Category: BEST

best beer for….

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Best Beers of October 2025

Alas no pumpkin beers broke into my top of the month ranking but don’t be bitter about that. Get bitter with the three hoppy beers that I did love.

Starting with the honorable mention of my first ever beer from South O Brewing in Oceanside, Grave’s House IPA which just had a burst of fresh energy from it. It is hard to break through with so, so many IPAs out there but this was zippy from first sip to last.

Second was a fresh hop from Threshhold Brewing in Portland. They had some unique fresh hop styles but the tried and true Electric Falls IPA really showcased the Strata hops.

First was a big, big TIPA from Humble Sea Brewing, their Nectaron Socks & Sandals. Quite soft and pillowy while also hiding a double digit abv.

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The Best Beers of September 2025

So I was in Portland Chasin’ Freshies all around town and at the Deschutes Brewing at the airport. And despite all the hops flying around, my choices are not too hopped.

Away Days Sheedy’s Irish Stout – a lovely PDX version of the classic stout. I was also partial to their fresh hop British Pale Ale.

Threshold Fresh Hops Electric Fields Strata IPA. – took the fresh crown with seven choices on tap from a fresh hop dark lager and fresh hop white ale but the ripe cantaloupe notes from the Strata was my favorite.

Rosenstadt Houblon Pilsner – one of three collaboration pilsners with local restaurants. Just had an extra kick to it but the Italian Pils was also great.

McMenamin’s Ruby Ale – might be a surprise but my Mom’s name is Ruby and I hadn’t had this in a long time. Great color and great raspberry taste.

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Best Beers of August 2025

Been a bit hot in Los Angeles this month. Photo above is not L.A. but fairly close. But I was still able to taste quite a few really good beers this month. So let’s talk about a few of my favorites from the month that was…

I have two IPA’s to talk of first before getting to my 1a and 1b winners for August. Brewyard Beer Co. and their Ube Wan IPA was just in balance for me. You got that sweetness factor from the Ube and just enough hop bite on the other side. Neither dominated and what you end up with is a near creamy IPA. Also from the alternative IPA camp was the Fruit Squad IPA from Long Beach Beer Lab. It was an aroma bomb of a variety of fruits and that followed into the flavor. Bright and zippy without leaving the hops behind.

At the top of the leaderboard are Homage and their Gelato Saison. Made with peaches and raspberries and bracingly tart, it is a sour ale that neatly mimics the flavor profile of a summer fruit gelato. The other co-favorite is the British Pub Ale from El Segundo Brewing. Simple and low abv but just full of malt flavors swirling around the russet amber colored beer. Good to see ESBC sneaking non hoppy beers onto their taplist.

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Best Beers of July 2025

We are in the teeth of the summer now and for cold weather folk like myself, it is a sticky and uncomfortable time but let’s distract from the rising thermometer by checking in on the best beers of the past 31 days…

And this month to shake things up, we have two competitors in two broad categories – hoppy and not hoppy.

In the not hoppy land, we have Cerveceria del Pueblo and their Gaviota Coffee Kolsch which I have had before but is tasting particularly well now vs. Highland Park and their Timbo Week Bortzbo Dark lager.

In the hop world, there is Cheeto & Puff brewery cat hazy IPA from Common Space Brewery and the big TIPA Integration from Replicant.

Bortzbo wins its bracket as it is a fine example of a dark lager with just the right balance of roast and lightness. Integration takes the hoppy side as it shows a fruit punch note that I was not expecting from a double digit ABV beer.

The grand winner is the Replicant. Anytime an IPA can be 10+% and not taste a whisper over 6% is an amazing trick and to add in a strong fruit note is just crazy.

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Best Beers of June 2025

For this month of pride, here are the beers that I drank that shined the brightest to me in June.

Two IPAs, both collaborations, are the runners up to a barrel-aged beer that was quite a surprise in the heat of a SoCal early summer.

The IPAs are Little Bay from Far Field Beer Co. and HopSaint Brewing and then a super big collab, Dankerman 3 from Tarantula Hill Brewing, Artifex Brewing, Burgeon Brewing and Craft Coast for this San Diego County inspired beer.

The winner is Brandy Barrel-Aged O.E. Barleywine from Smog City Brewing. When barrel-aged beers work for me, it is because that particular barrel takes the lead without dominating proceedings. And that is truly the case with this beer that is so brandy forward, in all the good ways. I also have the Bourbon version as well and am excited for that as well.

As an honorable mention, I would strongly suggest that you get a 4-pack of the Unity 2025 beer from ISM Brewing. It is a light and lovely IPA that doesn’t skimp on bitterness.

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Best Beers of May 2025

So, this is the All Ireland edition of Best Beers of the Month. This isn’t gonna be a small list so buckle your seat belt before take-off.

My first two picks are the two beers that I had at Treaty City Brewing in Limerick. The Danke Sean German-Style Pilsner and Edge their Rhubarb Sour.

I was surprised that I really liked the Guinness Hop House 13 as well as their Rock Shore Irish Lager to a lesser extent.

The taster tray at Dead Centre Brewing in Athlone went from didn’t finish to the really good Seeking Sunshine Pale Ale, a lovely soft hazy at 5%.

ABV is not high in the Emerald Isle but I did find some nice DIPAs including Galway Bay Brewery and their Of Foam and Fury – Riwaka DIPA. Another hoppy gem was Donegal’s Rustbucket Rye from Kinnegar Brewing which you will learn more about tomorrow.

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Best Beers of April 2025

This month coffee infused beers are ascendant. Starting with Long Beach based Trademark Brewing and their Morning Drive Coffee Cream Ale which I tasted at their new outpost in Torrance. This was followed up by Broken Timbers and their Dublin Dawn Oatmeal Coffee Stout, which had a real nice coffee meets whiskey but without going too far.

But my favorite of the month is a collaboration between Faction Brewing in they Bay Area and Riip Beer. It is Bergs of a Feather, a Hoppy Dark Lager. I complain about Black IPAs rarely striking the hop to dark balance, but this hit all the marks for me.

I also want to mention the Meet Me in the Woods cider from Benny Boy here in Los Angeles. It is pricey for sure, but I found a unique strawberry meets spruce combo to really work. But my drinking buddy, Rich sure thought it was too much tree for his liking.

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Best Beers of March 2025

I have had quite a few We Love L.A. beers this month, and will probably have more next month too so it seemed kinda inevitable that my favorite beer of the month might fall under that banner of worldwide beers.

But the one that sparkled the most to me was from Stone Brewing. They went the hazy IPA route and it was bursting with fruit flavor while also having a back and forth between soft mouthfeel and a bitter bite.

Also earning plaudits this month was the St. Patrick’s Day themed Aged With Luck Sour from Far Field Beer. Guava and lime were the headliners but the vanilla added a nice counterbalance to this chardonnay barreled beer. El Segundo took inspiration from an IPA sub-style that has fallen out of favor, the Belgian IPA. It had a wonderful estery note that worked in tandem with the hops.

Lastly, I quite enjoyed the hazy IPA marking the 11th anniversary of Highland Park Brewing, their High 11 was nice and frothy and had me eagerly wanting to have the High 11 West Coast and the High 11 Pils.