Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
There is not a lot of things that CCBA could stand for (that makes sense) but Kern River Brewing has found the right combo of words to honor both the California Craft Brewers Association AND give a shout out to hang tough because California Can Beat Anything.
The latest Luponic Distortion from Firestone Walker is a Pacific Northwest three hop, one New Zealand and two German endeavor the trio includes “two with a softer, juicier character, and one with a more edgy citrus quality.” The German side features hops “that are among (Brewmaster) Brynildson’s favorite discoveries from his forays to a variety of family hop farms in Hallertau”. The final hop is, ironically, a mixture of American and German heritage.
Combined they form dragonfruit, pear and peach.
I skipped over one Ogopogo beer because I was not a fan of the label but I am back with a cool Halloween but in mauve themed hazy DIPA. And it may drive you insane. Or so this Kikokiko myth goes.
Firestone Walker can do a wide variety of beers but even with that skill, there are some flavors that I do not associate with them. Pils, sure. IPA for sure. Sours and Wild Ales for damn sure. Barrel-aged of course but chocolate cherry stout? No doubt they will pull it off but I like that they are doing something off their Central Coast path. And canning it too.
It is good to be reminded that there is good out there as we trudge through these virus days, so this new can release from Kern River is welcome to see.
And you can then balance the bitter with the beauty.
Pairs well with uncertainty and best enjoyed six feet apart is the tag line for the latest hazy from Smog City, Strange Times. Combining Cryo Amarillo, Ekuanot and Citra hops, it is beer one of five with the remainder being, an IPA, Hazy DIPA, DIPA and lastly a TIPA.
Eagle Rock is dipping it’s toe into delivery and has two excellent options for you starting with the very real, Virtual Happy Hour. A “rye IPA features Mosaic and Dr. Rudi hops..”
2nd up is the intriguing Local Source which “is a Helles lager brewed with Local, Native Plants including Woolly Blue Curls, California Bay Laurel, and Black Sage from Theodore Payne’s Nursery.”
Considering the bit of rain that SoCal received, this new Boomtown beer is right on Time. Marine Layer Hazy IPA is a new can release with a hop hit comprised of 7% brewed with Motueka, Ekuanot & 007 Hops for bright flavors of Peach, Watermelon & Kiwi.
North Bank Brewers have combined to have you Look for the Helpers on the can and then hopefully widen that out to look for the helpers out there in the world. Mr. Rogers always comes through for inspiration.
I recently had Relapse IPA from Wayfinder that was named a cold IPA and now Fort Point has Cool, “Instead of scouring the world for the latest experimental hops, we got experimental with how we treated the yeast. Fermenting this IPA at a much cooler temperature than most sharpened the hop aroma while smoothing over the bitterness. The result is a crisp, clean IPA..”