lunchtime "errands"

Earlier this month, I got a tweet from Drake's Brewing in San Leandro. I've been a fan of Drake's since I started working at my current job in Oakland's Embarcadero Cove and first tried a Drake's Amber at Quinn's Lighthouse, a kooky, piratey dive across the street from my office. Drakes' e-newsletter enticed Liz and I and a couple of work pals to their First Friday event (which deserves a post of its own at some point), but also offhandedly mentioned that they're now selling/filling growlers on Thursday and Friday afternoons. Since then, I've had the Drake's growler on my mind.

Today was/is a slow day at the office, so I decided to make the quick jaunt down 880 to satisfy my craving.  I knew I made the right decision when I pulled up to the brewery and there was Cheesus' (my Kia Soul's) stripeless, orange twin. I'm starting to see more Souls around the bay area, but had yet to see one of the same obnoxious orange color as mine (go Giants!).

Baby Cheesus (L), naked orange Kia Soul (R)

Anyway, I popped into the brewery and was treated to tastes of both Drake's Red Eye and their Hefe. I had hoped to get to taste the Kewl Hand Luke, a recent experimental wheaty IPA, but one of the brewers said they'd already pushed out all they had to local pubs. I went for the Red Eye which is my favorite of their regularly available beers: it's a hoppy copper ale that's got a nice balance of bitterness and sweetness that I tend to go for.

Round trip, including a stop at Costco (I play this mental game with myself where I say I'll drive through the parking lot, and if the fates let me find a space within 2 minutes, I'll stop for a hot dog—today they wanted me to have a hot dog) was only 45 minutes, so I can see this becoming at least a semi-monthly outing. Cheers.

safety first, please