Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Hop Merchants is setting up for a party on October 19th. They will be celebrating 6 years on Lankershim Boulevard in NoHo. If you can’t make that day, I strongly suggest making a visit. I am sure you will find a four-pack to go at least if not a draft beer too.
I do not think that I have had an actual pumpkin IPA as opposed to a pie spice version so let’s dive into the Pumpkin Haze of 21st Amendment Brewery.
Gourd claims fully backed up. The first flavor to appear is pie filling followed quickly by hops and then nutmeg to round it out. The malt bill is pitch perfect as a base for those three major players to do their thing. The other noticeable trait is that this is pretty bright. Some fruited IPAs have a rounded off feeling to them but Pumpkin Haze does not.
I am not a Halloween person or a horror movie person but I do enjoy the creativity of Spooky Season beers. But I will also make a nod to the summer season past for this month’s beer shopping choices.
Angel City Zombie Rotbier – 5.2% – “Rotbier is a traditional Nuremberg-style red lager (rot = red) we brew every year just in time for spooky season. This style of beer is perfect for our warm fall season in LA, being a refreshing lager with a maltier backbone.”
Pizza Port Endless Shoreline IPA – 7% – “Endless Shoreline IPA captures the essence of sun-soaked days with a refreshing burst of earthy tangelo and bright Meyer lemon. Brewed with Riwaka, Waimea, NZ Cascade, Crystal, & Columbus hops – the mid-palate reveals a tropical blend of sweet citrus, lush mango, and juicy papaya, transporting you to a beachside paradise. The finish is dry and crisp, leaving behind subtle hints of peppery lemongrass and a touch of slightly sticky resin.”
The Bruery Dear Great Pumpkin – 10.1% – “a crafted golden stout inspired by the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte. Featuring a golden pour and creamy white foam, you’ll notice tastes of cinnamon, milk sugar, nutmeg, and coffee.”
Institution Ales is coming up on anniversary 11 in month 11 and they will be celebrating in both the HQ in Camarillo and up at their Santa Barbara location as well. So you have two 1+1 to pick from.
Agriculture is a major component of beer. The glorious photos on social media covering the recent hop harvest should make that abundantly clear.
So when I saw a new documentary pop up, and it had a farming slant to it, I jotted the name down to put on my watch list. (yes, I have a list for everything).
It is alliteratively called Weed & Wine and tracks a weed farm in California and a vineyard in France. They even have a sequel in the works already, maybe it will be Hemp & Hops.
Even though some of the luster has worn off it is still important to take time to see who won what medals at this years Great American Beer Festival awards.
And boy did L.A. come up gold in some mighty big ways. Highland Park Brewery was the big winner taking home a brewery of the year award for their brewery size as well as gold for Baseball Lager, Timbo Pils, DDH Pillow and Competition IPA, that last one is huge because it is one of the largest categories, American IPA.
Trademark Brewing in Long Beach snared gold in the equally big West Coast IPA category for Codebreaker and earlier in the ceremony picked up silver for A La Playa in the fruit beer category. Fellow Long Beach winners were ISM Brewing with a bronze and Beachwood with a silver.
Another important win came in the Hazy IPA category where Ambitious Ales took the top prize for Professional Human Being IPA.
DTLA got some medals two with Angel City getting a second win for their Apple Pomace Puncheon and Audiograph getting a second too for Bas Clef Strong Ale.
Other fun notes:
Wayfinder Beer won the Krispy King Lager crown for their Hell and Bearded Tang in Orange County won the Alpha King Hoppy crown.
This was a first year for cider medals but it seemed a little weird since there are already great cider competitions out there.
Heard two great beer names during the broadcast: Animals Strike Curious Poses and Polterweiss
Other SoCal brewery of the year winners were Everywhere Beer and Riip Beer.
Keanu Reeves does acting and rocking out and now novels with the new hard fantasy book, The Book of Elsewhere. Penned with China Miéville based on / continuation of the graphic novel series, BRZRKR.
This is not a hard book to read per se. There are a lot of grisly and graphic violence and a somewhat basic military plot at its core. It is a book though that you have to pay attention to, there are a lot of unknown, well nigh, unknowable words and references here that make an immortal deer-pig easy to comprehend. The viewpoint changes from one person to second person to third person and chapters alternate between the history of B. / Unute and present day. There is a lot of philosophy meaning of life talk.
It is a book that will divide people. Some will immediately be put off by the stylized writing or the gore or will just wait for the inevitable TV version. But I found it to be looking at life from many different angles and could not wait for the quieter passages where humor snuck in and where the big questions could be pondered.
To use the abused and overused, “it’s a combination of” idea, this is John Wick meets Interview with a Vampire meets Jack Ryan.
I would suggest from name alone that the new-ish Death Dealer from ISM Brewing and ( a little spot on ) Ghost Town Brewing would work but it is such a light and joyful even at 6.66% abv that I would instead find beers that are divisive. Too sour sours. Too hoppy beers. Too extreme beers. Or if that is not your cuppa, since the main character is named B. Go find a nice Bock beer.
Anheuser-Busch announced a new $16 million investment in its Los Angeles ( Van Nuys ) brewery with the main takeaways being:
· Expansion of packaging capabilities for the company’s “beyond beer” brands like Cutwater and NUTRL, including variety packaging
· Increased production capacity for 25-ounce cans to meet increasing consumer demand
· Facility upgrades to enhance water conservation and reduce boiler emissions
Anheuser-Busch has been in the Valley since 1954 and is one of more than 120 facilities across the country.
I am down for the third item of water saving but am a bit confused by the first two. Are there not enough variety packs from Bud? Or its ethanol options? And 25 ounce cans? I thought the 19.2 ounce stovepipes were the package du jour.
I also noticed nothing about buying better hops or local malts or making better beer.
Hawthorne is gaining a craft beer bar to pair with Common Space and Los Angeles Ale Works. Tapville Social recently opened up and joins the self-service pour bars that are sprinkled around L.A.
Two items are now on the to-do list now that the WNBA has announced that Portland will be getting a reincarnated franchise.
First is a real kick ass name. The NWSL Thorns is great because it is a riff on the City of Roses and also matches up with the woodsy Timber name for the MLS team. Please do not try to bring back the generic Fire or Power names from the past.
Pioneers is good but a little to spot on though I would take it in a pinch. I prefer Pathfinders but maybe take a cue from the minor league baseball franchises like the Hillsboro Hops or Portland Pickles or Salem Marion Berries. Or keep the T going from Timbers, Thorns and Trailblazers and go with Thunderbirds or to riff off the Portlandia statue, Tridents.
Once someone more Gen Alpha than me figures that out, our breweries need to make a signature beer for the team. Considering that Portland is a great coffee city, I suggest a Golden Coffee Stout. Something smooth and rich but with a nice topnote of java to give it a little burst. If the team does go the T route than TIPA becomes a frontrunner.