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These are the beers that I wish I could taste for the first time.
Sierra Nevada’s famed Narwhal is getting a campsite variant with a Barrel-Aged Toasted S’More. It is an imperial stout aged in Bourbon barrels with cocoa nibs and natural graham cracker flavors. No mention of marhsmallow though for this 11.9% beer.
Narratives, whether true or false, can be powerful. Many American cities have been painted with a broad brush of “unsafe” or “uncool” even if the day to day is not much different.
Portland, my hometown neighbor to the north, has endured a bit of bad press you could say but during both of my visits this year, it has seemed just as filled with beer, good food and frustrating parking as any city one lives in or visits.
So I am glad to see Old Town Brewing go to bat and stand up for the City of Roses with their recently launched Believe in Portland IPA. Which you can read more about HERE.
El Segundo Brewing is up to their third collaboration with noted home brewer John Palmer. First was a Dunkelbock and second was a Czech Dark Lager and now their is a Smoked Altbier.
Altbier is a Düsseldorf classic but this has a smoked malt twist. Beechwood to be precise.
Maybe when they get to a fourth European style, they will do a mixed four-pack.
Throughout the month, I will be highlighting some Festbiers from Los Angeles ( and adjacent county ) breweries that will be readily available for your Germanic beer needs, here is post # 1…
Around the horn, clockwise, we have Oaktoberfest, a classic from Firestone Walker, Bear Ears from Brouwerij West, Huftgold from El Segundo Brewing and Das Hof from Hermosa Brewing.
I do not need any nostalgia when it comes to ice cream. I will have it every day to keep it in mind if needed but Radiant Beer Co. has a new late summer stout to maybe pair with a pint…
Nostalgic Vibes is a cookies and cream ice cream cone pastry stout. Using Cacao nibs, Comoros Vanilla Beans, crushed chocolate sandwich cookies and waffle cone pieces.
Wrexham Lager is not available here in SoCal but the Wrexham Lager Export will become available where Destihl Brewing distributes because the Illinois brewery will be contracting the Welsh beer. I am kind of amazed that it has not been on shelves already considering the popularity of the team and the show.
Topa Topa Brewing is setting out their first variety6-pack just before Labor Day weekend. The Solitude Series IPA Mixed Pack harkens back to the single hop IPA craze of years past.
You will get two beers each of Mosaic, Citra and Talus. Here are the brewers notes from Brewmaster Casey Harris – “Mosaic has always been a standout hop, as it’s so diverse in its flavor and aroma with an array of fruity, tropical, and earthy notes. Citra is one of my favorites, and kind of finds its way into a lot of our beers – perfect for rounding things out with its strong citrus qualities. Talus is a new one, and it’s really a unique hop with intense flavors of grapefruit, stone fruit, and oak.”
There is also an “interactive QR code on the base of the mixed 6-pack provides an opportunity to share feedback on which hop pleases their palate the most.” If this sells well, I would expect another set of three hops in box 2.
Can you imagine being a brewery since 1701? Crazy. Just crazy enough that Sierra Nevada has tapped Brauerei Gutmann, for the 2024 edition of their collaborative Oktoberfest.
This year’s beer celebrates with more wheat malt in the recipe in a nod to Gutmann’s famous Hefeweizens. There are also Saphir hops to add a little lemon to the proceedings.
Once again, more collaboration brews in the news but this time it is a home and away combo from MadeWest Brewing. First with Tarantula Hill Brewing in Thousand Oaks on California Street and then with Fremont Brewing of Seattle on the latest Short-Lived IPA.
Looks like taste test will be in order.
Just down the coastline, Brouwerij West has a late summer Pilsner out now that they brewed up with Altamont Brew works, the resulting light beer is Live Animals and is a 5.5% West Coast Pils.
