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Review – Patio Project from Beachwood Brewing – Can 3

This month, as a bit of a scientific lark, I am going to review the same beer weeks apart to see if any differences can be found. I chose Patio Project IPA from Beachwood Brewing as the test subject after picking it for the beer shopping list post last month.

As you can see from the above photo, it was canned up on 8/1/24. For this review, the first can was tasted on 8/16/24. Can two was opened on 9/5/24. Can three was opened on 9/29.

Still pours a bright and light yellow. No visual degradation seen at all. Aroma also coming in strong. The hop bite is still there which is good because this is near session IPA to me and without it, the beer would lose a dimension.

Maybe I shall conduct this experiment again but with a different, not as high quality brewery as Beachwood and maybe take it over a longer time frame.

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Blurry

Sometimes in beer, you may not see a beer style produced very often but one way you can sneak around that is to “imperialize” that style and it helps to have a brewery like Stone Brewing who excel at big beers doing it.

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Five Talons

One of my bottle shops stops is Talon Tap & Wine in Eagle Rock. Friendly people, you have a great selection that you can buy single cans of and there is a nice little bar in the back if you want to catch a game.

And this year, they are turning 5! There will be a special day of celebration for it on Saturday, October 5th.

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Dollars & Snobs

If you saw the John Oliver – Last Week Tonight commentary on dollar stores and how terrible they are, you will understand why the name of the new beer from Paperback Brewing is so scary and fitting for the Spooky Season…

…it is good to see that Black IPA has found a bit of a seasonal niche for Halloween.

Paperback also has a good beer name going with the Beer Snob IPA but they really should have gone for a different IPA sub-style like Brut instead of…

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In the Tap Lines for October 2024

We have entered Q4 of 2024. As always, the year just swings by before you know it. Before the calendar switches, we need to pack in fun like a trip to Colorado, which I will be posting about later.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries that won at this year’s GABF

~ special featured reviews of Halloween inspired beers

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Blocks with Neal Brennan

~ Sports & A Beer returns with WNBA and NBA expansion to Portland and maybe Seattle

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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The Firkin for September 2024

Gonna go very trivial here. But it is a bee in my bonnet. In my internet beer wanderings, I see videos and photos where beer is spilled, intentionally.

I know that there is only so much new beer content when making beer content is very much second, third or fourth place behind making craft beer but whenever I see spilled beer, I think that the beer could be given as a taster to a new customer or an old customer.

Then another part of me just moves to who has to clean up that mess because beer is sticky as hell. What cleaners are they using? I just start thinking of anything other than the beer.

Instead of the pranks and hijinks, this beer fan would like more about the brewery and the beers.

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Best Beers of September 2024

This month we are going to toggle between Fest and IPA for the best of the month.

My fest best are the always good Oaktoberfest from Firestone Walker and Paulaner’s Oktoberfest Bier. A journey from Germany to Paso Robles.

Hops wise, the Stone 28th Anniversary DIPA strayed a bit from their heavy format to a balanced fruity and big beer. The other is a spooky season named beer from ISM Brewing with Ghost Town Brewing, the 6.66% Death Dealer IPA.

As an added bonus, the Strudel Cider from Benny Boy here in Los Angeles literally tasted like an apple pie. Even though it is not fall yet here, it sure tasted like it.

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Colorado Brewery Tour # 3 – Public Offering Brewing

Our third and final stop for September and Colorado breweries is Public Offering Brewing. The name sounds like it belongs on Wall Street but the brewery is on South Broadway in Denver.

Time to grab a taster flight….

Brilliant Disguise West Coast Pilsner – “Delicate passionfruit, orange, guava and grapefruit rind aromas and flavors rest on a light pilsner base.”

Le Spritz Italian Pilsner – “Light bread malt, a touch of honey sweetness and notes of elderflower, lemongrass and quince with a crisp, dry and slightly bitter finish.”

Quite the Pear Fruited Sour – “Our collaboration with Monolith Brewing – a light, refreshing, and slightly tart beer with a hint of pear.”

The Green Mile Hazy IPA – “Bold tropical pineapple, sweet mango and shaved coconut combine with peach, key lime & Valencia oranges on a smooth, creamy, and slightly sweet finish.”

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Review – Fresh Wave XPA from El Segundo Brewing

El Segundo Brewing is throwing it back to the ’80s in both beer style and font with their Fresh Wave XPA, Extra Pale Ale. Like most monikers XPA is a bit weird give it is basically just word replacing. Session IPA is a bit cleaner and understandable.

That said, let’s taste the liquid inside and not get too hung up on verbiage. At 4.9%, this is low ABV but that first sip doesn’t give too much away because the hops come in the front door, loud. There is a second wave of malt where the lightness of the body shows up but at the end, it tastes almost like a hoppy Wit as a tropical burst comes in.