A Big American ESB ringing in at 6.4% sounds like a good way to ring in XXV years in the beer biz. Congratulations to Goose Island for the achievement!
20 for Avery
I am an Avery fan with a bit of a caveat, their IPA’s leave me a little cold. Maybe I expect too much but they just don’t have the zing of their saisons and especially their Rumpkin and barrel aged beers. That being said, I will not be missing this anniversary IPA….
“This year marks our 20th time around the sun brewing craft beers we love to drink. Each May, we release a special recipe in honor of our anniversary, and this year we present to you Twenty XX India Pale Ale.
A beautiful dosing of Amarillo hops gives a citrus punch to this aromatic double IPA, while the Simcoe® hops provide intense dankness. What else would you expect from us, a bunch of severely hop obsessed brewers, to celebrate such a glorious occasion?”
System of a Stout (in bottles)
Beachwood Brewing has already bottled Thrillseeker IPA, Tovarish and Full Malted jacket and they are “set to release System Of A Stout, an Imperial Armenian Coffee Stout on May 24.
“System Of A Stout is far different than any other imperial stout I have brewed before,” says Beachwood Brewmaster Julian Shrago. “This bold brew allowed us to take a step in a new direction, the flavor and aroma is immediately recognizable.” System Of A Stout is brewed with blackstrap molasses, green cardamom, and a custom Armenian coffee roast blend from Costa Mesa’s Portola Coffee Lab®. This big imperial stout is also aged in Armenian brandy oak adding an additional dimension of complexity. “The first time we brewed this beer it was in such limited quantities and on draft. We’re very excited to be able to offer this beer again and look forward to reaching a larger audience with its bottled form”, concludes Shrago.
System of a Stout will be sold in 22 oz. bottles at finer craft beer retailers across Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The stout will also be available on draft at both Beachwood BBQ locations.”
Blind Donkey + Beachwood
On Saturday, 5/25 at 2pm Beachwood BBQ & Brewing will Tower Takeover The Blind Donkey.
It will be the “very first tap takeover” for the Pasadena joint and Owner Gabe Gordon, Head Brewer Julian Shrago & Creative Manager Jarred Ekstrom will be in attendance with the following on tap:
Foam Top – American Cream Ale – 5.5%ABV (GOLD Award 2012 World Beer Cup – Blonde or Golden Ale)
Hef Leppard – Bavarian Style Hefeweizen – 5.1% ABV
El Verano Saison – Belgian Style Saison – 6.7% (Bronze Medal at 2012 Great American Beer Festival® French/Belgian Saison)
Street 3, Block 2 – American Pale Ale – 5.5% ABV – 70 IBUs
Hops of Brixton – English Special Bitter – 6.1% ABV
Knuckle Head Red – American Red Ale – 5.7% ABV (Bronze Award at 2012 San Diego International Beer Competition)
The Falcon – West Coast India Pale Ale – 7.1% ABV – 99 IBUs
Full Malted Jacket – Wee Heavy Scotch Ale – 9.2% ABV
Still Life – Smoked Double Oat Stout – 8.8% ABV – 69 IBUs
Beyond a Reasonable Stout – American Imperial Stout – 10% ABV – 85 IBUs
Brewing in the Works in Santa Monica
Los Angeles is a tough town to navigate if you want to build a brewery from scratch. And to try to do it on the Westside would seem close to crazy considering the cost of a large amount of space would cost.
But according to the L.A. Eater, “someone” is trying to start one up in Santa Monica. That would be big news and a large step forward for a brewery to open there.
When/If more news develops, you will here it here.
Review – Saint Archer Pale ale
Here is my thumbnail review of my first ever beer from San Diego’s Saint Archer, their pale ale…..
“Pours a light orange. Has almost a Nelson Sauvin aroma and taste. Some herbal dankness as well. Almost a white wine set of notes. Bitterness is medium. A bit sharp. I am a bit conflicted on how to rate this.”
Here is the description from the brewery, “Balanced toward the hoppy end of the spectrum, this straight-foward, California-style pale is eminently sessionable. Crystal and Munich malts provide a backbone to showcase the bright, citrus, piney notes of Cascade, Chinook, and Simcoe hops.”
Food GPS Teaser – Brouwerij West
This week’s Beer of the Week over on Food GPS is from California’s Brouwerij West. And instead of giving extra tasting notes or talk of ingredients, I thought I would focus on the odd but endearing labels that they have on their bottles….
What do you think of their artwork?
Review – Sculpin (in cans)
My bier buddy Richard aka Cap’n, recently went to San Diego and he brought back the new, canned version of the iconic Sculpin IPA from Ballast Point.
Here is what I found when I opened the cans….
Pours a lovely orange color. I am a little dubious about the variety of fruits listed on the label but I am surprised to get quite a bit of apricot balanced out by a charming hit of hops. The bitterness isn’t super big but it adds a nice punch akin to sea salt too caramel. Just tastes more frutier than I remember and I like it.
And here is the website info from the brewer, “The Sculpin is a testament to our humble beginnings as Home Brew Mart. It showcases bright flavors and aromas of apricot, peach, mango & lemon. The lighter body also brings out the crispness of the hops.”
Video Review – Mikkeller Yeast Series 2.0
For the second and final video beer review, which switch from hops to yeast as the focus as we tackle an entry from the Mikkeller Yeast Series 2.0 …..
Brewery Tour – West Seattle Brewing
West Seattle Brewing is still fermenting, so there is not much information to cut and paste but all that means is that you need to put this on your near future radar because I have a feeling this one might be worth a visit to try a sampler of the pale ale, porter and the intriguing bourbon barrel bitter.