#24: Blue Bell Bitter from the cask at Magnolia Pub

Mmm ... beer. Not just that but, Mmm beer on a Saturday afternoon when you have nothing to do so you just decide to have a few drinks with your besties.

I got yanked out of bed by Ariel and Timmy to go to brunch at the Tipsy Pig (great breakfast sandwich -- should probably be on the list) and as weekend mornings usually go -- we pulled the old 'what should we do now?' Now in my past, this spontaneous-Saturday-nothing-to-do-ness would take me to R Bar for some 2 p.m.-2 a.m. action -- but thankfully I have grown out of that.

Somewhere between wanting to get a cocktail and needing to get unitards for that evening's birthday party (not for me ... for Ariel and Timmy), we ended up in the Haight at Magnolia Pub & Brewery to try the Blue Bell Bitter from the cask. Fortunately for us, we got a super rad parking spot right out in front. Unfortunately for us, they weren't serving the Blue Bell Bitter from the cask that day. So we had to settle for pints of the Blue Bell Bitter. I'm not sure what the difference is, but the beer was GOOD. Now I'm not a big fan of "good beer." I'm pretty sure my home state would cut ties with me if they could for that ... but seriously ... I just want a cold Bud Light. The fancy beers are usually too hoppy or too bitter. This one was a tad bitter but still tasted really good. I had no problem putting this one back -- although is this because it was the first beer of the day? The first beer ALWAYS goes down so smooth!

I liked the vibe of this place: they have the whole long, tall communal wooden table thing going on and some more-private wooden booths. It was a lot like a McMenamin's -- but with a fancier food menu. I looked over the brunch menu and was impressed: it's a small menu, but I could totally get down with some donut holes and crabcake benedict ... and a Blue Bell Bitter, of course.

Sidenotes:
$6.00 for a pint
Conveniently located across the street from a tattoo/piercing place -- so you can drink a bunch of strong beer and then go make a bad decision.