Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
These are the beers that I wish I could taste for the first time.
One of my happy places is Altadena Beverage. They have a curated selection of beers, spirits and snacks and will often carry a beer that I cannot find anywhere else.
And now they have their own branded pilsner made by the Fine Folks at Radiant Beer Co.
Loston Bahger new from Ambitious Ales is a bit of a tongue twister and spell checker but is also a nice homage to the OG amber lager from a certain East Coast brewery. Might be a good choice for those that want a summer beer but with a little more heft to it.
Dubuisson has a few special big bottles and one that is on my wish list is their Bush Triple aged in oak barrels. Those barrels previously housed white Burgundy wine, the famous Charmes Meursault.
I think barrel aging and Tripels sounds great.
Figueroa Mountain Brewing has partnered with the Santa Barbara Zoo for a series of beers celebrating a few of the special animals that you can see the next time you are up the coast from Los Angeles.
Russian River’s Fonio will be a Belgian-style blonde ale in a collaboration with Brooklyn Brewery. The beer will be a Belgian-style blonde ale that will be releasing in August.
Just before we ticked over into July, the Beachwood Blendery released Masucot a spontaneous lambic-inspired sour ale aged in oak barrels with Masumoto Sun Crest & Gold Dust peaches & Golden Sweet apricots.
Replicant Beer is bringing back their Yuzu Blonde, Virtual Sessions into a full production run after a successful limited run so if you missed it the first time around, here is your second chance.
Ogopogo Brewing has a new Pastry Stout coming from the blackberry bramble with a bit of menace and a 8.5% ABV, Beelzebub. If you are a fence sitter when it comes to this style, like me, this might be a good one to check out and see where you are now.
Stone Brewing has done a good job of retiring then bringing back old favorites by not going too overboard on but also not letting interest flag in beers like the newly back Old Guardian Barleywine. Though I do think that a 12oz can would be better for such a big beer.
Ya’ gotta admire The Bruery for sticking with sours whilst also doubling down on pastry flavors at the same time. The latest to get my attention is a sour blonde ale, Hold the Cart. This beer brings together tangerine flavors, milk sugar and pistachios. An Italian sorbet of a beer.