Author: Sean Inman

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The Brew Deal

There are little historical niches that either get passed by in history class or get a tiny paragraph in a history book that are waiting to be discovered.

One beer related bit of knowledge is that prohibition wasn’t just the law one day and then gone the next. Nope, as Prohibition wound down, “the US government allowed the consumption and sale of “non-intoxicating” beer, which was at or below 3.2% alcohol-by-weight. Beer’s return–permitted with an eye toward job creation during the Great Depression–was one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s earliest New Deal policies.”

Jason E. Taylor author and economist uses his new book, The Brew Deal to uncover how 1933 was such a pivotal year for beer and this country.

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Sorry from Half of Us

I have a feeling that Summer 2025 will be a summer of Canadian Lagers as apologies to our nicer to us than we are to them neighbors to the north.

Here is one recent explicit example….

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Close to Your Last Chance

The 2025 edition of the Los Angeles Independent Beer Festival is a mere couple days away so, if you haven’t already, HERE is your link to buy tickets.

This is your chance to support local craft beer and have the wide variety of breweries in one stop shopping mode.

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L.A. Beer Week – Recommended Events

Here are some of my choices for L.A. Beer Week as of today. I will have tried to pick one for each day ( still need ones for the 17th and 18th ) but there is not a lot of choices on the website. Either the number of events is really low or they are not being added to the main site.

Los Angeles Ale Works and Common Space – Friday, June 13 – Block Party

Homage Brewing – Saturday, June 14 – Nine Year Anniversary

Lincoln Beer Co. – Sunday, June 15 – Dads and Donuts with Randy’s Donuts

Hermosillo – Monday, June 16 – Highland Park Tap Take-Over

Beachwood Blendery – Thursday, June 19 – Bottle Share and Beer Release

Common Space – Saturday, June 21 – Defend the Parks Day

Select Beer Store – Sunday, June 22 – Cellador Tap Takeover

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Belfast Brewery # 1 – Out of Office Brewery

Our Belfast beer itinerary starts at the office, well, sort of. Out of Office Brewery at the Ulster Sports Club on High Street.

Here are a few cheekily named beers to sample…

Pencil Pusher – Session IPA – 4% – “Mellow andsessionable IPA using west coast hops, which bring a gentle grapefruit profile and a piney resinous bite”

Karl from IT – Gooseberry + Blackcurrrant Kettle Sour – 4.3% ABV

Dark Mode – Craft Stout – 5.1% ABV

NSFW – NE IPA – 6.2% – “Juicy and hazy New England style IPA with intense and unique fruity notes including melon, berry, citrus-lime and papaya. Complimented with a dry hop charge of Simcoe and Citra”

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Going Upp

The brewing world was very aghast when 10 Barrel Brewing gutted its multi award-winning brewing team led by icon, Tonya Cornett. But that team is back in the brewhouse with a new project: Upp Liquids. Not sold on that name yet.

They will be at the Immersion Brewing location and the group with Cornett, Ian Larkin, Jose Ruiz and Ben Shirley will partner up with Immersion Brewing owners Sean Lampe and Amanda Plattner and make the switch to Upp.  Initial beers will be 1st Upp Super Juicy IPA, Chasin’ Sunsets a yuzu ginger tart ale, and Arriba a Mexican-style lager. 

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Choco Not Wax

Time to call out Boulevard Brewing.  Not for a S’mores stout.  I do not have time to call out every marshmallow beer.  No, the reprimand is for collaborating  with Whitmans for the chocolate.  I mean, everyone knows that See’s is the best chocolate so if you are going for a campsite feel, go premium.

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A Book & A Beer – Going to the Match by Duncan Hamilton

I am equally a fan of the original football and the American version. And I think that any true fan of sports will recognize that fandom that Duncan Hamilton so ably describes in Going to the Match.

Hamilton travels all over Great Britain and not only talks about the game in hand along with the basic stats for the game but he also finds parallels to other games and his own life around each corner. He weaves in descriptions of art and architecture general vibes from each stadium. I devoured the book and wished that I could have taken it slower or that Hamilton is working on a sequel. All from a book randomly found at a small book shop in Tullamore, Ireland. Amazing.

For beer, I don’t expect you to find British Ales that correspond to cities with football teams, rather, using your favorite sport and your favorite rivalry, find beers from those cities and do a taste off. For example, you could do a Oklahoma City vs Indianapolis tasting. Or a Los Angles Dodger vs. New York Yankee tasting. See who comes out on top.

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110

Russian River Brewing underscores a fun fact about the Russian River with their new West Coast Pils, 110.

It is named for the 110 miles that the Russian River flows from Mendocino County all the way through Sonoma County on the journey to the Pacific Ocean.

“110 is a cold fermented Pilsner but hopped more like an IPA. A lower alcohol content and a balanced hop profile make this beer extremely drinkable.”