Monday is here, and it’s time to start another week. Pick of the Weekend is our weekly post where we recap our favorite brews of the weekend past.

We enjoyed a few quiet pints at home over the weekend, and our favorites were all from California brewers including Russian River Brewing’s newest tribute to the hop.

Friday night is traditionally Double IPA night, and this week featured Port Brewing’s Hop 15. This intense double IPA was first brewed as their 15th Anniversary beer, and it uses 15 different varieties of hops added every 15 minutes during the boil. The result is potent to say the least. Hop 15 is thick and syrupy with little carbonation and an intense hop aroma. The beer coats the palate, and the bitterness is intense. This is a DIPA to savor from a snifter and one of the most potent hop-bombs to come out of San Diego.

Saturday’s highlight was another beer from San Diego: Alesmith’s Nautical Nut Brown Ale. Alesmith doesn’t get the press or the hype of some of San Diego’s other breweries, but they’ve been producing world-class ales since 1995. Their Speedway Stout and Anvil ESB are both exemplary beers, and their renowned brown ale is newly available in bottles. The traditional English Brown could easily be mistaken for a porter in appearance. Dark and roasted malts dominate the flavor with enough herbal English hops to balance the sweetness. Somehow the brown ale is both rich and quaffable, and at under $5 a bomber it’s also a great value.

Sunday’s outing to 38 Degrees Grill and Alehouse resulted in a parade of new and interesting brews, but the highlight of the trip, and the whole weekend, was Russian River Brewing’s new pale ale: Row 2, Hill 56. The beer is named after the location in the Oregon hop-yard where it’s signature hop, Simcoe, was first grown. The Simcoe hop is known for its pungency and intense piny flavor, and it is the only hop used in the pale ale. The beer is light in body with a shockingly intense hop aroma but a clean and crisp finish. An amazing showcase of balance and the brewer’s skills, Row 2 Hill 56 was an instant favorite for us. Unfortunately, it sounds like this beer was a very limited single-run; so if you see it in the wild don’t hesitate to try it.

What was your favorite brew from the weekend?