HEYO! was Just in Camarillo yesterday.
Made it out to Institution Ale Co.
What a small tasting room, and closed employee only door leading back to brewery area is lame. Open up that wall and let the tasting room spill out into the brewery area for better atmosphere, more area, and so people can check out your brewing setup!
Decent beer. I dunno, its easy to make decent beer, most people who give a **** do. Nothing really amazing. Their Golden stout was actually pretty good, and I liked "batch #200" a decent bit.
The nitro coffee stout was almost decent, but just not quite nailed down. No lack of flavor, but perhaps a bit watery. Somewhat like when your drinking a bottled water and it almost has a taste, but more of a feel or whatever of the minerals in it. I know I have gotten the same from beers I have made where I didn't bother to nail down water chemistry... I think they have a little more work to do on that last front.
Their saturday cask special was their hoppy amber with chocolate and oranges.
It reminded me of the time I dry hopped half a gallon of milk stout with a **** ton of citra. Kinda like those chocolate orange eggs wrapped in foil that you break into wedges.
Almost not bad,especially at first... But entirely weird, somewhat all over the place... and lets agree neither one of us to do that again.
Slightly better then I expected though. I always expect random tasting rooms to be OK but nothing to get exited about, nothing to get offended by. 2 of 9 rose above that while the rest was as to be expected, slightly better then I was hoping.
At least on Sat, standing room only though, which can suck when you order a flight
