Author: Sean Inman

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The Final Beer Search Party Firkin

There have been hints sprinkled throughout the year. More posts from a certain small-ish island with no snakes. An island that I will be moving to along with my Irish wife come January.

It is a move long discussed that picked up momentum in the last two years due to the current management in what is left of the White House but that is just one of a myriad of reasons that I am trading near constant sun for near constant actual weather.

My day job, though shaky at times has been steady but not particularly fulfilling. We have had a long and happy life here in Glendale but life seems to be stagnating a bit. As I have put it to people, I feel that I have crossed over from routine into rut. Patterns are becoming embedded and it is past time for a new adventure.

I have been asked why not continue the blog but with news from Irish craft brewing. But I have to admit that part of the rut is also doing this blog which but for a brief respite has been two posts a day for going on almost twenty years. That is a nice, long run.

And maybe, I will get back into craft beer in some way past just as a customer at one of the many fine pubs around the counties and towns of Ireland though I am looking forward more to being one of the regulars at a cozy pub in Limerick or Galway or wherever we end up. Reading this PIECE in Pellicle made me pause for a second but it is time to discover everything around me like the magpie hunting for shiny objects that I am.

Take care of the craft beer here in America. I will still be rooting for everyone, just from a distance.

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Best Beers of December 2025

I have three bests for the final month of the year. Starting with the only non Christmas beer of the trio, Dunn of Darkness from Route 30 Brewing which I mentioned in an earlier post. A really nicely done dark Czech Lager. Struck the right balance of big malt taste and sprightliness.

The runner-up was Christmas Bock from Enegren Brewing. A little jolt of fruitcake energy for the holiday season along with a nice little punch of alcohol to it.

This months winner is the Rum Barrel edition of Santa’s Secret Stash from El Segundo Brewing. The oaky barrel quality shines through and there is enough of a rum presence to add a layer to an already impressive base beer.

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December Brewery # 3 – 2 Row Brewing

For our final e-brewery tour, we head out to Utah and 2 Row Brewing in Midvale that began life as both a bottle shop and nano brewery.

24K Golden – this golden ale is “Well balanced, clean and crisp with soft malty sweetness.”

Tastes Like Citrus IPA – “The first of its kind in Utah and winner of the Utah Beer Blog Best Beer in Utah Award in 2017. The “New England-style” IPA is designed to have every bit the amount of hop character as any IPA, but with little to no bitterness. The result is the perfect balance of juicy and citrus flavors.”

Dangereux Farmhouse – “A strong saison but dangerously smooth for its ABV. Belgian yeast character that is both fruity and spicy. Notes of wheat and citrus.”

Divine Lunacy Barrel-Aged Belgian Quad – take a big Belgian quadrupel and age it in bourbon barrels.

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The 2025 U.S. Map of Beer-y Goodness

For the last two (maybe more) years, Vinepair has put out a map of the best new breweries in the United States as voted by a mysterious cabal of brewing folk.

In the past, SoCal standouts like Smog City and ISM have made the list but 2025 has no Los Angeles or even San Diego on it.

But it does provide a handy and not too large of a list for you to use for your 2026 beer travels.

If you need more Best of New Brewery info then you can also check out this Hop Culture / Untappd list right HERE.

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Mission Inn and Christmas

There are Christmas lights and then there are Christmas LIGHTS. And the Mission Inn in Riverside has the latter. So my better half and I decided to spend the holiday at the massive hotel that takes up a large block and is a busy destination with food pop-ups all through the promenade that makes up a part of the Riverside Arts and Historical district.

The first drinks spot was BeerFarm at the Riverside Food Lab food hall near the Mission Inn. The spot has a nice variety over their nearly 20 taps. There was not anything local to the city but I was able to find a few choices and I went with a DIPA from Pure Project.

Before I checked out the two bars at the hotel, I made another close by stop. A taproom location of Route 30 Brewing which I had not had a beer from before. There were a limited amount of offerings but my choice of a dark Czech lager was really good and great to have while waiting for rain to arrive.

The Mission Inn had a bit of a disappointing beer menu. One bar is a multi-purpose space, the tequila bar looks great but the two times that I poked my head in, there was no one inside and no one manning the bar. A quick witted thief could have snared a bottle and left with no one the wiser.

The Presidential Lounge is the best choice but them prices is high. Since it was the holiday season, I was hoping to see a special cocktail or two. But none was to be had. Over the days there I had to different spins on an Old Fashioned. I had the Corn Silk version made with Nixta liquor de Elote and then the George Bush with Fernet. Both were just fine but just didn’t have a special kick or notes to it especially with plus $20 charge.

The better option is down the prom is a classy restaurant The State which did have special holiday cocktail, an egg nog riff, Coquito with coconut and rum. It was great and literally $10 cheaper. They have whiskey Wednesdays too with Happy Hour choices which made me want to re-visit.

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Stone’s Hoppy 2026

And also 2025 as Stone Brewing will be releasing three new IPA’s starting this month and continuing into 2026.

The “three-part series includes Stone Green Buds IPA, Stone Live Current IPA (May) and Stone Chill Villain IPA (September). Each represents their own track in an album of West Coast IPAs.”

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Sports & A Beer – Boycott

There are big events coming down the pike in the sports world and two in particular have me in dour moods.

First is the World Cup. The handjobs that FIFA hands out to Not My President Trump are blatant enough but the whole looking away and not commenting on how fans are going to get into the United States or far worse, back out again is pretty egregious. Half of the business model is getting butts in seats. But if 1/3 of your games require people to give up social media account info and your phone password, how does that help? Plus tourism is already tanked here so service infrastructure is already impaired.

Which leads to my second pissy point, the Olympics in Los Angeles. How are people going to get here? And how will they escape the LAX area? And why are events being auctioned off to other states. If you are an Olympian that has to fly to L.A. for the opening ceremonies and then trudge back through the airport and fly to Oklahoma for your events, that is sub-optimal.

I think it is high time that these big sporting events find permanent homes. Greece and the Olympics of Summer are a good match simply based on history and I think that either Spain or England based on their stadiums and level of soccer intensity would make good fits for World Cups. And it would stop this constant re-invention of the wheel.

What beers do you pair with sporting events? Obviously, bitter or sour beers for me for the two mentioned above or glitter beer to represent the greed inherent in that and the College Football Playoffs but I would land on a hefeweizen a cloudy clove beer that some people think you need to add a lemon too. Just enough contentiousness for me.

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Mostly the Second One

Looks like little ol’ Glendale is getting what us billed as a Wurstery. Just off the main drag, Brand Boulevard is where Bratnbier is close to opening.

No beer menu is available on their website but it does specifically call out the name craft so here is to hoping there is something local to go with their Irish bangers.