It’s Labor Day weekend, and oddly, I find myself at home, by myself. With my kids off at college, and my wife out with her mom, I can sit on the deck and enjoy a beer. Admittedly, this blog has suffered the last few years because of my kids activities, and I’m hoping to keep things going now that they’re off at school.
When I went to San Diego several weeks ago, I wanted to grab some beer from Pizza Port. When I started drinking craft beer, Pizza Port was one of those must-try breweries – so when I saw it on the shelf, I had to grab it. Unfortunately, I never made it to the brewery during my visit, but I’m glad I grabbed this beer. I was able bring back 3-4 cans in my luggage. There’s some text on the can that’s too small for my old eyes to read, but my friend from San Diego shared with me that this beer is named after a surf spot in Encinitas where (I think he said) there’s a yoga spot on the cliffs above it that have turrets on it – which is why it’s called “Swami’s.”
Location: Poured into a Teku pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL
Numbers: 6.8% ABV, 72 IBUs, 270 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s bright golden in color, and it was clear until the trub at the bottom of the can came out – then it was a bit hazy. It had a huge, rocky, white head on it, that fell after a few minutes, leaving some really nice lacing on the glass. It has a citrusy aroma, almost like lemongrass with hints of oranges.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is smooth with a hoppiness that’s balanced between hop bite and hop oiliness. Up front, there’s a lemony-grassy bitterness with a bit of sweet juiciness underneath. The juiciness comes up in the middle, along with more of the grassy flavors, but the bitterness grows through the middle and throughout the finish. The lemony citrusiness grows to match the grassy flavors in the finish along with the bitterness. The lemon-grassy bitterness coats the mouth and lasts for a few minutes in the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: This beer has a good amount of bitterness, with lemony-citrusy and grassy flavors which is quite possibly the perfect complement for fish tacos. To contrast these flavors, I’d probably go with something spicy, like some good San Diego Mexican food, or even something cheesy, like a Neapolitan style wood fired pizza.
Overall Impression: With the lemony-grassy citrus flavors, it makes for a good warm weather or beachy kind of IPA – perfect for an afternoon in San Diego. I enjoyed the juiciness underneath the hop bitterness and wanted it to be a little stronger to counteract the bitterness a bit more. Overall, it is a very good beer and very drinkable for an IPA. I look forward to getting back to San Diego again soon and finally getting over to a Pizza Port to try both the pizza and the beer.
My Rating: 
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