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Craft Beer Fest LA
Yesterday was the 1st of hopefully many more to come of the Craft Beer Fest Los Angeles. I was there as both fan and volunteer from 2pm to 10pm so this will be a longer than usual post so find a comfortable chair. I will break it up into sections to make for easier reading.
Section 1 – The beer!!
Not a bad brewery in the bunch. And most importantly for me, new stuff that I really wanted to try plus new stuff from some of my old favorites. Here is what I had…..
1. Siamese Twin from Uncommon Brewers
Light golden ale, very different fruity taste to it. This beer really grew on me.
2. Automatic # 1 from Blind Lady Ales
Light Belgian ale. Had a bit of a tinny taste to me. A little astringent.
3. Scotch Isle from Craftsman
Very nice. Dark and malty. Not my favorite style of beer but this is well done.
4. Black IPA from Stone
Very good. I love IPA’s and this is an excellent beer.
5. Golden State from Uncommon Brewers
Hazy color. Light and flavorful. Great on a summer day.
6. Cuvee Jeune from The Bruery
Had this at Blue Palms a week ago and had to get some more. Excellent sour taste.
7. IPA from Hangar 24
Another really solid IPA. Not a hop bomb but citrusy and not too acidic.
8. Warm Water Wheat from Port Brewing
This was a really good banany hefeweizen. I hope they bottle this it is one I would like to have more of.
What I didn’t get to try and wanted to..
TAPS – Belgian White (which was really popular)
Port Brewing – Pig Dog Pale Ale
Section 2 – The Beer Panel
Moderated by Christina Perozzi with Mark Jilg from Craftsman, Ryan Sweeney from The Verdugo, Larry James from Wine Warehouse, Steve Grossman from Sierra Nevada and Victor Novak from TAPS Brewery.
Quite the interesting cross section of the beer community. They were all quite optimistic and passionate about making craft beer and where we are compared to the past and where we may end up.
It was so heartening to hear what they were saying and I wish they could have gone on longer. One thing that I took away was that there seemed to be a feeling that it was inevitable that craft beer would do to BMC (BudMillerCoors) what Starbucks did to Folgers. To that I say Amen!
Section 3 – Behind the Bar
All I can say is, I had great fun being behind the bar. I had never done it before and I am sure it showed but it was great to hand beer over to the smiling faces on the other side. It was not long before I was sweating from avoiding fellow volunteers and going all the way from one side of the bar and back with four beers trying hard not to spill. Thanks to Kevin, Alex, Liz, Bob and Ben for allowing a rookie to help out.
Section 4 – Who was there
Jeremy from Eagle Rock Brewery
Tomm from the Celebrator
Tony from Craftsman
Joel from 826LA
Patrick from The Bruery
All in all a really great time. If you weren’t here this year plan on it next year.
Uncommon Brewers
Uncommon Brewers is a community-oriented organic microbrewery based in Santa Cruz. Incorporating traditional Belgian brewing techniques, cutting-edge innovation from the modern West Coast, and grounded in the principles of sustainability voiced by the Slow Food Movement, Uncommon Brewer’s goal is to make uncommon beers for uncommon people.
Their beers include:
Golden State Ale – a golden ale made with poppy seeds
Baltic Porter – brewed with anise
Siamese Twin – a Belgian double made with coriander, kaffir lime & lemongrass
Beer America.TV
I am not a big fan of the term Vlog (video blog) but there are some great beer sites that are exposing people to new beers and beer information. One that I just found (shame on me for not finding it sooner) is BeerAmerica.TV. They taste beer and give their reactions and reviews. They also talk about beer issues and give out beer tips on temperature. When you have ten minutes of free time check them out at http://beeramerica.tv/
Kinsale Brewing
Kinsale is a beautiful spot on the southern coast of Ireland. The type of place you visit then decide to stay longer. Great pubs, great food town, a wine museum and Kinsale Brewing. This is good solid pale ale country. Anyone who buys a six pack of Heineken or Stella would love this. I cannot recommend the town and the brewery highly enough. The photo below should sell you on going…
Austin Drafthouse
Berliner Weisse – BJCP Style Guidelines
More background information to help you on your beer drinking adventures…
17A. Berliner Weisse
Aroma: A sharply sour, somewhat acidic character is dominant. Can have up to a moderately fruity character. The fruitiness may increase with age and a flowery character may develop. A mild Brettanomyces aroma may be present. No hop aroma, diacetyl, or DMS.
Appearance: Very pale straw in color. Clarity ranges from clear to somewhat hazy. Large, dense, white head with poor retention due to high acidity and low protein and hop content. Always effervescent.
Flavor: Clean lactic sourness dominates and can be quite strong, although not so acidic as a lambic. Some complementary bready or grainy wheat flavor is generally noticeable. Hop bitterness is very low. A mild Brettanomyces character may be detected, as may a restrained fruitiness (both are optional). No hop flavor. No diacetyl or DMS.
Mouthfeel: Light body. Very dry finish. Very high carbonation. No sensation of alcohol.
Overall Impression: A very pale, sour, refreshing, low-alcohol wheat ale.
Comments: In Germany, it is classified as a Schankbier denoting a small beer of starting gravity in the range 7-8°P. Often served with the addition of a shot of sugar syrups (‘mit schuss’) flavored with raspberry (‘himbeer’) or woodruff (‘waldmeister’) or even mixed with Pils to counter the substantial sourness. Has been described by some as the most purely refreshing beer in the world.
History: A regional specialty of Berlin; referred to by Napoleon’s troops in 1809 as “the Champagne of the North” due to its lively and elegant character. Only two traditional breweries still produce the product.
Commercial Examples: Schultheiss Berliner Weisse, Berliner Kindl Weisse, Nodding Head Berliner Weisse, Weihenstephan 1809 (unusual in its 5% ABV), Bahnhof Berliner Style Weisse, Southampton Berliner Weisse, Bethlehem Berliner Weisse, Three Floyds Deesko
Full Sail reserve series continues…
…with Keelhauler, a Scottish style ale. I enjoy the Full Sail specials. They really let the brewers shine.
Trumer Pils
Trumer Pils is, in my humble opinion, the one true pilsner. The main reason for this is that most pilsners tend to have a tinny aftertaste. And that just rubs my palate the wrong way. Trumer is a solid refreshment from first sip to last. And in this age of seasonals and special beers, it is nice to see that they do the one beer. No imperial pils, no Christmas pils. And they have good distribution, though I would be interested to compare/contrast their Austrian version to the Berkeley version. When the weather in my neck of the woods turns scorching, I pick up a six-pack of Trumer and cool off.
The Bruery @ Blue Palms
I and my intrepid beer buddy/connoisseur traveled into Hollywood for the Blue Palms “The Bruery Night” They had 8 of their beers available for small tastes or large ones. Patrick Rue and his cohorts from The Bruery were there to mingle and talk to people about the beer. Tomm Carroll from the Celebrator was there as well. A great way to spend a Wednesday evening. I did not try all of their beers. I just tasted the ones that I had not had before.
white zin
Reddish/pinkish. Not the usual beer color for sure. A
combination of the cuvee jeune and lots of grapes. Very light
and soda pop-py. You could drink a lot of this. Refreshing
humulus blonde
favorite beer of the night. Solid hop presence mixed with a
Belgian golden ale. Another gorgeous looking beer. Gold and hazy.
humulus amber
probably my second favorite of the night. I am not a big amber
fan but this one had great hop taste but was very smooth.
melange # 3
you could certainly tell this had been aged in bourbon barrels.
You could smell it from a mile away. Not a lot of beer flavor.
A slow sipping beer for sure. Great beside the fire on a long, cold
winter night.
cuvee jeune
I got quite the barnyard aroma and taste off of this. A little
sour and quite funky. To me this is another beer to sip.
