Lagunitas A Little Sumpin Extra. This was the surprise of the night. A hoppy IPA brewed with 30% wheat, this beer is light in color, explosive in aroma, and citrusy on the palate. It’s just being released in 22-ounce bottles a kegs for the bars, so keep an eye out for this one!  Here’s the flyer from the brewery.

Pizza Port Carlsbad Little Black Lie. This is a beer with a storied past—it was first made in early 2007 to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the Liars Club. Digging through the vault, I found Louis’s original announcement from a February 2007 email: “I am also very excited to have Jeff Bagby (of Pizza Port Carlsbad) create our very own 7th Anniversary Ale called Black Lie. It is an India Black Ale (wtf?) – a super hoppy black ale.” The beer is super hoppy indeed. It’s jet-black in color, yet the dark malts take a backseat to a bold hop aroma that makes it hard to believe you are drinking a dark beer. It’s excellent rendition of this innovative style, and it’s good to see Pizza Port continuing to make it.

Green Flash Double Stout. I have to admit, when it comes to Green Flash beers, I tend to stick to the hoppy side of the equation. But when several people raved about the double stout on Friday, I decided to risk the increasingly mob-like crowds and stand in a 20 minute line to try it. It was well worth the wait. A melange of roasted malts give forth a sweet complexity, with coffee and chocolate tones that mask the beer’s 8.8% ABV. This is a quintessential after-dinner drink, yet it also begs to be paired with food—I’m thinking plump, succulent scallops, roasted butternut squash, or a creamy slice of pumpkin pie.

Note: This article was originally posted on Drink the Craft’s tumblr site on September 20.