Brewery Tour – Page 56 – Beer Search Party

April 20, 2014September 5, 2018

English Brewery # 2 – Five Points

Five-Points1

Our second stop is at Five Points Brewing Company. But not the historic neighborhood in NYC but in London. It is a small, neighborhood brewery in Hackney. Their flagship is a pale ale and their labels are simple but really effective. Very Kernel like and I like that a lot. But enough about labels. What beers would I put in my first taster tray?

OK. They have three mainstays and those are what I would get first. The pale which is a 4.4% session beer with Amarillo, Centennial and Citra hops then the Hook Island Red which is a rye beer and then finish up with the Railway Porter, a London classic.

Another plus they subscribe to the London Living Wage inititative. Good to see that.

April 10, 2014September 5, 2018

The Tap Room is Open….

…and Ohana Brewing has taps flowing.

With a caveat. You can only order tasters and you are limited to four of them. Even though they have six taps. Which puts smart decision making at a premium.

I had three tasters to test drive their system and they are ready for action. Again with a caveat, the bar space and the space on general is limited. It doesn’t take many people to fill up the space and the space to set your beer down.

As of now, it is geared more to filling your growler and going and it is less a social meeting place. And speaking of, they have plain growlers. Unlabeled 32oz and 64 sizes. Which should be fillable at other participating breweries.

In the future, once they have proven themselves to the city, you might find larger pours and even music (which is now verboten). It will be interesting to see what happens if/when that changes because the space may prevent long stays more than a city limit can.

Oh and the beer was it’s usual strong self. The coffee Black IPA was a nice jolt of caffeine and the Hollenbeck Amber is a smooth and easy ale to sip on. My favorite? The Saison Miel aka the honey saison. Strong and not overly sweet but you get the honey taste for sure.

April 10, 2014September 5, 2018

English Brewery #1 – Pressure Drop

Time to see what is going on in England in 2014. I wish we could get some of the more nano British beers but I guess that is what travel is for. So count this month as a quick hit of three breweries to watch for if you find yourself ‘cross the Pond as it were. And we start with Pressure Drop in London.

Pressure-Drop-Brew

What caught my eye first was the cool bottlecap logo and the tech term name. But digging just under a little and I saw this on their website, “three blokes in a railway arch doing lots of cleaning and trying to make the tastiest beers we can.” Simple. I like that.

Now usually I would pick a few beers that I would put in my taster tray but I would choose all of them from their list. So instead I am going to focus on the one beer that I think is the most English of the bunch. And it is the one with the coolest label too….

Street Porter – “A classic London beer style with a long and colourful history, Porter originated in the city around 300 years ago. While there are conflicting accounts of the exact origins of Porter, it’s clear the beer has been enjoyed by hard-working Londoners for centuries. We use traditional malts and Kentish hops in ours, and we’ve also brewed experimental versions with tea, coffee, oysters, chipotle, and New World hops.”

I love the idea of taking a classic style. Brewing that in traditional fashion and then doing experimental version offshooting from that. The tea version is making my mouth water right now. Now if I was in a Picasso mood, I would try their Dunkelweiss, their version of a smokey wheat beer.

April 6, 2014September 5, 2018

Not Trappist but Benedictine

On the heels of the first Trappist brewery on U.S. soil comes another religious brewing experience, in Oregon this time.

The monks of Mount Angel Abbey and their Benedictine Brewery will be opening soon and will have their beer in bottles this year as well. To check their progress, check out their Facebook presence for the latest.

“Taste and Believe”, great tagline.

March 31, 2014September 5, 2018

Three Weavers Update

The Kickstarter campaign for Three Weavers ends on April 6th. And as you can see from the image above, they are over halfway but could use a push

Now if you are the type that has to “try before you buy” then head to Tony’s Darts Away on either the last day of March or the first day of April and you will catch a Three Weaver beer in tap.

Then you will certainly donate.

March 30, 2014September 5, 2018

Sin City Brewery # 3 – Big Dog’s Brewing

Our last stop in Las Vegas is BIG. Big Dog’s Brewing.

What started with one Draft House has become a multi-location enterprise from Rancho Road to Sahara and this is what I would choose for my initial sampler tray…..

38 Special – A blend of our Gold Medal winning brews… Holy Cow! Original Pale Ale and Red Hydrant Ale.

El Perro Diablo – A Belgian Strong Golden Ale with Raspberries

Rebel Ryesin – A Rye Ale clocking in at 5.5% ABV

Lake Mead Monster Double Red – which is coming soon

March 20, 2014September 5, 2018

Sin City Brewery # 2 – Tenaya Creek

tenaya-creek-brewing

Tenaya Creek Brewery has gone in a different direction than others in the industry. They started as a brewery and restaurant but once they grew they jettisoned the restaurant half to focus on beer and when you see the lovely brewhouse on their website you can see why.

Now on to what I would put in my taster tray if I found myself bellied up to the bar….

God of Thunder Baltic Porter

“The God of Thunder requires but one sacrifice before granting access to its dark and malty depths. All thou needs to do is sacrifice one bottle cap into the rubbish bin. As the lager pours, clouds of darkness fold into the glass void, awakening a light-body and crisp finish. Thank you for your sacrifice.”

Gold Medal Pilsner

“Tenaya Creek Pilsner (draft only) year round. Golden lager, perfectly balanced malt and hop characteristics. Won the Gold Medal at the 2002 Great American Beer Festival for “European-Style Pilsner””

and the cheekily named

Haulin Oats Oatmeal Stout

“Hauling oats is hard work.

Donkeys are motivated by carrots. Here at Tenaya Creek we are motivated by beer. Especially when it has the subtle aroma of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

It is easy to forget about the long journey ahead when a dark ale with a golden tan head is in hand. So drop the reins, pry open the lid and enjoy the rounded, smooth pull. Take a breath and savor the notes of semi-sweet chocolate and hearty oats.”

(You can find some Tenaya Creek beers in LA if you look so try them out.)

March 16, 2014September 5, 2018

Verboten Brewing

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With a name like Verboten Brewing you would expect either:

A) Forbidden beers

B) German beers

And this Loveland, Colorado boutique brewery falls firmly into Camp Anti-Reinheitsgebot

Just check out these three beers that would be first in my taster tray…

Killer Boots – Caramel Porter

19 IBU’s. Our caramel porter is an English-style porter with a pleasing roastiness and chocolate notes. Our base porter recipe is infused with our housemade caramel at the end of boil and again at the end of fermentation.

6.0 % ABV

Angry Banjo – Kentucky Common

14 IBU’s. Inspired by the once popular indigenous style from Kentucky, this beer is made with American malts, flaked rice, and rye. Chocolate and Caramel malts give color and flavor to this clean, refreshing Dark Cream Ale

5.8 % ABV

What Hump? – Dark Sour Ale

19 IBU’s. Porter aged in an oak barrel and soured with Lactobacillus.

6.2 % ABV

March 14, 2014September 5, 2018

Absolution Brewing Company

Slowly but surely, I have been visiting the new breweries of SoCal. And now it is Absolution Brewing in the spotlight.

As per craft usual the brewery sits in a big warehous-y space. Nice wooden bar with a dark wood on top and the base made out of barrel staves. Big chalkboard cpvered walkin with large wooden tap handles but only four of the beers on tap when I visited. Lots of kegs sit in a row like soliders. Since their soft opening in the first weekend of March they have had big crowds which makes the pew sitting seem like a bad choice. It forces you to stand at the bar with your taster tray. And that is what I ordered….
Sinner Stout – Which is light with a good roast taste. Their porter has more ABV to it. Could use a little more backbone.
Possessed porter – a little on the root beer-ish tip to me. Too light to me. They use it as a base for other experiments but still needs more oomph.
Fallen Angel – This was a citrusy soapy creamsicle of a beer. Not much hop bite to it. More XPA than IPA to my palate
Cardinal Sin – Another so so offering. Not much to it. Not bad. But nothing jumps out at me.

I will have to visit when more of the line are unveiled to see if the others are better representations of the brewer and also to see how they grow. They are currently behind the other Torrance breweries and I would suggest them before Absolution. (for now)

March 10, 2014September 5, 2018

Sin City brewery # 1 – Banger Brewing

I don’t know what a Neonopolis is but I am pretty sure that is involves bright lights and slot machines. But now it also has craft beer courtesy of Banger Brewery.

A gang of 5 who worked at the Bellagio in food and beverage have teamed up to create this brewery that calls Fremont Street in Las Vegas home. With that background in a glitzy world of food behind them, they should have a leg up in running a brewery.

That said, there line-up seemed pretty safe. But hopefully they can straddle the tourist world of Las Vegas as well as creating a home for beer geeks like us.

Here is what I would first put in my taster tray…

SESSION (Blonde)– ABV 4.9%

Our most approachable ale. Base malt with a touch of crystal 10 and low IBUs makes this beer as approachable as they come. It’s a great intro into craft beer with a clean crisp finish.

DTB (Brown Ale)–ABV 6.0%

Our brown ale is a malty beer complimented with crystal 120 and a touch of chocolate malt and black patent to give it a toasted aroma with a crisp clean finish and subtle sweetness.