Beers #73-77: San Francisco Day #2

On Sunday, we slept in.  After getting ready, we walked a few blocks over to have a late breakfast at Blue Bottle Coffee.  Apparently a popular place, as there was a 20-minute wait to order.  The coffee was good, don't get me wrong, but I didn't see anything substantially better in it than we can get right here at home at The Commonplace.  From here, we strolled over to Market to get a bus and headed up Haight on our way to Golden Gate Park.  Of course, I can't ride up Haight without stopping at Toronado for a few short pours!

73/365: Moonlight Bombay by Boat IPA:
Nice hoppy aroma. Fresh and grassy, caramel, and toasted malt. Pale golden amber clear with thin rocky-foamy white lacing head. Medium body with cask carbonation. Starts medium dry with some caramel and roasted malty character. Tons of hop flavor and bitterness from start to finish, though not completely overpowering. Nice cask IPA.  India Pale Ale  78/100

74/365: Dupont La Bière de Beloeil:
Aroma is rich and malt with a lot of dark fruit notes, vinous with plum and Concord grape juice. Candy-like. Dark golden amber clear with thin lacing head. Medium body with medium-high carbonation. Starts malty and slightly sweet. Dark fruit sweetness with mild orange notes and grape juice. Finish is light bitter with good sweet notes and nutty bitterness. Tasty.  Bière de Garde  82/100

75/365: The Bruery Sour in the Rye:
Light tart-lactic nose with oak, light spicy character, and a hint of sweetness. Hazy lustrous orange-amber with thin white head. Medium body with heavy carbonation. Tarts and lactic with chardonnay, mild spicy notes and touch of vanilla. Great sour ale with woody funky finish and lasting tart after.  Sour Ale/Wild Ale  84/100

76/365: Moonlight Death and Taxes:
Great chocolate malt, roasted barley, light smoke - sweet and nutty. Dark black opaque with thin creamy lacing tan head. Medium body with high carbonation and a bit of fizz. Starts rich, malty with roasted barley, light smoke, and chocolate. Ground coffee notes with light carbonic tang. Nutty sweet finish with some light smoky after.  American Dark Lager  82/100

We got back on the bus and went up to Golden Gate Park. After a pit stop at Whole Foods, we entered the park and walked for about an hour, then exited on the northern side to catch another bus to the beach.  We walked along the beach for a bit, enjoying the sun and views.  Our plan was to do some hiking along the Coastal Trail, but we decided to have a light lunch before the hike.  Up the hill from the beach was the Cliff House, a nice (a bit pricy) restaurant on a cliff overlooking the Pacific.  In addition to a Deschutes Black Butte Porter, I had

77/365: Pyramid Hefeweizen:
Very mild aroma with the faintest hint of clove and esters. Not a very strong nose. Looks nice, with cloudy golden amber body topped with a thin white head. Medium-light watery body with medium carbonation. Starts a little sweet with mild fruity esters and a bit of clove and wheat. Mainly kinda bland, watery - but not off. Orange is probably the biggest flavor component. Refreshing but not really much towards the style.  Wheat Ale  48/100

After lunch, we walked up the hill and got on the Coastal Trail, which leads up around the bend to provide spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the coastline.  A bit windy, but a nice hike for a few miles.  We ended up in a residential neighborhood and walked down to China Beach, then grabbed a bus and headed back to our hotel.

We got warmed up, took a break, then decided what to do about dinner.  After tossing around options, we decided we were hungry for Chinese again.  We took the bus to Chinatown and ate next door to House of Nanking at a place called Chef Jia's.  Great food and less expensive than House of Nanking - can't figure out why they don't gather the crowds like their neighbor!

After all the walking, we grabbed a bus back to the hotel and called it a night.

Up next ... San Francisco Day 3