroma, a slight malt flavor, with a bitter and, I thought, a slightly soapy finish

Tri Clover Irish Stout: Dry Irish Stout served on nitrogen
A nice dark color with a very stable white head, slight roasted malt aroma, with a creamy nutty flavor and just a hint of bitter finish, very enjoyable

Honey Blonde: no description available
This beer has a nice golden color and a light tangy aroma and nice hint of honey to finish.  A very smooth beer and another one of my favorites

Bluesberry: base consists of the honey blonde
Slightly darker color than the honey blonde, this beer has a light blueberry aroma, with a bitter but not hoppy bitter taste and a coffee finish.  Aside from the aroma, not sure where the blueberries come into play here.

Metal Porter: no description available
This beer has a nice dark brown color, some head, a bitter malt aroma, and a slight hop flavor to finish

From left to right: Winter Brown, Dunkel Wiezen, Reggae Red, Tri Clover Irish, Metal Porter and Honey Blonde

Overall some pretty good offerings, comparing the Hefe to the Dunkel was pretty fun, and the Honey Blonde to the Bluesberry.  The Winter Brown seemed to be a seldom offered nut brown, which is nice.  There are some good things going on here.  I didn't get to see some music, but the food was good and on a good night, a place with good atmosphere