Continuing my Lake Tahoe brewpub explorations I came across a prototypical British pub, dark, with one of the largest selections of craft beer I had seen in the area. The Tudor Pub, an upstairs addition to the Fremont Bistro and Wine bar, was lively with bikers and tourists who had either been frequenting the pub for years or heard about it through a Tahoe local.

The pub patrons seemed to take over the outdoor lawn/patio fitted with white tables and chairs, so my posse of beer drinkers took over the patio and had a look at their beer menu. I decided to venture inside to peek at the tap wall and made the trek upstairs into the main pub. The bar top was filled from side to side with Tahoans drinking pints of English Ale and Irish Stout.

I asked the bartender if they had any unique beers that I may not have had before in other places, so he showed me a few English Ales. The first was the Duchy Originals Organic English Ale.

The beer had a great hoppy and malty flavor with a distinctive English yeast taste. The undertones were of caramel and toffee, which I always love. The bottle had a really cool label with a very prideful logo displaying the organic barely and hops that make up this wonderful Ale. This organic ale was a great mid-day treat for sitting outside in the cool Tahoe air.

My Father-in-Law to be, a.k.a Johny Boy, joined me with a Fullers London Pride Outstanding Pale. I didn’t try it, but he definitely gave it a thumbs up and said it had a great finishing flavor. All-in-all both of these English beers were a hit and I would recommend ordering them if you ever get the chance.

Taking the bartenders advice from the Brewery in Lake Tahoe, I made my way to one of their sister brewpubs and restaurants called Cecil’s Steak and Brew located on 4118 Lake Tahoe Boulevard.

The atmosphere was an open floor/sports bar feel (large-screen TV on the wall), and you could see the chefs cooking from the main floor. No booths, just tables. As always, I migrated over to the taps to have a look and grabbed a seat at the bar. The bartender was very knowledgeable about their craft beer and told me all about a specialty batch of brew that their master brewer had just released called their Double Time Double Scotch Ale.

So on to the tasting…. the bartender placed a small taster of the Double Time Double Scotch Ale in front of me and told me to smell it before tasting it. I filled my lungs and smelled butterscotch and coffee. Upon tasting the ale I was pleasantly surprised to find an equally similar taste to the aroma. The beer had bold flavors and was high in alcohol content. My first thought was that this would be a great after dinner or dessert beer to be paired with chocolate.

I wasn’t fully in the mood for dessert yet, so I browsed the beer menu looking for my next victim. I quickly spotted a familiar Californian micro brew on their menu and ordered a round for me and my friends. Lagunitas India Pale Ale is by far one of my all time favorite IPA’s perhaps due to the extra dry hopping technique towards the end of the brewing process or the centennial hops they use. I’m just a sucker for good hops and apparently anything Lagunitas brews up.

Yes, there is good beer to be had in South Lake Tahoe, one of the most popular outdoor wonderlands for skiing, hiking and getaways in the Midwest. I stopped in a corner bar called Whiskey Dick’s Saloon http://www.whiskeydicksslt.com, which from the name you would expect to find stripper poles and drunken cowboys passed out all over the floor. This corner pub had a long island bar, three coolers full of microbrews and at least 24 cases of a town favorite Pabst Blue Ribbon.

As I looked over the beer coolers I noticed a shot-of-the-day sign that read "Russian Pussy". I couldn’t bring myself to ask what made up this classy concoction, but I know I probably didn’t miss out on much. The bartender was very nice while I stared into the beer coolers looking for something new. Three sweat-covered men entered shortly after we did. "Working on a Saturday, are we?" a young woman asked. They grinned and nodded their heads. As they drank their beers, they talked in thick Cali-surfer accents. One drank Miller Lite, another Budweiser and the third had Coors Light on ice.

I saw a beer called SIRIUS, a Lagunitas Special Release High Gravity Cream Ale and the bartender told me he had just got it in that day. I gave it a try and it ended up being a winner. A girl down the bar was curious to know what it tasted like, so the bartender asked if he could pour a spot into a shot glass for her to taste. "Of course", I said and she described it as a great beer, but not a great cream ale. I agreed that the beer was great, but it was definitely a stretch from cream ale. Lagunitas is one of my favorite California microbreweries, so I really enjoyed getting a hint of their classic hop/barley combo in this beer.