Josh Lurie from Food GPS has a pipeline to the breweries that are in process that have skated past me and here is another prime example….
HighPoint Brewing Company is on the Arrow Highway in San Dimas. They opened this month and have Thursday through Sunday and have a full slate of the usual beers. They also have (save for a space) the same name as a New Jersey brewery.
NBA City Brewery # 3 – Bellwoods Brewery in Toronto
Our last NBA city to visit is Toronto, home of the Kawhi’s. Sorry, Raptors. Before the season began there was a lot of back and forth about making the coaching change and adding Kawhi Leonard. But so far, so good for the team that always seems close but hasn’t gotten over the hump.
The brewery for the purpose of this post is Bellwoods. They have grown to two breweries as well as bottle shops. Below are my choices for an initial taster tray before or after the Raptors play.
Jutsu – “an American pale ale made with a blend of two different yeasts. This APA is highly drinkable with low bitterness and refreshing citrus and melon notes.”
Bring Out Your Dead 2018 – “Our annual (so long as we didn’t open a production facility that year) imperial stout aged in cognac barrels has emerged from oak classy as ever, ready to impress in a glass near you.”
Goblin Sauce – “a huge imperial IPA that utilizes a simple pale malt bill while harnessing the unrivaled intensity of Lupulin Powder – a magical, concentrated hop potion that contains exponentially more alpha acids and way less vegetal matter than regular hop pellets. And we loved the first dry hop round so much that we decided to double up.”.
Grisette – “earning the esteemed title of our very first beer fermented entirely in oak (aka The Foeder Pyramid™). It’s a low ABV, refreshing sipper dry-hopped with French Strisselspalt hops (a variety that’s as fun to say as it is delicious). The beer itself is dry, with soft brett aromatics, and complementary herbal, floral, and citrus notes.”
Hoppy Table beer – From the Ossington brewpub comes a sessionable, refreshing beer brewed with wheat and pilsner malts, that we lightly dry hop with a mix of noble varieties (and a pinch of citra). Quenching, subtly fruity, and incredibly easy to make disappear.
NBA City Brewery # 2 – City Lights Brewing Co. in Milwaukee
The second surprising team in the NBA are the Bucks of Milwaukee. New coach and a deepened bench along with a certain Greek Freak have lifted them to the top of Eastern Conference talk.
The brewery to visit is based in an old building from 1902 that used to house the Milwaukee Gas Light Company. City Lights Brewing Company has taken over the West Side Water Works Campus as their brewing home.
Here are the Midwestern beers that I would taste in an initial tasters tray….
Belgian Wit – “Old school meets new school in this Belgian style Wit Beer. Traditional Hallertau Mittlefruh hops are used along with additions of coriander and orange peel late in the boil. We chose Belgian Wheat yeast for subtle fruity esters and very light phenolic notes as to not overpower the other subtle flavors. To make this style a bit more interesting and we’ve added a fresh twist with the late additions of Huell Melon hops and 400 lbs of pink guava puree for a delightfully balanced fruity finish. The delicate balance of orange peel, coriander, hops, and pink guava puree make for a delightfully quenching summertime beer.”
Amber Ale – “If the hops and malt of this Amber Ale were on either end of a see-saw; it would sit at a standstill parallel with the ground. With a blend of German Tradition hops and American Willamette hops, there is just enough hop bitterness, flavor, and aroma to keep your nose and taste buds wanting more. A combination of 5 different malts give this beer a hint of caramel sweetness, a splash of breadiness, and just the right amount of character to make this simple style wanting your taste buds to do The Waltz.”
Mosaic Pale Ale – “This powerful version of a mid-western pale ale sweeps the palate with mango, lemon, citrus, tropical fruit and stone fruit. This multitude of flavor sinks deep into the taste buds, briefly clinging to the roof of the mouth which enlivens the palate and adds zest. Flowery citrus notes dominate by mid-serving, masterfully integrating with the patina of delicate bitterness that finishes with a 5.3 ABV smoothness. The palate cleansing hop character comes courtesy of Mosaic and Ekuanot hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest.”
Hazy IPA – “Massive late additions of Citra, Mosaic, and Amarillo hops give this beer a strong tropical aroma and flavor. A simple grain bill of 2 row base malt, wheat, and flaked oats give this beer a beautiful full body; and the high protein content contributes to a pleasant haze. To further accentuate the tropical flavor and aroma we double dry hop this beer with Vic Secret hops.”
Doppelbock – “This is a full-bodied beer with a rich brown color accented with dark amber hues. We have lightly hopped this beer with traditional German hops just enough to offset the malty sweetness. Malt and yeast reign supreme in this beer brewed with 100% German malts and German lager yeast. This beer is rich in melanoidins and has notes of chocolate; caramel and toasted bread.”
Surf of El Segundo
Looking at another brewery coming to El Segundo as Surfridge Brewing Company is in the works now.
According to their nascent Facebook page, “Surfridge is a 20-barrel production brewery in El Segundo, CA, named for a community by the sea turned Blue Butterfly Sanctuary.”
More news to follow.
NBA City Brewery # 1 – Porchlight Brewing Co. in Sacramento
I am going to focus on those NBA cities with rising teams, which takes us to the surprising city of Sacramento which has had a boffo (for them) start to their NBA season.
And the brewery to visit is….
…Porchlight Brewing Co. on the East Side of the capitol city near Cal State – Sacramento. I wanted to pick a few beers whose names resonate with the current Kings squad and their fortunes.
Hype Train basketball pundits are wondering if their hot start is real
NE style IPA, super juicy
Victor Mexican lager they will need to play with the “it” style of fast pace just like Mexican lagers are the new wave
Vienna Style Mexican Lager 4.5% ABV
Hardknox Double IPA they have had tough years but maybe playoffs are coming
West Coast Style IPA 8% ABV
2018 CA State Fair Silver Medal Winner
Down Range Stout they are going to need to take some more 3 pointers as the season winds on
Irish Stout, 5.8% ABV
On the Phone
Hopes of catching up on the new breweries is fading for 2018 for me. I am behind two in Long Beach and now with the addition of Telco Brewery in Santa Clarita, I am two behind in the north as well. (still need to see Brewery Draconum in action)
Telco was founded by two homebrewers who have what job experience? That’s right telephone company.
They opened on September 30, 2018 and their website has the following amongst their beer choices:
Tip & Ring Pale Ale – “A classic American Ale, with a hoppy aroma. Tip & Ring is dry hopped to give you the smell of an IPA with out the bitterness. An excellent introduction to Telco Brewery’s fine beers.”
Short to Ground IPA – “Our Indian Pale Ale with the bite and smell only an IPA can offer. With ABV 6% & IBUs 63, this IPA is made with a single hop. Chinook is well-balanced with spicy overtones and heavy aromas brewed with Cara-Pils malt for extra body. Then dry hopped with you guessed it Chinook.”
Muck Out Stout – “Winner of the Montrose Homebrew Competition on April 2016, this stout comes in weighing at 6.4% ABV, & 54 IBUs. Our chocolate colored stout doesn’t disappoint adding a roasted malt to give you that coffee flavor we all love. Liberal amounts of Willamette and Cascade hops balance the sturdy malt backbone, making for a dangerously drinkable big beer.”
Rotary Red Ale – “a fan favorite red ale. The red ale offers an array of hops, a total of five hops. The star being Columbus, giving you that floral-citrusy flavor that we love in a light bodied beer. With the rest of the hops delivering excellent aroma followed by the undeniable red flavor. An excellent balance of a traditional red.”
GABF Medal Winning Brewery # 3 – Wolverine State Brewing
I have saved the double winner for last. Ann Arbor’s Wolverine State Brewing picked up both Silver and Bronze this year.
SILVER – NZ Pils in the American-style Pilsener category
AND
BRONZE – Raucher in the Smoke Beer category
In addition to those winners, I would add the following to my taster tray….
Wheelbarrow Weekend – “a refreshing Munich Helles made with oats & fresh-squeezed lemon juice.”
Tundra King – “This new addition to our IPL lineup is in contrast to many of our other IPLs and hop-forward lagers because it’s even more injected with hoppy and bitter goodness!”
Gulo Gulo – “India Pale Lager (I.P.L.) is hopped with Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, Warrior and Pilgrim hops. It is dry-hopped once in the fermenter and then a second time with whole-cone Cascade hops before packaging.”
Barista – “We brew this beer in collaboration with Roos Roast of Ann Arbor. Karl the Brewer used to be a coffee roaster before joining the brewing world and so we put him in charge of the coffee side.”
2nd Visit – Henson Brewing
Regular readers will remember that my first visit to Henson Brewing wasn’t a world beater. So I decided that I would hold off on returning even though the taproom is a five minute walk from my office.
Since then the logo and website have been spruced up, so I re-visited. Here are the findings….and they are not great. The inside of the taproom has folding tables and chairs, there is an old truck parked inside but it doesn’t have the charm or (guessing here) the drivability of the Brewyard truck so the feel is a little temporary.
This is one of the first places where the beer names seemed to be not of a piece. I don’t expect that they should match or be all historical figures for example but Red, White and Blue IPA and then Paleolithic Pale? Speaking of the latter, it is a dark red and is more malty than hoppy. Not bad, but below par for British styled pale and way below if aiming for American style. There was also a “Sweet IPA” on tap which scared the bejesus out of me so I didn’t even order a taster.
The best indicator though was a friend joined me, had a taster of the pilsner, 2Pils, and then said that he would like to go elsewhere for beer # 2.
Maybe I will try again this time next year.
GABF Medal Winning Brewery # 2 – Smylie Brothers Brewing
Our second Medal Winning stop is bemusing, Smylie Brothers Brewing Co. in from the city of Evanston. SBBC won silver in the Fruit Wheat Beer category for Purple Line, a wheat ale brewed with hibiscus, blueberry and blackberry. This beer is no stranger to hardware as it also won GABF medals in 2015 and 2017 too.
So with that lineage, here is what I would sample in my “imagined” taster flight…
Helles Lager – “A Bavarian style pale lager. Crisp and clean, showcasing Pilsner malt. Lightly hopped with German noble hops.”
Gin Barrel Farmhouse Saison – “Our Farmhouse ale aged in Chicago Distilling Co.’s Finn’s Gin barrels.”
Simcoe Pale Ale – “An American Pale Ale hopped exclusively with Simcoe hops. Light and crisp malt body with pungent notes of pine, grapefruit and citrus.”
Grisette – “Light in body and low in alcohol, this saison is brewed with spelt, an heirloom variety of wheat. Floral aroma with notes of lemon and citrus. Very dry, crisp and refreshing.”
Smy Rye IPA – “Rye IPA brewed with Ekuanot and Citra hops. Aromas of citrus peel, melon and pine, with a crisp rye spice.”
1st Visit – Hand-Brewed Beer
Inexorably, I am catching up to the goal of visiting all of the Los Angeles area breweries. Still have a few in Long Beach and one up Newhall way, but first is Hand-Brewed Beer in Chatsworth.
A long time ago in a galaxy, far, far away: I sampled some Hand-Brewed beers but the road to a taproom has been long for this brewery. Three months in, I headed to De Soto Avenue to see the space.
It is a nice set-up. A good amount of seating, warm with wood fencing on the wall and the HB logo emblazoned on it. The beer list is on a TV and is easily read with a good amount of information on it. A good solid space with attentive and easy to talk to staff.
Of the four beers I sampled and another that I sipped, the quality is still on the way. The Santa Susanna Saison was my favorite but even it was an overall mid-ranker. The Nitro Latte Brown was fine but thin with very little coffee taste. Of the two IPAs, the Brumeux was the better. A DIPA by name, it didn’t taste very strong and the hop quality faded quickly. The 4th Anniversary beer was all over the map. Made with honey, it was a little sweet, a little bitter and a little astringent and honestly smelled a little funny.
If I was to rank, I would slot the 8one8 brewery higher in terms of beer and atmosphere. Hand-Brewed has worked hard to get to this day and I hope that the beer continues to grow.
