Beercation in SoCal

I apologize for the extreme delay in posts as of late. But I'm back, and I'm on another Beercation.

I arrived in SoCal (Southern California) today. I'm going to be here fthrough Wednesday, and plan to see some characters, and drink plenty of beer.

My original plan was to hit Bootlegger's Brewery today, but I didn't make it. Instead, I made it down to TJ Schmid's Restaurant and Brewery for dinner and some beer.

TJ Schmid's had 6 different beers on tap for me to try tonight. I'm going to tell you right now, I was not impressed. Honestly, I was disappointed. Very disappointed. The beer just wasn't good. I think there was a problem with their Co2, because everything seemed flat, weak, and lifeless. None of the samples had any head at all. I don't know exactly what it was, but something just wasn't right.

So here is the list.

1. JT Light. "Weak flavor. It's like a Bud Light". I didn't like this beer. It was flat without much texture. It was a subpar beer. Grade - 1 1/2 Burps

2. IPA. "Missing that Hops hit I want, or would expect from an IPA. Again, it seems weak, and flat". I was noticing a theme with the beers after the first two. Grade - 2 Burps

3. Hefe. "Ew, I don't like this. I'm not a fan of Hefes and I'm not a fan of this particular beer either. The big slice of lemon doesn't help the flavor by any means. It is more sour than sweet." I can't recommend it. Actually, I didn't even finish it. Grade - 1 Burp

-Note- Our good friends, the Schalmpes are here with us just like all our other vacations (or Beercations). Mr. Schlampe is a Hefe kind of guy. I have taught him the way, and he didn't like it either. He said the one he had at Gordon Beirsch last night was 100 times better.

4. Amber. "A slight caramel flavor at the start, but quickly fades. Weak flavor again." This one was slightly better than the previous three. But there really wasn't anyplace to go but up. Grade - 2 Burps

5. Stout. "Again, weak and a lack of carbonation". It was very thin for a Stout. There wasn't that amazing smell or taste of roasted malt or coffee that I love. It was the best beer of the night, but it wouldn't be something I would buy. Grade - 2 1/2 Burps

6. Seasonal. I was so bummed out by the time I tried this last sample. Just like all the other samples, it was weak and flat. But you know what my first opinion of it was, "Water". This beer was so weak and flavorless, it was like a watered down Corona Light. It was not good, at all. I didn't even finish it. Grade - 1/2 Burp

There you have it. A very unpleasant beer tasting. So much that I didn't even buy a T-shirt. this isn't how I wanted to start off my Beercation. They do have an impressive brew system on display at the back of the restaurant. I didn't get a picture, but I think there were 5 fermentation vessels. It looks cool. But the beer coming from them isn't.

I'm curious what other beer people think of the beer flowing from the taps at TJ Schmid's. Because I can't imagine a brewery like this being able to succeed with beer like this. There has got to be some quality beer flowing at some time.