Category: Beer Reviews

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Featured Review – Down to Earth from 21st Amendment

Session IPA’s are all the rage and at first it was easy to stand out but now that more players are in the low ABV IPA game, it makes it harder for the latecomers one of which is Down to Earth from 21st Amendment.

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Despite my aversion to the grinning monkey on the can, here is my review of Down to Earth.

The initial aroma is a bit on the wine grape side for me.  Like a white wine almost. There is a brief moment when you first sip that you think it might be too bitter for the style but then it drops off the proverbial cliff and lightens up considerably.  It is still really hoppy and the malt base has left the building.

The Session IPA pours a dark orange when I expect something of a lighter hue. This beer is strong out of the gate but then falters from there on out.  Some bitterness lingers for awhile after each sip.  It doesn’t quite grow on me though.  The lack of malt backbone really hinders this beer.

 

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Kolsch-Off

It is time to pit one canned Kolsch vs another.

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Who will win when Maui Brewing Kihei Kolsch takes on Flat Tail Tailgater of Corvallis, Oregon.  Both new to L.A. shelves.

Design – hands down win for Maui with the striking Germanic colors over a rendering of their Kihei taproom.  Tailgater has the Orange State of Oregon but little else.

Color – slight edge to Maui.  A little more eye candy lacing than the Flat Tail.

Aroma – Tailgater smells more traditional.  A little too much spice in the Kihei. Edge to Corvallis.

Taste  – Kihei is bright with orange notes and spice character much like an orange pekoe tea. Tailgater is crisp and clean with with just the right touch of viscosity and citrus notes.

Verdict – if you are looking for a clean and crisp Kolsch without bells and whistles than Flat Tail is the choice.  If you are looking for a Kolsch evocative of the islands than the Maui Brewing can is for you.

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Featured Review – Hell or High Watermelon from21st Amendment

Now this is a divisive beer. Some think it is too sweet and others (like me) could drink it by the gallon. I first encountered this beer, long, long ago at the Oregon Brewers Festival and was smitten.

But now that it is newly arrived in LA, it is time to re-evaluate the Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment.

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The wheat ale pours a medium dark yellow out of the can.  There is an immediated whiff of watermelon.  Not the fakey Jolly Rancher kind (though some people feel it is).  To me, it is more watermelon juice.  Divorced from the normal sensation of how we normally eat watermelon.  So it throws people’s tastebuds off.  But for me the balance is spot on.

It is very refreshing.  The watermelon flavor is there and strong but nor cloying and overpowering.  A true summer in LA type of beer.

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Featured Review – Lost Meridian Wit from Base Camp

Our last featured review is a wit by the name of Lost Meridian from Base Camp Brewing of Portland.

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This found Wit pours a pleasing hazy orange color. You never know with witbiers, where the brewer wants to take it. Floral, perfumey could be an option or more citrus notes.

Lost Meridian has both. Layered with creamsicle orange and tea-like tannin notes there is also a potpourri touch as well, especially in the aroma. It is dry and bitter as each sip finishes. You could probably also characterize it as being redolent of orange jell-o. But that finish keeps that from getting too out of hand.

Neither flavor knock my socks off though and I would like an edge of spice to round out this beer.

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Review – Grandpa Tractor from Barley Forge

You have to look for and grab any lagers that aren’t hopped or imperialized. And if you want to dig deeper to Vienna or Dortmunder Export, you have to search further.

Thankfully the refurbished beer aisle at my local Whole Foods recently had two bottled offerings from Barley Forge in Costa Mesa. One of which is the excellently named Grandpa Tractor, a Dortmunder “style” export lager.

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This beer is a bit too mineraly and salty to me but otherwise is close to the style mark in my mind. It has a nice hit of malty sweetness to it and drinks easy.  The initial aroma was a bit off-putting but it soon rounded into form. I would categorize this offering as better with food than without. It offers some compare and contrast flavors that would work in the pairing arena.

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Featured Review – Summer Wheat from Anchor

For our next canned beer we head back to Anchor Brewing and their Summer Wheat. Which pours a little darker than I expected it to. More orange than the yellow that I was looking for.

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The taste is also a bit heavier than my palate was ready for afte a day of work crunching numbers. There is a lime and bread mixture to the aroma which is more in line with my wheat beer definition. That lime note is the main push of this beer, flavor-wise as well. Like a laser of citrus that flares and dies.

It is not bad but it is more abrupt than I would like and doesn’t have some of the refreshing qualities of other lighter beers.

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Review – Ride On IPA from Golden Road

Another IPA from the blue building at Golden Road is in cans now, Ride On IPA at 6.4% ABV is supposed to have notes of melon and pine and be perfect for skateboarding. Will I find that, or something else?

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Ride On pours a light yellow with a rocky head of foam.  The aroma hits me as honeydew melon and spice.  So, yeah. The description matches my tastebuds.  Additionally there is a hit of grapefruit juice that is almost rubbing alcohol-esque.  But that rises and fades pretty quickly.  This IPA seems a little more viscous than biting on the tongue.  Which is not what I was expecting at all.  It is certainly an IPA that is less like most of the market for sure.  I would label it as a change of pace IPA.

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Featured Review – Ultra Gnar Gnar from Base Camp

We turn to Base Camp for beer # 2 in the featured reviews for May. As opposed to many recent hop beers from Session IPA to Imperial have been a lighter shade but Ultra Gnar Gnar pours a near red color with tints of orange to it.  Plus for a beer of only 6.7% abv, it has some nice Rorschach lacing on the glass.

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The smell is close to apple tree.  There is a cider-y undercurrent to this IPA along with a perceptible orange spice tea note.  Getting some tannin notes in the flavor along with dried orange peel as well.  The bitterness is fairly strong without being oppressive.  As it warms up, I get more iced tea on the tongue as well as some grain to toast malt.

It certainly has multiple flavors going on but I wish it had a bit more orange juice to it to balance out the bitterness.

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Featured Review – Flying Cloud Stout from Anchor

I am splitting the featured beer reviews in two.  Anchor and Base Camp will alternate through May.  And we start on the Flying Cloud from Anchor Brewing.

There is a gorgeous dark brown head on this beer. One of the darkest I have seen. It fades away all too quickly and the glass is filled with an inky black export offering.

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The taste is very full and thick. Bitterness. Coffee dreg bitterness is first to announce itself followed by a slight hint of milk chocolate. I can’t believe no coffee was added to this beer because it has the hallmarks of a coffee porter. There is also a bit of burnt notes in the mix as well.

This would be a morning beer substitute to go with eggs and bacon and a hearty breakfast.

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Featured Review – Third Coast Ale from Bell’s

The final beer in our featured brewery for the month is Third Coast Ale from Bell’s Brewery in Michigan. And it is the most disappointing of the trio.

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When cold this old ale has pungent notes of strawberry jam on the tongue and if you attempt to avoid that sweetness, the warm beer is kind of metallic and off-tasting with a load of heavy bitterness to it.  I have had this both on tap and in bottles to make sure that it wasn’t just a bad batch but it is nothing if not consistent.  Stick with Smitten or the Northwestern Pale or go-to the go-to of Two Hearted.