the crow bar and kitchen

Front enterence

Having a daughter, while absolutely incredible, did somewhat hamper Bonnie's and my ability to go out whenever we wanted.  In order to still hang out as just us we try to get together for lunch a couple of times a month.  Our favorite place to do this is the crow bar and kitchen in Corona del Mar.

I first started going to the crow bar back in 2011 for their Pliny the Younger release. In fact one of the pictures I use as my rotating banner was taken during that event.  I had a great time and thought the food was incredible. I'd go off and on for a while, generally if I had people in town I'd take them there for the beer and food.

One day when Bonnie and I were trying to figure out where to go to lunch I suggested we go to crow bar.  Up till that point Bonnie had never been.  Well long story short, she loved it as well and we started going frequently.

Here's a quick breakdown -

Atmosphere - Standard upscale gastropub feel, which we like.  Nice tongue in cheek jokes about pig and pig products.

The menu (beer side of course)

Quality - The food is consistently good, a sign of a quality establishment. The only thing that bugs me in a quality aspect is that they have Craftsman 1903 lager on their menu.

Service - The service for the most part is knowledgeable (on food, wine and beer), fast and efficient. Our favorite waitress Kacie always remembers who we are and makes sure we get our favorite table. She also always lets my wife know if they have Pliny the Elder on tap one way or another.

Selection (beer) - The beer menu is divided into 3 parts; a regular selection of draft beers that stays pretty constant, a "guest kegs" draft selection filled with special beers and seasonals and a pretty decent bottle list which has been a oddly price in the past.

Food - The food is great.  The best item on the menu is the crow ‘black label’ burger ($19) is one of the best burgers in the OC. 8 oz signature meat blend which includes 21 day dry aged prime ribeye served on buttermilk bun w/bone marrow butter and caramelized onions. I save this burger only for special occasions.  Usually we get one each of the daily special, which is generally a taco, grilled cheese and a flat bread and split it, this tactic has never disappointed us.

I need to go check out the crow burger kitchen soon...

Cheers

-SNB

Pliny the Younger

Younger at Slater's 50/50

So apparently the "cool thing" to do if you have blog focused on beer is to do a review of Pliny the Younger so I figured, why not.  Of course if you are a beer connoisseur (read beer geek) the other hip thing to do is to talk about how you feel Pliny the Younger is overrated.  I don't know if it is meant tongue in cheek and I am very guilty of passing on Pliny the Elder for a lot of other Double IPAs but I love Younger.   Bare in mind that both Younger and Elder are ranked 1 and 2 on Beer Advocates Top Beers - American Double / Imperial IPA. Honestly I've had better Double and Triple (which is technically what Younger is) IPAs but it is definitely up there as one of my favorites.

A quick little history on Pliny the Younger.  The name comes from the fact that the real life Pliny the Elder Pliny the Elder had a nephew (and adopted son) Pliny the Younger.  Once Russian River learned this they knew they had to do some sort of spin on Pliny the Elder and name it Pliny the Younger. When Vinnie Cilurzo first started toying around with brewing Younger he originally planned to make it smaller beer then Pliny the Elder it ended up being a bigger beer. 

... I actually considered going the other direction.  I thought about going from 8 percent abv (Pliny the Elder’s alcohol level) to 6 or 7 percent and raising the hop quantities. The thinking here was that with a lower abv, more hops would blast through the mouthfeel as there would be less of a malt foundation for the hops to sit on. - Vinnie Cilurzo in his article Brew a Double IPA published in Zymurgy July/August 2009

I got my first taste of Younger last year at the Crow Bar in Corona del Mar.  While a couple of my friends lined up at Hollingshead for several hours, I rolled in around 10:30 for an 11:00 opening.  Going in there was a vague idea that they were getting a keg and they only announced it via Facebook the night before.   I was a nice chill experience and I was able to get 2 glasses before it kicked. At the time I thought it was one of the best DIPA I've ever had.  I was really torn between it and Abrasive for the title of best DIPA.  Since that time I've had so many just outstanding DIPAs.

Given that Russian River only brews it once a year there is only a small window to get it and even then you have to contend with the lines.  At this point with so many other great beers out there if you're not up for standing in line for any period of time just skip it.  To me, the line and the once a year timing make it a great annual experience to look forward to.  The days of Younger being on for multiple days outside of the main brewery, which intentionally only taps a few kegs a day, are gone. People online need to deal with it and move on.

This year I was fortunate enough to have it twice, I would have had it more but I missed a text message from my friends that it was going on at one location and was out of town when it his the Crow Bar and it seems every other OC spot.  I did buy some tickets to Beachwood's Pliny Fights Cancer Raffle but came up with nothing as a result.  This year I had it down at Churchill's Renaissance Beer Fest and a week later at Slater's 50/50 in Anaheim Hills.  I thoroughly enjoyed both pours and can't wait to get it again next year.

Cheers

-SNB