Rooney’s Irish Pub in Orcutt! We were following a Central Coast Beer Map and rolled the dice.  We wound up at Rooney’s Irish Pub adjacent to the Shanty Irish Brewing Company.

Several good things transpired!

1. I broke my 4+ day fast with a bowl of soup and a salad. Shanty’s IPA is a very nice beer. Kathy my lovely, long legged and beautiful wife had the The Bride’s Ale, a very nice Kolsch similar to the one my friend Mile brewed for his daughter’s wedding this summer. The brewmaster did the same.

2. I had Belching Beaver’s Peanut Butter Milk Stout- pretty damned yummy. Kathy went local with the Firestone 805. Lincoln White, the bartender and soon to be realestate agent asked what I liked. Simple answer – most forms of IPA was my answer. Then he asked if I had heard of Zpliny the Elder. Hmmmm only the uninformed IPA fans would express ignorance. Last sip I told him was 5 years ago!

3. Moments later he returned with a bottle of this “most awesome dude” IPA, Pliny the Elder! OMFG! What an awesome treat. Then the world gets incredibly small. He is from Manhattan Beach I mentioned. UCLA and waterpolo and his family is friends with long time coach Bob Horn. His wife Dottie is still connected with his family!

I am tapping this message in as I ride shotgun with Kathy, my beautiful wife,  along Highway 101. Blue, blue Pacific Ocean on the right, the Islands early visible and a Pluny the Eldet grin on my face. She drives a little faster than I do but it is an OK trade off. I am a happy beer drinker this evening.

Just so you know that I am not full of S__t! Here is the bottle in Kathy’s hand!

Russian River Brewing Company – what an amazing beer! It is best when shared!

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop