Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
These are the beers that I wish I could taste for the first time.
Now that we are in September, I can commence talking about Festbiers in 2023 and I will start with…
Dopetoberfest from local to L.A., Crowns & Hops.
Second is the Oaky Marzen from Firestone Walker.
Lastly, the classic OktoCollab from Chico, with Hamburg’s Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei .
Brewyard in Glendale is coming out with a new ride, the Jeepney 3000.
“Huge hop flavor bursting with danky notes of a distinctive west coast mixture of citrus, pine and hints of floral mint. The malt character is understated with a dry finish to let the layered hop flavors and aromas take center stage. Dry Hopped with Cascade, Northern Brewer & Cashmere hops.”
Clapping hands loudly for the Double Decker new release from Firestone Walker
“Bravissimo lands as a revved-up edition of our signature barrel-aged Bravo brown ale. After a year of maturation in bourbon barrels at our Paso Robles brewery, this small-batch barley wine was blended back into a lot of traditional barrel-aged Bravo. The final blend was 70 percent traditional Bravo and 30 percent high-gravity Bravo. The result was a beautiful barrel character permeating the finished beer, with Bravo’s signature maple sap and chocolate flavors reaching another level.”
Even in the dog days of summer, I like to see barrel-aged beers released and Chapman Crafted, who recently hit their 7 year mark has a new one out…
“Oaks & Owls is our Barrel-Aged Barleywine aged in Blinking Owl Distillery (from nearby Santa Ana) rye barrels for 18 months. The American oak barrels give this brew a subtle spice with a hint of vanilla.This beer is malty and has notes of sweet bread, toffee, and dried fruit.”
USC can Big10 tailgate properly with the new , Stone Fight On! Pale Ale. Stone Brewing will be the official USC Athletics beer will be available for purchase the week of August 14, 2023.
The Pale Ale with “a balanced blend of tropical and citrusy hop flavors” will “be distributed throughout Southern California at stores, bars, and restaurants and onsite at the Los Angeles Colosseum and the Galen Center, home of the USC Trojans.”
Maybe I can get Linfield University to have an official beer made by Heater-Allen.
Kudos to both leaning into a perceived negative and bringing back a blast from the past.
El Segundo Brewing has created a new pale ale as a house beer (which used to be a thing back in the olden days of excess capacity) for two bars. One is the Library Alehouse and the other being the The Richmond.
The name….
Yup, craft beer dads have a bad reputation from ticking too much on Untappd to being so not cool that the kids are moving away to other beverages to distance themselves.
I am onboard with Tiki bars even though I am more of a bourbon and gin and not rum pirate. But Radiant Beer Co. has a interesting rum barrel detour…
“Tropical Detour – Rum Barrel-aged Strong Ale – 14.9% ABV. We chose a strong ale that spent almost 2.5 years in Barbados Rum Barrels and blended it with other strong ales aged in Grand Marnier and Chartreuse Barrels. Then, we conditioned the blend on roasted almonds, limes, grapefruit, and oranges with a kiss of cinnamon. The result is an eloquent equatorial extravaganza of tropical flavors housed in a deep brown pour with a touch of tan foam. The aromas are complex, reminiscent of a tiki cocktail with emphasis on notes of citric acidity and rich rum, with some lingering impressions of dark rum and toasty, nutty accents. Take a trip to the tropics; a pinky-up visit to your favorite island.”
Right now there are two breweries that I can say with confidence can nail a Quad IPA. El Segundo Brewing and Pure Project. The latter has teamed with Bottle Logic for a long but funny named QIPA.
“”A Quad IPA? In This Economy?!” emerges with a pale yellow haze, a hugely tropical aromatic output, and a bullish 12% ABV. Our diversified portfolio of Nectaron, Strata, and Citra Cryo hops lends flavors of grapefruit, pineapple, and stone fruit to the palate’s balance sheet, where bold malt sweetness tempers the punchy ABV and eases the hop bitterness into a delicious depreciation.”
Unlike other heritage brands owned by foreign companies, Lagunitas will be back in 2023 with their Born Yesterday fresh hop ale. One of the few larger scale hop to brewery in under 24-hours IPA’s. As another break from the mold, the beer will be in 12oz cans.
One of my most anticipated beers of the year is the anniversary blend from Firestone Walker.
If you are in Los Angeles or Paso Robles, now might be the time to see if their company stores have any lingering 26’s on shelves so you can prepare a taste test.