Beer of the Week: Bat Flip to the Moon

From the Beer Writer: Ah, bat flips, the flamboyant displays following no-doubt-about-it home runs. I remember when those happened with the great frequency at Padres games (for the guys wearing brown and gold)? Sadly, our Padres are slumping. It’s a natural part of baseball, the ultimate game of streaks, but this long stretch of losses is coming at the worst time. Fortunately, against all odds, the Friars still have a chance, so as I have for more than four decades, I’m remaining behind them 100%, both figuratively and literally in the sense that this week’s featured beer comes from a brewpub a block north of leftfield, Half Door Brewing. Dubbed Bat Flip to the Moon, it’s unlike most sports-inspired brews, which tend to be lighter lagers, hoppy pale ales or IPAs. Meanwhile, this Slam Diego-inspired beer is a fun, interesting and hyper-local take on a style seldom seen in San Diego, the schwarzbier. Onyx in color, these dark lagers are built to offer low but detectable roast character. A fan of tradition as well as experimentation, Half Door Brewmaster Dan Drayne goes a different direction with his schwarz, upping the roast, not only with deep-kilned specialty malts but coffee from a South Bay roaster, resulting in a nutty, bittersweet-chocolate nose, increased roastiness and a touch of java acidity. It’s a beer worth cheering regardless of the digits on the scoreboard.

From the Brewer: “Our Bat Flip to the Moon is a Schwarzbier with coffee from our friends at Visitor Coffee Roasters. Visitor is a San Diego-based small-batch coffee roasting company committed to finding the most delicious coffee all over the world while prioritizing sustainable environmental practices. The company was started by two local guys who just really love coffee. For this beer, we use their Rebel Rebel blend, which has a slight honey-sweet, roasty, chocolaty aroma. It’s a very expressive variety of coffee that dominates the aroma in this style of beer. On the brewing side, we used biscuit, Munich and a little brown malt for a nice biscuity, toasty aroma to complement the coffee. The aroma is intense, leading one to think they are about to get a sweet, heavy beer, but when you take a sip the beer and coffee meld together, providing a very light, crisp, smooth mouthfeel. It’s great for the heat in September if you want a dark, roasty beer without too much cloying sweetness.”—Dan Drayne, Brewmaster, Half Door Brewing