This afternoon I drove to Half Moon Bay Brewing for a tasting of all four of the Bay Area’s examples of Poor Richard’s Ale. It was the first time I’d been to Alec Moss’ new brewery. Alec used to be the head brewer at Golden Pacific Brewing and then briefly he brewed at Redbird Brewing in San Carlos. Since I was there for another tasting, I didn’t get a chance to try all of his beers, but the IPA I had was excellent. It had great hop character but was pretty well restrained (especially for a West Coast IPA) and nicely balanced. Not quite an English-style IPA but milder than many modern American IPAs. You could drink a lot of these sitting in their outdoor patio facing the beach watching the sun set on the California coast.

Alec Moss, head brewer at Half Moon Bay Brewing Co.