Stone Brewing's 15th Anniversary Celebration & Beer Festival

Beer Fest! The regular tents

We headed back to San Diego again on Saturday for Stone's 15th Anniversary Party at Cal State San Marcos. We should have learned our lesson from the previous weekend, but traffic was terrible again, particularly between Dana Point and Oceanside. Crawling along in traffic is so brutal, especially when you want to get somewhere to start drinking beer. We got there in time to meet our friends for the afternoon session but actually ended up with All-Access passes. Usually it's a guys trip, but this year, the girls were invited along as well. I was skeptical at first, but the All-Access passes are totally worth it; it gives you admission to the VIP tents on the top of the hill with two rare beer stands, free duck and pulled pork tacos, and awesome live music. It was so relaxing to just chill in the grass under the shade of the trees, listen to the music and sip on delicious beer; a perfect way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon. There was never any wait to get beers or tacos and plenty of empty chairs around. We never made it down to the regular tents; it just looked like a zoo down there, way too crowded. We did miss out on the Stone 15th Anniversary beer that was only being poured in the regular tents as well as onion rings, but it was much more enjoyable. The rare beer menu:

I'm definitely missing a few, but we tried:

• Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin Ale,
• Beachwood BBQ Thrill Seeker American IPA
• Ladyface Trois Filles Tripel
• Maui Heaven and Hell Barleywine,
• Mother Earl Paul Sangster Collaboration
• 2004 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
• Redstone Meadery Hoppy the Terroir
• AleSmith / Mikkeler / Stone Belgian Style Triple Ale
• Dogfish Head / Victory / Stone Saison du BUFF
• AleSmith Brewer's Reserve Speedway Stout
• Pizza Port Carlsbad Bourbon Barrel Aged Night Rider
• Allagash Lawrence
• Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
• Stone SoCal Hop Salute Double Black IPA
• Tustin Brewing O.E. Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Barleywine

My favorite were: Ladyface Trois Filles Tripel (just a really nicely balanced Belgian), Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin Ale (love the prickliness from the habenero, just the right amount to give the beer a kick without being overpowering), Maui Heaven and Hell Barleywine (favorite Barleywine, very balanced with deep and delicious flavors) and Mother Earth Paul Sangster Collobaration (my favorite chocolate-y rich porter).

I liked the pourers at Dr. Bill's Corner, they seemed to really be enjoying themselves

The VIP tents on the hill; a lot less crowded than the tents down below

First time drinking cider since my college days

Jimmy and Enrique rocked! They played the best covers of great classic songs like "Don't Stop Believing,""Free Fallin'", Santana, the Beatles, etc

Pulled pork tacos. Goes well with beer.

Cheers

Random people shots:

Almost everyone was wearing a random beer t-shirt. I wanted to get a beer t-shirt to fit in but they were all sold out by the end of the day.

Beer + great music = drunk people dancing

Outdoor beer fest drinking outfit: coal Lululemon Bliss Dress (bought on sale), Prada Minimal Baroque Sunglasses, H&M hat, H&M x Swedish Hasbeens clogs, Balenciaga velo bag in black and Lululemon heathered coal vinyasa scarf (in the bag). I got a lot of compliments on my outfit, particularly on my shoes, but I think it's just because people were drunk.