Mission Brewery Trifecta

The Mission Brewery is here in San Diego "less than a mile from the very hill where Friar Junipero and his scurvy-ridden crew drove their stake into the ground"(from their website). Where the hell that is, I don't know. Possibly by Mission San Diego de Alcala that is near old town. It is a brewery name that has had life breathed back into it by two homebrewers on a mission. I'm not sure how long they've been on the market, but the website (humble as it may be) claims they "re-established" it in 2007. They won a couple of GABF awards in 2007. I bought three of their beers recently and they were all quite tasty.


IPA
The IPA was not bashful. Nor did it make apologies. This was a good SoCal IPA. It will register on my list as one to look for when desiring an IPA. A strong IPA. A good alternative to Stone's IPA.

NOTES: 7 out of 10 (6.8% ABV)
Sight: Clear, Amber with a little red. Good lookin' beer. Nice Curves!

Smell: A little malt, a lot of hops. A vegetal rooty smell from the hops. Some hops just have a little bit of a funk to them. It's what makes the special (awww).

Sound: Ocean breeze with a hint of background noise (is that Pee-Wee Herman's Big Adventure?)

Feel: Medium thickness. Good medium level of astringency.

Taste: Good strong hoppy IPA. There's enough malt to keep it drinking well all the way through. The hop flavors stick to your tongue. I get a slight peanut butter taste that goes well.



Blond Ale

This was a well rounded beer that was nice to drink all the way through. A beer one might consider a "session" beer. It's a little sweet at the finish, so one might trade off with a drier beer during their session. While this beer is pretty tasty, I didn't give it a super score because it's not super-duper "wow" kinda beer, nor do I think that was the intent. It's a good "drinkin" beer.



NOTES: 5 out of 10 (5% ABV)

Sight: Clear and light straw color.

Smell: A light malt smell with a lager chaser.

Feel: Larger bubbles and low viscosity. (That means on the thinner side)

Taste: There's a little green apple flavor and a light spice of hops. The kolsch yeast strain gives it (from the bottle): "a peck of fruitiness that complements the blend of noble hops. Lager-Like with delecate dryness." I think that's actually a pretty good description.


Amber Ale

Being the nimrod that I am, in my race to complete this trifecta, I forgot to take notes on the Amber. Musta been really good! I do remember it being well balanced and something I would definitely try again. Next time I'll take notes. Meanwhile here's what's on the label:

A covenant of light and dark, of refreshing and full-flavored, making for one majestic session beer. With a crisp lager-like spirity and a toasty charackter, the bitterness is bolstered yet balanced. The lingering sweet caramel taste is buttressed by the generous use of Munich, Vienna, and Pilsner malts.

I'm impressed by these efforts. I hope to find their hefeweizen somewhere soon. They've done well with the basic not-so-basic beers. I hope to see some special beers from them soon, say, a double IPA? Check their website for locations that are carrying their stuff.