Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
I missed trying Little Man ice cream when I was in Denver but Weldwerks Brewing has made it easier to get your frozen treats with their Salted Oreo Stout. And since L.A. gets the occasional Weldwerks, there just might be a chance we can try it.
Sometimes you just need to have a good cheese. But then you might wonder what craft beer to pair with that cheese. Or you could head to Trader Joe’s and pick up this Dutch cheese…
A food hall in SoCal without a brewery presence is probably not really a food hall. But what if your food hall has two breweries?
Haven City in West Covina, wedged into an already busy big strip mall has recently opened and when I visited had a big crowd (even before a Dodger playoff game had started). Lots of food vendors right next to a big grocery store and there were still spots like Amboy not ready yet.
On one end is Ogopogo Brewing which had a full slate of their beers including two Fest-ish beers in Drude Marzen and Nachtkrapp Schwarzbier as well as a collab Nectaron Pils with Arrow Lodge. They are in a quiet corner that could probably use more seating but Drude was quite excellent.
Over on the other side is Burning Bridge Brewing which also does a small menu of tacos. They had quite a line-up on tap including a Belgian Dubbel, a PSL beer and, what I was told is a quite popular rice lager. I went with a hefty Hazy DIPA, Swing of the Axe, another beertender recommendation.
This City was full of people watching and also has a nice outdoor seating area as well. I would say pick a spot for a beer, then wander and choose some food and then have a second beer.
El Segundo Brewing’s Slice and Pint is expanding to Redondo Beach!
They will be taking over the Pizza Coast Hiway space before September finishes. So now those south of the South Bay can get their pizza fix and more importantly El Segundo beer without heading towards LAX.
Highland Park Brewery has an on again, off again dark lager with the funny name of Bortz, that they now refer to as a “Dark Gnome Wizard Lager” described as “a beautiful dark mahogany appearance & roasty aromas of dark chocolate, bread crust, while remaining extra refreshing & crisp.”
Now Indianal’s Tulip Tree Creamery, is using Bortz in their latest For their Hops cheese series where they collaborate with different breweries. The Bortz cheese is a semi-soft double-cream cheese infused with Bortz.
Usually I review beers but today, I will be reviewing a beer bratwurst. Silva Sausage teamed with Stone Brewing on a Delicious IPA brat. “Seasoned with German-inspired spices and mixed with fresh onion and Stone IPA, our beer bratwurst are finished with a light hickory smoke process for flavor.”
First off, this is a pretty good sausage. That is the good news to report. But there is not really any IPA flavor to be found. I also didn’t get a bunch of hickory flavor either to be fair. Perhaps these just go well with Delicious IPA?
Nothing says ice cream more to me than a mega brewer and a baseball equipment company teaming up. Blue Moon Home Run Twist is the name of the ice cream and thankfully there is an ice creamery involved, Hardscoop an alcohol-infused ice cream maker.
“Blue Moon is partnering with Rawlings to introduce Blue Moon Home Run Twist, the boozy ice cream that clocks in at two percent ABV and combines the bright and citrusy flavor of Blue Moon’s iconic Valencia Orange peel with a deliciously rich Madagascar Vanilla.”
Now it does not sound bad in theory and if I see it, I might just try it so I guess a light needed is the answer.
Each month, my wife and I will walk by Salt & Straw here in Glendale and look at their limited release flavors. Usually our noses turn up at what weird combinations that they choose (especially at Thanksgiving) But for June at Salt & Straw locations across the country the theme is beer!
The collaborating breweries include Métier Brewing Company in Seattle, WA; Breakside Brewery in Portland, OR; Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, CA; Cerveceria La Tropical in Miami, FL. Salt & Straw AND Monkish Brewing Co. from right here in Torrance.
You can check out all the flavors HERE but let’s focus in on…. Monkish Brewing’s Space Cookies Hazy IPA. The beer is a vanilla wafer riff on an IPA. And the ice cream will be a mix of a hoppy simple syrup, grapefruit zest and vanilla cookie butter.
I mention the writer David Nilsen recently in talking about non-alcoholic beers and now I get to highlight his new book, Beer and Chocolate which gives you…
– “The basics of both beer and chocolate for folks coming to this topic more familiar with one or the other.
– The process for successfully pairing beer and chocolate.
– Instructions for how host a beer and chocolate pairing in your own home.
– Style by style pairing guidance for dozens of beer styles. In each style chapter, we talk about the style’s basic flavors and ingredients, how it pairs with chocolate (including challenges and types of chocolates to seek out and ones to avoid), commercial examples of beers in this styles and specific chocolate to seek out, and example pairings to illustrate the principles.
– Each style chapter also includes space to take pairing notes of your own.”
I am sure everyone has encountered the issue of being at a taproom of a brewery and getting a bit peckish, only to discover that the food truck cancelled or is running late.
One way to get around that problem is to bring food in house which is what Angel City Brewery has done with a new food truck – House Made by Angel City. It promises “craft-beer-worthy bites out of a trailer situated in our brewery’s parking lot…”
Next time in DTLA, you might want to check it out.