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Three Filipino American-owned Los Angeles breweries, Ambitious Ales in Bixby Knolls, Brewyard Beer Co. in my hood of Glendale and Five Point Five Brewing in El Segundo have tri-collaborated to brew a new beer in celebration of Filipino American History Month.
It is Jolli Beer a peach and mango lager inspired by the one and only Peach Mango Pie.
This might not be a one-off either as the “MaBrewhay Collective” aims to “continue to contribute to the ever-evolving Filipino American Story.”
Benny Boy Brewing and Cidery is going all Apple Fest in November with all things cider and apples and community. I went last year and seeing the people pressing cider and the smell of cinnamon in the air despite being so close to the 5 Freeway is very cool and a marker for the Los Angeles seasonal year.
Hop Merchants is setting up for a party on October 19th. They will be celebrating 6 years on Lankershim Boulevard in NoHo. If you can’t make that day, I strongly suggest making a visit. I am sure you will find a four-pack to go at least if not a draft beer too.
I do not think that I have had an actual pumpkin IPA as opposed to a pie spice version so let’s dive into the Pumpkin Haze of 21st Amendment Brewery.
Gourd claims fully backed up. The first flavor to appear is pie filling followed quickly by hops and then nutmeg to round it out. The malt bill is pitch perfect as a base for those three major players to do their thing. The other noticeable trait is that this is pretty bright. Some fruited IPAs have a rounded off feeling to them but Pumpkin Haze does not.
Institution Ales is coming up on anniversary 11 in month 11 and they will be celebrating in both the HQ in Camarillo and up at their Santa Barbara location as well. So you have two 1+1 to pick from.
Even though some of the luster has worn off it is still important to take time to see who won what medals at this years Great American Beer Festival awards.
And boy did L.A. come up gold in some mighty big ways. Highland Park Brewery was the big winner taking home a brewery of the year award for their brewery size as well as gold for Baseball Lager, Timbo Pils, DDH Pillow and Competition IPA, that last one is huge because it is one of the largest categories, American IPA.
Trademark Brewing in Long Beach snared gold in the equally big West Coast IPA category for Codebreaker and earlier in the ceremony picked up silver for A La Playa in the fruit beer category. Fellow Long Beach winners were ISM Brewing with a bronze and Beachwood with a silver.
Another important win came in the Hazy IPA category where Ambitious Ales took the top prize for Professional Human Being IPA.
DTLA got some medals two with Angel City getting a second win for their Apple Pomace Puncheon and Audiograph getting a second too for Bas Clef Strong Ale.
Other fun notes:
Wayfinder Beer won the Krispy King Lager crown for their Hell and Bearded Tang in Orange County won the Alpha King Hoppy crown.
This was a first year for cider medals but it seemed a little weird since there are already great cider competitions out there.
Heard two great beer names during the broadcast: Animals Strike Curious Poses and Polterweiss
Other SoCal brewery of the year winners were Everywhere Beer and Riip Beer.
Hawthorne is gaining a craft beer bar to pair with Common Space and Los Angeles Ale Works. Tapville Social recently opened up and joins the self-service pour bars that are sprinkled around L.A.
I have to admit despite living in the greater Los Angeles area, that both San Francisco and San Diego have us beat when it comes to beer weeks and the latter is hosting theirs in November which is a great time to drive south and take in some beers from the self-proclaimed Capital of Craft.
Check HERE for the schedule of events such as their kick-off beer festival at Kilowatt Brewing as well as a special West Coast IPA release and a clean up the streets event.
I am an aficionado of grocery stores. I go on vacation and make a point of visiting them. Part of the bonus of being in Los Angeles is that there are little boutique stores, neighborhood markets that have somehow held on and a crazy variety of shops focused on foods from other countries.
The Burbank (next door to the airport) Vallarta grocery store recently got a glow up that included Mexican foods, agua frescas, paletas and a choose your own guacamole station.
I wandered around the beer aisle and saw this interesting selection….
….I will need to research these beers to see if any are not from a mega corporation but even more interesting was….
…canned Pulque. The precursor to tequila and mezcal locked up safe and sound.
Keeping searching, you might find some fun new drinks.
Firestone Walker’s flagship sour Primal Elements is back with a new edition for fall.
From the Barrelworks wild ale facility, Primal Elements 2024 is aged “on French oak while balancing the sun-kissed sweetness of pineapple with the exotic tartness of guava.”