Summer is here and in full-swing, folks! And nothing says summer in San Diego better than enjoying a nice, cold, craft brew while listening to some great music. It was another solid year for BeerX: Craft Beer and Music Festival, presented by 91X at the Waterfront Park, where a sold-out crowd of 10,000 fans came together to enjoy this city’s finest craft beer as well as music from our local, hometown heroes.

Headlining this year’s BeerX Festival, San Diego’s very own reggae sensation Slightly Stoopid kicked off their “Schools Out For Summer Tour” and brought along…quite a bit of their friends!

This all-day event was packed full of surprises from what was on the list of over 150 different beers, to a special food and beer pairing demos which was a new thing this year, and topped it off with some LEGENDARY special guests who shared the stage with the bands. Yes, you heard right! Towards the end of the night, Slightly Stoopid surprised everyone in attendance by covering a few songs with none other than the legendary reggae artist Don Carlos and, if that wasn’t enough, also brought up Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 and I just about lost my mind!

Other musical acts for the night included Band of Gringos, Marujah, Ethan Tucker Band, Fishbone (classic lineup), Pepper, and one of my personal favorites in Stick Figure. Without further ado, we would like to highlight some of those delicious flavors and amazing moments in a series of segments we like to call: Under The Tent.

UNDER THE TENT: BEERS OF BEERX

For our first couple of stops, I decided to give a little love to a couple of breweries visiting from different cities to fully take advantage of tasting their beers straight from the tap!

AFTERSHOCK BREWING CO.

I made my way down the first aisle of beer tents looking for something unique to start off my taste testing session when, all of a sudden, I hear someone say, “Oh wow! That really DOES taste like an oatmeal cookie!” and I realized I had just found my first stop.

Taking the trip down from Temecula, Ca are our new friends from Aftershock Brewing Co. and their very eclectic styles of beer. Their menu was almost exactly what I was looking for. Something that is uncommon, yet very familiar in a nostalgic sort of way… so I went straight for the cookie jar!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ale (ORCA) – Tastes EXACTLY as its name suggests! This amber ale…forgive me while I stop salivating… pours clear with a frothy white head and, surprisingly, not as thick and lingering as one would imagine from a beer that tastes like an oatmeal cookie. It was moderately sweet, with a fruity aroma. Well balanced and delicious with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 5.5% for easy drinkability.

Orange CreamsicAle – I figured I already started at the cookies so why not another childhood favorite? This is a California style cream ale with orange zest and vanilla…again, tastes pretty much like a liquid creamsicle. This is a medium-bodied, clear, straw colored pale ale with a very mild carbonation. It has a very bright citrus smell which balances well with the flavors of the vanilla cream and grassy hops. At a 5.2% ABV, this is definitely a good summer beer!

DOCENT BREWING

Moving on to other exciting and unfamiliar territories, we made a quick stop over at an Orange County brewery that I had always been meaning to try. From San Juan Capistrano, Docent Brewing brought some really interesting flavors along to further satiate my thirst for uniqueness.

Grandpappy – Now this is what I’m talking about; a rich and full-flavored beer that sounded like a dessert. It was a dark imperial stout with espresso, dark chocolate, dried cherries and graham cracker malt, you didn’t have to tell me twice to have a couple of tasters. You could really taste the espresso and dark chocolate flavors right as you take your first sips and, as you follow through, it really opens up some fruity layers which really makes you appreciate the complexity of this beer. Dark as it might have been, it was surprisingly not as heavy as I thought it would drink and, with an ABV of 9.5%, it was a good, strong beer that didn’t weigh you down too badly.

Now onto our very own #drinklocal hometown heroes!

ABNORMAL BEER CO.

Bringing it back home, I wanted to hit up one of my and San Diego’s favorite weirdo’s, Abnormal Beer Company. They are always coming out with different, new, great tasting styles of beer so I wanted to highlight a couple of beers they have at their Rancho Bernardo tap room so you all can enjoy them with us!

New Money – This is an experimental hazy IPA and one of three different flavored hazy hybrid brews out this summer season. A New England style beer normally has an ABV ranging anywhere from 3% to about 6% but, combined with the hoppy characteristics of an IPA, makes this a stronger hazy beer at 7% ABV without one style of beer overpowering the other. A good balance of fruity bitterness and a sweet malt. Each batch will be made with different amounts and combinations of hops so it will be fun to see how many different batches they’ll be pouring in the near future. Keep things a little exciting!

5PM Session – I am always looking for a good beer that can be a perfect end to a long work day and this is a really flavorful go-to. An easy going 5.2% ABV that pours a hazy golden-orange color like the sunset I’m trying to decompress in front of after the workday is done. Not unlike me, this beer is mildly bitter and slightly sweet, simple, and not too complex. Very light and refreshing in case you want to drink a few in session.

BURGEON BEER CO

Here is a brewery that pretty much got me started on drinking hazy beers, no lie, because of their logo. One keep-the-pint-night was all it took to get me to try three of their beers and, even though I was not a big fan of hazy New England style beers at the time, I was really surprised that I liked them so much. I ordered their beers even after they ran out of glassware. Here are a couple of beers available in Carlsbad’s very own Burgeon Beer Co.

Continental Breakfast – Served on nitro, this oatmeal stout is pure silky goodness! It pours a deep, dark brown with a foamy cream head and a sweet malt flavor that goes down smooth. It’s a very dense beer but, where it lacks in high alcohol content, it doubles in taste. At 5.5% ABV, this is absolutely one to enjoy with your eggs and toast in the morning. Coffee, you’ve had your turn!

Blue Steel – This is an extremely, very, very, very good-looking hazy son-of-a-beer! A fuzzy, pale, golden colored New England style brew with Simcoe and Mosaic hops gracefully balanced with floral and citrus aromas, but fierce and robust in flavor. With an ABV of 5.8%, it sits looking down-ingly at the average hazy beer with it’s bold and slightly bitter persona. All around, a very refreshing beer for a gorgeous, mid-summer day.

PURE PROJECT

Next I would like to highlight a brewery that really takes a holistic approach in the way they brew their beer. Pure Project Brewing has a very interesting story to tell and they do so in their craft as well as their simple and elegant design. They’re a great follow on instagram, let me tell you! You can visit their laid back tasting room in Maramar or check out what cans they have in season. Here are a couple of upcoming releases

Murkaveli – Well, they sure picked the name right for this collaboration double IPA with San Antonio’s own Weathered Souls Brewing Co. A dank, foggy, yellowish color with a large, frothy white head and an ABV of 8.8%. Very aromatic right off the nose, medium bodied, mild citrus hops, and a sweet blend of tropical fruit flavors. It has some bite on it but, somehow, it’s very balanced and easy drinking.

Blueberry Magic – I am very excited about this can release because its one I have yet to try. The description on the can says it is a sour double IPA with blueberries, hibiscus, and lactose. The pictures on their instagram show this beer as a milky rose color with a slight fuzzy head and a mild to high carbonation. It sounds delightful and, with an ABV of 8.5%, you can’t really go wrong here.

Pure Project Brewing has yet to release a disappointing beer, so I’m sure these are going to be exceptional as well.

AMPLIFIED ALE WORKS

Last but certainly not least, I wanted to turn it up to eleven before the four o’clock hour hit to end the beer tasting portion of the night. What better way to turn up than with the lively bunch over at Amplified Ale Works. As a musician I am drawn to music-themed anything so, when they brought out their tasters on a guitar shaped paddle, I was immediately sold on their vision.

Born To Lose IPA – One of two collaboration brews with one of the most decorated and legendary rock bands Motorhead that has some really awesome can art to go along with it. This is a traditional west-coast style IPA brewed with copious amounts of citra hops that hit your taste buds hard. Pours a slightly cloudy amber color and has a surprising boldness in hop flavor in comparison to its slightly lower than average 6.8% ABV.

Electric Chair – This collaboration is with a local band called Low Volts. Like the band itself, this brew has a boot stomping, rowdy hop character. This refreshing straw-colored American pale ale is brewed with a harmonious blend of Mosaic, Simcoe, and Chinook hops. At 6% ABV, you can definitely drink this one is session without starting a ruckus at the local saloon.

Fun fact about this brewery is that ALL of their beers are gluten-reduced, without sacrificing flavor. With two locations to choose from, whether it be the kitchen and beer garden in Pacific Beach or their tasting room in Miramar, you’re only about 20 minutes away from enjoying yourself some good tunes and brews.