What we’re drinking: Telegraph Brewing California Ale

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Santa Barbara’sTelegraph Brewing is the epitome of the eager, experimental microbrewery, enthusiastic about local ingredients and unfamiliar techniques. Its 19th century version of porter will shock most people by being tart. However, its flagship brew, California Ale, is totally accessible. It’s a mouth-filling beer, unfiltered, fairly hoppy and rather malty with a subtle citrus note. Perhaps because it’s sealed with a cork, a la Champagne, some people seem to think of it as a French saison, but I’d call it just a great big amber ale. Click here for more. -- Charles Perry