I didn't intend writing an article, so this is not a well researched piece, but as I'm just back from sunny Palm Springs I though I'd share what limited beering I did there while fighting sleep yesterday afternoon. All in all I expected Palm Springs to be a bit of a beer desert based on a previous trip there, but there are a few gems to get good beer in. A list is provided that combines places of note I went to this time and last year.
I always try to drink beers that are somewhat local when I go anywhere, but I've broadened the definition of "local" when I eat in a Mexican restaurant in California. Well, it might as well be local as it's only down the road. So I found myself drinking Dos Equis, an amber Vienna-style lager that has a lovely malty hoppy balance that was easy drinking. And there was no sign of Montezuma's revenge after a few bottles. After that I was moving on to Negra Modelo a dark lager in which you could really taste chocolate malts. I should note that these are definitely NOT craft brews, but they are both a far cry from the Corona that many people think is what you should drink when having a mexican. I'm pretty sure you can get these in a few places in Ireland. They are tasty drops and go well with burritos or enchiladas, or three-bean chilli!
Another night a group of us went to a pretty expensive looking restaurant (The Chop house where two bottles of wine cost us $330 and the cheapest steak was $38!). I wasn't too worried as it was going on a UK colleagues work credit card, but when I asked what bottled beers they had I was shocked. It was the usual swill of Bud, Bud Light, Coors, Coors Light and the guy sitting accross from me said he could see my face drop as she listed what they had. Our server then said they had Newcastle Brown, so I thought I may as well break my guideline of drinking local beer and get one of those till another chap asked what they had on draught. She listed the usual suspects, but included Fat Tyre. He ordered a pint, and being curious I ordered one too. It was a good choice! It's an American Amber that was kind of sweet, but the good malty kind with light hops, almost fruity. In fact, I said to the other guy that it tasted a bit like a beer me and my mate made and he said yeah, it tasted like home brew! The weird thing was that later that night in a bar I ordered a bottle and on the label it said it was named in memory of a bike the brewer used to cycle around Belgium years back, and that the recipe was based on an original homebrew recipe he used to make! So there's hope for us all :) Fat Tyre is made by the New Belgium Brewing Company based in Colorado. OK, so it wasn't local to Ca, but it was a craft beer! I just now looked at their website and by coincidence the idea came to him while sitting in the Brugs Beertje in Bruges which DrJohn has written about, and n1mbus (Kieron) and I have been in a few times. A great little bar!
On my last night there a friend brought me to a place called the Yard House which claims to have the Worlds Largest Draft Beer Selection. I thought it'd be some nice bar with beer lover clientele, but it's part of a chain and was a bloody huge place. They were blasting out classic rock and there were big plasma screens everywhere with sports on. The food menu was ok, but the beer menu was something else! I think there was about 170 beers on tap! You should have seen the rows of them behind the bar, and the keg room was behind glass so you could see a huge amount of kegs with the lines attached. I was really regretting not bringing my camera.
I found it really hard to choose a beer. I immediately discounted anything I knew was from Europe (lots of Belgian and German beers were represented, my mate had an Affligem to start) so I ordered a Rogue Dead Guy Ale, 'cause the name was cool and I seemed to have remembered seeing it mentioned on a US forum. They describe this as a Maibock, and it's really well rounded, a hoppy little bugger with malty almost fruity tones. Me like!
My next one, a Lost Coast Alleycat Amber was a little higher in the hoppiness stakes and was a bit crisper. Maybe more caramely than fruity. Although to be honest the stuff I was eating was probably interfering with with my taste buds.
So, all in all there are a few good places to get some tasty beers. I always considered Palm Springs to be a bit of a retirement home (based on the number of blue rinses you see there) but if you know where to look a good time can be had. Combine that with some of the places to visit in the desert and surrounding mountains (like the Joshua Tree National Park) and it's actually a great place. It was just a pity I had to work while there!
Places to eat and drink
Crazy Bones BBQ - Palm Springs
Great meat and a decent beer selection, including Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager which I had a few of last year.
The Village Pub - Palm Springs
One of the more lively bars in Palm Springs it has a decent bit of atmosphere and a reasonably well stocked cooler.
The Yard House - Rancho Mirage and other places
Worth a visit if on;y to see the amount of taps behind the bar, and maybe tasting a couple. They have locations all over the States too
Here's their beer menu. Take a look!
Matchbox - Palm Springs
Nice pizzas and a few interesting beers (and margueritas!)
Websites of some of the more interesting beers I tried.
New Belgium Brewing Company. The guys that made Fat Tyre.
Lost Coast Brewing Company. The chaps that made the Alleycat Amber
Rogue Brewing Company, who make the Dead Guy Ale I tried. Their site gives additional info about their brews, like Dead Guy has 16 degrees Plato, IBU 40, Apparent Attenuation 78 and Lovibond 16