Hangar 24 Double IPA. A 3 of 4. Beautiful color with nice creamy carbonation - lots of powerful grapefruit and citrus in the nose and up front. Lots of sticky bitterness, and a nice body. A great typical west coast DIPA with tons of citrus - but nothing really takes this to the next level. Still, a great DIPA.

Little White Lie on tap at Russian River in Santa Rosa. A 3 of 4. A well-executed Belgian white - nothing unusual about this, just really nice yeast notes in the nose - awesome lemon, spice, and even a tiny bit of honey. The body is very drinkable, and at this ABV (4.8%), this is an amazingly complex beer.

St. Bernardus’ Tripel. A 4 of 4. This is what a tripel should be. Not creative, not crazy, just plenty of fruit esters and yeast in the nose. Drinks clean (but dry) with the alcohol hidden and quite light, and a perfect finish. Probably the standard for Belgian tripels for me - just about perfect.

Row 2 Hill 56 Simcoe Hop Pale Ale on tap at Russian River in Santa Rosa. A 4 of 4. Perfect lacing and simcoe nose - nice grapefruit presence without being too overwhelming - just plain and simple simcoe. Nice creamy, drinkable body that finishes clean. An awesome pale ale - I had to pick up a growler of this.

Bootlegger’s Rustic Rye IPA. A 2 of 4. Nice rye spiciness and some grassy hop presence in the nose. The body leaves a lot to be desired - not much nuance from the rye or the hops - just generic bitterness and a caramel malty presence that seems a bit off. Ok, and easily drinkable, but definitely not a favorite rye IPA of mine. Rather than working with the bitterness, the rye seems out of balance.

Pizza Port Carlsbad / Green Flash / Stone’s Highway 78 Scotch Ale. A 3 of 4. Tons of caramel, spiciness, and a nice molasses nose. Drinks with a touch of bitterness, and wow does the molasses-y sweetness come forward. Still remains dry despite the sweetness, and finishes with some lingering caramel notes. This is a great scotch ale - not quite enough smoke/roasted-ness for my taste, but if you like caramel-y sweet ones, you’ll love this. And at 8.8%, it’s one to be sipped - it isn’t the most drinkable one out there.

Dogfish Head Red and White. A 3 of 4. Gotta say, one of my favorite Dogfish Head large-format beers. Slightly sweet nose with really nice floral and citrus notes. Very simple and reminiscent of a basic wheat beer. Pretty good lacing with a body that starts too sweet at first - with a huge fruit presence - somewhat wine-ish and grape-forward, but not overwhelming. The body dries out on the finish and you’re left with a clean palate like you just had a simple wheat beer - but instead, you had 10% ABV. The alcohol is very well-hidden, and you get just enough nuance but still plenty of drinkability to this. The wood aging and the pinot juice pre-fermentation add just the right amount of presence without being overwhelming.

St. Bernardus Prior 8 Dubbel. A 4 of 4. One of the more complex Dubbels I’ve had - tons of light fruity notes that come out of the yeast that are surprising in this dark of a beer. You still get the classic dubbel malt notes - some slight nuttiness, molasses, and other candy sugar tastes. Solid drying body with a clean finish. Once again, a standard from St. Bernardus.

Anchorage Brewing’s Galaxy White IPA. A 3 of 4. Beautiful pale color with a floral, piney nose - it seems very flattened as a result of the barrel. Not much funk in the nose besides a slightly weird dryness, but it definitely arrives on the palate - smooth, slightly bitter, and then drying on the finish with the typical brett funk ever-present. Nice and light with tons of nuance - but something about this isn’t the most appealing to me. Almost too much funk for such a light witbier - it isn’t that drinkable.

Lost Abbey’s Red Poppy Ale. A 4 of 4. Wow this is sour. Puckeringly so. Tons of cherry and dark fruit notes, and plenty of pleasant sourness to go around. The cherries in this aren’t overwhelming - they add some nice complexity to it. Very complex and awesome, and possibly one of the most sour beers I’ve had. Thankfully it leaves your palate relatively clean and doesn’t linger, otherwise I could only probably have a taste out of this bottle. Despite the sourness, this is quite drinkable.

Jupiter’s CS Mild on tap at Jupiter in Berkeley. A 3 of 4. A great session ale - a great malty richness to this despite its low ABV and relatively thin body. Some nice grassy hop notes come out as well. Just perfect for sitting out on the patio in the sun in the afternoon.

Knee Deep Brewing’s Hoptologist Double IPA. A 2 of 4. Nice rich color and sticky lacing - tons and tons of orange in the nose with a touch of pine as well. Decent body - the relatively high carbonation really makes the bitterness dominate your palate throughout. Not much malty back or balance to this - all citrus all the time. Has the hops a double IPA should, but doesn’t manage to balance itself out. Still, I’d happily get this again.

Almanac’s Summer 2010 Ale w/ Blackberries at Gather in Berkeley (Thanks Keith!). A 4 of 4. The age on this has done it quite well. The nose is quite complex from the typical citrus hop aroma to the interesting tart sweetness from the blackberries. The tartness almost makes this come off as a slight sour, but then it flattens and cleans out in the body. The blackberry was there but not overwhelming, and this really is quite well-put together and balanced. All of Almanac’s stuff seems to be thoughtfully combined without beating you over the head with the specialty ingredients.

The Alchemist / Ninkasi / Stone’s More Brown than Black IPA. A 3 of 4. Really nice pine in the nose - with a bit of orangey citrus as well. Drinks with some nice nutty malt character, and finishes clean with a lingering bitterness. The body seems a little thin for what I’d ideally like, but it has the hops, as well as the nice rich malt back.

Almanac’s Autumn 2011 Farmhouse Pale w/ Plums at Gather in Berkeley (Thanks Keith!). A 3 of 4. Really interesting. You get the typical light fruity yeast character of a good farmhouse, and then the plums mix in and so much complexity. If you sipped this with your eyes closed you might be fooled thinking this was a quad for a second from the plum and complex dark fruit notes - but then it lightens up and finishes clean. Quite drinkable - on par with some of the best farmhouses with a nice touch of creativity from the plums that balances well.