Category: Guide to better beer

how to discover new beer to try

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LA Beer Week – Report # 1

Well, thank goodness, I was at Naja’s before the Stone taps started flowing because it was a zoo after the 7pm bell literally rang. Great Stone stuff available. I had the 10/10/10 which was very wine oriented and good but I don’t quite know how it will age. The abv will certainly keep it for awhile but the tastes will fade in my humble opinion. Then I went for the GK Madman IRS and it started out chocolate and coffee and then sucker punched me with pepper that would not go away.

Here is the photographic evidence.

The second stop on the 2nd annual LA Beer Week festivities was Blue Palms for a Night with Avery Brewing. I came away very impressed. The Missionary with guava was really excellent. The fruit shone through but without being too cloying or too sweet. The Joe’s pilsner was just as good. Sparkly and bready with with a lovely sharpness. Also out of sight, was the Out of Sight stout with espresso. It tasted of freshly ground beans. Awesome.

Greg Koch from Stone was in attendance along with Adam Avery who made the rounds and seemed too really enjoy spending a night with LA beer lovers.

NEXT: THE BEER FLOAT SHOWDOWN!

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The Charleston Beer Exchange

Charleston seems to be the “it” town to visit. It has been featured in Beer Advocate and the Los Angeles Times recently. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and I would also do anything to stop the silly Portland-Asheville question.

And the “it” place to stop in the “it” town seems to be the Charleston Beer Exchange. And if it is half as cool as the website then I must agree with that assessment.

They have rare beer nights. You can get growler fills. (Love that). They sell a wide range of beers from New Holland’s Ichabod to Abita’s SOS.

You can find them on their website and the other usual social media suspects.

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Buck-it Tuesday

Vancouver Washington is not known for beer. It has Portland across the river and it’s namesake in Canada has a nice little scene too.

But there is a gem that needs visiting. It is on my Beer List and my next trip north I am going to By The Bottle. And there is one cool reason why. (As if the great bottle selection is not enough of a draw).

They have a relatively new tap room! And on Tuesdays, they “…plug in the electronic ice BUCKet and sample a beer for a BUCK. This is a cool and economic way to try a brand or style you’ve been eying. Why experiment with the whole bottle when you can BUCK-it!?”

And speaking of the tap room, here is a recent list of beers on tap:
Deschutes HOP IN THE DARK CASCADIAN DARK ALE (CDA
Lagunitas Bre wing Co LITTLE SUMPIN’ SUMPIN’ ALE
Iron Horse Brewing IMPERIAL IPA
Elysian Brewing Co MEN’S ROOM RED
Dortmunder DAB ORIGINAL LAGERSouthern Tier PUMKING IMPERIAL PUMPKING ALE-
Bosteels TRIPEL KARMELIET BELGIAN-STYLE TRIPLE
Russian River DAMNATION BELGIAN-STYLE STRONG GOLDEN ALE

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Canned Japanese beer

1046

This canned beer isn’t from Oskar Blues or 21st Amendment. It is straight from the Yo-Ho Brewery in Nagano, Japan. Canned beer is sweeping the world and not just the US.

Yo-Ho also makes an IPA, Biere de Garde and a barleywine. Quite unusual for a country that is either light lagered or exotic ingredient heavy.

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LA Beer Week – Where the BSP is going

Here are the events that I am MOST excited about for the 2nd year of the Beer in the City of the Angels Week
10/7 – Naja’s Place for the kick-off
10/10 – Beer Float Showdown II at The Verdugo
10/13 – Oinkster for Craftsman beer
10/14 – Beer and cheese at the Surly Goat
10/17 – Union Station for the Grand Finale festival!

Where are you going?

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Library Alehouse – LA Beer Week taps

In an effort to help you plan your LA Beer Week, here is a list of beers that the venerable Library Alehouse will be pouring….get ready to drool….

7th…….Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA cask
8th…….Karl Strauss Big Barrel DIPA
9th…….Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel
10th…..Lagunitas Maximus
….Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
11th…..Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza
12th…..Russian River Consecration
13th…..Dogfish Head’s Theobroma
14th…..Sierra Nevada’s Black Barleywine
15th…..Drake’s Denogginizer DIPA
16th…..Bootlegger’s Black Phoenix Chipotle Coffee Porter
17th…..Port Brewing’s Older Viscosity

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Move over Pumpkin Ale

Here comes kale? This is what Jolly Pumpkin has to say about it’s new fall beer…

“Biere de Goord, a saison brewed with kale, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin and green tea, was made by Jolly Pumpkin to help raise awareness about prostate cancer and generate funds for the Pints for Prostates campaign. The beer will feature the Pints for Prostates logo on its label, which includes the blue ribbon to remind people of the ongoing search for a cure to prostate cancer, a leading cause of death among American men. A donation of $3 from every 750 milliliter bottle of Biere de Goord sold will be made to the Pints for Prostates campaign.”