The beer shelf is a beautiful thing. What'd you get out there? I love Pliny the Elder from Russian River and it's impossible to get outside a very small area in California. I have a neighbor who also enjoys beer and his company is headquartered in Cali. He has a business trip next month and shipped two coolers out to the office to fill up and ship back while he's out there.
I picked up a some IPA's from San Diego: - Modern Times - Belching Beaver - AleSmith - Duck Foot - Pure Project - stopped at a few others but didn't bring anything home Last weekend in Rhode Island I grabbed some from: - Long Live - Buttonwoods - Moniker Long Live is by far my favorite right now. I haven't had a bad IPA from them in four trips in the past two years. They have a good variety with very different flavors, but everyone is good. If you are into IPAs and live near RI, I would highly recommend a visit there. We had a friend ship some Pliny the Elder and Younger to us last year. I wasn't as impressed as I had expected based on the reviews everyone gives it. I found it too malty.
RI has great beers! Have a friend up there who I visit on occasion. He introduced me to Whalers Brewing and their Rise APA. That's a thing of beauty. I'll try to get a hold of Long Live at some point.