Category: About the Search Party

General information about the blog.

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In the Tap Lines for December 2024

Well, 2024 was going along pretty well for 10 months. We will need to really enjoy the living hell out of what may be a final American holiday season. Sorry, not sorry for being so dark but do your best to truly live the sentiment of the season. Christmas is a time for EVERYONE to be happy. I am happy for the great Christmas beers and will be for each of these 31 days.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the Best of issue of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine

~ special featured reviews of Christmas Ales

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Shift Meal on the Ringer Food podcast

~ Sports & A Beer returns with what to do with the excess bowl games

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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3 Quarters Down

Time to take a peek at my beer drinking statistics as we are now in the last quarter of the beer drinking year.  

I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping it local. 180 out of 431 were from the greater Los Angeles area with 353 total from California. My foreign beer game jumped too to 20 with my home state of Oregon notching 44.

Most of the beers were IPA with 212, 108 being straight up West Coast style and a dip in hazies to 36. Maybe I am just not as into them as in the past. I drank slightly more Pils (37) than lagers (31) maybe to our plethora of hoppy pils here in L.A. and there has been a respectable amount of barrel-aged beers as well, more than hazies at 38 tasted.

The average ABV is not super high at 7.10% but considering that my highest ABV week was 10.22%, I feel that there must be a lot in the 7% to 8% range,

Brewery wise, Firestone Walker is the big leader at 50 and even if I don’t visit the Propagator again this year, will probably win the year still. Stone ranks second with 18 beers and Santa Monica Brew Works at 15. There are a few at lucky 13: Beachwood, El Segundo and Smog City.

Expect a jump in non California beers since I will be in Colorado for enough days to make a dent in the total 2024 numbers.

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In the Tap Lines for November 2024

It is peak holiday season with Halloween decor still up (probably) and Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching. As with previous years, the elves, reindeer and I will start highlighting holiday beers, but only AFTER Turkey Day.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries inside airports for those flying this holiday season

~ special featured reviews of two beers from The Rare Beer Club

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads Wool by Hugh Howey

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to My Unsung Hero

~ Sports & A Beer returns with the coaching carousel

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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12 Best

Being the opinionated fellow that I am, I do like to express my opinions and now Chowhound readers know that too as I put in my two cents on good beer cities around the U.S.  Read it HERE.

Everyone has a different set of opinions as to what makes a beer city a Beer City but I believe that certain criteria need to be met: A wide variety of beer styles, a good amount of breweries, beer bars and bottle shops, some GABF medals would be nice, a scene in the suburbs of the city is good too.

Thanks to Fiona Chandra for reaching out and listening.

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In the Tap Lines for October 2024

We have entered Q4 of 2024. As always, the year just swings by before you know it. Before the calendar switches, we need to pack in fun like a trip to Colorado, which I will be posting about later.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries that won at this year’s GABF

~ special featured reviews of Halloween inspired beers

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Blocks with Neal Brennan

~ Sports & A Beer returns with WNBA and NBA expansion to Portland and maybe Seattle

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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The Firkin for September 2024

Gonna go very trivial here. But it is a bee in my bonnet. In my internet beer wanderings, I see videos and photos where beer is spilled, intentionally.

I know that there is only so much new beer content when making beer content is very much second, third or fourth place behind making craft beer but whenever I see spilled beer, I think that the beer could be given as a taster to a new customer or an old customer.

Then another part of me just moves to who has to clean up that mess because beer is sticky as hell. What cleaners are they using? I just start thinking of anything other than the beer.

Instead of the pranks and hijinks, this beer fan would like more about the brewery and the beers.

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In the Tap Lines for September 2024

Here in Los Angeles, September is the last real dry and hot month and I am so happy to see fall on the horizon. Except that fall brings the always too soon Fall Y’all Pumpkin Spice nonsense, followed concurrently by always too soon Christmas. So let’s do our best to stay in the present and keep our eye on all things Oktoberfest.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries in Colorado in anticipation of GABF

~ special featured reviews of Oktoberfest beers + tips on Fest Biers to buy in SoCal

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to the NPR 4th Grade Podcast Challenge

~ Sports & A Beer returns with beer prices in the Premier League

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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In the Tap Lines for August 2024

There was a lot going on in July out in the wide world, August promises no respite for that. But in BSP World, there is a lot of fun, including….

~ e-visits to (3) new breweries in Pennsylvania from listening to Lew Bryson’s Seen Through a Glass podcast

~ special featured reviews of beers from Lagunitas, remember them?

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads You Like it Darker by Stephen King

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to The Ringer-Verse for Deadpool and Wolverine

~ Sports & A Beer returns with Hard Knocks

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

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The Firkin for July 2024

I love imagining what my perfect beer bar would be and so to counteract the existential dread in the air, let’s dream for a while instead.

First, there would be inside and outside seating with the outside being a calm garden center zen zone. Inside would be a mix of bar seating and booths because I like comfortable seating. There would be no TVs. I think it pulls focus from the beers and sports bars do a better job of it anyway.

There would be a total of 12 taps. I think that is manageable in both keeping social media and your own bad menu updated. And that churn would keep coming back to see the new beers.

In regards to the beers, six would be from a guest brewery for the month ( stolen from Function PDX ). That leaves me to have two lighter beers, to IPAs and two stouts. Depending on the guest brewery, the local taps might switch to lighter beers heavy for example.

There would be a little bit of food but nothing fussy or hard to make. Chips and salsa. Cheese plates. Little plates that can be high quality. Outside food would be encouraged as well so that instead of spending time booking food trucks, that time could be spent on beer selections.

I would also have a few single cans in a fridge to-go as well. A curated selection of beers that I find fun.

There is my current idea.

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In the Tap Lines for July 2024

For me, May Gray and June Gloom are the best time in SoCal but I know that I am in the minority and that most people love the sun. Whichever Angeleno you are, please make July – Visit a brewery month. It is really needed beer fans.

~ e-visits to (3) new breweries in my home state of Oregon

~ special featured reviews of barrel-aged beers from Lough Gill Brewing in Sligo, Ireland

~Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events

~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark

~ A Book & A Beer reads The Napoleon of Crime by Ben MacIntyre

~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Finally! A Show About Women That Isn’t Just a Thinly Veiled Aspirational Nightmare

~ Sports & A Beer returns with Sports and climate change

~ New Beer Releases and Best Beers of the Month

~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.