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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
With the Craft Brewers Conference in the rear view, it is time to prepare yourself for summer beer festival season. Though not as busy as in past years, there will be plenty to do and plenty of souvenir cups to collect. Below is what is currently planned for the month of May here on the blog.
~ e-visits to (3) breweries from the Central Coast of California in advance of the Firestone Walker Invitational
~ special featured reviews of whatever is in the refrigerator throughout the month
~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 Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Tales from the Tardis
~ Sports & A Beer returns with Drafting for QB1
~ 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.
For Q1 (plus a little), past trends hold for the most part with IPA netting 68 of 148 total tasted beers and 32 of that 68 was straight up West Coast style. Below are other findings…
Pilsners & Lagers was the second most sipped style with 22, followed by Barrel-Aged with 18.
Firestone Walker was the most frequent brewery with 17, followed by Stone at 9 and Creature Comforts and Von Ebert tied at 7.
Most beers tasted were brewed in California (30) , not counting strictly Los Angeles (18) with 10 breweries from Oregon then 7 from Foreign breweries
The average ABV is a bit on the high side at 7.51% but I do expect that to fall as summer goes on.
