Category: About the Search Party

General information about the blog.

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In the Tap Lines for June 2022

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We have made it to Summer.  Or as close as we can get what with climate change making things hotter and colder and just plain weather weird.  Here is what June has in store for you on the blog.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries related to June
~ special featured review of Nectar Creek Sting Ginger Mead
~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 When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Doctor Who: Redacted
~ Great Beer names 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 May 2022

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Moving into May with another month of fun beer news and maybe even longer visits to breweries and even maybier festivals but for sure, this…

~ e-visits to (3) breweries in NBA playoff team cities
~ special featured reviews of Abnormal 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 Kaiju Preservation Society
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Dishing on Julia
~ Great Beer names 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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Q1 2022 Drinking Statistics

Here is a quick rundown of the pertinent facts of what I drank beer-wise in the first three months of 2022.

I am drinking over 5ounces less per week which is probably offset by my increased dabbling in cocktails.

AleSmith has been the most drunk brewery followed by Stone and then five locals – Eagle Rock, El Segundo, Highland Park, Los Angeles Ale Works and Firestone Walker.

Highland Park is leading the Best Beer of the Week race with two wins.

Of the 163 beers drunk, 75 were IPA and of that 32 were West Coast and 21 Hazy. Barrel- Aged beers totaled 15 and the Pilsner/Lager category was 11.

15.5% is the highest ABV beer drunk

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In the Tap Lines for March 2022

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Out of Birthday Month and into a mask free world?  Not quite in L.A. County but it regular life is looming, does that mean regular beer life is here, or did I miss its re-introduction?

~ e-visits to (3) breweries that you may look past because they are “old”
~ special featured reviews of classic dark beers from yesteryear
~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 Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Plain English with Derek Thompson
~ Great Beer names 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 2022 Birthday Beer

I decided to bring up two beers for ’22…

Deuce, anniversary 2012 beer from Eagle Rock Brewery and Fruet, also from 2012, from The Bruery.

I started with the firmer, an imperialized version of the famed Eagle Rock Solidarity Mild. After ten years, this 10% ABV beer has held up quite well. There is a note of milk chocolate, a little cherry in there as well. Makes me think that I am having a proper aged English beer. It is not heavy at all and held up quite well.

Fruet also held up well. It helped that I opened it and let it breathe for a longer than usual spell. It wasn’t as syrupy sweet or barrel-y as I thought. It had dried out a bit in a good way. No big ABV burn either for a 15% plus beer. It was a nice blend of sugar and malty backbone.

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In the Tap Lines for February 2022

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It is birthday month!  That means special reviews and fun.  Also a head to head battle of beers, the Premier League and a big ol’ doorstop of a book.  And a white tiger too.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries from Premier League locales
~ special featured reviews of beers bought from City Beer Store
~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 Love Songs of W.E.B Dubois
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to Wild Things
~ Great Beer names 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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2021 – A Look Back

Before we get too far into 2022, I want to re-visit 2021 again and look at my year in beer.

643 individual servings of beer were had and well over half were IPA. I would say bad me but I will save that for another point in this post. Of those IPAs, 114 were West Coasties and 105 were of the Hazed variety. DIPAs were 54 and TIPAs 19.

Pilsners and Lagers combined for 49 entries with Barrel- Aged right behind at 45. Sours, which I seem to be eschewing more and more ended at 15 and the beers from Foreign lands a pitiful, measly, really bad me 7. Right there is one of the reasons why I persist in this Excel exercise. So that I can see the stark numbers.

Speaking of stark numbers, I drank, on average, 158.7 ounces of beer a week. The lowest mark since I have done this. The ABV average was 7.38% per beer.

On to who I drank the most of, it as as follows:

  • Firestone Walker
  • Smog City
  • Stone Brewing
  • Radiant Beer Co.
  • AleSmith
  • Eagle Rock Brewery
  • El Segundo Brewery
  • Los Angeles Ale Works
  • Highland Park Brewery
  • The Bruery

Yup, a 100% California list and 50% LA local to boot!

Finally, of note is that each week I “crown” a Beer of the Week. This year, Firestone Walker tallied an impressive 5 as did Anaheim newbie Radiant Beer Co. Smog City racked up 3 for the proverbial bronze.

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The Yearly BSP Disclaimer for 2022

Each and every year, I start the blogging calendar with a disclaimer. As a beer blogger, I feel it is important to be clear about my rules and morals.

Every beer, brewery, event, restaurant reviewed on this site whether paid for or complimentary will get the same treatment when reviewed. If I don’t like the beer, it will be described as a beer that I did not like, even if it was handed to me by the brewer and I like the brewer.

If I forget, (which probably will happen, because it has before) to mention how I got a beer or a pass to an event, then go back and read the previous paragraph.

I clearly want the Los Angeles local beer scene to continue to flourish and I want craft beer in general to do so as well. So, my reviews will also take that into consideration. Some points in 2022 will require cheerleading and others require harsh sentences. I am not subtle so I am sure you will figure it out quickly.

I will be as impartial and truthful as I can be while also staying as opinionated as usual.

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In the Tap Lines for December 2021

header_attractionsThis is where the Christmas rubber meets the holiday road.  This month we dive into seasonals every day until Christmas plus Christmas beer reviews.  Get your tinsel out.

~ e-visits to (3) breweries that made the Craft Beer & Brewing Best Of List
~ special featured reviews of beers with a touch of the Christmas.
~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 Foundation by Isacc Asimov
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to My Dad Wrote a Porno
~ Great Beer names and Best Beers of the Month
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.