Breweries are starting to pop up in and around the Inland Empire at an amazing rate. A friend-of-a-friend noticed that there are several breweries along the Metrolink train route. He made a spreadsheet and came up with a plan. Metrolink offers system-wide day passes for $10 on the weekend. We started by trying to catch the Metrolink in Pomona. We wound up missing the train by two minutes and the next train was not for another hour and a half. Instead, we decided to walk about a mile to a brewery.
Old Stump Brewing Company
Old Stump Brewing Company is located on Bonita Avenue just east enough of downtown La Verne to be in Pomona. This is the brewery I frequent most often as it one of the closest to my house. I got a pint of their Red Hammock IPA (don't be thrown by the name...it's not a red IPA). It's one of my favorite beers from this brewery. After the pint, we headed back to the train station and caught our train. We got off in Upland and took an Uber to the next brewery.
Kings Brewing Company
Kings Brewing Company, like most breweries, is tucked into a small industrial space. The folks behind the bar were friendly. T he menu proclaimed a focus on hop forward beers and it seemed over half of the offerings on tap were some sort of IPA. I got a flight:
- Juice Bomb IPA - An excellent IPA. My favorite from this location.
- Diet Juice IPA - A session version of the above beer. I found the mouthfeel a bit thin.
- Blue Dream - A kettle soured, blueberry ale. I found this one wasn't as sour as I would have liked, however the blueberry flavor and color were great.
- Brunch Stout - A very (maybe overly) sweet stout. The maple flavor was good, but did I mention it was sweet?
From this location, we walked about a half mile to our next stop
No Clue Craft Brewery
No Clue Craft Brewery is tucked into the back of an industrial park. The tasting room was the smallest of the venues we visited. I got a flight:
- Oat No You Didn't (on Nitro) - I'm a sucker for oatmeal stout on nitro.
- Saison Du Clue - A pretty decent saison. My favorite beer from this location
- Hop Conveyance IPA 3.0 - An average IPA
- Winey &!*@#? - A big barleywine. I don't generally go for barleywines, but a 4oz. pour I can handle. Not my favorite.
We set off once this place became really crowded. A short walk and we were at our next location.
Sour Cellars
Sour Cellars is an all sour, all barrel aged brewery that opened about two weeks ago. The location was a bit hard to find as they need a little more signage. We spoke with the brewmaster a bit, and got some recommendations. Their location is beautiful...rich wallpaper, dim lighting, nicely upholstered chairs. I ended up settling on the following flight:
- Gigglemug - Golden wild ale refermented with starfruit
- Brain Saying - A hoppy golden wild ale.
- Cat-lap - Dark wild ale refermented with syrah grapes (11.2%)
- Fairy Sparkler - Golden wild ale refermented with peaches
I had a fifth beer from this location, but I didn't make a note of it. My favorite was the Gigglemug - super tart and a bit fruity. My least favorite was the Fairly Sparkler - tons of diacetyl (buttered popcorn flavor) on the backend of this beer.
After this location, we walked to a Mexican restaurant and had dinner. We then continued on to the next brewery.
Hamilton Family Brewery
Hamilton Family Brewery is just a little bit larger than No Clue, and it was packed when we got there. I ordered a flight:
- Young Fool - Pale Ale
- Brethren Brown Ale
- Double Mango - A double IPA with mangoes
- Melon-Dramatic IPA - North East IPA
I had high expectations for this brewery as it is a favorite of a few of my friends. Sadly, the beer here was just average. If I had to pick a favorite, the Young Fool was probably my favorite.
From here we walked along some train tracks and made it to the last spot.
Rowdy's Brew Company
Rowdy's Brew Company is a new brewery (open about two months) located in an industrial area near a recycling plant. It was the most family friendly location of the trip: some dedicated space with a toy box full of toys. Several games were available to play, as were a few arcade cabinets. We spent the most time at this location as we had to kill a couple of hours before catching the train home. Instead of getting a flight, I ordered pours of:
- Vanbunctious - Oatmeal stout on nitro
- Shred the Cello - American IPA
- Rockyhara - Scottish Ale
- Vogel - White IPA
Of all the beers I tried, I was most impressed with the Rockyhara. I only ordered a 4oz. pour of that beer as I normally don't fancy Scottish ales as some brewers get out of hand with peated malt, but this one was quite tasty. All of there beers were tasty.
Once we were finished, we hopped in an Uber for the trip back to the train station, rode the train a few stops back to the Pomona station, then Ubered home. It was a safe and fun trip.