My brother, Mark, got married in San Diego a couple of weekends ago, on Oct. 10. Amidst the weekend wedding festivities, my husband and I decided to take the opportunity to hit an often-mentioned San Diego brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company.

AleSmith Brewing Company’s tasting room is located in a strange little office park-type area, with a bar set up in the middle of their barrel/beer storage area. They were pretty packed when we arrived, but we were able to sample all 12 of the beers they had available, and their tasting room staff was nothing but gracious.

Three of their beers were the biggest standouts. The year-round (though often out of stock in Portland) AleSmith IPA was a fantastic example of an IPA. Hoppy, but with a well-balanced malt backbone, this IPA stands up to our beloved Portland IPAs.

We were also blown away by the Speedway Stout. This coffee stout was aged in bourbon barrels for a year and weighs in at a hefty 12% ABV. My husband and I have been talking about it since. The AleSmith distributor is currently out of stock, but when it becomes available again in our Market, you can definitely look to find it at your SW Portland Market of Choice.

Finally, a seasonal called Evil Dead Red caught our attention. Sadly, it is not available by bottle (draft only), but this perfectly balanced, toasty red was definitely something I’ll be looking for on draft around town. Hopefully, they’ll have it in bottle someday…

One last mention is a beer that they weren’t pouring at the AleSmith tasting room. We do, however carry it here at Market of Choice Burlingame, so I had to try a bottle myself. The Yule Smith Summer Holiday Ale is an Imperial/Double IPA and rivals all of the other Northwest Imperials that I’ve tried lately – including my beloved HUB Ace of Spades. It’s extremely limited, so if you have a chance to stop by and try a bottle, I highly recommend it.

Happy tasting!