Replicant in Pasadena has a big ol’ IPA ready for you and it promises to be blissful.
Four Copies
IPA Niche Day – Belgian
If you prefer to look at the glass half full instead of we are all doomed than made look for Ce N’est Pas La Fin du Monde from Unibroue – “This deliciously hoppy golden ale combines the complexity of a Belgian tripel with the power of New World IPAs. It’s cultural fusion at its best.”
IPA Niche Day – Raspberry
MadeWest has a new Raspberry IPA out on the market and I am of two minds about it. I think IPAs with added fruit should be the actual juicy IPAs but that you really have to choose the fruit and hops carefully to avoid one flavor set overwhelming the other. This beer should be a good one to review either way.
L.A. Ale Works 7th Anniversary
Get tropical in Hawthorne as Los Angeles Ale Works will celebrate their 7th anniversary or thereabouts with all sorts of Tiki treats and a new IPA for the occasion.
And Then the Next
Benny Boy will be celebrating their 2nd year at the tank farm with their anniversary celebrations on March 30th.
Check out the info HERE or just carefully scrutinize the artwork for clues.
For One Weekend
Ambitious Ales is coming up on anniversary # 5. They have a lovely taproom in the Bixby beer corridor that you should really visit, especially if you are an IPA fan or a fan of fives.
Parabola Exploration
Yesterday, I joined Firestone Walker brewers Jordan Ziegler and Sam Tierney, to see the “many faces Parabola can take on through adjuncts..” There were over seven tastes of new experimental variants of the imperial stout, some only available for very short times.
This event at The Propgator brought together members of the Brewmasters Collective, an enthusiastic group of Firestone fans ready to taste Parabola in its newest incarnation as well as learn about the nuts and bolts of adjuncts in an imperial stout.
It starts with an inspiration. New Orleans offered Ziegler ideas as did the plane ride when the snack was a Stroop Waffle cookie. Then it goes to small bench tests where you try adding adjuncts and seeing what works and doesn’t. Fig was fine in tests but really called for an accompaniment so Ancho Chili was brought in to make a duet.
From there, it becomes how best to get a flavor punch. Thai bananas are good but lacked that Cavendish appeal. (sorry) The way you toast coconut and then deciding if circulating the beer through it or steeping it in the beer is a better preparation.
Mix in that Parabola is aged in differing bourbon barrels from super wet Elijah Craig to reliable Heaven Hill just adds another level of complexity. Then you have to make sure the resulting beer has a Firestone house taste to it as well.
For me, the plain 2014 Parabola was the best. You got a nice bourbon and oak note on top of a luxurious stout but the real action was deciding what of the flavored beers ranked highest. To me it was the Thai Bananas Foster. The interplay of fruit and stout just worked. Second was Coconut closely followed by the Peanut Butter (really peanut flour) with the Fig and Stroop Waffle in a lower tier of interesting and Mixed Berry bringing up the far back.
Oh and another plus, we got a taste of the newly reformulated XPA as well which I thought was a bright and hoppy addition to the line-up.
If you needed a temptation to join the Brewmasters Collective, this type of event would fit the bill.
Brewjeria 2
Brewjeria in Pico Rivera has news. As in a new location. And it is a bit of a drive from their comfy original location. B2 will be in Chula Vista, which I have to admit, I have never been to in all my SoCal years.
Good to see the Brewjeria folks are expanding.
Best Beers of February 2024
Well, if you read any of my Portland beer posts in the last week, then you know that this post is all about Duality Brewing in Portland.
And it wasn’t that they smashed a West Coast IPA or Bourbon barrel stout out of the park. No, they put Bergamot tea and Satsuma tangerine into a wheat beer and both featured ingredients shined like a laser, Then they took a Saison through a gauntlet of barrel aging, pine needle filtering and blending in cider and it was really excellent. Get thee to Duality!
I will say that a couple other beers deserve honorable mention. Radiant Beer Co.’s 3rd anniversary TIPA – All the Things We’ve Done was top notch and Santa Monica Brew Works Low and Slow Helles in partnership with Bludso’s BBQ was the perfect brisket accompaniment.
Portland 2024 Beer Report – Part 2
Each time I come to Portland, I buy a four pack + as well as visit a few brewery taprooms. Each time, I try to plan the right amount so I am not leaving beers in my mom’s ‘fridge or having too many un-visited breweries.
And this year, I did good. And I really enjoyed the two new places that I visited.
First was Duality Brewing off Sandy Boulevard. Tucked away and sharing space with a food pop-up and coffee shop was a revelation. Based on two beers at least. Soft Side was a wheat beer with Bergamot and Satsuma. I posted on Instagram that I could drink buckets of it and it is true and I do not say that often, at all. Alpine Timeshare was a bourbon barrel-aged Saison filtered on pine needles and blended with cider! Crazy and it worked.
Second was Foreland Brewing’s Beer Study on Belmont. When I visited, there was a tap share with Kings & Daughters Brewing. The tap list was eclectic and fun. Zwickel, smoke and bitter. Super helpful service and half pours in literally a homey environment. Plus all sorts of outdoor seating. Atmosphere to spare and the two collaboration beers I had were spot on.
