Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

Posted on

Brewery Draconum

99.99% of the time, this blog is my personal opinion sandbox, but when it comes to breweries that are a bit of a driving stretch, that I have yet to visit, I need to hear from the people behind the project. With that in mind, here is an introduction to Brewery Draconum by Ben Law the owner and brewer of this kinda/sorta new brewpub in Newhall.

“We are Brewery Draconum ( latin – genitive plural of Draco translates to Brewery of Dragons). Family owned and operated brewpub in Newhall, small 10 BBL system. We have an amazing chef who put together an elevated pub style menu utilizing a lot of our beer in the food. We also have a 2500 sq ft beer garden with picnic tables Bocce ball courts corn hole, and eventually ping pong and foos ball.Our basic philosophy is that of creating a place for everyone in the community to come learn about and celebrate good beer and good food. Family friendly environment. I am lucky enough to be an owner brewer so we kind of brew whatever we want though we do have some core beers that stay on tap.Some of our more popular beers are Belgian Golden Strong – abvAF, west coast single hop Amarillo IPA – Siduri, Imperial Red ale dry hopped with Sorachi Ace and Amarillo – Gutterhead, and Our new Kolsch brewed and lightly dry hopped with Huell Melon hops – Melonkolschy.”

When I do make it up that way, I will give my usual un-biased review of the beers and atmosphere.

Posted on

Still to Visit L.A. Brewery # 2 – Wolf Creek


For round 2 of the L.A. breweries that I have not been to, yet. I do get points for having had a few Wolf Creek beers at multiple venues around Los Angeles. Just not at the brewery itself.

Here are what I would want to try (sometimes for the second or third time)….

El Lobo Amber Ale
“Mexican-style amber lager with a great malty flavor from Vienna malt & balanced with a touch of hops. Aged for six weeks for a smooth, refreshing beer.”

Golden Eagle Blonde Ale
“Our multi-award winning blonde ale has a clean malt flavor combined with mild hop bitterness. A refreshing, drinkable ale with a lot more flavor than mass-produced beers.”

Outlaw IPA
Is the new IPA that was on tap at the Beer Week Kick-Off
or
Desperado IPA
“Our West Coast India Pale Ale brewed with a touch of light caramel malt and hopped exclusively with Falconer’s Flight. We then dry-hop Desperado with a combination of Centennial, Columbus, and Falconer’s 7c’s. Lots of big citrus flavor balanced by just enough malt!”

Posted on

Still to Visit L.A. Brewery # 1 – Ximix


This month, since it is just about L.A. Beer Week time, I figured it would be time to focus on the breweries that I still need to visit and we start down near SpaceX way, where craft exploration is going on at Ximix.

Here are what I will be looking at adding to my initial taster tray….

Sach Trois – “Golden ale fermented with Sach Trois giving it a slightly fruity and acidic taste.”

The Lost Astronaut – “Dry hopped strong pale ale with Simcoe, Citra, Galena, and Glacier.”

Pale Belgian Strong Ale – “Our take on a pale belgian strong fermented with a classic yeast strain from a legendary brewery. Instead of using traditional sugar to dry the beer out, we used orange blossom honey to take this bad boy straight to 11.”

Pilonchillo Stout – “Dry stout brewed with pale chocolate malts and hit with a nice dose of pilonchillo mexican cane sugar. Notes of molasses, cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate.”

Posted on

New England Brewery Tour # 2 – Springdale

Our 2nd stop is second arm of Jack’s Abby, Springdale.

Firstly for their collaborative IPA, ANY which is literally a clear Hazy IPA (CHIPA). You can go read about it HERE.

Let’s move on to the other hoppy beers (with the prototypical Hazy names) that I would want to try…

Good ‘n You? – IPA dry hopped with Citra & Galaxy

You had to Be There – IPA with Comet and Mosaic

But I Digress – IPA with Amarillo, Simcoe and Citra

Posted on

1st Visit – RT Rogers

I had not heard anything about RT Rogers Brewing minus one Facebook post from noted home brew expert Drew Beechum. On a recent (and rare) cloudy day in Los Angeles, I hit the 210 freeway to check out this 5 month old brewery in Sierra Madre.

RTR has a lovely little front garden with patio seating at the entrance and a little beer tank seating nook inside the warm and cozy space. Forties music was on the spotify and fairy tale beer names and a German tap tower with the five beers that were pouring. That total will be augmented by a German pils, Amber and other beers coming through the coupler with an aim of nine beers in rotation.

The taster tray was really solid and I was most impressed by the IPA’s which seemed just left of center enough to make you sit up…
The Shoemakers Red IPA – quite zippy. Really good. Little spicy and medium hoppy
The Woodchoppers IPA – lemon and cat pee. Interesting. Would stand out in a tasting
The Milk maids milk stout – Solid if a little lactose light
The Henny Penny English style brown porter – not bad but a little light to me.
The Gold Spinners hefe – light on the banana. Not much clove but still tasty

One of the rare breweries new breweries that has started on solid footing. Gonna check back on this one and you should too.

Posted on

1st Visit – 8one8 Brewing

On a recent warm Sunday afternoon, I took a little drive on the Reagan freeway to check out the recently opened 8one8 Brewing taproom which just recently opened.

I ordered up a flight and had it delivered to me at my table along with a water! Here are my quick hit reviews:
Bodie’z Pale Ale – rye and mosaic. More rye than hops to me little bit green too
1st Stage IPA – smells light. More session. Grain forward to me.
Good Day DIPA – bronze color. Way too much caramel. No hops at all. Not great.
Gravity Hill Belgian – big banana esters. Little overboard on it. Doesn’t grow on me.

There is a lot in front and I like part of the decor. It has a flight freight Indiana Jones decor going on but then that is a bit diminished by a Staples open sign, some “art” 2 and two TVs tuned to the Dodgers.

There is a nice amount of space inside with 22oz bottles to go. I was given a shade more than the taster fill line which was probably the opening week hospitality in effect.

They have some room to grow but a decent start for this brewery.

Posted on

New England Brewery Tour # 1 – Zero Gravity


Our first stop for May is at Zero Gravity who have two locations in Burlington Vermont. Let’s get some lagers into this virtual tasting tray…

Green State Lager
“A crisp, easy-drinking Pilsner beer that is influenced by the great brewing regions of the world, but that charts its own course through this elegant style. The Noble hops play a key role, but allow the malt to take center stage, providing a clean and satisfying quencher that is as welcoming as the Green State itself.”

Keller Dry-hopped Lager
“Our take on a rarely-seen classic. Start with one of our favorite lagers and add a boat-load of Mandarina Bavaria hops. A fine balance is struck between hoppy and refreshing.”

Sans Souci Farmhouse Pale Ale
“French for “No Worries,” this Farmhouse Pale was brewed exclusively with Pilsner malt to showcase Belgian yeast with an American hop. The yeast adds spicy notes, while El Dorado hops contribute tropical fruit and melon aromas to this light-bodied refreshing ale.”

Bretthead IPA with Brettanomyces
“We brewed our popular Conehead IPA with a wild twist. Single-hopped with Citra and fermented with Brettanomyces wild yeast, this beer stands at the crossroads of hoppy and funky.”

Posted on

Midwestern Brewery # 3 – Pulpit Rock Brewing Company


Last April stop is in Iowa and Pulpit Rock Brewing founded by four alumni from Luther College who have converted an old dairy facility into a brewery.

Here is what I would choose from their rotating tap list:

Heavy Lifter Lager – “Classic pale, golden lager. Biscuity notes and an aromatic aroma.”

Decorah’s Sweetheart – “One part Vic Secret, two parts Citra, all parts Party Starter.”

Glass To Mouth IPA – “2/3 Citra, 1/3 Mosaic, 100% delicious! Grain-to-glass, glass-to-mouth.”

Clarion ESB – “Fancy-speak for “loud & clear,” this English-style pale ale is a delicious balance of malt & hops and pours a copper/amber hue.”

Colombian Pour-Over Porter – “This special Pour-Over variant is infused with beans that are initially picked as ripe purple cherries (Castillo) by farmers in the Jambalo region of Columbia.”

Posted on

Midwestern Brewery # 2 – Big Rip Brewing


The Big Rip Brewing Company is a growing 4bbl brewery that opened in May 2013 in North Kansas City. They have an eclectic list of beers which made choosing hard to do but after deliberation, here is what I would put into an initial taster tray…

Satine Raspberry Gluten Free
Zelda’s Vanilla Cream Ale
Franklin Road Coffee Porter
T.H.I.C. Amber Ale
Delta 88 IPA

That covers a wide gamut of styles I think.