The countdown begins...
As we begin counting down to our departure from sunny NorCal, we've started thinking about the things we will miss and want to revisit before we leave.
We started today in the Santa Cruz Mountains, hiking at Skyline Ridge Open Space. My beloved Mini Cooper, Eddie, will certainly miss Highway 9 and Skyline Blvd., windy roads with loads of gorgeous scenery. I will definitely miss the MidPen Open Space, 50,000 acres of open space to bike, hike, picnic, and "just be" within an easy drive of the madness of Silicon Valley. After our hike we headed north to Hwy. 84, turning toward the coast.
One of our favorite destinations is Pescadero, an old west town, with two great food sources: Duarte's and Harley Farms. No trip to Pescadero is complete without a slice of olallieberry pie, but they were closed for Easter. DRAT! Fine, we'll follow the goat signs to Harley Farms where we can taste the best goat cheese anywhere AND play with the baby goats, but alas, they too were closed!
Fine then, on to Highway One, that fantastic coastline, and about 14 miles north: Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. (For the record, I have NEVER seen their patio as uncrowded as shown on their website- it's always PACKED) Today we opted for the beer sampler: 4 ounces of each beer for $1 each. For about the cost of two pints, we got to taste 8 beers! Yum!
We tried, in order, Harbor Light Ale, Pillar Point Pale Ale, Maverick's Amber (their "flagship" beer), Old Princeton Landing IPA, Tunnel Vision IPA, Bootlegger Brown Ale, Illuminator Doppelbock, and Paddle Out Stout. The Tunnel Vision and Illuminator were both 'special brews' that are not always available. We agreed that all of their beers were better with food than alone, but we each chose one or two beers that we would happily order a pint of on our next visit. Both M and I decided the Tunnel Vision was our favorite: great flavor, a little spicy undertone with a hoppy finish. Tasty! Incredibly, and very uncharacteristic of my tastes, my other favorite beer was the Light Ale! (Those who know me know better than to ever offer me any "light" beer!) This one was light, clean, and crisp, not at all wimpy or "lite" tasting. Really refreshing, and definitely a happy surprise! I also enjoyed the Maverick's Amber and the Bootlegger Brown, and we bought a couple bottles of the Mav's for home consumption. (for the record, M also liked the Old Princeton Landing IPA, made with two varieties of English hops, but I thought it tasted like it had been filtered thru a dirty sock)
Anyway, if you're ever cruising the coast between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, drop in at HMB. If you're lucky enough to snag a seat on the patio, stick around for sunset!
We started today in the Santa Cruz Mountains, hiking at Skyline Ridge Open Space. My beloved Mini Cooper, Eddie, will certainly miss Highway 9 and Skyline Blvd., windy roads with loads of gorgeous scenery. I will definitely miss the MidPen Open Space, 50,000 acres of open space to bike, hike, picnic, and "just be" within an easy drive of the madness of Silicon Valley. After our hike we headed north to Hwy. 84, turning toward the coast.
One of our favorite destinations is Pescadero, an old west town, with two great food sources: Duarte's and Harley Farms. No trip to Pescadero is complete without a slice of olallieberry pie, but they were closed for Easter. DRAT! Fine, we'll follow the goat signs to Harley Farms where we can taste the best goat cheese anywhere AND play with the baby goats, but alas, they too were closed!
Fine then, on to Highway One, that fantastic coastline, and about 14 miles north: Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. (For the record, I have NEVER seen their patio as uncrowded as shown on their website- it's always PACKED) Today we opted for the beer sampler: 4 ounces of each beer for $1 each. For about the cost of two pints, we got to taste 8 beers! Yum!
We tried, in order, Harbor Light Ale, Pillar Point Pale Ale, Maverick's Amber (their "flagship" beer), Old Princeton Landing IPA, Tunnel Vision IPA, Bootlegger Brown Ale, Illuminator Doppelbock, and Paddle Out Stout. The Tunnel Vision and Illuminator were both 'special brews' that are not always available. We agreed that all of their beers were better with food than alone, but we each chose one or two beers that we would happily order a pint of on our next visit. Both M and I decided the Tunnel Vision was our favorite: great flavor, a little spicy undertone with a hoppy finish. Tasty! Incredibly, and very uncharacteristic of my tastes, my other favorite beer was the Light Ale! (Those who know me know better than to ever offer me any "light" beer!) This one was light, clean, and crisp, not at all wimpy or "lite" tasting. Really refreshing, and definitely a happy surprise! I also enjoyed the Maverick's Amber and the Bootlegger Brown, and we bought a couple bottles of the Mav's for home consumption. (for the record, M also liked the Old Princeton Landing IPA, made with two varieties of English hops, but I thought it tasted like it had been filtered thru a dirty sock)
Anyway, if you're ever cruising the coast between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, drop in at HMB. If you're lucky enough to snag a seat on the patio, stick around for sunset!
Labels: Duarte's, goat cheese, Half Moon Bay Brewing, Harley Farms, Maverick's, MidPeninsula Open Space, ollalieberry pie
posted by Beer Chick @ 6:49 PM
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