Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
The Los Angeles Brewsology Beer Fest is back for 2023. It is a good mash-up of beer and museum as you get a festival at the California Science Center.
It will be held on July 8th, with a brewery list over 50 + food trucks and all-inclusive access throughout the museum and exhibits after hours.
I have been jonesing to try a beer from Seattle’s Machine House Brewery. It seems to be a brewery where the best is draft but thanks to some Lowercase Brewing beers sprinkled into Los Angeles, I get to try the collaboration London Lager from the can.
“A traditional base of Simpsons Lager malt and Crisp Floor Malted Maris Otter with some of the finest East Kent Goldings. We decided to recruit some Hallertau Mittelfruh hops from Germany because Lowercase are Mittelfruh Children.”
To me, this is a classic watch Premier League highlights beer. Light orange in color. Lovely malt aroma on the nose. Soft and delicate mouthfeel. Nothing really dominates. All subtlety. Some potpourri and orange pith with a tiny metallic clang.
We know where Stone Brewing is obviously. It is ///Fear.Movie.Lions. But I did not know where Offshoot Beer Co. is. Now I do.
///Dolphins.Escape.Bikes collaboration is a juicy IPA with kiwi and watermelon. Weird flavor combo that but I like the three random words thing and pairing it to collaboration partners.
Right upfront, I usually do not buy beer in the mail. There are a couple places that I check out but your Tavours of the world just aren’t my cup of tea. Mostly because I am super picky and prefer to choose the beers that I want in the quantity that I want and I just enjoy the experience of in person shopping and looking through the coolers.
But….City Brew Tour has an interesting hook to it. It is the ubiquitous subscription model and yes stickers and koozies seem to be a big part but what I like is that each month focuses on a different city and not just big cities or easily known beer cities.
For example, Bend, Oregon has been a stop but not Portland. New York hasn’t been hit nor Asheville or Denver. Yet. Instead you get Mikwaukee, Grand Rapids and Lexington as stops. And they already have Cincinnati lined up for June.
With another Trappist brewery closing, this time Stift Engelszell in Austria, it may be that craft beer fans will see both the high and low water marks of the protected trademark associated with brewing in a monastery.
At Stift Engelszell, the last four monks made the move to another monastery. It is probably both a victim of changing tastes in not only beer but also in religion. Second sons are not forced into a career path in theology as in the ye’ olde days and even the term primogeniture isn’t used outside of the odd coronation, here or there. It is actually surprising that monasticism has lasted as long as it has.
Hopefully the Trappist organization can find a way to save these recipes and maybe revive the brands under a less stringent set of productions.
Craft beer has seasonal beers, most notably in winter but there are certainly beets for spring, summer and fall too. When obe thinks of gin, you may not think that way but Leopold’s Distilling in Colorado does and their summer gin is out now for 2023.
“This gin draws on the warm climates from which its exceptional ingredients are harvested by hand: Spanish Blood Oranges for a rich sweetness, French Immortal Flowers and Juniper Berries for a cool and clean flavor, and Australian Lemon Myrtle for a fresh, citrus finish. Each ingredient is distilled individually to honor its distinctive flavors.”
Anytime a new beer comes out in bottles, my eyes perk up and in this case, they perked up extra to see that this new fruity IPA is from North Coast Brewery ….
Eagle Rock Brewery class is in session with their Beer 101 Nights every month in their taproom.
And the price is really right. Only $11, and you get “one flight of 4 beers, a specially selected taster, and an educational discussion about the style, tasting notes, and more.” And believe me when I say, you should never stop learning.
We are heading toward the halfway point of 2023 and I have yet to pinpoint a new beer style trend. I know that I ask this repetitive question each year, at least twice a year, but has craft beer hit a creative wall? Or is the next trend lurking underwater off the coast of Amity?
Pastry stouts seem to have stalled a bit either due to expense of ingredients or brewers have found the outer limit of America’s sweet tooth which is something I never thought was possible. Cold IPA’s might find headwinds of IPL logic slows that trend down.
The only big news of the year seems to be stovepipe cans. 19.2% is finding cooler room in limited spaces from gas stations to grocery stores.
It seems like every day that I see a beer that I wish that I could get, but realistic me knows that it ain’t gonna happen. Another part of me also knows that having these just out of reach beers is a good thing. It will eventually push me out to travel to find.
This month, I would need to travel to the Land of KC3 aka England to Thornbridge Brewery for this collaboration with Budvar…
