Category: Beer Reviews

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Review – Indio

From FEMSA – Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma (also brewers of Bohemia, Carta Blanca, Sol and Tecate) and owned by Heineken comes Indio.  It is described as “a Lager-type beer with an amber hue and a distinctive light caramel-malt taste.”

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I received a six-pack from the PR firm that is spreading the word to the LA (and maybe) other markets.  In my e-mail, I let them know that the LA scene was hopping and that the beer would need to earn a good review considering the great stuff that I am starting to see from our new breweries.

Well, Indio pours a very pretty amber color. Aroma is primarily sweetness and not much else. The first sip is mostly sweet but that fades into wateryness. As it warmed I got a bit of an apple taste as well. But any flavor that does appear tends to disappear as quickly. Indio is better than Corona or Sol or Tecate bu that is not much of a bar to hurdle.  It just doesn’t have much other than water going on.  I would prefer a strong pils from Lagunitas or Trumer to pair with Mexican food or a hot day for that matter.

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So kudos to the effort.  It doesn’t have that numbing corn pop taste that I get off of American Industrial water lagers but it could use a heartier grain bill and a dose of hops to create a better beer for me.

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Review – Speakeasy Betrayal

I first had this Speakeasy beer in 2011 before the Limited Series was re-branded and more beers were added to the portfolio with the likes of Butchertown Black. The beer is described as “Deceiving, double-crossing, and treacherous, Betrayal strikes a chord in the deepest shade of red. At first glance, she’s sweet and seductive, yet at the last sharp enough to curl your tongue. The allure of her dazzling caramel sweetness and scintillating aromatic hops is enchanting.”
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This beer does not betray it’s name. It pours a vivid red with a nice (nitro looking) head to it. The aroma comes at you with an Imperial IPA bite which does follow through in the taste. Big malt and big bitterness vie for supremacy which each sip. And it do warm the palate. This is a strong beer to compete with the biggest of Imperials or doubles or whatever they are being called these days.
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Back in 2011, I reviewed this beer with the following words, “Certainly big and boozy. I get more hops out of this than I expected. Also getting a touch of sweetness at the back. A slow sipper that you can dig and find many flavors in.”

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Review – Get Up Offa That Brown

The latest Golden Road beer to make it to the cans is Get Up Offa That Brown. They come in the the new-ish four packs with a window to see the really cool Sunset Strip can design.
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The crew at Golden Road describe it as a “…traditional English-style Brown, complete with chocolate-y malt notes and a smoky-sweet aroma has been a draft-only favorite since its introduction in early 2012.”

It does indeed pour a cola brown with a bit of a fizzy stream of bubbles. Right out of the ‘fridge the taste is muted but once it gets to room temperature the malt notes start adding up giving you a flavor profile that leans towards toast but touches on a sweetness and a skosh of chocolate before the carbonation takes it away so that you can enjoy the next sip. Like it Hefeweizen and Point the Way counterparts this is very light and quite sessionable.
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Maybe next, Golden Road will release a variety pack with one of each of their canned creations.

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Review – Liquid Breadfruit from Maui Brewing & Dogfish Head

Time to video review another beer and we head to Maui Brewing for their Liquid Breadfruit collaboration with Dogfish Head.

Here is part of the description from the brewery, “Dogfish Head superstar – Sam Calagione, will be our fearless collaborator! The result – a beer-epiphany never before innovated called Liquid Breadfruit!

To celebrate the cornucopia of a Maui-grown harvest, we will ingeniously combine local breadfruit (or ulu) & toasted papaya seeds into the recipe of an imperial golden ale fermented using Dogfish Head’s DNA ( Delaware-Native-Ale) yeast.”

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Review – Proximity from Blue Moon

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I saw Proximity made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes and the red wine version, Impulse in the Burbank Bevmo and I took a flyer. Thought, “Why not?”. Blue Moon is so much better than Coors.

Well, I will not be buying Impulse for one thing. Even though it got a slightly better bad rating than the Proximity did. Plus, the names are horrible. They don’t differentiate the grape varietal or beer. They add nothing.
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Which is, unfortunately, like the beer. It pours a light yellow with lots of tiny bubbles. No head at all here. Aroma is primarily grape juice or really young wine. The carbonation is good but then this white grape juice flavor takes over and does not let go. Not getting much beer here. Maybe a heartier style like a Tripel would have held its own against the sweet juice.
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This is in Bartles & Jaymes territory here. One could also call it an alcopop considering how grape juice forward it is. This has to be filed under failed experiment.

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Ohana Pint Night

City Tavern in Culver City has a great line-up of beer nights and Thursday’s Ohana Brewing night was epic.
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You see correctly, that is 9 big tasters of the full Ohana range (minus the sours, which I will talk about later). It looks even prettier with the glasses full.
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Of this group, my top three would be the Accomplice Belgian Style Golden which had a really soft edge to it and a lovely vanilla spice note at the end, followed by the Grateful Hophead which had a wonderful aroma and nice kick of bitterness and then in third place the Noir with Coffee. Third because the coffee taste was fabulous but ran roughshod over the IPA part of the bill.
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It is good to see that the Ohana taphandles are getting space. They are distinctive. You can’t miss that tiki vibe but also it means that all the hard work that Andrew and Chris have put in is paying off with great beer.
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I also got to sample three of their sour beers. Blueberry, wine grape and cherry. The wine grape offering was the least sour and the one with more toasted grain notes and I really liked it but the cherry had a tart hit to it plus had the aroma of a cherry pie out of the oven.

Thanks to Ohana and City Tavern for a grand introduction to Ohana’s full set of beers.

Editor’s note : the two better photos are from Rich Rosen

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Review – Heretic Gramarye

It is time for a quick review (minus the video).

Today we tackle a Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner, Heretic Brewing’s Gramarye
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First, here is the label copy, “Gramarye is the practice of learning magic. For thousands of years, people have used a grimoire (book of magic) to cast spells and summon spirits. Of course, magic fell out of favor over the centuries, the same as brewing with rye. Interest in magic seems to be on the upswing these days, and so is the interest in brewing with rye. A coincidence? This is our take on session pale ale made with a dose of rye malt to give it that luscious feel and snappy finish. We think it is magical.”
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It pours a pretty dark orange color with plenty of bubbly action going from the bottom of the glass up. The aroma is primarily rye to me. Usually with rye beers that is a flavor that is part of the whole package and not up front and center. Here it is right on the nose. Has quite a bit of carbonation in the flavor that is followed to the tongue by the rye which is almost bready at this point and then the bitterness which really lingers at the back. I am also getting some vanilla notes as well. All of this at 4.4% abv. No wonder it won gold.

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Video Review – Base Camp In-Tents IPL

The first review of 2013 in intense. It comes from Base Camp Brewing in Portland, Oregon and is an India Pale LAGER!

Here is the description from the website, “Our flagship India Pale Lager showcases a copper color that gives way to a crisp, clean lager beer perfectly balanced in its massive complexity. Dry-hopped and aged on an in-house toasted blend of white and red oaks. The IPL finishes clean and smooth, with hop aromas of wild flowers and pine, and a unique maltiness highlighted by the subtle oak character.”