Brewery Tour – Page 47 – Beer Search Party

February 7, 2016August 30, 2018

Brouwerij West is (finally) almost here

In what seems like eons ago, I along with other members of the media, toured the empty warehouse space that would be the home of Brouwerij West in San Pedro.

It is a really huge spot with endless possibilities but news out of the brewery was scarce. But now it appears that it will arrive this month on the 27th! With a tentative beer list: “new versions of our classic beers like Saison, Tripel, Mør Mør (quad), My First Rodeo (100% Brettanomyces saison) and Dog Ate My Homework (blackberry saison), we’ll be introducing a handful of new beers, like a hoppy bitter blond; a traditional Wit with sour oranges.”

Check out what Farley Elliot has to say about the upcoming opening right HERE.
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January 31, 2016August 30, 2018

All About Beer Brewery # 3 – Black Mesa Brewing

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Our third stop for January is Oklahoma City and Black Mesa Brewing. In a refreshing twist they seem tilted towards ESB’s and coffee beers. Nary a hoppy driven beer. Here is what I would want to try when visiting the Mesa….

“Endless Skyway Bitter finds inspiration in the English style but derives its grapefruit bitterness from West Coast hops. Like the finest English examples, the bitterness is assertive but balanced with a nutty maltiness. “Endless Skyway” is a nod to Oklahoma’s favorite son, Woody Guthrie.”

“A refreshing and lively Kolsch anchored by a hearty malt backbone. Kept crisp by the gentle bitterness and subtle spice of Saaz hops. The snappy carbonation releases an aroma of grainy sweetness punctuated by lightly floral hops.”

“Los Naranjos is our 3rd and current collaboration with Oklahoma City’s beloved Elemental Coffee Roasters. The stout is brewed with de-bittered black malts that do not compete with the Columbian Naranjos coffee bean known for its silky body, big tangerine acidity, and cocoa finish.”

(I love that the first coffee beer collab was named Red Badger)

“The trajectory of our Endless Skyway Bitter recipe lands here. We doubled it, then allowed the Double ESB rest in cognac barrels for 7 months. The unfolding layers of oak and vanilla take an already decadent beer and make it Extra Special.”

January 24, 2016August 30, 2018

First Visit – Lucky Luke Brewing

Within shouting distance or a Peyton Manning football toss from Transplants Brewing is Lucky Luke Brewing. Whereas Transplants was about the graffiti art and creature on the wall with video games, LL is all wood and piping with an outdoor seating area.

The beers all have old-timey names like The Esquire or the Mortician. I settled in with a pale ale to gauge the middle of the beer list, The Cartographer was fine. It was certainly in the pale ale category. Probably the pale ale category from a few years back before session IPA’s usurped the category. It was nice and golden in color with a bit of a muted aroma to it.

If they had crowlers or to go I would have liked to try their Tart Saison and their Oatmeal Stout to see how the other styles fare and see where their brewing strength lay.

January 24, 2016August 30, 2018

First Visit – Transplants Brewing

Grand Opening Day for Transplants Brewing finally arrived and here are my thoughts on the beers and atmosphere of our northerly brewing neighbor.

There were an impressive twelve beers on tap and an impressive amount of city officials with commendations too. The space is large and dominated by a cold box and bar in the center. Brewing operations take up the back corner and there is plenty of seating, including a couple of comfy couches to chill out on.

I started with a taster try of the lighter and hoppier. Palmdale Poppies is a nice light house beer. Cumber Some is filled with cucumber aroma and even more in the flavor. And it is apparently popular as a mix for beer cocktails already. Cream Cycle might be a skosh sweet but the beer has a nice cream texture and the orange and hops balance in the end. The SumNug IPA is as good as many other IPA’s from breweries too.

The second taster tray was the dark side. With a Filbert Brown that was big on chocolate but a little too thin for me. The Private Line Coconut had thankfully a restrained coconut taste but I have come to the conclusion that me and coconut and beer are not a good trio. The Bayou Black coffee beer was well executed and my favorite of the group which was rounded out by Maxmas a barleywine that was much more in the English tradition. Big and sweet and redolent of toffee.

Out of the gate the beers are well rounded and considering the use of so many additional items like nuts and vegetables are surprisingly not gacky. (Technical beer term for too much going on in a beer.) There is room to grow in the dark beers and the IPA’s could use a little market distinction but this is a good starting point to grow from.

January 20, 2016August 30, 2018

All About Beer Brewery # 2 – Saltwater Brewing

For the second brewery taster tour for January, we head to Florida to “Explore the Depths of Beer” with Saltwater Brewery. And that is not just a catchy logo for this Delray Beach based brewery. They want to make sure that the salt water around them (aka the Atlantic Ocean) is A-OK. They donate to a few ocean charities like Surfrider and the Ocean Foundation.

On to the beers that I would sample first…..

Triple Berry Granola Spiny Tail – sounds like an interesting experiment. Will it taste of granola?
Sea Cow Milk Stout – Always love to try this style and I would love to try the Salted Porter version too.
Twisted Streams Saison – a collaboration with Sailfish Brewing Co. to see how they brew with others
Screamin’ Reels IPA –partially for the name and partially to see their interpretation of this style.
Bone-a-Fied Blonde – been tasting some complex blonde ales of late, how would this stack up.

Though I wish they had a beer called Taffy. Just makes sense to me

January 10, 2016August 30, 2018

All About Beer Brewery # 1 – Smartmouth Brewing

As I was paging through a recent All About Beer magazine, I had the thought that for the months of January and February, I would cherry pick breweries to feature from the pages.

This month will be American breweries and next month, English and we start in Virginia with Smartmouth Brewing Company.
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Founded by Porter Hardy IV this brewery cans their beers in distinctive and wordy labels and these are the beers I would add to my initial taster tray….

RULE G IPA – “Rule G is the railroad industry’s policy against drinking on the job. With tracks running right into the brewery, we spite Rule G daily. Outrageously dry-hopped, this beer has a big hop nose and a dry clean finish that accentuates its citrus and grapefruit undertones. It is a bold beer that can stand up to bold flavors.”

NOTCH 9 DOUBLE IPA – “Notch 9 gets its unusual name from the 8 notch positions on a locomotive’s throttle, with each one delivering progressively more power. Notch 9 ratchets it even higher. It is a double IPA with a citrusy aroma from a crazy amount of dry hops. As it flows over your palate, you’ll sense grapefruit and pine. It washes down with a dry crisp finish. Incredibly smooth and straw in color, it delivers the goods on strength.”

ALTER EGO SAISON – “This brew is a shout-out to the alter ego in each of us, beckoning it out of dormancy. Porter Hardy, IV, brewery president, left his career as an attorney to heed the call of his weekend passion, making beer. Along with some friends who were just as consumed by beer, he established Smartmouth Brewing Company in 2012. Alter Ego, brewed in the farmhouse style of a Belgian Saison, is an effervescent and refreshing beer with fruity notes, a hint of pepper and a dry finish.”

MURPHY’S LAW AMERICAN AMBER – “Murphy’s Law Amber Ale acknowledges the relentless and unexpected obstacles that challenged us at every stage of starting Smartmouth Brewing Co. Incidentally, Murphy is also the name of Porter’s pet boxer. This amber is balanced: the malty essence that comes through with a subtle roastiness is countered just so by hops that keep it smooth.”

COWCATCHER MILK STOUT – “Named after the device on a locomotive that clears the way, Cowcatcher always runs smooth. This milk stout is as black as night with a thick tan head. One whiff and you’ll notice the aromas of rich cocoa and dark-roasted coffee beans. Swish it around your palate to savor its full-body and smooth mouthfeel. It boasts a warm pumpernickel-bready flavor and finishes with a touch of bittersweet chocolate.”

January 8, 2016August 30, 2018

First Look – Iron Triangle

Usually breweries in Los Angeles have a built in happy to visit vibe. I may have higher expectations and knowledge of some more than others but generally as I walk in the door it is easy for me to set that bias aside and just taste the beers.

That was harder for my first trip to Iron Triangle on Industrial Street. The owner had been a little too “forward” with his advances and has caused some negative attention to flow before the taps were even opened.

As I entered the unmarked space just down the street from the famed Little Bear, I saw a hulking dark brown wood bar to the right and a set of gleaming brewing equipment in front of me. Others from the beer media crowd were already there so I quickly perused the list…

…I sampled the first five on the list and across the board they were all well done. Not a lot of bells and whistles, just straight up solid ales. My particular favorites were the barleywine which had a more toffee forward flavor and would pair well with dessert, the pale ale which I found to have a pleasing grapefruit character and the plainly named Iron Triangle Ale which is the lightest of the bunch but had a nice sparkle to it. The dark lager got a share of kudos from those in attendance too.

Nathan Pacetti the guiding force of the brewery was in appreciative form and took time to talk to most everyone in attendance and I got to speak with former Maui Brewing brewer, Darren Moser who seemed glad to be working with brewing boots on the ground.

Right now, they are only occupying part of the eventual full footprint. But they have built in room to grow next door. They open in mid-January.

December 30, 2015August 30, 2018

Holiday Brewery Tour – Figs # 3

To end our month of fig related beers. What with the recently completed holiday that has a song about figgy pudding, which I don’t think has figs in it,* we head out to a daring brewing first then one with a Steadman-esque approach to beer…

Shorts Brewing – Fig Lebowski

“Fig Lebowski is a big bodied Winter Warmer brewed with figs, honey, cinnamon, and orange zest. With a coffee color and a creamy tan lace, sweet scents of plum and molasses rise from this alluring ale. As rich as a liqueur, flavors of dark brown sugar, honey and figs leave a layering of sweetness across the palate with a hint of spice.”

Flying Dog – Fig & Fennel

“Malt beverage brewed with figs, fennel and natural flavors. Pairs with oatmeal raisin cookies. Creamy licorice and brown fruit are in perfect harmony with oats, raisins and cinnamon. No pudding required.”

*According to Wikipedia, figs are one way to make a traditional Figgy Pudding.

December 20, 2015August 30, 2018

Holiday Brewery Tour – Figs # 2

Each month, I focus a spotlight on breweries from a city, region, country but this month, I am throwing a change-up. There are quite a few big, burly beers that are described as having a fig like flavor to them. But oddly enough not a large amount of beers actually have Figs in them.

We head to Texas and Jester King for the next fig taster, Figlet.
“Figlet was brewed in early July of 2014 with Hill Country well water, barley, oats, and hops. It then underwent a long-term fermentation over the course of four months, first in stainless steel and then in bottles, kegs, and casks. As is the case with all our beer, the aromas and flavors are largely created by giving a diverse array of microorganisms, many of which are native to our land in the Texas Hill Country, the ample time they need to work with each other (or against each other!) to create unique characteristics inexorably tied to our land. During the last few weeks of the stainless steel portion of the fermentation, the smoked figs were added to the beer and allowed to referment. During this process, the sugars in the figs were broken down by yeast and bacteria. Through refermentation, the aromas and flavors of the smoked figs were transformed, integrated, and elevated in a way that we believe is greater than the sum of their parts. Figlet is 6.2% alcohol by volume.”

Then on to Orpheus Brewing in Atlanta for Sykophantes, a fig sour.

“In ancient Greece, “showing the fig” was a vulgar hand gesture, and Sykophantes means “one who shows the fig”. Earthy and full of dark fruit flavor from hundreds of pounds of figs and dark candy syrup, but with a sourness that cuts the gentle sweetness, Sykophantes is our fall beer.”

December 10, 2015August 30, 2018

Holiday Brewery Tour – Figs # 1

Now I am not a fan. Wouldn’t eat a raw or cooked fig or know if one is preferable to the other. But I would at least try a fig enhanced beer. So, this month, instead of the normal taster tray from one brewery, I will roll out (over three posts) a fig flavored taster tray from past and present.

We start, appropriately enough with Figueroa Mountain and their 4th Anniversary beer that is brewed in the style of an Abbey Quad. The base beer was then aged in oak barrels with figs. The finished beer will bear dark fruit aromas and caramel notes with yeast spiciness.

Beer # 2 is 2Xmas from New York’s Southern Tier. This version is a winter warmer with four varieties of malts plus orange peel, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger plus the figs giving it a spice cake or mulled wine flavor profile.

That’s the start of Fig-cember tasting tray.
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