With the Bay Area sweltering in 100 degree heat at the weekend, Ealish (official PlanetSeth wife) and I headed to the coast to cool down. We hoped to find a quiet spot with some shade where we could sit & read but fortunately it was so busy that we ended up at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company.

My first pint was their current brewer’s special Summit Special IPA. This is brewed with the trendy hop of the moment, the Summit. It’s good, very good. It’s enticing copper appearance shouts drink me (well this one did at least) and the closer to your lips it gets the better it is. The rich floral hop aroma smacks you with a plethora of citrus notes and then the taste hits you. Gorgeous grapefruity, tangeriney hoppiness. I think I like the summit hop. A lot.

Feeling I should sample a range my second and unfortunately last pint was their regular IPA, the Pillar Point IPA. It was lighter both in colour and aroma than the Summit Special. It seemed closer to a Burton style IPA than to the American version. The hop character was more muted and though some citrus zing was noticeable some was the traditional Burton character. A tasty beer without a doubt but a bit of a come down from the peak of the Summit.

If you can get along to HMB Brewing before the Summit Special runs out I highly recommend you do. Highway 1 from San Francisco is still closed at Devil’s Slide but it is due to reopen August 4th. If you’re in the city it’s worth the extra effort you’ll have to make to get their.

Time to wean myself back on to my old friend the Cascade hop.