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A concise brewery bio
Again, I am late to the game. Only took me 8 vodcasts to finally catch on with what Lost Abbey is up to. But now I know and hopefully you do to that if you head over to Vimeo you can find a plethora of craft beer videos like the one below…..
Vodcast #8 The Lost Abbey Propaganda from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.
On the last day of March, I visited the newly opened L.A. brewery by the name of Monkish that has opened in Torrance. (And I squeezed in a visit to Strand and their new tasting room too)
These photos are the teaser for the main article on Monkish that will arrive tomorrow over on FoodGPS.
Henry Nguyen with a flight of Monkish Belgian ales. Oblate, Crux and Rosa’s Hips.
The brewing operations and a saint too!
Recently the L.A Times ran an article about the expanding brewery scene east of me in the Inland Empire of California. I took that as my cue and for April, I will focus in on three breweries from that article. First up is the Packing House. You will recognize their origin story. Home brewer gets rave reviews of his beer. Encouraged to open a business. Finds partners and voila! Off and running.
Their year round annuals include…..
Heritage Citrus Pale Ale,Riley’s Irish Red, Sunburst Golden Ale, Blue Eyed Loon Blueberry Wheat, Cream Stout and Packinghouse IPA
Their seasonals include…..
Holiday Ale, Liberty Belgian, Wheeter Melon, Boysenberry Coffee Stout and ACB (Accidental Chick Beer)
Our final Irish stop had one of the most intriguing names on the Beoir website, Metalman
According to their blog, they didn’t get the hops that they had ordered so their flagship pale will be tweaked this time around but I still put i down as one to try just to see how the American hop gets used by Irish brewers. Their Summer and Fall seasonals sound tasty as well.
Metalman Pale Ale
“American style pale ale, dark gold in colour with a delicate white head. Citrus and floral aromas lead into hop flavours characterised by grapefruit and mandarin produced by American hops. A dry bitter finish makes this an eminently enjoyable and refreshing beer.”
Windjammer – Summer Seasonal
“A pale amber beer, hopped exclusively with lots of New Zealand varieties. An antipodean extravaganza, lightly carbonated with a soft bitterness from a combination of Southern Cross and Pacifica, leading into tropical fruit flavours of pineapple and mango, with the wonderful addition of grapes from Nelson Sauvin hops – a delightful spring beer!”
Alternator – Autumn Seasonal
“Hazy golden wheat beer with a punchy Belgian twist! Alternator is a light-to-medium bodied beer, lightly bittered, with a citrus finish from Cascade hops which is complemented by spicy flavours from coriander, pepper and a saison-style yeast.”
Winters, California has a new brewery (with tap room underway) in Berryessa Brewing.
Aside from the cool logo, there is litle on the official Berryessa websites about their brews that I could find in a quick search so, like I asked with Southern Pacific Brewing, if you have sampled their beers at Sacramento or San Francisco beer weeks, let me know your thoughts and give me recommendations.
Should I try Freshie, their pale ale or their Common Sense California common first?
I have posted about quite a few new breweries and it is only March! And here we go again, Latitude 33 opened on the 3rd! So this is really fresh beer.
The name comes from where they are located in North San Diego county and also the fact that they have a theme of adventure running through their branding which leads me to the beers and their names…
The Pasha’s Rye Brown sounds tasty (I love a good brown ale) and I love the name.
“Roasted malts and rich, spicy rye offset with a unique hop character. The Pasha’s is a unique brown ale worth fighting for.”
Now I really need to plan a San Diego beer adventure!
Camel Corps IPA heads toward the New Zealand hop route.
“Our signature India Pale Ale combines English roots with a little twist from New Zealand hops to create a delightfully unique San Diego-style IPA.”
Our second stop in Ireland courtesy of interwebs help at the Beoir site is at Messrs Maguire
But there are not going to be any stouts, Irish or otherwise for me, if I visit. I will be heading straight to two German styles.
No2: BOCK
“A classic of the style, winner of the Best Overall Beer Award at the Independent Irish Beer & Whiskey Festival 2009. This strong beer is easy drinking, with a mild malty aroma and a medium body. Reasonably sweet for a stronger beer, this finishes clean and crisp and leaves you wanting more.”
No3: HAUS LAGER
“A classic European pilsner-style lager, hopped with specially imported continental hops – Czech Saaz and Bavarian Hersbrucker – to impart a crisp, moderately bitter flavour. This beer has a dry, subtle maltiness with a nice floral aroma.”
Since it is March, it is time to head back to the Emerald Isle and e-tour some breweries from Ireland that I found while on THIS website. Our first destination is 8 Degrees
Beer # 1 that intrigued me is, “Like tackling the Knockmealdowns in a blizzard, this beer is not for wimps. This robust malt-driven ale balances dark malts with some old world bitter hops. It won’t weigh you down like a stout and offers a rich chocolaty aroma with a burst of espresso. Perfect for a cooler evening: year round in Ireland.”
Beer # 2 is their “first ever seasonal beer …. ‘A Winter’s Ale’, at 7.5% ABV it’s a real winter warmer. Made with Green Saffron mulling spices.”
I saw this on the fabulous Brookston Beer Bulletin site. Jay Brooks writes,“Currently there are seven Trappist monastery breweries authorized to use the “Authentic Trappist Product” label by the International Trappist Association. Six are in Belgium, one is in the Netherlands. It looks like an 8th monastery is applying for authorization to brew beer under the official designation. The monastery of Engelszell Stift has filed an application and expects to be notified of the ITAs decision in 4-5 weeks.
According to Trappist-Beers.com, the Engelszell Stift monastery was “founded in 1293 and needs financial input to recover the old paintings, fresco’s and paintings” and has decided to start a small brewery to raise the necessary funds. It is located a little over 120 miles from Munich in Austria. According to Wikipedia, it’s the only one in Austria and is located in the northwest part of the country known as the Innviertel.”
I wonder how the whole application process is for this designation? Are there check-ups from inspectors? A letter grade like restaurants in California? And most importantly will this open the floodgates to more?
Our last stop in our February tour of breweries that opened just last year is Kane Brewing.
This coastal New Jersey outfit brews up offerings like Head High IPA, Afterglow Rye Pale Ale and Driftline Oatmeal Brown. Focusing on American and Belgian influenced offerings. Slaking the thirst of Northern New Jersey!