Been a bit hot in Los Angeles this month. Photo above is not L.A. but fairly close. But I was still able to taste quite a few really good beers this month. So let’s talk about a few of my favorites from the month that was…
I have two IPA’s to talk of first before getting to my 1a and 1b winners for August. Brewyard Beer Co. and their Ube Wan IPA was just in balance for me. You got that sweetness factor from the Ube and just enough hop bite on the other side. Neither dominated and what you end up with is a near creamy IPA. Also from the alternative IPA camp was the Fruit Squad IPA from Long Beach Beer Lab. It was an aroma bomb of a variety of fruits and that followed into the flavor. Bright and zippy without leaving the hops behind.
At the top of the leaderboard are Homage and their Gelato Saison. Made with peaches and raspberries and bracingly tart, it is a sour ale that neatly mimics the flavor profile of a summer fruit gelato. The other co-favorite is the British Pub Ale from El Segundo Brewing. Simple and low abv but just full of malt flavors swirling around the russet amber colored beer. Good to see ESBC sneaking non hoppy beers onto their taplist.