Add this beautifully packaged beer to your treasure hunter list…
La Trappe for their Oak Aged Batch 51 has matured their Quadrupel for 18 months on very fancy Pineau des Charentes Rouge Cognac barrels. Sounds quite luxurious.
Batch 51
Poor
Here at BSP headquarters there sits an old-style (thankfully not rotary) phone. It is the red phone, because it is red, and when people have bad ideas, they should call us. Which they never do.
Bit of an intro to say that the Brew Brothers who have eponymous spots in North Hollywood and Burbank are headed to a third place on Ventura Boulevard near Vineland. The place is called…
It is a bit of a tired name to me. Once you finish groaning about the pun, Google it and you get bars all across the United States so you won’t be really standing out namewise. Plus it has a negative connotation.
Now that I have that out of my system, it is great to see that there will be another craft beer bar coming to town and subsequent posts show that they are putting in a lot of effort on the interior look.
Review – Gelson’s Summer Blonde Ale from El Segundo
Looks like there is a renaissance of branded beers much like in the olden days of craft beer. One of these is a new blonde ale on tap at Gelson’s fancy supermarkets that is brewed for them by El Segundo brewing.
Here is the brewery description, “made with 100% Tettnanger hops, contributing to its subtle floral and herbal spice notes. The malt profile, featuring Rahr 2-Row, Rahr Premium Pilsner, Flaked Corn, and Dextrin malt, creates a harmonious balance of doughy sweetness, white bread, cake batter, and honey.”
It is quite a light beer. I abhor the word crushable but this beer is one that will go down quick. It was served extra cold which both helps on a hot day but also dampens flavor. The malt is the lead act but even it is mild and the corn finish is what you will remember most.
It’s Handy
Handy Market has been a Burbank staple for years and with my love of going to non-chain grocery stores / grocery boutiques a miss on my part. But after seeing a few beer posts from the store, I decides to drive a town over and see what I had missed.
It is a tiny space in comparison to most grocery stores but the first positive point was the availability of single cans. I picked up a pils from Highland Park and a pastry sour (never had one of those) from Ogopogo. The next positive was the double endcaps of beer. This was where most of the bottled and barrel-aged resided. There was Bottle Logic but also a couple Belgians and de Garde as well. Third positive was the prices were pretty fair. $5.50 for a local beer is pretty good.
The one down is that it is only the small cold case in the corner. It was a limited selection though one last up, was that it seemed to be curated well.
The Haze Way
Some breweries tend to go with hazy and others go with juicy when they are labeling their non West Coast IPAs. Los Angeles Ale Works uses the latter and have a new one you should check or or more appropriately check in to, Hotel Hazeway Juicy DIPA with “hoppy notes of peach, passionfruit, white grape and red currant.”
Signed
During L.A. Beer Week, Lincoln Beer Co. held a Collective Brew party. Now the hazy pale ale dry hopped with New Zealand Cascade is signed, sealed and ready. You could call it a democratically brewed beer.
DC Universe
Institution Ale Co. has recently released their Pro-Am collaboration beer, done with the Toaked Brew Home Brew Club and it is….
I do like the color scheme and design of the label, just looks fun.
Cactus
Brouwerij West has come out with another creatively labeled IPA but this time not a hazy, “Cactus Eaters is our 6.8% ABV West Coast IPA brewed to celebrate the Pacific Crest Trail, hiking, and great summer trips. This beer features Alora, HS16660, and Mosaic. It’s super bright and clear with notes of peach, apricot, and lemon zest.”
Stubborn
I have been fortunate enough to have visited both Moksa in Sacramento and Living Haus in Portland and readers of this blog know my love of a cocktail so this beer piqued my taste buds…
𝖬oksa 𝖬ule – Sour ale w/ Lime & Fresh Ginger
“This third iteration of this collab, which follows our favorite Portland brewer as he’s moved around the city, is now a collab with Living Haus brewing in Portland. The recipe hasn’t changed much over the years, though. This beer’s always been about a clean base with bright, fresh lime juice, and an infusion of 25lbs of hand-diced fresh ginger for just a bit of an earthy kick. Mint garnish optional.”
A Reborn Serpent
Feathered Serpent Brewing started life in San Dimas but are now all set to re- start in La Puente on July 27th with a grand opening. Looks like a cool space from the outside and I will have to make visit to see the inside.
