May 1997, Volume 20, Issue 5

Dry in the Desert

by Bruce Brazil

I just spent a few days in Palm Springs. 90+ weather during the day and short sleeves in the evening. Now to find a good brew on tap and sit back and relax. Sitting back and relaxing was the easy part, finding a selection of beer didn't happen. The Village Pub had 4 brews on tap, Beer and Burgers had 2 Bud products, Lyons English Pub had 2 on tap and was out of Guinness on a Friday night, and Gumbo Jims had 6 on tap. Bass and Sam Adams were the most common "Craft Beers" around. The only place to see a variety (not on tap) was at the super market and liquor stores. The super market was much cheaper than the liquor store. A six pack of Anchor Steam in the refrigerator pulled me through the weekend.

One local microbrew was available, Palm Springs Brewing Co. I tried a pint of it and left about a third behind. Very phenolic, maybe a wild yeast.