RICHARD,
Glad to be of assistance. Interesting to hear that they are dealing thru Costco. It used to be you could only purchase their fine beers & Ales within a 150 mile radius of the Brewery. Which meant i did a number of trips to the Santa Clarita Valley just north of here to try & find a Liquor Store that sold their "goods". Most stores seem to only sell the Mojave Red, not my Favourite...bummer.
I had talked with the Owner(who's Name i am drawing a total blank on at present), while visting the Brewery once. He stated they were entering into an agreement with Trader Joe's Stores to sell their beers(Trader Joe's always have a great selection of Quality Beers & lotsa tasty Cheeses...amoung other "obscure Items". I asked that he make certian the Quality of his Beers & Ales not suffer because of having to fill larger orders, he assured me that His Products will not suffer. I mentioned the concern because I used to Love drinking Black Dog Ale from Spanish Peaks brewery in Montana...it was soo tasty...Then the Brewery entered into a contract where Vons/Pavilions would sell their Beers & Ales. That was the beginning of the end, as far as i was concerned. The quality & taste went down hill & because the contract apparently stated that Only Vons/Pavilions was to sell their Beers & Ales you couldn't find it anywhere else, besides The Supermarkets only carried Certian Beers & Ales they brewed. I drank my last Black Dog Ale back in 1998..and it wasn't that good. Thank Goodness Indian Wells Brewery stepped up to the Plate & gave me a New Favourite. I'll have to vist Costco & see if I can Locate some Mojave Gold...I have 3 precious Bottles left from Dec. & I'd like to aqquire more.
Heck, I guess a Vist to the "Low O" is looking good very soon.

Hope you can locate some Richard, but if not...I guess I'll just have to hand carry afew 6-packs up to your neck of the Woods for personal delivery....




DEAN....

_________________
"Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride" Hunter S. Thompson

Last night I polished off a few Sierra Nevada porters, a beer I haven't had for prob'ly at least eight years (and I frankly dunno why it's been so long absent from my fridge). Good stuff, though, with hints of chocolate and molasses, along with a thick head. I'd say it ranks right up there with Anchor's porter -- and both of these make for a fine, cold-weather brew.

And hey, yesterday I picked up a sixer of Anchor porter (which I haven't had for several years, either) -- and now I gotta say that to my taste it indeed beats the Sierra Nevada porter, which as the post above indicates, ain't too bad itself. In comparison to the Sierra beverage, the Anchor was a little drier, more integrated in flavor, and had a chart head along with what seemed a touch less carbonation. Like Guinness, it's the sort of beer one feels compelled to savor and linger over -- a beer for lubricating conversation, introspection.

I have to go with JP and Pacifico.

I spent 2 months in Cabo Pulmo many years ago and fished every night with the locals for Pargo. We fished with a "piola" (hand line). It's kind of like fly fishing in that you are casting an un-weighted object (anchovies caught by a throw net)by swinging it above your head laso style.

Pacifico was the call down there. I drank it from ballena's (Spanish for whale, English for quart). They're cheaper than the small bottle. Hey once your down there why not go economical and stay a while. I lived on $4.00 a day!!!

Note: I snapped my rod on a pargo early on that trip, so I free dived for 100 lb. test line on the bottom that others had lost. I tied them together with blood knots. Wrapped the line around a bleach bottle (the piola). I went to the local dump to harvest a car inner tube. Cut the inner tube into strips that I fashioned into rings with contact cement. These were worn on all ten fingers (a primitive down south “drag system”) so the "bad mama jama pargo" didn't leave your hands a bloody sloppy mess. Anyone else ever fish this way?

Never had a better time fishing in my life!!!! Made good friend too.

I just had to go off the subject a bit when I started thinking about a cold frosty Pacifico. To quote a popular song… Isn’t it five o-clock somewhere ?

Cheers

Gotta have Deschutes Brewery's Black Butte Porter after a day on the water. It is the sweetest nectar out there. Nothin but the best in that brew........
Tom

Oh yeah, I gotta jump in on this thread....

Here's my fav's when possible:
1. Guinnes (on tap)
2. Red Seal
3. Downtown Brown
4. Buffalo Bill's Oat Meal Stout (on tap)
5....and one of my own homebrews "Brown-n-Bee"

And thankfully the selection and enjoyment doesn't stop at #5

So, Ken, you still brewing? I'm tempted to get back into the game myself, although I'm kinda curious how a 6000-foot elevation might affect the process....

-Richard

Geez I ought to read my own posts... correction on my own brew should read "Bee-n-Brown." I know everyone could have made it through the day without that bit of detail. The recipe was crafted for a nut brown ale.

Yup, I'm still brewing bud. I call the collection Ken's Wildman Brew. Tons of fun. I now have settled into 5 differnt recipes with a nice variety. I was asked to submit one for the county fair. Can't get myself to do that yet. Maybe some day. I experienced lots of "no-go" recipes to get to this point. Some were amazingly B-A-D, I mean lousy! Hmmmmmm, didn't you try crafting a pine brew of some sort while living in SF??????

You should get back into the game Rich. It would be interesting to see how the elevation affects your batch.
Cheers, K

Ken, if I recall correctly (those particular brain cells seem to have dissolved over the years), it was a spruce beer, and I got the idea when Anchor did their own limited bottling back in the '80s. Mine, however, flopped. Maybe I should try juniper berries to get the mountainy, coniferous flavor I'm after....

Lightweight here,

The relationship between the type of fishing and the type of beer seems to be a bit of an undercurrent here. I can only associate salt water (San Diego/Mex) with stuff like Pacifico and prefer not to mention that watery-like substance known as C***na (and that's NOT Corbina). I have done some scuba trips where San Miguel was the fare and always seem to yearn for that beer when on a small boat on rolling swells. It's sort of like imprinting isn't it?

But bottom line, isn't it all good as long as it's cold and from a bottle? Especially if your fishing requires strenuous work like hiking or paddling. Hmmm finally, what about cooking with beer. That's something I have been slow to pick up. Catch a few DFG fryers and then what? Please advise.

B.

p.s. I am usually so tired after my fishing trips that beer would put me in a hammock instantly. I can only handle even the slightest amount of alcohol unless I am staying nearby. One of my best friends and fishing buddies died in an alcohol related road incident. Careful on the roads amigos!

Nothing beats Coors Light!

[quote="LARiver"]Hmmm finally, what about cooking with beer. That's something I have been slow to pick up. Catch a few DFG fryers and then what? Please advise.
quote]

1. Your favorite panfish
2. Bisquick
3. Your Favorite Beer
4. Mix to a batter
5. 1/2 oil, 1/2 butter and fry to golden brown
6. Squeezed lemon
7. Your favorite Tartar Sauce.
8. Enjoy

....Joe

Anything from Deschutes, Pike, Anchor, & Fullers Breweries. But I'm going to have to agree with Mr. Hanley in that Guiness on tap beats all. However, in hot SD weather, most of the above can be a little hard to get through, so, Pacifico and Bohemia get me through the hot summer months. Yes, with a lime. Salud.
Marc A

I agree with the above posts regarding the desire to match the beer to the weather.

Some might think I'm a philistine for saying so, but there's something about a Coors tall boy that really hits the spot for me -- it's not as insipid as the Anheiser-Busch club sodas that pose as beer, and I think Coors has just the right amount of crisp hoppiness without being too bitter.

In cooler weather I like a Fosters or a Sam Adams, which are a bit more malty and rich, but with a pleasant balance of hops. If I'm really chilled, then I'll make a boilermaker by throwing in a shot of Old Granddad, which is the only cheap bourbon that doesn't literally make me wretch. My Basil Hayden is too good to toss into a beer.

Sort of a non-California side note; I was in New Mexico on the San Juan a couple of weeks ago and had the pleasure of stopping into the Three Rivers Brewery in Farmington. The beer was fantastic, and the atmosphere reminded me of some of my favorite brewpubs in NorCal and the Pacific Northwest, they had hand pumps (beer snobs will know)...and they'd sell "growlers" to go, a jug of beer for later consumption. If you're ever out in that area and looking for a good after-fishing brew, check out the Three Rivers Brewery.