Yesterday, we put a nice dent into the case of Fort Point Villager and KSA I bought a few weeks back. Good beers.

Goose Island IPA

Ballast Point Mocha Marlin Winter Release

Will return with a report, bought for a beer night Tuesday. The reasons I wanted to try it out are that my experience of their IPAs are the same as yours, plus I really enjoy a powerful stout every now and then

In my fridge
 

Prairie Bomb
Last Stand Citra IPA Growlers

In SF for a few days:

Haze of our Lives IPA -- Alvarado Street Brewery (beer of the week until I came across the Pliny below)
Kook Pizza Port Solana Beach DIPA
Animal - Fort Point Beer Company
Pliny the Elder (on draft in SF proper -- was not expecting that on this trip)

The week got better tonight -- found a place with the following on draft or in cans (Heady Topper):

Pliny the Younger (holy #&#+749@$)
Boneyard Notorious
Pizza Port Thruster
Altamount Maui 3x
Alvarado One Giant Leap
Heady Topper

All good but mostly floored and lucky on PtY -- was sitting in my hotel and remembered that it was released this week and found a place nearby with it on draft.

Also the fact I had Heady Topper and PTY at the same bar -- mind still spinning.

OK, here's my report on Ballast Point Mocha Marlin Winter Release.

IMHO, supported by 4 of 5 guests this was more like coffee with stout. The last guy, an avid caffeinoholic, however, was lyric about it.
Think 4 parts Sierra Nevada Porter, 1 part Youngs Double Chocolate Stout and 2 shots of espresso in every bottle. The coffee taste was so dominating it almost blew the more subtle cacao taste away. ABV 6.0%%

The other Stout to try, recieved general approval. Despite being named Milk Stout Nitro, brewed by Left Hand Brewing Co. , this stout has a nice scent of coffee and clear, but not dominating tastes of both coffee and cacao. ABV 6.0% . I will return to this one.

Thanks for the review. I've drunk far to many stouts and porters whose flavor was dominated by the addition of coffee. I like dark beers and I like coffee. But I like a lighter touch when it comes to mixing the two.

No milk stouts for this lactose intolerant beer lover.

Sounds heavenly to me.

Solid beer from a local brewery. Commonly on tap around here, and it's one of my go-to's when the rest of the draft selection is lacking.

Hit up the to-go cans from our local favorite bar (High Side Fairfax) and brought home 2 of Decadent's IPA "desserts": Blackberry Cream IPA and Mango Cream IPA. I haven't tried the Mango yet, but the Blackberry is very similar to their Blueberry which I had earlier this year: a solid hazy IPA, heavy on the fruit, but not a total juice bomb. My wife who dislikes most IPAs will drink Decadent's stuff...

Brewhouse Pilsner. This Pilsner is brewed by Saskatoon-based Great Western Brewing Company and is my "go-to" brew as it's a great value and has a light, crisp taste. Why pay more when a solid beer delivers quality and value?

I enjoy that.