Beer of the Week: Two Kids Pirlie-Winkie Scottish Ale

Patience is important for a beer writer—well, a beer-loving beer writer, anyway. Often, I’m in the know about an upcoming brewing company long before they’re anywhere even close to serving their first beer. In the case of Two Kids Brewing Company (8680 Miralani Drive, #123, Mira Mesa), my announcement of their intentions to open a nanobrewery in Mira Mesa came over a year before they opened up shop.

Since that piece, owners Rob and Sam Dufau have set the Kickstarter world on fire, earning enough funds to open their labor of love, which began its soft open period last Thursday. After waiting so long to check out this homebrewing couple’s creations, I made a point to get out there earlier this week and run through their initial offerings.

What I found was a highly English-influenced beer board featuring beer styles rarely seen in American and Belgian beer-centric San Diego. Among them were a pair of bitters both ordinary and extra special. ESBs are hard enough to find, but an ordinary bitter is almost unheard of on this side of the Pond. Two Kids’ is called Incredulous, is slightly bitter and biscuity, and reminded me of many pints consumed during my pub-crawling excursion to London last year.

The Dufaus also take pride in an American cream ale called One Twenty-Three (123 is the number of Two Kids’ business suite), a beer they’ve been brewing unchanged for the past two years. It smells of grain and tastes a bit oaty with light lemon character brought on by Crystal and Mount Hood hops.

The best of the bunch early on is a 60-schilling Scottish Ale called Pirlie-Winkie. When complemented about it, Rob puts up his hands and admits that recipe’s conception was all Sam. If he’d had his way, he would have upped the crystal malt in the recipe, but having fallen in love with the beer, he wouldn’t change a thing. The nose is roasty with a hint of something reminiscent of suede (odd, but intriguing and welcoming). On the palate, there’s a nice mineral quality Rob attributes to the Miramar aquifer water used to brew the beer.

Right now, the couple’s most award-winning beer, a sessionable sweet stout made with cacao nibs and vanilla bean they’ve dubbed Winning, is fermenting away. After that, they will debut a California common that was originally named after Sam, and several special beers for San Diego Beer Week, including a collaboration with another local brewery. Two Kids will also rebrew an IPA made with Bravo hops that was so popular, the keg ran dry before their first weekend was up.