- Location
- San Diego
Partial evening, to be precise. After working all day at The House of Italy with the missus (long story), we were ready for a brew and Pure Project at their Balboa Park location was the choice.
First up was Sakura WCIPA (6.8%), a collaboration with Pizza Port Brewing. With Mosaic and New Zealand Waimea hops, this gave fruity aromas of lime and resin which gave way to flavours of grapefruit pith, peach, and lemon. The addition of flaked rice gave a dryness to the body and heightened a really crisp finish. The dryness worked really well and balanced out the fruitiness.
This led us to our stout: Fading Rays Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout (13.6%), another collaboration, this time with Radiant Beer.
This complex brew was aged in a blend of Heaven Hill bourbon barrels for 21 months, Cutwater barrels for 15 months, and Kentucky Owl barrels for 16 months before being infused with brown sugar, cacao, and vanilla.
Each sip unveiled layers of fudge, brown sugar, and chocolate, enveloped in a viscous, velvety mouthfeel. Unbelievably delicious.
When we lived in Ohio, we knew a bartender who used to say she liked her stouts "chewy". That's exactly what we like, a stout with a good body, but half the time these days, the stouts we try are thinner than porters - basically undrinkable. Not so with Pure Project.
A great pairing to finish the day!
First up was Sakura WCIPA (6.8%), a collaboration with Pizza Port Brewing. With Mosaic and New Zealand Waimea hops, this gave fruity aromas of lime and resin which gave way to flavours of grapefruit pith, peach, and lemon. The addition of flaked rice gave a dryness to the body and heightened a really crisp finish. The dryness worked really well and balanced out the fruitiness.
This led us to our stout: Fading Rays Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout (13.6%), another collaboration, this time with Radiant Beer.
This complex brew was aged in a blend of Heaven Hill bourbon barrels for 21 months, Cutwater barrels for 15 months, and Kentucky Owl barrels for 16 months before being infused with brown sugar, cacao, and vanilla.
Each sip unveiled layers of fudge, brown sugar, and chocolate, enveloped in a viscous, velvety mouthfeel. Unbelievably delicious.
When we lived in Ohio, we knew a bartender who used to say she liked her stouts "chewy". That's exactly what we like, a stout with a good body, but half the time these days, the stouts we try are thinner than porters - basically undrinkable. Not so with Pure Project.
A great pairing to finish the day!
