Our second spooky Halloween beer to review is from one of my favorite breweries, Kern River….
LA Beer Week – Day Nine – Ten Fidy at Boneyard
Three years of Ten Fidy from Oskar Blues? Sign me up. At Boneyard Bistro last night, I got the chance to compare and contrast three vintages of the Colorado beer at yet another great LA Beer Week event…
.
The ’11 was strong with a lot of roasted notes. As it warmed up, the hoppiness revealed a bit but it was dimmed by the rising heat at the back.
The ’10 was much more mellow and sported a chocolately flavor. The roasted qualities were there but not in abundance but I did get some bourbon flavors as well.
The ’09 was my favorite of the night. Milder than the ’10 with a milk chocolate taste. Had some vinous wine aspects to it and as it warmed, I got more floral tea like notes.
To top it off, amongst the many stout choices available, I went with Ballast Point and their Indra Kunindira. And that is a beer that I am still, the day after trying to decide if I liked it or not. It was this swirling combination of vanilla, cinnamon and pepper on a base of stout. The 4oz pour was perfect. I can’t imagine trying to drink more than that. It is a fireplace after dinner, snifter beer for sure.
Thanks to Rory and the Bistro for showing off some world class stouts!
LA Beer Week – Day Eight – Beer Scribes
What it was like to be on a panel? Weird. I am usually the one looking up at speakers, not the other way around. So some nerves and fast talking at first but once I started cussing live on the streaming internet.
We were at the Four Points right next to Brewsters which had some cool Sierra Nevada brews on tap and the Cismontane Oktoberfest beer as well.
The assembled panel from the Celebrator (Don and our moderator Tomm), Drink-Eat-Travel (Cambria), SW Brewing News (Dave), FoodGPS (Josh) and LA Times and Squid Ink (Steven) talked about who we are and what we do, then segued into our take on the culture of craft beer in Los Angeles, then tackled the thorny topic of ethics and objectivity.
As I have mentioned before, you will know that L.A. Beer Week has taken bigger strides when there are more sessions and events that are blogger or community driven (much like the Echo Park crawl). Not that our fine LA beer bars and breweries don’t put on a good show, But we need more outside viewpoints on the beer scene for balance. Much like a uber-hoppy IPA needs a malt counterweight.
Thanks to Tomm Carrol for moderating and getting the event set-up and also thanks to Phil Baxter at Four Points for his hospitality. (They have two beer dinners coming up that look really good, so add them to the list of beer places to try)
Help out Short Snout
All right beer lovers. Time to pony up some cash so we can bring another craft brewery into the world. Mystery Brewing and Wilderness Brewing got funded and now it is time to help out Short Snout. With the other two being in the midwest, my chances of sampling their beers is small but Short Snout will be based in Milwaukie (my hometown!) I hope to sample their beers in the future!
Head over to Kickstarter and make a pledge!
LA Beer Week – Day 7 – Golden Road
My second visit to Golden Road brewing on a Sunday afternoon…
….as a big crowd lined up to get access to not only a mini-beer festival but also to scope out the three colorful buildings that make up the Golden Road mega-complex.
There were stations in each building and outside too to where you could get some Hangar 24, Eagle Rock (including Unity 2011), Stone, Dales, Avery, Firestone and of course Point the Way IPA and Hefeweizen from Golden Road.
All of which looked great in the grand opening glass. (That I very nearly broke on the way out). Aside from Point the Way my favorite was the Thrill Seeker IPA from Beachwood. Very herbal and piney aroma that was strong on flavor but not a hop wrecker.
There was quite the crowd from a sheer number perspective but also from the world craft beer luminaries. Let’s name drop! David Walker of Firestone-Walker. Adam Avery of Avery Brewing. Julian from Beachwood Brewing. Megan from Beer West. The guys from Oskar Blues.
But the biggest name drop was the third beer from Golden Road.
Burning Bush is a rauch-IPA that really brings the smoke and BBQ notes but then the hops kick in to balance things out. Quite tasty. Would get rauch fans to try IPA’s and IPA fans to try more Rauchbiers.
Thanks to Tony, Meg, Jon, Cole and Skipp for putting on the party.
Australian Brewery # 2 – Moo Brew
Our middle stop on our tour of Australian craft breweries takes us to the alliteratively named Moo Brew.
As was the case with the previous two breweries on this itinerary, the details are courtesy of the Crafty Pint. THE place to go for Australian craft beer information.
What caught my fancy, beer-wise was the Hop Harvest a twist on their pale ale. But I really like the label art. Goofy and fun.
LA Beer Week – Day Six – Beer Floats
Friday was a day of rest. Two big events past and two on the weekend. Pacing myself. Anyway, here is my take on the 3rd Beer Float Showdown (full disclosure – I volunteered at this event and write for FoodGPS that was the presenter of the showdown)….
The challenge was set forth. Five floats created by a combo of brewer and chef. And not just any chefs. Ilan Hall and CJ Jacobson of Top Chef fame, the Trans of Starry Kitchen, Andre Guerrero of Oinkster and the new Maximlilianos and Laurent Quenioux of Vertical Wine Bistro. 
Serious fire power and the beer wasn’t from slouches either Ladyface, Eagle Rock, Beachwood, Firestone Walker and the new Smog City were all there.
I only tried three of the floats and in fact did not get to taste the eventual winner. But I was mightily impressed by the Ladyface / Starry Kitchen effort…..
….which had fruit, pop rocks and habanero! My personal favorite was the Firestone / Yard combo …
It had a rim of caramel and potato chips, the famous hemp ale and a nice light ice cream. Primo stuff from CJ and Jace. I also enjoyed the creation of Beachwood and Laurent Quenioux. Herbs with saison and another light ice cream.
Three creative and tasty floats.
But the winner was Andre Guerrero and Jan Purdy who were paired with the host of the event Jeremy Raub and Eagle Rock Brewery. Their secret ingredient? Bacon with Vanilla Bean Solidarity.
If you think this event looked fun then check the official website for more information on events during week 2.
read this beer blog
Each month I highlight a different beer blog for you to check out and this month it is….(insert drum roll)
….the Not So Professional Beer Blog.
It’s a great place to catch up on Portland, Oregon beers but also just read up on some really great beers.
Sean Suggests for October 2011
Here is your October themed shopping list…October 2011
Click twice and the PDF should magically appear. Print out and take to a reputable beer shoppe and see what they have!
Local Peasant
Keep the Gastropubs flowing! I heard about the Local Peasant on the KCRW show Good Food.
You can tell that a gastropub is trying by quickly scanning the draft list. Any local beers? If so, the people are clued in. It is how you propel your craft beer culture forward, faster.
I certainly will be checking out the Local Peasant (probably after LA Beer Week)