#68: Stone Brewery

Wow, have we been slacking getting things up here or what? (Since I'm guessing that you haven't been following us around as we attempt to make progress on the list, I will offer you a small hint: The answer is not "or what")

The time has come to try to catch you all up on our latest shenanigans; first things first.... Beer.

Let's begin with a quote shall we:

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

 -Benjamin Franklin

It should come as no surprise that I love Stone Brewing Co. (being the Arrogant Bastard that I am). Not only are their beers amazing, but so are their restaurant, decor, ethics, packaging, sense of humor, tour guides, tchotchkes, growler fills, special events, landscaping, parking lot, and anything else related to their company.

I have, in fact, been to Stone twice already since starting the list, but I was feeling too lazy to write it up until now trying to keep their establishment a secret. As it were, it seems like everyone knows about them already; so I might as well let you all in on just two of the things that I love about Stone: the beer and the food.

In spite of my unabashed love of PBR (sometime a guy just wants a fizzy yellow beer, ok?), Stone makes anywhere between two and five of my favorite beers (depending on my mood/how small the number is next to the word "Checking" in my bank account): Ruination IPA, and Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale are perenial favorites, though lately I have found myself leaning in favor of the Lucky Basartd, released in honor of the 13th anniversary of the first batch of Arrogant Bastard Ale. (Yes, I did just link four of their beers in that last sentence. And yes, it took a lot of self control not to mention every one of their products) If you have not yet tried/I have not yet forced you to drink a Stone Brew, please go out and purchase one. Right now....Seriously, I'll wait for you to get back. Better yet, drive fly walk teleport catch a freight train like a hobo to San Diego and I will take you there personally; the tour is free and you get to taste for free when you're done (what could be better).

I am going to restrain myself from writing any more about their beer so that I can move on to their food. Stone World Bistro and Gardens is an awesome restaurant; the decor, the menu, the ingredients, the beer selection (ok, I couldn't help mentioning beer again not matter how hard I tried). Here, I stole this right off of their menu:

PHILOSOPHY ON FOOD

At Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, we use in-season, locally, regionally, and organically grown produce. We do this not just for the simple principles of freshness and sustainability, but also because fresh, local and organic tastes better. It’s also better for you and the world in which we live. It shouldn’t be surprising to hear that we also use 100% naturally raised meats. The same fresh/artisanal/natural standard goes for all our food. It does cost more, and our prices reflect some of that reality. However, we also feel it is the much, much better way to go. 

(http://www.stoneworldbistro.com/bistro_menus/dinner.asp)

That's right, this is the kind of restaurant that would make T's food justice blog proud. They support the Slow Food movement and, to top it all off (drum roll please), every Monday is Meatless Monday. That's right, on Mondays they have an entire menu of stuff I can eat. (Haven't heard of Meatless Monday? Learn all about the movement by clicking here.) Suffice it to say that I would do terrible things to become a part of the Stone Family.... terrible things.


Now. What the hell was I talking about? Oh yeah, my visiting Stone.

It had come to my attention some time ago that Stone offers classes on beer through a program they refer to as Beer University, or Beer U. For Christmas, I had the good fortune of purchasing a pair of tickets to Beer U: Strong Ales for my dad (with the less than subtle hope that he would select me as his copilot/navigator for the event). January 24th rolled around (a Monday, how fortuitous!) and off we headed to Mecca Stone. The class was fantastic. So fantastic, in fact, that I will leave its description to my dad (he is better than me at this whole blogging thing after all). Instead, I'll leave you with the words of my new favorite saint: St. Arnulf of Metz (patron saint of brewers): "Don't drink the water. Drink beer."