For Angelenos needing a Triple IPA fix, Absolution Brewing in Torrance has a Wicked one for you in two days…
Not PtE – Part 2
Not PtE – Part 1
Beer fanatics will know those initials and what month we are talking about but you may want to try a different Russian River Brewing option…
A new Sparkling Hop Water infused with Citra and El Dorado hops available, to start, in Windsor and Santa Rosa.
Awarding San Diego
When craft beer fans in Los Angeles make the highway trek to San Diego, you need a good reason to go or a marquee event to attend and I think I just might have one for you….
…courtesy of San Diego Beer News. If nothing else, there will be a happy atmosphere around.
Radiance x 4
Radiant Brewing in Anaheim is going to spend a full weekend celebrating their 4th Anniversary
Friday, January 31st through Sunday, February 2nd will find “new beer releases, live music, brewer’s karaoke, a birthday treat baking competition, the return of Sunny Meals, and plenty of cameos and goodies from friends.” Plus their special anniversary beer, All The Things We’ve Done.
RSVP for free HERE
Review – Cool River from Pure Project
I have only had the murky side of Pure Project up to this point so when I saw a Cold IPA on the beer shelf, I plucked it to review.
Cool River pours a super light orange color or dark yellow. Very crisp on the palate with grain notes being the first to make themselves known. The hop kick is quite potent. I get honeydew melon and some dankness as well. Tastes stronger than 6.5% as well.
Chocolate Vanilla Baltic
There is an international collaboration out in the last weeks from Smog City Brewing and Nepomucen Brewery from Szkaradowo, Poland. And it’s a Baltic Porter! A win for diversity in beer styles.
Sean Suggests for January 2025
Two out of three ain’t bad, right? The first two beers are collaborations between brewery and outside partner. They are also both in the 5% range. Then there is Sadie. An excellent outlier any day.
Paperback Brewing Crazy Clown Time Blonde – 5.1% – “Circus Liquor collaboration Blonde Ale”
Bright Spark Fika Swedish Coffee Milk Stout – 5.8% – coffee collaboration with Beacon coffee.
Beachwood Sadie Batch 11 – 12% – “This is our 11th batch of this expressive strong ale that spends a year in American bourbon & whiskey barrels—rich caramel and vanilla flavors are intertwined with delicate notes of oak and toasted oats. This adventurous beer is as spirited and delightful as the girl who inspired it.”
Review – Mere Visions West Coast IPA from ISM Brewing and Brujos Brewing
Gotta powerhouse hype combo for the review today, ISM Brewing in Long Beach have paired up with Portland’s Brujos Brewing on a straight up West Coast IPA, Mere Visions.
This has got to be one of the lightest straw yellow IPAs that I have come across. Hopped with an impressive roster of Columbus Cryo, Mosaic Cryo, Strata, Simcoe and Chinook. Very well balanced overall. That Simcoe smell comes through. There is a medium hop hit before a soft bed of wheat notes. You could call this a White IPA as well.
N/A Review – Galaxy Ripple and Double Hopped Hop Water
We start this N/A duo with Best Day Brewing and their Galaxy Ripple, which they call an Imperial IPA maybe as a joke? From my experience, imperial denotes higher abv, but non-alcoholic should be under .5%, so not quite getting that designation.
That label mis-step aside, there is a goodly hop aroma when you pop open the can. And to my surprise, this doesn’t taste super worty like many in this category. And for once, there are plenty of hops here. Probably my first actual hoppy low alcohol IPA. There is a bit of tropical fruit here too making this way more complex than average.
Next up is the Double Hopped Hop Water from, well, HopWtr. Most of their waters have jumped the hop shark and tend to be just fruity sparkle water, sorry Wtr, but this one caught my eye because of the hop double down. There is a weird grassy cat pee aroma when the can is opened. Once vented, this does have a better taste than smell. Getting a grassy cannabis vibe from it.
Two Stage
Cheers are in order as Russian River Brewing has a special Pliny coming in January! Double Dry-Hopped The Elder is making its bottle debut.
