Category: Guide to better beer

how to discover new beer to try

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100th Beer Post!!

Thanks to the advice of Tomm Carroll, I checked out BoHo in Hollywood. Open since March of this year, it is a odd spot. Great big picture window but on the inside it is eclectic old boy’s club / library. Very interesting and very busy.

I had two vastly different beers. First off was Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA. Very interesting. This is a strange observation to make but it tasted thick but not in a stout or porter way. Not something that you drink fast. For an IPA, not a hoppy aroma or taste but you can really tell you are drinking a big beer. I will have to taste the 60 minute to compare.

Secondly was the Rogue Chocolate stout. Oh was this good. Great Aroma of chocolate and malt. I could spend hours just taking in this great smell. And it was so easy to drink. This is a really good beer. Great with dessert.

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My current beer wish list

These are the (4) breweries that I cannot get out here in Southern California but really want to try…..

Three Floyds
Magic Hat
Cigar City
and most of all…..NEW GLARUS!

What brewery do you wish distributed to you?

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Tasting notes

Here are my notes from my tasting at 55 Degree Wine & Beer Store and from BJ’s.
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The Foret really was alcohol from aroma to taste. Kind of tinny and not as complex as Saison Dupont which is the gold standard for Saisons. Between the two, I would always go for Dupont.

Ahh! St. Bernardus. Their Wit is the gold standard in this category. Sparkling. Effervescent. Tasted like oranges. Pitch perfect. In comparison, I also had BJ’s seasonal Nit Wit. Great name. Mediocre beer. Not much flavor. Just sort of sat there. Unfortunately, that is pretty much the same review I could give for every BJ’s beer. Nothing remarkable.

The McChouffe Brown was good. Nice and solid. Not much aroma. Nice earthy flavor though. A little chewier than most browns.

Mission IPA. I saw that it was made in San Diego and thought HOP BOMB! But this is restrained. You can really smell the hops but when you take a drink, it is a balance of malt and hops. Very nice.

Lastly, the St. Peters Old Style Porter. Very nice Porter. I liked it. Nice and drinkable. Not too smoky but not too light either. Another balanced beer.

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Sour Wench

I was in the celebratory mood because Eagle Rock Brewery passed another permit hurdle today so I went over to the nearby Verdugo. I tried the Sour Wench from Ballast Point.

This is a beer brewed with blackberries. Sam Adams also has a new Blackberry Wit so I guess that blackberries are the hip fruit. This offering isn’t particularly sour nor is it super fruity. It is right in the middle. Thanks to the berries it is more interesting than other beers and it does have an awesome red look to it.

Not really to my taste however, but I can see how this would be an excellent starter for someone who wants to try fruit and/or sour beers.

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new Abita beer

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This is a nice looking red-amber ale. As you may have figured out by now, I am a sucker for brewery special releases. This one is a nice Belgian dubbel. With part of the proceeds going to the St. Joesph Abbey. Not much aroma but it does carry an alcoholic punch. Not bad but it could use a little more spice to counteract the alcohol and malt.

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The Daily Pint

I made my first trip to the Daily Pint this Memorial Day weekend and it was well worth it. Very similar to Lucky Baldwin’s in Pasadena. Old (in a good way) with the smell of casks past. Really nice selection of good beer choices though I must say there were two customers who ordered BMC that made me wince.
On to better news, the beer! I started with the Sublimely Self-Righteous from Stone.
stone
They really do dark IPA’s well. Probably better than anyone else. This pours a beautiful dark black with a great head. Easy to drink but heavy. This would be great for a late fall BBQ.
Second up was the Einhorn Spezial Pilsner.
Einhorn
Another beer that looks really good. Now, I am not a big pils fan. But this one is pretty good. I could have done with just the pint instead of the boot.

Lastly, I had a combo. A mixed beer cocktail so to speak. Youngs Double Chocolate with Raspberry lambic.
mix
This was sooo good. Like a candy bar. The mixture was just right. I highly recommend this. Great for dessert instead of ice cream.

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North American Organic Brewers Festival

This June 26-28th is the 7th incarnation of this great festival in Portland, Oregon. Just take a look at this line-up….
Alameda Brew House
Portland, OR
• El Torero Organic IPA • Double IPA

Aspall Cyders
Suffolk, England
• Cyder • Estate Cider

Bison Brewing
Berkeley, CA
• Chocolate Stout • Dry Foreign Style Stout
• Single Hop IPA • Single Hop IPA

Caledonian (pending)
Edinburgh, Scotland
• Golden Promise • Golden Ale

Crannog Ales
Sorrento, British Columbia
• Backhand Of God Stout • Irish Stout
• Red Branch Irish Ale • Irish Red Ale

Deschutes
Bend, OR
• Green Lakes • American Amber Ale

Double Mountain Brewery
Hood River, OR
• Hop Lava •
• Kolsch •

Dupont
Belgium
• Foret Saison • Saison

Eel River
Fortuna, CA
• Acai Berry Wheat • Fruit wheat beer
• IPA • English Style IPA

Elliott Bay Brewing
Burien, WA
• Organic Coffee Stout • Coffee Oatmeal Stout
• Hop von Boorian • Belgian Style IPA

Fish Tales Ales
Olympia, WA
• Wild Salmon Pale Ale • American Pale Ale
• Fish Tale IPA • American IPA
• Organic Blonde • Blonde Ale with Rye

Fort George
Astoria, OR
• Quick Wit • Belgian Style Wit bier

Grand Teton Brewing Co.
Victor, ID
• Au Naturale Blonde Ale • Blonde Ale

Hopworks Urban Brewery
Portland, OR
• Hopworks Organic IPA • Double IPA
• TBD •

Lakefront Brewery
Milwaukee, WI
• Organic ESB • Extra Special Bitter
• Fuel Cafe • Organic Coffee Stout

Lammsbräu (pending)
Neumarkt, Bayern, Germany
• Dunkel •
• Pils •
• Lager •
• Hefeweizen •

Laurelwood Brewery
Portland, OR
• Organic Green Mammoth • IPA
• Something Delicious •

Lucky Labrador
Portland, OR
• Recession Session • Light Lager
• TBD •

MateVeza
San Francisco, CA
• Yerba Mate Ale • Ale
• Yerba Mate IPA • IPA

McMenamins
Portland, OR
• Crazy Enough Blonde • Belgian Blonde
• Gunslinger Pale Ale • Pale Ale

Nelson Brewing Company
Nelson B.C. Canada
• Paddywhack IPA • IPA
• Old Brewery Pale Ale • English Pale Ale

New Belgium
Fort Collins, CO •
Mothership Wit • Belgian Style Wit bier

New Old Lompoc Fifth Quadrant Brewery
Portland, OR
• Bald Guy Brown Ale • Brown Ale

Oakshire Brewing
Eugene, OR
• Watershed IPA • IPA
• Overcast Espresso Stout • Coffee Oatmeal Stout

Pelican Brewery
Pacific City, OR
• Heiferweizen •

Pike Brewing Company
Seattle, WA
• Naughty Nellie’s Golden Ale • Golden Ale
• Monk’s Uncle • Belgian Style Tripel

Pinkus Mueller
Munster, Germany
• Pinkus Munster Alt
• German brown ale
• Pinkus Hefe-Weizen • German Hefeweizen
• Pinkus UR Pils • German Pilsner
• Jubilate • Dark Lager

Rock Bottom Brewery (pending)
Portland, OR
• Oregonic Amber •

Roots Brewing Co.
Portland, OR
• ROTATING TAP •

Samuel Smith
North Yorkshire, U.K. • Organic Ale
• English Pale Ale
• Organic Cider • Sweetened Cider
• Organic Lager • English Lager
• Organic Raspberry Ale • English Ale with Raspberries
• Organic Strawberry Ale • English Ale with Strawberries
• Organic Cherry Ale • English Ale with Cherries

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
Sant Cruz, CA
• People’s Porter • Porter
• Pale Ale • Pale Ale

Silenrieux (pending)
Cerfontaine-Silenrieux, Belgium
• Sara Buckwheat Ale • Double IPA

Standing Stone Brewing
Ashland, OR
• Hefeweizen • Hefeweizen
• Double IPA • Double IPA
• Oatmeal Stout • Oatmeal Stout

Schneider (pending)
Kelheim, Germany
• Edel-Weiss • Double IPA

St. Peter’s Brewery (pending)
Suffolk, UK
• English Ale • English Pale Ale

Ukiah Brewing Company
Ukiah, CA
• Pilsner Ukiah • Pilsner
• Emancipator Dopplebock • Dopplebock

Upright Brewing Co
Portland, OR
• Reggae Junkie Gruit • Farmhouse Gruit
• Seven • Farmhouse Golden

Wandering Aengus Cider
Salem, OR
• Heirloom Blend Cider • Cider
• Semi-Dry Cider • Cider
• Dry • Cider

Widmer
Portland, OR
• TBD •

Wolaver’s Organic Ales
Middlebury, VT
• Ben Gleason’s White Ale • Belgian Style Wit bier
• IPA • IPA

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Craft Beer Fest LA

Yesterday was the 1st of hopefully many more to come of the Craft Beer Fest Los Angeles. I was there as both fan and volunteer from 2pm to 10pm so this will be a longer than usual post so find a comfortable chair. I will break it up into sections to make for easier reading.

Section 1 – The beer!!

Not a bad brewery in the bunch. And most importantly for me, new stuff that I really wanted to try plus new stuff from some of my old favorites. Here is what I had…..
1. Siamese Twin from Uncommon Brewers
Light golden ale, very different fruity taste to it. This beer really grew on me.
2. Automatic # 1 from Blind Lady Ales
Light Belgian ale. Had a bit of a tinny taste to me. A little astringent.
3. Scotch Isle from Craftsman
Very nice. Dark and malty. Not my favorite style of beer but this is well done.
4. Black IPA from Stone
DSCN5228
Very good. I love IPA’s and this is an excellent beer.
5. Golden State from Uncommon Brewers
Hazy color. Light and flavorful. Great on a summer day.
6. Cuvee Jeune from The Bruery
Had this at Blue Palms a week ago and had to get some more. Excellent sour taste.
7. IPA from Hangar 24
Another really solid IPA. Not a hop bomb but citrusy and not too acidic.
DSCN5226
8. Warm Water Wheat from Port Brewing
This was a really good banany hefeweizen. I hope they bottle this it is one I would like to have more of.

What I didn’t get to try and wanted to..
TAPS – Belgian White (which was really popular)
Port Brewing – Pig Dog Pale Ale

Section 2 – The Beer Panel
Moderated by Christina Perozzi with Mark Jilg from Craftsman, Ryan Sweeney from The Verdugo, Larry James from Wine Warehouse, Steve Grossman from Sierra Nevada and Victor Novak from TAPS Brewery.

Quite the interesting cross section of the beer community. They were all quite optimistic and passionate about making craft beer and where we are compared to the past and where we may end up.
It was so heartening to hear what they were saying and I wish they could have gone on longer. One thing that I took away was that there seemed to be a feeling that it was inevitable that craft beer would do to BMC (BudMillerCoors) what Starbucks did to Folgers. To that I say Amen!

Section 3 – Behind the Bar
DSCN5235

All I can say is, I had great fun being behind the bar. I had never done it before and I am sure it showed but it was great to hand beer over to the smiling faces on the other side. It was not long before I was sweating from avoiding fellow volunteers and going all the way from one side of the bar and back with four beers trying hard not to spill. Thanks to Kevin, Alex, Liz, Bob and Ben for allowing a rookie to help out.

Section 4 – Who was there
Jeremy from Eagle Rock Brewery
Tomm from the Celebrator
Tony from Craftsman
Joel from 826LA
Patrick from The Bruery

All in all a really great time. If you weren’t here this year plan on it next year.