One of the great things about this place is they sell loose beers; you can purchase single bottles without buying whole six packs (and you can drink the beers you buy at the store while you eat one of their delicious sandwiches!). They also offer 10-15 beers on tap that you can sample. You can order pints (to drink in the store) and also fill growlers to take home with you.
They also host tastings most weeks, usually on Tuesday. I had never been to one before, so I invited my friends Edwina and Dan to check it out with me. This week's tasting was for beers from the San Francisco-based Speakeasy Ales and Lagers. So I sat down, giant sandwich in hand (Serrano ham, manchego cheese, arugula, and fig spread!), and got ready to try some beers.
We tasted five beers, a range from lighter in color and ABV to darker and stronger. The first beer was quite a nice Belgian ale (see? I'm starting to warm up to them!) called The Witness; it was a sort of Belgian wheat/Saison. The big standouts of the night for my friends and I were the Double Daddy Imperial IPA, which had a lovely piney flavor; the Payback Porter, which was rich and lovely, with notes of coffee; and the extra special offering, the Ritual Coffee Porter, brewed with Ritual Coffee. This brew really, really tasted like coffee.
If I had to pick a favorite, I think I'd vote for the Payback Porter. It was everything a porter should be: balanced, rich, and silky. (But I did go back and buy a pint of The Witness Belgian!)
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