I was taking a hiatus from updating this blog for a couple weeks, as I spent time on the beach in California, with my thoughts far disengaged from McNellies, dismissing any thoughts or desires of beer. Well, for the most part anyway. During my last couple days on vacation, I learned that I was in close proximity of the
Stone Brewery, located in Escondido. I believe it would have been deemed a sin for me to not visit, so my friend Cera and I made the short trip to the brewery.
As soon as we walked through the front doors, I felt like I had left one paradise and entered a new one. The staff greeted us with friendly nods and welcomes while I gawked at our surroundings. The front room was full of Stone merchandise, bartering t-shirts, novelty pint glasses, cycling jerseys, belt buckles, and other branded products. As we walked through the restaurant and bar, making our way to the outdoor seating area, I noticed how much consideration had gone into every detail of the massive property. As might be expected, the walls were made of stone, with their signature gargoyle mascot etched above, gracing the room with its grandeur. Our outdoor seating area was surrounded by an ornate lush garden, and I caught a glimpse of the horticulturist, a Rastafarian looking man with a long gray beard, tending the plants.
The
food menu was just as impressive as everything else I had seen so far. Many items offered were made with local and organic foods, and a handful used beer as an ingredient. I could go on and on about how great the food was, but I imagine most of you who are reading this are far from Escondido, and it would be cruel of me to make you want something you can't have. So moving on to the beer...
The beer menu listed 32 beers on tap, ten of which were made at the brewery. Another 71 beers were available in bottles, and of all the beers offered, I had only heard of a handful. Choosing only one seemed an impossible task, and I felt a genuine understanding for those that come to McNellies for the first time, overwhelmed with so many options. I ordered a sampler, which consisted of the 'core four' Stone beers:
Stone Pale Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, Stone IPA, and
Stone Arrogant Bastard.The Stone brewery is known for producing high quality "big character" beers, with high alcohol percentages and a focus on the hop notes. Stone Brewing is probably best known for the
Arrogant Bastard Ale, with a commercial description that reads:
"This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory ---maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it's made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this. "
As you can tell by this description, the folks at Stone Brewing have a great sense of humor, as well as marketing tactics. According to Wikipedia, Stone Brewing is consistently rated as one of the best brewers in the U.S. and world by Ratebeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com. And after a visit, I can see why. All of the beer we tried was excellent, and the brewery tour was pretty amazing as well.
I could have stayed there for days, weeks, months. Cera pretty much had to drag me out of the door. Stone beer isn't quite as unattainable as their food, as it's available in 26 states, but unfortunately, Oklahoma isn't one of them. So, next time you're out of state, I would highly suggest you try and get your hands on some.
Flipping through my Runners World magazine, I notice several advertisements implying that if you are one who enjoys an active lifestyle, Michelob Ultra is the beer for you. I started thinking about this clever marketing ploy by Anheuser-Busch, and it's pretty clear that our overtly obese population has bought into this idea of beers with 'light' labels. Often, I have customers (who half the time don't look like they enjoy an active lifestyle, but rather have a heaping plate full of sweet potato fries dripping with grease and a couple extra sides of ranch dressing in front of them) irritated because I don't have any 'light' beers on tap they are familiar with. I suggest other beers that are low in calories, but I sense their suspicion as they gaze at the tap handle and seem to think "Well it doesn't say light." Oh, my bad, you must know everything about nutrition because you saw a Miller Lite commercial.
