Checking up on All-American Ale Works

I had the unfortunate occasion to be at the Kaiser Permanente mega-complex in #Anaheim one night.  A sick mother-in-law is no good.  The Old Man and I hung out for a while bedside in the ER and then, hands wringing, left for the night hoping for the best within the next couple of days.

Since we were so far down on La Palma, we decided to hit up All-American Ale Works.  It is one of the newer breweries in Anaheim and one that I hadn’t been to since I wrote this review of them in the summer of 2017.

All-American Ale Works is the furthest brewery east on Lager Palma Brewlouvard.  It’s maybe 3 miles from Bottle Logic, Asylym, & Hoparazzi.  We were pleased when we pulled  up and there was a sign letting patrons know that they had $3 Founding Father Pints on this night.  With a special like that going on, we were shocked when we walked inside and there was no one in there, except for the brewer Travis.  When I came in July, it was so packed that I was lucky to get a seat.  That was right after they opened so word was on the street about a new brewery in Anaheim.  This time, I had my choice so I picked the table with the best All-American Ale Works brand.  Hardcore.

We asked Travis what the “Founding Father’s” pint special was all about and he told us it was all the “Year Round” beers on the menu, there were 5 choices with varying tastes and ABV’s.

Here’s a pretty focused shot of the menu.  The growler prices are cut off so you will just have to go there to find out the prices.

Normally I would’ve gone for the Old School Mix Tape Session IPA but it was only a 4.7%.  I know it’s more about the taste of the beer but I happen to be an ABV nerd and it’s something I look for in a brew.  So I went with the Barefoot Blonde Lager which measured 5% and the Old Man had a Storm The Beach which is a red ale with coconut with an awesome 7% ABV.

We both really enjoyed our selections in the first round.  So much that we stayed for a second round and both had the Storm The Beach this time.  Again, the color was dark red with a good head and the coconut in the mix adds such a sweet, mellow flavor to the finish.  Here’s the Old Man hisself posing with his first 7%er:

 

 

For about 10 minutes after we ordered our first round, no one was in there so we just talked to Travis.  He was personable and really on top of things coming up for All-American.  They are looking ahead to having distribution in local places and getting their name out on the craft brew festival circuit.  I mentioned the lack of crowds and Travis said the $3 pint on Monday night thing was new but let me know that they have a bunch of events going on throughout the week.  Here’s a pick of the weeklies:

 

 

Eventually, a group of 4 came in and sat at the bar so Travis turned his attention to them.  Now it was my chance to start snapping pictures and writing down the facts!  Another couple came in a little while later and then finally a lone guy but it got a little more crowded without being annoying.

 

There has been a hole in my heart since Backstreet Brewery quit hosting trivia night.  My interest was definitely piqued when I saw that All-American teams up with

Geeks Who Drink for trivia on Tuesdays at 7:00pm.  Travis said the top prize is a $20 gift card.  I know a couple of Lag-A-Lots who could use a $20 gift card to pay for the $50 worth of beer we would all drink that night.  One of these nights I’m gonna get down Lager Palma east and play some trivia with my smart friends.  Can’t hardly wait!

 

 

 

Travis told us about some upcoming charity thing they are doing in conjunction with a local cat rescue.  For the life of me, I cannot remember the name but I wish I could give them a plug here.  Remember to spay and neuter your pets!

All-American Ale Works has improved and seem to be getting better than when I first tried them out.  Everything about the place is mostly the same as it was when they opened last year.  For example, they’ve got the Patch Wall and merchandise for sale still.

The art on the walls is still the same as well as the big screen tele’s on every wall broadcasting whatever game catches the fancy of the brewery patrons on any given night.

But they have a lot more beers on tap than they used to though and that’s great.  Travis said when they first opened they only had 9 or so choices on the menu and now the menu is extensive.  He said they have made over 35 different brews since they opened until now.

I got a few shots of the back area:

If you’ve never been to All-American Ale Works, I recommend checking it out.  If you’ve been once or twice last year, like I had, do yourself a favor and head back there.  Just don’t come on Tuesdays for trivia night because my team will devour you.

Below the glowing neon sign (also lets you know you have arrived)

This is their suite number, in case you miss the glowing neon sign

All-American Ale Works

Meet #Anaheim’s newest brewery, All-American Ale Works.  I guess it’s technically in Anaheim Hills but I can forgive that, we’ll call it Anaheim for argument’s sake.  All-American is located in a business center off of what I have drunkenly dubbed Lager Palma Brewlouvard (although the cool kids are calling it the La Palma Beer Trail).

Keep your peepers open for the CRAFT BEER banner and you will know you have arrived when you see this:

Patriotic AF

 

In case you haven’t noticed, Anaheim is becoming known for it’s wide selection of breweries.  “Aleaheim.” “Brew City.”  These words have been tossed around in people’s brains just long enough to give my city something to be proud of.  There are currently 14 up & running breweries in Anaheim alone.

 

 

It was crowded with almost every table taken when I arrived with the Old Man.  We checked out the menu board, ordered and grabbed seats against the wall.

16 available taps means room for more!

There were 10 or so brews to choose from on the menu above the taps.  I started off with a strong one, the Renegade Warrior.  It’s an American IPA with a 6.8% ABV and measuring in at 65 on the IBU scale.  It was a hoppy dream come true.  The Old Man tried the Red Ale called Storm The Beach that had an alcohol content of 6.9% but a mild 28 IBU’s.  It was floral with a light hoppiness and deep reddish color that the light could barely penetrate.

Here is a postmodern picture that the Old Man shot of me, taking a shot of our beers to post on this here blog.  It’s awesome.  Notice the cool logo glasses.

#BeersOfInstagram #tweetingaboutblogging #research #postmodern

 

 

There is paper menu with all of the 12 brews that are offered.  I grabbed a pic of this one:

I spoke with one of the brewtenders about how excited I was to have another brewery in town.  Travis was really friendly and talked about how they had started out brewing in a hot garage in Riverside & now they were brewing in a hot warehouse in Anaheim.  All-American is fairly new having only opened up within the last 2 months.  They are veteran owned and operated and their love for our country shows in the decor.

 

Well, nothing goes better with patriotism than beer and pretzels.  The Old Man wanted to goof off so he tried on a pair of pretzel specs, lol!

Pretzels…the veggie option

Shirts & tanks $15.00

All-American has t-shirts for sale but with a limited selection at the right price of $15.  Sean wanted to buy one so badly because they were cheap & they had 2XL but they were the “slim fit” kind.  Sean wonders what kind of person, whom was large enough to be a 2XL, would want to wear a slim fit.  Perplexing.

 

 

Go long, bro

There are several big screen tellies against the walls and about 8 wooden tables with chairs to hang out at.  This is what All-American Ale Works looks like from the front corner:

 

 

Down a hallway in the back is The Taco Bar to satisfy your munchies.  Here’s a pic of their menu.  Not many choices and nothing vegetarian so…meh.

And then there was that strange smell of flesh that lingered in the air

Feel free to bring your 4-legged friends to All-American as they are welcomed by everyone.  I assume you can also bring your little munchkins but give them a teaspoon of whisky before you arrive.  It’s rude to drink in front of your kids without including them.

The Friday night that I visited, there was a princess named Daisy who was friendly and curious and adorable as hell.  She could melt your heart.

Brew Dog Daisy

I stealthily listened in on the conversation between Daisy’s papa & his friends.  They were looking for a brewery to hit up next and they looked up something online and then decided on Bottle Logic.  A good choice in my opinion and just 3 miles up #LagerPalmaBrewlouvard.  Daisy’s dad had also said that he sometimes goes to Backstreet Brewing on Monday nights for the $3 pints.  Next time I’m at Backstreet, I hope to run into her again.

Since it was #datenight as well as a covert information gathering job, I decided to try another brew before we left.  The Patriot Pale Ale was a delicious choice with a light 5.7% ABV.  Patriot was crisp and refreshing.  There are a few more that I would’ve sampled but another brewery was calling softly.  The Old School Mix Tape is a session IPA that I would be interested in and I have a curiosity about the Blue Manchu, a fruit beer.  These will have to wait another day.  I will definitely come back for another sudsy round of brews from All-American Ale Works.  It’s a great starting or stopping point on Lager Palma Brewlouvard and where you go from there is totally up to you!  Drink well & remember to tip your brewtender.

 

A Bottle Logic-ical Birthday

First off, a big “#HappyBirthday” is in order for the old man.

Phrasing, people!

 

I mean, he made it all the way to 47.  He’s practically got one foot in the grave and here he is, at @BottleLogicBrew, for his surprise party without even knowing what is about to hit him.  Which is a wonderful welcome of friends….if only they showed up on time!

We got there at 7:00 and Ck and Carie had already secured a table for us.  Ck was busy outside being a social butterfly because

he had been drinking since a little past noon and was now considered “shit-faced” by his wife, Carie.  We ordered a round, I got the #714Blonde, which came in at a decent 5% ABV, and Sean tried the Recursion IPA

Recursion IPA

 

which was a dark ale measuring a whopping 6.5% on the scale.

The menu board had definitely changed since the last time we were there.  Which was probably for the 2nd Year Anniversary when we got our passports stamped daily to get the free bottle openers and the free commemorative glass.  That had been months.

We were used to drinking She Shot First and Tattered Prince which were nice mellow tasting brews with a somewhat decent alcohol content.

Bottle Logic Standards

But this time, we were challenged to try the new, and experiment with the different.  Besides, what other choice did we have?

 

So it was Sean and I and Ck and Carie for the longest time.  Then, from out of nowhere, I spot Sean’s friend from college, Nick, who had just got there.  He ordered a Double Acuator IPA

at a hefty 9% ABV, plus a flight which was smart to get the max tastings going on.

Right after Nick arrived, Larry and Susan come waltzing in around 9:00.  Larry had been texting me to let me know he was coming but that work had kept him late so all was forgiven when they showed up.

Forgiveness, Please!

 

They both tried the Cobaltic Porter.  It was dark and came in at 8%.  By now, Sean and I had several different beers in our belly’s and so he was drinking a 714Blonde while I sipped on a 4.8% Lagerithm.

It is a dark lager and it is so mouth-wateringly tasty and light for a dark beer.  It was a contradiction of terms.

I was happy because everyone got along so well and it looks like Nick might be joining the #lagalots for BSB Trivia Night and Munchkin Thursday’s.  It was an awesome time.

Carie & Ck bought a cupcake-cake for everyone to enjoy and hardly anyone did, so the old man and I ended up with a shit load of cupcakes.  At least they’re chocolate!  A drunk time was had by all and I consider it a successful birthday for my old man!  Drink up, y’all!

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Highly Bottle Logical

Friday fucking night!  Woo Hoo!  I spent mine getting drunk at @BottleLogicBrew, how ’bout you?

Seriously though, I had a great time at Bottle Logic tonight.  We met up because Brandie @artdesignloveme was  in the OC for the day.  She ate at the Tustin Hole Mole and then met us at Bottle Logic in #Anaheim.  Carie was there too and in absentia was Ck  Chuy Freakin’ Poluka @ FB

I started off with a She Shot First. A light, wheaty beer with a mellow flavor.  I’m used to it, I drink it everytime I come to Bottle Logic.  It’s wonderful.  It goes down smooth and you can finish a lot of them in one night.  Although the alcohol content is a 5.something%, it seems to pack a punch.  Especially after 3 of them.  Haha.

Sean started off with a Rubidium, a red IPA, which I had heard about and wanted to try.  But I guess it was good because by the time I could ask for a sip, he had finished it.  A nice red beer is always our go-to for breweries we don’t know so it was cool for Sean to be able to try a red from an established brewery that we know and love.

I stuck with She Shot First because that’s just the type of girl I am.  But the old man and Brandie ventured off to try the spiced saison, Tattered Prince.  It is delicious, I have had it before so I know of what I speak.  Apparently, they agreed….The Tattered Prince is good.

Carie drank some kind of dark beer the whole night and I regret the fact that I did not either sample her beer nor ask her what in the fuck it was. Carie is a mysterious kind of woman.

It was on and off crowded at Bottle Logic tonight.  There would be a line to order and then 10 minutes later, the line would be gone.  But then it packed right up again.  The curse of Friday night drinking!

There is a back section that is usually open for people and when we first got there, it was closed.  They were busy brewing or something like that.  Anyways, it was super crowded and then they finally opened up the back section.  It stayed crowded all night.

There was the Buffalo food truck outside so we had Garlic Fries for dinner.  Brandie had the tater tot nachos.   Glad they had choices for vegetarians.

I had wished @hoparazzibrew were open tonight.  I would’ve liked to have introduced my friends to their #sourbeer that is so tasty.  Especially the Chocolate Cherry Tarte….in my dreams.