Saw this photo in March but held onto it until now because, I can’t seem to find out if it is a hoax or just AI….
…there is Guinness coffee, fudge and even potato chips, so could be possible.
Either way, have a fun and funny April Fool’s Day.
Chewy
In the Tap Lines for April 2025
Heading into the 2nd quarter of a truly horrendous 2025 here in America. If you are reading this in an airport or dock as you make your escape Casablanca style from this country, I will keep you updated on the beers of SoCal and the rest of what’s left and I hope I will hear about wonderful beers from other countries.
~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Vinepair’s Breweries to Watch list
~ special featured reviews
~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 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Setting the Table
~ Sports & A Beer returns with NBA tanking
~ 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.
The Firkin for March 2025
Is your social media feed beer driven or activity driven? It is a question that I want to pose to as many brewery media folk as possible. I know that my lens is introverted and geeky and that a new beer with a new hop or a heritage barley will get me into a taproom more than cornhole but I feel like the pendulum has swung a little too far away from the actual liquid.
This is of course also coming from someone who recently posted about thinking outside the box when it comes to activities and who also posted about a book extolling community at taprooms.
Themed nights are an effort to get butts in seats and buying beer from a crowd who is not buying currently. Economics are at play here. A new beer release is probably not going to bring out a line of beer buyers willing to pay a premium as much as a casual drinker who knows not of Dynaboost and Fonio.
But, the casual / weekend drinker is more fickle than a beer geek and losing sight of that in a rush to a cater to a crowd who are not tied to your beer but by karaoke is harder work in my opinion.
Best Beers of March 2025
I have had quite a few We Love L.A. beers this month, and will probably have more next month too so it seemed kinda inevitable that my favorite beer of the month might fall under that banner of worldwide beers.
But the one that sparkled the most to me was from Stone Brewing. They went the hazy IPA route and it was bursting with fruit flavor while also having a back and forth between soft mouthfeel and a bitter bite.
Also earning plaudits this month was the St. Patrick’s Day themed Aged With Luck Sour from Far Field Beer. Guava and lime were the headliners but the vanilla added a nice counterbalance to this chardonnay barreled beer. El Segundo took inspiration from an IPA sub-style that has fallen out of favor, the Belgian IPA. It had a wonderful estery note that worked in tandem with the hops.
Lastly, I quite enjoyed the hazy IPA marking the 11th anniversary of Highland Park Brewing, their High 11 was nice and frothy and had me eagerly wanting to have the High 11 West Coast and the High 11 Pils.
A Podcast & A Beer – Good Hang with Amy Poehler
I remember the SNL Weekend updates and, of course, Parks & Rec but like many entertainers and comedians, podcasts are a natural creative outlet. Amy Poehler already had one podcast and now has her second Good Hang.
This is a celebrity interview show with two points of separation. One is that it is tacking more towards genial and friendly and the second is that Poehler enlists some of her comedy friends to provide questions which I think is a new and neat touch. The show just started so it won’t take long to get caught up for those completists out there.
I would choose a nice session – low ABV beer for these shows, especially since they go about an hour. A nice pub beer while you get a few laughs.
FWIBF Brewery # 3 – Fidens Brewing Company
Out last stop for attendees of the 2025 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest hails from Albany, New York , Fidens Brewing Company.
Let’s pick a very hoppy Empire State taster tray…
Pick Window Pilsner – “New Zealand Style Pilsner with Nelson, Nelson Cryo & Nelson Hyperboost hops.”
Perennial Destination – “Pale Ale brewed with Nelson, Krush, Strata & Strata Hyperboost hops.”
Coleman’s Axe – “Pale Ale brewed with Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic & Amarillo hops.”
The Heart of Chaos – a 10% “Triple India Pale Ale brewed with Citra, Nelson & Mosaic.”
Spirits Day – A Whopping 46 Years
When you deal in whiskey and bourbon, you see four years, ten years, twelve is big but I have never seen forty-six like Bushmills had (sold out now). And it is an extra classy bottling…
“The Bushmills® 46 year old is the oldest single malt ever released from the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world. It pays homage to the River Bush, which has flowed through our story for over 415 years.
Its water is at the heart of every drop of Bushmills® Irish Whiskey, dating back to 1608. Without it, there would be no Bushmills®. We couldn’t make our whiskey anywhere else”
Spirits Day – Gin-ventory
My wife the non-drinker told me about this new gin app, Ginventory, that is part gin suggestions, part home bar tracking, part shop for you to keep the gin at your fingertips. I downloaded it to see what it is like and if it has utility.
You can search for a specific gin, there are trending gins, you can rate gins and there is even a purchase option for some which is more useful in the UK from my look-ups. All without creating an account. That is a big plus in my book.
If you did want to wade a bit deeper, you can join in and show what you have in your liquor cabinet and curate a wish list too. As reviews grow, the app will be even more useful.
Hopefully Not Too Obscure
Return of the Session
The Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday was the long running monthly digital get together for beer bloggers around the world to write about a single subject of beer-y interest.
The series was on indefinite pause at the end of 2018 but was re-started in 2025. (Though I missed hearing about it until this month) I hosted twice in the initial run and participated many more times and my contribution is below ( in italics) from the writing prompt of beer critique. See the full assignment HERE so you can ponder your own response.
You can also go back and read past musings HERE.
There are some Session themes where the response just flows and others that are tougher nuts to crack. For March the assignment of a critique stymied me. Partially because the poser of the question, Matthew Curtis from Total Ales seemed to be looking for a certain type of response within tight parameters. (and even reserved the right to not add to the after party round-up if the brief was not met.)
After reading the instructions and reasoning behind the topic a few times, I could have done something new in my jocular, pointed and opinionated style or expanded on a past post to shoe-horn it into the Session but neither felt right to me because I think my idea of criticism and critique and when and where it should be used seems to be different from Curtis.
That is all to say that after consideration, I am going to pass and come back for the April subject of conversation.
We do need to hold breweries and craft beer to the mark and readers of the this blog have read my past takes and there are more constructive criticisms to come. In three days time, I will post my thoughts on brewery social media posts. And I will be reading what others have come up with this month because it is bound to be thought provoking.