Why Hello Big Sur!

Hello, weekly beer nerds. So it’s still winter in Los Angeles, and it still feels like autumn. I think it may have “rained” a bit last night, so that’s something. And I am wearing another sweater today. I’m feeling especially thirsty this week, because, believe it or not, I abstained from alcohol for a few weeks. Why would I do such a blasphemous thing, you ask?

Well, someone has gained a few (15) winter pounds and did not want to look eight months pregnant at an industry awards show I attended on Saturday night. Spoiler alert, I didn’t. Also, my skin looks great now! Worry not, though. There are plenty of beers in my past, present, and future, including today’s specimen: Big Sur Double IPA from BarrelHouse Brewing Company.

Big Sur is actually a beer that I first tried several months ago and just had not gotten around to writing about. As I was driving to work today, I noticed an orange tree casually growing in a nearby yard. The orange skins glistening in the sun reminded me of Big Sur flavors, and voila, an article began to take root in my brain.

To my surprise, Barrel House is located in Paso Robles and its about 100 miles south of Big Sur. So nowhere near its name’s sake. Additionally, Paso Robles is one of the major wine-producing regions of California, so craft beer is not the first thing that comes to mind. When I mapped out Barrel House, it is surrounded by wineries, with nary another brewery in sight. No malted competition anywhere.

Savvy business practice? Perhaps.

Like many CA breweries, Barrel House is less than a decade old, having been founded in a garage (where else?) in 2013. Big Sur is one of their year-round offerings, but I have to say I’m intrigued to try more. BH hosts a “Barrel Facility” across the street from their main brewery, where barrel-aged sours are created. A dedicated sour facility holy cow sign me up! It’s only…checks Google Maps..a 3.5 hour drive north! California is a big fucking state. So you’re probably thinking if BH has all these tasty sours, why the hell did I choose a double IPA? Because that’s what the little boutique grocery store next to my place of work had, that’s why. Plus, Big Sur is 9.6%, and I like a low priced beer with a high ABV.

Well, come on, let’s get pouring! The color of Big Sur is beautiful. I’m calling it a hazy SoCal sunset. It reminds me of the beautiful golden tinted pollution haze that forms around the sun as it begins to set. The head formed on the glass was thick, creamy, and delicious (just like head should be wink wink!). Unfortunately, because of how delicious I found this beer, I forgot to take a picture with all the whipped meringue delight until after I had drunk half a glass. Just try to envision whipped egg whites adorning the glass. For those of you who bake, imagine soft peaked meringue. I did not observe a great deal of carbonation activity in the glass, but as I learned, the beer really didn’t need it. There was enough carbonation to lightly tantalize the tongue.

You faithful readers (all 3 of you) know what’s coming next! That’s right, get ready to pretentiously waft those aroma molecules up to your olfactory area. If I had to select one word to describe this beer, I’d pick bright. Bright like the sun shining on that orange tree I saw on my drive to work. Bright because of the charming notes of orange, lime, and lemon, mixed with a lightly bitter floral note. If this was a perfume, it would probably be called “Orange Blossom” or some slightly more haughty form of that. I wouldn’t expect a West Coast IPA to have such a sweet, floral scent, so it was a delightful surprise. The aroma notes were more akin to a NEIPA. Still, I will take citron notes over a beer that smells solely of the Pacific Northwest on a rainy day any time.

The mouthfeel of Big Sur was very full, no surprise with a 9.6% ABV, that is a lot of fermentable ingredients up in that bitch. Yet, shockingly, this is not what I would call a sweet beer. I tend to avoid the malt heavy beers because I tend to find them annoyingly cloying, instead selecting a more balanced beer, but in this case, I dig it. I would even deign to call this a well-balanced beer, as well balanced as a double IPA can be. Big Sur just managed to walk the line between resiny and sweet, East meets West, and they are mingling quite nicely.

Sparking notes of lemon/lime with a hint of spicy ginger beer waltzed across my waiting taste buds. I’m imagining myself sipping a Moscow Mule, pinky up in the air, of course, ass down, feet up in one of those reclining beach chairs in a citron filled sunny LA backyard. Of course, beer babes shall not exist on citrus alone (maybe I could, I really fucking love lemon), we must have bread for all, and roses, too. (Yes I did twist bible verse Matthew 4:4, and the famous labor history poem “Bread and Roses” to make a beer pun, so what?!) All this to say that I began to pick up some warm toasted malted notes mid-sip, reminiscent of a lightly toasted dinner roll. Mmmm, a warm brioche slathered with lemon curd, yum. But…But, you gasp, this is an IPA, nay a double IPA! There must be bitter! There must be pine!

Well, all you hop heads just get your knickers out of a twist now. The big reveal at the end of the sip is, of course, the pine. Do you motherfuckers really think a west coast double IPA is not going to have even a hint of lupulin spice? That being said, the pine is light, but it lingers just so. And just because it’s light does not mean wimpy. Picture some big ass Douglass Fir looking tree daintily dipping its needles? Into your glass. Not heroin. We are not talking about shooting up.

So pour one, enjoy, and don’t drive after. Because, trust me, this bitch does not taste like a 9.6% beer.

4 out of 5 Douglas Firs