Slater's Backyard Brewfest CLOSED

Backyard Brewfest at Slater's 50/50

24356 Swartz Dr.

Lake Forest, CA 92630

By now you know about my love for Slater's 50/50. You are probably saying, "Another post about Slater's?" Yes, I am going to subject you to another one. I not only love their over the top burgers, their trivia nights, and their bar areas, where it is always a great place to watch a game, but now there is another reason to love Slater's, they are very committed to the communities that they serve. Case in point, just this past Saturday they had a Backyard Brewfest at their newest location in Lake Forest. The great folks at Slater's were kind enough to invite us to experience the great time firsthand. So we headed over on this picturesque Saturday afternoon.

The Backyard Brewfest not only showcased the great craft beer and food that Slater's offers, but it also benefited a great cause, the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation is an independent, non-profit corporation. They are inspired by the groundbreaking research of Dr. Mitchell Cairo. The foundation quickly grew beyond their Orange County roots. Since 1982, PCRF has raised over $30 million for cutting edge pediatric cancer research, which has led to continuing improvements in the care, quality of life, and survival rates of children with malignant diseases. The Backyard Brewfest is just one of the ways they raise money. They have some great events all year round; including golf tournaments. walks and runs, and they even have bowling events. You can find out more information about the great work that the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation does, and how you can get involved right here: http://www.pcrf-kids.org/

I apologize if I missed any of the other breweries that were in attendance. I was feeling pretty loopy after about the seventh one, so if I missed anyone I am sorry. I am not going to bore you with my lack of knowledge of the craft beer industry. I am definitely not an expert on beer. I do know what I like however, so I will let you know which ones of these stood out for me. I am a big fan of Hangar 24, and their Orange Wheat. I like the fruitiness and lightness of it, without giving up the taste. At the Backyard Brewfest Hangar 24 had a special, limited edition keg that they tapped, the Barrel Roll No. 4 Hammerhead. This Barleywine style ale is aged six months in a charred whiskey barrel. This is a stronger beer than I like, but I sure did get the strong hint of whiskey when sipping this one. Another standout for me was the Coconut Rye Stout from Latitude 33. This Vista brewer was making their OC debut at the Backyard Brewfest, and I really liked the uniqueness of their coconut stout. It was light, and had a very apparent coconut taste, which did not overpower the base of this stout. Very well done. Golden Road is from Los Angeles, and they had a very nice Hefeweizen. It was very smooth, and went down easily. We might have to make a trip up the freeway soon to visit Golden Road, because they have a pub connected to their brewery. The last brewer I wanted to spotlight was the El Segundo Brewing Co. This South Bay brewer made a memorable mark with me, with their Blue House Citra Pale. This was a hoppy ale with lots of citrus. Lighter than expected, and I could have had many more of these.

Of course I was excited to try the beers, but the food was what really got me here. All you can eat Slater's? How can that be a bad thing? They had several food tents set up in their parking lot, doling out some of Slater's classic dishes. I am not much of a salad guy, but Katie was grateful that they had  samples of Slater's House Salad, with chicken added. See, it is possible to eat healthy at Slater's. Of course all that health talk goes out the window when I had about four samples of the B' B' Bacon Burger. This bacon lovers dream starts with Slater's signature 50 percent ground beef and 50 percent ground bacon patty, and is then topped with bacon cheddar cheese, bacon island dressing, two strips of bacon, a sunny side up egg, and for good measure, a bacon pretzel bun. Bacon euphoria in Lake Forest. What about bacon for dessert? Okay, how about the ultra rich Bacon Brownie. This very moist chocolate brownie is coated with chocolate ganache and candied bacon pieces. I could only finish two slices of this.

Slater's was not the only ones serving food at the Backyard Brewfest. I was surprised to see one of my favorite Downtown Santa Ana restaurants here, Chapter One: The Modern Local. They served up the very artistic Scotch Egg above, along with the Red Velvet and White Russian Cake Tastes.The red velvet one was good, but the white Russian one was the best of the two. Had a great taste, and it really did taste like a sweeter version of the cocktail.

The last booth that I wanted to mention was the TapHunter booth. The people over at TapHunter are trying to make it easy for beer consumers to find where their favorite beers are being poured. Craft beers rotate frequently, so before you drive an hour and a half in traffic, you should check their web site, or download their app on your phone or mobile device to make sure you are not battling traffic for nothing. You can find out more about TapHunter here: http://oc.taphunter.com/

Needless to say, the Slater's Backyard Brewfest was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Good beers, great food, and the Southern California weather made for one of the nicest events we have been to. Not only was all the aforementioned great, but the people here were awesome as well. The crowd was very friendly, the beer representatives really knew their stuff and answered all of our questions, and the organizers of this event kept everything under control. Hopefully there will be many more charitable events like this at Slater's. We would like to thank Ali Stanley at Bread and Butter PR for inviting us to this great event. Thanks for everything Ali. A last thank you goes to Slater's 50/50. You guys just opened the doors of this Lake Forest location, and already you are contributing to the community by hosting a great charitable event. Thanks for opening down the street fro me, and thanks for all you do in the community.

To make sure that you do not miss any great events at Slater's, like this one. Go to their web site here: http://www.slaters5050.com/