Islands & Left Coast Brewing Debut the Hula Bay IPA

When I traveled through San Clemente on my recent rail adventure I thought to myself, “I need to explore this town more.” Lo and behold a few days later I received an invite to visit Left Coast Brewing Co. to celebrate the debut of their latest beer – an IPA collaboration with Islands Restaurants. Deeming it kismet I headed south to check it out.

Left Coast Brewing Co. is an independently owned brewery that’s been operating for 12 years – far longer than the latest craft beer boom. They’ve been a staple of San Clemente for some time and, despite being located in a nondescript industrial park, the tap room was jumping.

San Clemente is a beach town firmly enmeshed in surf culture. Left Coast embraces that culture as does Islands Restaurant (another locally based company). Deciding it would be a match made in heaven Islands decided it was time for the two companies to collaborate. The result is the Hula Bay IPA – a limited edition brew that will be available this summer exclusively at Islands.

The Hula Bay IPA is brewed right in San Clemente and has hints of tangerine, grapefruit and pine. Those flavors were readily apparent as I tried my first sip. As it’s an IPA there’s also a heavy dose of bitterness. Because of that Islands came up with a limited edition burger to pair with it.

The Heat Wave Burger is topped with serrano peppers, pepper jack cheese and spicy mayo. Boy, does it have a kick! It’s mighty tasty but a little too hot for my wimpy palate. After every bite I had to take a sip of beer which made for a flavorful combo.

The Hula IPA and the Heat Wave Burger will be available this summer at Islands. They’re only here for a limited time so don’t delay in getting yours!