The Swill: The Obamanator
The Still: The Brewhouse
Santa Barbara, California
http://www.brewhousesb.com/
The Drill: Scottish-style ale, 64oz growler, ABV unknown
The Spill: A mighty concoction crafted in honor of our new president, the Obamanator pours out a deep caramel leather color, featuring a maple head that dissipates rapidly. The nose is intriguing, with heavy notes of wood. The rich body is also woody, smoky and heavily malted, lending it a strong, brown-sugary sweetness. Such a bold ale of this variety is often quite alcoholic, but this one didn't taste overbearing. There's no bitterness to be found, either from alcohol or hops, both of which have succumbed to the intensity of the plentiful sweet malts used in its creation.
Says Bill: This was easily my favorite of the many beers that Holly and I had in Santa Barbara that day. We were led through 9 beers at this stop alone, and our host was none other than Pete, the Brewhouse's brewmaster. He took great pride in his creations, as well as his workshop, which he gave us a full tour of. This beer tastes like a Scottish to me, though Pete confessed that he didn't follow any traditional guidelines in crafting it. He kinda threw everything in there that tickled his fancy at the time, and came up with some good one-liners to accompany it. "I figured it should have some of same things you want in a president: a good head, a decisive finish..." He reminded me a lot of my buddy Scott in PA, both in the timbre of his voice and his eccentric sense of humor. We bonded easily, and had a great time drinking together. Oh yeah, I didn't mention yet...Pete drank each of the brews with us, and stood a lot steadier than we did at the end.
Refill?: This is a beer you could see yourself drinking for the next four years, and quite possibly elect it for a second term after that: 4 taps out of 5.