Category: Beer Reviews

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Review – She’s The Brewer DIPA from Stone

Picked up a crowler of She’s the Brewer, the new Stone Brewing IPA since I both hadn’t had a crowler in a bit and because of the Pink Boots connection.

This is the 8th year of a Pink Boots hop blend and when I popped the tab, instantly pine scents sprung out. It is labeled a West Coast IPA but it is a DIPA for sure. Pine and tropical notes are the first to show but they yield the stage to a heavier alcohol and woodsy bitterness. There is still some tropical hanging around but it moves more towards papaya than the lighter, brighter fruits.

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The Beer Search Party reviews We Love LA beers – Part 3

There has been such a fantastic outpouring of support for Los Angeles by breweries far and wide in the wake of the devastating wildfires of this past January.

The charity program spearheaded by Common Space Brewery has garnered quite a bit of support from California and the rest of the Fractures States of America.

Here are my thoughts on the latest beers that I have had, let’s get going….

Stone Brewing – Pasadena has a proper orange juice looking hazy. Very lemony mixed with tangerine too. Hops scrape the tongue. 

Long Beach Beer Lab is a combo of dank meets citrus. Nice strong hit of bitterness. Flavors mute as it warms though.

Frogtown pours a darker amber color. Getting lime and malt. Earthy hop note. Almost a British IPA. 

Common Space the organizer of this endeavor went the hoppy lager route. More on the lager side than the hoppy. Little orange mixing with the malt. 

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Review – Funeral Bock from Wayfinder Beer

Wayfinder Beer makes appearances in Los Angeles on occasion and I do my best to sample their wares as I find their range to be exciting even with old school styles such as, say a bock bier.

This has the initial aroma of a vinous old ale. There is a small touch of sweet and a smaller touch of smoke and some milk chocolate tucked in as well. Many less intense flavors involved in making a bigger whole.

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The Beer Search Party Reviews Wildfire Relief Charity Beers

Taking a short break from the We Love L.A. banner of charity beers for the Eaton Canyon and Palisades fires to support three beers outside the main push.

Cerveceria del Pueblo and Arts District Brewing – Flowers for the Canyon

Glad to see an XPA beautiful bright yellow color.  Getting a Concord grape note in this.  Has a nice bite to it as well.

Paperback Brewing LA Strong IPA

Pours a dark yellow with loads of rising bubbles. Piney and dank. Tastes more like a DIPA. Lots of hops here. 

Los Angeles Ale Works ReBuild IPA

This is a prototypical West Coast IPA in 2025.  Leaning into the citrus realm while pouring a sharp yellow color

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Review – Double Riwaka Daydream from Other Half

We are lucky in Los Angeles to get a lot of good stuff dropped into distribution and one pretty pink can from Other Half Brewing caught my eye….

….Double Riwaka Daydream, which pours with some serious haziness going on and a tiny little layer of foam to top it off. The aroma is a mix of pine and fruit. The first taste is orange creamsicle. Lots of cream in this one. The oat cream is earning its keep. And lurking behind is that pine note and a quite sturdy backbone. A unique beer for sure.

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The Beer Search Party reviews We Love LA beers

There has been such a fantastic outpouring of support for Los Angeles by breweries far and wide in the wake of the devastating wildfires of this past January.

There are so many beers out and still coming out from the program spearheaded by Common Space Brewery that it is now time to tell you what beers I have sampled so far.

Here are the first three that I have had, let’s get going….

HopSaint Brewing – Blonde Ale – Light yellow. Malty touch of citrus. easy drinker

HPB – Hello LA DDHd with Nelson Sauvin. Quite a hop pellet kick with grapes following.

Ambitious Ales – hazy pale ale.  proper hazy this.  nice pillowy mouthfeel.  good sharp bitterness. 

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Review – MadeWest 9th Anniversary

Hazy IIPA conjures up a double digit ABV beer. For MadeWest Brewing, their 9th Anniversary beer is down the scale a skosh at 8%. More DIPA range to me.

Boy, oh boy, there is some pineapple flying off this in the aroma and in the first sips. You can taste the strength as well. A bit fluffy in the mouthfeel. Some other tropical notes come into play as you drink it.

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Review – Lucky Chicken Red IPA from Kizakura Sake Brewing

I will admit that a cute label occasionally overrides my normal beer buying thinking, it doesn’t hurt if the beer style is left of center too. Such was the case with the Lucky Chicken Red IPA from Lucky Brew aka Kizakura Sake Brewing.

This is from Kyoto, Japan and who knows how fresh this will be so take the following review with a grain of malt. It pours a real dark brown color with a worty malt smell that comes on hard. Sorta tastes old to me which doesn’t jibe with the aroma. Not locating much in the way of hops and in fact, this tastes more English than anything.

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Review – IPA from Rancho West Beer

There has alway been the smallest of slivers of organic brewers out there. It is not an easy road to take paperwork and sourcing wise and considering how the word organic has been pushed and pulled like salt water taffy, makes it even less desirable a road to take.

But Rancho West Beer has been testing the organic market for a bit now most notably at that high end smoothie emporium known as Erewhon, so I thought I would give their IPA a run.

The can says Malibu, CA but the beer is brewed south, in San Diego. Where exactly, Google and its AI would not divulge. The West Coast IPA pours a bright orange color and gives off a solid pine aroma. Decent amount of bitterness here but also an undercurrent of oily viscosity on the palate. A bit one note overall but if you are looking for organic options, this is not a bad choice.

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Review – Capital of Craft SD West Coast IPA

A bit late to the 2024 party but when I saw an October canned San Diego Brewers Guild IPA, I thought it would be a good opportunity to review a hoppy beer a couple months on and if anyone could do it, it would be six San Diego breweries.

You have Black Plague, Ketch Brewing, Blah Brewing, Hoponymous Brewing, Fall Brewing and Hodad’s Brewing involved this time.

The Beer pours a light orange color with a dried citrus aroma and a pineapple note. There is a nice creamsicle taste to this with a firm malt backing to it. Nice and light but not anywhere near watery.