It is as they say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Except I wasn’t in Rome, but we did take a mini road trip up to our sister city in the north, Orange County, Ca. I’ve said it time and time again, the best part about going to these beer and music festivals is that you get to taste a variety of beers the best way possible. Straight off the tap!

I was excited to see which local breweries made it onto the roster for the evening and, since I was on vacation, I made the best of it and hit up the breweries I would not normally have access to down in San Diego, Ca. We did run into a few of my local favorites as well but, since Orange County was giving us so much love, I couldn’t help but want to return the favor…or should I say “savor the flavor?”

Sabroso Taco, Beer, and Music Festival was set on the beautiful grounds of Doheny State Beach. An oceanfront concert experience paired with over 150 signature craft beers, a delectable array of tacos from over six of So-Cal’s favorites including the popular Mexican grill, Chronic Tacos, PLUS Lucha Libre style wresting matches between bands to make this one of the most unique festivals on the West Coast. Attendees of this event were also treated to the tastes of The Offspring‘s lead singer Dexter Hollund‘s top-rated Gringo Bandito Hot Sauce and unlimited 2oz beer samples for the first four hours of the festival, which is more than enough time to get familiar with every beer vendor available and get a nice buzz going.

Its all fun and games until… well I guess it was all pretty much just fun and games

But wait…there’s more! Since this IS a taco festival, why not have some sort of event to… I dunno, make it a little more exciting? Raise the stakes a little? So BOOM, here you go ladies and gentlemen! Back by popular demand, the Gringo Bandito Chronic Tacos Challenge! All of this and more will be covered in the next series of segments that we like to call: Under The Tent.

UNDER THE TENT: TACO EATING COMPETITION

For the second year in a row, the Gringo Bandito Chronic Tacos Challenge crowned, none other than, the most decorated world champion eater Takeru Kobayashi as the undisputed winner. Holding eight Guiness World Records for competitive eating, Kobayashi competed against seven other professional eaters to add more titles under his belt. Devouring 154 tacos in ten minutes, which was only five tacos shy of his record last year, he was named the Undefeated Chronic Tacos Eating Champion.

Takeru Kobayashi: undefeated at Gringo Bandito Chronic Tacos Challenge
(Photo by Samantha Madnick Photography)

UNDER THE TENT: BEERS OF SABROSO

WILD BARREL BREWING CO

To start things off I headed to one of San Diego’s newest kids on the block, Wild Barrel Brewing Company. Since the soft opening of their San Marcos tasting room in late September of 2017, owner Bill Sysak has delivered some really great tasting beers.

Indie IPA Dry Hopped W/ Symcoe: An American style IPA with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 7.6% has a nice, fruity aroma that goes down quite refreshingly. As its name suggests, this golden colored IPA is heavily dry hopped with Simcoe hops, mixed with passion fruit, pine berry and other citrus flavors for a crisp taste to a fully flavored body. Not that I’m saying it was a hot day, but this sure took the care right out of me.

San Diego Vice W/ Black Currant: This is a Berliner Weisse style sour beer. For those who are not familiar, this German Style beer is typically a light, cloudy, sour beer which is made from variations of malted barley and wheat. Wild Barrel Brewing has added a few different flavors of this style of beer, but my personal favorite has got to be the black currant. With an ABV of 5.6%, it is a bit stronger than the average Berliner Weisse and it is light enough to drink a few in a session. If you like a nice tart flavored sour, this would be my recommendation.

LATITUDE 33 BREWING

Continuing the San Diego beer trail, I stopped to check out my amigos at Latitude 33 Brewing Company from my neighborhood of Vista, Ca. Latitude 33s Blood Orange IPA has become one of my go-to beers whenever I make the trip to my local liquor store. It’s an any day type of beer that has the kick of an IPA at 7.2% ABV, but with a juicy, sweet, citrus flavor from the blood oranges that keeps you wanting more. We are lucky to have this beer widely available in a can at most stores down in San Diego, so let’s talk about whats on tap at their tasting room.

Wilford’s Revenge: This is an Imperial Oatmeal Stout that hits your taste buds like if you would have to look around for a license plate. Coming in with a 10.5% ABV it tastes as strong as its name. Very dark colored with a vengeful bitterness, but also very sweet and creamy for a good one-two packed punch. It is a heavier beer so enjoy responsibly.

THREE WEAVERS BREWING CO

Making our way to uncharted beer territory, a bright green canopy captured my attention and lured me in. Three Weavers Brewing Company from Inglewood, Ca had a bright and colorful selection of brews on hand so I made sure to try a couple of them.

Day Job Pale Ale: A full-flavor American style pale ale for the every day worker. Strong in flavor but not in alcohol percentage, this is a great, sessionable beer to have after a long, hard day’s work. 5.2% ABV with piney, tropical hints on the nose, medium bodied with a fine carbonation. Almost makes you want to kick your feet up and relax.

Seafarer Kolsch: This is another German style hybrid beer which is known for its fermentation process, A pilsner malt and varieties of noble hops that go through a laggering process at cold temperatures after being warm fermented. The Seafarer is bright and crisp with a cloudy straw color and earthy aromas; another after-work delight with an ABV of 4.8%. This beer won’t give you sea-legs by any means, so session it up!

KNEE DEEP BREWING CO

The first time I heard about this brewing company, I had to try it. A band called Job For A Cowboy has a song with the same name and I thought, “If I really like the song, maybe I would like these beers too!” Not only that, but they have a beer called Breaking Bud, which is an homage to, what I believe is, one of the best television series ever: Breaking Bad. The beer art featured the iconic periodic table style lettering and what appears to be their mascot in full hazmat attire. Needless to say, I was in for a good, nostalgic time.

Breaking Bud IPA: I like a little science with my beers from time to time and the complexity of this beers profile reminds me of a well designed chemistry project where everything mixed in just right. A lower ABV than the usual IPA, but this 6.5% beer packs some serious robust flavors. Mosaic hops, layers of tropical fruit aromas, and a slightly hazy, amber color… “Jessie, these guys know how to cook.”

MAN JUICE IPA: While I was standing over by the side of the tent about to take a group photo of the staff, someone in the crowd shouted, “He looks like he wants to try some Man Juice!” Everyone laughed, I cried (really, not really) and, when I finally figured out that he was talking about the beer, I couldn’t help but laugh as I proceeded to ask for a sample. Dare I say that it was delicious? You bet! This is a beer brewed especially for Sacramento Beer Week, being a Northern California brewery, made from fresh, local mandarin oranges to really promote and showcase their pride in their community….members (yes, my 13-year-old self just high-fived me).

FOUNDERS BREWING

I was pleasantly surprised to see this Grand Rapids, Michigan brewing company here on the West Coast. Founders Brewing really takes a pioneering approach to their beers by straying away from the usual, commonly-walked path, and venturing off to find what works for them. I’ve had a few of their beers before but, when I can get it on tap, it always feels like the first time.

SOLID GOLD PREMIUM LAGER: Summer is almost here and this is a great, light lager to enjoy by the pool on a nice, hot day. I would say it was a perfect beach beer but, sadly, there’s currently a ban on booze in San Diego beaches so… pool. A spicy, clear, light yellow-colored lager with a 4.4% ABV and an added crisp, hoppy bitterness to put their stamp on a classic favorite. Thanks for the love, Michigan! Cheers!

CHAPMAN CRAFTED BEER

Rounding off the evening, I visited with Chapman Crafted Beer from Old Towne Orange, Ca. Unfortunately was not able to sample their beer since it hit four o’clock as I was making my way around the tent, but I did get hosed down with beer as the keg was untapped by the event coordinators. I managed to have a little chat with them about their most popular beer so, after the festival, I did a little research on my own.

HELLO AGAIN: The description says this is a German style lager brewed with Mittlefruhe hops and has an ABV of 4.8%. A clear, golden-yellow color and a light body with a pilsner-esque bitterness. It sounds like I may have to make my way down to the taproom to try this one myself one of these days. Thanks for the chat Chapman Crafted! We shall see you soon, I’m sure.

That about does it for the coverage of the beer happenings around the grounds at Sabroso Taco, Beer, and Music Festival. Thanks again to everyone at Brew-Ha-Ha Productions for putting on this jam packed festival and a big thanks to all the Orange County festival goers for making this San Diego native feel welcomed and at home!

Enjoy the rest of these pictures and make sure to check out the entire gallery at sdpubcrawlers.com/gallery. Please follow and subscribe for future giveaways and other news for events coming up in the summer! Cheers!

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