I love a big bold glass of red wine, but I also love an ice cold IPA.

In the past few years, the IPA (India Pale Ale) has really taken off.  This beer’s claim to fame is the bittery profile made with loads of hops.  Rumor has it that IPA was created back in the 1700′s when the British soldiers occupied India and they needed a way to transport beer to them without it going bad so quickly.  They added extra hops to act as a preservative and everyone really dug the flavor profile, so it stuck ever since.

San Diego is home to some amazing breweries that are pumping out their own award winning IPAs.  You can buy them in some local California grocery stores, but if you happen to be in the area, the breweries are definitely worth a visit (Stone has an amazing high-end restaurant with the best beer mac ‘n’ cheese on the planet).

So these are just a few of my favs… If you haven’t tried them before, take note that they’re big, bold, and bittery and you might not like them at first since they’re so strong.  Of course they’re great on their own, but I prefer to pair one with dinner… A craft brewed IPA with a little grilled steak and veggies?  Yes, please.

Alesmith - IPA

Port Brewing – Wipeout IPA

Stone – Ruination

Do you like hoppy IPAs?  Which beers are your fav?

Photo shot with the Fuji X100

Forget the wine and bubble baths.  There’s nothing like drinking an ice cold beer while you take a steaming hot shower.

It’s a life changer… especially after a long mountain bike ride.

Photos:  By Me, Left – Key West, Right – Peru

Photos:  Ferry Building in San Francisco

Beer and oysters.  The only thing on my mind lately are the oysters and beer we had for lunch last year in San Francisco.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever heard of a mushroom called ‘fried chicken’?  Saw a box full of them at the Ferry building and was wondering how you would cook them……  maybe a little ‘fried chicken’ white truffle risotto?  Sounds good to me!

The rest of my San Francisco photos are here.