February 22, 2019 – The Mack House and Tripping Animals

I came to The Mack House for beers this evening since I may or may not have had an errand to take care of later in the day and instead of driving home, would be much better to have beer, hang out and do what needs to be done.

Taking a look at the tap menu I opted for Skilletized, again, I did have this last Friday, though I really enjoyed and since it was still on tap, hand me the stout! (10%, described as “Skilletized is a big, thick stout that’s all about breakfast. Rich espresso swirls with hazelnut, maple syrup is drizzled over layers of Madgascar and Mexican vanilla beans, all combining with huge chocolate malt and lactose to create a rich, luxurious breakfast stout.”)

Not too long after my friend came over and ordered a few 4oz pours. As we were talking I needed to leave to run the quick errand that I hadn’t been sure if it was still on or off until I received notice so I left.

Once I got back to Mackhouse I finished the last of the Skilletized and opted for Magic Flute, 6.3%, described as “A West Coast Red Ale w/ Ekuanot & Simcoe. Dry Hopped w/ Citra and Ekuanot. Brewed in collaboration with Mondo Brewing.”

It had hoppy flavors, nice floral smell, the hoppiness was not the same as it would be in an IPA. The hops were assertive, though not overly bitter. I would say the bitterness for me appeared to be between moderate to pronounced. I liked the red ale, the balance of hops and I enjoyed the back bone of the red and how it went well the hops. I liked that I was able to get the hop flavor though not have that overly bitter/IPA type of style to enjoy the hops. I liked how the hops were showcased and how drinkable it was for me, as I’m not really into IPAs, I may try them every now and then, though this had great drink-ability for me!!

I think this could be a good introduction for someone who isn’t IPAs, though would like the hop, flowery notes and doesn’t want something THAT bitter.

Two others came by later and as such, we grabbed a table and hung out. One of the guys there was giving me some tips on blogging, which I was extremely grateful for and will look into, albeit probably should use those tips now, I will do so at a later point.

They both ordered HopSlam DIPA by Bell’s which is only available January and February, so getting this after those months you are lucky and/or the store hasn’t sold all of the cans of it yet.

My other friend after finishing up his 4oz pours opted for Privyet, 11.4%, Russian imperial by Destihl Brewery, its described on untapped as “Privyet, which is Russian for ʻhiʼ or ʻheyʼ, is the base beer for our award-winning, bourbon barrel-aged Dosvidanya®. Even though this beer isnʼt aged in oak barrels, it greets you with a color as dark as night, a thick, tan head & predominant characters of dark chocolate and roasted malts with abundant fruity esters. Generous hop additions balance the maltiness of this beer, along with a mouthfeel that is rich, creamy, full and smooth. Ypa!”

My friend poured me a sample of it.

Although I love Porters and Stouts, I find that I tend not to be a fan of Russian Imperials or Stouts. I find that there seems to be something rough or harsher about these for me that I don’t always find them as enjoyable. I find they tend to be more highly assertive in bitterness.

By standards, I would say that it probably follows what the style should be, though I wasn’t personally a fan of this, so I only had a few sips of it.

I wanted to head to Tripping Animals to investigate about either hosting a bottle share or seeing if they had one.

I arrived at Tripping Animals, I looked at the beer menu on the wall and then found the paper menu so I could get descriptions on beer.

I chose the Wizard of Auz, 11%, described as “Imperial brown ale with vanilla and aged on cacao nibs.” This was very enjoyable! I was honestly surprised for a brown ale the flavors came thru well and almost similar to a porter. I have to say for a beer that touts having cacao nibs, I had not doubt of that in this beer! I will need to come back to try more beers.

I was not aware that Tripping Animals already had a bottle share. I had asked my beertender if I could speak to someone about events, that is when I spoke to Jose, about a bottle share, he mentioned to me they do a bottle share on the third of the month. So the one for February had passed, and the next one would be in March. I didn’t realize that. He mentioned to me that they had posted something about it on Instragram. Which I didn’t see, so afterwards, I made sure to get notifications off their Instagram page to keep track of what’s going on.

I look forward to going to their bottle share as I’m not aware of any near where I live, aside from them, that have a bottle share. In the past I’ve gone to Prosperity Brewers for a bottle share, or with my friends at the Mack House.

Before I left, I snapped a few pics of the food kitchen/menu, and the layout.