62. California Road Trip, Friday 23rd April to Monday 3rd May 2004

Dave Wacey and I had decided that it might be a good idea to head for California to see old chums Lisa Hall and Laura Robinson, with a sub-text of also slotting in a few bars etc to see whether one of Britain's contributions to the civilised world had made it to the West Coast of the States. Of course, we had to start early and steady the nerves for the flight, so had a couple of Guinnesses at the O'Neill's at Heathrow Terminal 3.

Having negotiated through the LA traffic with our jet lag, and meeting Laura at her house, we decided to reward ourselves with a beer or two at nearby Amigo's in Pasadena. It was a bit of a grotty, but friendly bar with a typical American feel to it, but there was no draught beer, so we had to settle for some bottles instead, though they did also supply some nachos. The following day was a trip to Universal Studios via a shiny new and empty elevated metro railway type thing. Universal Studios is all very well, with plenty of rides etc and trailer types going on them, but the beer situation is not great, though we did manage a bottle from a stand there. Therefore, we finished our funfaring, and after a brief look at Mann's Chinese theatre and the Walk of Fame, settled into the Power House (which from the outside looks like a sex shop) for a beer. Natural Light was the only choice in this rather dimly lit, seedy looking joint, but it hit the spot as it was cold, wet and very cheap. The seats were quite comfortable and leathery, but the toilet was disgusting, worse than the one in the changing rooms at Marston Saints FC.

Something a lot better was encountered after a short walk to the Cat and Fiddle which had a magnificent beer garden and a decent range of beer. The array of beer was actually quite amazing as I had expected California not to be very good, but in fact they are quite forward thinking. Although none was on real draught and it was all cold, they had Harp, Boddingtons, Guinness, Strongbow, Stella, Bass, Newcastle Brown, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale which was our choice, and very good too. The Americans are not so good with bar snacks as I discovered when I went in and the interior was not especially good (like a 'Scream' pub or similar) but on the plus side the trough in the gents was excellent.

The Burgundy Room presented a contrasting style, but was equally good. It was a very dark, slightly smoky but very cosy pub with a good array of bottles of spirits and Laura had an unfeasably large G+T poured by a nice barman who she scored well. The beer range wasn't as good, but the Red Hook was excellent (other choices were Guinness and Newcastle Brown). We sat at the bar soaking up the atmosphere before decamping off to our final stop of the day, Boardners, for some solids and liquids. This was more of a typical American city bar, a bit like Cheers, dark, with lampshades of coloured glass and a bar surrounded by boothed seating on several sides. It was OK in there, and the Big Kahuna burgers are excellent, but the beers were all bottled, and although there were a great many of them, it's never quite the same. We all felt tired and had a gentle ride back on the little train to Pasadena.

Next day, our jet lag subsiding, we went for a stroll on Venice Beach to view some freaks and we were certainly not disappointed with the forms of life that we saw. Laura had pointed out that there was a splendid Germanic styled beach pub, the On the Waterfront Cafe, and we decided to stop for a scoop or two. The array of draught beer was excellent: Erdinger Weisse and Dunkel, Newcastle Brown, Bitburger, Anchor Steam, Miller, Kostritzer Black, Pilsner Urquell, Sam Adams. Excellent! Inside was OK, although for a pub was very light and more cafeteria-like.

On the Sunday evening, we left Laura and drove rapidly towards Sequoia National Park, staying in a shitty motel in Visalia. After a splendid day admiring the sights, it was time to leave the park and head for the coast, staying in Fresno, which was like an oven. To cool ourselves down, we visited the Sequoia Brewing Company where we also had a bite to eat. As was expected, the beer was fantastic and very extensive in its range, featuring regular and special varieties: Baseball Nut, Black Out Stout, ESB, Blossom Trail Ale, Sequoia Gold, Black Oak Porter, Thunderbird Amber Ale, and two Pale ales. Well worth a visit even though the interior is pretty much like a fast food restaurant.

The following day was a pleasant drive to San Luis Obispo, a studenty town near the coast. We had a spot of lunch at Mo's BBQ Pit, a fast food rib place, but for some reason it also appears to serve beer without a food order, so we had a couple of pints of Firestone Double Barrel. In the evening, we returned to town, and on our way in stopped at the Central Coast Brewing Company where Dave was greeted with 'Fuck Me!' from the spaced out server who thought that Dave was his cousin. Anyway, the beer was very good, and we chose to drink it outside rather than inside next to the fermentation vessels. Their range rotates continuously, and on our visit a stout, IPA, Weissbier, amber ale and barley wine were available. They also have an extraordinary array of display only bottles behind the bar on a rather big set of shelves. F. McLintock's in the middle of town is a traditional American eatery - Firestone, Bud and Hefeweisse are available on tap, and were rather pleasant.

A punk concert in the SLO Brewing Company premises meant that we could not be arsed to queue to go in there so instead went for a couple of jars in Mother's Tavern. It appeared to be both 80's and student night, and the place slowly filled up with students, which was nice, but then started to fill up with mainly blokes, which was not so. The beer selection was good: Fosters, Red Tail, Drop Top Amber, Bud, Firestone, Guinness, Hefeweisse, Bass, Anchor Steam, Pilsner Urquell, Newcastle Brown, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Boont Amber. This allowed us the opportunity to get round a few beers. The pub was quite a nice, old fashioned one with high ceilings and the lower dance floor soon became congested so we sat upstairs and looked down from the balcony. A most pleasant place to drink!

The day after our hangovers were not too bad so we went for a very scenic drive along the coast to Monterey. An advert in the guide directed us to an 'English Pub' which could have suggested that it was shite. However, the Mucky Duck is quite a good one, fitted out with various bits of authentic English tat. This was also one of the first pubs that we found which did proper bar snacks which was nice. Beer range was once again excellent, there being the usual lagers and the now expected ales like Sierra Nevada, Bass, etc. However, there were also some local ones: Dragon Slayer, Black Prince, EA Pale and the wonderful Fat Lip IPA. To walk off our vast dinners we went for a stroll down to the Cannery area, but there was only one pub, the Harvester-like Bullwhacker's Inn which, it's true, had a bit of beer (the Anchor Steam and Triple B were quite good), but it wasn't up to the standard of the Mucky Duck, so we returned quickly for a second session.

On Thursday we hired a couple of bikes and went around the Monterey peninsula in search of bars. Unfortunately there are not that many, but the Tap Room at Pebble Beach golf course is superb. A man in a suit served us immaculately. Although the beer is expensive, the setting is top notch, on a blue-chip golf course. Although the range of beer was small, the proper ones - Pyramid Hefeweise and Tap Room Brew - were excellent, and did the trick to quench the thirst. They also give you free nibbles. Feeling hungry on the way round, we popped into a fast food place, the Little Chicken House, a sweaty, greasy establishment at Pacific Grove, which does splendid roast chicken (it is roasted on site on a giant conveyor belt type thing), and apparently beer too, which I don't think you need to be ordering food to get hold of. A hostelry was added to the tally for 2004, though there was no point rating it.

Back in Monterey, we decided to have a quick look at Fisherman's Wharf. There was a very cheesy waterfront bar called the Wharfside doing a happy hour, so we had a couple of pints of Monterey Bay Wheat beer, though EA Pale Ale was also available. It was a light, airy restaurant with piano music playing. Returning the bikes, we drove a few miles up the coast to Santa Cruz, and proceeded to go to the centre of town. There we found a most appropriately named establishment, '99 Bottles' where, lo and behold, 99 varieties of beer were available, 41 of which were on draught, but you can view them at www.99bottles.com, a simple and clear site telling exactly what there was. The atmosphere in the place was jolly. There must be a nearby university as some lecturers on an adjacent table were discussing continental tectonics...

The following day, we had to drop the car off at the airport before meeting up with Lisa. Dropping off cars is thirsty work, so a quick, oversized and extortionately priced pint at the Firewood Grill at the airport was called for. After meeting with Dr Hall, we decided to have a bit of Mexican food, in Baja Taqueria in Oakland. Nice food, and once again beer was available, presumably without a food order, so I elected to have some black Mexican beer or other, which was quite tasty. This fortified us for the very long drive to Yosemite in the evening.

Saturday 1st May dawned, and we decided to go for a long wander up a big hill and reach Yosemite Point. This was a particularly arduous climb, Germans and tourists littering the path, but we eventually made it all the way to the top. It was time to reward ourselves and admire the spectacular view, which we did in style with some waterfall cooled bottles of Coronita. Unfortunately our stay was cut short as a load of loud-mouthed Yanks started having conversations with each other using only shouting as a means of communication. Later that evening, a quick pizza and pint or so of beer revitalised us (there is a bar type thing, or more accurately a hatch, which dispenses beer at Yosemite), and we concluded the evening with a couple of gins by the river.

Sunday was commenced with a walk around the Hetch Hetchey reservoir north of Yosemite. It being a hot day, the opportunity was taken for a bit of liquid rewards by the reservoir before the long drive back to San Francisco. We made a stop for some ice creams in PJ's Cafe at Groveland somewhere along the way, where I took the opportunity to have some nice cold Bud. A few hours later we arrived at Oakland, and after some nice Thai food washed down with beer, went to Kerry House, an Irish pub attached to a fast food place, Curry House (Chortle). Kerry House was a good place to unwind on a Sunday evening, though the bar itself was not over special (and there were a few odd cases in there). It had a great selection of beer - Bass, Guinness, Lagunitas IPA, Red Hook, Sierra Nevada and Boont Amber amongst others. There was also a very, very cloudy weise beer, but I think it was OK. Lisa went home to prepare for work the next day, so me, Dave and Laura stayed for another pint. Lisa then came back saying that she had been locked out. Laura went to assist, so me and Dave stayed in the pub so as not to get in the way.

Fortunately, all was well, and the following day we got up early to bid farewell to Laura and Lisa. After a whistlestop tour of San Francisco, we headed for the airport although, typically, there was just time to squeeze a quick pint in at another airport branch of the Firewood Grill before we departed...

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Dan Lovegrove
dan@doctor-lovegrove.com

Last updated 12th May 2004.