Is This Heaven: South from Aquamala to Tijuana

      My last stop on this Sunday, after visiting Cerveceria Transpeninsular and Wendlandt Breweries, was Aquamala Brewery. It was small but crowded and noisy yet trendy. Of all the breweries visited so far, I would say the majority of customers were not tourist but mostly locals. A twenty-something crowd of men and women inhabited Aquamala with women dressed in their Sunday best out enjoying conversations and an afternoon out with their friends

      Aquamala, of the three breweries visited, served fusion Tapas to match their beer which were of a high quality and blended well with the brews I tasted. I had the shrimp and marlin spring roles which were flaky and mouth watering and hit the spot after quite an eventful and busy first day. The view of the ocean was distant but spectacular as were the other two breweries I had visited earlier.I called it a day and looked forward to returning to TJ to visit the breweries that were located yesterday.I capped off the night by visiting and Irish pub in Ensenada. I ordered a Guinness and they said they were out. I'll leave it at that.


Tijuana
      The Plaza Fiesta in central TJ was a craft brewery area that was small and quaint and a beer drinkers dream. This place must be cranking on a Fri/Sat night.Two narrow for cars, the alleyways separated at least 5 craft breweries. When tasting was complete at one, five yards across the alley was another unique drinking experience.  A few breweries had not opened yet like Cerveceria Insurgente which I was looking forward to but Border Psycho and Mamut Brewery were serving some great suds. Border Psycho is simply going to do this craft brewery thing their own way and the images inside caught my attention instantly upon walking in. They definitely march to the beat of
their own drum. Border Psycho served "Chilipa," a beer whose aroma and flavor are pale and caramel malts, citrus, with a moderate bitterness, and solid pepper spice that gradually builds. This was the Mexican beer


that left a nice pepper spot in my throat at the end of each taste. I felt from this beer that I had made it to Mexico. I'm glad to hear that Border Psycho, Cerveceria Transpeninsular will be able to make it to the Huntington Beach Beer Festival next weekend and will be looking forward to seeing them again.

Next Post: Parking Structure Roof Location a Real Convenience for Norte Brewing Co, Tijuana

Mexico 1 to Wendlandt: Lose Yourself in View and Brew

      Many people have headed down Mexico 1 over the years but until fairly recently they haven't had the pleasure of stopping along the way at a craft brewery. I recently finished my review of Cerveceria Transpeninsular and will head on down the road slightly farther north along the coast highway to visit Wendlandt and Aquamala breweries.


      Wendlandt will be easy for most travelers to find because its marked with a clear green sign just prior to entering Ensenada as if it were some sort of historical landmark. With the tough time I was having finding these breweries, and even with my Mexican companion, I almost could not believe a brewery could be marked so clearly, so of course I drove right by it. The host at Transpenisular graciously provided me a Baja brewery map, straitened me out and put me on course to Wendlandt where we settled in for our next flight of brews. 
Compared to the other breweries in Mexico, Wendandt was rustic and reminded my more of the breweries in the OC where one sits and drinks  while watching beer being made completely surrounded by cylinders. After drinking the flight, I got the impression that the IPA's were not the big deal in Mexico but the pale ales and the porters were where I should be focused. If your traveling to Mexico in the warm summer sun; it makes sense to look for enjoyable refreshing tastes to get into the spirit and I think that where the strengths of Mexican beer lie for the most part. At Wendstandt, I started with the lighter, more citrus and fruity tastes but saved the my favs, the IPA and Stout's for last. But I realized I was taking the lighter brews for granted and my companion recommended I save the less hoppy beers for last so that I could savor them more.I drank the lighter hopped brews and after my second tastes, I began to appreciate their mild, consistent hints of fruitiness from start to finish and I became more opened minded towards them during the trip. Gracias, Mexico.

      
      While I was enjoying the beer, I looked out from the patio, accessed by stairs, above the brewery that presented m with one of the most beautiful ocean views I had ever seen. This from a guy who grew up in the So Cal and lived in Hawaii for eight years. We could not be much closer to the beach with out actually being on the sand. I though to myself if I lived in Ensenada, I would come here every day after work to be refreshed in thirst and spirit.The Zomer Saison, the Vaquita Marina Pale ale with their light fruit and citrus hints of flavor did it for me. With the Vera Nega Mexican ale I thought I was closed to finding my quissesential Mexican beer and it was close, but I was still on the search the craft brew piece of Mexico that I can bring back with and deposit it my memory. I didn't want to leave my vista but onward we go, slightly south, not quite into Ensenada, to Aquamala (Jellyfish) Brewery

Stay tuned

Route 1- Mexico

      As I continue my journey sampling the best brews the world has to offer, I recently headed down Mexico Route 1 and thought I would see what Ensenada and Tijuana had to offer. It was a beautiful sunny weekend with cool ocean breezes which was a welcome break from the rare humidity that I was experiencing in my Orange County hub. The plan was to find breweries in Tijuana first, stay the night in Ensenada and check out their local scene on Monday. Unfortunately, most of TJ's breweries were closed on Sunday and so with the winds on our backs we headed south. This is the beginning of a series of entries of my visit to craft breweries in Baja,Mexico. Stay tuned as I review each of my experiences.

Trying to find the breweries in TJ and Enseneada was initially a chore. Even with my Spanish speaking companion, and GPS, we were still being lead to one deadend after another. I have no problem if a brewery is hard to find:: its the way I like it. But I was starting to have doubts whether I would taste craft beers any time soon. Problem number one was Mexico isn't exactly into posting street signs or street numbers. Problem number two was many of the people we asked didn't know what a craft brewery was. Another issue was the breweries opens on Mexican time. It may say the brewery opens at 11am but that can actually mean 4 pm. Finally, some breweries don't list their phone numbers which really can make things difficult.

       On the way from TJ, we took a drive through of the resort town of Rosarito and continued on to the restaurant, bar area called Puerto Nuevo for lunch. After arriving in Ensenada, we found ourselves on another wild goose chase as we had been initially in TJ. Finally, when we got a hold of one Craft brewery, the worker told us he didn't know his address but gave us some landmarks to help guide our way. I felt like I was back in the Navy again doing some Dead Reckoning to ascertain my position so I figured I had a shot at finding the place.

The first brewery we made to was Cerveceria Transpeninsular. The brews were solid but most of all I was thirsty. The brewery had a nice casual interior with multiple reminders on the walls of the journey many travelers taken down down Mexico through the years. It would somewhat like if a brewery in the states had a Route 66 theme. I was a modern tasting room with  palm trees that penetrated the building and then left the room through the roof which was kinda cool. It had an upstairs loft with an inside patio and a small area for outside seating with a beautiful view of the Ensenada harbor. The staff was awesome, who described in detail the brews in the flight we ordered and then they provided a map of all the craft breweries in Ensenada. Exactly what we were looking for and we were on our way. Cerveceria was one of the most spacious and comfortable tasting rooms on the journey and I highly recommend it with its location slightly North of Ensenada Proper.

Stay tuned for the next entry on Baja Craft Breweries

Best 5 Current Beers

        Sam the Common Man is a Craft Brew drinking buddy of mine. He is a Palestinian from Kuwait who discovered the beer drinking culture while he was attending university on the East Coast. He's back again with his unique insights and latest words of wisdom about the craft brewing culture in the OC.

Question: Sam, what are the 5 best current beers that you've tasted? (Reverse Order)

#5 Taipo - Phantom Ale
Smooth and easy IPA. This calls for simplicity; it reminds me of the KISS method. (Keep It Simple Stupid), it always works. It can't get simpler and tastier than this. You can always top it off with some buffalo wings and experience the mix and fulfilling taste that will make you ask for more. I mean more Taipo, of course. When you drink this, you discover life telos... "its turtles all the way down!" You know what I mean.

# 4 Aurora Hoppyalis - Karl Strauss Brewery
San Diego Style IPA - refreshing, mosaic and citra hops. Excellent flavor of tropical fruits and tangerine that lingers through out the rest of your day or evening. If you are ever in doubt, kick it up a notch with a pint of Aurora. And then you can contemplate the sky. That's all you need for your evening. And I mean it.


#3 Donate And A Half - Noble Ale Works
Pineapple and Peach. Super hop and hazy, Oh, I also meant crazy with citrus aroma. Refreshing and satisfying taste. Here you can enjoy your drink and feel good about it. I just wish it wasn't a seasonal brew but it is called "ALES for ALS because when you drink it you support research for treatment of the disease ALS. No guilt, no worries. Super!!!

#2 Double Actuator - Double IPA - Bottle Logic Brewing
Pours a clear to slightly hazy, coppery orange with moderate carbonation. Malt-driven and tropical: I like the two-fingers of foam on the top. And the carbonation make it the perfect sip. The smell is bursting with a mix of orange, grapefruit, pine and caramel malt. This combination will give you the warm feel you will always remember from the days ahead and it you can't remember come back for this amazing brew to keep your memory fresh.

The Best .
#1 Big Whig IPA -  Noble Ale Works
Nice and Hoppy, to make you happy. Its clear and medium bodied, and gold in color. Amazing aroma that brightens the room. The taste is tangerine and herbs. Excellent! You taste the honey and rosemary that come together well with a slight bitter finish. I learn to lose myself so effortlessly in enjoying this drink that at times I believed I was not drinking it but absorbing it.

Beerorbit's Top Three 1. Sculpin IPA - Ballast Point 2. Naughty Sauce Coffe Stout - Noble Ale Works 3. Swiss Vanilla Stout - Phantom Ale

Written by Sam the Common Man
Edited by Beerorbit