Monday 22nd of February 2010 02:21:31 PM

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Set out last Friday night on a beer tasting mission with a map in hand.... our final stop was to meet friends (locals) at Ojai beverage a beer "store"? but Dorothy said "It's much more than that!" I guess!!! It was Sierra Nevada night...every Friday they feature a brewery (usually local but this was special). Not only was there FREE PIZZA and 700 beers available for purchase...the "tasting" area was packed to capacity and overflowing onto the covered outdoor seating area (with propane heaters as it was a little rainish- quite cozy).
The owners treated us like royalty...Joby M. Yobe (I wish I had a name like that!) and Jorge Alem were manning the taps (pouring SN only that night). The waitress was beautiful, friendly and attentive. Sierra Nevada in celebration of their 30 year anniversary had just released their "Bigfoot" a barleywine style. On tap was "Life and Limb" (a collaboration with Dogfish) a dark, very tasty and I imbibed in the "Harvest" - estate created...meaning everything in the beer - all hops (Cascades and chinooks in this batch), barley and creek water came from the Sierra Nevada estate in Chico...love the concept- too bad my toes weren't in the creek while I was sippin it. Harvest had a 6.7 ABV and 68 IBU... pale red, pretty slammable, reminded me slightly of Fat Tire (meant as a compliment, I love FatTire) but a bit more complex.
In the fun and games department... Chrissy from SN was on hand - tall and lovely with a decoletage to match! She was asking trivia questions and handing out prizes. We came home with 3 glasses, 2 shopping bags and a great buzz and decided to blow off the rest of our plans for the evening and stay there. What a fun place. The only improvement would be a dartboard or foosball table. Smokers beware...it is California - within 30 ft of a building ya'know. Would I go back? Hell ya. Beer "store"? did I mention the free pizza and 700 beers? more like - beer store and ohso much more....wonder who they have this Friday?? This roaming beergnome will keep you posted. 2 thumbs up.