Here is the latest info from Goose Island….
I love the cheesy music and what must have been a painful position atop barrels from which to ask questions but even better was the answers. Grapefruit? Sounds good to me.
The Growler Guys
We all know that southern California and Los Angeles in particular is a car intensive culture. We measure time and not miles. We speak fluent highway numbers. And yet, for a autopia, we have no place that combines filling stations that do both gas and beer.
That is why I fervently hope that the Growler Guys head to LA. Where are they now? Bend, Oregon.
Do you want Chimay Tripel while you fill your Camry? Good Life Sweet as Pacific Hybrid Beer while you top off your Prius? Or maybe something from Deschutes?
And if that is not enough, read on and be amazed as I was….”When you pull your vehicle up to the pump, an extremely friendly looking person in an old fashioned, white gas attendant’s uniform (hat included) comes running up to your window. All of the attendants are very polite when taking your fueling preferences; they always ask if you would like your tank topped off. While you wait for your tank to be filled, they clean your windshield and actually get every speck of debris off.”
Almost makes you want to move to Bend.
Review – Beer Flats Porter Crackers
I have been passing by these crackers at Whole Foods for months now. The price was always too high for my taste. But a week ago, they were finally on sale! So I picked up the porter variety with the thought that the porter would seep into the cracker more than pilsner would seep into that version.
The aroma on these crackers is a surprising and very brewery reminiscent wort smell. Unfortunately, after that point, the taste was full on dark rye. Not that a rye cracker is bad per se. But the aroma led me down a path that then corkscrewed on me. After having a couple, I realized that this version would be harder to pair with a beer and with cheese. There are rye IPA’s out there but that would be a battle of two strong tastes. And I fear that most cheese would run into the brick wall of rye as well.
So a slight thumbs up. And I will be watching to see if they go on sale again. And I will check to see if the Pilsner version has rye in the ingredient list.
TAPS – 1st Annual Craft Beer Festival
Victor Novak didn’t have any TAPS beers flowing last Saturday but there were 30+ other breweries on hand in Brea for the 1st Annual Craft Beer Festival.
Now on to my checklist for what makes a good festival….
Water? Yup, two stations on either side of the patio.
Variety? Double Yup. There were IPA’s and kolsch’s and Mrs. Stoutfire. Something for everyone.
Rare beers for the geeks? Yes, again. Ballast Point Homework Series. The last of Pole Position IPA from Beachwood. Naughty Sauce…
Seating and room flow? It was easy to navigate and there were literally no lines except for short ones at the two food areas and yes you could rest your feet if you were feeling “Far Out”
So which beers struck my fancy? Naughty Sauce was my favorite. Evan from Noble has a new cult classic on his hands with this one. Paradox from Kinetic was a fitting cap to my day and the other beer that caught my fancy was the Belgianized brown from Henry at Monkish…
Taking into account that this was a first go (but also taking into that same account that Victor has been to a few of these rodeo’s before). This was well done. Food was plentiful. Including a dessert option which you rarely see. There was an excellent mix of breweries and even the bright sun was brought to heel by strategic use of many umbrella’s.
I have no rating system, save for one. Would I go again next year? And that answer is yes.
Cap’n in San Diego
My beer buddy Richard took time out from the L.A. beer scene and spent a few days in San Diego. Here are the photo highlights of the trip…
You can check out his blog for further details
Cold Turkey
Black Isle Brewery in Scotland got a lot of press for their Cold Turkey Breakfast beer. A whopping 2.8% ABV monster. Apparently some folks are not used to brash marketing. Wait, BrewDog has been doing it as well!
All sarcasm aside, certain beers by dint of name or marketing catch on with the Social Media hordes. But hopefully, this will bring more attention to the other ORGANIC beers that Black Isle brews. If it gets more people to buy the Pollinator Honey/heather beer or their pale ale then it is a job well done.
And for the record, I would sample the Cold Turkey. Sounds refreshing for a hot day in L.A.
Review – Nebra from 32 Via dei Birrai
Nebra is the last of the 32 beers. Thanks to the fine folks at 32 Via dei Birrai for supplying me with such a generous amount of their beers that show off the Italian way of craft brewing.
Nebra pours a very light orange in color. A sharp astringent aroma greets the nose. Almost a combo of melon and pepper. The taste is a bit harsh with a vegetal bitterness unlike the hop bitterness that I normally encounter. Some medicinal notes to it as well. Maybe it is something in the Fiore di Sambuco (elderberry) that is causing that slight harsh note.
I guess now to complete the journey, I shall have to head to Whole Foods and pick up the Tre + Due or 3 +2 and compare it to the rest!
BarrelHouse Brewing
A “small batch barley and hop project” is open down the road from Firestone-Walker in Paso Robles…say hello to BarrelHouse Brewing Co.
Here is the current list of beers being brewed:
Templeton Ale – Kolsch style blonde ale brewed with American hops
Belgian Wit – Belgian style wheat ale brewed with chamomile, coriander and orange peel
Pale Ale – American style pale that combines West Coast hoppiness and East Coast maltiness
India Pale Ale (IPA) – Our everyday IPA…drinkable and hoppy
Milk Stout – Dark and delicious bitter, sweet stout
They are open from Wednesday through Sunday.
Ice Cream + Beer + Portland =
During L.A. Beer Week, you can find beer flavored ice cream or check out beer floats but Salt & Straw in Portland has created a 6 pack of “flavors feature beers from Breakside Brewery, Gigantic Brewing Company, Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Logsdon Organic Farmhouse Ales, The Commons Brewery and Widmer Brothers Brewing.”
This part of the press release got me excited, “Instead of just using beer as a flavoring agent, head ice cream maker Tyler Malek collaborated with each brewer on techniques and ingredients to create each ice cream’s unique flavor profile.”
They will become available on June 1st and can be purchased through September for nationwide shipping and at Portland area scoop shops throughout the month of June.
Which of these would you buy? My first choice is below…..
Six pack of Oregon Craft Beer Ice Creams:
Cherry Adam from the Wood – Alan Sprints of Hair of the Dog Brewing has been experimenting with a barrel aging process since 1994. Barrel aging beers for up to eight years mellows out the flavors and transforms beers to create something completely new. Finding inspiration in Hair of the Dog’s “Cherry Adam of the Wood”, Salt & Straw created a dark malty, cherry ice cream and cold steeped it in a bourbon barrel from Hair of the Dog Brewery. This is the first truly barrel-aged ice cream ever churned; it’s only fitting to have Alan Sprints at our sides for this project.
Hopped Farmhouse Ale – Based off of Commons Brewery’s “Myrtle Farmhouse Ale,” Commons has brewed a tart sour mash to show off Meridian hops. Salt & Straw uses three different methods to steep the Meridian hops in order to capture the bright aromas of peach and refreshing bitterness of grapefruit that only this variety of hops can provide in this ice cream.
Bretta Fermented Pears and Fudge – David Logsdon at Logsdon Farmhouse Ales has a lifetime of experience creating and procuring yeast strains. Using his famous Bretta yeast strain and inspiration from their “Cocoa Bretta Ale”, Salt & Straw along with Logsdon Ales has carefully fermented both Pear Juice and a malted fudge syrup to make a Bretta Pear ice cream with ribbons of Bretta Malted Fudge. The fermentation brings out a variety of flavors as well as bringing out an entirely new dimension of flavors that marry the pear and chocolate flavors beautifully.
Passion fruit Berliner Weisse Marmalade in Coconut Water Sorbet – Breakside Brewery is constantly pushing the limits with both flavor combinations and their different brewing techniques. Using Breakside’s “Passion fruit Berliner Weisse,” we have worked together to create a tart, lactic acid-rich, passion fruit sweetened, marmalade. Salt & Straw churned out a coconut water sorbet in order to create a subtly sweet palate to show off this one-of-a-kind marmalade.
Smoked Hefeweizen – The brewers at Widmer Brothers Brewing know how to make a Hefeweizen. To recreate that sweet malty flavor of wheat ale, we’re working closely with Ben Dobler, the head brewer for Widmer. Salt & Straw takes a spin on their world famous Hefeweizen by smoking wheat malts and steeping them into the cream to create a Smoked Hefeweizen ice cream. The sweetness of wheat malts is the first to pop out in this ice cream; meanwhile, the subtle smokiness lingers on the palate making for the perfect beer ice cream for summer.
IPA Upside Down Cake – Gigantic Brewing Company’s Imperial IPA is laced with pineapple, citrus and piney hop profiles along with a rich maltiness. Salt & Straw captured these flavors in ice cream by using hop-back techniques to pull out the sweet and spicy hop flavors. To punch thru the tropical fruit notes, they baked off a Pineapple Upside Down Cake that is infused with Ho leaf and candied tangerine zest.
Bretta Fudge is my choice followed by the IPA Upside Down cake.
FoodGPS Teaser – Beer Paper LA
It is a yet another sign that the Los Angeles beer scene is heating up, when a paper devoted to our beer scene will be published.
Beer Paper LA is headed our way and tomorrow on FoodGPS, I turn the tables on them and ask the questions. But to give you a feel of what is to come check out this article about growler law in California (that yours truly is quoted in) and then read this interview with Justin Evelyn formerly of Beachwood Brewing.