beer blah blog

The only disappointing thing about Alpine's beers is limited geographic area that I can get them in. Everytime I'm in the San Diego area, one of my goals is to get a bunch of these delicious brews in my belly. When the missus and I arrived at the Stone 10th Anniversary this past weekend, we notice the guest breweries were alphabetized. Brilliant! Alpine for the start!

We sauntered up to the pourers and got 1 each of their 2 offerings. Both were incredibly delicious, but alas the small taster only made me want more. Luckily that evening, at the Liars Club in Mission Beach, San Diego they had both on-tap, so of course, I had to get a pint of each:

Duet IPA

96 / 100

Duet, new to me, is everything I long for in an IPA: fruity, floral with a generous portion of American hops. Lots of lacing throughout my glass, the bright amber beer had a good sized head. Plenty of hops in the nose, the best type: fruity with a slight pine flavor. The taste was much the same, rounded out with a pleasant malt balancing that limited the bitter bite. This is an outstanding IPA, of the hundreds that I've tried - this is right near the top.


Pure Hoppiness

93 / 100

The hop nose hits you instantly: very floral, slight pine and citrus tones. The pour was perfect: a frothy laced head topped the golden colored ale. The hop bite is substantial, but the taste is well-balanced. It has a nice creaminess that masks the 8% ABV, making it potential dangerous – I could see myself drinking this all day.

These are outstanding beers, sadly only limitedly available in San Diego. If you ever cross pathes with them, you know what to do.