If I could decorate a wall with Brouwerij West cans, I would. And here is the latest iteration of 8 1/2….
This is part of their Single Hop IPA Series and this seasonal is all Citra. The label stickering is the art of Matt mills with design by Varnish.
Featured Beer Review – Epoch Fresh Hop IPA from Groundbreaker
Our next out of Cali review is for Epoch Fresh Hop IPA from Groundbreaker Brewing.
Here is the description from their website, “We’re celebrating the era of the IPA with fresh Strata hops, a new hop variety from Oregon State University and Indie Hops. Tropical citrus layered with herbal dankness.”
This is grapefruit juice. And not that ruby red stuff. There is a smidge of pith in the aroma of this darkish orange gluten-free IPA but man does the full bitter grapefruit come out in the taste. There is an underlying fruit punch note as well. Don’t know if this stark flavor is due to the Strata hop. I could see making a radler with this to give a toned down version even though the ABV is not high. This could be a polarizing amount of citrus. Certainly none of the softness of hazy. Overall, I like it but maybe in 12oz cans more.
Firestone Day – 2 New IPAs
I previously posted on the Anniversary blend from Firestone Walker and now add this to the upcoming beers from the Paso Robles brewery…..
Make sure to drink these fresh.
Bottles on Cans
I am kind of surprised that this hasn’t been done before, adding a bottle image to a label for a can….
Jewbelation 22 Anniversary Ale from Shmaltz Brewing will be in 16oz cans this year which is probably a better size for this big beer.
A Pod of Mod
Los Angeles has been getting a bit of can-action from Washington State’s Fremont Brewing and the above is another to be on the possible lookout for due to one of the hops being used that I think will be talked about more in 2019. Strata hits some of the flavor points that are in demand including, “various tropical fruit notes, citrus notes and dank notes similar to that of cannabis.”
Yellow Cans of White
As much fun as 16oz of a DIPA can be, that size is better suited to lighter ABV beers, and as I have been a bit nostalgic for the flagships of yore, it is heartening to see that Allagash White will be packaged into cans. I will be re-visiting and maybe even re-reviewing once I find the new can on shelves.
Colorful Collaborative Cans
Not a huge fan of returning to the ’80s but I do like the idea of having a West-Coast forward, 22oz bomber forward brewery teaming with a haze forward, crowler brewery to learn new tricks. All in a VERY colorful way.
State Brewing and El Segundo Brewing are going all Vice and Versa on October 13th, here are the beer details:
“It’s two breweries, one hop profile and two different styles of IPA. State showed us the way of the Hazy, we showed State the way of the West Coast and we’re each doing simultaneous can releases.”
Check their websites and social media for music, shuttle and food details.
Brut Magic, Brut Science
The Brouwerij West label design team gets another five-star rating from me. Pairing up with artist BEGZ and the designers at Varnish, the Science Magic Brut IPA is sure to make Jim Gaffigan’s head spin. I bet there is someone out in beer land that has collected all the cans so far from BW. That would be quite the art exhibit.
Speculative
When I hear the name of Jolly Pumpkin, I think sours and collaborations with fantastic breweries. When I heard that they were canning, I wondered which type of sour they would be putting in that package format.
Apparently, the same IPA that everyone else puts into it. I am torn. Part of me doesn’t need to see another 16oz IPA but the other half, it says that the beers from the Pumpkin are really good, sot this will probably be too.
Hunt for It
Boomtown Brewery is taking advantage of being Arts District adjacent to adorn their latest DIPA release The Hunted with cool imagery. This time the artist is J. Collins and the beer is a hazy Double IPA. If you are a fan of Galaxy and Mosaic hops, then be ready on Saturday, September 22nd at 12:00PM for the sale. Four-packs are $18 and there will be food trucks, Hunted merch and music.