Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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1st Visit – State Brewing


Only a few days into the new year and I have notched another brewery to my tally. I hadn’t expected to visit so early, but a window of time opened and without hesitation I drove down to Gardena to visit State Brewing.

The brewery seems to be in a residential section of town at first but it the area turns industrial as I see the roll-up door that opens up to the space. First thing I see are the rows of empty crowlers behind the bar waiting for to-go orders. There is a nice amount of seating and a TV menu board between two sports tuned TV’s. Said menu board is in a bad place in relation to the bar, forcing the person to swivel to the left and backward to see what is on tap. They probably need to add paper menus at the bar (which they might have, I didn’t see them though)

State is playing both sides and the fence with their beers as they do West Coast, Hazy and hybrid IPA’s as well as pils and many stouts.

Here are my notes on what I sampled:
Baby Merman– Hoppy Pils
Mosaic and Saaz – lemony and malt mix, a bit thin

Super Smoove Move– NE IPA
Fuzzy on the roof of the mouth pineapple. Quite bitter. Unbalanced

New Toy– Project Vanilla with mint and cocoa nibs
Very vanilla, followed by a lot of mint. Like leaves.

Project Nicaragua– RIS with coffee
Very bitter burnt beans. Silky texture. Not super balanced either.

Elbows Off– Table Saison
Very thin. Has the Belgian character though. Little bit of clove

Nice Chucks– NE IPA
Best of the bunch. Very fruity with minimal bitterness.

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Random Brewery Tour # 3 – Able Seedhouse + Brewery


Our final stop for 2017 is in Minnesota and true to their name, Able Seedhouse and Brewery does both grain and beer. Two very different disciplines to master.

Here are the beers that I would give a whirl (focusing on the malt)….

PROPERS PUB ALE – “Back to the land of pubs properly pouring smooth, toasty, caramel-noted ales.”

HOUSE RED – “Building a beer is not unlike building a house. It needs a solid foundation. It has to feel familiar and updated. And you have to be able to return to it each day without hating the color, or the broken garage door. Our House is built on a sturdy foundation of berry-hinted hops, as well as biscuit and caramel malts. It takes those familiar American Red Ales and updates them with a hopped finish.”

BLK WLF STOUT – “Black wolves were once thought to be their own unique species. Then a smart person declared them variants of red wolves. Until an even smarter person determined they’re actually a gray wolf. Our very own BLK WLF perpetuates the confusion. Dry like an Irish stout. Hoppy like an American stout. Nutty like an oatmeal stout. Creamy like a milk stout.”

FOUR CORDS OLD ALE – “It takes roughly four cords of wood to heat a Minnesota home for the winter, if you’re a Renaissance man bucking the modern heating system. But it’s gonna take more than that to heat yourself. You’re gonna need a hearty, bready, slightly fruity, totally malty 7.9% Old Ale to warm your northern soul.”

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Random Brewery Tour # 2 – BrewLab


Carpinteria, California is our second stop in this holiday season as we visit BrewLab.

This brewery puts the nano into nano-brewery using only a 1.5bbl brewhouse. And they put the rotating into action, as they brewed over one hundred beers in their first year of operation. They are also deep into how they source their ingredients using almost entirely organic grains and are growing Santa Barbara terroir hops.

Here are some recent taproom offerings that looked good to me…

Alliance – “crisp & dry saison infused w/ lime zest & cracked peppercorns”

Californica – “50/50 rye/pilsner tart gruit brewed w/ coastal sagebrush & lemon verbena”

Rye Brett Rye – “super funky rye farmhouse ale w/ brett”

Look Up – “dry & complex table saison”

Hessian Horseman – “German-style pilsner w/ German hops, malts, & yeast”

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Random Brewery Tour # 1 – Lord Hobo


The first “random” brewery tour for December is one that might be sending some of their NE IPA our way. Saw a job posting for a sales manager for Lord Hobo on the West Coast.

Massachusetts brewed for both “Lords and Hobo’s alike, we all deserve to drink like royalty.” Here are the four cans that I would drink from a regal chair or couch.

Steal This Can IPA
“This West-Coast inspired IPA features 4 notable hop varieties to produce poignant citrus notes with pine and hop bitterness. A malt bill that includes Pilsner malts and American Red Wheat gives this IPA a healthy mouth feel.”

Consolation Prize Double IPA
“A full-bodied Double IPA that glows a magnificent hazy orange. Heavily dry-hopped with Jarrylo, Azacca & Mosaic resulting in big notes of pineapple, mango, honeydew with a notable Pilsner malt backbone. Dangerously drinkable and surprisingly mellow.”

Glorious Galaxy Pale Ale
“This beautifully smooth New England-Style Pale Ale pours a hazy, straw color. A double-dose of sought-after Galaxy hops delivers a silky peach-grape aroma, tropical fruit flavors, and an elegant mouth feel.”

Hobo Life Session IPA
“Hobo Life Session IPA is heavily dry-hopped with Citra and rests on 20% flaked oats. Refreshing and bright with notes of lime and grapefruit zest to entertain the palate, Hobo Life is a go-to for any session.”

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GABF Winning Brewery # 2 – Benchtop Brewing


Our 2nd GABF winning stop is in Norfolk, Virginia and Benchtop Brewing. They won in the Gose category (Leipzig-Style or Contemporary) for their Mermaid’s Scorn. But they have even weirder beers that I would put into my first taster tray….

Sage Conclusion – Butternut Squash Saison w/ Sage
“This is our take on a fall saison. We first soured this one in the kettle a little for a nice tartness. We then used our typical saison malt bill with plenty of wheat and oats for body. We topped this one off with 300 lbs of butternut squash and some fresh sage. The herbal notes from the sage play nicely with th saison yeast. This beer displays many layers of flavors. You start out with some tartness and then move on to a subtle sweetness from the squash and then finally you finish off with a nice grainy flavor and dryness while maintaining a rich mouthfeel.”

Quick Pickle – Carrot Cucumber Gose
“We have taken the idea of a veggie beer to another level with Quick Pickle. It is named after the culinary technique of rapidly pickling veggies in a sour/salty/sweet solution. This is very similar to what is happening in our fermenter. It has amazing color from the addition of North Carolina carrots and a cool, fresh aroma provided by Virginia Beach cucumbers from Cullipher Farms. The tartness of this beer is complimented beautifully by the a subtle sweetness from the carrots and a gentle salinity from some sea salt. This beer also have some subtle guava notes from the a small late addition of El Dorado hops.”

Elegant Ego — Citra Basil Saison
“An exercise in collaboration, this beer was brewed with our friends and neighbors down the street at Smartmouth Brewing. A mash-up of our saison Elegant Titration and their flagship Alter Ego, this beer hits you right away with a fresh herbal aroma from the addition of fresh basil grown at Smart Basil in Suffolk. We also blended our house strains for this for a nice mix of peppery phenolics and fruity esters. This beer has a nice dry finish and is supported by a hefty dose of oats to smooth it out.”

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GABF Winning Brewery # 1 – Spellbound Brewing

Our first GABF Gold stop is in New Jersey and their new democratic governor.

The beer that won was a Porter Aged on Palo Santo Wood. and the brewery is Spellbound Brewing based in Mount Holly.

Here are the beers that I would try if I found myself in their taproom…..

Peach IPA
“Light in color and body, refreshing hoppy citrus notes intertwine with the peach. The peach rounds the edges of the hop.”

Pale Ale
“Light in color and body. A classic American pale ale dry hopped with Citra hops to give it a bright citrusy aroma and flavor. Low in ABV, high in flavor.”

Belgian Tripel Cherry
“Dark golden in color. We add sour cherries to the fermentation on our tripel. Aromas of cherry and fruity esters from the yeast. Finishes with a hint of honey sweetness and lingering cherry.”

Vices Coffee Porter
“VICES – Coffee Porter is our porter aged on Small World Coffee Crispy Hippie Coffee beans. The result is a huge coffee aroma with notes of roasty malt and chocolate.”

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Bay Area (San Jose) Brewery # 2 – Camino Brewing


http://caminobrewing.com/beer/
Our second stop is in San Jose where Camino Brewing celebrates beer and the journey of life that was crystallized during cycling the Sanitago de Compostela in Spain.

My taster tray would include the following:
Bosque De Milagros Juniper Saison
Café Con Leche Milk Stout
Cierzo India Pale Lager
James Star Imperial Rye IPA
Northeast By West American IPA
Nuberu American Pale Ale

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Bay Area (Oakland) Brewery # 1 – Temescal Brewing


The “High End” seems to think that their breweries can be grafted to any community. Maybe they are right. But they are getting rightfully pushed back on in cities like Oakland. Where the soil may not be fertile to former independent beer.

One brewery leading that charge is Temescal Brewing and that is who I feature today with my choices for an initial taster flight…

Dreamer Pils
On Holiday English Mild
Through The Fog Scotch Ale
Take The Hops House Saison with Tettnanger Hops
Love is Love IPA
Staycation IPA