Looks like the City of Wilmington is getting in on the independent beer bandwagon as I noticed this logo on Facebook recently for Espada Brewing Co. No other info yet, but I will be monitoring this new possible brewing spot.
Espada
Eugene Brewery # 2 – Claim 52 Brewing
Our second stop in Eugene, Oregon is Claim 52 Brewing. The name “refers to the donation land claim settled by pioneer William Luckey in what is now part of South Eugene.”
Here are the beers that I would be ordering for my initial taster tray….
Starting with their Kolsch and then moving on to Willamette Wit before heady to hoppy with their Good Neighbor IPA, their Krispy Brut IPA and then off to their My Brother’s Farmhouse IPA. I would finish with their Voyager Strong Ale.
Eugene Brewery # 1 – Viking Braggot
Our first stop in Eugene is not at a brewery. Nope, heading to Viking Braggot instead to try one of these off kilter (braggot is basically a blend of mead and beer) beverages…
Freyja Blonde – “is our light and flavorful blonde braggot. Two-row barley and wheat provide much of the body while a simple addition of Crystal and Cascade hops gives a subtle, yet present hop flavor. We’ve kept the flavors of this braggot simple in order to let the true star, honeybush, shine through. Honeybush is a South African herbal tea that we blended with local wildflower honey to create a delicate, but distinctly flavored braggot!”
Reverence – “is our take on a red ale. In this braggot, certified organic two row and specialty malts provide a strong malt profile and rich red color. Multiple hop additions, including dry-hopping, give Reverence a distinct, but not overpowering, hoppiness. The star ingredient, orange blossom honey, serves to balance out the hops while providing an inimitable aroma and truly unique taste.”
Battle Axe – “is our flagship IPA style braggot. We took the light wildflower honey and combined it with a generous amount of Chinook, Cascade, Columbus, and Centennial hops. followed by a dry hop addition of Zythosto create an extremely floral and fragrant IPA. This IPA is a balance between the bitterness of all the hop additions and the wildflower honey, that leans slightly on the hoppier end.”
Alpenglow – ” Named after the vibrant red light of high mountain sunsets, Alpenglow is a ruby red style braggot brewed with Northern California pomegranate honey. Light and sweet!”
1st Visit – Wingwalker Brewery
On a windswept Saturday night, I braved the slow 210 freeway and set my sights to Monrovia and a new brewery on the outskirts of the main drag of this community, Wingwalker. The first impression is good. There is a nice little patio as you walk up to the entrance. There is a painting hanging up near the door and as you walk in, there is a nice dark wood bar with the silver gleaming cooler behind it. Not much in the way of signage but thanks to my far vision glasses, I can make out that three beers are on offer. Dark Matter Porter in both regular and CO2 versions. A mild and a Festbier.
It is brand new days for this brewery that literally opened at the start of the year. So I was not expecting to have the best beer experience. I was nicely surprised with the start of ….
Dark Matter – Nice and roasty. Maybe a skosh too bitter. Tilted to the coffee side. The Nitro blunted that a bit and would be my choice of the two.
…then the last two beers were tasted and the review started trending down…
Miskatonic Mild – Tastes way green to me. Smells worty. My reaction might be due to lack of British Beers in my life. But aim is off.
Physics Phest Bier – Tastes a bit off as well. Too sweet and a little to mineral tasting. Closer to style in my thinking. But could be heavier and maltier.
The other weird thing is that one long section of the bar seating is an actual small airplane wing. I had to look at it a good long time to see it under the clear epoxy/resin? And I felt that it would have been much better to have the same wood all the way around and then fly the wing above the customers, maybe with the logo stamped on it as well.
The brewery has an old/vintage brewing system that was first brewed on in 1980 and is apparently a system that makes brew days long and longer. If the system can be mastered, this might be only a slight hindrance but it could be worse. The space could use more logo branding, from coasters to glassware to tap handles. Handwritten signs are fine but they will need to be upgraded. There does appear room to grow with 12 taps unused and the former home brewer also distills so there might be spirits in the future.
Overall, this space really looks only 80% ready. What is done is solid but more work is needed on that and the beer.
Keep a Watch – South Central Brewing
I have Excel spreadsheets in my mind that list which breweries are new, coming soon and then those that have less determined futures. Neither good nor bad, just unknown as of my personal press time. So add South Central Brewing Company to your Facebook friends feed and maybe you will catch updates about another possible L.A. brewery.
Sip Best of Brewery # 3 – Bron Yr Aur
Our final stop for the year is Naches, Washington and Bron Yr Aur Brewing.
Let’s skip past the weird cream ale name and label and head straight into what I would put into an initial tasting flight….
#1 – Kolsch
#2 – Scottish Ale
#3 – Grapefruit Pale Ale
#4 – Thriller Pillar Porter
#5 – Gentlemen’s Stout
1st Visit – Liberation Brewing
I like to sneak in an end of the year brewery visit and this year I took advantage of the holiday light traffic and pointed towards Liberation Brewing in Long Beach for a 1st visit.
The taproom was pretty quiet when I entered so I had my pick of seats at the bar. There was weird mural-type art around the edges with Star Wars characters the ones that I recognized. Then in another seating area were hung B&W prints on one wall presumably of early Long Beach.
Good music was playing and the staff was quick and attentive in getting my order and my two flights to me. Each flight was 3 for $8. The beer descriptors were clever with at least on in-joke spotted amongst the 12 beers on tap. I thought the bomb shaped flight paddle was a good touch as well.
On to the beers that I sampled:
Diane – Hallertau Blanc always catches my eye. Pale with a nice light bitterness, light lemon and malt comes through
Roy G Biv – Strata Hop is becoming a go-to as well. Hazy IPA really with a great aroma aroma. Bright and lightly bitter. Little cat pee to it Concord grape
Father’s Shout – milk stout well done. Solid. Creaminess was good
Simon Saison Peach – not much rye. Peach was a little too candy for me. My least favorite of the group
Red Rose Dunkel – good to see a dunkelweizen on the menu. this version was sweet smelling but flavor is sharp and bright. Could be a skosh heavier malt wise
Maddy– new hazy pale nice. A little sharp. Fruit punch. Not sold on the aroma.
Sip NW Best of Brewery # 2 – Old Stove Brewing
Our second stop is by the hearth in Seattle at Pike Place Market, home to Old Stove Brewing.
Here is my idea of a great taster tray from this brewery by the bay.
The Two-Pronged Crown IPA – “This big NW IPA exudes bright tangerine, grassy pine, and complex earthy notes from our abundant additions of dank Mosaic hops.”
Idaho7 FRESH HOP Hazy Pale – “Taproom specials! Come on in and try any of our four deliciously brewed wet hops while they last!”
Downtown Freddie’s Brown – “Our Big Brown Beer we like to show off to all our friends. We aged this decadently dark ale over bourbon-soaked cacao nibs roasted by our pals at Indi Chocolates in the Market, and tossed in some vanilla beans for added controversy. Smarter than your average beer.”
Oatmeal Stout – NITRO – “A smooth and hearty stout brewed with flaked oats and roasted barley. Poured with nitrogen, this creamy chocolaty treat is lightly hopped with experimental hop HBC-682 for a well-rounded balance.”
1st Visit – Imperial Western Beer Co. at Union Station
I chose a rare wet and windy day to Gold Line myself to Union Station to make my first visit to the new-ish Imperial Western Beer Co. Part of the 213 Hospitality Group and sister brewery to Arts District Brewing a few blocks away. I had super high hopes for ADBC which is fine but hasn’t really super impressed me. That left me wondering how the beer would be here. On the flip side, the photos from various websites were fantastic looking Well, expectations are just that. The space is smaller and less grand than the shiny photos made it look. Don’t get me wrong, the space looks really nice. There is a good amount and different seating set-ups and you can’t go wrong with the look and architecture of the space. There is a weird little front bar that is part (not working yet) coffee bar and host/hostess stand that I think would be better utilized for more seating. At the rectangle bar near the kitchen there is a businessman with ear piece, travelers coming in for a quick beer and local workers. The oyster special seems a big draw, saw three sixers of the slimy things go by. (Not a oyster fancier am I)
And while the surroundings were fine the four beers from the quite large selection sampled were good to above average. I would pick IWBC or ADBC based on this initial taster tray. Below are my quick takes on the beers…
Table Manners Patersbier
Nice Belgian character. A little sharp. Banana prominent. A bit viscous on the palate
Calliope Hazy IPA
Bright fruit character. Haze has left. Concord grape. Nice medium hop hit.
Union Station Pale Lager
Lots of grain and corn. Smooth and easy to drink. Really light yellow.
Fred Harvey Hefe
Not super hefe’y. The Table Manners has more banana. Might have gotten the beers flipped? Couldn’t quite tell from the color.
Lastly, I tried the new…
Some S’mores Stout
Arts District will do the More version. A serviceable Stout. Some chocolate notes. Expecting more flavor components to it.
Next time I go, I will test out the Streamliner bar which wasn’t quite open when I visited.
Sip NW Best of Brewery # 1 – Jellyfish Brewing
This month I am traveling to three breweries that received multiple awards in the Best Of issue of Sip NW magazine. My first selection is Jellyfish Brewing.
Let’s get right to the (possible) tasters:
Hydra Pils – “a classic pilsner with a clean malt body and a crisp hoppy finish. An all-German grain bill, and additions of Czech, French and German hops give this lager a truly continental lineage!”
Planktonic Red – “a very bright NW Red with 8 hop varietals, a whisper of hibiscus and a vibrantly clean finish.”
Smack IPA – “Smack is the term for a group of Jellyfish (factoid). This IPA is balanced at its core. It’ll greet you with peaches, pine and bright citrus.”
Saison Memoir – “This light ale is very dry, and is blended with our barrel-aged, wild-yeast fermented Saison. It brings soft peppercorn, bright lemon, and funk to the party.”