Old Fezziwig!
Ebenezer's embodiment of a time long past....when the world held a bright future all wrapped up in a single twilight evening full of food, drink and merry mischief.
Old Fezziwig, although more than 150 old, isn't dead.
Nope.
The owners of Fezziwig's Brewing in Carlsbad are offering a small sampling of their brews these days in their hard-to-find tasting room...but well worth the trouble of scouting them out. Just be sure your GPS is fully charged.
Located in an business park off El Camino Real (a busy, well-traveled and extensive Southern California thruway!), Fezziwig's is a relatively small tasting room / brewery with 4 beers on tap but constantly changing.
The waitress kept espousing the delights of something called the Darby Porter while I tried to insist she tell the owner to make the Dark Christmas American Strong Ale (@ 8.5% ABV) a 'standard.' This was a full, rich, malty concoction of raisins and figs and a bit of licorice with a perfect balance of hops. It went down waaaaaaay too easily. Dangerous!
The owner apparently was a big fan of Dickens and therefore the name of the brewery & its brews.
Ebenezer's IPA is NOT the ass-puckerer beer tasting more like straw than a good craft brew but resembles the original style shipped to India during the Boer Wars then back again. Same holds true of the bitter Brown...so these may not appeal to some looking for wallop-in-your-face hop-ups but for those desiring a true brew experience, you can't go wrong.
So clear the aisles, bring out the fiddles, open up the pretzel jar (and if you're lucky, mebbe a brownie or two!) and reveille in this new North San Diego County tasting room.
Open just since October, 2012 they've got a ways to go...but the beer will see them through...and I add my thanks for a really gift Christmas gift.

reviewed on: 2013-01-05 19:30:36