From the Beer Writer: Growing up in Chula Vista, I spent a great deal of time on Third Avenue. It’s where I bought my first guitar, saw many a discount movie at The Vogue theater and ate countless slices of post-Little-League pizza interspersed with riveting tabletop Ms. Pac-Man matches. Since moving away in my elementary school days, I hadn’t forged any new memories until recently when I showed up to Chula Vista Brewery on a Friday evening. The place was bustling with TGIF spirit, packed to the gills. It was great to see for a expat who has long wanted to see local beer trickle its way into his hometown in a big way. The first brewery to open in downtown Chula Vista offers a wide range of beers and one of the best shares the name of the street the business calls home. Chula Vista Third Avenue Coffee Porter is smooth and big on roasted-malt character with a recognizable but not overbearing java character. At 6% alcohol-by-volume, it’s a good way to end a session in nightcap fashion. It’s delicious but perhaps the most alluring aspect of this beer is the story behind it. For that, I defer to the man who brought it to life.
From the Brewer: “I love English ales, especially browns and porters. While getting to know the people of Chula Vista and their preferences for craft beer, a surprisingly large amount of people said they like dark beers. I was stoked because I could brew some of my favorite recipes and know they would be appreciated. The story behind this recipe is that I had brewed a somewhat similar recipe, Moonlight Porter, with Marty Mendiola at Rock Bottom‘s La Jolla brewpub in 2010. It won silver in the Robust Porter category at the Great American Beer Festival that year. For this version, I decided to add coffee from my favorite San Diego roaster, Caffe Calabria. In the past, I had only added coffee to a firkin for specialty casks so this was a first for me. I’m happy how it turned out and would like to try it with whole Madagascar vanilla beans, but I need to wait for the price of the beans to come down a bit. Also, back in 2010 I had actually wanted to name the Moonlight Porter the BP Porter because it was brewed during the BP oil spill (deepwater horizon oil spill) in the Gulf of Mexico. The beer looked just like the oil spilling from the bottom of the Gulf. The oil-spill image has always stuck with me…similar to an over-carbonated cask spewing from the spile.”—Russell Clements, Head Brewer, Chula Vista Brewery